Page 74 of Wilde In His Arms

Ariawastendingbar,minding her own business when Mason came in, dropped off a bag of cookies to his pregnant wife with a kiss, then sat down at the bar, phone to his ear.She held up a bottle of the local IPA he liked and he shook his head.Instead, she got him a soda and set it in front of him as she made her way down the bar, refilling drinks and taking orders.By the time she got back to his section of the bar, she overheard him say, “Be there soon.”That was all.But something in the way he purposely kept his gaze averted and his voice low tripped her radar.

Was he talking to Nick?

“I’ll call you back when I’m on the road.Yes, I picked up the stuff.”

If Lyric wasn’t in the back working the grill, Aria would swear he was talking to her.But she did know better and wondered why Mason was being so coy about talking to his brother.

Of course, she could be wrong.But she had this feeling the last couple of days that Mason was uncomfortable around her, when he was normally friendly and like another brother to her.

He ended the call and put his phone away, taking a sip of his drink like he didn’t know what to say to her.

She raised a brow and stared right at him.“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.Good.Just have to run an errand.Will you tell Lyric I’ll be back in an hour?”He stood and started walking away.

“Sure.No problem.But aren’t you going to kiss her goodbye?”The man never missed an opportunity to get his hands on her sister.

Mason turned, gave her one long look, then headed back to the kitchen to get his Lyric fix, because the man was addicted to his wife.

Nick feels that way about me.He loves me.He promised he’d be here soon.

Except it had been another three days of him telling her that something else came up and he couldn’t leave Montana just yet.

And now Mason was acting weird.

Well, she’d had enough.She walked over to Jax.“Can you handle the bar for a little while?I need to go do something.”

Jax punched in another order on the register.“Sure.No problem.Where are you going?”

“I’m not sure yet.”But she pulled off her apron, ignored her brother’s curious stare, and walked around the bar toward the back office, knowing her FBI shadows were watching.At the end of the hall, instead of going into the office, she turned left toward the restroom, knowing anyone behind her would think she went through that door, but instead she unlocked the back door just past it and snuck out.She closed and locked the door behind her, then went to her car and climbed behind the wheel.Mason was just pulling out of the lot and headed, not to town, but toward his home and her family ranch.

Maybe she was wrong.Maybe he was going home to finish some work.

Still her gut told her to follow.So she did.At a very discreet distance.He was FBI; he’d spot a tail.And if he did, she’d simply demand some answers.

Nick opened the door the second he spotted Mason pull into the drive.

Mason went to the back of his car and pulled out two bags of groceries and a small cooler.He looked up as Nick met him and took the bags.“You’re screwed and you better think of something to say before she gets here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She followed me.”

“So you led her straight here?”Nick panicked.He never panicked.But Aria meant more to him than anything and she was not going to be happy that he’d been lying to her for a week and a half.“Fuck.”

“Keeping her in the dark isn’t helping anything.Staying here and missing her is making you a cranky asshole.I get that you want to protect her, but leaving her alone every night is not the way to do that.”

“She’s not alone.There are two agents watching her every move, even when she’s up in her apartment.”

“Yeah, and if that asshole Lopez gets past them and you’re not by her side protecting her, you’re going to blame yourself for whatever happens after that.”

True.

Fuck.

Sure enough, Aria’s Bronco came around the corner and she stopped for a second, then hit the gas and came in hot, tires skidding as she hit the brakes, killed the engine, and jumped out of the vehicle, her gaze blazing at him.

Mason took the bags back from him and headed toward the porch.“I didn’t want to keep it a secret from you,” he yelled to Aria.

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