Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“This has nothing to do with the murders?” I asked.
“I don’t know anything about any murders,” Aiden said. “Come on, we’ll take my truck.”
I thought about the little bit of latte I’d spilled on the passenger seat, wishing I’d had more time to clean it up. If he’d just let me know he was coming home today, I would’ve washed the entire vehicle.
“I’m bringing my own truck,” Nick said. “My lawyer can ride with me.”
“She’s riding with me,” Aiden said, his jaw hard.
I looked from one to the other. This was a disaster.
Chapter 16
We ran into Tessa just as we left Nick’s condo. She looked pretty with her flushed face and sparkly green earrings that matched her eyes.
She paused, a bottle of wine in her hands. “I thought we were ordering in tonight.” She grinned. “This will be fun—our first double date. Are we all going out?”
“No,” Nick said curtly, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him. “Sorry, honey. It looks like the ATF needs to talk to me.”
Her expression fell. “You have to work tonight?”
“I don’t think it’s work,” he muttered.
She frowned and looked up at Aiden. “I don’t understand.”
“None of us does.” I threw up my hands. I could not believe another proposal had been ruined. At this point, Nick might have to just text her a request for her hand in marriage.
“Sorry,” Aiden said. “We need to get going.”
Tessa stood firm. “Wait a minute. What is happening?”
“I really don’t know,” Nick said, his lawyer face back in place. He looked tough, intelligent, and pissed. “But I’m going to find out.”
Her chin lifted. “I’m coming with you.”
Aiden’s gaze softened slightly. “You can’t be in the interview room, Tessa.”
She pursed her lips, confusion wrinkling her brow. “You’re interviewing Nick? What is this about?”
Aiden took my hand and drew me toward the stairs and down to the icy pavement. “I can’t talk about it.”
“I’m coming with you anyway,” she said.
I liked my sister’s stubborn side. I always had. Plus, she could ride with Nick, and I’d ride with Aiden. At least that fight could be avoided because I had fully planned on going with Nick and discovering if he knew anything about why the ATF would be knocking on his door.
“Go straight to my office,” Aiden said curtly, reaching his vehicle and clicking the fob. He opened the passenger-side door, and I hopped inside, trying to slide across and hide the dried latte blob. It really wasn’t much, but I needed a wet wipe to clean it up.
He crossed around the front of the truck and stepped inside, having to move the seat way back before sitting. He ignited the engine, and soon we were moving.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’ll talk to you when your client is present.”
My hackles instantly rose. “Don’t get mad at me because I’m doing my job. Nick is my client. I can’t believe you just bombarded him like that.”
Aiden flipped on his windshield wipers to combat the snow. “Nick is your friend.”
“He’s about to be my family.” I’d had a long day. It should’ve ended very nicely with an engaged sister. Now, I had to put on my lawyer hat against my boyfriend while still trying to find him a Valentine’s Day gift.
He remained silent as I stewed, which was one of his damn gifts. We headed through the snowy night toward his office building at the edge of Lilac Lake. It had once been a spa I’d had a hand in shutting down because of a drug trade. I loved that Aiden had purchased the building and now rented it back to the ATF.
He parked the truck near the entrance and silence fell around us. “Stay inside the truck until I cross around. We haven’t had a chance to de-ice the parking area.” After his bossy order, he jumped out of the truck.
Like I was going to do what he told me. I opened my door and stepped out, careful to keep my footing.
He reached me, grasped my arm, and shut the door. “It wouldn’t hurt you to listen once in a while.”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to talk once in a while,” I snapped, trying not to appreciate how he pulled me close and shielded me from the falling snow.
We reached the door, and he typed a code into the keypad, which smoothly snaked the heavy wood open. Nick and Tessa pulled up, and we waited just inside as they made their way out of the rig and toward us.
Once inside, Aiden turned and secured the door. I noted cameras mounted outside and inside the two-story building and wondered how many I couldn’t see. His team had created a nice reception area on the first floor with leather sofas and a currently unoccupied wide counter.
“The offices are upstairs.” Aiden strode behind the reception desk to a door he opened with another keypad.