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That was surprising.

Aria’s brows lifted slightly. “And storming into a closed meeting seemed like the sensible solution?”

“It got me through the door.”

“Yes. I’m still deciding whether to admire that or have you escorted back out of it.”

The woman shifted the boy higher on her hip and met Aria’s gaze without blinking.

“You can try.”

Slade cleared his throat.

“Ladies.”

Neither of them looked at him.

Aria remained perfectly composed. “For future reference, threatening the woman who controls access to this building is generally poor strategy.”

“For future reference, standing between me and Gabriel is worse.”

“Noted.”

“Good.”

They stared at each other for another beat.

Jesus Christ.

I had no idea who was going to win that catfight, but I was suddenly very intrigued.

Then Luca straightened from the desk.

Whatever had drained the color from his face disappeared beneath the old-school mafia boss in an instant.

“Who the hell are you?”

The woman barely looked at him.

Her eyes found me, and my entire fucking day got stranger.

Then it hit me—I knew that face.

Or thought I did.

Something about her tugged at my memory, but I couldn’t place her.

She watched me struggling to remember.

Her mouth tightened, and she huffed, “Wow.”

I frowned. “What?”

“Nothing. Nice to know I left such a lasting impression.”

My attention dropped to the kid on her hip.

Three, maybe four years old. Light hair. Serious little face. One arm locked around her neck while the other gripped the front of her coat.