Page 29 of Give Me a Reason

Other than her admitting her neighbors argued, that didn’t necessarily mean she grew up poor or that she was living in a bad area now. “I guess we don’t know her that well.”

She’d only revealed a few small details, not enough to know someone.

“I thought we were friends,” Ireland said, disappointment lacing her tone.

“Aria was probably embarrassed to admit where she lived. How soon can you be here?” How bad was her place? Where would Aria stay tonight? Would whoever broke in come back?

“I’ll be right there.” And then she hung up.

The stove sounded, letting me know it was fully heated, and I opened the door to put the pizza inside. Then I sat in the living room to watch Paisley play with her dollhouse. She was quiet tonight, as if she sensed my unease. I kept looking at the time until Ireland turned the knob and came inside. “Are we going over there to see her?”

“I have Paisley.”

“You want me to watch her?”

“Do you mind?” I didn’t want Ireland in that area if the person responsible was still there. And I needed to make sure Aria was okay.

“Of course not.” She waved me off. “Go. Let me know what’s going on.”

“I will.” Then I kissed Paisley.

“Is Aria okay?” Paisley asked me.

“I’m going to check on her, see if she needs any help.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah, we help out our friends.” Ireland was her friend, not me. I was just her coworker, boss…whatever. But I needed to make sure she was okay, that she wasn’t hurt and had somewhere to stay tonight. I had a feeling she hadn’t considered all those things yet, and she wouldn’t reach out for help.

Ireland followed me to the door. “Be careful, and take care of her.”

“I will. If she needs a place, can she stay with you?” Ireland had a two-bedroom apartment close to the harbor.

“Absolutely.”

I hugged her before walking out. I could always depend on my sister. Who did Aria have? She’d mentioned a sister, but it sounded like she was the one helping her, not the other way around.

I wished I’d asked more questions.

I was anxious the entire drive to her apartment. The area was seedy. I couldn’t believe she lived here. Is this where she grew up, what she knew, or was she living here with a boyfriend? The thought made me feel cold. I had no idea what I was walking into.

When I saw Aria next to an officer, I parked and made my way to her. I wouldn’t feel better until I saw that she was okay. “Aria.”

She turned, confusion etching the lines on her forehead. “Finn, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I touched her back, needing to reassure myself that she was intact.

The officer stepped back. “You have my number. We’ll have the report ready tomorrow for your insurance company.”

Aria’s lips twisted as she mumbled, “I didn’t have insurance.”

“You didn’t have renter’s insurance?”

Aria looked away, clearly embarrassed. “Who would insure this place?”

I didn’t want to admit that I thought her place was less than ideal, so I didn’t respond to her question. I ran my hands up and down her arms. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?”

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