“You should go after her,” Ari said to her mother.
“You’re a good girl.” Elena gave Ari a kiss on the cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Her mother took off to find Sam.
Her father put an arm around Ari’s shoulders. “You always were the levelheaded one in the family.”
She shook her head, suddenly hating the differences between them for very new reasons. “Is that why I never fit in?” she asked, now wanting to feel more like a member of the family than an outsider.
“You are one of us. You always fit in.” He grasped her by both shoulders, kissing her on each cheek. “You just never wanted to.”
Tears filled her eyes as she was forced to acknowledge the truth in his words. She didn’t understand how or why she’d let things get so out of hand, how she’d let herself drift so far from the family she loved. It wasn’t even worth discussing why they’d never told her about Zoe’s career. Her sister’s explanation made sense now.
“Don’t worry. Samantha will come around,” her father said, misunderstanding the source of her tears.
Ari forced a smile. After all, how could she expect more when she’d kept herself so far away?
She wiped her eyes and smiled at her father. “I hope so,” she said about Sam. But from the desperate look in the girl’s eyes, Ari wasn’t so sure.
“I think Zoe and Sam will get along splendidly, don’t you think?”
Ari met her father’s gaze. “Yes, yes I do.” She swallowed hard. “She’ll be home soon, Dad. I can feel it.” She hugged her father tight.
“I hope you’re right. The one consolation is that I’m sure she knows how to handle herself,” he murmured. “In the meantime, let’s go bring Spank and her things to your Aunt Dee, okay?” he asked.
Recognizing the change of subject as necessary, she nodded. “Afterwards, I have some ideas about who can take Spank, and I think everyone will be pleased.”
Nicholas beamed. “You’re the light of my life, Ari. Don’t you ever forget it.”
But obviously she had forgotten that, along with who she was deep in her heart. Her throat hurt from holding back tears as she realized that in doing so, she had no idea who and what she now wanted to be.
• • •
Connor knew he was late as he strode into the diner he and Quinn had chosen for a quick meeting. He dumped his duffel bag on the floor beneath the table. “Hey,” he said to Quinn, sliding into the booth across from him.
Quinn grumbled but didn’t glance up.
With a shrug, Connor turned his attention to the menu, studying his choices, whistling while he tried to choose between a burger and a cheeseburger.
“Something’s wrong with this picture,” Quinn said, speaking at last, a sour tone to his voice.
Connor glanced over the top of his menu. “What the hell’s bugging you?”
“Your whistling is annoying the shit out of me,” Quinn muttered.
“Like I care,” Connor said, rolling his eyes at his friend’s attitude, hoping to push him into revealing what was really bothering him.
But Quinn didn’t react, merely leaned back in his seat and groaned.
With the case close to being wrapped up, he would normally be intense, but this don’t-mess-with-me tone and his fierce expression were over the top, even for him. Connor studied his best friend and an idea finally dawned, making him burst out laughing. “Oh, I get it. You haven’t gotten laid lately. That being the case, I can see why you’d be in a foul mood.”
Quinn narrowed his gaze. “When I get laid and with whom is none of your goddamn business. Though by that stupid whistle and ridiculous grin, you’ve obviously been getting enough for both of us.”
Connor shook his head, chuckling. “Last I heard, two people needed alone time to get any action.” He wiped his napkin over the tabletop, sliding the crumbs to an out-of-the-way corner. “Maria and I have been a threesome since this whole thing started.”
Not only hadn’t he gotten lucky with Maria, but as much as he wanted her, he was content to move at her speed. Which shocked the hell out of Connor.
Quinn signaled for a waitress and ordered a black coffee. Connor asked for the same.
“Let me get this straight,” Quinn said when the waitress had gone. “McDonald’s, carnivals, and hanging out in front of the television with a kid, and you aren’t spooked?” Quinn stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.
Connor merely shrugged. Maybe he’d found his mind instead. “It’s better than just having myself for company. And it’s a damn sight better than walking around sulking like you are,” he said. Seeing as he hadn’t had the urge to bail on Maria or her kid in the days since their first date, Connor considered it progress.
The waitress stopped by to pour their coffee and take their orders.
“Is Ari giving you trouble?” Connor asked when she’d left.
“You could say that,” Quinn replied, staring into his cup. Though Connor had asked a valid question, he wasn’t going to get an accurate answer. “Or you could say I’m giving trouble to myself.” But Quinn wasn’t about to mention his disastrous trip with Ari to the safe house. Not even to his best friend.
“Have you ever considered giving up undercover work?” Quinn asked, opting for a subject change guaranteed to take Connor’s mind off women. A subject that Quinn had been mulling in the back of his mind for some time now, but one he hadn’t been ready to express out loud.
He expected Connor to look shocked, but instead he received silence that only seemed to grow.
Finally Connor nodded slowly. “Sometimes I lie in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to wake up and not have to run through my cover and the lies that keep me alive,” he admitted.
“Yeah,” Quinn agreed. “A nice transfer to Detective Division might work.”
“Mmm,” Connor said.
They mulled over their thoughts in private. Both Quinn and Connor had been undercover since graduation from the Academy. Other than each other, the two men had no family. Too often they were so deep undercover, their real lives were barely recognizable. The FBI had had no trouble putting them on special assignment for the Bureau. They’d already done the groundwork to establish their cover within Damon’s operation. And thank God it was almost over, which meant Quinn could begin to focus on the future.