“I really don’t know,” Nick said, his lawyer face back in place. He looked tough, intelligent, and pissed. “But I’m going to find out.”
Her chin lifted. “I’m coming with you.”
Aiden’s gaze softened slightly. “You can’t be in the interview room, Tessa.”
She pursed her lips, confusion wrinkling her brow. “You’re interviewing Nick? What is this about?”
Aiden took my hand and drew me toward the stairs and down to the icy pavement. “I can’t talk about it.”
“I’m coming with you anyway,” she said.
I liked my sister’s stubborn side. I always had. Plus, she could ride with Nick, and I’d ride with Aiden. At least that fight could be avoided because I had fully planned on going with Nick and discovering if he knew anything about why the ATF would be knocking on his door.
“Go straight to my office,” Aiden said curtly, reaching his vehicle and clicking the fob. He opened the passenger-side door, and I hopped inside, trying to slide across and hide the dried latte blob. It really wasn’t much, but I needed a wet wipe to clean it up.
He crossed around the front of the truck and stepped inside, having to move the seat way back before sitting. He ignited the engine, and soon we were moving.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’ll talk to you when your client is present.”
My hackles instantly rose. “Don’t get mad at me because I’m doing my job. Nick is my client. I can’t believe you just bombarded him like that.”
Aiden flipped on his windshield wipers to combat the snow. “Nick is your friend.”
“He’s about to be my family.” I’d had a long day. It should’ve ended very nicely with an engaged sister. Now, I had to put on my lawyer hat against my boyfriend while still trying to find him a Valentine’s Day gift.
He remained silent as I stewed, which was one of his damn gifts. We headed through the snowy night toward his office building at the edge of Lilac Lake. It had once been a spa I’d had a hand in shutting down because of a drug trade. I loved that Aiden had purchased the building and now rented it back to the ATF.
He parked the truck near the entrance and silence fell around us. “Stay inside the truck until I cross around. We haven’t had a chance to de-ice the parking area.” After his bossy order, he jumped out of the truck.
Like I was going to do what he told me. I opened my door and stepped out, careful to keep my footing.
He reached me, grasped my arm, and shut the door. “It wouldn’t hurt you to listen once in a while.”
“It wouldn’t hurtyouto talk once in a while,” I snapped, trying not to appreciate how he pulled me close and shielded me from the falling snow.
We reached the door, and he typed a code into the keypad, which smoothly snaked the heavy wood open. Nick and Tessa pulled up, and we waited just inside as they made their way out of the rig and toward us.
Once inside, Aiden turned and secured the door. I noted cameras mounted outside and inside the two-story building and wondered how many I couldn’t see. His team had created a nice reception area on the first floor with leather sofas and a currently unoccupied wide counter.
“The offices are upstairs.” Aiden strode behind the reception desk to a door he opened with another keypad.
We all followed him up wooden stairs that looked like they’d been recently polished. The smell of pine-scented cleaner, leather, and winter permeated the entire space.
Reaching the top, Aiden pointed down a wide hallway that already had several enlarged photographs of nature in Idaho, including a deer near Lilac Lake. “My office is the farthest one in the corner, Tessa. Make yourself at home.”
She huddled into her white puffer jacket and nodded, leaning up to kiss Nick on the cheek before turning and striding down the quiet hallway. Her hips swayed, and not once did she look back. Yeah, my older sister was a badass. Man, I loved her.
“The conference rooms are this way.” Aiden led us in the other direction.
I noted several more enlarged pictures. One of Silverville from atop a mountain entranced me. “Who took the photos?”
“We all chose our favorites from our phone’s camera rolls and had them blown up. The one of Silverville is mine.” Aiden opened a door to what was, indeed, a conference room and not an interrogation room. My body started to relax until I noticed the two cameras mounted on the walls. Expensive blinds covered an expansive window that fronted the lake.
James Saber looked up from the other side of the table where he’d been scouring some notes. “Hi.” He stood.
“Hi, Saber.” While we’d had a somewhat rough introduction, I liked Aiden’s second in command.
