Fate Heals (Twist of Fate Book 2)

by Tina Saxon

  “Yes, please.” I giggle as he pushes me back down on the bed.

  Yep, it’s definitely more than fine. More like spine-tingling amazing. Two orgasms later, we lie on the bed wrapped in each other’s arms. I want to return the favor, but he says this is about me and proving that he is more than fine. I laugh out loud. He can prove that point any time he wants.

  “Are you ready to go back out there?” Aiden asks, gently rubbing my hand with his thumb. I’m lying to his side, my neck resting on his shoulder. It’s my favorite spot. Where I can hear his heart beat. I can hear the music blasting and laughter coming from outside. I’m a little afraid to see what trouble Syd has gotten herself into.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sorry, Addison,” he says, sighing. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around Ryker, afraid I might misinterpret something. It was a gut reaction based on our past. He is one of my best friends, and I want you to get to know him.”

  I look up from his shoulder and smile. “I want that, too. And not because he’s a NFL football player, but because he’s your friend,” I say. I really try to sound sincere because it’s mainly true. I can’t help it. He’s freaking Ryker Dallas.

  We walk out to the patio, and Aiden holds me close. I have a feeling even though he trusts me, he’s going to hold me a little tighter tonight. And I’m okay with that.

  “You good?” Max asks as we sit on our lounger.

  I nod. Max knows me better than anyone here. He knows I freaked out. I’m pretty sure everyone knows it. I’m embarrassed I acted that way. I hated it even more seeing the hurt in Addison’s eyes when she thought I didn’t trust her.

  That foreign feeling burst through me like a fireball when I saw Addison look at Ryker. My mind didn’t even give me a chance to rationalize it. I just saw red. Raging, jealous red. And of course, Addison saw it right away.

  I scrub my hand over my scruffy face. I need to talk to Ryker. I’m sure he thinks I’m an asshole for what I was thinking. He knows I love Addison.

  “Hey, I’m Jaxon. We didn’t have a chance to meet before you were hauled off.”

  Jaxon is at Addison’s side, extending his hand. He briefly looks at me with his brow cocked and an amused grin. Asshole, I’m not worried about you. I shake my head.

  “Addison. Nice to me you.” Addison shakes his hand and takes it back immediately then scoots next to me a little more while still smiling up at Jax.

  Normally, when she is close to me it makes me feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Right now, I feel like an ass. I give her a quick kiss on the lips and push off the lounger, standing. Jax and Addison both look at me.

  “Where’s Ryker?” I ask Jax.

  “Inside, getting us beers.”

  I look down at Addison and she nods. I wink and walk off. As soon as I walk through the door, Ryker slams his beer down on the counter.

  “What the hell, Aiden?” he asks, staring me down.

  Walking over, I curse under my breath, and he hands me a beer. He must know I need it. I think I’ll need a few more. I put it to my mouth and take a long drink. He stands there, crossing his arms, waiting.

  I chuckle. It’s the exact same stance Addison gave me earlier. He lifts his eyebrows. I’m sure he’s wondering what the hell I find so funny.

  “I fucked up,” I admit.

  He just nods.

  I finish my beer, throwing it in the trashcan. The bottle shatters, causing a loud noise.

  “It’s been years since we pulled that shit,” he grits out.

  “Fuck!” I bark out, running my hands through my hair. “I know that. I can’t explain where that came from. I know how much Addison likes football and when she smiled at you, I just lost it.” I sigh.

  “The mighty Agent Aiden Roberts is jealous of me.” His voice is full of humor. “Who would’ve thought that would ever happen?”

  “Fuck off,” I laugh, grabbing another beer.

  He grabs my shoulder and squeezes. “If I didn’t believe that you fell in love with this woman, I do now. And remind me never to fall in love, because that girl has your balls in a vise grip.” He chuckles.

  “Don’t I know it.” We tap bottles and take a swig.

  “Did you tell her?”

  “She wouldn’t let it go, I had to.” I shrug.

  “Fuck, man. You know it’s going to be awkward between us now.” My eyebrows furrow. “Not me and you, asshole. Me and Addison.”

