A breeze flittered through the open window, the sheer curtains blowing gently as the air made its way to Sage’s naked back.
 She tossed and turned uncomfortably as if she could not get adjusted to her own skin.
 The meeting with Aiden Van Hoyt was on her mind. A lot. And not just because he was hotter than sins. He hadn’t been what she was expecting. She expected a cold, callused, emotionally unreachable father, not a guy who obviously loved his daughter and mourned his dead wife. 
 She flipped onto her back, trying to adjust her blankets so that she wasn’t too hot, but not too cold either. Dammit! Why couldn’t he have been what she was expecting? It would have been so much easier to dismiss him and his daughter if they didn’t want his help. Instead, she could see that he was hurting, and trying to protect Audrey the best way he knew how.
 The ridiculousness of her own expectations made her cringe, but she could not get the piercing eyes of Audrey’s father out of her mind.
 Stop it! She scolded herself, again turning her nude back to the window. He’s a patient’s dad and no matter how sickeningly attractive he might be, he is still off limits.
 Still, Sage could not stop her mind from wandering to his sensuously full mouth and chiseled bone structure.
 And he’s a twin. There are two of them running around that look exactly like that.
 She felt a flood of heat surge through her body and she sighed. This was what was keeping her up, she knew. Her body had been wired ever since she’d laid eyes on the melt-my-panties guy. She sighed hard again, knowing that she was going to have to take care of this herself. Her body wouldn’t let her focus on anything else until she got him out of her mind.
 Biting on her lower lip, she slowly allowed her hand to slip down against her flat stomach, and underneath her panties.
 Ah fuck, she thought, her fingertips landing in the cleft between her legs. She was wetter than she had thought.
 Her fingertips fondled the swelling nub, air escaping her lungs as her teeth dug deeper into the flesh of her lip. A sigh escaped her as she thought of Aiden touching her like that. Maybe nibbling on her inner thigh as he worked his way up to her clit. Another spurt of moisture welcomed that thought and she let her legs fall open wider.
 “Are you thinking about me?”
 Her hand jerked away from her crotch guiltily and she whipped around to confront the voice in the dark.
 “What the hell are you doing in here?” she snapped at her ex-boyfriend.  “How the hell did you get in here?”
 “You want me to share all my secrets, Sage? Or do you just want me to fuck you until you beg for more?”
 “I want you to get the fuck out of my room,” she gritted out. “NOW!” She pulled the bedsheet up to cover her front as she rose, advancing on him menacingly. “I’ll meet you in the living room in thirty seconds. And you better have my house key in your hand when I get out there.”
 Patrick just rolled his eyes and turned toward the door nonchalantly. “Fine, if that’s the way you want to play it tonight.”
   What did I ever see in that jackass? she wondered as she threw on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt.
 Granted, he was attractive and the entire “man in uniform” thing had always been appealing, but there was no getting around the fact that Patrick Keyes was insufferably conceited. He had been the jock from his high school who had never landed a scholarship and had spent the rest of his life trying to make up for that fact.
 So, he had become a cop, trying to justify his sense of entitlement and power.
 “I knew you missed me,” he chortled, as she walked into the living room, her eyes spitting fire.
 “Patrick, how did you get in here?” she demanded.
 “I still have your key, babe,” he replied, leaning casually on her coffee bar. “You knew that, didn’t you?” he asked innocently.
 “You damn well knew that I had no idea you still had a key! And how is that even possible? I took the one I gave you off of your keychain myself.” 
 “Come on, Sage. You know we’re going to get back together. As soon as you get over your little snit, you’ll be begging my sexy ass to move back in,” he smirked lewdly. “Obviously you have need of my…body, if what I saw in your room is any indication. Really, I don’t even know why I moved all my things out. Should’ve just left them here. We’re fated, you know?”
 She snorted. Loudly. How could he still think she’d take him back after he cheated on her? Hell would freeze over – twice, before he would step foot in her place again. She needed to get her locks changed, she realized. 
 He hadn’t even tried to apologize when she had found out about him and one of the secretaries down at his precinct. Snit? Is that how he remembers it? she thought, but she said nothing. There was no sense in arguing with the egomaniac. It was psychology 101.
 “I’m starving. You have any food here?” he asked, turning towards the fridge. 
 Did I really have a relationship with him for an entire year? Was I medicated? I should have been. Jennica warned you that he was way beneath you from the second she met him.
 “You know where there’s food?” she said sweetly. “Burger King. It’s open twenty-four hours.”
