He shifted on the stool and crossed his arms. “What do you want to know?”
She quickly looked away from his mouth and gathered her thoughts. “When we first met, you said you didn’t trust the Feds. But you were a Fed?”
“I got burned,” he responded without hesitation this time.
She blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I was fired from Homeland six months ago.”
Her brows perked up. What an interesting coincidence.
“I questioned authority, and I got into some trouble as a result.”
She frowned. “Okay. Why are all of your records sealed? The only thing I found on you was the newspaper announcement when you opened the bar with your father. You weren’t some secret agent, so why were your military and employment records hidden?” She was being nosy but was tired of circling the same old questions.
“Does this really matter?” He leaned back a little as if pressing back against a wall.
She simply nodded.
His silence suggested that he had no intention of satisfying her, however. He stood up and poured the hot, black coffee into another oversized mug, which read: “Women Rule.” Had to be Kate’s, Ava decided. She couldn’t quite picture Michael Maddox drinking from a pink cup.
She took the mug from him as he slid it in front of her on the kitchen island. “Thanks.” With her head still angled down, she peered up at him from beneath long lashes.
“Ava, the work I did in the military was all standard issue, but the work I did with the government after was . . . a bit hush-hush.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I was undercover the majority of my time at Homeland, and so they needed to wipe my record clean. They created alternate identities for me based on whatever role I was playing for the assignment.”
“That makes sense.” And now she felt a bit stupid for pressing. “So why not just tell me? What was the big deal?”
He rubbed his large hands over his face. “Like I said, I got burned, and I don’t really like talking about it. You know how we guys are, with our magnum-sized egos.” He grinned at her for a moment, and his smile sliced her to the core.
Charming Aiden was back. But for how long?
“I’m sorry for doubting you.”
He waved his hand in the air, swatting the tension that hung between them. “Forget about it. Let’s just focus on what really matters.”
She rolled her tongue over her front teeth, deliberating the swift change in attitude that had shot like a bolt of lightning from him. “What about your mother, Sophia . . . should we talk about that? Or, at the very least, should we talk about this group she works for?” She braced herself, prepared for thunder to come rumbling back at her.
“So, let’s talk about it.” He slipped back onto the stool and sipped his coffee as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde.
“Do you think Sophia was lying?” She was cautious this time, using only his mother’s name.
“I don’t know. Couldn’t she have stepped in to help sooner? Why the delay?”
He made a good point. Although, they had made a pretty valiant effort to shake the Fed that was tailing her—was it so far a stretch to think Sophia had only just recently caught up with them, again?
How had she found them, anyway?
“Okay. So, if this group exists and the president did task them with the assignment, they must truly believe Henry ran off with the equation . . . or sold it or something. If they thought terrorists ransacked the lab, then they’d never have let me go. Or Kat and Eddie.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. They must have some evidence to suggest that Henry took off and was not abducted. And I bet that they are the ones who sterilized your lab of all evidence. As the project was not exactly in conformance with world treaties, they had to get rid of the evidence.”
Oh God, of course. “So are they more concerned with what Henry knows and who might also find out what he knows?”
“You’re biting your nails again.” Aiden’s lips quivered.
She jerked her hand away from her mouth in disgust. “Does my bad habit amuse you?”
His blue eyes lit as a mischievous grin spread across his face. “No, but when your fingers are near your mouth, my mind wanders a bit.”
A blitz of heat shocked her system. How could he turn her from ice cold to one hundred plus Fahrenheit in a nanosecond? “What were we talking about again?” Concentrate, Ava.
He allowed the smirk to slide from his face. He assumed his back-to-business look, which she’d come to know so well over the past few days. “I think that this black ops group is running around trying to clean up their mess. They may not be worried about the equation falling into the hands of terrorists, because, as far as they know, your group never completed the assignment.”
“Just Henry and I know the truth. Unless, of course, Henry is being tortured by terrorists and has given it up by now.” Her face paled at the thought. “I don’t care what Sophia’s group thinks, Aiden. All I know is that Henry isn’t the bad guy. Whatever evidence they think they have against him is wrong.” She pinched her brows and shut her eyes, trying to dispel the bad taste from her mouth. Thoughts of Henry as a traitor. Thoughts of Henry being tortured. It was all just too damn much.
“But I agree with you that they are worried about damage control, which means they’re focused on finding Henry as much as we are—even if they have it all wrong.” Her eyes flashed open. “Shouldn’t we be working together with the Feds? Even if our motives for finding Henry differ, we both want to find him.”
Aiden’s response was immediate. “I’m sorry, love, but I don’t trust them.”
She opened her mouth.
“And no, it’s not because of Sophia.”
Of course he’d managed to read her mind. “Then why?”
“It’s because they should never have tasked you to work on that project to begin with.”
“But what if the president forced them to?”
“I’m sorry, Ava, but I just have a hard time believing the president is truly behind this.”
