This time when he kissed her, he didn’t stop.

*   *   *   *   *

NICK CURSED UNDER his breath as he watched the couple kissing on the blanket jump apart like guilty teenagers. He’d come over hoping he could catch Jackson alone. The manila folder he carried suddenly felt like a brick.

“Nick? What are you doing here?”

To Nick’s annoyance, his brother turned back to Ridley and kissed her soundly before getting up. He jogged over to where Nick waited by the back door. “What’s up, man? Is everything okay?”

“Not exactly.” Ignoring Ridley’s interested stare, he grabbed Jackson by the arm and pulled him into the house. Usually the floor was littered with toys and random items of clothing that Jase had removed and left in the middle of the room. Now the area was scrupulously clean. Ridley’s influence, he had to assume.

She’s already insinuated herself into their everyday lives.

“I hate to just barge in on you but Elliott found some information that I thought you needed to have right away.”

He handed Jackson the manila folder. Call him a coward but he’d thought it would be easier if his brother saw the proof in black and white. He watched as Jackson opened the folder and pulled out the thick sheaf of papers Elliott had emailed to him. He’d been surprised by the length of Ridley’s boyfriend’s rap sheet.

Jackson narrowed his eyes as he read. “What the hell is all of this? A background check? You did a background check on Ridley?”

“Yeah. And her boyfriend, David.”

Jackson’s fingers clenched on the stack of paper. “I already asked Eli to look into what David was doing.”

“Yeah but I asked him to look into them both.” He continued ignoring Jackson’s scowl. “It’s a good thing I did, too. It’s all there, Jackson. Ridley is the middleman in whatever scheme they’ve got going. I’ve found several bank accounts in her name with wire transfers to overseas accounts. From his FBI file, it looks like Mr. Finemore has pulled this scam numerous times with his former girlfriend. But she’s in jail now so of course he had to get a new partner. ” He motioned outside with his head.

“Wait, you think Ridley was working with this guy? Nick, what the hell are you talking about?” Jackson threw the papers down on the kitchen table and glared at him. “You think she made up the whole story? You think she put those bruises on herself?”

“I think she really was scared the day we found her. Her partner got killed and maybe the people they scammed are looking for her.” At his murderous look, Nick held up his hands. “I’m just saying. It fits the pattern. Finemore always has a female accomplice to get close to the victim, then when they don’t suspect anything he moves in.”

“I understand you’re just looking out for me but I think you’ve got this all wrong.” He held up the pages. “Her record was clean up until she met this guy. She’s not a criminal and I don’t think she’s done anything wrong other than trusting a guy with a rap sheet as long as the Constitution. She thought he was a private investigator; instead he just stole her money and her social security number. She’s a victim in this, too.”

“She’s already gotten to you. I can tell. She’s already got you defending her.” Nick crossed his arms.

“Just leave Nick, please. I’ll look at everything, I promise. I just need to think.”

“Okay. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Nick walked out without a word.

He’d accomplished what he’d come for.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

JACKSON WALKED OUT of the house, unsure how to behave. Part of him wanted to chase his brother and ask what else he knew and the other part wanted to bury his head in the sand and ignore it. Ridley looked up as he pulled the door closed behind him.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

He walked back over to the blanket and sat down on the edge. She looked a little hurt that he didn’t sit right next to her, where he’d been before the interruption. He wasn’t sure how to recapture the carefree feeling of a few minutes ago. Not when all he could see were white pages and black ink.

“Yeah, Nick just wanted to talk business. He has no sense of timing whatsoever.”

He looked over at her, watching as she carefully collected their cups and silverware, placing them neatly back in the picnic basket. Next, she picked up the small containers used to hold their sandwiches and the leftover potato salad and put them in the basket on top. When she was done everything was arranged neatly with all the similar items grouped together. She hummed to herself softly as she worked, an unfamiliar tune that made him think of Disney musicals. He shook his head.

If Ridley was a criminal she had to be the worst one ever.

When his cell phone started ringing, he gratefully snatched it up.

“We got a problem, boss.”

Jackson closed his eyes and massaged the knot of tension just starting to form between his eyebrows. “What kind of problem?”

“One of the girls is pregnant. She’s threatening to drop out of the group.”

Jackson groaned. Somehow he had sensed his luck with Divine was too good to be true. However, he had dealt with worse problems in the past. The scandal with Alana flashed through his mind before he could squelch the thought. He wouldn’t let it get that bad if it took everything within him.

His eyes shifted over to look at Ridley, laying quietly on the blanket, her face serene, seemingly asleep. He smiled confidently. They had been interrupted before things went too far but he knew that it was only a temporary reprieve. A part of him wanted to throw the phone in the pond and bury himself in her forever. After all, whichever group member had gotten herself knocked up, she would be just as pregnant tomorrow as she was today. The papers his brother had brought would still be there tomorrow.