Passing His Guard

“Tell them what? What the hell are you talking about? Sweetheart, you’re not making sense.”

“About what I did to you. Aiden, they’ll arrest me. You said it yourself, I’ve committed a felony. If you don’t come back with me, if I don’t get that money from your mother, Vincent Moralli is going to kill me.”

The look of surprise on his face was quickly erased by concern with a healthy dose of pissed-off. Though she couldn’t be sure, she suspected the latter emotion wasn’t directed at her, even though his grip on her tightened until she winced.

“What the hell kind of trouble are you in, Rya

“I’ll tell you. I promise I’ll tell you everything. Just please don’t tell them what I did to you.”

Instead of agreeing, he pulled her into his arms. God help her, he felt so good, so safe. Despite all the promises she’d made to herself and the boundaries she’d tried to erect, Rya

“It’s going to be all right, Rya

His tone brooked no room for argument. Not that she had it in her, anyway. She nodded against his chest and felt his breath stirring her hair as he inhaled deeply. He kissed the top of her head before letting her go, then leaned back and gave her a smile so breathtaking, she momentarily forgot to breathe. This was the man behind the fame, the man she was desperate to know and yearned to spend time with.

Taking her hand, he gave it a reassuring squeeze and said, “Let’s just get this over with, huh?”

CHAPTER

18

The following three hours were torture. Aiden could hardly concentrate on answering the officer’s questions over the riot of his own slamming around in his head. He’d figured something was up with Rya

What kind of trouble could Rya

No, this was legit. Rya

“I think that’s all we need from you, Mr. Kruze. Thank you for coming down. We appreciate your cooperation.”

Aiden recognized the officer interviewing him as the one who’d taken over the lead at the robbery last night. He found the man to be thorough, competent, and direct. He was a straight shooter, and Aiden respected that.

“Not a problem. Are we free to go, then? My girlfriend is anxious to get back to New York.”

“That’s understandable. I’m sorry to be delaying you, but I’d really appreciate it if you could spend one more night in town. I’ll get everything in to the DA today and he’ll review the case. If he has any questions or needs clarification, we can have you come back down right away in the morning. If you haven’t heard from us by . . . let’s say ten a.m. tomorrow, you’re free to go.”

“That’s fair enough.” Aiden shoved back his chair and rose, anxious to find Rya

“Thank you, again.” The officer stood and extended his hand. “For being so understanding about everything.”

He shook the guy’s hand and made a hasty retreat. When Aiden stepped into the hall, he found the chairs he and Rya

The cop gave him a knowing grin that sent Aiden’s hackles up. He wasn’t usually so touchy, but he was quickly discovering when it came to Rya

“Oh, her? Yeah, she’s kinda hard to miss. Last I saw, she was over by the vending machines down the hall and on the left.”

After a curt “Thanks,” Aiden spun around and headed in the direction the officer pointed, each step ratcheting the tension inside him. Common sense told him she was safe. She was in a police station, for crissake, and Moralli had no way of knowing she was even here. It didn’t matter that his concern for her was irrational, just knowing the threat existed courted the alpha in him to life, and that beast ran on pure testosterone. By the time Aiden reached the break room, there was a healthy dose of it flooding his veins. He entered the doorway and came to an abrupt stop.

The relief at finding Rya

The boy in blue said something Aiden couldn’t hear, and she laughed as he shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a fistful of change. After dropping several coins in the machine, Rya