Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,29

newspaper picture of Nick and me was on the front page, and Davey was ticked I was dating somebody, or he thought I was.” I took some solace in the fact that I wasn’t dating anybody right now, so Jareth Davey had no reason to seek me out. Not that I wasn’t ready. I’d prepared for his return my entire life, from the second I could aim a handgun. “Truth be told, I’d like to get it over with,” I said.

“No. I’ll take care of him before you do,” Aiden countered. “That day changed us both.”

Apparently not. “If that day had truly changed you, you wouldn’t be a criminal,” I said quietly. “Or you wouldn’t be involved with criminal activity to the point that you can’t date who you want.”

His cheek creased in a way I wish wasn’t sexy and adorable. “Who says I can’t date who I want?”

“I do.” I lifted my chin. “I wasn’t the only one snuggling on the sofa and watching movies, and I wasn’t the only one in that bed. You like me.”

His grin widened. “I do like you. A lot.”

That ice started to melt. “This protecting me for my own good is a bunch of bullshit, Aiden Devlin,” I said. “I’m a big girl who can make her own decisions, and I think you know that. In fact, I think you’re backing off because you’re not sure of yourself. Did this get too real for you?” I was kind of shooting in the dark, but my instincts with him were usually pretty close to target.

“Maybe,” he allowed. “Either way, it wouldn’t work. My life, your life, and the future. I’m definitely not a picket fence type of guy, and you’re all family, no matter how tough you act.”

“It’s not an act,” I said, feeling settled for the first time in days. “I am tough, and at the moment, I’m a heck of a lot stronger than you. At least I’m not afraid to take a chance.”

His bark of laughter was a surprise that somehow warmed me. “I take chances all the time.” Then he sobered. “Though not with you. I know you don’t get it, but that day in June years ago was the one good thing I can hold on to. That I did something right, and maybe my soul will be okay for it. I can’t let you get hurt now.”

“You’re not responsible for me,” I reminded him.

He exhaled. “That’s not how I see it.”

The fact that he felt responsible for me didn’t give me warm fuzzies. Nope. Not at all. My phone buzzed, and I slowly drew it out from my back pocket to see Tessa’s smiling face. “Hey, Tess. Everything okay?” I answered, still watching Aiden.

“Yeah. After my shift, Clark wants to meet and go over my case, and I thought you’d want to be there. In fact, can we meet at your place? Donna is having some get-together with her realtor pals to plan the week ahead. Remember when we didn’t work on Sundays?” Tessa sighed.

“Sure. Bring a late lunch, would you?” I asked, already knowing she’d bring something from the diner.

She laughed. “Yep. Bye.” She clicked off.

Aiden cocked his head to the side. “You’re not going to stay out of this, are you?”

Now I smiled at him. “Not a chance in hell.”

Chapter 11

I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that once again, we had no clue where Jareth Davey had gone as I helped Tessa clean up the mess from our late lunch.

Clark sat at the table and spread out a couple of manilla files along with a legal pad as we started to get down to business. He looked up at me, serious and studious with his badass glasses on. “I’m not sure you should be a part of this.” Then he paused, held up a hand, and shook his head. “Let me rephrase that. You definitely should not be a part of this, and we all know it.”

I tossed the washcloth into the sink and followed Tessa to the table to sit. “Our only worry is that if Tessa says something incriminating, then I don’t have attorney-client privilege with her. Since she hasn’t done anything wrong, she won’t say anything incriminating.”

“It’s not that simple,” Clark said, his eyes a deep brown against his smooth skin. Today he wore a blue golf shirt with pressed dark jeans and somehow still looked dressed up.

Tessa drew out a chair. “I’m fine taking the risk and want Anna