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Three
Aria looked out the window,her gaze stretching to the horizon on the Pacific, stretched as far as the eye could see. The beach shimmered gold, surfers dotting the surface of the water. After the sepia-tinted backdrop of New York in winter, it was almost too bright. She reached inside her bag, catching a glimpse of Cole in the backseat, and put on hersunglasses.
She glanced over at Damian as he navigated the car toward La Jolla, a small beach town south of Los Angeles. His hands were loose on the steering wheel, his eyes shaded by aviators as he drove. His white button-down was open just enough to give her a glimpse of the smooth skin at the top of his chest, his jeans just tight enough to remind her of his muscledthighs.
She had a sudden image of him moving over her, felt the sculpted expanse of his chest under her palms, his legs intertwined with hers as he thrust insideher.
Just looking at him ignited the blood in her veins like the wick on a stick ofdynamite.
He glanced over at her with a smile, seemingly oblivious to what he did toher.
“Almost there,” he said. “Youokay?”
She nodded as they started up a road that wound its way up a hill lined with eucalyptus and jasmine. She was better than okay. She was in California with Damian, breathing in the fragrant air, feeling the sun on her face when she tipped it to thewindow.
She’d expected him to ask her to stay in New York, to double down on the guards that patrolled the property, the men that were stationed in the house when he wasn’thome.
But he’d said the sunshine would be good for her after the long winter in New York. Now, looking out over the glittering expanse of the sea, she couldn’t disagree. She didn’t even mind that Cole had come along. He still didn’t talk much, but he’d been warmer to her since the shooting at Velvet, like she’d finally proven herself to hissatisfaction.
He’d visited her in the hospital several times, always bringing food or flowers or books. He never stayed long, but she knew it had been a kind of blessing, maybe even an apology for questioning her loyalty, subtle though the questioning hadbeen.
She’d gotten used to his presence, had come to see his quiet strength as a safety net she never had toquestion.
“This is it,” Damian said, coming to a stop at a black iron gate with a peaceful Buddha at thecenter.
Interesting.
Damian rolled down his window next to the intercom but he never got a chance to say anything; the gate opened without asound.
He pulled through and they started up a narrow drive lined with arroyo willows, their gray bark twisted and beautiful against silvery-greenleaves.
They emerged into a courtyard, a Spanish style villa with a red tile roof merging with the hill and the surrounding brush as if it had grown there organically. Damian pulled the car next to a black Humvee as Aria took note of the other cars parked there — a bottle green Jaguar, a silver Porsche, another Humvee, this oneyellow.
She didn’t know much about Locke Montgomery, only what Damian had told her — that he was a mercenary who had worked with the Syndicate in the past, that he might be able to help them figure out what Malcolm and Stefano were upto.
They exited the car and headed across the gravel courtyard to a set of wide front steps leading to a massive wooden door. The air was dry and warm, without any of the humidity that marked the warmer months in NewYork.
Damian removed his sunglasses and knocked on the door. A few seconds later it opened to reveal a tall man in surf shorts and a T-shirt. A Buddha pendant identical to the one on the gate glinted on a piece of rope around his neck. His hair was wet, as if he’d just stepped out of the ocean to answer thedoor.
He looked Damian over. “Cavallo?”
Damian nodded and held out his hand. “I’m Damian. This is Aria Fiore and ColeGrant.”
Locke let his gaze travel to Cole, then Aria felt his eyes on hers. It was a strange sensation. All inquiry, nojudgement.
“Nico didn't say you were bringing company,” Lockesaid.
“We can leave if youwant.”
Damian was making it clear Aria and Cole were non-negotiable.
Locke returned his eyes to her, lingering on her face as if he would find the answer to her trustworthiness written onit.
He stepped back and opened the door. “If Nico trusts you, I trustyou.”
