to propel me around the table. “Thanks for the laugh, gentlemen.”
Stewart leaned back so he could keep us in his sights. “The autopsy results should be ready on Monday or Tuesday, and when I have them, I’m getting a warrant for DNA. The second that comes in, I’m arresting you and going for first-degree, Miss Albertini.”
Pierce opened the door, and I moved into the hallway, where Clark grasped my arm and escorted me down the stairs and out the front door. It was early evening, but the heat still pressed in on me.
I couldn’t breathe.
Kurt waited outside, leaning against the bricks. “You okay?”
I shook my head and tried to force air into my lungs.
Clark shoved my shoulders down so I was bent over. “Breathe. Stop the panic and breathe through it. You’re okay.” He rubbed gentle circles across my upper back.
Kurt’s scuffed black boots came into my vision. “What’s wrong with her?”
Clark’s sigh ruffled my hair. “She’s going to be charged with first-degree murder by Wednesday. I think she’s gone into a panic attack.”
“I don’t blame her,” Kurt said grimly.
Chapter 21
I settled against pillows in my bed and streamed a show about baking. For a Saturday night in August, the lake was surprisingly quiet outside with no boat lights illuminating the waves, although the moon was doing a decent job of it. The blinds to my sliding glass door were open, but it was securely locked with a bar preventing it being opened at all.
Zena had elected to stay up with Kurt because I think he kept slipping her treats. He slept on the sofa outside. Or he planned to, anyway. It was midnight, and I could hear him rustling in the kitchen. Maybe he didn’t sleep much.
My three calls to Aiden that afternoon had gone to voice mail. For all I knew, he was in Seattle already dealing with criminals. The idea was keeping me from sleeping, so I gave in to worry and let myself binge-watch the creation of raspberry filled pastries. I wrapped my arms around my knees and waited for the next episode to begin.
The bedroom door opened and I tensed. Then Aiden walked inside.
I blinked once and then again. “I thought we weren’t supposed to see each other,” I whispered, trying to sort out the cornucopia of feelings slamming through me.
He shut the door and kicked off motorcycle boots. “I took backroads and made sure nobody followed me.” He shucked his light jacket and walked over to the blinds to securely shut them. “Rumor has it you had a rough day that included a panic attack outside the police station.”
I drank him in, although he was dressed in his usual clothing. “Did you and Sasha agree to have a baby?”
His head jerked. “What? How did you know about that?”
My body jolted like I’d been punched in the solar plexus. Internal pain was worse than a punch, sometimes. My heart ached. “It’s true?”
He scrubbed a rough hand through his thick hair and sat at the edge of my bed. “I guess. Kind of. Three years ago, when we were on assignment, we agreed to have a kid if neither of us were with anybody by the time we turned forty. That’s eight years away for me. It wasn’t a serious agreement or anything, and we were just goofing off talking about it.”
I pushed away the second panic attack for the day. “So you didn’t recommit to the idea when she stayed the night at your apartment at the Lordes complex?”
“No.” He frowned and his jaw hardened. “Of course not. Who told you that?”
I gave him all the details about the interview with the FBI agent and federal prosecutor. “Somehow, the guy thinks you and Sasha had a new plan. Or he was just lying to me and fishing for information.”
Aiden’s eyes blazed a raw blue. “I want to know who gave him that information. Sasha and I didn’t talk about it when she stayed at the apartment the other night.” He caught my look. “I slept on the sofa, Angel. You have to know that.”
I did deep down. At the same time, we’d only been dating for a little while, and it’s not like we’d kept in touch before that. He’d skipped town at eighteen, and I’d only been thirteen at the time. How well did I really know him? Yeah, I trusted him. “I believe you. Who would know about that issue?” I didn’t even want to say the word baby in regard to Aiden