Aiden moved to a kneeling position, looking me right in the eye, only not in a way that made my heart flutter. It felt clinical, especially when he fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a small, keychain flashlight. He clicked it on, and then swept a path of light across my eyes.
I squinted, wanting very much to hiss my disapproval. Before I could blink, Aiden’s other hand came up and held my eyelid open. “Hold still, only another second and I’ll leave you alone.”
He passed the light in front of both eyes before clicking it off. “The good news is that it’s just a concussion. The bad news is that you won’t feel better until tomorrow. Maybe even the next day.”
“Lovely,” I replied, blinking rapidly as my tear ducts flooded. White dots looped and swirled in my vision, making it impossible to see anything until my eyes adjusted.
He moved back to his earlier position, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his feet at the ankle. Folding his hands in his lap, he turned his head slightly, outlining the bump on his forehead.
Without thinking about it, I stretched my hand out, pushing back a chunk of sandy-blond hair to place the tips of my fingers against his skin. I could feel our pulses battering against one another just by that simple touch. His was strong and steady. Mine echoed on a softer cadence.
“You’re fingers are like ice,” he said, making me realize I’d lingered too long touching him.
“Sorry,” I said, pulling my hand back, wondering just what in the hell I’d been thinking, touching him so casually like that.
He sighed softly, eyes still closed. “Put your hand back; that actually felt good.”
My heart sputtered, bumping hard against my chest, and then went into a frantic beat that I could feel all the way in my throat. His hand fluttered into my vision, wavering around as if searching for mine. When his fingers found my arm, he guided them up to my wrist and moved my hand over, laying it across his forehead with another sigh. “Thank you.”
I leaned up on my elbow, bringing myself closer to him so that I didn’t have to stretch so far to keep my hand on his head. “You’re welcome, I think…”
I could feel him relax as he drew in another long breath and let it out.
For as comfortable as he was, I was the opposite. My nerves were stretched tight enough to snap.
Under my palm, Aiden’s pulse beat a reassuring, steady thrum. After a few minutes of continued silence, I felt myself calm down enough to think straight.
The heat coming from his skin warmed mine. Noticing this, I moved my hand, eliciting a groan from Aiden until I grabbed my pillow and moved to the other end of the bed. Propping myself up on my elbow, I placed my right hand on his head. “Ye have a hard head. Did ye know that?”
I wasn’t sure what made me say that. It just seemed like for as close as I was curled up beside him, I needed to say something.
“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” he answered with a touch of humor in his voice.
“Oh? Do ye go ‘round giving people a dunt in the head often?” I joked back at him.
“Dunt…? Oh! Uh, no. I try to avoid it as much as possible.”
“So, Aunt Brenda and Mum put you through a ton of questions, huh?” I asked, scrambling for something else to talk about.
“You could say that.” His head bobbed under my head as he laughed.
“I can almost hear it now. Where do ye come from? What kind of work did ye do before you got here? How long will ye be staying? Where will ye go when ye leave? Blah, blah, blah…”
He shifted under my hand, moving his head back and forth as if hollowing out a spot for it to sink into as he answered me. “Yep, and that was just the warm up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess… they asked you if you had a girlfriend and were you serious?”
“Actually, they didn’t ask me that at all.” He sounded thoughtful over it.
“Oh, aye, to be sure, that will be on the next round then,” I said, hefting a big sigh. “They mean well, but…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been interrogated by better and came out unscathed. Although, my momma could probably give ‘em a run for their money.” He sat forward. Turning, he gave me a toothy smile and winked. “Do you have an extra pillow?”
His question caught me off guard for a minute. After staring at him like an idiot for a few seconds, I pulled myself together and grabbed the other pillow on my bed, handing it to him.
“Thanks,” he said, tossing it on the floor and moving to lie on his stomach.
In what seemed like no time at all, Aiden’s breathing changed to the rhythmic rise and fall of someone fast asleep. He’d tucked one hand under the pillow, giving me a full view of his face.
