Illicit Captor by Maggie Cole

18

Aidan

The steel blade cuts through the torso of body number four when a loud beep cuts through the air. My brothers and I turn off our saws. Alaina's voice comes blaring into the warehouse. "Aidan, clean up and get back to ours."

Panic hits me. I glance up at the camera in the corner, asking, "What's wrong? Is Scarlet okay?"

I'm met with silence.

"For fuck's sake, Alaina!" I bark.

"She's fine. Clean up and get back here," she orders.

Tynan tosses his saw. "Good. I have a date tonight."

"Where ya going?" Alaina questions.

He freezes, and his eyes dart to the camera.

She demands, "Get back to work."

He groans.

"I can hear ya," she taunts.

I'd laugh if I weren't so pissed at her. But not a moment has passed without me angry over Alaina's determination to keep Scarlet from me. And too many thoughts plague me.

What is my petal thinking?

Has Alaina convinced her to stay away from me?

No. Scarlet has her own mind.

What if Alaina has some sort of power over her and Scarlet no longer wants me?

I go into the bathroom, strip out of my clothes, and scrub all the bodily fluids and soot off me. When I finish, I grab a pair of joggers and a T-shirt off the shelf. I put them on and then get into the car.

I don't follow most of the traffic laws, accelerating through red lights and stop signs while going above the speed limit. My antsy-ness to see Scarlet grows the closer I get to their house, and I can't shake the feeling that Alaina will give me some other shit job to keep me away from my petal.

When I pull up to the house, I jump out of the car and race up the steps. I pass the guard and enter the foyer, yelling, "Scarlet!" I run up the staircase.

"Quit your yelling," Brody barks.

I spin on the landing, demanding, "What room is she in?"

He narrows his eyes. "She's not up there."

"Don't lie to me," I seethe.

"I'm not."

The hairs on my arms rise. "Then where is she?"

He glances down the hall, then pins his gaze on me and takes a deep breath.

I lunge down the steps until I'm in front of him. I jab him in the chest, repeating, "Where is she?"

He bats my hand away from him. "What do ya think you're doing?"

"Don't mess with me, Brody. Where's Scarlet? I'm not going to ask ya again," I threaten.

He crosses his arms over his chest. "She won't come out."

My heart beats faster. "What do ya mean she won't come out? From where?"

"From the loo."

"The loo? Why? Is she sick?"

He glances down the hall again, then scrubs his face, admitting, "She and Alaina have been going at it all night."

"What do ya mean?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. They're both upset."

"What did your wife do to her?" I accuse.

Anger fills his face. "Don't speak about her in that tone."

"Goddamn ya," I say, running down the hall.

He follows. "Aidan."

"Mind your own business, Brody," I warn and continue until I spot Alaina. She's sitting next to the bathroom door with her head against the wall. I snap, "What the fuck have ya done to her?"

She jumps up. "I haven't done anything to her."

"Then why isn't she coming out of the bathroom?" I ask.

She glares, accusing, "This is your fault."

"My fault? I've been doing your dirty work."

She scoffs. "My dirty work? Those were O'Learys ya were chopping up. O'Learys we killed for hunting my sister. But ya wouldn't know that, would ya, because ya kept her from me and put her at more risk."

"I didn't put her at more risk."

"Ya did."

"Enough, both of ya," Brody barks.

Alaina and I look at him.

He lowers his voice, saying, "A stór."

I shake my head. "Both of ya get out of here."

Alaina protests, "No, I'm not leaving."

"Alaina, let Aidan handle this," Brody orders.

She jerks her head toward him, her eyes widening.

He softens his tone and holds out his hand. "Leave them be. Let's go."

She hesitates, looking at the door.

He puts his arm around her waist. "Come on, nothing bad's going to happen to your sister. Take a breather."

She finally caves and gives me another hate-filled glare. Then Brody leads her down the hallway. When they're no longer in sight, I knock on the door. "Petal, open up."

A moment passes.

"Petal, I said open up."

The lock clicks, and the door swings open. She tosses her arms around my neck, then winces.

"Easy, you're going to hurt yourself," I gently reprimand.

She puts her hands on my face, and tears fill her eyes. "I thought I wasn't going to see ya again."

"Shh. Don't say that kind of stuff. I'll always find ya," I vow.

She shakes her head and swallows hard. I glance in the loo, asking, "Why are ya in here?"

