“Listen, I get it. Whatever you’ve gotten yourself into is more than a bunch of credits disappearing and two men dying. The police made that abundantly clear when I was being questioned.” Rick squeezed Aiden’s arm. “Between trusting my best friend and a bunch of incompetent assholes who won’t even listen when I tell them I’m being followed, I think the choice is obvious.”
Aiden felt his heart swell with joy despite the tendrils of fear still clutching it. He hated that the choice Rick was making wasn’t really a choice when his life was potentially in danger, but he was happy it was happening now rather than when it was too late.
“There’s no going back,” Aiden said a little breathlessly, needing to know that Rick understood the gravity of what he was about to walk into. “But I promise that you will be safe with us.”
Rick smiled, determination in his eyes. “Yes, I am aware. But I know you and I trust you. So, I pick your side, whatever it is.”
Relief crashed into Aiden, his hand shooting up to squeeze Rick’s. A part of him couldn’t believe it, how easily Rick seemed to accept this. He wondered if maybe it was a trick or a trap, but Rick was a shitty liar. He’d not given up on Aiden so far, proven time and time again he valued their friendship even when Aiden had lied and tried to push him away. He was one of those genuinely good-hearted people, kind and reliable, and maybe a little crazy, too.
And he is in danger, a voice whispered in Aiden’s head,and you can’t allow what happened to PI Deverson to happen to him. He deserves better even if he has to live on the run.
“Okay…” Aiden stifled down the agitation budding inside him. “Okay. Let’s go. I just need to pick something up.”
He jogged over to get the food from the kiosk, Rick trailing behind. Once he’d collected it, he led his friend to the Maine.
“Woah, Aiden, that’syourride?”
Aiden bit down a smile and nodded, letting the console at the airlock scan him. The door whooshed open, and they entered the elevator. It was set up in such a way that it connected only to the bridge. The cargo bay entrance was the only other obvious point of entry into the ship, but it was a lot more secure and harder to infiltrate, so such measures weren’t necessary there.
As they traveled up, Aiden tapped his comms device to turn it off, but kept it in his ear like Darren seemed to do. It was made from a material that allowed it some degree of flexibility, which in turn ensured it was shape-fitting and comfortable. This allowed them to stay in contact with each other at all times. Rickkept a running commentary about the impressiveness of the sleek frigate, ceasing to talk when they arrived at the bridge and the doors slid open.
Across from them, Darren was leaning against the wall, staring at his tablet. He stood in that same spot where Bea had been standing when Aiden had set foot on the Maine for the first time, and a sense of déjà vu washed over him as he remembered how confused and scared and out of his element he’d felt back then. Rick was probably feeling the same way, but before Aiden could reassure him, Darren lifted his gaze. His midnight eyes quickly scanned over Rick before moving to Aiden and locking onto him with heart-pounding intensity.
Flicking his tongue over his lip piercing, Darren said, “Welcome back, Aiden.” His mouth curved up on one side, and then he pushed off the wall, schooled his expression and squared his shoulders. “And you must be Rick Degrasse. I’m Darre—”
“I know who you are, Darren Howe,” Rick growled, grabbing Aiden by the wrist and stepping in front of him as if to protect him. “Aiden.” He whipped his head back, confusion and annoyance clouding his expression. “What ishedoing here?” he ground out with open hostility.
Aiden hadn’t expected to run into Darren before he’d explained things to Rick and, with the man here with them, he wasn’t sure where to even begin.
With a barely perceptible shadow of a smile, Darren nudged his chin toward the cockpit. “I’ll give you two some privacy. The conference room can be isolated from the ship’s comms grid. You can talk there.” He put his hands in his pockets like he tended to do when he was nervous. “Aiden, come find me later. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Rick directed his scowl from Aiden to Darren, hesitantly letting go of Aiden’s arm. The look on his face betrayed how much he wanted the explanation he was owed.
“Yeah, okay,” Aiden said, squeezing the paper bag with the two burgers. When Darren nodded and started to walk off, he cleared his throat. “Wait, Darren. Catch.” He tossed the bag without an explanation.
Darren’s brows drew together, but he managed to catch the bag regardless. Upon Aiden’s nod, he peeled off one of the flaps to peek inside. A grin lit up his face as he inhaled the smell of the burgers and, clutching the bag tightly to his chest as if it were a treasure, he turned around and jogged out of sight.
