Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

Aidan beat Jamie out of the bedroom the next morning, determined to take care of him—or at least his coffee—as a thank-you for looking after him the past few days. He wasn't surprised to find Bev and Angel still in the living room, the former asleep on the oversize couch, the latter passed out on his folded arms at the nearby table. Jamie's tablet had been pushed to the side, no doubt so Angel could keep Bev in his sights as he'd fallen asleep. He was a good kid, a protector like his dad had been, and for the first time in six long years, thoughts of Tom didn't come with anger, only wisps of sadness that his former friend wasn't here to see the man his son was growing up to be.

Approaching the table, Aidan whisper-shouted a "Hey, Angel." When that didn't wake him, he gently shook his godson's shoulder.

Angel reacted instantly, surging out of his chair and swinging like a bat out of hell, acting on pure instinct. Aidan had those too, Bureau honed, plus several inches and a lot more weight on Angel too. Catching one of Angel's wrists on the way to spinning behind him, he stretched Angel's arm across his front. Confused, Angel flailed with his other arm, which Aidan also caught and crossed over the other, effectively pinning his arms to his chest and his back to Aidan's front. A gentle but firm hold. "Angel, it's me, it's Aidan," he said, speaking with his full accent, aiming to startle Angel's waking brain back to reality. "You're safe. I'm not a threat."

After another few seconds of struggling, something must have clicked, Angel stilling in his arms. "Aidan?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Tension rushed out of his lanky frame. "Fuck, man, I'm sorry."

Aidan released his wrists and circled around to Angel's front, keeping a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

He sank back into his seat. "The Internet."

"Of course."

"Don't knock it 'cause you're old."

Crisis averted, snark back in effect, Aidan continued on his intended trajectory to the kitchen. "I'll have you know, I learned to truss a turkey from the Internet."

"You're like fifty, aren't you? How did you not know that?"

"Forty-nine," he corrected as he replaced yesterday's grounds with fresh ones. "For a few more months, at least, and as for the trussing, Jamie's the chef. I can cook a few things well, mostly Latin food and Irish staples, but there was this year when Jamie was on the road with the team right up until Thanksgiving morning, and I was determined to have the turkey ready when he got home."

"How'd that go? "

He pressed the Brew button, then rested back against the counter. "Paid the neighbor an obscene amount of money for theirs."

Angel laughed, then, catching sight of his still sleeping friend, slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the sound.

"You didn't have to stay up," Aidan said. "There's a guard outside."

"I know, I just?—"

"I get it. Jamie was hurt pretty badly once. I stayed by his bedside all night, even with Mel and Danny right outside and all of us in a CIA safe house."

Angel's eyes grew wide. "What?—"

"Nope, above your pay grade," he said as he turned back to the coffee pot. "How do you take your coffee?" He probably should have asked Izzy if Angel was allowed to have coffee at all, but if he was anything like his mother, he'd been drinking the stuff half his life already.

"Little bit of coffee in my milk and cinnamon. Please."

Aidan smiled. Just like his mother, who had left before dawn for an up-and-back to Seattle. Izzy had also agreed with Jamie's suggestion from last night. "Are y'all up for school today?"

Angel scoffed. "Y'all?"

"It slips sometimes." Aidan brought Angel's coffee and cinnamon milk to the table. "Hazards of being married to a Southerner. We'll get you and Bev there, then Ward will bring you to the office afterward."

"The guard? He's gonna be on us all day? He's huge, everyone will?—"

"He knows how to hang back. He's used to protecting rock stars."

"For real? What rock stars do you know? "

"Not me, but friends." Both Matt and Levi had connections to the LA music scene, and Ward had come highly recommended. "The federal prosecutor may have more questions for Bev, and I'm sure he'll have some for you too."

Angel sipped his coffee, quiet for a moment before speaking again, his voice sincere, void of its usual snark and with a hefty dose of regret. "I'm sorry I didn't cooperate. I just didn't want them to hurt her. Maybe if I'd said something sooner..."

Aidan lowered into the chair beside him. "Don't play that game with yourself. She's here now. She's safe." He covered Angel's hand with his. "And so are you."

Angel lifted his hopeful blue gaze to Aidan's. "I'm starting to believe you."