"I-I... My sister and I were fighting, and I told her I wasn't coming out until she brought ya home."

I arch my eyebrows at her. "Ya locked yourself in the loo to get me out of that shit job?"

Her lips twitch and she sniffles. "Yea, I guess I did."

I grin and slide my hands over her cheeks and kiss her. I quickly retreat, praising, "I knew ya were a good lass."

She tilts her head. "I am, aren't I?"

"That ya are, but can we get ya out of the bathroom now?"

She glances behind her. "But the bench and I were getting to be friends."

"I can't blame the bench. I love your ass too," I tease.

She beams and shakes her booty.

I pat it and chuckle. "Let's go somewhere a little more comfy, okay?"

"All right." She lets me lead her down the hall, and I find a sitting room. I shut the door, lock it, and we go over to the couch. I pull her onto my lap and hold her head to my chest, kissing the top of it. "Are ya sure you're all right?"

"Yea."

"You're feeling okay?" I ask, concerned about her health.

She glances up. "Yea. I'm just happy to see ya. I..." She gets teary-eyed again, blinking hard.

"Ya what, petal?" I ask.

She shakes her head, agony painting her features. She states, "I seriously thought Alaina would keep ya from me. She threatened it, saying she and Brody would protect me, but I want ya to protect me. I don't want anybody else to. I want things to be how they were. I…I don't want them to change."

I tug her closer to me. "Shh. I don't want them to change either."

"But ya warned me they were going to. Ya said, now that we're back, they would, and look what happened within the first few minutes of us arriving."

I nod, admitting, "Aye. It's not ideal, and I'm going to have to deal with Alaina's wrath for a while. Brody's too, so in fairness, it's not just your sister's fault."

"She shouldn't have made ya do that. It was disgusting," she blurts out.

I freeze. My pulse skyrockets. "What do ya mean, petal?"

"The bodies ya were chopping up," she states.

The hairs on my neck rise. "How do ya know what I was doing?" I question. I know she knows I'm not a saint, but I don't want her to know the depths of what I do.

She sits up and lifts her chin. She swallows hard, then confesses, "I caught Alaina watching ya and your brothers on the TVs. Ya were sawing a guy's torso in half."

My breath catches. I stare at her, speechless.

"Say something, Aidan."

"I don't want... Alaina shouldn't have let ya see that."

"Well, she didn't exactly say, 'Come on in and watch,'" Scarlet admits.

"There should never have been any possibility of ya seeing that," I angrily declare as more rage builds in me.

Scarlet shrugs, asserting, "I snuck up on her. I didn't know where I was going, and I walked down the hallway and opened the door. It's not her fault. She didn't want me in there."

"She shouldn't have let ya see it," I repeat.

Scarlet sighs and puts her hand on my cheek. "Did ya shower? Ya have different clothes on."

I glance down at my shirt. "Aye. Before I left."

"Where were ya?" she questions.

"Somewhere I'll never tell ya for your own protection."

"But this is a place ya go to often?" she asks.

I shake my head. "I'm not going to give ya any more details, Scarlet. Ya shouldn't have seen it. Alaina and I will have words about this."

She closes her eyes. "No, it was my fault. Please, we don't need any more problems. We need to get ya back on her good side. And I don't want to be here without ya, Aidan."

My heart swells as relief fills me. I don't know why I thought she would lose her feelings for me, so I confess, "I don't want to be here without ya either."

She opens her mouth and then shuts it.

I slide my hand over the side of her head. "What's wrong?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing is wrong. At least, I don't think so." She bites her lip.

"Your expression tells me otherwise, so want to fill me in?"

She hesitates again, then says, "I realized something while ya were gone."

"What?" I ask.

Nerves fill her expression. She furrows her eyebrows and turns toward the window.

My anxiety reappears, and I wonder if I was wrong. What if she did lose some feelings for me? I move her chin back toward me. "What is it? Ya have me worried now."

"Worried?" she questions.

"Aye. Please don't tell me ya realize that your sister's right and that ya shouldn't be with me. I can assure ya that Alaina's wrong. In fact, she's so wrong..."

"I love ya," Scarlet blurts out, and her cheeks flush.

The blood pumps through my veins hotter. I study her.

She blinks a few times, opens her mouth, and shuts it. Her cheeks turn redder. She looks away. "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what I'm saying. Just forget I said it."