  “Ryker, that’s the last thing that I want. I told her the same thing. You’re like my brother. It was a knee-jerk reaction,” I say, irritated. Goddamn feelings.

  “By the look of the holes in the house, it seems like you’ve been having a lot of those,” he says, looking around.

  “Balls. In. A. Vise. Grip,” I repeat slowly.

  “How is she doing? She looks good,” he says as we stand looking out to the back patio. She and Syd are dancing around. My cock twitches. I don’t know what I was thinking earlier, not taking her up on her offer. I guess I was punishing myself for acting like a fool.

  I can see Ryker’s serious reflection in the glass. Max told me he had talked to the guys. They don’t know everything, but they know enough.

  “She’s doing well. She has her moments, but she’s working through them. If she’d stop putting herself in danger, I might be able to breathe.”

  He looks over at me, confused.

  “Did Max tell you about Lexi?” He shakes his head. At least I wasn’t the only one.

  I tell him the short version about what happened. How Addison and I met back up and how Lexi has become part of Addison’s life.

  “Fuck.”

  “I question the world we live in sometimes,” I say, shaking my head. “Well, after we got back from Texas, Addison went back to her place. Come to find out, she knew the perp and he ended up in her apartment with her.” One hand fists at my side and my other one grips my beer tighter.

  “Holy shit! How can one person have that much bad luck?”

  “Don’t even ask. Her life has been one fuck you after another.”

  “So, what happened? This had to be pretty recent because I just talked to Max at the beginning of the week and he didn’t say anything.”

  “It happened on Tuesday.” He looks out at Addison and then back to me with a look of surprise. “She shot and killed him. That’s why we’re here. I was trying to get her mind off of it and relax.”

  “How is she even managing? She killed someone a couple days ago.” He looks outside again and points to her. “That does not look like someone who just killed someone. Aiden, I’m a little concerned for you.” He chuckles nervously. If he only knew that she already shot me, he’d think I was insane.

  “She didn’t have a choice. She did it out of self-defense. But … I also think she’s not dealing with it like she should be, emotionally.”

  “Only you would fall in love with La Femme Nikita.” I laugh out loud. “So what’s up with the sidekick?” He nods his head in Syd’s direction.

  Not you, too?

  “Why?” I ask cautiously.

  “Back when you were in the hospital, I heard about her through Damon. He made it sound like they were a thing. Tonight, I asked about him, and she made it very clear they weren’t and never were. She’s hot, so I thought what the hell …” I drop my head, shaking it. “Yeah, well, I got the message loud and clear.” He takes a drink. I smirk, knowing what he’s going to say. “I happen to glance at Max and if looks could kill, I wouldn’t be five feet under, I’d be chopped up and fed to the wolves.”

  I clap him on the back, laughing. “It’s best you stay away from that one. I have a feeling this is a train wreck waiting to happen and you don’t want any part of that,” I say, pointing at Syd.

  “Whatever happened to bros before hoes?” he laughs.

  “I’ve been gone for a while so I don’t know what’s happened between Damon and Syd, if anything. Syd says he’s dating someone he met online.”
<
br />   Ryker spews his drink everywhere as he coughs. “Shut the fuck up.”

  “Seems to be the consensus. I’m definitely going to give him shit about it on Monday.” I’m not surprised that he found someone online. I’m surprised he went looking there. “And she and Max … I don’t have a clue, but he has his sights on her.”

  “She should run. And fast.”

  “She’s pretty feisty. I’m thinking she can handle Max or else I’d say something.” I look at Max, and he’s watching us like a hawk. A huge grin spreads across his face. I had a feeling he’d be watching, reading us. I mouth, “Asshole.” I can hear his loud laugh from inside.

  “Goddammit. He did his spy mouth reading bullshit, didn’t he?” I swing my arm around Ryker and nod.

  We head outside and sit around the fire. The girls are still dancing and singing, so it’s just us guys sitting around the fire, bullshitting.

  Syd walks over to her phone. “Hey, Max, wanna sing?” she says, looking over her shoulder. That’s hilarious. If she gets Max to sing, I’d cut off my right nut. I tried for years to get him to sing. It is not happening.

