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Was he stalling? What difference does it make? “No. I don’t even live here.”
“Since when does that mean anything? There’s something going on between you. I saw it,” Aiden insisted.
Chase turned to him. “Fine. I thought I’d gotten over her, but all I managed to do was bury my feelings. Deep. Not the healthiest way to deal with the situation. So, yes, I care about her, a lot. And if anything happens to one hair on her head, I’ll never forgive you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, thanks to you, she doesn’t trust me. My running off with you earlier didn’t help. I should have stayed and listened to her. I should have called Josh.”
“That woman has control issues, always has.”
Chase glowered at him and pushed a branch out of his face, tempted to let it smack Aiden, as he pushed through the brush.
“Do you still love her?” Aiden pushed.
“How would I know?” Chase snapped, even as the question circled his mind.Did he?
“Maybe after this is over, you should figure it out, and put her first for a change.”
Chase couldn’t believe his ears. “Did you really say that to me, right now?”
“Yeah, if you love her, don’t throw her away again. Let her know. Choose her.”
Chase stopped. “You’re telling me this now, after I chose to go with you again, instead of staying with her.”
Aiden shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile.
“Besides, since when are you an expert in love?” Chase grumbled, and started forward again.
Aiden laughed. “Never said I was.”
“What about Sylvia?” Chase asked.
“I care about her. I certainly don’t want to see her die, but am I willing to change my whole life for her?” Aiden shook his head. “Nah. This job is better for an unattached, solitary lifestyle.”
“I would guess so.”
What about him? Would Chase be willing to change his life for Jacquie? Could he see himself moving back to Granite Falls? The concept wasn’t as out of reach as it had been a week ago. Before he could think on it further, they spotted a Cadillac Escalade driving up the road toward the ranch house.
They stepped deeper into the bushes, slipping into the trees to make sure they weren’t seen.
“Big man is pulling up,” Aiden said. “Forget the barn, let’s get closer to that car. I need to see what he looks like.”
Against his better sense, Chase agreed. “All right.”
They kept to the deer trails and moved slowly toward the house. “How long have you been in the DEA?”
“I joined right after I got out. Had an Army buddy recommend me. I went to Quantico, completed my training, and have been on the road working one small town after another ever since.”
“Why small towns?”
“Not a lot of law enforcement or access to healthcare, poverty and depression caused by lack of employment all create the perfect storm for drug abuse and those who traffic in it.”
“Granite Falls is on that list?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised.”
Chase thought of his mom’s neighborhood and felt slightly nauseous. “I live in Charlotte—there is no shortage of criminal activity there, but I’ve always thought that small rural areas were still free of those kinds of problems, especially my hometown.”
