Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,113

him to dinner, and returned to where my mom was glaring at him to leave us alone.

Aiden twisted the top off the beer. “I’ve been in combat situations that were safer than this.”

I laughed, feeling free and happy. Very happy. Oh, life would get complicated with the new business, but today was Sunday and I’d worry about that on Monday. I already had Oliver Duck on the schedule to help us clean out the office. Right now, I had a hottie ATF agent next to me who was hopefully coming home with me that night. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Aiden looked at me, and those blue eyes warmed even more. “I’m glad I’m here too. I landed two hours ago and headed right here, figuring you’d be at the family barbecue.”

I had to give that to him. He’d shown up in front of both sides of my family. For me. “How long are you staying?”

He took a bite of the twice-baked potatoes and then had a drink of his beer. “I’m on the current assignment for at least a month to gather evidence on the remainder of the Lordes members as well as Pucci’s gang. It’ll take a week for Drag to stop complaining about being on crutches for a short time.”

I sipped my wine. “Then it’s back to Los Angeles and going undercover?”

He ate some of the steak and watched my family. “It doesn’t have to be. What do you want?”

I wanted him to stay and see what we had or could have, but I wouldn’t like it if he asked me to quit my job. “You. If you’re in LA and I’m here, then I want the long distance thing for now.” My hand shook, so I put down the wine glass. “What do you want?” My nerves jumped all over inside my body.

As if he knew, he reached out and kneaded my nape with his very capable hand. “I’m with you. Let’s see if either one of us can manage…us. It’s a lot.”

That was the understatement of the day. I grinned. “Yeah. Definitely.”

His gaze dropped to my bandage again. “Nice job bringing down a murderer on your own, by the way. I didn’t suspect Krissy Walker for a second.”

“She was good at it all.” Hopefully she’d find a nice path in prison. Witch. “Did you get the rest of Pucci’s guys?”

“Yeah. They’re all off the street, so you’re safe. From them, anyway. Who knows what’ll come our way next.” He ate more of his dinner while leaving his hand nicely on my nape.

I liked that. A lot.

He also seemed to manage warning looks from my dad and hopeful glances from my mom with ease. “Also, I’m working on being stationed out of the Spokane office.”

Hope burst through me along with a ridiculous thread of caution. “I thought the closest SRT is out of Los Angeles.”

“It is,” he said. “There are about 160 full time members, and I have a team within the team. It’d be something new and different, but I think I have enough pull after the last two busts to relocate my team to here. It’s by an airport and we can get anywhere across the country from here as easily as from Los Angeles.” He tipped back his beer. “I’m trying anyway.”

I patted his thigh. “That would be awesome, but I don’t want you to change your life for me.” Not yet, anyway.

He chuckled. “I’m not asking for anything, Angel. I’m tired of the city and I want to be here, whether or not we work out. My team needs to get out of the city and enjoy some time in the country, and their health is on my shoulders. Everything else, we’ll figure out later.”

I snuggled into him. It was a start, and like he said, we’d figure it out as we went.

Aiden Devlin was finally home.

ADVERSE POSSESSION

The Anna Albertini Files Book 3

Adverse Possession

The plural form of Nemesis is Nemeses

Anna Albertini never thought she’d have to look up the plural form of nemesis. In fact, she never thought she’d have one, much less three. But as she and her new partner try to make a go of their fledgling law firm, enemies come from every direction.

First, there’s a newspaper reporter trying to earn a name for herself by dogging Anna’s every move. Second, there’s a lawyer on the opposite side of every case who just doesn’t like Anna. And third, there’s Aiden Devlin’s ex-girlfriend, who decides to descend upon the sleeping Idaho town like