“No,” she said, clutching his face in her hands. “Giving me the power to go anywhere gave me the freedom to realize I wanted to be here. I’m not sure anything else would have woken me up.”
“You’re all right now,” he said, kissing her like a drowning man gasping for air. “I will help you however I can. So will everyone else. You heard them.”
“But why? I hadn’t even met the other two,” Aria said, her face turned with confusion.
“I think you won Libby’s respect, her admiration. And I think they’d do anything for her, and she’d do anything for you.”
“That’s some ripple effect,” Aria said, pressing her head to his chest as the cab broke free of the traffic and headed for his hotel. “Your heart is racing,” she said, as his arms squeezed tightly on her.
“It’s finally working again.”
The rain had slowed as the cab pulled up to the hotel and Monroe hesitated, wondering if this was a mirage, something that would evaporate if he moved too quickly.
“I’m really here,” she whispered, kissing his lips gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t start reading my mind,” he said as she took his hand and stepped out into the falling rain. “Once I get you upstairs, you won’t want to know all the thoughts I have of you in my bed.”
“Tell me every single one,” she begged as they raced, their shoes squishing across the marble floor toward the elevator.
“I’ll show you,” he growled into her ear as he kissed his way down her neck. “You’re going to have to lose the coat. I’m not sure I can kiss you while you smell like James West.”
“Oh no,” she said, realizing she’d essentially stolen his coat and whatever contents it held. “We have to get this back to him. Hit the button for the lobby.”
“Not a chance,” he said, as the elevator doors opened on his floor, and he tugged her out. “We can’t go out in that storm.”
“It was clearing up,” Aria argued, slipping out of the coat and folding it neatly over her arm as they reached his room. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“The right thing to do has nothing to do with that stupid coat,” he said as he pushed open the door and snatched up the coat from her hands and threw it on the floor.
She pulled away from his kiss and stared nervously at him. “It’s more than this for you right?”
“This is the cherry on top of the most amazing, fulfilling, perfect ice cream sundae I’ve ever seen. It’s a plump, red, juicy cherry that I’m so happy I get to eat. But it’s the sundae that fills me up.” He nibbled on her lip as he stripped her soaking wet clothes away from her body. A shiver ran the length of her, and he instantly felt the need to warm her.
Yanking back the thick down comforter on the bed, he laid her down and covered her quickly.
“What are you doing?” she asked, nervous her question had insulted him and he’d changed his mind. Instead he rounded the bed, undressed, and climbed in beside her.
“Sleep, be warm, and when we wake up, I’ll make you feel so good your legs will shake for all the right reasons, not because you’re cold.” He brought her body to his and wrapped her up like a present on Christmas Eve.
“I didn’t mean we shouldn’t when I asked you that,” she said, her words thick with apology. “I mean I can FEEL pretty clearly that you want to. I do too.”
“You won’t be able to use that as your indicator when we have sex. Anytime I’m around you, I’m going to be this ready.” He rubbed his hardness against her. “We’d have to become complete shut-ins and live off room service. Our vitamin D would dwindle from lack of sunlight.”
“I got it,” Aria laughed, fitting herself into his warmth perfectly. “The best sleep I’ve had in many years were the nights I spent in your arms.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever hold you again,” Monroe admitted as he kissed her forehead gently. “You should plan on getting good sleep for a long time. I’m not letting you go again.”
Chapter 33
“Put your pants on and answer the door,” a voice boomed, and Monroe practically fell out of bed.
“Who is it?” Aria asked, a hand over her thumping heart. “What time is it?”
The voice on the other side of the door grew louder. “It’s time to give me back my coat, my wallet, and my work cell phone.”
“James,” Monroe sighed, hopping awkwardly as he pulled his pants and a shirt on. “You stay there.”
“I’m not dressed.”
“I know,” Monroe remarked. “And I’d like to keep it that way.” When he opened the door a few inches James barked again.
“Coat. Wallet. Work cell.”
“Here,” Monroe said, cramming everything through the small opening in the door. “Goodbye.”
“Not goodbye,” James corrected. “Good morning. Mathew has worked some magic and cleared exactly an hour and twenty minutes for us to meet and get a handle on Aria’s situation. He’ll kill us both if we miss it. I’ll be in the car out front. You have fifteen minutes.”
“That will teach you to delay sex until the morning,” Aria said, already making a break to be the first one in the shower.
After a rushed version of his morning routine, Monroe grabbed his bag and headed downstairs with Aria. “How much are you going to share with them?”
“All of it,” she said, looking surprised by the question. “It doesn’t make much sense to exclude anything.”
“What about your mother?”
“I don’t know,” Aria shrugged, falling silent and staying that way for the rest of the ride to the West Oil building. In the lobby someone took their coffee and breakfast order. Then another person took their coats. By the time James finished giving her a brief tour of the place, the conference room was filled with their food and drink order. Jessica, Mathew, and Libby were there as well.
“Thank you guys for coming,” Aria edged out nervously. “I’m not really sure how you’ll be able to help. Maybe there isn’t anything we can do, but it’s still nice to have you here.”
