“They’re far more comfortable than you think.” Pierce dropped a much heavier case file on the table than he’d had for Melvin.
I swallowed. “Double or nothing, Nick? I bet Aiden doesn’t give up a thing.”
Nick studied Aiden through the glass. “No bet. He’s been through this before. He’s not gonna talk, and he’s not gonna ask for a lawyer. We don’t have enough to hold him, and he knows it.”
“Then why did we bring him in?” I asked.
“The Lordes are getting nervous. Antsy. They know we have Devlin, and while he’s in an important position, he’s only been with them for two years. They have to wonder how he escaped being charged with the other Diablos. I have no doubt Pierce will have Spider in here at some time and hint at that very thing.” Nick’s long legs reached the floor.
Mine dangled in the air. Wouldn’t that put Aiden in even more danger? “Pierce is just applying more pressure?”
“Yeah, and he’ll put Melvin in hot water. Soon.”
Pierce tapped the table. “Melvin Whitaker gave you up, Devlin. Completely.”
“See?” Nick said.
Aiden flashed a quick smile, and while I’d like to say it didn’t do something funny to my abdomen, I’d be lying. “Not gonna discuss other people with you, Pierce.”
“Smart,” Nick muttered. “Didn’t lie, so we can’t cross-examine him on his statement. Man, I hate this guy.”
I should, too. In ordinary circumstances, I probably would. But not Aiden.
“What about pretty Anna Albertini?” Pierce asked, his voice lowering. “Want to talk about the spunky lawyer with the green eyes?”
My jaw dropped, and I shut it.
“He’s just trying to get into Devlin’s head,” Nick said quickly.
Aiden looked around Pierce to the window, somehow zeroing in on me again. “Her eyes are more gray than green. Obviously, you haven’t been that close to her, or you’d know that.”
“Have you been that close to her?” Pierce asked.
“Fourteen years ago, she was all eyes,” Aiden rumbled. “Skinny little thing with tons of brunette hair and big eyes. You know what she was doing the first time I saw her? Really saw her?”
I couldn’t breathe.
“No, what?” Pierce asked.
Aiden focused back on him. “She was swinging a cast-iron skillet that weighed more than she did at a monster. That’s what she was doing.” He leaned forward, threat in every line of his body. “She’s not somebody you use in an interrogation, in any manner. Say her name again, and I walk. Instantly.”
My lungs protested, and I forced myself to exhale. Air in. Air out.
Pierce leaned back. “Those are some strong emotions, Devlin.”
“Moments define us,” Aiden said softly. “Anna and I shared one. An important one that probably shaped us both in ways you can’t imagine. Years later, here we are.”
There was something poetic about his words, and his meaning shot right to my heart.
“She’s a lawyer and you’re a criminal,” Pierce snapped. “In fact, she’s been put in danger more than once because of you and because of this case. So how about you do the right thing, for the second time in your miserable life, and tell me what I need to know to close this thing? Protect her again, Devlin. It’s the only way.”
Aiden’s chin lifted very slightly. “You gonna protect her? Be her hero, Pierce?” His chuckle lacked humor. “You want it, don’t you? Man, she has an effect. One of a kind.”
I shifted uneasily on the table. This line of questioning, this back and forth, really sucked.
Pierce’s chuckle was just as dark as Aiden’s. “Oh, no. She has a hero, buddy. It’s all you. Now why don’t you prove it?”
That hit so close to home I had to look away. Just for a second.
