Lie in the Moment

by Nicole Camden

  When he let her go, she was flushed and panting, her pupils dilated. Licking her lips, she said, “But why? What does your father have to do with this?”

  “I think Keenan intends to break him out. I want to make sure that when he does, my father believes the lie as well.”

  She studied him, thinking it through. He could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. “You think knowing that your father believes it will be the push Keenan needs to fall for it?”

  “Partly, but I also think that my father has been helping Keenan. They’re working together.”

  He knew that she’d visited his father, but he still didn’t know what the old man had said to her. She didn’t look surprised at the news that he and Keenan were working together, so he supposed it hadn’t been anything helpful.

  “And you think that convincing your father you’re in love with me will somehow convince Keenan to ‘put his head in the noose,’ as you put it?”

  “I think my father wants to help Keenan take everything I have or ever had.”

  She frowned. “Why does he hate you so much?”

  “He doesn’t hate me. He just considers me a traitor, an outsider to the cause, a son who fell for the elitist pap spouted by his stepfather. He’ll want to teach me a lesson. A different one than Keenan wants to teach, but a lesson nonetheless.”

  “Nice.” Maura looked incensed. “No wonder you’re so manipulative.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart,” Roland said mildly. “Wait till you meet my mother.”

  STANDING IN THE ridiculously soft robe she’d found in the bathroom, her hair still wet from her shower, Maura stared at the boxes and bags neatly arranged on the bed and on hooks on the outside of the closet. They hadn’t been there an hour ago when she’d snuck in from Roland’s bed, which, probably not coincidentally, was right next door.

  All the most expensive stores in Boston were represented: Saks, Barneys, Hermès, and—most frightening of all—Cartier. Swallowing, she picked up a small bag from Cartier and pulled out a long flat box. Opening it, she was stunned to see a diamond tennis bracelet. She didn’t know carats, but to her eyes, the small square diamonds all sparking neatly in a row, were enormous.

  “Whoa!” Maddie exclaimed as she tore into Maura’s room wearing her striped flannel pajamas and rainbow toe socks, her brown hair in a messy braid. “What’s all this stuff?” Porkchop and Hannibal followed after her, the ferret immediately climbing on the bed to investigate.

  “Nothing,” Maura said immediately, and snapped the box shut.

  “Is all this for you?” Maddie’s mouth was open. Hannibal stretched upward and snagged the top of a large brown shopping bag, tugging it over and spilling the contents, which happened to be lingerie individually wrapped in tissue paper and kept closed with small gold stickers. A lacy blue negligee escaped the tissue and slithered down the bed onto the floor, where it shimmered like a lake in the sun.

  Maura snatched it up before Maddie could, but the girl was already dancing from one foot to another. “You are dating him. Maura’s dating Roland, Maura’s dating Roland,” she singsonged, and then stopped abruptly, putting a hand on her hip. “Grandpa is going to be mad at you.”

  Shoving the blue silk into the bag along with the rest of the tissue-wrapped parcels, Maura picked up the obnoxious ferret and handed him back to her niece.

  “Here, take Hannibal and Chop and go find breakfast.”

  “Oh-kay,” Maddie said, raising her eyebrows. “Where’s the kitchen?”

  Maura didn’t have the faintest clue. “I have no idea. Just ask the first person you see. There are servants all over the place.”

  “ ’Kay. I love you, Maura.” She hugged her around the waist.

  Maura hugged her back, squeezing her tightly and kissing the part in the girl’s hair. “Go on. I’m pretty sure there’s a real chef in the kitchen. See if you can get French toast on the menu.”

  “Stuffed with cream cheese?”

  “It’s not IHOP, but why not?” Maura muttered, releasing her and turning back to the bed.

  Maddie dashed off down the hall with the pug scrambling to keep up. “Whoo-hoo. We’re gonna be rich, Porkchop.”

  Maura winced. She hadn’t considered what would happen when this crazy scheme was over. What was she going to tell Maddie and everyone else when Keenan was caught and she and Roland were no longer “dating”?

