All the Pretty Lies (Pretty #1)(50)
Author: M. Leighton

He waggles his eyebrows and I laugh out loud as I snap off a bite of crispy bacon.

Hemi watches me chew for several seconds, his own amusement fading into something a little more sincere. “Good?”

“Very. Thank you for fixing me breakfast,” I say, tucking a stray hair behind my ear nervously. “I know… I mean I didn’t expect you to…”

Hemi sighs. “Sloane, can we just pretend that conversation didn’t happen? This is different. I wasn’t talking about you. I was…I meant…this is just different. You’re different.”

I try to turn the dial back on my smile so that I don’t look too goofily overjoyed by his words. “Really?”

“Yes. You’re not some woman I fu – slept with and am trying to get rid of.”

“I’m not?”

“No. You’re not. And I think you know that.”

His eyes are steady on mine. Still, I’m afraid to hope for too much. But I’m not too afraid to stick around and find out.

Live, no regrets.

We are so much alike in so many ways. Maybe all we need is each other…

“You should hurry up and eat,” I say as I nibble a warm cinnamon bagel.

One dark brow rises, making the silver stud that pierces it sparkle in the sunlight streaming through the window. “And why is that?”

I reach over and tug at the apron he’s still wearing. “You owe me some sausage.”

Hemi glances down at the apron and then back up to me, his lips curving into a cocky grin. “Oh I’ve got your sausage.”

With hands as quick as any snake’s strike, Hemi reaches over and drags me into his lap, crushing my lips with his. When we’re both panting and electricity is buzzing between us, he raises his head. “You’re awfully good at this to be a virgin.”

“I’m a fast learner. And I have a very good teacher,” I say, pulling his mouth back to mine. I taste a hint of syrup on his tongue when he eases it between my lips. I’m barely aware of him standing and setting me on the island. It’s not until I feel my bare br**sts brush the smooth skin of his chest that I realize I’m already half naked in his kitchen. And I’m loving every minute of it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX – Hemi

“Just look into it,” I tell Reese, glancing over my shoulder again to make sure Sloane’s nowhere around. After a marathon morning of sex, I left her in the shower to clean up before we head to the studio later this afternoon. My plan is to go in early so we can leave. I’ve got plans for us this evening. I’ve got plans for her.

Reese sighs. “I don’t know why you’re so plagued with doubt all of a sudden. You’re the one that’s been so gung-ho about this from the beginning.”

“Damn, Reese! What the hell should I be? He was my brother. He was your brother, too. You should’ve been just as determined as me to see this shitbag found and brought to justice.”

“I am. What do you think I’ve been doing all this time? Twiddling my thumbs? Just because you were closer to Ollie doesn’t mean I care any less.”

It’s my turn to sigh. “I know. I’m just…I’m just frustrated, I guess. I don’t want to be wrong about this. And I’m beginning to think I am. I mean, Tumblin was the street the guy lived on. That’s pretty thin as far as evidence goes. What if Locke isn’t the right guy?”

“Then IA will figure it out. All we did was point ‘em in the right direction. We didn’t convict the guy, Hemi.”

“Someone shot up his house for God’s sake! If we had anything to do with that, we might as well have convicted and sentenced him.”

“That was never an intended outcome and you know it.”

“But you knew it was a possibility.”

“So did you,” he reminds me flatly.

And I did. At the time, I didn’t give a shit. I just wanted revenge. But now that Sloane’s involved…

Movement behind the glass doors that lead from the pool area, where I am, back into the house catches my eye. When my eyes adjust to looking past the glare, there’s nothing there. Just my own reflection. And my paranoia. And my guilt.

“Look, I just want to make sure this goes down the right way. That’s all. See to it, okay, Reese?”

“You’re a bossy little bastard, but I know you’re heart’s in the right place,” he says gruffly. “Stop worrying. It’ll all work out. Trust in the system.”

“The system that didn’t catch our brother’s killer? The system that breeds dirty cops like fluffy bunnies?”

Reese’s laugh is bitter. As bitter as I feel. “Yeah, that one.”

“I’ll work on it,” I reply acerbically.

“You do that. In the meantime, just let things run their course.”

“I’ll try. But if it puts Sloane in danger, I’ll have to do something.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“Hey, I’ve been tiptoeing all this time. These ass**les don’t want to see me when I come out of hiding.”

“That’s probably true. They’ve never seen your temper before.”

“Or my resources. We can’t forget who we are, Reese.”

“You’re the only one that’s ever tried.”

“I’m not trying to forget who I am. I was just lying low so I wouldn’t draw any attention.”

“Don’t get lost in this charade you’re playing.”

“It’s not a charade. This is who I am.”

“Not completely. Who you really are is somewhere in between. And that guy will find his way to the surface eventually. Remember that as you make these…relationships that seem to be so important to you now.”

“I haven’t forgotten anything, Reese. And who I am has no bearing on my relationships.”

The doubt in his voice is plain. “Whatever you say.”

That irritates me. In fact, this whole conversation irritates me. I don’t have to explain myself to my brother. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.

“Keep me posted,” I say sharply. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Tasty little jail-bait piece of ass calling?”

“Don’t be a dick, Reese. She’s not jail bait and she’s not a piece of ass.”

“So you’re not sleeping with her? You’re not sleeping with the enemy?”

“She’s not the enemy.”