Page 74 of Smith

“Rephase. You can’t get pissed at us,” Jonas amended then grunted. “There.”

The joint on his side gave way with a sound I wished Aria wasn’t there to hear.

“Was that a header board cracking?” She groaned.

Fuck.

“No, darlin’, that sound was my superior strength snapping a shear pin.”

Christ, he was lucky I was still on a ladder without a free hand to nut-punch him.

Jonas jumped down, moved under the door, and said, “Let her down.”

I slowly lowered the door. Jonas caught the wood ladder and pulled it out.

“Voila.” He beamed.

Prick.

“What happened to the ceiling?” Aria asked.

“Your asshole broke the trim and cracked the drywall.”

At Jonas’s declaration, Aria’s gaze came to me.

“I don’t know why you’re looking at me. I’m not your asshole.”

“I’m looking at you for confirmation. Jonas seems the type to exaggerate.”

“I’m wounded,” Jonas put in.

“No you’re not,” Aria countered. “Your ego doesn’t allow for that. But you like fucking with me and I don’t know if you’re doing that now.”

“I like?—”

“He’s telling the truth,” I cut in before Jonas could bring forth further any murderous tendency that had already started simmering. “We just cut out the damage.”

Aria’s shoulders slouched.

“Thank you.”

“Where’s Zane?” Jonas asked.

“Talking to police.”

Good Christ, that wasn’t smart. Zane out in the wild was always a gamble. Zane without a chaperone, dicey. Him speaking to police, well, depending on the answers he was getting or if he was being met with resistance, things could turn bad in the blink of an eye.

“You wanna handle that?” I asked Jonas as I climbed off the ladder.

“I hate blood,” he muttered, but scooted by Aria to get down the stairs.

The look on Aria’s face would’ve been comical if we weren’t once again in crisis mode.

“Why did he mention blood?”

“Come here, baby.”

Woodenly, she took the last two stairs, then the three steps needed for her to be close enough for me to reach out and pullher the rest of the way up. Once I had her in my arms I felt my body relax. The residual anger from my conversation with Jonas ebbed, leaving me with nothing but the feel of Aria pressed close.

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