by Anna Blakely
The night they’d shared was nothing short of incredible, and though it wasn’t completely unexpected, part of him had hoped to wake up with Mac’s incredible body wrapped snuggly against his.
He’d woken instead to a note thanking him for an amazing night. She’d also left a key with a polite p.s. asking him to lock up behind him when he left.
Like that wasn’t a fucking slap in the face.
“Hey, Coop,” Trevor answered on the third ring. “Enjoying your time off?”
“Why the hell is Mac in New Jersey?” Coop blurted into his phone, not really giving the man on the other end time to answer. “Scratch that. Why is she attending the funeral of a well-known crime boss in New Jersey?”
He’d followed her to the church almost an hour before. Thanks to the church’s website, he knew the name of the man being honored today.
According to the guy’s obituary, Anthony Michael Moretti was a man of great reverence. An upstanding citizen of Jersey City for over fifty years, the man read like a saint.
Moretti donated his time and money to several local charities, and his corporate real-estate business was one of the most successful in the state. Arguably, the entire east coast.
Having listened to his father preside over numerous funerals throughout the years, Coop was well aware of the fact that obituaries were designed to highlight the good in people. A compilation of the best, most important accomplishments one reached during their time here on Earth.
He also knew there was a hell of a lot more to someone’s life than what could fit in a few short paragraphs.
“Uh…what makes you think she’s in Jersey?” Trevor asked hesitantly.
“Cut the bullshit, Matthews,” Coop snapped back. “I know she’s here because I’m here.”
There was a long pause. “You followed her to Jersey?”
“Hell yes, I followed her!”
Thanks to the tiny tracking device he’d attached to her suitcase two nights ago, he’d been able to catch up to her in pretty good time.
Underhanded move? Maybe. But when it came to Mac’s safety, he didn’t give a fuck.
A low curse hit Coop’s ear. “Jake’s going to lose his shit when he finds out.”
“So don’t tell him. You’re the team leader now, right?”
“Temporary team leader,” Trevor corrected him. “The man still owns the company, Sean. You can’t just take off and fly across the damn country without so much as a heads up.”
Which was exactly what he had done.
Coop had also decided to call Trevor rather than Jake for two reasons. One, with Jake and Olivia days away from delivering their first baby, Trevor was temporarily the man in charge. And two, Coop had no doubt that Trevor knew all about whatever it was Mac had gotten herself involved in.
“What the hell did you expect me to do, Trev?” Coop demanded to know. “You two have been sneaking around, having your little side conversations for over a month now. I had the time off, and since you both refused to tell me what’s going on, I decided to come find out for myself.”
Trevor exhaled loudly. “Like I said the other day, it’s her story to—”
“Goddamnit, Trevor. She’s my partner. If Mac’s in trouble, I need to know.”
“She doesn’t want you to—”
“I don’t give a fuck what she wants,” Coop cut the other man off. “She admitted to me that she’s scared, Trev. How many times since you’ve known her has Mac ever copped to being scared of anything?”
“Never, but—”
“Exactly. Not only that, she told me I couldn’t get involved because it was too dangerous for me. What the hell does that even mean?”
Coop checked on her through the dual lenses again. She was talking to some guy who was standing way too fucking close to her. When he focused on Mac’s face, however, she appeared to have the situation under control.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm his rising frustration, Coop realized his friend hadn’t said anything more. “Trevor? You still there?”
He looked down at the phone to make sure the call was still connected. It wasn’t.
The shithead hung up on me.
With a quick tap, Coop started to call his teammate again when his passenger door opened. On reflex, he reached for his gun, but stopped when he saw the man sitting down beside him.
“What the…Jesus, man.” He huffed out a breath. “That’s a good way to get your ass shot.”
Trevor shut the door and turned to him. “Figured this would be easier. And if anyone would’ve gotten shot in this scenario, it would’ve been you. You had no idea I was approaching until I was already inside your car.”
Ignoring the fact that the other man was right, Coop shot back with, “When the fuck did you get here? And why are you here?”
“Got in town last night. Secured a hotel for Mac and me. And before you ask the dumbass question, yes, we have separate rooms. Spent most of this morning scouting out the church and this place to make sure she wasn’t walking into a trap.”
Coop thought for a moment. “You’re the asshole in the black car. The one who followed her here.”
“You saw me?” Trevor rubbed his jaw. “Damn. I must be losing my edge, too.”
“Did Mac know you were coming?”
The other man nodded. “She’s not happy about it, but Jake forced her hand. Told her either I came as backup, or he was going to bring in the entire team. She didn’t want the others here, so she went along with it.”
“You mean she didn’t want me here.” Coop looked at Trevor pointedly.
“Yet here you are.”
He didn’t deny it. Fuck.
“Damn straight. She’s here, and I’m—”
“Worried about your partner.” Trevor blew out a long sigh. “So am I, which is the only reason I’m sharing this with you.” He handed Coop a manila folder.
“What’s this?”
“Information I think will answer some of your questions.”
