“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
Aiden gave a tight smile. “But even if business is flourishing, the personal relationships have suffered. I’m sure you noticed the tension.”
“I did. I also noticed that all of your siblings jumped to your defense when they thought you were marrying a golddigger.” She shrugged, even though she still hated that aspect of their lie.
“Yes, I suppose they did.” His smile softened a little. “Families are complicated. We all grew up knowing what was expected of us, but some of us were more at peace with it than others.”
Strangely enough, she understood. Being raised in a family full of cops meant that everyone expected her to follow in their footsteps. But that was where the similarities ended. She’d wanted to be a cop, wanted it more than anything else in the world. She’d run cross-country and lifted weights in high school almost religiously because she wanted to be at the top of her game when she went into the police academy. All with her dad’s approval. There had never been another path available, because that was the only one she wanted.
She wasn’t sure what her dad would have done if she’d dreamed of running off and joining the ballet or becoming a doctor, but she couldn’t really picture him taking any other field of work as seriously as he took law enforcement.
She studied him. Aiden O’Malley had layers upon layers. Even now, when it seemed like he was being perfectly honest, she wasn’t 100 percent sure this wasn’t another of his masks. He had so many.
That didn’t stop her from asking, “And were you at peace with it?”
“Mostly.” He shrugged. “It never occurred to me to want something different. Even if it had…Teague is occupied with the Sheridans, and Carrigan with the Hallorans. Sloan is gone with Jude MacNamara, and I’d never force her back to Boston. Devlin is dead. Cillian has a brilliant head for numbers but no interest in leading. He probably could do it ifsomething happened to me, but I’d never ask him to pay that price just because I didn’t feel like taking the responsibility. No, bright eyes, there’s no one else.”
This isn’t a mask. I’m sure of it.
She was equally sure that he hadn’t meant to reveal so much of himself—and would instantly backtrack if she commented on it. Charlie picked up half of her sandwich. “Thank you for the food.” She had a lot to think about. Too much. Every time she thought she had his number down, he went and threw her a curveball.
Who is the real Aiden O’Malley?
Chapter Eleven
They ate in silence until the food was gone, but Aiden was no more settled than he had been when they left the party. He should just fuck Charlie and be done with it, but he couldn’t get her words about his sister out of his head. Or the fact that there had been understanding on her face when she asked about his role as heir.
Who could have guessed that he’d actually have something in common with a cop’s daughter, besides smoking-hot chemistry?
He knew about Charlie. He’d done his research before he’d approached her. He’d looked even deeper into her after that initial encounter. Her record for the short time she’d been a cop was truly impressive. She’d been on the fast track to be detective—or at least she had before she refused to roll over and play dead for Romanov. She’d never been formally charged with taking bribes, but she’d been tossed out on her ass and, for all intents and purposes, she’ddisappeared off the face of the earth for several months after that. The next time he could find her, she was running the poker games in that shitty bar.
“Where were you?”
He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until she cocked her head. “What? When?”
If he was smart, he’d change the subject and get them back to what they were good at—sex—but he genuinely wanted to know. “After you were kicked off the force. Where did you go? The next time I found you was months later.” Maybe she’d been lying low at her father’s house. That was the most logical explanation he could come up with.
She looked him dead in the eyes. “I was in the hospital for a week, and after that I was drinking myself into oblivion.”
He couldn’t get past the first few words to focus on the rest. “The hospital?” But even as he said it, he knew exactly what had happened. “Those cops on his payroll didn’t like it that you tried to rock the boat.”
“That’s a wild understatement.” She didn’t look away, didn’t try to hide the pain still lurking it the depths of her blue eyes.
“How bad was it?”
“How bad would it be if one of your own betrayed you?”
Another thing we have in common.
He still hadn’t dealt with Teague becoming an informant for the FBI. Truth be told, Aiden had left that conversation alone for far too long. It was a loose end in desperate need of tying, but admitting the sheer depth of his brother’s betrayal wasn’t something Aiden was eager to do.
He was supposed to be in control at all times. It should have been nothing to face down his little brother. Buttherein lay the problem—Teague was his little brother. The same kid who’d followed him around for years when they were in grade school. The one he’d maintained the best relationship with through high school and beyond. Aiden knew Teague was struggling with everything being an O’Malley entailed, but never in a million years would he guess that he’d turn to the feds.
“It’s the worst thing in the world.”
“Yes, it is.”
He didn’t resist the urge to pull her into his lap. Charlie went tense but slowly relaxed into his arms, allowing him to prop his chin on her shoulder. He didn’t have a simple solution to offer her any more than he had one to deal with his own betrayal. Life was rarely neat and easy.
