Under the Boardwalk

turning over as he started the truck.

Her heart beat harder in her chest. Why was he breaking those all-important rules? Why do it for her? And why now? But she was too afraid to ask, more afraid of the answers.

Before putting the gearshift in drive, he reached back into a bag he’d already tossed inside. “I need you to put this on.” He held out a dark scarf in front of her. “Blindfold yourself,” he instructed, his voice leaving no room for argument.

She accepted the black garment with shaking hands. “It’s already dark out.”

“You need to trust me. I can’t let you see where we’re going. It’s for your safety as well as your sister’s.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded, then folded the scarf and tied it around her eyes, sealing out what little light there’d been. “Where is she? In general?”

“A safe house,” he said, just as the sensation of sudden movement took her off guard.

They were on their way. Knowing not to question him further, she remained silent as excitement and anticipation took hold. As if he understood, Quinn’s hand returned to rest on her thigh, the sensitive spot just above her knee. Through her jeans, his touch branded her skin, and his palm remained there for the rest of the long, quiet ride to see her sister.

• • •

“Man, are you gonna get your ass kicked for bringing her here.” Marco, the head of security at the safe house, gestured toward Ari, then took great pleasure in informing Quinn of his conclusion.

“Only if you open your big mouth,” Quinn muttered.

Undaunted, Marco turned his wry wit on Ari. “Anyone tell you that you look just like the pain in the… I mean the lady inside?”

“A time or two.” She smiled for the first time since Quinn suggested they make this trip.

He squeezed her hand tight. “Where’s Zoe?”

Marco gestured over his shoulder down a long hall. “Probably in the bedroom. Any place she doesn’t have to deal with me suits her fine,” he said, then tossed his head in a pretty damn good imitation of Ari’s twin. “Yo, Your Highness!” Marco yelled out.

The bedroom door flung open wide, hitting the wall with a loud noise. “How many times do I have to tell you, knock on the door if you expect me to answer you?” Zoe’s distinctive voice sounded in the hall.

“Notice she answered me anyway,” Marco said, chuckling.

“Who are you talking to?” Zoe walked down the hall, stopping short when she saw her sister. “Ari?” she asked, her tone incredulous, her voice cracking.

And for the first time, Quinn actually saw inside the federal agent to the softer, vulnerable woman. One who resembled her twin and who seemed frozen in place.

Quinn glanced at Ari. Her eyes were wide as she took a step forward, then stopped, insecurity halting her in her tracks.

He thought it wasn’t pride that was keeping them apart, but rather shock and uncertainty. Quinn held his breath, wondering which sister would give in first.

Maybe it was the twin thing, but they ran forward at the same time, each engulfing the other in a hug so big, the emotions surrounding them excluded everyone else in the room. Quinn included.

He prodded Marco toward the kitchen in the back of the house, leaving the sisters alone.

He’d brought them together now instead of after the sting because he was pinning his hopes on Ari’s reaction to her sister’s true identity. Ari had always believed her twin had followed in her mother’s footsteps, yet Zoe had actually managed to carve out a life for herself, separate and apart from what Ari called “the insanity.”

Quinn was banking on that revelation to help Ari come to terms with her family and realize she could love them and still lead an independent life here. Just like Zoe.

Quinn hoped like hell his plan worked, or he was shit out of luck and on his own when she was gone.

• • •

Ari stepped back to study her sister. Zoe’s hair fell to her back and she was as beautiful as ever. “You don’t look like you’ve been suffering too much,” Ari said, not sure where she was or what her sister was enduring here.

Wherever “here” was.

Zoe rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Looks are deceiving. You try spending twenty-four/seven with Marco. Insanity’s about to set in. Speaking of Marco, I’m going to strangle him for letting you in the door.”

Ari bit down on her lower lip. “That would be Quinn you’d have to strangle for bringing me here in the first place.”

Zoe raised an eyebrow. “Mr. By-the-Book Donovan? He’s responsible? I saw him here but didn’t put two and two together.”

Ari nodded.

Zoe strode up to her and looked her in the eyes. “Why? Why would Quinn bring you to me here? Now? When he knew how dangerous it was for you?” she asked, sounding more like an interrogator than a sister.

Her tone and her air of authority set Ari off. “Oh no. You’re not the one who’s going to ask questions, I am.” Long-suppressed anger took hold at last and her voice shook as she turned on her sister. “Do you realize we thought you were dead? Mom and Dad are holding on to hope and going on with business as usual, but they’re in pain. Do you have any idea how selfish that is? Just who the hell are you? What are you doing here? And where is here, for that matter, since I drove blindfolded just to see you?” She drew a deep breath. “You’re my twin, but I feel like I don’t know you at all.”

A flash of guilt and more than a hint of hurt crossed Zoe’s face. “I may have a lot to answer for, but you’re not exactly blameless when it comes to not knowing who I am.” Zoe marched over to a couch and settled cross-legged on a cushion. “It’s not like you ever wanted to know. Or ever cared. You formulated all these high and mighty assumptions and they stuck.” She lifted her chin in the air. “You were the professor, the academic, the smart one, and so much better than Mom, Dad, or me because of the choices you made.”

Ari winced, knowing her sister was right. She’d held herself above her family and they’d all paid the price. But that didn’t change the agony Zoe had been putting the family through.

But dealing with their relationship could come after both sisters understood the situation as it stood now. “I know Mom set you up to work at Damon’s to get closer to him, thinking he was a good catch. But Mom also said she paid Damon back, so why were you still working there?” She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated at all she didn’t know. “Because I’ve met Damon and I know you couldn’t have fallen for him the way Mom had hoped.”

To Ari’s surprise, Zoe chuckled. “Mom’s got these rose-colored glasses on, doesn’t she? To think I could fall for that low-life sleaze.” She shook her head, obviously as amazed as Ari had been.

“He definitely is slime,” Ari agreed. “So…” She prodded Zoe back to her story.

“You should sit down, Ari.” Zoe patted the seat beside her.

Ari sat, then she waited.

Zoe sighed. “I worked at the casino one night and figured out Mom had set me up. That Damon was no threat to her and the money she owed didn’t amount to anything much. It doesn’t take a genius or a federal agent-which by the way I am-to sniff out a setup.”

Ari blinked, feeling as if she’d been hit by a two-by-four. “Say that again. Slowly.”

“I… was… set… up. By our mother.”

Ari shook her head. “No, the other part.”

A wry smile took hold as Zoe reached for her twin’s hand. The connection felt good after so long.

“I’m a federal agent, Ari.” Zoe met her gaze, nodding slowly. “I work for a local division of the Secret Service, guarding diplomats and other high-level officials.”

“Since when?” Ari asked, the truth much stranger and harder to believe than anything even her parents could have conjured up.

“I applied and started training right out of college.”

“But I thought…” Ari sputtered, not sure what to say. “I mean you always acted like life was one big game. There was that jaunt cross-country where nobody heard from you for almost four months.”

Zoe shrugged. “Training at Quantico.”

“You worked as a showgirl when you needed money.”

Zoe shook her head, her long hair swishing over one shoulder. “I enjoy dancing and it’s good exercise, but I