by Wade, Maddie
“Explain?”
Their hands swayed as the people thinned out in the wooded area, and he could see AJ clearly a few feet ahead of them. “Seeing Mom and Dad and you after Aaron died was just too hard. I felt like everywhere I turned there was this expectation of being everything to fill the void he’d left. I didn’t have it in me to fill the void he’d left in me, let alone do it for everyone else. Then there was everyone watching me, waiting for me to implode or to put my car into a wall. Everyone knew me and knew Aaron and me as a pair. We came as a pack. Even you know that.”
Willow leaned her head against his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I never saw you and Aaron as a pair. I just saw two incredibly wonderful men who meant the world to me.”
Waggs stopped, pulling her to face him and with the backdrop of the lake and castle behind her, it was hard to keep everything he wanted to say to her inside but now wasn’t the time. “I missed you every day, Wills. I think when we lost Aaron, we were all adrift. What we did that night was us clinging to a life raft.” He felt her pull away and held on tighter, his hands moving to her hips. “I don’t mean that I regretted what we shared. That was, is, always mind-blowing. I should regret it, but I don’t, and I hate myself for it. You were the only person who could’ve stopped me from drowning that day.”
She had tears in her eyes when she looked up at him and so much emotion in her brown eyes. “Oh, Aiden. Please don’t hate yourself. I had mixed feelings about that night at first too, but I want you to know that when I look back at it now, I’m so glad it was you I clung to.”
He felt the pull of the connection between them solidify as they admitted those feelings to each other. It wasn’t an admission of love or anything, although he did love her, always had and always would, but it was a start.
“My legs hurt!”
Waggs looked down to see AJ, shoulders slumped, looking up at them. “Want to ride on my shoulders?”
“Yes.”
The animation on his little face was enough to slay Waggs, and he smiled as he bent, and putting his hands under the boy’s armpits, swung him on to his shoulders. He reached for Willow’s hand with the other, and they made their way back to the central courtyard where the stalls and tents were.
After lining up, which was very British, they got some food and drinks and headed for the grassy area with the others to settle on the grass and watch a children’s entertainer who was doing tricks and making balloon animals.
That part of the grounds were lower, almost like a bowl, and it made the perfect spot for a music gig, which was taking place that evening.
“You staying to watch the show tonight?” Reid asked from where he was with Callie sitting between his thighs talking to Taamira.
“We can’t really, we have AJ and ten is late for him to be out.”
Willow leaned over him to join the conversation. She’d never been shy in that way, always just slotting into a situation or dynamic as if she’d always been there. It was probably why she’d nestled into the fold with him and Aaron.
“You don’t want to see my son when he’s tired. He’s a demon.”
“Like his dad.” Waggs chuckled and saw a shadow flit over her features before she laughed it off.
“Yeah, maybe.”
Waggs knew she still missed Aaron, he did too, and five years had only dulled the grief, it certainly hadn’t defused it in any way. “We could take AJ home with us. He could sleep over, and we can bring him down in the morning?” Autumn looked to Mitch for confirmation as she made the offer.
“We couldn’t ask—” Willow began, but Autumn stopped her.
“You didn’t, we offered. Plus, Maggie loves him, and it will give her someone else to play with.”
“Are you sure, Autumn?” Waggs asked, loving the idea of spending time with Willow alone, not just because he wanted her under him, over him, and next to him but because it would give them a chance to talk.
“Of course. It’ll be fun.”
Waggs looked at Willow. It was her decision. AJ was her son, and she had the final say. If she wasn’t comfortable, then it wouldn’t happen, period.
“Okay, yes. Thank you.”
Shortly after they went to get ice creams and as the day drew on and the little people became fractious, Mitch and Autumn rounded up the kids. He and Willow walked them back to the carpark to make sure AJ was okay with it and didn’t change his mind.
He said goodnight to AJ and stepped back as Willow helped him buckle up and spoke with him softly.
