a threat she’d brought upon herself and, consequently, everyone she was around. Not that it was her fault, but still. He wanted her here with them. Meeting Sydney. Spending time with Jess.
Aiden grabbed a clean rag from under the sink and got to work instead of allowing himself to succumb to the spiral of melancholy thoughts. It was more constructive to finish the kitchen clean up. “You and Sydney made a mess.”
Jess bit into a cookie they’d made. “Worth it, though.”
Aiden had put a dozen in the freezer to keep. Otherwise, between him and Sydney, they’d have finished the whole batch in just a few days, and then they’d have to go to the nearest trampoline park to burn off the extra calories. He wasn’t all about the focus on guilt over food choices—and especially not teaching that to Sydney. It was more about the ebb and flow of life, doing what you enjoyed and balancing that with decisions that also made you feel good.
He wiped down the counters while he thought through everything going on right now. Since Sydney was in bed, they could talk about work stuff without having to worry about her overhearing something scary. And there was plenty of that going around. “Have you heard anything about Nicholson?”
“The traitor?”
Aiden glanced over. “You didn’t hear any more about that, then?”
“Who cares about the ‘why,’ when she betrayed the badge?” Jess frowned. “There’s no excuse for turning on your oath, or being disloyal to the people you work with.”
“I’m glad you feel that way because I do too.” He leaned his hips back against the counter. “But I can’t deny she had a good reason.”
Jess’s expression remained hard as she waited to hear more, her arms folded in front of her.
“Nicholson’s sister was on a trip with two friends in Venezuela. Capeira grabbed all three of them. The friends’ bodies were found, along with an undercover DEA agent in their organization. All three had been killed and buried in the desert. But the sister was never found. So Nicholson contacted Capeira herself.”
“So she sold out the bureau.”
Aiden couldn’t speak to that. But it was possible the reason the FBI hadn’t yet caught Capeira—either Benito or Enrico—was because Nicholson had subverted their efforts.
She could have delayed their investigation and tried to work both sides. He’d likely have purposely messed up so someone would’ve noticed. If it was Aiden. Once discovered, he’d have asked for help from his superiors to get his family member back. Hoping that all happened before they were hurt.
He figured Bridget would have gone under the radar and got the sister back herself if it was her in Nicholson’s position. Something Aiden would’ve been tempted to do as well. Only, he knew the value of a team. The cops in Last Chance worked best together. And everyone could use someone to watch their back.
Bridget might have Millie to watch hers. She also had Sasha in her life, though that was complicated at best. But Aiden wanted her to be in Sydney’s life like that. To support their daughter and watch her back. He also wanted to look out for her himself.
If she’d let him.
“What Nicholson confessed to Eric is that Capeira used her job as leverage, promising she’d get her sister back if she did what they wanted.”
Ted lifted his head. “That’s terrible.”
Aiden figured that, given everything he’d been through in his life, Ted understood that kind of fear. The relationship he had with his brother was a close one. If anything like this happened to Dean, Ted would do whatever it took to get him back. But considering Dean had been a Navy SEAL, Aiden figured he could take care of himself.
Jess glanced at him with a soft look on her face. “They never would’ve let her go.”
Aiden nodded. “That’s why Conroy called Zander. They’re on it.” The team of private security experts based right here in Last Chance took contracts all over the world, and they were very good at what they did.
Ted lived in a shared house with them. “Then it won’t take long now. Zander has serious issues with women in danger.”
Aiden figured everyone should, but that wasn’t the reality of this fallen world and the selfish humans who inhabited it. They saw plenty in their role as cops. Zander could be far more effective, but his sphere was a lot wider. He’d do what he could, as would Aiden—just on a local level.
“What about Clarke? Where are we with him?”
Jess angled