"Why should I forget ya said it? Do ya mean it or not?" I question.

She stays quiet.

My chest tightens. "Scarlet, did ya mean what ya just said?"

She slowly turns her head and meets my eyes, nodding. "Yea, I do."

I swallow the lump in my throat.

She adds, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. And ya don't have to say it back. I just... I shouldn't have said it. I'm sorry."

My heart races faster. "No, don't apologize. And I love ya too."

"Ya do?" she asks, then bites her lip again.

I take a deep breath. "Aye, and I've never said that to anyone before."

"Ya haven't?"

"No."

Her lips turn into a small smile. "I haven't either."

"No? I would've thought ya would've said it to dozens of lads," I tease, but I'm also serious. It's shocking to me that she's never said it to anyone.

She answers, "No, I haven't, Aidan."

Her truth only makes me happier. I state, "Well, good. Let's make it so I'm the only one ya ever say it to."

She softly laughs and puts her arms around my neck, lacing her fingers together. "Okay." She kisses me, sliding her tongue against mine, and we spend a few moments lip locked. She finally pulls back and asserts, "We need to leave here, Aidan."

"We can't, petal. Not now. Your sister's right. Tommy's after us. It's unsafe for ya to be anywhere but here."

"There has to be somewhere we can go. I can't... I don't want to be here without ya. And I don't want Alaina at your throat."

"I'll be fine," I declare.

"Ya were the one who saved me. She didn't. Neither did your brother. But you're getting punished for it. It's not fair."

I grunt. "I'll take their punishments. As long as we're okay, I'll deal with it. And I will kill Tommy. I don't care what Brody says."

"What do ya mean?" she questions, pinning her brows together.

I groan. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"What do ya mean ya shouldn't have said anything? What does that mean, Aidan?"

"Nothing. Brody said he was going to kill Tommy. I told him that Tommy's on my list."

"Your list?"

"Aye. When I put someone on my list, they're mine to deal with," I admit.

"Ya have a list?"

I curse myself. I need to shut my mouth. I keep digging myself deeper and deeper into the hole. I mutter, "I've said too much."

She adds, "Aidan, I don't care how he dies, whether it's by your hand, Brody's, or whoever's. I just want him dead so we can be free."

"We will be," I insist.

She continues, "I don't want to stay here with Alaina and Brody forever. I know ya don't either. But I do want to be with ya forever."

I lean forward and peck her on the lips. "I'll take forever."

She smiles, then states, "The only way we can do that is to get rid of Tommy. So it doesn't matter who kills him, does it?"

"It does matter. He's on my list," I say.

She scrunches her face. "Why do ya have to be so stubborn?"

"Because this is who I am. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. And if a man is on my list, he's going to look at me when he takes his last breath, especially when he's hurt my woman."

She turns her head, looking at the window again, her jaw trembling.

"Why do ya look so frightened?" I question.

"I'm scared."

"Ya don't need to be scared anymore. You're safe," I reassure her.

"I'm not scared for my safety. I'm scared that you'll do something stupid, get hurt, and I won't see ya again."

"Ya don't need to worry about that. Nothing has changed. I was always going to kill Tommy."

"But—"

I put my fingers over her lips, claiming, "Petal, this isn't negotiable. I don't care what my brother says. I'm going to hunt him down and kill him."

She blinks hard.

"Ya have to stay here with your sister and Brody. After I finish him off, we can start our life together."

A tear slips out of her eye. She begs, "Just let Brody do it. Please. I don't have a good feeling, Aidan."

"I'm sorry, but that won't happen, lass. And I won't lie to ya. I don't want to have any lies between us."

She closes her eyes. I pull her back into me and kiss her head, stroking her hair.

She pushes away from my chest, pleading, "Please don't go anywhere right now. I can't handle it if you're gone tonight, Aidan."

I grin. "Okay, lass, ya win. But I think it's time ya showed me to our bedroom."

"Are ya tired?" she questions.

I lean into her ear and murmur, "No. I'm pretty sure there are some things I can do while you're lying on your back and getting your rest."

Her lips twitch. "Like what?"

I wiggle my eyebrows, teasing, "It's top-secret stuff. I can't discuss it. I can only show ya."

A fire ignites in her greens. She widens her eyes and states, "Then I think I'm due for some rest."