Page 33 of Truth & Lies

With everything crumbling around me, there’s a nagging feeling that we’ve yet to reach the eye of the storm. No matter what I try to do, the dark clouds looming over me continue to get lower and thicker, making it impossible to see a way back to clear skies—or a normal, drama-free life.

“Are you okay?” Aiden murmurs, breaking the silence that had stretched between us since we left the airport. He turns the car engine off, having come to a stop outside a two-level duplex in Oakland.

I hesitate for a moment, wondering whether I should tell him the truth or not. "Would you be?"

“How about we get you inside and settled? Hopefully then you can switch off and at least try to relax."

“I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until I can get in contact with my mother. I have a really bad feeling about all of this.”

I press my cheek into the headrest and look across at him. His eyes soften as he reaches over and gently squeezes my knee. That’s when I get a glimpse of the man I know as his lips quirk up into a sexy smirk. He waggles his brows. Then the Aiden I know reappears as he reaches out his hand and gently squeezes my thigh. “I can help you with that, too.”

Except the wicked thought doesn’t quite reach his eyes and I know that there are going to be some difficult questions to answer when he’s ready to face facts and I’m ready to tell him the truth—or the current state of my heart, anyway. Most importantly, there are some missing parts to this whole story that Aiden needs to explain to me—especially his history with Barrett and why he kept that from me.

And until either of us are ready to sit down and be honest with one another, I’m not sure anything is going to be relaxed and settled. Then again, I’m not convinced I could if I tried.

ChapterFourteen

Moments later, I’m standing in the tiled foyer of Aiden’s home for the very first time, looking around in awe. This is definitely not what I had expected. "This place is amazing.”

He nods, a slight pink blush coloring his cheeks as he walks down the hallway with our bags. I move into the living room, taking in the polished wooden floors and sleek black leather furniture. There’s a gas fireplace in one corner with a large flat-screen television hung on the wall above it. At the opposite end of the room is an L-shaped gourmet kitchen with dark wooden cupboards and stainless-steel appliances.

It's a house that will one day become a family home, that much is clear. It's not a bachelor pad, and the warm and welcoming atmosphere instantly relaxes me. Even when the ground beneath me feels anything but steady, I know this is a safe landing space for me, at least for the moment.

I’m still standing in the middle of the living room when Aiden returns a few minutes later, his brows furrowed as he takes me in. “Would you like a drink? God knows I could do with one,” he says as he moves toward the kitchen.

“Wine, please,” I reply, following behind him and taking a seat on one of the barstools opposite him. “Surely living so close to Napa, you have a bottle or two floating around.”

“Something like that,” he deadpans, not looking at me. It seems moody and brooding Aiden is still in the building. I don’t mention it though as he opens a cabinet and pulls out a glass before moving to the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of white. After filling the glass, he turns around and places it in front of me, turning back to the fridge and returning with a bottle of beer for himself, which he promptly opens and lifts to his mouth for a long draw.

“Aiden, I—”

He lowers the bottle, leaving it on the counter as he braces his hands in front of him, his frown pinning me in place. “Aly, I said I’d give you time but how long did it take for you to end up in his bed, huh? I knew itcouldhappen, I’d just hoped you’d have more faith in me—in us—and stay away from him.”

“Youtoldme to get closure.”

“Yeah, closure. Not put a giant Mark Lucas-sized wedge in the middle of what I thought we were building.”

I go to say something but clamp my mouth shut as he presses on. “Then I turn up today and you’re in his arms, kissing him. You’re supposed to bemine,Aly, and that asshole had his hands on you. Hismouthon you.”

“I don’t know what to say . . .”

“There’s not much you could say right now that will erase the image from my head. There are things I know about that man that you don’t.”

I decide that enough is enough, it’s time to get the answers I need from Aiden and start the conversation I’d put off earlier. “So howdoyou know him then? And why didn’t you tell me this—oh, I don’t know—weeksago? Maybe at the airport when I saw him again and you tried choking him out? Or even after that when we met with Harrison? And at no time did you evenhintthat you knew Barrett.” I don’t even try to hide the confusion and anxiety swirling inside of me. I may be weak when it comes to Barrett, but I haven’t lied about anything to Aiden. Yet here he is, standing in front of me, admitting he has a past with the very same man.

He stares at me for what feels like forever, before he walks out of the kitchen and into the living room, taking a seat on one of the leather couches. Deciding distance is best at this point, I follow him, sitting down opposite him on the other sofa.

“You really wanna know, Aly? You and I may have known each other for two years, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about each other. Are you finally ready to get deep and personal?”

I lift my glass to my mouth and take a fortifying drink of wine.Something tells me I’m going to need it. I nod his way. “Tell me how you know Barrett.”

“I started my training at Quantico . . .” he says.

My brows lift. “You were in the FBI?”

“I started out hoping to be a special agent, but realized it wasn’t for me, so I transferred to the San Francisco Police department, which is where I stayed.”

“And Barrett?” I ask, my voice steady when in fact I feel anything but calm.Am I ready to hear this…

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