I don’t see the resemblance. It’s like I have on these filtered glasses that only show me things I want to see. I’m not an idiot, I know my brain is subconsciously protecting me. “You’re right. Well, if you’ve done the research let’s move forward. Where is she at?”
“California. Northern, I believe.”
Wine country, I think. Aspen’s plan is looking better and better—everything is sort of falling into place. Will I be able to get away long enough to not have to tell anyone though? Fat chance. It’s like I have caution tape wrapped around my body. The person who needs to be protected. Maybe I can introduce Aria into my circle? Then I’d have to explain this weird secret appointment to Aspen, and she’d think I was being shady.
We’re making plans to meet up when Lincoln barges into the room like a damn bull in a china shop. “Are you okay?” he’s breathless. He’s also not in real clothes. He has on a pair of gray sweatpants that show off his bulge, something that is usually only reserved for me, and a black T-shirt. He’s wearing slippers
My eyes widen. “Oh my God, Lincoln. Did you drive here?”
He’s breathing heavy. “Yes, I saw… saw… someone at your house on the security system. It pings my phone if anything trips the motion detectors that’s larger than a squirrel.” I run a hand across my forehead.Ugh, forgot about that. Way to go, Maeve.“Let me repeat myself,” he growls, looking between me and Aria who he now must recognize from the video footage. “Are you okay?”
I put up my hands, palms out. “I’m absolutely fine. More than fine. Promise.” His shoulders relax, but his breathing is still harried. The man is out of shape. I’d laugh if I wasn’t caught between a rock and a hard place. The hard place being a lie.
Aspen bustles in, shoving Lincoln out of the way. “Ow, my shoulder,” Lincoln whines, grabbing his sore shoulder with his good arm. Thank God he has the sling on. When he pulled his gym stunt, he didn’t wear anything to protect it.
“Sorry. He wouldn’t listen to reason, Maeve. I’m so sorry, Ms. Smith,” Aspen drawls, putting on her best manners for the person she perceives as our patient. “Please just follow me to the waiting room, Ms. Smith. I’m sure Mr. Wilds will just need a moment of Dr. Ahern’s time.”
“Wait,” I call out, silencing the room. Aspen is aghast as she looks between Aria and me, trying to assess what I’m doing. Sucking in a huge breath, I tell them the truth. “This isn’t a patient, I mean, I don’t think she’s an actual patient.” I glance at Aria, and her reply is a firm headshake. “This is my… my, cousin.”
“What?” Lincoln says. Because it’s his reaction I’m most concerned with, I let my gaze meet his. “I asked her to come here so we could talk about our… family. Since I’m staying with you, I told her she could stay at my house. You saw Aria on the security footage. She’s not associated with the cartel, nor is she here to harm me. Actually, she made this sneaky appointment because I’m the one who wanted to keep her visit secret.” Looking down to my toes, I exhale noisily—embarrassed. When I look up, I can tell Lincoln is fuming mad.
“How am I supposed to protect you if you’re going to lie to me?” His nostrils flare as his features harden into stoic rage.Shit.“You told me you weren’t looking into this stuff, and that you were done.”
Aspen and Aria quietly slip into the hallway and close the door behind them. He’s never looked at me like this before—like he’s seeing a side of me he doesn’t want to have any part of.
“Lincoln, I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Well, now I’m not only worrying about your safety, I’m worried about you lying to me.” A chill hangs on the edge of his words and I sink lower into myself, retreating to the place where I shut down completely. “You have no clue who that woman is. We know she’s related to Rena, and that’s not a fucking good start, is it?”
“She’s not dangerous. I know she’s not.” But do I really know that? He’s right. In the same vein, though he needs to back off a little. “You have to trust me. That’s the only way this is going to work. I can’t always be worried about what you’re going to think as I live my life. I don’t report to anyone. That’s how I am. I’m my own person and you can’t take away my freedom of choice.”
He’s glowering at me. “Do you have any idea how a relationship works?”
A string of curses falls from my mouth. “Of course I do!”
“Then you’d know that a partnership is where two people work together. They tell each other stuff. They plan together. Sure, they have their separate lives, but they also report back to each other. Maeve, I know you haven’t been able to rely on anyone for most of your life, but this isn’t going to work unless you trust me. Rely on me. You have to talk to me.” He takes a deep calming breath, and the mask breaks. For a moment, I see how terrified I’ve made him and that hurts me. “I wouldn’t have had a problem with you meeting your cousin in person, in fact, I would have encouraged it during any other time in our lives, but you have to agree that right now, things aren’t normal and knowing who to trust and who to watch is kind of a strategic game. One that we are still figuring out the rules to.”
“You’re right. I’m so sorry. I want a relationship with Aria and I don’t know why. I told you I was putting it to bed and not thinking about it anymore because I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Like, I really didn’t want to care. Deep down, I do. She’s a person who might be able to help me figure out my life.”
He crosses to me in one big step and pulls me into his embrace with his right arm. I’m careful of where I’m at because the last thing I want to do is hurt him. He presses a kiss on my head. “Maeve, Aria has a record.”
I swallow down the huge lump in my throat. “What?”
Of course she does.
Chapter 4
Lincoln
“She said she had to knife him or he would have killed her!” Maeve exclaims, telling me the story that Aria told her. “It was clearly self-defense.”
I hit Maeve with a side-eye. “That’s not what the courts decided, Maeve. In fact, they thought the opposite was the truth.” After I got shot, I had people look into Aria. There were too many unknowns there and we found some less than ideal felonies. I wasn’t sure she wasn’t working for or with Rena, and I had to be sure. We weren’t able to connect the women, but it’s enough that when I saw her sitting in Maeve’s office, my stomach turned and the bad guy vibes started rolling from her.
“Sort of like the doctors decided you can’t lift weights for another couple weeks. You better listen to them!” she fires back. It’s not a defense, just something to counter what she knows is truth.
We just got home from my doctor’s appointment. Turner is playing video games in the living room. I can hear him hooting and hollering from where we stand in the office. Thank God the doctor released me back to work. I have to do some physical therapy. Maeve told him flat out, she would not be the one who oversees that. She’s forcing me to go to the therapist at my work. She said I’m the worst patient ever, and it doesn’t help that I’m constantly trying to sleep with her. The only thing she’d be rehabbing if I had it my way, is my dick.
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to do anything that will land me back in that bed… by myself?”