The ride ended too soon. He cut the engine in front of the cabin, and the quiet that followed was instant and thick. Only the ticking of the cooling bike and the faint hiss of rain filled the air.
When I swung my leg off, he caught my arm to steady me. His fingers lingered just long enough to make my breath hitch.
He pulled me close and unhooked my chin strap, easing the helmet off. “That was fun,” I said, trying not to sound breathless.
“It was.” He swung a leg over and stood there, tall and rain-damp, eyes unreadable. Drops slid down his hair and along his jaw.
I took a step back, needing space to breathe. “How’d your investigation go?”
“Interesting.”
“Is that a fact?”
His mouth flattened. “Yeah. Nothing on the dynamite yet. The lab will take some time in testing the residue for a signature.” He brushed a bit of water off my chin before continuing. “The prints from your Nana’s shop are still stuck in the queue. Washington’s lab is as behind as ours, but I’ll stay on them.”
“Good.” I exhaled, watching the fog of my breath vanish.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes flicking down to the business card tucked into my jeans pocket. With deliberate slowness, he plucked it free. “Whose number?”
“A man named Cormac Coretti,” I said. “Have you ever heard of him?”
“No.” Aiden turned the card over and frowned at the blank back. “Why would I have heard of him?”
How unsettling. “He’s heard of you. He knew about the investigation.”
“Cormac Coretti.” Aiden tested the name, the accent flattening the vowels. “Irish-Italian combo?”
“It is.”
He gave me a look. “Please tell me neither of your grandmothers have met this guy.”
“Oh yeah. Nana O’Shea met him earlier today.”
Aiden’s brows lifted. “All right, tell me he’s over ninety.”
“He’s not. He’s young. Pretty good-looking.”
Aiden’s expression shifted into a half scowl, half grin. “Is that a fact? Why do you have his number?”
“He wants updates on the investigation. Says once my grandparents announce a reward, he’s going after the boxes.”
“Going after them how?”
Maybe I should’ve tried harder to question Cormac. “I’m not entirely sure. That’s just what he said.” I shrugged, but Aiden’s focus didn’t waver. “I don’t think Bampa will offer money.”
“Your grandparents announced a reward a couple hours ago,” Aiden said. “You haven’t heard?”
“No. I’ve been on the phone with clients all afternoon.” So Cormac had been right. Somehow, he’d known before I had. That didn’t sit well.
Aiden handed the card back, his jaw tight. “Is this guy off?”
“I can’t decide. He seems interested in Donna and asked for her number.”
Aiden cocked his head. “So he has good taste. Maybe he’s a collector of silver? Or some dumbass treasure hunter?”
I couldn’t pinpoint Coretti, but dumbass didn’t come close. “Maybe a collector, though I have no idea how he found out about the theft.”
Aiden studied me for a beat. “You don’t like questions without answers.”
