I had to get out of here before I forgot why I’d forced myself to let go of her in the gym. I shoveled the eggs into my mouth, which were delicious, chugged a half gallon of coffee, and rose from the kitchen island, all while trying to forget Ari’s response to my question.

“I haven’t decided yet. Longer than I originally planned.”

“Thanks for breakfast, Red. I appreciate it. You’re a good cook.”

“Glad you enjoyed it. If you need a ride back to your hotel, Carver can give you one.”

That’s one guy whose hand I should probably shake before I left. It was only his presence that had kept me from fucking her on the floor of the gym. If Ari and I had been alone this morning, that’s exactly what would have happened, and that couldn’t happen yet. I needed to make this right with her brother before I took things any further.

“I’ll get a ride. It’s no big deal. Thanks for letting me crash. I’ll get out of your way.”

As I said the words, I dragged my gaze up her body, knowing it was a lie. I didn’t want to get out of her way. I wanted to be in her way so she’d remember everything she’d ever felt for me. I didn’t want to give her a chance to forget.

“I do have work I need to do.”

I’d spend all day working on her.

Her cheeks flushed like she could read my mind. Good. I wanted her thinking about it too.

“Then I’ll see you around, Red. Soon.”

She bit her lip as if she was stopping herself from saying something else. Like stay, maybe?

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. Not until I talked to Heath. I might be an asshole, but I wasn’t going to be the asshole who screwed around with his best friend’s sister behind his back.

As I edged toward the door, she finally found her tongue.

“Have a good one, Rhett. If there’s anything I can do to help with your mom, let me know.”

Her offer reminded me of the Ari I’d known before. Always going out of her way to give. For the last year, I’d been the douchebag who took without giving anything in return. That was going to change.

I left the house and walked down the long driveway to the gate, pressing an inside button that sent it sliding to the side. Once it closed behind me, I knew it was the right choice.

I couldn’t have her today, but that was going to change too. I knew what I wanted, who I wanted. But first, I had to get answers and sort out this disaster I called a life.

So I pulled out my phone to call for a ride.

---

Four hours later, I walked into a place I hadn’t been to in over a year. The fact that the inside of Voodoo Ink hadn’t changed a bit gave me some comfort, but the massive guy with the man bun and covered with tats sure as hell wasn’t Con Leahy. I knew they’d hired someone else, but I didn’t remember the guy’s name.

Either way, it didn’t matter because the man I was here to see was in the other chair, not moving a single facial muscle as the tattoo machine permanently marked him. Like always, stepping into this shop made me itch for something new, but that wasn’t my purpose today.

Rix’s silver eyes landed on me as I stopped outside the room he occupied. “Figured you’d be tracking me down sooner or later.”

“What else have they figured out?” I didn’t bother with an intro. Rix wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly why I was here.

“Can’t talk about an ongoing investigation.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. If you were in my shoes, you’d be demanding answers.”

Rix looked at the artist. “We clear here, Bish?”

He nodded. “We sweep regularly. With Eden’s dad being nosy and shit, we don’t much have a choice.”

I blinked and stared at the man. I couldn’t name another tattoo shop on the planet that regularly swept for bugs . . . at least, I assumed that’s what he was talking about.

Rix’s silver eyes locked on me. “You’re lucky Bishop’s girl is a mob boss’s daughter, and he’s up on security protocols and shit.”

I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. Voodoo Ink had never been your average tattoo shop. Why start now?

“What can you tell me?”

Bishop lifted the tattoo machine and wiped away the excess ink with a paper towel, and Rix stretched before settling back into place.

“Not much. There’s a rumor going around in the department that there’s still a dirty cop among us. I’m starting to wonder if shit’ll ever be right even after . . .” He trailed off, but I knew what he wasn’t saying.

Even after the department was clear of Hennessys.

“Who?” The question came out with more force than I intended. If there was still a dirty cop on the city’s payroll, that meant there was a chance my dad could have been set up. Slim chance, but a chance.

“Hell, Hennessy, if I knew that, I would’ve already arrested his ass so we could finish cleaning house. Everyone’s on edge, looking at each other like their partner could be the one.”

No police department should be running that way. I knew what it was like to have people constantly look sideways at me when I had a badge. Before my dad’s role had been uncovered, my brother had been killed in the line of duty and fingered as a dirty cop working for the cartel. If I’d let that lie—let my brother forever be known as dirty—I never would have found out that it was my dad who was on the take, and that his fuckup had gotten his own son killed.

For the first time since I’d pulled up at the scene at my folks’ house, I wondered if my father could have wired the house and pressed the button to blow it all to hell. Maybe he couldn’t live with the guilt of knowing he’d killed his son any longer.

I didn’t want to believe any of it.

“What do you think, Rix? You think my dad did it?”

“Wired his own house and planned to blow it up?”

The part about taking out the guys coming to bring him in made my gut twist, but I gave Rix a curt nod anyway, even though I wanted to rage that there was no way in hell my dad could have done it. What stopped me? I remembered the mother of a serial killer screaming that her baby boy could never hurt anyone, despite the fact that he’d been caught with seven bodies in his deep freezer.

No one ever wanted to believe that someone they loved could do awful things, but the sad reality was that they were wrong. And if my dad did this, what did that say about me? What was I capable of?

“I don’t know. I didn’t get to see the file, and without that, I’m not gonna speculate.” Rix shifted in the chair as Bishop moved on to another part of his arm, and met my gaze with a serious glint in his. “But knowing how bad the captain needed to close that case, it wouldn’t surprise me if they took shortcuts and found a convenient scapegoat.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time politics outweighed justice,” Bishop added.

