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I could see thoughts swirling through Cash’s mind. I wondered if he wished he’d joined me. I know that’s what I would have wished in his place. But it was too late for wishes, and guilt helped no one. Especially because Cash had done nothing wrong—it was the Beast Boys to blame, for all of this. And we’d put two of them in the hospital.
That thought helped me press forward.
“I saw guys going in and some weren’t coming back out, so I knew there had to be another exit,” I said. In my mind I was back in that bar, searching the hallway just outside of the bathroom and then going in.
“I found a door and that’s the last thing I remember before waking up in the underground tunnel. I’m now realizing there were probably cameras of some sort in that bathroom and they knew I was right by the door and slammed it open, knocking me out.”
Cash didn’t move. He was like a statue, and somehow that made it easier to keep talking.
I told him about the room: the chair, the brain monitor, the men coming in. I skipped over the guy licking my face. I wasn’t ready to relive that. And then I told him about my escape.
“You were in an underground tunnel?” he asked.
I nodded, memories of both last night and today filling my mind.
“And you broke out,” he said with a shake of his head. “Only you, Aria Burke.”
He paused, watching me.
“What?” I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. I realized I hadn’t brushed my teeth since I’d woken up from my nap and I probably looked even worse than I smelled. I’d gone to sleep with partially wet hair and I wore a holey t-shirt and leggings. At least the leggings didn’t have any holes.
“I’m just thinking that loving you is a hard job. But anyone who gets to do it is one lucky bastard,” Cash said. He gulped and quickly added, “So how lucky am I, to be your best friend who loves you?”
Poor Cash. Worried I would get the wrong idea. He was forever having to fight women off and the last thing he needed was having his best friend think he was in love with me.
“So lucky,” I said as I unwrapped my steak and threw my balled-up foil at him.
He easily dodged it and chuckled as he dug into his steak. I really needed to start hanging out with people whose reflexes weren’t quite so quick.
TEN
ella
The hospital had been a bust.The police interrogators had warned me that the guys knew nothing. They were low-level thugs, basically just hired guns chosen for their brute strength and willingness to look the other way. And according to the cops, that’s exactly all they’d done.
But I’d been sure the other interrogators must have missed something. I knew I was good at my job, so I’d gone in optimistic.
And had come out with nothing. I knew the Social Security number of the guy that Aria had beaten up, but I could get nothing about the Beast Boys. Those guys really knew nothing—they didn’t even know they’d been hired by the Beast Boys.
I leaned my head against the back of my couch, trying not to get too down on myself. I really had done the best that I could. The guys had been hired just a few days before and had only ever seen the tunnel. They knew nothing more about the operation. If they were ever contacted, it had been through a burner phone. The cops had already looked into that, and the trail led nowhere. Just like every other trail we’d encountered.
I was sick of coming up against dead ends. I was tired of working so hard just to be back at square one. We were the best at what we did—I knew this—and yet we were being foiled at every turn.
My phone rang and I considered ignoring it. I knew exactly who it was. It was Sunday evening, and there was just one person who called me every Sunday evening.
Don’t get me wrong—I loved the woman. But work had been rough and I wanted nothing more than to watch trashy TV with a big bowl of ice cream for dinner before going to bed ridiculously early.
But I knew my mother had other plans for me.
Should I ignore it?
I answered on the last ring. Mom wouldn’t stop calling until I answered. Better to say no to her BBQ immediately.
“Hi Mom,” I said as I flicked through the stations, seeing at least three things I wanted to watch. I loved cable television.
“Ella. I hope the fact that you’re answering means you’re on your way over now,” Mom said, the noise of laughing and conversation filling the background of the call. The gurgle of my adorable niece was the sound I could most easily make out. I guessed that meant Mom was holding Sage.
“Kind of the opposite,” I said, knowing I was in for a tongue lashing. But I was so tired. The idea of getting off the couch, making myself presentable, as my mom liked to call it, and then getting in the car and driving the ten miles to her house was too much to ask of me. “Work has been really tough lately . . . ” I began, but Mom cut me off.