“You’re saying they forged his signature on the paperwork I signed?” She stood up and approached him.
He remained sitting but swiveled to face her. “You said it yourself . . . you had research on a chemical weapon and a partial formula. There’s no way the president would risk violating an international oath to the world to complete a weapon based on partial anything.” He reached for her hand and tucked it between both of his, warming her. “Creating an antidote to an already completed formula? Of course. But, as you said, if you re-created the formula the slightest bit differently from how the enemy would, then any antidote would be useless. And the world would have two terrible weapons to face.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Things like this have happened before.” His voice was resolute.
“Oh. But maybe this time it was different. Maybe the threat was—”
“No. It’s too big a risk, Ava.”
She exhaled sharply, not wanting to believe it. All this time, she’d thought she’d been working with the blessing of the president. Now, she felt dirty—tainted by the evil of what she’d helped to create.
“Well, regardless of J-4-76’s intentions, we need to find Henry. We need to prove his innocence and make sure no one ever finds out that we even completed the equation. It’s too dangerous if anyone knows the truth. Right?”
He stood up and cupped her cheek with his palm. “Aye. You’d be in grave danger if anyone knew the truth, and I can’t let anything happen to you.” His words betrayed his response to her last night. Perhaps it was anger and alcohol that had caused him to treat their budding relationship so callously. Perhaps he’d just wanted to hurt her feelings.
But did she actually expect a future with Mr. Irish after all of this was over? Even if everything turned out perfectly, they had such different lives.
He took a step back, his hand fall
ing back to his side. “You’re like a drug for me, Ava.”
“What?” she whispered.
“I don’t know what it is about you, but I’m hooked,” he rasped.
This was honesty—pure, unadulterated. This was the truth.
“What happens when this is all over?” Her voice was so quiet, so sad. “Do you think we could, I don’t know, date?”
A deep laugh escaped from his mouth, and the skin around his eyes crinkled in response. “I think we skipped that part, don’t you?”
She closed the gap between them, missing his proximity and the way he made her feel safe, secure, love—
No. That word was too much. Too soon. Too . . . crazy.
Lust. Yes, it had to be lust.
“I could think of a million things I’d like to do to your perfect body right now.” He brushed a hand through her hair, swiping it behind her ear. The tender gesture filled her body with need. “I’d love to capture that sweet mouth of yours . . . but—”
She didn’t realize she had shut her eyes and had parted her mouth, waiting for him to consume her.
“But?” She opened her eyes.
“We need to focus. Last time we escaped reality, we had a visitor break-in.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.
A pin pricked her side, deflating her. But he was right. She was using sex with Aiden as a way to escape this horrible disaster of a mess. And if she didn’t get her head on straight, she just might lose it. Literally. “How do we figure out who has been after me? How do we find Henry? And Eddie, for that matter?”
She needed to put her game face back on.
“Sophia did have one good idea.”
Surprise flickered in her eyes as she tilted her head. “Really?”
“Yes. And that is for you to hide.”
She took an immediate step back. “No.”
He shook his head and reached for her arm before she had a chance to turn away. “Ava, I need to do this myself. I can’t have you caught in the crossfire. It’s not safe.”
“But it’s not even your responsibility. I dragged you into this mess.” She folded her arms, defiance shimmering in her eyes.
“You forget that I’m as involved now as you are.”
She raised a brow, challenging him. “Yeah, because of me. Your mom even said as much.”
“Don’t worry about what that woman said.” He looked down at his hand, which was still grasping her bicep, and dropped it. “Please, just don’t think like that.” She could have sworn she heard his voice crack before he ran a hand over his jaw.
“Aiden—”
“Anyways,” he started after clearing his throat, “I spoke with Michael last night. We’re going to assemble a team. Michael’s an intelligence genius, and we some helpful friends. Plus, I have a few skills of my own . . .”
“I thought you didn’t want to get anyone else involved?” She folded her arms.
“That was before I knew about Sophia, about what we’re really up against.”
“So she’s the enemy? Who exactly do you think we’re fighting? Did you tell Michael about your mother? About the group?”
“No. I will, but right now I just explained to him that it’s safer for you to be away from all of this.” He hesitated before speaking again. “Ava, I need you to listen to me. I’ll figure this out. I’ll find Henry.” He reached out and cupped his large hand around the nape of her neck, his fingers slipping through her hair as he gently held on to her, pulling her closer to him. His eyes pinned to hers, and he blew out a breath. “But I can’t do this with you around.”
She bit her lip and unfolded her arms. “No.” She pulled away from him, watching as his hand fell from her. But the look in his eyes and the coiled energy that radiated from his every movement signaled that he wouldn’t compromise. “I have to be a part of this. And I’d feel safer by your side, to be honest.”
“You were ready to run last night when Sophia presented you with plane tickets.”
Because then you’d be with me, you idiot. “That was different,” she sputtered.
