Beneath These Lies (Beneath, #5)(24)

“You’ve been staring at that place over there like a crack whore on the lookout for her pimp. Try to be more subtle when you finally get over there. Women don’t go for nice guys. You’re a cop. That’s f*ckin’ dangerous. Don’t act like a * and water that shit down. Own it. Use it. Get the girl.”

Sage advice given, Fortier slapped my shoulder and strolled off.

Too bad my being a cop was the biggest hurdle I had to overcome with this particular woman.





HOW MY LIFE WENT FROM not knowing Valentina Noble existed to having her on my mind constantly, I didn’t f*cking know. It would probably help if I wasn’t keeping tabs on her to make sure she was staying out of trouble. Regardless, I could see her sitting at her desk—a simple glass top with four black legs that hid nothing, including how her skirt rode up her legs when she crossed and uncrossed them.

A taste. I’d only had a taste of her, and it wasn’t nearly enough. I knew it was a bad idea, but since when did I care? I’d had plenty. Somehow, I was still breathing. Against all odds and shit.

A customer walked into Noble Art and my little duchess rose from her seat, a smile spreading across her face. Not the forced and fake kind either. It was real, genuine, and I liked the way her eyes lit up with excitement. The mercenary side of me said it was because she was about to make some fat cash when she sold something to the poor f*ck, but the other part wondered if she was really just that happy.

Happy. I didn’t remember what that was like. I’d just been existing, day to day, wondering which bullet might end me. A rival gang’s or a cop’s. Didn’t matter where the shot came from, because either would snatch me from this life and toss me into the next.

I needed to walk away from where I stood before I did something stupid, like go inside and drop some freshly laundered cash on a piece of art I didn’t need, didn’t want, and didn’t f*cking understand—all for the chance to see her light up like that. Would she smile at me? Nah. I’d probably get her glare. But at least that would be better than the fake smile. Fuck the fake smile.

I wanted real.

I wanted her.

Valentina smiled again at her customer as I pushed away from the door frame I was leaning against. Something caught her eye and she froze, her gaze locking on me.

I raised my chin in her direction before melting into the crowd without looking back. I had work to do.





I COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT it. The kiss. The one that had me on edge every moment of the day. I stuttered midsentence every time the memory would sneak into my head. How dare he? I bet he’d dare more, my subconscious would purr. Calling myself distracted would be the understatement of the century. Every time the door opened, I practically jumped out of my skin, expecting to see Rix walking in.

What would I do if I saw him? I had no idea. But if I didn’t see him, I knew I had no choice but to march myself right up to his doorstep and demand an update on Trinity, and get my painting back.

The door opened again, and I tensed before spinning around. Not Rix. No, it was the other man taking up space in my thoughts—Rhett Hennessy.

His grin was quick, and I was reminded how much I’d enjoyed dinner with him last night. There had been camaraderie I hadn’t felt in a long time, and yet I had no idea what to do about it. Or anything else going on in my life.

It was official. I was clueless about this adulting thing when it came to my personal life. And since when did I even have a personal life? I’d been the original all work and no play girl for the last decade. That’s how I’d managed to keep my gallery from hovering in the red long enough to drain my trust fund and instead fought tooth and nail to make it a success. I did not give up. And . . . that still gave me no clue as to how to deal with my present situation. Which was standing and looking at me, waiting for me to respond.

Crap. Had he said hello while I was buried in my thoughts?

“Am I interrupting?” Rhett asked.

I shook my head, telling myself to get back in the game, and rose from my desk. “Not at all. I was just running through my schedule for this afternoon.”

“Busy day?”

“Busy enough, but I like it that way. The alternative would be too boring.”

“Understandable. I didn’t decide to go the cop route because I thought it’d be boring either.”

His comment about his brother being killed in the line of duty came back to me from our conversation the night before. “Definitely not boring, I’d assume.”

Rhett ditched the small talk almost as soon as he started with it. “You know why I’m here?”

For a flash of a moment, I wondered if he was here because of last night—the part where he’d dropped me off at my house and there had been a known gang member waiting for me inside.

But he didn’t know anything about that. Right?

No, Valentina, of course he doesn’t.

“That date you said you were taking me on?”

Hennessy nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m taking you out on a proper date, one that ends with my lips somewhere other than your forehead.”

My eyes widened as, obviously, all the possibilities of where his lips could end up flipped through my brain.

Rhett must have read my surprise because his eyebrow went up before a smile slid over his face. A moment of silence hung between us.