“Thanks for doing this, Mitch.” Waggs had his hands in his pockets as he looked at his friend.
“No worries. You’ve done plenty for everyone else and its time you got your happy too.”
“You think I’m wrong feeling like I do about her?” Waggs was looking at Willow now; she was wearing a short denim skirt with white pumps, and a navy-blue flowered top. She looked gorgeous, sexy in a girl-next-door way, with a hint of sass and a lot of love.
“No, I don’t, and I don’t think your brother would be as upset as you think, either. Maybe if he’d been alive when you made your move, but he isn’t, and you two are. We don’t have a say in who we love, Waggs, we just have to hang on for the ride and decide to be brave.”
“I’m not sure I’m brave.”
Mitch gripped his shoulder. “You, my friend, are the bravest man I know and the most modest. You’re a good man and a good medic, but you’re an excellent soldier and friend too. Don’t let the shadows of the past grey out your future.”
Waggs looked at his friend, the oldest of the Eidolon team and the calm one. “How did you get so wise?”
“You met my mama, right?”
He had, and she was fantastic, strong, forthright, but full of love. “Yeah, good point.” Willow walked up to them, and he lifted his arm as she wrapped her arms around his waist, where she fit perfectly. “Ready to go have fun?”
“Yep.”
That night they danced, they drank, and they let themselves be two people falling, or for his part already, in love. As he held Willow and they swayed to the last song of the night, a soulful ballad made all the more so by the beauty of the surroundings, he had hope.
He was alive, and he had the woman he loved in his arms. Hopefully tonight he’d show her exactly what she meant to him. Make love to her as he’d dreamt of so many times. Not the raw, dirty fucking they’d shared before, which he still loved, but this time he wanted to savour her. To kiss every inch of her skin and hear her moan his name, feel her climax on his cock, and say with his body what he couldn’t communicate with words just yet.
Chapter 10
Today had been one of the best she could remember having in, well ever. Aiden had been sweet and attentive with her and AJ. Always making sure they both had what they needed and were taken care of. Seeing him with AJ today had only made it more apparent that she needed to tell him the truth. What he did with that, unfortunately, wasn’t her call. Aiden had a strong sense of loyalty, and she knew he struggled with his feelings for her and those he had for Aaron.
When she told him, he could be AJ’s father, he’d step up, want to be there for every milestone and probably hate her for the ones he’d missed out on by keeping her suspicions to herself. It was easy to defend herself in the light of day, but at night, when there was nobody to see, she knew it had been selfish of her.
Clicking her safety belt, she waited for Aiden to get in the car beside her. She had a nice buzz going from the few ciders she’d had, which went down like soft drink, but Aiden had only had two beers all day.
She reached for his hand as he drove out of the carpark and offered him a soft, sexy smile as he took and placed it on his hard thigh. It was colder now, the lack of cloud all day making the air cool on her skin, and she shivered.
“Cold?”
“A little.”
Aiden cranked the heat up, and Willow laid her head back against the soft leather. She could see stars galore in the sky as they drove, th
e only other lights those of their friends who drove behind them.
The roads were winding with a hedgerow on either side and fields and trees as far as the eye could see. They were approaching a small bridge with a turnoff to the left, just before the bend for the river.
Willow saw the lights of a car and thought nothing of it, but Aiden clearly saw something because he turned the wheel sharply as a vehicle hit them side-on, catching the tail of their vehicle and pushing them into a spin.
Willow screamed his name as Aiden wrestled the car, but it was too late, and before she could do more than a grab a hold of Aiden’s leg, they were careening over the bridge into the inky black darkness and then the splash sounded as the car hit the water. Her head smashed against the dashboard, and she felt warm blood drip down her face as the world spun around her.
Willow began to panic as she felt the frigid cold-water seeping into the car as it sunk lower into the terrifying darkness. Aiden grabbed her hand, forcing her to focus on him and not the paralysing fear that crawled up her spine.