Over the next fifteen minutes, Aria explained the situation, just as she had to Monroe. It was Libby who broke the stunned silence.
“What an impossible choice,” she empathized.
“What do you mean?” James asked, looking confused. “What choice is there?”
Libby rolled her eyes. “You men. Sometimes I wonder how you manage in this world with your two or three emotions. If she seeks out her father, she could essentially put her mother in jail for years to come. If she doesn’t, she has to live with never knowing him.”
James took a moment to think it over. “It’s not her fault her mother would go to jail. She committed crimes. She has to face the consequences.”
“It’s her mother,” Libby replied flatly.
Jessica shook her head, not agreeing with her friend. “A mother she says is unstable. Suicidal. A mother who wanted her freedom more than she wanted her daughter to be safe or happy. You can’t give endless loyalty to someone who never gives any back.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about it,” Aria admitted. “I don’t think I’m in a position to make a choice until I know the truth. Was my mother stealing me away to hurt my innocent father? Or was she rescuing me from him?”
“If she was trying to hurt him,” Mathew said thoughtfully, “he’s been without you for twenty-three years. That’s a harsh sentence she gave him and you.”
“I know that,” Aria agreed. “There has to be a way to find the truth. I pulled all public documents I could find, but there was sealed testimony from a lawsuit my father filed after I was missing for almost a year. I wasn’t able to see any of the information related to that case.”
Mathew slid a pen and notepad over to her. “Write down everything you remember or anything you managed to find when you were searching. My brother can help get those files unsealed.”
“Emmitt?” Jessica asked, looking unconvinced that it was a good idea. “Are we talking about
getting them unsealed legally?”
“Is he a lawyer?” Aria asked simply.
“No.” James laughed. “He’s a mercenary. A war hero. A hothead. And a pain in my ass. But he is most definitely not a lawyer.”
Mathew, looking thoroughly annoyed, cut in, “We can start the paperwork now for unsealing them, and we can spend the next few months waiting to see how that goes. Or Emmitt can contact someone he knows who can hack the appropriate places and get us the information we need. I didn’t think we were looking for slow and steady here.”
“We’re not,” Monroe assured him. “Have your brother get the documents. Hopefully there is something in there that tells you what you need, Aria.”
James still looked like a judge weighing an important verdict. “I want to get this straight. If you find no evidence that your father was a danger to you or your mother, you’re going to reunite with him?”
“Yes,” Aria answered confidently.
“You know the risk that puts on your mother’s freedom?” he asked.
“I honestly don’t know where she went once I took the job at the resort. I can tell them even under oath I don’t know.” Aria felt a prickly sting all over her body as she admitted out loud she didn’t know where her own mother has been for years now. More so, her mother demanded she disappear.
James bit his pen, attempting to deliver his message delicately. “You know the alias she used for years. You know her friends. Her skills. How she makes money. You may not know exactly where she is right now, but you have information that will lead them to her. They’ll threaten you with severe legal tactics to get you to divulge what you know.”
Aria drew in a deep breath. “If we find evidence that my mother was truly acting to protect me from something imminent then I’ll do the same for her. I’ll protect her. I’ll walk away from all this and find a different path for my life.”
Libby cautioned her. “Your father may have changed. You’d be missing out on knowing a man who might be very worthy of your love and forgiveness now. I’d do anything for more time with my father or for my mother to be healthy enough to remember me. Don’t close any doors that keep you from that.”
Mathew cleared his throat and stood. “We know where to start. I’ll give Emmitt the information you provide and he’ll get what we need. No one makes any other decisions before we see what he comes up with.”
“Yes,” Aria said, also standing and calling an end to their time. “I’ll let you get back to work. I know it’s not easy to dedicate time to something like this.”
“Oh please,” Jessica said as she and Libby rose from the table and headed to the door. “These guys spend more time talking about baseball and cheeseburgers than they do working. Now I hear you’ve been working on an island with next to no fashionable clothes. That is a situation we have to rectify.”
“Here,” Monroe said, pulling out his wallet and handing over a credit card. “Anything she wants is on me. Even if she just looks at something long enough to act like she wants it, get it.”
“I don’t need much,” Aria said, waving the card away. “You’ve already given me enough.”
Libby snatched the card from Monroe and looped her arm with Aria’s. “We need to plan a celebration, and for that you need an outfit.”
“And earrings,” Jessica added excitedly.
“Anything she likes,” Monroe called out as they left in a flurry. “I just want her to be happy.”
Chapter 34
“I’m cooking,” Libby announced as she slipped her apron over her head. “We were going to do a big night out, but I thought it might be nice to just hang around our house and eat a good meal.”
“I helped,” Jessica jumped in as the three men came in the door looking exhausted.
Mathew scoffed. “There is no way you cooked. I won’t believe it until I see it. Remember that time you made grilled cheese and we had to call the fire department?”
Jessica planted a kiss on his lips and then swatted at him. “I didn’t say I helped cook. I said I helped. The wine wasn’t going to open itself.”