“But then again, your pop wouldn’t have been the first cop wanting to avoid prison bad enough to do something stupid and crazy.”

I wanted to put my fist through Rix’s face for suggesting it, but I knew he had a point. “Either way, I’m not letting this go.”

“Didn’t figure you were, but you might not like what you find.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing that he was right. “I owe it to my family to find the truth.”

The creak of a door opening shut me up, but when Con strolled up the back hallway and around the corner, the stiffness in my spine faded.

“Never thought I’d say this to a cop, but I missed seeing your face around here, Hennessy. Really sorry about your loss.” The sympathy on his face was genuine.

I didn’t have to point out that I wasn’t a cop any longer. Everyone here knew.

“Thanks. Appreciate it.”

“If you need a throwaway to take care of business, I have a guy that could hook you up,” Con said.

Life without a badge never ceased to amaze me. What had always seemed so black and white before was all sorts of gray now. And how did I know this? Because I already had an unregistered pistol I could toss if I needed to.

Rix scowled at him. “Why would you say that shit in front of me? I know I was deep cover for a long fucking time, but I’m still a cop. You keep that shit to yourself until I get out of here.”

Con looked sideways at Rix. “You want that tat finished? Then you’ll shut the hell up and not comment on what I say in my own damn shop.”

The two men eyed each other, the mutual respect obvious.

“Where’s Delilah when we need her to tell you to just get your dicks out and compare?” Bishop said with a laugh.

Con looked around. “Where the hell is Delilah?”

“No clue. Probably getting her cards read. She doesn’t have an appointment until three.”

“Maybe her reading will tell her to get her ass back to work,” Con said. “I’m grabbing last night’s deposit and I’m out of here. Got kids to prep for at the gym.”

It still amazed me that Con, the guy who didn’t used to care about anything but avenging his parents’ murder, had stuck with his pet project and made it into something that impacted hundreds of kids’ lives. It probably helped that his woman was at his side every step of the way.

“Good seeing you, Con.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “You too. If you need anything, we’re here for you. You’ve done me more than one solid, and I owe you. Just say the word.”

I tucked that offer away, not about to turn it down. “Thanks.”

“Don’t be a stranger. If you decide to bail on NOLA again, at least let us know so we can throw you a going-away party. The girls love that shit. Any reason for a party, right?” Then he disappeared down the back hallway.

After a few more minutes of me asking Rix questions that he couldn’t or wouldn’t answer about my dad’s case, I headed for the front door. Before I could reach it, a woman entered with a familiar cloud of black hair swirled around her shoulders.

Valentina Noble.

Wait, scratch that. Valentina Hendrix.

“I thought you were working this afternoon, not getting a tattoo?” she said as soon as she walked in the door, completely blind to anyone but Rix.

One more reason I knew she picked the right guy—he was all she saw. It hadn’t taken me long to realize things had worked out the way they were meant to. I was glad my feelings for her didn’t go any further. Seeing her so happy, it was one thing I could be proud of—that I hadn’t tried to come between her and Rix when it was clear that they were strangely right for each other.

“Who told you?” Rix asked.

“Who do you think?”

“Eden,” both Rix and Bishop said at the same time.

Rix shot Bishop a look. “You told your girl I was coming?”

The bearded guy shrugged. “Might’ve mentioned it.”

“Duchess, you’re gonna turn around and walk your ass back to your gallery and pretend you never saw me here.”

Valentina crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, really? Because that’s not at all what I’m planning.”

Bishop lifted the tattoo machine away from Rix’s skin and slid his stool back so the man could lever out of his chair and stalk toward his wife.

“Yeah, really. Because you don’t want to ruin my surprise.”

Valentina’s eyes went soft as she looked at him, and there wasn’t a hint of envy running through my veins. No, there was something else entirely, and it didn’t have anything to do with her. It was all wrapped up in wanting a certain redhead to look at me the way she used to.

It wasn’t until Rix stopped two feet away from me that Valentina noticed me standing there.

“Oh my God, Rhett. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see—”

Rix wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. “Don’t bust the man’s ego, duchess. He already lost the most incredible woman to walk the earth.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Stop it. That’s not very nice.”

“Never said I was nice. You knew that.”

Valentina rolled her eyes. “Sorry, Rhett. I wish I could’ve been at the funeral, but—”

“It’s fine.” I stopped her before she could say any more.

She reached out a hand and laid it on mine, squeezing it tight. “Know that we’ve all been thinking about you. If there’s anything we can do at all . . .”

“Appreciate it. I better get going.”

When Valentina released her grip on my hand, Rix shook it next. “Take it easy. I’ll let you know if I hear anything I can pass along. Don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.”

“I’m not making any promises.”

My day looked like it was heading straight for the crap hole, but on my way to the car, I caught sight of Heath holding the door of one of my favorite oyster restaurants open for his dad. He must have seen me before I saw him, because he was already waving me down.

“Hey! You eat?”

I shook my head.

“Then come on. I’m buying.”

Maybe today was looking up. I could tell him that I wanted to see where things could go between Ari and me, and the last roadblock stopping me from making a real move would be gone.

I followed him into the restaurant, working out what I should say, but as soon as I saw a flash of red hair, I knew that wasn’t in the cards. But it could wait, because Ari’s whole face lit up with a smile when she saw me before she could school her expression.

Yeah, this is happening.