Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
His stomach lodged in his throat. Aiden stripped quickly and pulled down the covers. “Come here.”
She didn’t hesitate. He settled them in her bed, her back against his front, and tucked the blankets up around them. Her little shakes didn’t dissipate for the longest time, but she slowly relaxed, muscle by muscle.
“If you need to talk about it, I’m here.”
“I don’t want to.” She pulled his arms tighter around her. “Not yet.”
“Okay.” There was nothing else to say. Nothing else to do. Aiden had played every card in his deck, and if he kept pushing her when she was still in shock from being tortured, then he was the worst kind of asshole. So he held her and murmured nonsense until her breathing evened out and the last of her tension melted away.
He said he’d give her time, and he would honor that. No matter how much he hated the thought of walking away from her, even for a short time. Hopefully, a short time.
Please, God, don’t let it be forever.
* * *
Charlie woke slowly. Every part of her body hurt, but her heart most of all. She kept flashing back to the way her dad had just walked past her in pursuit of arresting Mae. To the fear written across Aiden’s face, which hadn’t gone away, even when he was crawling into bed with her.
She reached out, but the other side of the bed was cold. Her hand came in contact with her phone, and she pulled it to her face. Someone must have found it at the warehouse, because she distinctly remembered Mae taking it from her. It was remarkably blood-free and fully charged. She had half a dozen notifications, and she scrolled through them without unlocking her phone.
From Keira:
Where are you? Everyone is freaking out and no one will tell me anything.
Charlie, what the FUCK is going on?
Oh my god, Cillian told me. You had BETTER come home safe, goddamnit.
From Carrigan:
James is less than 30 min behind Aiden. I know you won’t get this until after, but keep fighting, Charlie. They’re coming for you.
The last one was from a number she didn’t recognize.
Liam will live. I know you’ll be happy to hear that. He wants to see you when you get a chance. —Cillian
Charlie’s heart beat too hard. The O’Malleys had closed ranks around her. They might not be physically here, but she felt it all the same. Is this what having a family is like?
She tried very hard not to notice that there were no calls or texts from her father. After nearly thirty years, that shouldn’t hurt. She should be used to it by now. Charlie had always come second to the job. Almost dying wouldn’t be enough for her dad to change.
Would he have come to my funeral if I had died? Or would he have just arranged for me to be cremated, and scattered my ashes when he had a day off?
Feeling sick, she sat up. Her thumb hit the screen and accidentally swiped the wrong direction, bringing up the daily news. Charlie was about to swipe it away, but the headline caught her eye:
DIRTY COPS ARRESTED
She clicked the article. Shock grew with each line she read—with each name she read. Her former partner. The same trio of men who framed her and then beat the shit out of her. Someone had come forward accusing them of taking bribes from local criminals and stealing drugs from the evidence locker. “I…What…How?” She finished the article and sat there for a long moment, just thinking.
Somehow she knew that Aiden had to be behind their being arrested. Justice. She didn’t know if it was something he’d done in the last few days to make up for Dmitri walking free or if it was something he’d set in place the moment she’d agreed to help him. It didn’t really matter. What mattered was that he’d promised her justice—and he’d delivered.
Without killing anyone.
The last two weeks felt like the most surreal of her life, which was saying something. It shouldn’t be possible to fall for someone that fast.
What she and Aiden had wasn’t perfect, and there were still kinks to work out, but was any relationship perfect? He was willing to work with her and meet her halfway. He challenged her and forced her to be better than she’d been before. It was surprising how well she’d fit into his family.
He was still a criminal. That wouldn’t change.
She stared at her phone. Could she live with that? It went against everything she’d been raised to value.
But the man who’d raised her with those values had left her in the arms of a criminal last night. He hadn’t stopped to ensure that she’d get medical care or to find out what their plans were. Her dad just let them leave.