Aidan heaved a sigh. He’d been the guy Bruce had been speaking with that night. He’d wanted Bruce to know that the chiefs had been impressed by his progress and that Maricar—whom Aidan couldn’t name during the conversation—had hand-picked him to assist in that night’s all-important operation.
He turned away and spoke through his hidden microphone. “I think he’s fine.”
Maricar, who was listening in along with the other chiefs, responded. “Yes, he is. Let him go,” she said in a soft tone.
“Copy.”
Aidan uncuffed Mario. “Thank you. We won’t bother you again as long as you promise not to plan to harm any of us in any way, shape, or form. With all due respect, you know you won’t win against us, anyway.”
Mario stared at him, then at Jaxon. He was quiet for a long moment before saying, “I never want to see any of you ever again.”
Aidan nodded, then he and Jaxon walked towards the front door. Before they left, Aidan turned back to Mario. “We are truly sorry for your loss. While you might not believe this, we do feel your pain. Bruce was one of us, and we are honoured to have known him.”
As quietly as they’d arrived, all the IR agents hurried back to their van. As they drove off, something hit Aidan that made his heart race.
Maricar’s case had been solved. He could now give himself permission to consider becoming an inactive IR.
He blew out a breath. Wow. He didn’t even know how to start thinking about it. How could he give up something that meant so much to him?
Almost two months later…
Aidan climbed the stairs towards Felicity’s apartment, nervous as hell. With this being the fourth time in six weeks that he’d had to cancel a date at the last minute, he didn’t know if Felicity would be as forgiving as she’d been in the past. She’d given him the silent treatment after the last time, and it had taken a few days before she was back to her sweet self. Now, he was going to disappoint her again.
Thing was, he still couldn’t make up his mind whether leaving the IR world behind was what he truly wanted. Even if being inactive meant he’d still be an Indie Rebel, having an “ordinary” life meant he would have to completely step away from any of the cases. That would be totally weird—and heartbreaking.
However, as much as he had been allowed to pick and choose cases, the timing of any IR work could never be predicted. He’d hoped that he could keep most of his nights free for Felicity, but most of the Indie Rebels’ field work was best done under the cover of darkness. What was more, criminals didn’t follow his preferred schedule, so it wasn’t as if he could move the necessary operations to another time.
Aidan reached Felicity’s door and knocked, heart pounding hard.
Felicity opened the door, all dressed up in a sexy, wrap-around, red dress. “Hi,” she said, reaching up to greet him with a kiss on the lips. “I’m almost ready. Give me five minutes to put on my makeup.” She trotted towards the bathroom.
“Babe,” he called out, closing the door behind him.
Felicity looked back and raised her brows.
Aidan ran a hand over his face, feeling terrible. Felicity had cut him a lot of slack in the past, but she’d been really upset the last time he’d called to say he couldn’t make it to their date ten minutes before they were due to meet. He was starting to lose her trust, and that terrified him.
“You’re cancelling on me again,” Felicity guessed, throwing her hands up in the air in clear dismay.
He approached her, his heart pinching when she crossed her arms and took a step back.
“I’m really sorry,” he said. “It’s the same client from last week. They’ve been testing the software, and, unfortunately, there’s one part that’s not working as it should. I’ve got to fix it before tomorrow morning.”
Felicity stared at him, and, to his horror, her eyes started to water. She turned her back on him, breathing deeply.
Aidan put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her hair. This constant lying to Felicity was killing him.
Felicity dabbed the corners of her eyes. “Look, I understand that your work is your priority. But…this is becoming too hard for me. I don’t want to make demands on you that you can’t fulfill. But I also can’t stay in a relationship where I feel like I’m not important enough.”
Aidan’s heart constricted as he stepped around to face her. “You’re important to me.”
Felicity smiled, but her eyes held such sadness that he almost couldn’t breathe. God, he couldn’t stand seeing her hurt so much, especially when he was the cause of it. And he just knew she was ready to break up with him.
There and then, he’d made the decision he’d been putting off for weeks. It was time to admit to himself that he’d fallen hard for Felicity. He didn’t want to lose her.
He cupped her face. “You are important to me. I promise after tonight things will be different. I’ll be finished with this client, and I won’t need to change plans at the last minute anymore. I hate doing this to you, but, please, let me do this just one more time.”
Felicity blinked, looking deep into his eyes. After a long moment, she nodded before moving away from him. “It’s okay. You can go. We can talk…whenever I see you again.”
“Tomorrow,” he said hurriedly. “I can pick you up before noon, and we can have a nice lunch somewhere. Then, we can watch a movie or something before going to the restaurant we’re supposed to go to tonight for dinner.”
“What about we go to your place?” Felicity asked in a challenging tone. “You’ve never taken me there. I don’t care if it’s a mess. I just want to see it. And since it’ll be the weekend, I’m more than happy to help you tidy up. I don’t have any other plans.”