  “Little girl, I don’t sing,” he says, smirking and leaning back in his chair. She huffs and picks a song before turning to go back to where Addison is.

  The sound of splashing water has me looking over at the pool and then to Max. Oh, shit. Max lowers his head to look at his wet shirt. My gaze turns to Syd standing by the pool with her arms crossed and a scowl.

  “Stop calling me a little girl,” she says, giving him a dirty look.

  I scoot to the edge of my seat, not sure how this is going to play out. Ryker is biting his lip, trying not to laugh. Jax’s eyes are wide as he drinks from his beer. It’s a wait-and-see game now.

  “Tink, that water is cold. If you don’t want to–”

  Jesus Christ!

  I don’t even have time to react. I’m not even sure what made her do it again. But she did. Stupid girl. He’s up out of his seat in a second flat, grabbing her and jumping in the water.

  Addison screams at Max. Jax, Ryker, and I stand, but we don’t move. It’s too late. There’s nothing we can do about it now. He won’t hurt her, but she’s going to be pissed.

  A couple seconds later they both bob up. Sydney is gasping for air. Max swims around like the water is actually enjoyable.

  “You … fucking … bastard.” Syd gasps between each word. Yep, she’s pissed.

  Addison runs into the house. I go to the edge of the pool to help her out. Addison comes out and wraps a shivering Syd in a towel, throwing a couple down by the side of the pool. I look at Max, twisting my lips.

  He shrugs. “I tried to warn her.” He puts his hands on the side of the pool and pulls himself out. His strips out of his shirt dropping it onto the ground.

  Syd whips around at the sound. Her eyes widen when she looks at Max. Her pupils dilate for a fraction of a second before they return to anger. She curses under her breath as she spins back around, stomping to the door. Addison follows her. Oh, Syd, you’re playing with fire.

  “I need a hot shower,” she says, her voice shivering.

  Addison is about to say something when Max beats her to it. “No.” Max’s voice booms. “She shouldn’t—”

  “Max,” Addison says in a cold voice, shooting him a look of frustration. “I’m fully aware of how the body works.” Her stare is icy. Max sighs and nods, holding his hands up. I think Max forgot that Addison, a forensic scientist, definitely knows that you should never change your body temperature from cold to hot that quickly to prevent heart damage or shock.

  The girls disappear into the house, and we erupt in laughter. All of us except Max.

  “This day needs to go down in history,” Ryker says, clapping. “Aiden’s jealous of me and you just got put in your place, by a girl!” He points at Max.

  Max flips us off as he walks back into the house. He’s back with dry clothes and a beer within a few minutes.

  “Check on the girls?” I ask.

  “Are you kidding me? I’d like to keep my nuts tonight,” he says, plopping down in his chair. He drains his beer in one gulp, placing it on the ground in line with the other empty bottles.

  “Seriously?” I look toward the patio door where the angry voice is coming from. “What the hell? I’m feeling a little left out right now.”

  We all bust out laughing at the butt-hurt whine coming from Ryan.

  “I’m not kidding! I haven’t seen y’all in four months. We get a couple calls saying there are some concerns that teenagers might be partying at Aiden’s house. THIS is not what I expected to see! Assholes!”

  I bite my lip to contain my laughter. I do feel a little bad. Ryan was always the sensitive one, which is probably why he was the first to settle down. He walks over and I give him a hug. “Hey, brother. It’s good to see you.”

  He shakes his head and sighs. “It’s good to see you, too.” He looks me up and down. “You look good. A lot better than the last time I saw you.”

  “When do you get off?”

  “I’m off now. The calls just came in, so I told them I’d check on it on my way home. Something about screaming, cussing, and loud music,” he says, narrowing his eyes at the guys.

  “That was his fault,” Jax points at Max with a shit-eating grin.

  “That was very lawyer of you,” Max says sarcastically.

  Ryan looks around and back at us. “I’m pretty sure Max wasn’t the one screaming.”

  My attention turns to Addison walking out of the house. Ryan notices me looking behind him and spins around.

  “Everyone, hide your guns,” he says, joking.