“Can you move?”
“Yes, I just banged my head.”
“Willow, I need you to listen to me. This car is going to sink, and when it does, I need you to hold on to my hand, and do not let go. We’re going to swim out of the window, but we can’t until we’re fully submerged, all right?”
Willow nodded, the clear focus in his voice keeping the abject terror at bay. As the water reached her chest, she felt Aiden fiddling with their seatbelts and focused on him. The coarse fabric of the belt gave, and soon they were both free of the life-saving constraints.
Her teeth began to chatter, and she didn’t know if it was fear, cold, or shock but suspected it was fear. The water was shifting, and her breath was coming fast as panic made it hard to breathe.
“Stay with me, Wills. We’re going to be fine, just stay calm. As soon as the water goes over our heads, I’ll get you out, I promise.”
Willow nodded, her heart beating so hard against her chest it felt like she might pass out. Tipping her head up, she took a breath as the freezing water touched her chin. Just before the water covered her head, she took another deep breath and held tight to Aiden. She thought of all the things she hadn’t done or said. Her son, who could grow up without either of his parents, and pain seized her. Lungs burning as she held her breath, she felt Aiden tug her hand and then she was moving.
His arms pulled her through the darkness and the fear. Making her feel less alone less afraid, and he’d done it before. Aiden always came through for her. He’d always save her, and she’d done nothing to deserve that loyalty except lie to him and hide the truth.
Panic danced on her chest as she felt the need to take a breath, and then she was pulled from the water, and blessed air filled her lungs. Coughing and gasping for breath, she reached out blindly and found herself pulled onto dry land. Turning, she frantically looked for Aiden and saw him being helped from the dark river by Reid.
He rushed to her and fell to his knees, hauling her against him and holding on so tight, his hand cupping her head to his chest. “You okay, Wills?”
Willow nodded as a shiver racked her body, part shock and part cold. Reid placed a blanket around her shoulders as Aiden led her up the bank to where Liam and Alex were waiting, the latter having turned up later in the day.
“Here, sit in the car and warm up.” Callie guided her and Aiden to the back seat.
Alex ran over with a bag and shoved it at Aiden. “Dry clothes, get them on.”
Aiden tried to pull away, but she held on, not wanting to let him go, never wanting to let him go.
Aiden pried her fingers off him and cupped her neck, bringing his forehead close and touching her own. “I’m not going anywhere, Wills, but we need to get dry. Then I can take a look at that cut on your head.”
Willow lifted a hand to touch her head and found it sticky with new blood and winced in pain. Aiden quickly stepped out of the car, and without a second thought, shed his wet clothes and put on dry ones from the bag Alex had given him.
He came back with a different bag and stood in front of her. “Does anything hurt, Wills?”
She shook her head and realised her head did, but it wasn’t surprising seeing as she’d cracked it on the dash. Aiden ran his fingers gently up the back of her neck, feeling the notches in her spine and asking if it hurt before asking her to follow his finger. Happy that she really was okay and not about to expire on the spot, he removed the blanket.
Willow could hear sirens in the distance and wondered what would happen now. She looked up at Aiden as he pulled a warm, dry hoodie over her head. “What happened, Aiden?”
His face was a mask of anger, jaw ticking as he fought for control. “Someone smashed into us side-on, ploughing us straight toward the bridge and then drove off.”
“Jesus!”
“Liam went after them. He picked up the driver and is taking him into our custody.”
Her eyes went wide. “You think this has something to do with me?” Aiden cupped her upper arms and rubbed to get her warm as she shivered, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. “AJ could have been in that car.” Her eyes stung as tears and anger took over. “They could have killed my son because some asshole wants to shut me up.”
He pulled her into his arms, and she looked past him to the dark river. That could have been her baby’s grave and her own. If Aiden hadn’t been there, she’d have freaked out and drowned. She clung tighter, knowing this man was the one standing between her and danger.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you or AJ, Wills. I’ll always be there.”
