"Where's Aria?"
James Morrison stood in the doorway of Viktor's main operations room, and his eyes scanned the space. Marcus looked up from the financial documents spread across the table, and his expression was carefully neutral.
"She's not here," Marcus said, and his tone was flat.
"I can see that," James said, and he stepped into the room and set down his briefcase. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," Marcus said, and he returned his attention to the documents in front of him. "Aria needed some space, so she left."
James felt something twist in his chest, and concern mixed with confusion as he looked at his best friend. "Space from what? From the investigation? From you? What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what I said," Marcus replied, and his jaw was tight with tension that had nothing to do with the financial records he was reviewing. "She needed space, so I'm giving it to her. That's all."