  Biting her lip, Maura considered telling Roland that she didn’t need all this crap, but if she was going to be his fiancée, she would need to look the part. She opened a bag filled with shoeboxes and pulled the top one out. Jimmy Choo. Oh myyy.

  They were jeweled heels with ballerina-like satin ties rising around the ankles, no doubt meant to be worn with an equally fabulous dress. She turned them one way and then another, watching them sparkle in the light. They were even her size.

  “Can’t see you wearing those into the station,” her father said from her doorway.

  Maura whirled, automatically hiding the shoe behind her back. “Dad, what’s up?” He had his hands on the wheels of his chair like he was about to roll away, but he was dressed and shaved, though she doubted his room was equipped with the lowered counters and sinks he had at home. She’d bet her new shoes that Roland had a barber here at the house. The man probably had a fresh shave and trim every morning.

  He eyed her balefully. “So you’re sleeping with him, is that it?”

  “Dad, that’s none of your business.” Maura turned back to the bed, replacing the shoe in its box.

  “I thought you were trying to find your brother’s killer. Instead, you’re bedding his cousin.”

  Tightening the knot on her robe, Maura straightened her shoulders. “So what if I am, Dad? I like him. If you gave him half a chance, you’d like him, too.”

  “You don’t know what he’s done.”

  “Actually, I do,” she said smartly, opening her suitcase and finding her jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and wool socks. “When he was twelve years old, he was part of a robbery scheme that ended with several people dead and a building destroyed.”

  “He and that cousin of his set off a bomb, Maura. I don’t care if they were kids. And you sleeping with him sets a bad example for Maddie.”

  Maura set her clothes on an empty armchair near the window and faced her father. “I believe him when he says he’s been trying to make up for what happened back then, Dad. I believe him, and yes, I’m dating him. Maybe more than dating him.”

  He scowled. “What does that mean?”

  She put her hand on the door and began to shut it with his chair still in the way. “You’ll find out later. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  He was forced to roll his chair back or get hit by the door, and Maura made sure that she locked it this time, breathing a sigh of relief that she was alone in the room.

  She set a few boxes to the side and lay down crossways on the bed, fatigue rolling over her like a wave. Something crinkled beneath her so she reached under her back and pulled out an envelope with her name scrawled in heavy, fluid cursive on the outside. Somehow she knew it was Roland’s handwriting before she even opened it.

  Maura,

  A seamstress will be by after breakfast to make sure everything fits correctly. I hope you’ll wear the purple dress tonight. It will look beautiful with your eyes.

  Roland

  Maura sighed and set the note on her chest, closing her eyes. A seamstress. Jesus.

  When her phone rang on the nightstand, she sat up immediately and grabbed it. Bert.

  “Bert, what’s up?”

  “Captain’s pissed that you’re not here, Maur, but that was expected. I don’t know what you told him, but you mind filling me in? It’s not like you to take off with this much stuff going on.”

  She’d texted Bert early this morning, letting him know that she wouldn’t be at the station, but she hadn’t explained. “You’re not going to believe this, but hear me out.”

  She explained Rol
and’s plan.

  “You’re right,” he agreed. “I don’t believe it. That’s nuts, Maura. Even if it works the way you plan, you could easily wind up dead. You’re a detective, not a spy.”

  “Bert, I’m already in danger. Maddie’s in danger. My father. Everyone connected to Roland is a potential target. We’re safer here at his house, but we can’t stay trapped forever. What do we really have on Keenan? Two associates, neither of which we can find, and forensic evidence that may arrive next week if we’re lucky. The captain isn’t even aware of, or has any reason to believe in, the connection between the theft at the chemical plant and Keenan. We basically have shit while Keenan is free to roam about Boston at will.”

  “We don’t even know if he’s in Boston.”

  “Thanks for making my point for me,” Maura snapped, exasperated.

  “All right, Maur. I’ll play along, but for the record, I think this plan is stupid and it’s going to get you killed.”

