by Katee Robert
“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.
And the police department she’d spent most of her life admiring had kicked her out on her ass the second she did something they didn’t like. Every single “friend” she’d had who was a cop had dropped off the map the second the news came out that branded her as dirty. The legendary loyalty she’d always believed in had dried up and left her totally and completely alone.
Was she going to throw away a real chance at happiness—and potentially doing some good in the world—because of people who obviously didn’t give two fucks about her?
The criminals had shown her more compassion and loyalty than the people on the right side of the law.
They’d been more family to her than her actual family.
And Aiden …
Aiden.
He’d made her feel alive—truly alive—for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her body lit up in his presence, where she felt truly safe. It wasn’t a lie. The world wasn’t perfect, but with Aiden she felt like there was actually a chance she could make a difference. Somehow.
She called him.
Aiden answered immediately. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“Everything is fine.” Better than fine—or it would be as soon as she saw him again. “Where are you?”
“A few blocks away. I went to grab you something to eat since the only thing in your fridge is a bottle of ketchup.”
Charlie smiled, though it pulled at the cut on her cheek, and settled back against her headboard. “You didn’t leave.”
“Fuck no. I said I’ll give you time, and I will, but it’d be a dick move to disappear without making sure you were good.” There were traffic sounds in the background and the rustling of paper bags. “I’ll be back in five.”
“Okay.” She found a robe that she’d never bothered to use tucked into the back of her tiny closet, and wrapped that around herself, since getting dressed was beyond her at the moment. Then she waited for him in her tiny living room.
It felt like a small eternity before Aiden walked through her door, but it couldn’t have been more than the promised five minutes. He looked tired, scruff on his jaw and shadows beneath his green eyes.
He set two bags and a drink carrier on the kitchen counter and walked over to crouch in front of her. “You okay?”
“Thanks to you.”
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “We went over this last night.”
“Aiden, stop.” She framed his face with her hands. “Did you mean what you said?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. He covered her hands with his own. There were no masks between them this time. Just the naked longing on his face and her holding her breath, waiting for his answer. “I love you, Charlie. I’ll give you all the time you need, but I love the fuck out of you, and if you’d go home with me right now, it would make me the happiest man alive.”
She kissed him. It was the barest brushing of lips, and he let her control every second of it. Charlie shivered and sat back. “Have you seen the news?”
“Yes.” Just that. Nothing more.
She sighed. “Did you have something to do with that?”
“They hurt you.” His green eyes went hard. “I’d prefer them to be at the bottom of the Atlantic, but that wouldn’t clear your name. This will, eventually.”
Once upon a time, that would have been the most important thing to her. It was important, but it had slid down the list. The only people whose opinion mattered to her now were the ones who’d stick with her through the good and the bad—who didn’t jump ship at the first sign of trouble.
She stroked her thumbs along his cheekbones. “This won’t be easy. We’re both too stubborn for our own good, and I’m going to demand we take a page from Carrigan’s book and start to balance the scales a bit.�
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He went so still, he might not have been breathing. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I love you, Aiden. I’m saying that I don’t need time, because all I want is you.”
He looked like he wanted to pull her into a crushing embrace, but he leaned forward and kissed her lips, her jaw, her forehead. “Fuck, Charlie, I love you, too.”
“Take me home.” She slapped his hands away when he went to pick her up. “I can walk this time.”
“Humor me? I want to hold you for a bit, bright eyes.”
She cast him a put-upon look, but she couldn’t hold it, because she was grinning too hard. “How long is ‘a bit’?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Aiden carefully scooped her up like he had the night before, cradling her against his chest. He headed for the door. “How about the rest of our lives?”
