Then, Aiden turned his head, catching a glimpse of movement to my right. He froze, and I instinctively pulled back, pressing myself farther into the shadows, holding my breath. My pulse pounded in my ears, but I stayed still, barely breathing. A few seconds passed, and he turned back, seemingly reassured as a rat ran down the length of the building. I let out a slow exhale, relief flooding through me.
A sense of dread twisted in my gut at the realization of how little I was learning. If I told my boss they were here with no other information, it could mean the end for me.
And I feared I was already becoming addicted.
I fumbled with my phone, snapping a quick, grainy photo of the three of them before turning on my heel. It wouldn’t be the end of the night for me. I would continue following, and maybe even follow the newcomer until I knew who he was.
Either way, as much as I wanted to disappear into the night, I knew I’d follow them, trailing their every move, lurking in every shadow, until I had the answers I was sent here to find—no matter how deep I had to dig, or how close I had to get.
I would find the answers my boss needed.
Chapter 10
Aiden
Rule #3: Don’t think about Evie Emberson when you’re doing either of the first two.
Adark-red bike had rolled to a stop in front of us, its rumble echoing off the empty street. I groaned the second I recognized it.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, stomping back toward my bike.
Evie pushed around me, striding right up to the rider with that fiery determination she always had.
Asher pulled off his helmet, short dark hair perfectly in place, a few tattoos peeking from under his sleeves. Tall, composed, and impossibly controlled, he swung off the bike with the ease of a man who carried himself like he ran the world—and maybe he did. His dark eyes glinted with amusement.
Asher—reigning drug lord of Valeport, friend, and the one man Evie always seemed interested in.
“You thinkyoushould be questioning whatI’mdoing here? I should ask what the fuck you two are doing here breaking into my building?”
“Your building?” I asked, confusion and irritation bubblingup as I looked at Evie. “Why the hell did we break into Asher’s building? He would have given you the keys if you wanted to go inside.”
“And better yet, why would you want to go inside here? There’s next to nothing in there,” he added.
Evie’s head swung from me to him, her eyes going wide as she bit at her bottom lip. I could already see her hackles rising—backed into a corner between two men who wouldn’t fall for any of her deferment techniques.
“I needed to go inside to look for... evidence,” she said. “And I didn’t know it was your building. Not that I would have called anyway, because you would ask a thousand questions. Kind of like you are now.”
“Well, you break into my building and I personally have to come down here to find out why, yeah, I end up having a few questions.”
“Why did you have to come down? Couldn’t you have sent one of your lackeys to check?” I asked.
Not only was Asher one of the biggest drug lords in Valeport, he was the owner of the Vault. His power—and ego—seemed endless. He had money, real estate—anything he wanted at his disposal. As fearsome and influential as he was, he always treated Evie with surprising kindness and was even reasonably helpful to the rest of us.
“Not after I realized it was Evie,” he said, his voice softer now as he met her gaze.
Evie rolled her eyes and moved toward my bike, slinging her bag onto the back. The small act sent a surge of satisfaction through me. A possessive streak I couldn’t control. She was mineto protect and mine to get home safely each night. She was coming home on my bike tonight, no matter how much Asher might want otherwise.
“How did you know it was me?” she asked, half turned to Asher.
“Because you’ve used my buildings as practice targets for your hacking stunts before,” he replied with a grin. “You’ve put a company out of business tonight, Evie. They assured me my buildings were impenetrable, and here you are—broke in within ten minutes.”
“I didn’t put them out of business. They put themselves out of business when they didn’t update their system in the last six months. Honestly, you should be grateful I broke in. It might save your ass later when someone actually wants to steal from you.”
He laughed, and she smiled at him. “I’ve missed you, Evie. Not many people will tell me to be grateful they broke into my building and mean it with every bone in their body. I haven’t seen you guys in weeks and this is how you show up. Now, why don’t you tell me what you are doing here?”
We both looked at Evie, whose eyes narrowed further. “Is it really important? We are done and I won’t come back again. Problem solved.”
I glanced at Asher, who luckily seemed to have the same idea.
