Dusk (Dangerous Web #1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,13
in the process.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Remember your first lockdown?” I asked as I sat back down and picked up her plate, handing it her direction.
Araneae reached for the plastic dish and sat beside me. “Yes, I wish we had some of that wine.”
“You can’t drink. Remember?”
“Circumstances being what they are, I think one glass would be acceptable.” She pushed the chicken around, finally stabbing a piece. “I remember I felt very alone.”
“I hate that you’re here with me,” I admitted, “but I’m also glad. My first lockdown and many after were spent alone.”
Araneae’s nose scrunched. “Didn’t you say it lasted five days?”
I shook my head as the memory returned. “Not the first one. The first one was not long after Sparrow’s father died...the takeover of the Sparrow outfit was happening. Mace had only recently moved me into the tower. Things were more dangerous than I realized.” I smiled at the forthcoming thought. “That’s why Mason kidnapped me to the tower.”
“You were kidnapped?”
“No,” I said with a laugh. “I teased him, telling him that was what he did. It wasn’t. He was...persistent.”
“A quality they all possess.”
I took another bite. As I did my stomach grumbled. “I guess I am hungry. You don’t have some salt or pepper on you?”
“No,” Araneae answered as she lifted her feet. “I don’t even have shoes.” Her voice lowered again. “How do you think they knew?”
“I don’t know. Reid always said that when any one of us was away, we’d always have our phones, shoes, or purses. That’s why he believed they were the best place for trackers.” I turned her way. “When we’re rescued, I guess we’ll need to tell him he needs to up his game.”
I grinned, seeing Araneae finally begin to eat. The food was bland and tasteless, but it contained nutrients that she and her baby needed.
“Your first lockdown?” she encouraged.
“Didn’t end well.”
“What happened?”
“Reid and I weren’t married.” My eyes opened wide. “We weren’t even engaged. We were...secret lovers. It hadn’t been going on too long. We stole moments when we could.” I grinned. “It was both exciting and romantic.”
“Under Mason’s nose? I’m surprised you got away with it.”
My mind went back to nearly a decade earlier. “Reid has always been the one to scour the web, figure out the surveillance, basically the technical one while Patrick and Mason were on the streets.”
“Sterling?”
“I’m sure you know what your husband does,” I replied.
“I wasn’t around then. I get the feeling it was different.”
I nodded. “He...carried it all.” I took another bite, trying to decipher a time I hadn’t considered in years. “Everything rested on him. For the coup to work, Sterling Sparrow had to show the world that he was even more capable than his father had been.”
“They told you all this?”
I shook my head. “They never said a word...except once, but that was the exception. Sterling had not only the Sparrow outfit to secure and rule, but he had to maintain his public persona of Sparrow Enterprises.”
“So he was fun to be around?” Araneae asked with a grin.
“Unbearable is a better word. I avoided him at all costs.”
“And you and Reid...?”
“We stole moments when we could. Tension was high and there was so much happening that I think Mason was too distracted to notice what we were doing. Once I was in the tower, he could worry about other things.”
“Patrick?”
I grinned. “Patrick was Patrick—the same Patrick he is today. I love my husband and brother, but Patrick is the heart of the group.” My eyes opened wide. “You know, like the cricket in Pinocchio—”
“Jiminy Cricket?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “The conscience, the heart, the one who notices and cares.”
Araneae nodded. “I think in a way, when I first met them, I felt more comfortable with him than I did Sterling.” She turned my way. “I don’t mean like I was attracted.”
“I know what you mean. Patrick was always the friend.” I scoffed. “Of course, I never knew his secret. I just always trusted him.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure if Patrick knew before the rest of them—about me and Reid. If he did, he never said a word.”
“That’s Patrick,” Araneae agreed.
“If I’m totally honest, I wanted Reid from the first time we met. It was...like one of those movies or books. I don’t know if love at first sight exists, but curiosity, intrigue...attraction.”
“I think I can concur.”
“I was the one to convince Reid to keep our relationship quiet. It wasn’t forever, just until things quieted down. Telling Mace would have meant telling...”
“Sterling.”
“Yes. He had mentioned more