For the life of me, I couldn’t stop studying every single beautiful feature. The straight line of his nose. The sturdy angle of his jaw. Dark eyelashes that fanned over his cheeks. Soft lips made for kissing.
Sighing, I forced myself to lie back down, close enough to the edge of the bed where I could look at him one last time before I closed my eyes.
Sleep didn’t come to me. Having Aiden on my floor, filling my room with the gentle sounds of his breathing, wasn’t just a distraction—it was almost torture.
Aunt Brenda came to check on me an hour or so later. She spoke in hushed tones as she handed me headache medicine and a glass of water. I drank half the glass and set it down on my nightstand, thinking Aiden might want some when he woke up.
“Poor lad,” she said, peering over the bed where he slept. “I offered him the other guest bedroom, but he turned it down. I guess he felt more comfortable in here with you.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Maybe he just figured if he escaped up here, that you and Mum would stop pestering him.”
Her fingers pressed against her mouth as her eyes twinkled and her shoulders jiggled.
“I don’t understand what’s so funny about it. He’s in no better shape than I am, and the two of ye went on te stickin’ yer noses where they needn’t be.”
Aunt Brenda’s hand fell away from her mouth. “Careful, lass. He’s a good lad, but he’s still a stranger, aye?”
Disbelief rolled through me. “A stranger ye tried setting me up with.”
“There’s something afoot, Airen. I canna put my finger on it yet, but there’s something about him that he’s no telling us.”
My stomach rolled, but I kept my thoughts to myself as she pegged me with a look that said she really wanted me to pay attention to her gut feeling. Aunt Brenda’s gut feelings were hardly ever wrong.
“Now, mind,” she continued on, unaware of how much she’d unsettled me. “I wouldna let him stay if I thought he was dangerous. And with what’s happened, having a braw lad about the house wouldna come amiss, aye?”
I nodded, darting a look at Aiden on the floor. It was hard to believe he was anything other than a good guy who’d shown up at a very bad time in our lives.
“Here, I brought these up for him,” she said, handing me more headache medicine. “I’ll be back in a little bit te check on ye again.”
I set the pills down beside the glass of water as she left and then curled up on my side, thinking about what she’d said. He was a stranger after all, but one who’d wrapped me in his arms and made me feel safe.
Shifting my pillow under my head, I moved a little closer to the edge of the bed. Aiden hadn’t budged since he’d fallen asleep. I forced myself to look away from him, staring at the spot by my window where he’d been when I woke up.
On the floor was a fairly decent-sized bag, one that didn’t belong to me. Had Aiden brought it with him? If he had, why bring it upstairs to my room?
The answer dawned on me immediately. He brought it up here so that Aunt Brenda and Mum wouldn’t go nosing through his stuff.
Even after Aunt Brenda’s warning, I had a hard time believing Aiden was someone we couldn’t trust. I was sure she knew it too, but with the threat of Uncle Robert, I could hardly blame her for wan
ting to be careful. She also didn’t know about his gun.
His gun!
Had he stowed it in his bag?
I pushed the covers back and sat up. It’s an invasion of privacy, Airen, my conscious told me. You didn’t care for it too much when Liv went through your stuff and stole your money.
Aye, I’d been pissed. But I wasn’t after stealing anything. I just wanted to have a keek. And if the roles were reversed? Would you like it if he went through your stuff?
I batted away the internal nattering and put one foot over the side of the bed. The tips of my toes brushed the carpet as the doorbell rang. Aiden shot up from the floor into a crouch, grabbed his bag, and tossed it on my bed.
Scrambling out of his way, I watched as he slid the zipper in one sharp pull, retrieved the gun inside, and crossed the room to my open door. Both hands were on the gun, pointing it at the floor as he leaned past the doorjamb to listen.
My heart skittered, pumping blood so fast through my body that my vision wavered as I fought to keep a tidal wave of panic from swallowing me.