“Uh, sure.” Damn. He’d have to figure out what to do about that quickly. First things first, though. He had to ensure tonight’s IR operation was a success. Then, he’d talk to Maricar and the other chiefs. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
Felicity nodded.
She still didn’t look happy, but Aidan didn’t have time reassure her further. It would have to wait until tomorrow.
“Bye.” He tried to kiss her lips, but Felicity turned her head away.
“Bye,” she said flatly.
Aidan inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to hold Felicity tight until she forgave him again. Before his willpower deserted him, he walked towards the door. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to linger.
By tomorrow, though, he hoped to have all the time in the world for her.
“Great work, guys,” Aidan said to his IR teammates who’d helped make tonight’s operation a success. The drug boss’s hideaway house would soon be teeming with police officers after the IRs had done their job and tipped the authorities.
As everyone made their way to their respective vans, Aidan got in the one with Isla and Kallan. With no initiates in this group, they all took off their masks.
“Hey,” Isla said in a low voice as she sat next to him. “How was Fel after you cancelled on her again?”
“Not happy,” he said a wince.
Isla shook her head. “She was really upset the last time. She told me she thinks you don’t feel the same way about her, that you guys should probably have stuck with a casual relationship. That way, she wouldn’t be expecting too much from you.”
“I know. But I hope to make it up to her tomorrow.”
Isla put a hand on his. “You might think it’s not my place to say this, but she’s my best friend. I don’t think you should keep seeing her. Even if you don’t mean to, it’s inevitable that you’ll keep hurting her. And I know hurting her hurts you, too.”
Aidan smiled. “I’ve fallen hard for her, Isla. I don’t want to keep hurting her either, so…I’m gonna try becoming an inactive IR to give our relationship a good shot at succeeding.”
Isla’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Isla stared at him for an interminable time before reaching out to
give him a hug. “Oh my God. We’re gonna miss working with you so much. But I’m so glad for the two of you.”
“What’s going on?” Kallan asked.
Aidan smiled. Might as well take this opportunity to let these guys know what he’d planned.
They were shocked, to say the least, but each of his teammates was supportive of his decision. Thankfully, he’d still be able to socialise with most of them. He’d miss the action, but these guys would still be around—as “normal” friends.
“Have you told the chiefs?” Kallan asked.
“I’ll be letting them know once I get home,” Aidan answered.
Isla chuckled. “I don’t think it will be a surprise. Maricar kept talking to me about how she’d love for you and Fel to work out when we had that graduation dinner the other week.”
Aidan laughed. “She’ll be so pleased, I can tell you.”
And he was dead right. Maricar couldn’t help expressing her delight when Aidan told her and the other chiefs of his decision via a group video call.
“It’s about time, Aidan,” Maricar said. “I’m just glad Fel stuck around while you took your time making your decision. I felt guilty that you had to keep cancelling your dates.”
“Me, too,” he admitted. “I do have a problem that I need help with. She wants to see my place. I can’t bring her here, obviously, so could I stay at our safe house at Kingsgrove for a short while? I’m going to rent another place or move in to one of my properties, but I need time to arrange that.”
“Sure,” Claude said. “We haven’t had to use that safe house in a while, anyway.”
“Great. Thanks so much. And Maricar, could Fel and I stay over at your guest cottage tomorrow night? I need the safe house prepared first and time to move some of my stuff there. But Fel needs some reassurance that I’m not just stringing her along even if I can’t take her to see my place yet.”
“Of course! I can’t wait. I’ll have the cottage ready for the two of you.”
“Thank you. All of you, thank you.”
“No, Aidan,” Claude said quietly. “Thank you. You’ve done so much for the Indie Rebels that we’ll never forget it. I’m very happy for you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not sad that you won’t be working for us anymore.”
Tears sprung to Aidan’s eyes, the enormity of his decision hitting him. “It is I who owe the Indie Rebels, especially Maricar, a whole world of gratitude.”
“Oh, stop it,” Maricar said, her voice trembling. “I’ll still see you all the time, anyway.”
He chuckled. “And I’ll be asking you about cases even if I won’t be working on any anymore.”
“No, Aidan,” Maricar said in a serious tone. “You know that we don’t discuss anything with inactive IRs unless the case involves them personally. That rule will apply to you, too. It’s for your benefit, so you can live a normal life, unencumbered and undistracted by Indie Rebel issues.”
Aidan felt his heart twist at Maricar’s words. He understood, though. He’d had to explain the situation himself to other agents who’d previously chosen to become inactive.
“We wish you all the best in your relationship with Felicity,” Claude said. “But in the event it doesn’t work, we hope you’ll become active again.”