Coop’s heart thumped against his ribcage. “Just like that?” He looked at Trevor. “What about the whole, ‘it’s her story to tell’ BS?”
“I’m not telling you her story. I’m giving you his.”
It took Coop a second to figure out who his teammate was referring to. “Moretti’s? Dude, I already looked the guy up. I know all about him.”
“Yeah? And what did you find?”
“Probably the same thing you did. Real estate investor by day, nefarious mobster by night. Same ’ole story with these guys. Still doesn’t explain Mac’s involvement.”
“Look it over closely.” Trevor’s gaze intensified. “I think it’ll help.”
“Trevor—”
“Read the damn file, Coop.” The other man’s frustrated voice filled the car. “You’ll find some answers there, but Mac will have to fill in the rest. Assuming she doesn’t kill you the second she sees you.”
Coop’s gaze shifted, landing on her through his windshield. He was relieved to see the other man walking away.
“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.” He held the folder up. “Thanks.”
“You may not want to thank me quite yet.”
“Because?”
“You know how the old saying goes. Be careful what you ask for.”
Coop rolled his eyes at his teammate’s cryptic words. “That’s very helpful.”
“Always glad to be of assistance.” With a smartass smirk, the other man added, “I’ll text you the hotel information. My room’s across the hall from hers. The plan is for me to stay in the shadows unless she needs me.” He reached for the doorknob but stopped. “To be honest, I’m glad you’re an impulsive asshole.”
“Yeah?” One corner of Coop’s lips curved.
Concern filtered through Trevor’s gaze as he nodded. “She refuses to see it, but Mac needs someone staying close to her right now. Someone who’s on her side.”
I’ll always be on her side.
With that, Trevor tipped
his chin and left him alone to read the file. Wasting no time, Coop opened the folder and began to read.
Inside was a newspaper article about Anthony Moretti and his family. It felt like a huge waste of his time, since he’d already read up on the guy, but Trevor had seemed pretty damned adamant he read it. So he did.
According to the paper, Anthony Moretti wasn’t just a successful real estate investor. He was also the head of the Moretti crime family. One of the largest organized crime groups in New Jersey’s history.
Information Coop already knew.
Highlighted in the article was a story about how Moretti’s brother and sister-in-law had been killed in a freak automobile accident. After their deaths, the couple’s teenage daughter—Abigail—was sent to live with Moretti until she vanished into thin air shortly after her sixteenth birthday.
She was never seen or heard from again.
Rumors had circulated quickly. Theories included everything from Abigail having gone overseas to finish school, to her being a statistical runaway. Some even believed Moretti had killed his niece for the extra insurance money.
The whole thing read like a fucking Greek tragedy, but it still didn’t give the answers Trevor had promised.
Coop was about to call the guy back to ask what the hell he was missing when he noticed a picture tucked between two of the papers. It had been cut from a separate newspaper story.
At first glance, he saw what appeared to be a normal, happy family. Mom, dad, and daughter. Frustration rising, he blew out a breath and glanced down at the photo’s caption.
Happier times: Salvador and Vanessa Moretti with their daughter, Abigail.
It was Tony’s brother and his family.
“Why the hell did you give me this?” Coop mumbled to himself. It wouldn’t be included with the other contents if it wasn’t important, so he worked to determine its value.
He already knew about the tragic death of Moretti’s brother and sister-in-law. The infamous niece who’d disappeared. All that was in the article he’d just finished reading.
Was that it? Did this have something to do with the girl’s disappearance? Coop looked at the picture again.
Petite with brown hair, Abigail Moretti had been a very pretty young lady. Coop absentmindedly ran his thumb over the girl’s image.
What happened to you, Abigail?
In the captured moment, her big, round eyes were filled with joy as she smiled for the camera. Coop studied her face even closer, the answer hitting him with the force of a fucking nuclear bomb.
I’ve seen that smile before.
His heart nearly stopped when he realized exactly where he’d seen it. And those eyes…
Fumbling for the binoculars, Coop looked across the well-trimmed grass to the woman still standing next to Moretti’s grave. Though part of him fought against the idea, there was no mistaking what he knew to be true.
He’d spent the last seven years working side-by-side with this woman. He’d gotten to know her. Trusted her.
Not once in all that time had Coop ever doubted a single thing she’d told him.
They were partners. Friends. And even though she didn’t know it, Mac was the woman he’d fallen in love with. Except now he realized…
I never really knew her at all.
In an instant, Coop found himself doubting every single thing she’d ever told him.
Her thoughts. Her feelings. The stories she’d told.
Was any of it real?
The answer had to be no, it wasn’t real. How could it be, when she wasn’t real.
Coop’s stomach became a churning pit of dread as he stared back down at that fucking picture in his hands. Because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt…
McKenna Kelley was Abigail Moretti.
4
Mac stared at the weathered headstones marking the two graves next to her uncle’s. After all these years, the engraved words still sent a sharp sliver of pain slicing through her heart.