“Or drink itself apparently,” James commented as he picked up a bottle of red with only a sip or two left in it.
“Everyone head to the dining room,” Libby said, ushering them in that direction. Aria had gotten the grand tour of the six-bedroom mansion James had bought as a gift for Libby. Somehow a space this large was made to feel cozy and welcoming. Something Jessica gave Libby all the credit for.
“Are there assigned seats?” Mathew asked, taking in the elegantly decorated dining room and artfully coordinated table setting. “What time does the queen arrive?”
“I wanted it to be special,” Libby said, threatening him with her spatula. “Are you sure you want to piss off a pregnant woman? We’re notoriously irrational.”
Mathew threw his arms up disarmingly and took a seat next to Jessica. When everyone else was seated they sat in silence as pots and pans clanked in the kitchen.
“Should we help her?” Monroe asked sheepishly.
“No,” Mathew, Jessica, and James shouted in unison.
James cleared his throat and laid his napkin over his lap. “She has it all under control. She’s been trying all sorts of new recipes, and she prefers if we all stay out of her way.”
“Got it,” Monroe said, taking a big swig of his wine.
“Emmitt should have something back for us any minute,” Mathew updated, trying to quell the awkwardness of the noise pouring from the kitchen.
“So soon?” Aria asked, stunned that could be possible. It had been only eight or nine hours since they’d all spoken this morning.
“I told him James was sure he couldn’t help us. He accepted the challenge and said he’d have it done by dinner tonight.” Mathew smirked victoriously.
“You men are so competitive,” Libby remarked as she carried a large platter of succulent beef to the table. “This is a pot roast with a red wine reduction, fingerling potatoes, and roasted carrots.”
“Wow,” Monroe said, eyeing the meal with excitement. “It actually looks good.”
Libby’s head snapped in his direction with a menacing look. “What were they telling you to expect? Burnt lasagna? That happened one time.”
“No,” Monroe said, waving his hands nervously. “I just meant—”
Mathew cut him off quickly. “Emmitt is sending some encrypted documents. He said he got it all.”
Aria dropped her fork down with a loud clank against the plate. “What does it say?”
“I’ll have to pull up my laptop and use my program with the decryption code. It’ll take a few minutes.”
“And my dinner will be ice cold,” Libby said, with a tiny pout. “But go ahead. It’s fine. It’s more important.”
“No,” Aria edged out reluctantly. “We should eat. You worked really hard on this.”
“Go get your computer, Mathew. But take your plate,” Libby said, with a little smile. “Just holler when you’re finished, and we’ll come see what you have.”
Like a bolt of lightning, Mathew darted from the table with his plate balanced in one hand.
Libby took her seat next to Aria and touched her shoulder gently. “It took a few hours to make this meal. You’ve been waiting a lifetime for what is in those documents. It’s important.”
Jessica took a heaping scoop of potatoes and looked curiously at Aria. “What are you hoping to find? Do you want to believe your mother had no choice? Or do you hope your father was a good man she was trying to hurt?”
Aria took a bite of the roast to buy some time. The answer changed minute to minute. There was no easy answer. As she swallowed she looked at Monroe. “I think I want my father to be a good man. My mother is a known commodity. She is who she is. We had some wonderful experiences together and some very painful ones. She was all over the place at times; the ups and the downs were a lot to deal with when I was a child. My mother was hard to love. It wasn’t impossible, but it was difficult. But
my father could be kind. He could be easy. It would feel good to have someone like that.”
Monroe smiled warmly. “You had to inherit it from someone. I’m sure he’s a good man.”
The next few minutes were silent, the words replaced by delicious bites of Libby’s meal. Aria’s stomach was in knots, knowing the truth she’d wanted so long might be waiting for her a few rooms away.
“I have it,” Mathew said, coming into the room with his laptop in his hands. He sat at the table and Aria couldn’t read his expression. He looked stunned, yet saddened. “Emmitt pulled all the sealed testimony and sworn statements from the trial. It was a hearing to determine if anyone had assisted your mother when she left. It called her family and friends to testify under oath.”
“I never met any of her family,” Aria said somberly. “It was always just the two of us.”
Mathew nodded. “The testimony supports that. No one knew she was going to leave. No one knew where she was going. But more importantly, no one knew why she left.”
“Why is that important?” Jessica asked.
“As far as anyone knew there was no cause. She and Aria were not under any direst or imminent danger. Your mother’s friends testified she’d been acting paranoid and irrational. A drug dealer testified, letting the court know how much he’d been selling her and how long she’d been using. Your mother’s own parents spoke out in defense of your father. They stated that in high school their daughter had run away countless times and had once attempted suicide. She would invent stories about threats and danger.”
Monroe spoke tentatively. “Was there anyone speaking against her father?”
“Not one person,” Mathew explained. “His employer, his own parents, their mutual friends. Everyone came to his defense. By all accounts he was a good, hardworking man who had his daughter stolen from him. He was devastated.”
“I don’t see how they couldn’t find her,” Libby said, angrily. “That man was hurting; they’d proven he’d done nothing to make them run.”
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