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I’m still shaking my head when she walks past me, patting me on the shoulder.
Like I’m some kind of child.
I finally bring the coffee to my lips and take a long pull of the dark liquid. I'm not sure how Aria found out that I like my coffee this way, but loving the fact regardless. Not like I'm going to say anything to her, though, beyond a murmuredthank you,which she somehow still catches.
An hour later, with the lights turned up to peak brightness and everyone awake if not happy, we gather and talk.
“I need you to meet me at this address.” Aria points down to a sheet of paper with her scribbled cursive. “Be there at nightfall, and I’ll do my best to get Broderick in the same space. I can’t promise nightfall on the dot, but he will be there.”
“What makes you so sure?” I’m grasping at this point because no one else in the room seems willing to listen to me.
They’ve all managed to get behind Aria and this insane venture of hers.
Bill, I suspect, will follow her to the ends of the earth if she snaps a finger. She’s got him on a tight leash already. Naomi is looking down at me like she’d rather I just shut up and play my part than talk about the details for a second time.
“You know you don’t have a choice, Dev,” she tells me. “It’s tonight, or it’s you turning in your badge and getting used to some very uncomfortable times ahead.”
“Let’s not be so drastic,” I reply.
“I’m serious. There’s no way the precinct is going to let you off after the mess we cleaned up yesterday, and you’re missing in action. The only way you’re making it out of this without a pair of handcuffs is if you bag Broderick. You got it?” She glares at me, any hint of her usual sweetness gone.
With four against one while Jasleen is gone, there isn’t really much I can do. Especially not when Aria emerges from a shower wearing a clean change of clothes she’d apparently had Naomi pick up from the apartment.
Again, without me knowing.
“I’m going to show him I’m all in,” she repeats for my benefit. “That I’ve got new ways to move his products, and he’s going to love them.”
I grab her hand. “Don’t go,” I urge. “Please, Aria. Don’t do this.”
“I have no choice.” She refuses to meet my gaze no matter how tightly I grip her. “I’m the only one who can. Trust me.”
Trust her. It’s not her who is the issue in this situation; it’s the fucking monster whose claws she’s leaping back inside. He’s going to squash her. There's no way she’ll be able to pull off a facade great enough to fool him. Stevens hasn't gotten this far in his dirty dealings to be a pushover now.
He’s not like me, ready to fall to the ground and let her do whatever she wants to me.
How can I let her do this alone?
How can I risk losing someone I—
Aria kisses me again, right there in front of everyone. A kiss hot enough to steal my breath and make me groan, my arms wrapping around her automatically and the rest of the room fading away. Her tongue slides across mine. I’m not sure how it’s possible for a woman to taste of coffee and determination, but the combination is uniquely Aria, and my groan turns into something darker and deeper.
“Careful, there,” I tell her as I break away.
“What’s the matter?” She lifts on the tips of her toes to whisper against my ear. “Afraid you’re going to get an erection in front of your friends.”
“Halfway there already.”
She nods at the warning, but I don’t let her go. Not yet.
“Please. Stay safe. Otherwise, I’m not sure what I’ll do.” My fingers grip the back of her dress, clenching the material until it wrinkles. “I will burn the earth down if something happens to you. Understand?”
“Don't worry so much. You just be in position at the right time and let me handle the rest. I’ve got this.”
She won’t let go of me yet, either, and there’s a small comfort there. Eventually, Bill clears his throat, and the two of us break apart.
Aria casts a bright smile back at the rest of the room before she makes her way up the stairs toward the secured front door. Too soon. She’s gone too soon, and I feel her absence the way I would a phantom limb.
“She’s capable, buddy,” Adam assures me. As if he knows her better than I do.