“Of course,” Aidan said definitively. In truth, though, he didn’t even want to entertain the possibility that things between him and Felicity might not work.
He couldn’t wait to see her tomorrow. Hopefully, she’d be in a forgiving mood.
Chapter 12
Felicity was finishing putting on her lipstick when she heard the buzzing of her intercom. She ran to it. “Aidan?”
“Yes, babe.”
She smiled, pressing the button to let Aidan into her building. She was excited to spend the day with him, but she was also still hurting that he’d changed plans on her again last night.
It wasn’t the fact that he’d been putting his work before her that stung. They were a new couple, and she understood that she wasn’t at the top of his list yet, even though he was fast becoming that on hers. It was the last minute nature of his cancellations that she found hard to push aside.
Frankly, she’d worried that Aidan was cheating on her. However, she’d asked Isla to do a bit of subtle interrogation, and Isla had confirmed that Aidan had indeed been cancelling due to stressful, work-related issues. That was a relief.
But whatever happened today would dictate her next moves. Aidan still hadn’t been as open with his personal space as she’d been with him. He’d kept making the excuse that his house was too much of a mess to be a romantic place for them to hang out in.
She’d readily accepted that in the past. Since her apartment was so close to work, she hadn’t minded them sleeping over at hers. But she was starting to wonder why he was still reluctant to show her where he lived after almost three months of dating exclusively.
Today, if Aidan still didn’t take her to his home, she’d have no other choice but to believe that she simply didn’t matter to him enough. That would be her cue to end their relationship, because she refused to be with someone whose primary reason for being with her was sex. Sure, sex was incredibly special between the two of them, but it wasn’t enough.
Emotions rose up her throat, and she pushed them down forcefully. She didn’t want to cry. Aidan would be at her door any second.
Please take me to your home.
Aidan started knocking, and Felicity composed herself before letting him in.
“Hi,” Aidan said.
“Hi,” she answered, giving him a thin smile and not meeting his gaze.
Aidan reached out for her and wrapped her in his arms.
She didn’t move away, but didn’t hug him back. Aidan had to know how hurt she’d been.
“I’m really sorry about yesterday,” Aidan said, not letting go of her, “and for all those other times I changed our plans at the last minute. I’ve finished with those jobs, so I promise it won’t happen again.”
“Are we going to your place today?”
“Can you pack an overnight bag?”
Felicity lifted her face. “Why?”
“It’s time I hosted our overnight stays.”
Relief flooded her. Finally, Aidan was taking her to his place.
Aidan kissed her lips. “Go pack. I have a surprise for you.”
“Other than taking me to your place?” she teased, her misgivings fast evaporating.
Aidan chuckled. “How could that be the surprise when you were the one who asked for it?”
She grinned, more excited. She went to her bedroom to pack, ensuring she brought two sets of sexy lingerie.
Soon, they were getting into Aidan’s car, and Felicity still couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Yes, time would tell if Aidan would be true to his word and not cancel on her again, but she was happy with today’s progress. All she wanted was for Aidan to show he cared enough about her that investing her time, energy, and emotions into this relationship wasn’t going to be a waste. He was starting to share more of himself with her—specifically, his place—and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t thrilled.
“So,” Aidan said with a sigh as he started the engine, “I guess I can tell you now what my surprise is.”
Felicity frowned. Was that a hint of nervousness in Aidan’s voice? “You want to tell me rather than show me?”
“Um, yeah.”
“O-kay,” she said slowly.
“We’re going to Bowral!”
She stared at Aidan. “Bowral? I thought we were going to your house. In Kingsgrove.”
“Not today. I thought this place where I’m taking you would be perfect for our first weekend away.”
Felicity’s spirits sank, anger and disappointment bubbling up her chest. “Why don’t you want me to see your home? What are you hiding?”
Aidan turned off the engine and faced her. “I will take you there, too. Just not this weekend.”
She looked away, her ey
es stinging. “I just don’t understand, Aidan. I don’t even know if you like me enough.”
“Hey, hey.” Aidan put his hand under her chin and made her look at him. “I like you. Of course, I like you. Hell, I’m falling hard for you.”
Her breath hitched, her heart suddenly racing. “What did you say?”
“I said I’m falling hard for you.”
She blinked, unable to believe what she’d just heard. “But I don’t understand…”
“I know. I promise we’ll go to my house. Sometime this week, perhaps.”
“But why go to Bowral this weekend? I’m seriously happy to hang around at your place.”
“I want to introduce you to Maricar. She’s been chomping at the bit to meet you.”
Felicity’s jaw dropped. She knew that Aidan had been orphaned at fifteen and had moved in with his legal guardian after his parents’ untimely car accident. During the many times he’d spoken of Maricar, his love for the woman had been evident. Felicity was meeting her today?
Aidan: The Rescue (Indie Rebels Book 5) Page 11
