“Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I glanced at the other guys and laughed. They were all trying so hard to look casual that they seemed like they were posing. Brooks, with the hood of his hoodie too far forward, leaning on the island. Logan with arms crossed and staring past us. Theo and Bastian lingered further in the living room.
“You guys know I’m coming back, right?”
It broke the tension in the room, and we all laughed together. Brooks was the closest, so I hugged him. “I’ll be back before any of you realize I’m gone.”
“That’s not possible, baby. You’re the only thing we care about now.”
“That’s not true. You have plenty of things you care about.”
He grumbled something aboutnot as much, but he let me go. “See you soon.”
I waved to the rest of them before walking with Aiden to the elevator. There was a bit of awkwardness in the air because there were stakes for this date and everyone knew it. I hated the idea of pressure, but there was no way around it.
Aiden’s hand rested on my lower back as we walked through the parking garage to a shiny black SUV with dark windows. He opened the door for me, holding my hand as I stepped up into the leather seat. I noticed he glanced around the garage before he shut the door.
“Are you a spy?” I asked.
“Why would you think that?”
“Theo talking about your warehouse, the fact that you keep looking around as if you expect someone to sneak up on you. Not to mention a fully blacked-out car.”
He chuckled softly as the engine purred to life. “I’m not a spy.”
“How do I know that you’re not just saying that?”
Aiden held out a hand, asking for mine, so I gave it to him. He squeezed it gently. Comforting pressure. “I’ll make this promise now—I won’t lie to you. Ever. As someone who’s hoping to be your Alpha, I don’t make a promise like that lightly. There might be some things I can’t tell you, but I’ll be honest about them. I’m not a spy.”
I settled further into the seat. When you interviewed people for a living, you got good at reading them. Nothing about Aiden said he was lying, and if he was lying that seamlessly, then he was a psychopath, andit was an entirely different issue. “If you’re not a spy, why do you need a hallway lined with explosives?”
“And guns. Don’t forget the guns.”
“And the guns. Why?”
We pulled out of the parking garage into the setting sun. “I’m not a spy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t interact with some dangerous people. I told Theo and the others I’ll never bring danger to the door on purpose, and it’s never my intent. But I don’t take chances with the people in my life either.”
“Can’t you just take jobs from people who aren’t dangerous?”
“I could, but the dangerous people pay more. Besides, I try to take jobs that won’t cause any harm or damage. Sometimes doing the right thing still makes enemies. Especially if you’re as good as I am.”
“And humble, too.”
He smirked. “No point in being humble when it’s the truth. I’m one of a handful of people in the world who can hack almost anything. Computers make sense to me. They always have.”
“Is that how you found out my sizes for everything? Hacking?”
Aiden scoffed. “As if I’d need that when I have eyes.”
“You can tell a woman’s size by sight?”
“I also held you,” he pointed out. Then he smiled and let me pull his hand into my lap so I could still hold it. “And I asked your friends through the DuPonts. They gave me hell for it, too.”
My laughter filled the car. “Okay, that makes more sense. I trust your eyes, but women’s clothing fucks withuson the best of days. You guys don’t have a chance.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