Willow didn’t respond because she knew he meant every word, but when she told him of her lies, of the things she’d kept from him, would he feel the same? She hoped so, but a part of her thought she didn’t deserve it.
As the police and an ambulance drew up, she saw a pretty woman in plain clothes talking to Alex as she looked over at them. The woman made her way toward them, and Aiden smiled.
“I’m glad it’s you, Aubrey.”
“Hey, Waggs.”
“Willow, this is Detective Aubrey Herbert, she’s Will Granger’s fiancée.”
“Hi.”
“I’d normally try and get a statement but as this is Waggs, I can get one tomorrow when you aren’t freezing and bleeding.”
“Reid was right behind us. He probably saw as much as we did.”
Aubrey cocked her head back towards Reid and Callie. “I’ll start there.” She pointed at Willow. “Take care of that cut.”
“Yeah, I will,” Aiden responded.
He had the paramedic check her over too and declined a visit to the hospital against their wishes, but she knew if anyone could look after her, it was Aiden. With her head wound, which was way better than it looked, and some glue holding her cut closed, she let Reid and Callie drive them home.
Exhausted and a little bit shocked, she followed Aiden as he led her to bed and then helped her undress. This wasn’t what she’d planned for the night, but she didn’t have the energy for anything else. Once she was under the covers, she watched Aiden strip to his boxers and climb in beside her. On autopilot she rolled into him, settling against him, her head on his chest, arm draped over his belly, leg thrown over his muscular thighs.
He kissed her head and held on as tight as she did to him, both lost in thought of how they could have lost each other. She’d already lost one man she loved; she wouldn’t survive losing another.
Chapter 11
Waggs stormed into Eidolon on a mission, and that was to destroy the man who’d tried to hurt Willow. He’d lain awake all night holding her, reliving every second of the crash. From the second he’d seen the lights he’d known. Swerving at the last second had stopped a direct hit to Willow’s side of the car and probably saved her from a fatal injury. Still, plunging into the ice-cold river, she could have drowned, and if AJ had been there… He couldn’t even consider that, or he became homicidal.
Fu
ck, he already felt homicidal. Liam going after the man and apprehending him was a stroke of luck and another example of how his friends had his back. As Alex and Reid had hauled him and Willow from the river, Liam had gone after the car.
Pushing into the conference room, he saw Lopez and Blake talking. “Where is he?” His friends looked at each other, and he knew they were seeing a side of him that rarely showed, but this was personal, and he was fucking angry. “Where the fuck is the man who tried to kill Willow?”
“In the interrogation room with—”
Waggs didn’t hang around to hear the rest, he just wanted to get his hands on the fucker who had tried to take someone he loved from him. Heading through the secure doors and the cells at the back, he walked into the viewing room where he could get a look at the man. Jack turned to the door when he barged through it. Arms folded across his chest, he raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on Waggs’ wild, manic look and he knew that was how he must look because it was how he felt.
Through the glass, he saw a man of about thirty, medium build, non-descript brown hair. Nothing about him stood out or called attention to him, which made Waggs think he was a professional at blending into his surroundings. Certainly, he nor any of the team, had spotted him, and they were as good as it got.
“We got a name yet?”
“Nope. But Deck only just went in. We’re going to start with subtle and then move it up to Liam.”
“I want to question him.”
Jack turned to him fully. “Is that wise? The mood you’re in, you’re likely to kill him before we get what we need.”
Waggs shook his head. “I won’t, but I won’t go easy either. He could’ve killed her, and fuck, if AJ had been in the car…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. It gutted him like a pig to think the kid who’d lit his whole world with joy could be dead right now if it hadn’t been for fate.
Jack grasped his shoulder firmly. “I get it, I really do. Let Deck try, and if we get nothing, you can have at him. Just leave him alive.”