Salvador Giovanni Moretti ~ Beloved husband, father, brother, and son.
Vanessa McKenna Moretti ~ Beloved wife, mother, and daughter.
Several minutes had passed since Luca had left her standing there alone. She should’ve followed him but found herself unable to walk away from her parents’ final resting place quite yet.
Lost in her thoughts and memories, Mac didn’t hear the person approaching her from behind.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Whipping her head around, she started to reach for her concealed weapon but froze. Her breath stuttered inside her lungs when she saw the man staring back at her.
“Coop?”
“Hey, Mac.” He shook his head. “Or maybe I should call you Abigail.”
“W-what…” She scanned the area for possible threats. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“That greeting reserved for everyone these days, or just me?
“I use it when someone shows up unannounced and uninvited. Now answer the damn question.”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure you’re the one who needs to cough up some answers.”
Reeling from the fact that he was here, it took her a few seconds to realize what he’d said.
He’d called her Abigail.
Oh, god. He knows.
Mac’s stomach became a pit of dread, the swirling ball of acid making her sick to her core.
“Trevor told you.” He’d swore to her he wouldn’t.
“I saw him. We talked, but no, he didn’t tell me. I figured it out on my own, and I gotta say, I’ve seen you pull off a lot of shit. Gaining access to a fake ID and documents good enough to fool the United States Military when you were only sixteen? That’s pretty impressive, even for you.”
She took a hastened step forward but stopped. If she got too close, she might do something stupid like reach for him.
With her head on a swivel, Mac checked the area again. Her mind worked overtime to process what was happening.
Coop was here. He was here, and he knew her secret. Part of it, anyway.
How is this even possible?
“I’ll explain everything,” she promised. “As soon as I get back home. I’ll tell anything you want to know, but for now, you really need to leave.”
Skin flushed with anger, Coop ripped his hands from his pockets and curled his fingers into tight fists as he stormed toward her.
“I just flew halfway across the damn country to find you. After you left me alone in your fucking bed. Thanks for the note, by the way. I locked up, just like you asked.”
Unable to think of a response that wouldn’t piss him off even more than he already was, she kept silent while he ranted on.
“Then I get here and find you at a freaking mob boss’s funeral. Only Tony Moretti wasn’t just some criminal mastermind, was he? The guy was also your uncle. And you”—he shook his head, betrayal pouring from him—“I don’t even know who you are, anymore.”
Tears threatened to fall, but she refused to allow it. “Please, Sean. I know you have a lot of questions—”
“And I deserve some fucking answers.”
“You’re right.” Mac stared back at him. “You do. And you’ll get them, I promise. But right now, I really need you to trust me when I say it’s not safe for you to be here.”
“Trust you?” He laughed humorlessly. “That’s a good one.”
It was killing her to see how deeply her deception had hurt him, and she prayed there was a way to make him understand.
“I swear, I’ll tell you everything the second I’m back home.”
“Wrong. You’ll tell me now.”
“Damn it, Sean—”
“This isn’t up for debate, McKenna.” He clenched his jaw. “We can either do this here or at your hotel. Your choice. Either way, the bullshit stops now.”
Shit. Fuck. Shit.
“Okay.” Mac drew in a breath, holding it half a second before letting it out slowly. “We’ll go to my room. I’ll follow you.”
The drive would give her time she desperately needed to figure out what the hell she was going to say.
“Fine.” His eyes narrowed. “And don’t even think about trying to ditch me. I’ll just find you again, anyway.”
Coop turned and stomped across the manicured grass, not waiting to see if she was actually following him. Maybe, on some level, he did still trust her.
Mac wanted to scream with frustration. She’d hoped to come here, take care of what needed to be done, and go back where her life could return to normal.
Problem was, she didn’t know what that looked like anymore.
Maybe this was a good thing. Chances were, once Coop discovered the kind of person she really was, he’d catch the next flight home and forget all about her.
That’s what she wanted, right? For him to be as far away from here as possible?
You should tell him now. That way, he’ll leave sooner rather than later.
The tiny voice was right. They were the only ones left in this area of the cemetery. May as well come clean now and get it over with.
Her short legs worked double-time to catch up to him. “Coop, wait!”
He didn’t.
“Stop.”
“You’re not changing my mind, Mac,” he threw out over his shoulder.
“I’m not trying to.”
The stubborn man kept walking.
“Damn it, Sean. Will you please stop walking for five seconds?”
“Why?” He spun around, stopping next to a large oak tree. Heartache and disappointment filled his gorgeous eyes as he looked back at her as if she were a stranger.
Because that’s what you are to him now. A stranger.
Schooling her expression, Mac lifted her chin. “No sense in putting off the inevitable, right?”
The inevitable being she would lose the chance of having any sort of future with him. As a lover or a partner.
After all, if you can’t trust the person standing next to you, what do you do?
You walk away.
Only, Coop wasn’t leaving the team. Mac would never allow him to make that choice. That’s why, once this was over with, she’d be the one walking away.