Page 22 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
“Not the way he watches me.” Her brother sounded discouraged. “Just wish I knew why.”
“Um, he’s an investigator,” she pointed out. “A good one with a whole wall of Army medals to prove it. Naturally observant and inquisitive. I don’t think those are things you can just turn off.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s all it is.” He seemed to be weighing his next words. “It won’t be easy keeping him in the dark, you know. Tiptoeing around all the confidentiality agreements between you, Diamondback, and our customers.”
“I’m not sure why we do so much tiptoeing around in the first place,” she retorted witheringly. “It’s overkill, if you ask me. I get why we protect names, financial information, and other jazz; but we’re not the CIA. I’m done with living like some off-the-grid black ops unit. Doner than done! That’s for the movies, not real life.”
“Doner than done?” Aaron sent a crooked smile over his shoulder that lifted her spirits tremendously. The fact that he was teasing her was a good sign that they were going to be okay.
“Aren’t you?” Hopping to her feet, she moved across the room to stand beside him at the windows. “I can’t be the only one feeling the weight of Uncle Cary’s paranoia.”
“It’s not just paranoia,” he reminded. “He lost his brother, his sister-in-law, and his silent-partner status all in one afternoon.”
“He’s still a pain in the rear end,” she grumbled.
“Yeah, well…” He grimaced as he stared through the glass. “He’s also still family, warts and all.”
“I’m having a hard time seeing past the warts.” Her words drew a chuckle from him. “And I’m really hoping you’ll back me up when I inform him about the changes I intend to make with my career.”
“I will.” There was a bleakness in her brother’s voice that she’d never heard before.
“Thank you.” She watched as he unconsciously ran his thumb over the bandage on his left wrist. He’d come home with the injury after investigating the pawnshop break-in. “So, um…” She watched his thumb circle the bandage again. “Now that I’ve bared my soul to you about a bunch of stuff, don’t you think it’s time to tell me how you hurt your wrist?”
“If you insist.” He swung his head her way, frowning. “I lost my balance and scraped my arm on the fence behind the pawnshop.”
Scraped, huh?The number of times he’d changed the red-stained bandage told her it was more than a scrape. “I wish you’d go to the doctor and get checked out.” He’d always been a physical fitness guru. If he’d lost his balance, there had to be a reason.
His jaw tightened. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? What if you need a tetanus shot?”
“Chill, Aurora. I’m up-to-date on all my shots.”
“You might need stitches.” She eyed the redness seeping through his fresh bandage.
“And document an injury that would place me and my DNA at the crime scene?” Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. “No, thank you!” He coughed and bent over double like his stomach was hurting him.
She eyed him worriedly, not feeling so great herself. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure,” he panted. “Listen, Aurora.” The color seeped from his face. “I documented everything with photographs before and after I wiped my blood off the fence and ground. Regardless, my actions could be construed as tampering with evidence. It’s possible A.J. already figured out what I did. You should’ve seen his face,” he lamented. “He knew the details at the crime scene weren’t adding up.”
Alarm prickled through her. “You should tell him the truth.” Way down deep, she believed A.J. was capable of compassion—far more than Aaron was giving him credit for. A.J. would likely give Aaron the benefit of the doubt for her sake alone.
“You’re right. I should,” he agreed, not sounding too happy about it, “but coming clean after the fact could cost me my job at the police department. Is that what you want?”
“Of course not!” Then again, it might compel him to pick up the reins of leadership at Diamondback. Would that be a bad thing? Uncle Cary could go back to being a silent partner, while Aaron finally stepped into his rightful role. “But that’s beside the point. We didn’t get where we are by compromising our integrity.” She couldn’t believe he was even suggesting it, much less trying to make her an accomplice in the matter. It wasn’t like him. “Just admit you made a mistake, and—” Her words ended with a yelp of alarm as he toppled over in a dead faint.
She dove his way in time to keep his head from slamming into the tile. They crumpled to the floor together, painfully bruising her knees. She stared at him aghast. Then she lurched into motion, patting his cheeks andcalling his name. “Talk to me, Aaron. Say something, please!”
He didn’t move. He was out cold. No, cold wasn’t the right word. She cupped her hand over his forehead and was horrified to discover his skin was burning up. She fumbled for her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1 with trembling fingers.
“9-1-1,” a woman answered crisply. “What’s your emergency?”
“My b-brother collapsed.” Aurora’s heart thudded with genuine terror.This can’t be happening!Aaron had always been the rock-solid member of their brother-sister team. Over the years, she’d done most of the leaning while he’d done most of the holding up—patiently allowing her to grieve even when he could not.
She stumbled her way through the ensuing questions about his condition, then gave the attendant the address where they were staying.
“An ambulance is on the way,” the woman intoned. “Do you want me to remain on the phone with you?”
