Page 52 of Begin Again

My fingers hesitate over the rolling pin, and I look up, my stomach sinking slightly.

“There is a very good possibility that would be my brother, Orion,” I admit reluctantly.

Theo studies me for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Your brother’s an FBI agent?”

“Yeah,” I say softly. “Andannoyinglygood at his job.”

Theo lifts an eyebrow, waiting for me to explain.

I lean back against the counter, rubbing my hands over my face before letting them drop. “After what happened with my last boyfriend, Orion decided he wasn’t going toletme go out with anyone until he ran a full background check on them.” I shoot Theo a look. “Which, by the way, is why we met up in town the other day. He wanted to know who I was hanging around with.”

He lets out a low whistle, clearly entertained. “So what you’re saying is…I’ve already been vetted by the FBI?” His grin turns smug. “And here I thought you were just playing hard to get.”

I groan. “That’s what you got from that?”

“Well, that, and the fact that your brother is scary as hell.” Theo crosses his arms, watching me with interest. “What’d he find?”

I hesitate, my fingers pressing into the counter. “That’s the thing—I don’t know. He told me he found a lead that he needed to check up on, but he wouldn’t say what it was. Then, one night, he just left. He stormed out of the room and we couldn’t find him, he wouldn’t answer his damn phone—just full cloak-and-dagger mode.”

Theo’s playful expression shifts slightly, his gaze sharpening. “And you have no idea what it was about?”

I shake my head. “He said a few things about some mysterious deaths, but wouldn’t elaborate. Trust me, we tried to get answers out of him, but he just brushed it off and said he’d ‘handle it.’”

His fingers drum against the counter as he processes that. “That doesn’t sit right.”

“No shit.” I exhale, feeling that same coil of unease tighten in my chest. “But knowing Orion, he won’t say anything until he’s damn well ready. Which, let’s be honest, could be never.”

Theo hums, his gaze flickering over me. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it bothers me.” I tilt my head, studying him right back. “But I’ve learned that pushing Orion doesn’t get me anywhere. He’s going to do what he thinks is best, whether someone likes it or not.”

He nods slowly, but his expression remains unreadable like he’s filing this information away.

Then, just like that, his grin returns. “Guess that means your brother approves and I can take you out again.”

I roll my eyes. “Oh? And you’re assuming I’d say yes?”

“Oh, I think you would.” Theo leans in just slightly, his voice dropping to that dangerous low tone again. “But tell me I’m wrong.”

I open my mouth—then shut it.

Because damn it, he’s not wrong.

And judging by the way his smirk deepens, he knows it.

He nods slowly, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. “But that also changes things.”

“How so?” I ask hesitantly, unsure if I even want to hear the answer.

His lips curl into a small, knowing smile, but there’s a flicker of seriousness beneath it, a calculating edge. “Because now I know we’re on the same side. And if your brother’s involved, maybe we’ve got a real chance at figuring this out.”

A chill skates down my spine. “Figure out what?”

He exhales, leaning against the counter, his usual easygoing demeanor replaced by a heavier, more resolute presence. “We recently found out that some people in Shadow Grove didn’t die from accidents—they were murdered.” He pauses, letting the weight of his words settle. “I think your brother figured out the same thing we did.”

The air in the room turns thin, pressing against me like an invisible weight. My fingers tighten around the edge of the counter as I force myself to speak. “Murdered?” I echo, my voice barely above a whisper.

He nods, his gaze locked on mine. “Yeah. And if that’s true, there’s a hell of a lot more going on here than I think any of us realizes.”

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