Page 57 of One Wild Ride

My finger outlined the blush that swept across her cheeks. When we came to our stop I followed Aria out. It took a few minutes and many blocks, but we finally got to Michigan Avenue and to Haute Tower.

When we walked through my condo door Bradley was standing there. I wondered if my doorman tipped him off that we were on our way up.

His dark, brown eyes flipped between me and Aria. “Alex, glad you’re home. There’s an urgent matter I need to discuss with you . . . in private.”

That was the excuse I needed. I nodded to Aria as she nodded back. Waiting for her to move down the hall, knowing she was heading toward my bathroom as I told her to start there first, I turned to Bradley. “Of course, Bradley. There’s something I need to discuss with you, too.”

He waved for me to follow him. When we got to the security room, he shut the door behind him.

“I mentioned two months ago that I saw Aria in the security room.” Bradley waved his hand toward the monitors. “Since that day, every time she has been here I have kept my eye on her.”

I held up my hands. “Bradley, that isn’t really necessary. I know Aria. She would never steal from me or try to deceive me.”

“Are you so sure, Alex? Because what was she placing under your bed all those weeks ago when she first started that project in your bedroom while you stepped out?”

Bradley leaned over the desk and typed away at a keyboard. The screen of the monitor closest to me was nothing but static before it flickered and finally a video of my bedroom appeared.

“This is from the day Aria first came to work on the mural about a month ago,” Bradley said pointing to the monitor of my bedroom.

Anger surged through me as I stared at the screen.

Aria was looking at the wall. Her hand touched her chest. After a moment, her head swiveled as if looking for something. She glanced around the room and lifted some things from my end table next to my bed. At one point, I could see her bending down and reaching back behind the table.

“There. Right there. I think she placed something right there. Also, a minute later, you see her do the same thing but under your bed.”

I didn’t care that he was right. My heart sank as I watched Bradley’s words come to life. My fists tightened as I turned to face my cousin.

“You were filming my bedroom?” I said through gritted teeth.

His eyes grew wide. That wasn’t the reaction he expected.

“I’m your security Alex. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

“Are there cameras in the bathroom too? Or am I allowed to take a shit by myself?” I asked as I took a step closer. He stood a little straighter but he wouldn’t lift his gaze.

That was my answer.

“I’ll take care of this, Bradley. You don’t need to worry about Aria anymore.”

He nodded and just before I turned to leave I said, “But we do need to discuss your job later.”

That sickening feeling, the one that came over me whenever my mother said she had to speak with me, erupted and sank to the bottom of my stomach. There were so many people in my life that were using me and I had no idea who to believe anymore.

As I maneuvered down the hall I went straight to my bathroom. Aria was still there. She was lying on the floor with half her body inside the cabinet.

My eyes softened when I watched her smooth legs flex and twist. But then the images of her digging through my things, probably tapping my room like my mother, caused every muscle in my body to harden.

“Aria, let’s move into the bedroom. I want to get started in there,” I said.

She pulled out, her cheeks flush with a beautiful smile on her face. As unhappy as I was with what she had done to me, I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss that breathtaking smile.

“Okay, but I haven’t completely finished in here.”

Once we were in my bedroom, I pointed to my bed. “I’ll start here and you can start in my closet.”

I watched her eyes closely to see if she was worried. Waiting for her to protest or make an excuse for her to work on the bed, but nothing came.

Aria nodded and gave me a thumb up before turning to the closet. Perhaps she believed I would mistake it for one of my mother’s bugs so she wasn’t worried.

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