Aria POV
After our early morning, Roman reminded me we needed to head to the clubhouse for more introductions. I fortified myself with two strong cups of coffee before we headed over.
I’d barely made it inside when the smell hit me—something thick and constant, like cigarettes and grease and that sweetish, rotten edge of spilled beer ground into old wood. Not that I could say it was bad. It was just…everywhere. It pressed into my mouth and nose so that even breathing felt like I was borrowing air that belonged to someone else.
Roman let the front door bang shut behind us. The sound bounced off the low ceiling and the brick walls and the metal ribs of the ductwork overhead. He moved just ahead and a little to my left, cutting a path that kept me shielded from any direct line of sight a