I heard everything as if the sounds around me were amplified. The sound of the lock sliding. The door creaking open. Aunt Brenda’s voice as she spoke.
Aiden turned back to look at me, sliding his gun under his shirt. “It’s Agent Jackson.”
I blew out an unsteady breath, putting my legs over the side of the bed to stand. Once on my feet, I flicked a nervous glance at Aiden’s bag on my bed and then at him.
“You okay?” he asked, taking a step towards me.
“Are you hiding something from us?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
He seemed confused as he asked, “In my bag?”
I hugged my arms against my chest, biting at my lip as I wondered just how in the hell to ask him what I really wanted to know.
“Airen?” He said my name softly as if asking me to look at him. As I did, the stairs squeaked and Aiden stuck his head out.
“There’s a man here by the name of Agent Jackson. He said he spoke to ye this morning.” Mum’s voice held a hint of mistrust as she spoke to Aiden.
“Airen and I were just on our way down,” Aiden answered, beckoning me to join him in the hallway.
He waited there for me even after Mum made her way back down the stairs. I could hear the distinctive squeak of the third step from the bottom as I stopped beside Aiden.
He put his hand out, brushing my hair over my shoulder. “I know I don’t have the right to ask you this, but I’ll ask it anyway. Trust me, Airen. Can you do that?”
“And if I trust ye? Will ye tell me what the hell is going on?” I asked, catching his fingers as they dropped down to his side, squeezing them as if it would keep him rooted to the spot and make him tell me the truth.
Something flashed across his face, but he looked away before I could read into it further. “Let’s go see what Agent Jackson wants.”
I let go of his hand and moved back a step. “If ye want my trust, that’s no the way to go about it, Aiden.” I walked away from him, leaving him to make my way downstairs.
No sooner did my foot land on the next step than Aiden caught me by the wrist, stopping me from going any further. His gaze roamed my face as if he’d find the words he needed to say written on my skin. “It’s important to me to keep you and your family safe. If nothing else, trust me about that.”
He didn’t let go until he moved past me on the stairs and jogged down them.
He’d meant it. I wasn’t sure how I knew it, but I did. He meant it with everything in him, but why?
BY THE TIME I GOT to the bottom of the stairs, Aiden had disappeared into the dining room. I could hear them making small talk as everyone settled in for Agent Jackson’s visit.
“Where’s Airen? I thought she was coming down with ye?” Mum asked, making me pick up the pace before she came looking for me.
I walked into the dining room just as Aiden opened his mouth to answer. “I’m right here.”
Agent Jackson got to his feet. “Nice to see you again, Ms. Campbell,” he said, darting a look back and forth between Aiden and me as if noting something.
Pulling out the chair to his left, he motioned for me to sit. When I did, he and Aiden sat as well.
“Aye, they cracked heads earlier, Agent Jackson.” Aunt Brenda answered the silent question. “Quite literally, I might add.”
Agent Jackson zeroed in on Aiden, a frown forming on his lips. “Was there a problem?”
The question seemed to be directed specifically at Aiden, but he flicked a glance at everyone after a moment, seeking an answer to his question.
Aiden cleared his throat, bringing Agent Jackson’s attention back to him. “There’s no problem, sir. It was an accident—”
I wasn’t sure why I jumped in, but I did because it didn’t seem fair that Aiden be put under the spotlight for something that had clearly been nothing more than a stroke of bad timing on both of our parts. “He was coming in Aunt Brenda’s office—”
“At the same time as she came barreling out,” he added.
“And, bam! They fell on the floor like two landed fish,” Aunt Brenda said, smacking her hands together. Amusement shone on her face as she filled in the rest.
Agent Jackson’s brow lifted. “I see.”
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, can ye tell me who ye are and what yer doing here?” Aunt Brenda asked, putting the spin on not only the mood of the room, but on the conversation itself. It never ceased to amaze me how she could take command of a situation.
Agent Jackson didn’t even seem the slightest ruffled when he answered. “I’m here on behalf of a private sector of the American government to find and detain Robert Anderson, better known in the underground world as Robert de Fleur.”