He was shaking his head.
“Aiden, this discussion is closed. You can’t, and you won’t get rid of me.” She spun on her heel and left the kitchen. Over her dead body was she going to let him do this without her.
Chapter Fifteen
Would three hours have been long enough for Ava to cool off? He hoped so.
Aiden knocked on the bedroom door, which had been shut since she walked away from him earlier. Slammed shut. “Ava?”
No response.
“Ava?” Nervous, he shook the door handle and discovered it was unlocked. He pushed inward and scanned the bedroom. Empty.
Panicked, he rushed to the bathroom door and barged in.
Ava shrieked and her towel fell to her feet. “Shit, Aiden.”
His eyes moved up her long, tan legs and toward her tight core, before stopping at her rosebud nipples. Her chest, glistening with beads of water from her recent shower, spurred his body to a powerful response. He swallowed and tried to focus. “Sorry,” he muttered. “But what’s the big deal? Not like I haven’t seen you before.” His eyes glinted, and his lips curved into a smile.
She bent down and retrieved the towel. “Yeah, well, you could have tried to be a little less terrifying.” Once the towel was wrapped around her body, she combed her fingers through her dripping hair. “Do you mind?” She perked a brow and motioned for the door.
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Do you have a minute?”
“Well, can I get dressed first?”
“I think you look just fine the way you are. Maybe even a tad overdressed.” He folded his arms and leaned his hip against the bathroom counter.
“I’m thinking that you forgot your earlier suggestion.”
“Which was?”
“To abstain from sex to minimize distractions.”
Now, why the hell would I suggest something like that? He took a step toward her, and she focused her eyes on his. “I remember the last time we were in here together, and I recall that you very much enjoyed it.” He reached for her hip and pulled her closer to him.
She stiffened at his touch. “Aiden.” Her attention averted to his biceps before trailing a blaze up and settling on his lips.
He nudged her chin up in his direction with his free hand, gaining better access to her Bahama blue eyes. “You drive me bloody nuts. I can’t think straight when I’m around you.”
He could see her inhale at his comment, and he pulled her even closer to him until their bodies touched.
“You make me crazy, too,” she said, before slaying him with her smile.
He couldn’t help himself. He kissed her and pushed his tongue inside her mouth as his other hand shoved her towel back down to the ground.
She gasped as he cupped her bottom and lifted her onto the counter. She wrapped her legs around his hips as she thrust her hands into his thick hair, offering him full access to her mouth and body. Her breasts swelled against his chest, and he moved his hand down her body and to her very wet center.
“Your body was made for me,” he whispered into her ear after ending their kiss. He could hear her heavy panting, and he knew he was already pushing her to her limits with his hand.
She lowered her head and pressed her forehead to his chest. “We shouldn’t, Aiden,” she mumbled into his chest before lifting her head and slipping off the counter. “You were right earlier. We can’t use sex to avoid the reality of what’s going on.” She inhaled a deep breath and wet her lips. “I want you. I really do. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”
He tried to keep his gaze focused on her face, to deny himself the sight of her incredible body.
“We should wait. We should wait until this whole thing is over, and we can figure out what it is between us.” She paused and reached for her towel once more.
His erection was painfully obvious; it bulged against his black sweats. He snapped his eyes shut for
a second. “Is there something between us?”
“Well, I thought . . . What do you think?”
He opened his eyes and started to reach out for her, but he stopped himself, and his hand dropped to his side. He tilted his head and smiled. “There is definitely something sexual. Chemistry, if you will. But, eh . . . I’m just not much of the commitment type.”
He saw the disappointment spread across her face with horrible speed.
He tousled his hair a little and turned away from her, moving into the bedroom.
“So, this is just sex after all?” He heard less pain in her voice and a bit more anger this time.
He sat on the bed and faced her. She was gripping the towel to her body and her gaze was trained on the floor. “No. I mean, I don’t know, Ava. You’re different. I can tell you that. But I’ve never really been in a relationship before, because of my job.” And you’re really going to hate me by the time this all plays out. Why get anyone’s hopes up?
“But you own a bar, now. I’m pretty sure bar owners can date.”
“I don’t know; the hours are shit.” Aiden grinned, but she wasn’t buying his charming bit. “Do you really think I’m someone you’d want to be with?”
She nodded. And some flicker of recognition danced in her eyes. Was she wondering if he didn’t commit because his mother abandoned him?
“Ava?”
She shook her head and moved to sit down next to him. Holding her towel tight with one hand, she reached up and touched the scar on his brow. She arched her body up to press her lips to the scar.
He sucked in a breath as she pulled away, her eyes and face threaded with emotion. He cleared his throat and stammered, “I don’t know what’s going to happen when this all ends. But I do care about you. I’ve known you for less than a week, but I feel like it has been—”
Innocence & Betrayal (Hidden Truths) Page 14