Luscious (Topped #1)(46)

Javier grinned. “But it was a good first course, boss.”

Sean shook his head. “You guys are going to kill me. Let’s turn this dinner into a celebration. To Macon and Ally.”

“To Macon and Ally,” the group said in unison.

“Or should we call you Sarah?” a dark voice interrupted.

Adam Miles walked up from the back, his eyes going straight to hers.

Macon’s brother knew everything. Her time as Ally was over.





CHAPTER EIGHT





Macon followed his brother into the kitchen, well aware that they were leaving a rather stunned audience in their wake. Ally’s hand was firmly in his grasp. He was afraid she would disappear if he didn’t keep hold of her.

“Can we go outside? I would love to keep whatever scene is about to play out private,” he told his brother, who seemed to have gotten something stuck right up his ass since the last time he’d seen him. Ally had gone pale when Adam had called her Sarah.

Who the hell was Sarah? Was Ally going by her middle name? He wouldn’t blame her. He often thought he could have saved himself years of “Macon Bacon” torture if he’d gone by Phillip. Why would Adam be so upset by a name?

Adam nodded briefly and started for the door that led to the back.

Ally tugged on his hand. “I think I should go.”

He tugged right back. “You’re not going anywhere. Baby? whatever Adam’s pissed about, I’ll handle it. He can get overprotective at times. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not being overprotective. I’m being exactly the right amount of protective,” Adam explained.

Macon led Ally outside and let the door close. He was sure someone would likely try to snoop, but they would be hard pressed to hear them out here. This was a family matter. It looked like his brother had taken his role too seriously and found out about Ally’s past. Adam likely had been surprised to find out she had a dad in jail.

“I need to talk to you, Macon.” Tears shone in Ally’s eyes and she had both hands on his arms, entreating him.

God, when she cried it was like someone kicked him in the gut. “It’s going to be fine. Tell me what you need to say.” He glared at his big brother. “And you should stay out of it, Adam. I’m grateful, truly grateful for everything you’ve done, but if you’ve pulled up dirt on my girlfriend, you’ve gone too far. She’s already told me about her father. I know he’s in prison.”

Macon should have told Adam. He should have known that Adam would run some kind of check on Ally. But her father’s crimes weren’t her fault. Not by a long shot. Her childhood had been a chaotic shit storm, but she’d come out of it beautifully.

Adam frowned. “I didn’t run a check on Ally. I told you. Sean hired her and that was good enough for me. You did ask me to find out everything I could about Sarah Rowe. Should I tell him or would you like to?”

Adam’s last question had been directed at Ally.

Macon’s whole body went cold despite the relative warmth of the early evening. He did know a Sarah now that he thought about it. Sarah Rowe had been intent on talking to him. She’d told him in one e-mail that she would get to the bottom of her brother’s death no matter what it would cost her.

Would she get in bed with the enemy if it meant finding the truth?

He did the math in his head and quickly realized his Ally was the right age to be Ronnie’s sister. She even came from the right part of the world, if she hadn’t lied about it.

He slowly let go of her hand and turned to face the woman he loved, wondering if he even knew her name. “Tell me it isn’t true.”

It was starting to get dark, but he could plainly see her face in the early evening light. The last vestiges of sunlight swept across her hair, illuminating the strands. Her hair normally was a rich brown, but the sunset showed the blonde and red that mixed in. She really was a luscious woman. Was she a liar, too?

Red rimmed her eyes. “I can explain.”

There was no explanation. None that he would accept, but he couldn’t seem to make himself move. It was a little like after he’d lost his leg. He’d tried to make it move, his brain sending messages to a limb that was no longer there. He stood there trying to process the fact that he’d built a whole world around something that didn’t exist, that had never really existed. “Ally” had been a character she’d been playing, a construct built to get close to the target. That’s what he was. He wasn’t a boyfriend or a fiancé to her. He was the target.

“I’d like to hear an explanation,” Adam said, his voice cutting through the dreadfully heavy silence. “Macon asked me to locate Private First Class Rowe’s family. I could only come up with his mother, Carla, who died a few months back. When I dug deeper, I discovered a woman named Sarah Allyson Jones had been living with her at the time of her death. Imagine my surprise when I got your records. It might have been better if you’d at least tried. Next time dye your hair or change up your look.”

“I wasn’t trying to hide,” she said. She took a step toward Macon.

He nearly tripped trying to get away from her. He couldn’t let her touch him. If she touched him, he would melt like butter. He wouldn’t give a damn that she’d lied. He’d tell himself anything so he could keep her. He’d already made a damn fool of himself. What would a gorgeous girl like Allyson want with his pathetic ass?