Mum gasped in shock. “That bloody bastart!”
Agent Jackson leaned forward, his interest peaked. “This is obviously unsettling news to you. What I’d like to know, ma’am, is why?”
I couldn't help but wonder the same thing.
THE REACTION FROM MINA WAS startling. Not so much as what she said, but how she said it. For whatever reason, the fact that Robert had used the name de Fleur enraged her. Her cheeks blazed with twin spots of red as her eyes pinched.
Brenda fumed silently beside her, reaching out to take her hand.
“It means nothing, Mina, especially coming from the likes of him.” Brenda made it sound so final, as if it wasn’t anything to discuss.
Grant shot me a brief look, wondering if I knew why she’d had such a strong reaction to the name Robert de Fleur.
Airen missed nothing. Not her mother’s reaction. Not Grant’s subtle look at me. And not the way that Brenda tried to calm the situation by dismissing it.
Sitting up straighter in her chair, Airen leaned in, making sure to look at everyone. “Well, I’d say there are more than a few secrets sitting ‘round this table.”
I fought every instinct I had to keep from fidgeting the way one would if they had something to hide.
She sighed, settling back in her seat, and said, “I’ll go first. Uncle Robert sought me out the week before I left.”
“Why didn’t ye say something, Airen?” Brenda asked, sounding hurt that she had kept it from her.
Airen shrugged. “Because, Auntie, what good would it have done to tell ye? Besides, all he did was introduce himself and say he’d be seeing me.” She paused, waving a dismissive hand. “I just decided it be best to leave before he got the chance.”
Mina slapped her hand against the dining room table. “And now he’s back, threatening to take ye. Ye daft girl. Do ye have no sense? Running off with the threat o’ that man hanging o’er yer head!”
“He wasn’t over my anything! I told ye, he just introduced himself to me and told me he’d be—”
Mina butted in. “Seeing ye. Aye, I ken what ye said, but did ye no think for a single minute how odd it was that he just showed up?”
Grant kept his mo
uth closed. I knew why too. There was no way he’d interrupt what would be one hell of a family argument. And family arguments, uninterrupted, led to more details in one heated conversation than hours of questioning done by a stranger.
“Of course I did! How could I not? Ye’ve done nothing but keep his existence a complete mystery. I had to go digging te find out about him!” Airen fired back at her mother.
“Why, Airen? Why would you go digging around about him? What good would it do ye te know the vile things he’s done?” Mina’s words warbled as she fought the tears pooling in her eyes.
Grant cleared his throat. “Mrs. Campbell, we have an extensive history on Robert Anderson, but what we’ve never been able to make a connection to is the use of the name de Fleur. What sort of meaning does it have for him?”
Mina snorted, but she remained stoically silent.
Brenda pushed her chair back from the table. “Airen, do ye feel well enough to start some tea? Aiden, be a dear and help her. Mina, I’ll have a word with ye in the living room, please. Agent Jackson, if you would be so kind as to give us a few minutes?”
She addressed everyone without waiting for a reply, expecting all of us to follow along with what she’d said as she left the dining room. Mina and Airen stood at the same time, each making a noise of exasperation.
I went to stand, but Airen put her hand on my shoulder. “I can handle the tea. Besides, ye need the rest if I think she’s going to do what I think she is.”
Airen no sooner disappeared into the kitchen when an argument broke out in the living room. Mina and Brenda either didn’t care that everyone could hear them, or they were too caught up in anger to lower their voices.
“Yer daft!” Mina cried out.
“Oh, and ye think he’ll just go away on his own then?” Brenda replied.
“He’s a dangerous man. Ye ken what he was like as a lad! He’s made his threats before, Brenda. He’ll no get what he wants this time either,” Mina hissed.
“It’s different this time, Mina. This time, he’s threatening Airen!” Brenda’s voice rose.
If Ever I Fall: Book 3 of The Six Series Page 10
