passcode now? Unless he has to wait for some reason.”
At least Clarke didn’t want her hurt. And he didn’t need her now, but he would in the future.
“No way.” Aiden shook his head. He wouldn’t allow her to go with Clarke at all.
She had to know he would fight for her. And not just because she was Sydney’s mother. They had history that went deeper than that—to the first day he’d met her in high school, in the front hallway.
Ted continued, “This guy is Enrico Capeira.”
A dark-featured man popped up on screen. Another picture joined it, and then more until four quadrants of the screen showed his passport photo, another ID, and two shots from surveillance video.
“He’s been communicating with Clarke. There’s a thread of messages back and forth between the two of them in one of those encrypted messaging apps.”
“Anything older than three days ago, or is it all since then?”
Ted scrolled with his finger on the rollerball of his mouse. “First one was over a year ago.”
Bridget frowned. “A year.”
Aiden waited.
“We were dating then. But early on, you know? Like he was trying to figure me out. Maybe that’s why it felt off.”
“You have good instincts.” After all, she had fought her feelings for Aiden, and he was pretty sure she knew there was something he wasn’t saying. Things between them were on a precipice. Pretty soon they’d either plummet, or they would soar.
He knew what he wanted. But what did she want?
She didn’t even know about Sydney.
“I can’t believe it.” She pressed the flat of her palm to her forehead. “A year? Did he sell out the client to Capeira’s brother? There had to have been an introduction because this wasn’t just random.”
“He’s playing Enrico off as well, just like the others he owes money to. Looks like things were heating up. He was supposed to deliver the client list to them, and he’s past the deadline. They were getting antsy, so he dropped the bomb that you survived the office fire?” Ted glanced over, a questioning look on his face.
Aiden nodded in answer.
“They know I survived.” Bridget bit her lip.
“Do you think they’ll come after you?”
She glanced at him, eyes wide. “Once I know Sasha is for sure safe, I need to get somewhere off the grid where I can figure this out. Because if Enrico knows I’m still alive, then he’s going to want revenge for his brother’s death. And he likely won’t settle for me dying in an accident that no one can pin on him this time. He’ll make sure I’m dead.”
“Nothing I have here indicates how Clarke and Enrico know each other.” Ted shot her a look. “But I can tell you he’s not a good guy. I haven’t looked at everything stored in Clarke’s gallery, but from what I’ve seen? I want to scrub my eyeballs with bleach.”
Aiden wasn’t sure how helpful that comment was. Before he could point that out, a notification buzzed. Ted’s screen flashed up with a bunch of messages.
The younger man braced. “Uh-oh. People who regularly use the words, ‘national security’ just caught onto the fact I searched Capeira’s name. In a second, I’m gonna get—” His phone buzzed to life. “A phone call.” He swiped it off the desk and answered. “This is Ted Cartwright.”
Bridget got up. Aiden followed her to the hall, leaving Ted to his conversation. She leaned against the wall looking wrung out. Or, at least, like someone who’d been in several fights recently.
There wasn’t an inch of the wild teen he’d known in this woman. The girl who’d matched him, stupid choice for stupid choice. Getting picked up by Last Chance officers, drunk at the golf course. After several instances like that, the cop who was now his chief—Conroy Barnes—had sat him down to give him the lecture about how a sealed juvenile record might not follow him into his adult life, but if he kept going down the same path he would end up with an adult record.
Something much harder to come back from.
His teenage self hadn’t wanted to listen. Not the first few times. Aiden had been much too self-absorbed to consider the future. But eventually, Conroy had been unavoidable. Aiden got a job on a construction crew that started every day with Bible study, and then he started going to church as well.
Two months later, a woman had shown up with Sydney.
There was a lot for him and Bridget to talk about. Like why she’d left town so abruptly,