Aidan looked at Cassie in the passenger seat. She’d barely said two words since they got into the car. The silence was deafening.
When he saw a tremble in her fingers, he bit back a curse. He turned up the heater before reaching over and taking her hand. “I’m sorry.”
There was a small catch in her breath and a flinch at his touch. “You don’t need to be sorry.”
He felt like he needed to say and do a whole lot more. Everything about her screamed at his need to offer comfort. There was something inside him demanding he soothe her pain even though he had no idea how.
He glanced into his rearview mirror, spotting Tyler behind them. Mia had remained in Salt Lake City, refusing to leave no matter how much Cassie begged. She’d walked to the street at one end of the alley, and Callum had stayed behind, covertly watching to make sure Mia stayed safe until Sampson reached her.
Everything that had happened tonight made Aidan see red.
He pulled into the parking lot in front of the hotel. They’d driven an hour out and used a different name so they could avoid any unwanted visitors. Blake was already here and had checked into their rooms for them.
It was late, or early morning, whichever way he wanted to see it. Cassie needed rest.
He climbed out and moved around the car. Cassie’s door was already open. He helped her stand. He’d given her his jacket, and under that she still wore the gown.
A visible shudder rocked her small frame. Aidan cursed, tugging her closer.
He’d made it halfway across the lot when Tyler and Blake were there, walking beside them.
“Hi, Cassie, I’m Blake,” he said quietly to her.
She gave him a small smile. Aidan tightened his grip on her.
Blake nodded toward the side of the building. “We’ll go through the back.”
They bypassed the back door for guests, stopping at an entrance used by staff, and Blake keyed in a code. Aidan had no idea how he’d gotten it, and he didn’t ask.
Once inside, they followed Blake up a set of stairs, then another. Finally, his friend stopped at a door. He swiped a card through the reader. After a click, it opened.
“We’re right next door if you need us,” Tyler said.
Aidan nodded. “Thanks.”
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Cassie moved to the bed and perched on the edge. He crouched in front of her. “Cassie—”
She immediately stood. “I’m going to have a shower.”
She stepped around him, but he touched her arm to stop her. “Want some company?”
A quick shake of her head, then she was gone, disappearing into the connected bathroom and closing the door with a resounding click of the lock.
Cassie stripped off her clothes before reaching across the shower and turning on the water. Usually, she kept her showers lukewarm. It was something she’d become used to for her hypotension, so the heat didn’t affect her blood pressure. But tonight, she made it hot. So hot that steam immediately billowed in the room.
She didn’t care about her hypotension right now. She didn’t care about what she should or shouldn’t do, or right or wrong. She was filled with shock. Sick with dismay. And all she wanted to do was forget what Mia had told her, the choice her sister had made.
She stepped under the stream. The scorching water burned her skin.
Father. Elijah was Mia’s father. How was that possible? The man was pure evil. Whereas Mia was sweet and kind and had a pure heart…at least, that’s how she’d always seen her sister. But tonight… Tonight she’d chosen him over Cassie. Tonight, she’d made the conscious decision to stand by a man whom Cassie had just revealed was responsible for despicable, heinous crimes.
She scrunched her eyes closed, dipping her head beneath the stream. The burn felt good on her skin. It took her attention away from the other pain in her body. The one rippling inside her chest, tearing her heart in two.
How long had Mia known the man was her father? And why hadn’t she told Cassie?
Her sister’s words repeated in her head.
I won’t leave him. He’s the only parent I have left.
She pressed her hands against the wall as light-headedness started to fog her mind.
But she was the only sibling Mia had. Hell, she’d basically raised Mia after their mother had died and they’d been shuffled around the foster care system. Didn’t that count for anything? All the love and care and sacrifices she’d made, willingly putting Mia first at every turn?
And she wasn’t the devil incarnate like Elijah.
More dots in her vision. She should turn the heat down. No, she should turn the water off and step out, but her feet felt rooted to the spot. Like if she switched it off and got out, she’d have to step back into the real world.
Her heart thumped in her chest and her vision hazed.
A knock sounded at the door, then a voice. She barely heard it as she focused on breathing.
Mia stayed. She’d told her everything…yet she’d stayed. She wasn’t going to get her sister back. In every scenario she’d played out in her head over the years, it had never ended this way. Because her sister had never been that person in her mind, the kind who could willingly let others suffer.
Her knees buckled but before she could hit the tiles, strong arms latched around her waist and lifted her. She glanced up to see Aidan. He was also naked, his brows tugged together. He looked worried.
“I heard your heartbeat slowing. The water’s too hot for you, Cassie.”
He turned to step out, but she shook her head. “Just another few minutes. I just need this bubble for a bit longer…”
Something flickered through his eyes. A combination of anger and torment and pain.
For a moment, she thought he’d step out anyway. Then he reached for the faucet and turned the hot water down before positioning his body so that the spray hit his bare shoulders. She closed her eyes and wrapped her legs around his lean waist, resting her head on his chest.
“I locked the door,” she whispered.
“I broke it.”
Of course he did. They’d been separated for years, and now they’d found each other. There was probably no lock in existence that could keep them apart.
He took away a bit of the pain in her chest. His steadily beating heart beneath her ear almost made her feel whole.
He kissed her head. “Talk to me. What’s going on in that beautiful head?”
So much. So many words and feelings and emotions that she had no idea how to navigate. She traced a finger across his wet skin. “I missed you so much. I missed talking to you. Kissing you goodbye in the morning. I missed the goofy little notes you used to leave for me to find around the house when you went on your missions.” She paused. “Some nights, I would lay there with my eyes closed and hope that when I opened them, it was all a lie. That you never disappeared. That Mia never returned to Elijah.”
His sigh was heavy.
“It was so hard to stay away,” she continued, deviating her finger to his shoulder and drawing circles. “When I saw you on the news, I almost left. I almost walked away from everything. Damien. My sister. I actually went upstairs to pack my bag. Then Damien got home, and he told me about Olive’s brother.”
A shudder worked its way through her body. Aidan’s arms tightened.
“She and I were friends, and she’d already given me hints about what Elijah had done to her. I knew what happened to her brother might break her. I knew I needed to help, and that in turn, she could be the key to helping everyone else. So I made a promise to myself. That I’d work harder and smarter to get Elijah sent away. Then I’d return to you.”
Aidan started a slow stroke down her back. “I’m sorry she wouldn’t go with you,” he whispered against her ear.
Her heart squeezed at his tender tone…and then a spark of something other than desolation rose in her chest.
She leaned back and looked at him. “I’m angry, Aidan. I’m so furious, and so hurt. Even if he is her father, he’s a terrible, disgusting person. How could she listen to everything I said, know about all the things he did, and still want to stay?”
“Love blinds us,” he said quietly.
Love? Mia loved Elijah? The thought made her sick to her stomach.
“Even if she does…is her love for him stronger than her love for me? He hasn’t been there her entire life like I have, yet tonight, she chose him.” Frustrated tears pressed to the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away.
He pushed a wet lock of hair from her face. “She made a mistake tonight. I hope one day soon, she realizes.”
“Me too.” She swallowed. “It’s not just Mia. I’m worried about Damien.”
“We’ll find him.”
There was so much conviction and promise in Aidan’s words. She touched her head to his. “Thank you. For everything.”
