“A raid?” Annoyance pricked at the back of his skull. “What possible reason could they have for a raid?”
“Apparently they got a tip that you’re keeping a woman here against her will.”
Annoyance erupted into fear. “They’re coming for Aria.”
“Yeah.”
“Goddammit. Go find Reagan. I’ll get Aria. We need to figure out a game plan.”
“On it.”
Leaving Brody to deal with his sister, Killian headed for the stairs. Aria had gone up for a nap a little over an hour ago, and though he hated to disturb her, she needed to be part of this conversation.
That thought pulled him up short just outside her bedroom door. Whenever he’d imagined himself with a wife, he’d imagined someone more like Portia. Content to sit in the background, pretending not to know anything about anything while he went about his business.
Instead, he got Aria. Even if he’d wanted her to, she would never be that woman. And it surprised him to realize he wasn’t just okay with that, he wanted her by his side. Wanted her as an equal partner in all things.
Deciding to keep that revelation to himself for now, he eased open her door and slipped inside. Goddamn, she was stunning, even dead asleep with her mouth hanging open and a string of drool dripping down her chin. His heart clenched painfully in his chest at the thought of waking her, but she’d be furious with him if he didn’t.
“Time to wake up, princess.”
Her brows scrunched adorably as she rolled onto her side. “Go ‘way.”
“I would if I could, baby, but then you’d have to kick my ass for letting you sleep, and neither of us wants that.”
At least part of his words must have pierced her consciousness because she twisted to blink owlishly up at him. “What’s going on?”
“We have a… situation. Brody and I will explain downstairs.”
And just like that, she was wide awake, as if she’d lived her entire life in this world, prepared to snap out of sleep at a moment’s notice. “I need to pee.”
“Of course. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried to the bathroom.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he shot off a text to Reagan, asking her to grab the chicken salad that had become Aria’s latest food obsession as well as some of the muffins they’d picked up from Rev and Roll that morning. They weren’t as magic as Holden’s muffins, according to Aria, but she could at least keep them down most days.
He was just tucking his phone back in his pocket when Aria stepped out of the bathroom again, her expression twisted with worry. “Okay. I’m ready. What’s wrong?”
“Downstairs. Reagan is getting lunch and we can talk.”
“All right.”
It occurred to him, much like it had when he’d realized how much he wanted her by his side, that even two weeks ago she would have argued with him, demanded to be told immediately.
Was she simply getting used to his cryptic ways? Or did it go deeper than that?
More questions he didn’t have time to answer, so he settled for guiding her down the stairs with his hand at her back. Reagan and Brody were already waiting in his office, with the former pacing restlessly while the latter munched calmly on a sandwich.
“Killian.” Reagan pounced the second he stepped through the door. “What’s going on? Why the secret meeting?”
He nudged Aria toward his chair and placed a sandwich and a muffin in front of her before turning to his sister. “Brody has some news.”
His cousin picked up the thread. “We’re being raided tonight.”
As he’d expected, Reagan let loose a string of swear words that would have horrified their mother, blistering the air around them as her pacing sped up. “Who?”
“Locals,” Killian supplied, letting his hand rest on the back of Aria’s neck as she ate in silence. “Apparently they have some… concerns about Aria’s presence here.