  “Duly noted. Listen, I have a laptop here, email, Internet, and God knows what else. Roland says it’s all encrypted. The computers at the station are apparently bugged, so we’re going to have to clean house before you send me anything.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “I’m going to send you a file. Roland said that all you have to do is open it and click ‘Accept.’ ”

  “That’s it, huh? Is this going to get me fired?”

  “Roland says no.”

  He snorted. “Well, he can afford my salary if it does. Be careful, Maura. This is a dangerous game you’re playing.”

  Maura picked up the letter Roland had left her and ran her finger down the edge of the thick, cream-colored paper. “You have no idea. Talk to you later, Bert,” she promised, and hung up the phone.

  “THIS,” MADDIE SAID, pausing for dramatic effect with her fork in the air, “is the best French toast I’ve ever had in my life.”

  Roland, Maddie, Justin, and Maura’s father were sitting in the breakfast room, a bright, comfortable space with yet another large fireplace, an antique dining table, and tall picture windows that curved on top. The view from the window was of the attached greenhouse instead of the snow-covered hills outside the house. He’d gotten the idea from the Boston Children’s Hospital; they had a similar arrangement in the visitors’ wing.

  Roland took a bite of the French toast. Excellent, but then he’d expected nothing less. “I agree.” He toasted her with his coffee.

  He felt something moving up his leg and froze for a moment, then relaxed. A few moments later, Maddie’s ferret appeared in his lap. Setting down his coffee, he held out his hands for the slinky creature to smell.

  “His name’s Hannibal,” Maddie informed him with a cheeky grin.

  Maura’s father, who’d been broodingly silent up until this point, added, “He’ll steal the food off your plate if you’re not careful, Chandler.”

  “He’s cool,” Justin threw in. For once his Beats weren’t on his ears and his laptop wasn’t open on the table. Roland didn’t know if it was the company or something more interesting that was holding the boy’s attention. He’d started the classes that Roland had arranged for him to take online and would start working at Accendo as soon as they caught Keenan. He didn’t let himself think If they caught Keenan. His plan was going to work. They were going to catch him.

  “I can see that.” Roland picked up the furry creature, surprised that he was so light. “Does he bite?”

  “Little late to ask,” Maura’s father muttered.

  “No,” Maddie said primly. “Unless you squeeze him.”

  Roland looked down at the black beads of the creature’s eyes and loosened his grip just a little. From beneath the table, a paw scratched at the leg of his jeans. Glancing down, he saw the squashed face of Maddie’s pug, staring at him with his tongue falling out the side of his mouth.

  “They like you,” Maddie explained.

  Maura’s father chuckled evilly.

  “I’m delighted,” Roland said, at a loss for what to do with the creature in his lap or the one under the table.

  Maddie’s father hooted. “I’ll bet you are. You ever had a pet in your life, Chandler?”

  Roland set the ferret in his lap and proceeded to cut his French toast into small pieces, avoiding any pieces with syrup. “No, no pets, though I did build a robot once.” He handed a small bite to both the ferret and the pug and then wiped his hands on his napkin.

  “That was a mistake,” Ryan O’Halloran informed him, pointing his coffee mug in Roland’s direction. “Now they’ll never leave you alone.”

  Maura’s father seemed to be onto something. Now the pug had moved even closer and had rolled over on his back, exposing his belly. The ferret climbed up his shirt to his shoulder.

  Maura came in then, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her still-damp hair secured in a twist at the back of her head.

  “Dad, Maddie, what the hell?” she chastised them and immediately hurried to Roland’s side, taking the ferret and nudging the pug over with her foot.

  “What happened to the robot?” Justin asked, watching the interaction curiously. Roland wondered what the kid was thinking, whether he was comparing this breakfast to every other breakfast he’d had in his life.

  “Sorry, Roland. Maddie, control your creatures.”

  “They like him,” Maddie protested.

