“It’ll be tonight,” he said.
Sam blew out a long breath and leaned back against the car. “My sister will be here. I just know it. She’s lying low somewhere with Jesse, but she’ll turn up.”
Aidan stared at the house a long moment, troubled expression marring his face. Then he turned to her. “Okay. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna go home and calm your mother down. Tell her Erin is out with friends – which she is. Wait there. I’m gonna go back to the clubhouse, get reinforcements, and we’ll come in tonight and bust up this party. I’ll bring Erin home.”
“That would be chivalrous of you, but I can’t let you do it.”
He folded his arms and rested a shoulder against the Caprice’s window. “You can’t? What’s your plan then?”
She made a face.
“I’m waiting.”
“So?”
“Sam–”
“I’ll wait here, and drag Erin out of the party once it gets started.”
“Yeah, I was afraid that was your dumbass plan.”
“Um, excuse you.”
“What is it with you book nerd chicks coming up with such stupid ideas? Thought you were supposed to be way smarter than me.”
She punched him. Not hard, and it made him laugh, but it felt nice to feel the dense padding of muscle in his chest. “I was going to call the cops, you dork.”
“So was I,” he said, still laughing, his ear-to-ear grin gorgeous in the evening light. “No offense, sweetheart, but I’ve got more experience with both sides of the law than you. Let me handle it, and your sister’ll get home safe, I swear.”
She sighed. “I don’t want to infringe–”
“Infringe?” His brows shot up. “In case you haven’t picked up on it being friends with Ava this long, let me explain something to you. We might be the lowest sons of bitches alive” – he slapped a hand over his heart – “but we do have a code when it comes to family. We look after the people we care about. You can’t ‘infringe’ on anything with me. Not possible.”
She felt a blush come up in her cheeks.
Aidan pushed away from the car and stepped closer, so he loomed over her, eyes warm as he stared down at her. “I’m not real good at much, baby, but this is the sort of thing I can handle. At least let me do that.” His smile was slow and wicked. “You can thank me for it later.”
Lord help her…
“You’ll call me when you find her?”
His answer was a fast, hard press of his lips against hers.
~*~
Dartmoor was winding down for the day by the time he got back to the shop, the shadows creeping. Aidan ditched his bike in a hurry and found Tango and Mercy cleaning up, stowing things away and securing customer bikes for the night.
“Guys.” He sounded breathless, like an excited kid, and wasn’t sure there was anything to be done for it. “I’ve got a lead on our missing drugs, but we gotta move on it tonight.”
Mercy teed his hands together in atime outgesture. “Got a lead where? And why tonight?”
He was too keyed up to bother with a proper smartass comeback. “There’s a white balloon up at Hamilton House, and that spells party plus drugs. Our drugs, in Ellison’s hands.”
Tango whistled. “Shit.”
“Trying to take some initiative, little bro?” Mercy asked, grinning.
“What the hell’s so wrong with that? Also…Sam’s little sister’s gonna be there. I promised I’d get her out and take her home.”