  Fucking Ryan. Addison’s eyes go wide and her face pales. Max growls behind me as my expression hardens. The silence is painful.

  Ryan’s face contorts to regret as soon as he figures out he said the wrong thing. “Addison, I’m sorry. I don’t know—”

  I grab his shoulder and shake my head. Max rises from his seat, putting his arm around Addison. “C’mon, Addie, let’s go make Tink some hot chocolate.” She slowly nods her head, letting out a harsh breath.

  Once they’re out of our sight, I smack Ryan upside the head.

  “Obviously I deserved that, but if anyone ever talked to me and told me shit, I’d know how I messed up.” He punches me in the arm.

  “Sit,” I demand. I start the same story that I told Ryker, but when Addison comes out I stop. I’m not sure if I should continue or keep going. She smiles at me and then gives Ryan a soft smile. Max and Syd come out, too. Syd’s wrapped in a huge blanket with a coffee mug, steam rising from of it.

  “Everyone, take a seat,” Addison says. My eyebrow shoots up, wondering what she’s going to do. “Everyone here is important to me and Aiden, like brother or sister important,” she says, smiling at me. She sits in my lap, and I wrap my arms around her. “I feel like I need to tell y’all a ghost story. My ghost story.”

  “Sweetheart, you don’t need to do this,” I softly say.

  “Yes, I do,” she says firmly. “I don’t want what just happened to keep happening. Everyone here knows parts of the puzzle, everyone has different pieces. I need to put it together for everyone.”

  I nod. Syd reaches over and squeezes her hand. She knows as well as I do this is tough for Addison. She’s one to keep things bottled up and deal with them herself. My heart beats faster knowing that she trusts my best friends enough to tell them her story. I didn’t think I could love her anymore, until this second.

  The fire crackles and the ocean waves are the only sound made for a couple minutes. I can tell Addison is preparing herself. And everyone stays quiet while she does it.

  “It all started the day my mom was murdered when I was ten.” I flinch, and she squeezes my hand. I despise knowing that my dad is the one she saw that day. She continues telling her story, how she met Marco and ended up at Travis’s house and why. I hate hearing about Marco, but I guess that’s an important detail.

 
; “So you two were pretty much on the same life path?” Ryker questions. The guys all know that I thought Travis killed my parents. We both nod. I’m not going to spoil the surprise. I’ll let Addison do it. I can’t.

  She tells them about how she was held captive for a week and how my job was to make sure she didn’t escape. Everyone’s eyes bore into me.

  “It wasn’t like that,” I say defensively. Addison’s eyebrows shoot up. “Well … you were treated well. I would never let anything happen to you,” I try to explain.

  “Even though that was when Aiden and I fell in love, I was still being held captive and was not allowed to leave.”

  “You seduced a prisoner? That’s low, even for you, Aiden,” Jax says a little pissed off. I fist my hands.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Addison says, placing her hand on top of mine. “We both fought it, but it was very mutual.”

  “And you didn’t know he was undercover?” Ryker asks.

  Addison laughs. “Definitely not. And you’ll believe me in a second. But before I get to that, I figured out why Travis was keeping me there. Come to find out, he didn’t kill my mom. He was in love with my mom. And…” she briefly pauses, “…he’s my father.”

  The guys’ mouths drop as they look between Addison and me. I know what they’re thinking. Keep listening, boys, it gets worse.

  “When I found that out, he didn’t want me to leave.” She looks at me and grins.

  I shake my head. “You can skip the next part.”

  “No, she can’t,” both Syd and Max say at the same time. They look at each other and laugh.

  “The next part is the best part.” Max chuckles.

  I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re supposed to be my best friend. This shouldn’t make you happy.”

  “Shut up, Aiden. Let your girl talk,” Jax says in anticipation.

  I dramatically gesture with my hand to tell her to keep going. Might as well get this out. I’ll never live this down now with everyone knowing.

  “I love you,” she says, grinning, looking at me before turning back to everyone. I squeeze her thigh where my hand rests. “I knew that I needed to get out of there. There was no way I was going to stay, even for a hot bodyguard.”