she needed to come to terms with on her own. In the meantime he had a job to do and couldn’t afford any distractions. Even if the biggest distraction was the ache in his gut that would follow him no matter where he went.
“I’ll call to set up a meeting,” he told Elena and Nicholas. “I want the whole family here for a talk. Do you understand?”
They nodded. “We will be here,” Nicholas promised. “All of us.”
Sam clapped her hands. “Cool! We can have a party!”
Quinn didn’t bother correcting her. Instead he shot one quick glance at Ari, who was ignoring him, before he strode out the door.
Ari watched Quinn go and her heart squeezed tight in her chest, but she couldn’t call him back. She’d stood in the doorway in silence, listening to him lecture her family on their conning ways, watching as they accepted his words and advice without question. The same words and advice she’d been trying to give them for years, to no avail.
Then there was Sam. Ari didn’t begrudge Sam a home. She adored the young girl and wanted to be her big sister. It was the situation Ari couldn’t reconcile. For Sam, Ari’s parents were willing to turn their beliefs and their lives upside down and change their ways. Yet Ari had had to leave town to get away from the eccentricity and the cons.
All of which led Ari to wonder why she was always the odd man out in her family. Why two newcomers could extract promises from her family that she couldn’t.
“So, Ari, what did you want to talk about?” Sam asked. She glanced at Ari with huge, trusting eyes.
Ari suddenly wished she’d asked Quinn to stay as backup. “Let’s all sit down,” she said, and picked a solitary club chair while her mother and father chose the couch. Sam sat Indian style on the floor beside Spank’s cage.
“Here’s the story. I did some research on the Internet,” Ari said.
“About?” her father asked.
“About Spank. Monkeys in particular.” She sighed. “Look, in New Jersey, they can’t be kept as pets.”
“She’s not a pet, she’s a-”
“Member of the family,” Sam said, her voice rising. “Like me.”
Ari looked to her mother for help and Elena rose, grabbing Sam’s hand. “We got Spank before we brought you into our home. We didn’t look into the legalities. But now we have to.” She squeezed the young girl tighter. “Go on, Ari.”
Ari drew a deep breath and dug through her purse, pulling out the papers she’d printed early this morning. “Well, I’m not a lawyer, but from what I gather, Spank is classified as a potentially dangerous species under the law.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Nicholas said. “Look at her. Does she look dangerous to you?” He jingled the change can and the monkey blew him a kiss.
Ari sighed. “All I know is that we have to deal with reality. And there are criteria for owning a monkey.” She scanned the pages in front of her. “They include things like extensive education on the breed, housing facilities far from public access, and the worst thing is that the law specifically states wild animals shall not be kept as pets. It goes on, but essentially Spank’s not a legal alien,” she said in a pathetic attempt at humor.
Sam released the lock on the cage and the monkey dove into her lap. “She can’t go away.”
Ari glanced heavenward. She taught college-age kids, not thirteen-year-olds, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with Sam. Except from the heart. “Look, I’m fond of Spank, too. I don’t want to send her away anymore than you do. But isn’t it better if we place her somewhere she’ll be safe and happy before she gets taken away from us and then it’s out of our control?”
In response, Sam ran from the room and a door slammed in her wake.
Ari glanced at her parents, feeling helpless and sad. “I’m sorry.”
“For being smart enough to do what we should have done from the beginning?” Her father sat down on the arm of her chair.
“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
