The hell?
He gave himself a mental slap on the head, but that look on her face was still there. It was there, and it looked as real as anything he’d ever seen.
“I’m sorry,” Olly offered sincerely. “Losing a parent sucks.”
He would know. He’d lost both his parents when he was at the ripe old age of nine.
But even as he offered the genuine sentiment, he made a mental note to check out that part of her story, as well. His gut said she was telling the truth about her mother’s passing. But if she wasn’t…if this woman had somehow found out abouthispast and thought she could somehow use it as a pawn in a sick plan to use him or Rose?—
“This whole thing started as a joke if you can believe that.” Scarlett spoke up again. “My friend, Brenda, bought us each a DNA kit. At first, I didn’t want to do it. It seemed kind of creepy, handing my DNA over to some company full of strangers. I mean, what if they were part of some sort of anti-government faction?” Her cute-as-fuck rambling began. “Or worse, what if they’re all part of some super-secret government plot to steal everyone’s DNA? They could use it to develop some sort of crazy, space-age technology or something. Or make clones of everyone who does one of their kits.” Her cheeks filled with a crimson hue as a chagrined look crossed over her pretty face. “Anyway, Brenda dared me to do one with her, so I did. As a silly joke, more than anything.”
Olly watched her closely for even the tiniest sign of deception. So far, he hadn’t spotted a single one.
“Must have been quite a shock learning you have a sister,” he commented back.
In an unexpected move, Scarlett released a very unladylike snort that came as close to making him smile as anything had in a long damn time.
“I’ll say.” Those gorgeous eyes of hers widened. “Honestly, I thought I already knew all there was to know about both sides of my family. Oh, I don’t mean like generations back or anything like that. Although, this whole experiencehasmotivated me to learn more about my genealogy. But I was sure I knew every one of my current living relatives.”
“There a lot of those?”
“No.” Hers was an instant and confident answer. “My mom was an only child, and both of her parents died before I was even born. My dad’s still alive and kicking thank goodness, but his dad passed a few years ago. My grandma on that side is still with us, although she’s in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, and my dad had no choice but to put her into a nursing home. Luckily, it’s just outside of Aurora, so he and I are able to go see her a few times each week. Oh, and I have a great aunt who lives in a suburb of Chicago. But that’s it.” A small shrug lifted her shoulders. “At least, I’dthoughtthat was it. But then I got those results back and saw Rose’s name listed as my sister. Asister.Of course, I immediately tried to find her, but…” Scarlett fell against the chair’s plush cushion and sighed. “I guess you know the rest.”
He knew the rest, according toher.The endless internet and social media searches. The private investigator.
The list of things Olly needed to verify kept getting longer and longer. Luckily he had his own P.I. to turn to.
And from what Izzy and Grady had shared, their friend was the best damn P.I. around. He just hoped Jax would take him up on his offer.
Olly gave the giant clock on the wall behind Scarlett a subtle glance. He’d hoped to catch Jax sooner rather than later. That way, if he happened to have time this morning to get started?—
“Am I keeping you from something?”
He blinked and found Scarlett staring straight at him.
“I don’t mean that sarcastically,” she rushed to clarify. “I’m being sincere. If you have somewhere else you need to be…”
“Actually, I do.” Olly rose to his feet once more. With a quick glance toward the folder, he decided to ask, “You mind if I take that with me?”
Memorizing a few names and an address from a license and birth certificate was one thing. But she’d given him a hell of a lotmore information than he’d expected. All of which would help Jax in his search for the truth.
Scarlett’s lips parted, but she hesitated to answer. Sensing the root of her concern, Olly did what he could to put her mind at ease.
“I promise to give it all back to you.”As long as you’re telling me the truth.“I’d just like to take the day to really look it all over good before moving forward with any sort of plan.”
She rose to her feet with what he could only describe as hope beaming from her eyes. “But you do have a plan. To find Rose, I mean?”
Damn, she sure is making it hard to remain skeptical.
“I’m working on it,” he answered honestly.
“Oh.” That hope began to fade. “I guess that’s better than anything I’ve got, so…” She offered him a small smile. “All right then.” Scarlett’s spine straightened, and she held out her hand for the second time that morning. “It was a pleasure talking with you, Olly. Now go. The sooner you prove I’m not feeding you full of bullshit, the sooner we can start looking for my sister.”
We? There was no “we”. Not in this. Something sexy Scarlett would learn soon enough.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“I look forward to it.”