Adverse Possession (The Anna Albertini Files #3) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,12

it was easy to find the location, and I figured you’d be here.” She hiccupped. “Ug. Cheap booze.”

Yeah, she did smell like whiskey. I shook my head. “What you all do to go undercover is a lot. Do you even know who you are any longer?” Not that it was any of my business. Well, except she did just shoot a potato at my car. I guess that did give me rights.

Her chin went up. “Oh, I know exactly who I am. In fact, I think I claimed my man last night at the complex, so yeah. Shooting potatoes at you is just the cherry on the top.”

If she’d meant to throw me off, she failed. While I knew Aiden would do many things for an undercover operation, hurting me wasn’t one of them. Sasha obviously wanted me to ask her about last night, and it wasn’t going to happen. “Then I assume you’re finished with this silliness?” I asked.

Surprise filtered through her expression that she quickly hid. “Not sure, but you made your point. I wasn’t expecting you to be armed.”

I’d been armed with some type of weapon from the day I’d been kidnapped as a ten-year-old and saved by Aiden Devlin. First knives and now a gun. “I think we understand each other, then,” I said. “Right?”

“Right. Just agree to leave Devlin alone for the duration, and I’ll say you gave in to my friends, and we’ll leave you alone,” Sasha said.

I studied her. “Is this all part of your cover?”

For the first time, she faltered. Just enough for me to notice. “No.”

“That’s what I thought,” I said, my hold loosening a fraction on my gun.

“Devlin and I were good together and I want to see what we could have,” she said evenly.

I respected the honesty, especially since she seemed to be playing games with the undercover crap. In addition, I did understand the Lordes motorcycle club, and she would need the respect of the members and their old ladies if she was going to get anything done, especially something dangerous with a terrorist. “I understand your job and the importance of it,” I said quietly as the other women craned their necks to see us talking.

Her smile was a little catlike. “So you’ll stay out of my way?”

Man, I was having problems with the sisterhood these days. I let her see me without the mask of anger. Without anything. “Do your best, Sasha. It won’t matter if I stay out of your way or not.”

Her shoulders hunched as if she were threatening me, and since the women couldn’t see her face, it was probably a pretty good act. “You sound incredibly confident, Albertini.”

I smiled, making sure I didn’t look nice, just in case. “I am. You do whatever you need to do, play games, don’t play games, whatever.” I leaned toward her, and this time, I wasn’t performing for the audience. “It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, at the end of any day, Aiden Devlin will choose me.”

Her nostrils flared. “And why is that?”

I reached down, secured the potato gun, and tossed it in my backseat before slipping into my car. “Because I chose him.”

I drove toward my garage near my peaceful lake, unsurprised to see the Harley sitting to one side. Stepping out of my car, I walked along the petunias I’d planted all around my homey cottage. I rented the guest house of an estate on the lake and loved my little place. Once inside, I caught wind of Aiden on the back deck by the grill, beer in hand.

I dropped my purse on the sofa, walked to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of Cabernet that was open and breathing on the counter, and then headed out into the warm early evening. “What’s on the grill?”

“Steaks.” He lifted the lid, studied the steaks, and then shut it before turning to me.

There was something about a hot guy holding a cold beer bottle. I don’t know why. His black tee stretched across his broad chest, and his faded jeans led to badass motorcycle boots. His dark hair curled a bit beneath his ears and needed a good cut, while his eyes were a deep sapphire blue in the waning sun. “How’s the face?”

“Fine,” I said, taking a sip of my wine. “I don’t think Sasha expected a fight when she punched me.”

Aiden’s cheek creased. “Not everyone understands the danger of the Albertini Three.” He shook his head. “I’ve had more friends