“You…tested me?” He couldn’t quite figure her out. Usually, he was good at sizing up people. Figuring out their motivations. Then using those motivations against them.
“I test everyone. Don’t even know how to stop doing it. But then, when you work in the business that I do, trust is hard, so you’re always looking for lies. And, sadly, they are usually there.” Another sip. “I don’t drink a lot, just so you know. But it really has been a bitch of a day. First, I spent too many hours in the dirt and found too many of my own ghosts, then this demanding…” Her gaze darted around the room. “I don’t know how much money you have—millionaire? Billionaire? Whatever—this demanding guy insists that I listen to his story. I was trying to avoid listening because the minute a case becomes personal to me, it’s in my head. The case gets in there, and it gets stuck.” Softer. Sadder. “It will haunt me from now on. They all haunt me.” Another sip. She put the glass down. “I’ll take the case.”
“You will?”
“But I make you no promises. I am not a miracle worker. The longer one has been missing, the harder it is to—”
“Are you fucking serious right now? You’ll take the case?” He bounded toward her. Way too eager. “Why? Because I passed some crazy test and didn’t take a drink?” Aiden needed to know exactly what he’d done to win her over.
More, he wanted to understand her because he just didn’t.
Tony’s head tipped back as she stared up at him.
“I offered you any amount of money you wanted, and you said no. I turn down a drink, and you say yes. That makes no sense to me.” She didn’t make sense.
“I have been told that I don’t always make sense to people. That’s okay, most people don’t make sense to me, either.”
Bemused, he could only stare at her.
“I’m taking the case because you are real to me. I see your pain, and I truly am sorry for what you’ve lost.” Her hand rose. Pressed to his chest.
Marked him straight to his soul. Every time she touched him, that was what it felt like—a mark.
“Whatever happens, don’t expect your pain to magically end. If anything, it will probably get worse before this is all over,” Tony warned him.
Doubtful. “Finally getting the truth won’t be worse. It’s living in the darkness and not knowing that’s the hardest.”
“I’ve been told that before.” A half-smile lifted her lips, but the movement held only sadness. “But those people were all proven wrong.” She glanced down, and surprise flashed on her face, as if she hadn’t even realized she’d touched him. Her hand quickly fell away. “Tell me your brother’s name.”
Pain twisted inside of him. “Austin.”
“Austin and Aiden. Guess your parents liked A names, huh?”
“Austin was named after my father. He was the first born, I was the second.” The so-called bad twin and the good son. One who liked to stir hell. One who followed all the rules, not that those rules had done much good.
She absorbed that information with a slight incline of her head. “I have some loose ends to tie up on the Duvane case. When I’m done, we can plan to meet again. I will have plenty of questions, and you’ll have to make yourself available to the other Ice Breakers.”
Whatever it took, he would do.
“I will want you to take me to the cabin in North Carolina,” she said. “Wait, does your family still own the place?”
“I own it.” There was no family. Not any longer. His parents were dead. His brother…gone. There was only Aiden.
“Good. If you have the space, I can stay there with Banshee.”
He had nothing but space.
“I’ll want a tour of all the property that you own near the cabin.”
Sure. Done. But… “You’re not going to find anything there. The land has been searched. There’s a big, private lake near the cabin, but it was searched, too. Right after Austin vanished, my father hired divers to go in and look for Austin. They didn’t find anything.”
“You never know what I might find. If I were a killer and I was looking for the perfect place to hide a body, I’d probably stash my victim somewhere for a bit, and then, once a nearby lake had been thoroughly searched and was off everyone’s radar, I’d weigh the body down and let it sink beneath the surface. After all, why would you ever search the same place twice?”
His breath froze.
“That’s what happened tonight. Where I found my victim? The area had been searched before, so her killer had to bring her back after the initial search was concluded. He had to be watching. Paying such careful attention. That’s what killers do, though. Especially when they’re closer than you ever want them to be. They always keep watch.”
He could not look away from Tony.
“Sorry.” She grimaced. “I’ve been told that I don’t have the best conversational skills in the world. You probably aren’t interested in knowing what I would do if I was a killer. Or in hearing about how killers behave.”
“I am interested in every single thing about you,” he rasped. An absolute truth. She fascinated him.
“You’re interested in knowing where I would hide bodies? Like that’s not a red flag.” Clearly, she was trying to lighten the heavy mood.
He didn’t mind the heaviness. There were lots of red flags where he was concerned. She just hadn’t seen them yet. Soon enough, she would. Though he had gotten very good at hiding most of his bad traits from the rest of the world. A necessity for survival.
“You should consider trying to lighten up occasionally.” She studied him with her dark gaze. “If you don’t, if you let the darkness pull you down too much, it will suffocate you. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.” She tucked a lock of loose hair behind her ear. “Thanks for the wine. And for the distraction. Time for me to go before I crash.” She turned for the door.
She’d only taken two steps when Aiden heard himself say, “You can crash here.”
Her shoulders stiffened. Her head turned as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Is that a polite offer because it’s so late? One of those, you-can-take-the-spare-room deals? Or are you offering me something more?”
Damn. A low whistle escaped him. “Your honesty is going to take some getting used to.”
“I’ve been told that before, too. But I don’t think people ever get used to me.” She turned fully toward him. “And you didn’t answer.”
She was the most honest person he’d ever met. So he’d give her a bit of honesty in return. “I want you.”
Her eyes widened, as if his answer had surprised her. Why the hell would she be surprised? She’d asked the question. But because he liked finally being honest with someone, Aiden continued, “Every time I touch you, I feel a surge of heat pour through my body.” And I feel like you’re branding me.
“Mmm. Sounds like you might be catching a fever.”
Yes, he feared he was. “Do you have some rule about not sleeping with people you’re helping?”
“I have a rule about not sleeping with strangers. And you, Aiden Warner, are still very much a stranger to me. Sex requires trust. I’ve never been the casual-hookup type. In my line of work, you see how that goes very, very badly, very fast.” A hesitation. “So you were offering…sex?”