  “I’m not certain,” Roland said to Justin. “It disappeared out of my apartment in college.”

  “Oh, really? The same way they like me, huh?” Maura handed the ferret back to Maddie. “Hang on to him, especially at the table.”

  “He was just saying hi.” Maddie pouted.

  Roland put a hand on Maura’s arm. “It’s okay. I like them.”

  She gave him a shrewd look. “Sure you like them. This place is pristine. If you wanted pets, you could probably have a menagerie in this house, but you don’t.”

  Roland rubbed her arm. “Maybe I just needed to experience them firsthand. Why don’t you sit and have some coffee?”

  He stood and pulled the chair out next to him, nudging her into place.

  She cast a glance at her father and Maddie as if she was a little uncertain, but then she sat abruptly.

  He eyed her warily. Is she going to back out of the plan? He poured her a cup of coffee. “Cream and sugar, right?”

  She nodded, her lips twitching like she was amused. He didn’t know what she found funny, but he liked her smiling better than the wariness. He liked her naked best of all. There was something about having her at his breakfast table, her face clean and free of makeup, her hair smelling like shampoo from her shower, that made him want to toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to bed.

  Roland sat back down next to her. “Michel will be here in a few minutes to ask what you’d like to eat.”

  “Michel, huh? French?” She raised her eyebrows as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips.

  Roland nodded. She gave Maddie a significant look from across the table. What was that about?

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped all of the sudden.

  Roland straightened, looking around for the source of her cry, but she was staring at her coffee cup. “What is this?” she asked, her expression horrified.

  “It’s coffee,” he assured her. Were mornings always this crazy with the O’Hallorans?

  She pointed an accusatory finger at the coffee. “This is not coffee.”

  “Best damn coffee I’ve ever had,” Ryan threw in. “It almost makes me like you, Chandler.”

  Roland blinked. “Thank you?”

  “I can’t drink this,” Maura protested. “It’ll ruin me for regular coffee for the rest of my life.”

  “Then I guess you’ll have to stay here for the rest of your life,” Roland muttered, exasperated.

  She froze, blinking. Come on, Maura, this was the plan. He saw her catch herself. “Maybe I will.”

  From across the table, Maddie giggled and snuck Hannibal ano
ther bite of French toast. “See,” she told him, “we’re going to be rich.”

  Justin chuckled, his mouth full of French toast.

  “You’re all insane,” Roland informed the O’Hallorans. “I hope you know that.”

  Maura, who appeared to have recovered from her momentary hesitation, shrugged and stole a piece of bacon off his plate. “It was probably too quiet around here, anyway.”

  Roland let himself entertain the idea, just for a brief moment, that this really could last forever, that dogs and smart-aleck kids and Maura at his breakfast table were a permanent addition to his life. He found himself agreeing with her. It had been too quiet and would be too quiet again when they were gone.

  He could accept the quiet if it meant that Keenan was locked up and they were safe, even if he remained alone. He would have to accept it, because no matter how pleasant the lie, he knew that Maura didn’t love him and wouldn’t be sitting next to him at breakfast while kids snuck food to the dogs and her father made gruff comments. Even if she slept with him, she would never give her heart to a man like him. She was meant for a good man, one who didn’t control and manipulate, one who didn’t have a past that included the death of so many. He wasn’t a good person, and Maura deserved someone good. She deserved the best, and that would never be him.

  AFTER SHE MET WITH the seamstress for several hours, Maura joined Roland in his office for the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon while Maddie went sledding with Justin, Gert, and one of the young maids, a girl from El Salvador. Maura could see them from the window as she sat in front of the laptop Roland had given her. Her father had gone to take a nap, worn out from traversing the long hallways of Roland’s home.

  “You’re sure they’re safe out there?” she asked for the third time.

  “Maura, the property is surrounded by security, and Gert served in the military. He might look friendly, but he is more than capable of taking care of anyone who might try to harm them. They are out of the range of sniper fire from anywhere but in this house. That’s as safe as I can make them.”