It was supposed to be simple. All struggling actor Carlo Baresi had to do was pick a man up, drive him to the location he specified, then report where he’d taken him. The only problem is, the man isn’t who he says he is ... and they both know it. Bookstore owner Joe Donnelly has a reputation for helping those in need, but this plan has been a bad one from the second he stepped in. Discovering someone has switched out the driver is one more complication he doesn’t want, especially since Carlo is the kind of distraction that can get a man in serious trouble if he’s not careful. But they have something in common. They’re both loose ends, struggling to find out what is really going on. And murder is always complicated, even when you’re on the same side.

The Low Between

But the better part of the night came from what he’d left at his apartment, the swift goodbye with Carlo in the alley as they departed in opposite directions. Joe had walked away as quickly as possible to resist the temptation of looking back and watching Carlo do the same. The brand of their kisses refused to dissipate, no matter how much he tried to focus on Copper.


And Carlo was honestly contrite about his snooping. Joe saw that now. He might not like having his past exposed—Emmett had been his, and his alone, for years, even if he couldn’t bring himself to face the memories—but Carlo respected it. He understood what it meant to want someone the world said you couldn’t have.


Joe couldn’t help but wonder if Carlo had ever been in love, too.


Chapter 24