Page 22 of Silverstorm

“Shall we eat?” he said, deflecting her question. Because if he stopped to think about his answer, he might have to admit that he liked watching her. Liked what he saw. That he liked her.

“God, yes. I’m so hungry,” she admitted. “And I’m sorry, but I meant it when I said I didn’t have any beer to give you. All I have is water.”

“That’s fine.” He didn’t need alcohol, he felt like he could get high on Aria’s presence alone tonight.

Together, they put the food on the table. Aria pulled the steaming tray of biscuits out of the oven and put it on another wooden board on the table with a knife. Then she poured the sauce over a large bowl of pasta and let Jude carry it to the table, where he pulled out a chair, waiting till she was seated before he took his own.

“Thank you.” She looked like she was about to say something more, but closed her mouth with a snap instead, piling a heap of spaghetti on both of their plates, while he helped himself to the salad. There was companionable silence for a few moments, as they sucked spaghetti into their mouths in unison.

“This is so good,” he mumbled around a mouth full of pasta.

“I had an Italian friend in Portland, Luciana. She taught me. This is her favorite dish. It’s so simple, but so tasty.”

“Well, here’s to your Italian friend.” He raised his glass of water, and they clinked them together in a salute to Luciana.

The biscuits were good, too. Hot and nutty, slathered with butter. The pasta pomodoro tasted fresh and heavenly, the slightly peppery flavor of the basil adding to the simplicity of the dish. The good food and the good company almost made him forget the day he’d had at work. Almost. But then Aria placed her glass on the table and her face sobered, and he knew what she was going to ask before she even opened her mouth. He was surprised she’d lasted this long; the questions must’ve been eating away at her.

“I guess you would’ve already told me if you’d heard anything on Iliana’s whereabouts?” she said, and he hated the slightly hopeful tone of her voice. God, he wished he had some good news for her.

“I’m sorry, Aria. Nothing else has come up. We still have people out there doing their job. Brady might be a dick, but he’s conducting a by-the-book search for your sister. If she’s out there to be found, he will find her.” Even as he watched Aria for her reaction, Jude winced quietly inside, because that wasn’t all together true. He knew that when the sheriff had passed on Levi’s information about a group of strangers camping up in the hills, Brady had discounted any further investigation, saying he didn’t have the manpower to be following every hunch and half-baked lead the locals threw his way. Which might be technically true, but Jude knew that hunches were often right, and anyone who discounted information because it was a hunch and not a solid lead was a certain type of fool.

“I feel like I should be out there searching for her,” she said softly. “But I wouldn’t have a clue where to start. Maybe I could go and knock on doors, ask around to see if anybody’s seen her, that sort of thing?” She raised an expectant gaze to his. He didn’t want to dash her hopes, but there was really nothing she could do. “You’re right. I’d be more a hindrance than a help,” she replied when she saw his blank stare.

“That’s not it, Aria.” He leaned across the table and captured her hand in his. “We have trained professionals out doing that exact same thing right now. You need to be somewhere close by, so when we do find her, we can contact you.” He didn’t add that he had a personal vested interest in ensuring she stayed somewhere safe, so he knew where she was, making it easier to protect her.

“Yeah, leave it to the professionals,” she agreed. “I just feel so helpless.” She retrieved her hand from his and rubbed the back of her neck.

“I know, but I wouldn’t lie to you. I will tell you as soon as we find something.”

“Thank you.” Lifting another forkful of pasta to her mouth, she studied him for a moment.

“And no new developments in my father’s case?” She paused to save a coil of pasta that threatened to fall off her fork. “No idea who the killer is yet?”

“No,” He shook his head. “We have a range of options and leads we’re following up at the moment, but nothing new to report.” It was a glib line that he’d use on any normal member of the public, and he knew she saw right through his ruse. But he didn’t want to worry Aria, or scare her, if he didn’t have to. There was one piece of good news, although he wasn’t sure if Aria would view it as such.

“I did hear that Brady has released your father’s house—actually, it’s your house now—as it’s no longer considered a crime scene.”

“That’s good, I guess,” she replied but screwed up her nose in distaste. He surmised she needed to get used to the idea that the house truly belonged to her now. Her and her sister…when they found Iliana.

“Like I said earlier, I’ll come with you to your father’s house when you’re ready to go.” It was probably stretching professional courtesy, and Brady wouldn’t like it one bit, but Jude was determined that Aria shouldn’t go into that house on her own. And if he happened to be her one true friend, then he was more than happy to bear that burden.

“Thank you,” she replied, staring at her dinner as if it no longer held any appeal.

He put his fork down and reached across the table to touch his fingers to her wrist. Ignoring the sparks that flowed up his arm at the contact, he said, “I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you. Especially with no family around to help you through it.”

“You’re already doing too much for me,” she said in a small voice. “It’s not your fault I don’t have any family or friends here. I’ll get by.” She offered him a wobbly smile. “I just have to remember that, as the saying goes, this too, shall pass.”

He leaned back. “It’s good wisdom to live by,” he agreed.

“Naomi called me this afternoon to see how I was doing. She offered to help me in any way I needed. She said that I’m part of the Stargazer family now. It was nice of her.” Aria gave one of her special smiles as she thought about Naomi, the one that wrinkled her nose so sweetly.

“They are nice,” Jude admitted, letting go of Aria’s wrist before he did something stupid, like entwine his fingers with hers. “You couldn’t work for a better family.”

“I told Naomi I’d like to come back to work tomorrow. It’ll help take my mind off things, and there’s nothing much else I can do sitting here.”

“That’s a great idea, as long as you feel up to it,” Jude encouraged. It’d solve one of his problems. If he knew she was safely ensconced at Stargazer, then he could breathe a little easier and get back to working without being distracted.

“I do.” Aria retrieved her fork and began eating again, as if the decision to go back to work tomorrow had eased the weight on her mind. She sucked in another strand of spaghetti and his attention was momentarily drawn to the purse of her lips.

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