Page 10 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

Okay then. She shoved on some shoes by the door and we headed back out with me pushing the ridiculous cart, wondering if we'd run into Chase at some point. Part of me wanted that confrontation. He one-hundred percent deserved a fist in his face for this night, and I'd be happy to give it to him.

This time, when the elevator made it to the ground floor, she didn't head for the front door, instead veering left and heading straight back. "This way."

We ended up walking through a garage with a secure door to a back alley. It took a minute to get my bearings, but once I did, I headed straight there, Aria strangely quiet as she walked beside me. At least she wasn't limping anymore. Either her ankle hadn't been too bad or the alcohol had given her a temporary boost.

In the morning, she'd probably wake up with the world's worst headache and a swollen ankle. And maybe a few regrets about destroying Chase's belongings.

I didn't know Aria at all, though. Would she take Chase back if he groveled and begged her? God, I hoped not.

It made me sick to think of them getting back together after he cheated on her, and even sicker to imagineherapologizing for destroying his stuff and then replacing everything.

I slammed the cart over a curb and onto the empty street, the loud clatter making Aria gasp. "Sorry," I mumbled.

Once we were across, I glanced at her, noticing that she held her arms crossed in front of her, hugging herself like she was cold. I paused our mission to shrug off my jacket, draping it across her shoulders.

"You don't have to do that," she said.

"I know."

I kept on walking, not giving her a chance to argue. Glancing around, I saw we were almost there. I waited for someone to walk past, someone who'd maybe look at us and our crazy cart full of shit, but no one was around. For the city that never sleeps, the night was oddly quiet.

"So where are we going?" A sharp elbow met my side. "Huh?Huh?"

Good timing. I turned left into a pocket park I'd walked past a bunch of times, a little wedge of green with a few benches along one side and shrubs on the other.

"We're just going to dump it all right here on the ground for whoever wants to take it. Take it. Sell it. Keep it. Whatever."

Her white teeth gleamed in the darkness as she smiled. "Perfect!"

Itwasperfect. Giving back while getting revenge.

I pushed the cart right to the center and just dumped the whole damn thing over, shaking it to get a few stubborn stragglers out.

The job was quick fortunately because I sensed that Aria was running out of that angry energy that had propelled her so far. I still didn't understand how she was even upright.

I turned to leave and she followed, whispering, "It feels like we just disposed of a body."

That cracked me up. "Yeah, it does. This was easier than the last time I did it, though."

Stunned silence met my ear.

"Joking," I clarified. "It was a joke."

We made our way back, not talking as I wondered if she really thought I was capable of actual murder.

WhatdidAria think of me? She'd spent the last couple of years with Chase poisoning her ear about me so it couldn't be good. But then tonight, she'd finally found out the truth... that Chase was a piece of shit.

We'd both been burned by him, by his charm, by his façade, and now we both knew who he really was inside. Rotten to the core.

A wild idea hit me then. That this asshole needed to be taken down a few notches.

Aria had all the power in the world at her fingertips, but looking over at her, she looked like a shadow of her old self, my suit jacket swallowing her up, her shoulders slumped, her head down. All the fire in her had died out.

And I knew Chase well enough to know that he'd pounce on that. Even though he'd doneherdirty, he'd find a way to come out of this smelling like roses, with everyone thinking he was the victim. I'd been there before, and it pissed me off all over again. Not just for me, but for Aria too.

"Hey," I said, holding the garage door open for her, "I know you haven't always liked me. But if you want any more help getting revenge on Chase, let me know."

"What?" she asked weakly, the light too dim in the parking garage to make out her expression.

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