 He blinked, a wry smile on his face.
 “What?”
 “Get out, Patrick,” she growled, placing her hands on her hips. “But first, give me your key.”
 The grin remained plastered on his face, but it no longer met his eyes.
 “You still ‘need space’, huh? Even after all this time?” he demanded. “You need me.”
 He really thinks he’s the greatest lover that ever walked the planet.
 “Yes,” Sage replied, tired of trying to make him see that she was never going to take him back. “I still need space. Lots and lots of space. Like, forever space.”
 He seemed temporarily lost for words.
 “Enjoy your Whopper,” she told him cheerfully and finally, he lost the arrogant smile.
 “You know, Sage, I won’t be around forever. One day, you’re going to want me, and I will have moved on.”
 At that moment, she couldn’t think of a more exciting prospect.
 Except maybe if Aiden were to actually show up in my bedroom.
 “I’m leaving…” Pat continued, placing her key on the counter as he walked past. Sage stared at him, wondering what was taking him so long. She realized he was waiting for her to change her mind.
 He scowled and stomped out the door. Sage flopped back against her couch, hoping to herself that this was the last time she would see the cheating bastard.
 Note to self: change the locks on the weekend.
 When she was sure he was gone, she returned to her bed and reached under her nightstand for her laptop.
 Even with the arrival and departure of her ex, her mind was still on Aiden and Audrey Van Hoyt.
 More the father than the daughter, she realized, a slight tinge of shame touching her.
 She realized how bad it was that she was focused on the handsome stranger when her entire reason for going there that evening was to help Audrey.
 Learning everything about the family is a part of helping the girl, she told herself firmly, but she wondered who she was lying to exactly, if not herself.
 She began to delve into the history of the Van Hoyts from what she could find online. There were endless articles about the murder of the parents, about Sarah and Xander but not much about Aiden.
 He owned a successful accounting firm in Baltimore and seemed to keep a low profile from what Sage could see, but she couldn’t help but think there was a lot more to the story than what she could find online.
 A part of her felt disloyal looking into the history of both of them, but given what she had learned, she knew she needed to be informed of what she had wrapped herself up in.
 Maybe I should have listened to Jennica and stayed out of it, she thought, gritting her teeth together. But Sage knew there would be no going back, not when she was already so obsessed with the idea of him, er, them, and her sessions with Audrey hadn’t even started yet.
 Exhaling, Sage repeated her steps, this time punching in Xander Van Hoyt’s name.
 If she couldn’t find much on Aiden, his twin was probably the next best avenue to investigate.
 Again, her eyes were assaulted with hundreds of articles pertaining to the murders of Charles and Lisa, the back and forth between Xander and Sarah.
 I wonder what the real story is there, she thought, but her gut instinct told her that whatever it was had nothing to do with Aiden.
 Still, with a family dynamic like that, Audrey has to be affected greatly. Coupled with losing her mother, she must be carrying a lot of baggage.
 Rubbing her eyes, Sage went to close the screen when a name jumped out at her. The hairs on her arms prickled as her heartrate quickened.
 No, she thought. That can’t be right.
 But as she enlarged the article, nervousness overwhelmed her as she reread the name.
 Lead investigator, Patrick Keyes believes that the siblings may have been in conspiracy to commit the murders…
 Shock jolted through her body and she slammed the computer shut.
 Did I know that Pat worked this case? She asked herself. 
 She wracked her mind for an answer, or a memory that he had ever mentioned having such a sensational case, but the more she thought about their relationship, the more she realized they had never discussed anything of any true importance.
 Neither of us wanted to bring our work home with us so we only talked about the most mundane and inconsequential things. And let’s face it – it’s not they had ever had any great connection. The relationship had been more about convenience, really.
 Sage swallowed the lump in her throat and closed her eyes, the wheels about to derail in her head at the rate they were turning.
 I can’t touch this case. It’s too close, a conflict of interest at best, a massive clusterfuck at worst.
 She took a shaky breath, her lids parting.
 Of course, that’s only if Pat ever finds out about it. I only learned about this by complete fluke. He doesn’t need to know. We’re not together anyway.
 There were several ways she could justify it if need be.
 Sage pushed the laptop aside and curled onto her side, willing herself to fall asleep.
 I’m not doing anything wrong, she lied to herself.
 She hoped it wouldn’t all blow up in her face.
 After all, the Van Hoyts did not have a good track record of being forgiving.