Invidious Betrayal (20 page)

“Just lucky, I guess,” Ian said, just before pulling the towel bar free and jamming it into the side of Carlos neck. Ian spit out a little blood next to his opponents’ jerking feet.

Ian felt as if his heart was going to explode as pure adrenaline pumped through it. Wave after wave of energy ran through his veins. His mind had never been clearer. He felt totally alive for the first time in his life. His muscles flexed with a strength he’d never had or could ever imagine. He’d known exactly what to do before he’d done it. Knew he was faster, stronger, better. Ian also knew that this—what he’d done just now—wasn’t normal.

His heart beat so fast and so loud that he barely made out the sweetest voice he’d ever heard whisper his name. Ian turned around to see Aria wedged between her bed and nightstand. Her face was stained with blood and she stared at him with a look of horror that tore right through him. When he moved toward her, she covered her mouth with her hand and sucked in a gulp of air.

“I would never hurt you, Aria.” He took another deliberate step. But before he reached her, Ian somehow heard the whispered voices from downstairs. The Sheriff’s men were coming in hot—armed and quiet. He stopped just a few feet from Aria and slowly went to his knees. He didn’t want to scare her anymore than he already had.

Ian watched her as he placed both of his hands behind his head. He heard when the officers reached the top of the stairs; their footsteps and heartbeats gave them away. Within seconds, four uniformed men wearing bulletproof vests and guns drawn burst into the room, pointing their weapons at his head and chest. Ian lowered his head as they shouted orders at him. He complied as he listened as an officer yelled “Clear” downstairs and gave orders to get the EMTs to the kitchen.

As he waited to be cuffed, Ian forced himself to calm down. He didn’t care how he heard everything going on downstairs or outside, so clearly. He didn’t care why... All he could think about was Aria and how these men, officers of the law, were going to separate him from her.
Were they scaring her more than she already was
?

The need to protect what was his was almost overpowering, but he wasn’t stupid. These men were doing their job and Aria knew them, so he held himself still and braced himself for the anger of a small town posse. They didn’t know what side he was on. Aria was catatonic and from the shallow heartbeats and frantic movements downstairs, the Coles weren’t going to be any help.

As he sat on his knees with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head fighting to reign in whatever beast he’d inexplicably unleashed, Ian felt the most unexpected thing. Aria was on her knees in front of him with her arms wrapped around his neck. She cried as she frantically yelled at her father’s men to not touch him. One of the men tried to pull her free, but she locked her arms tight, pulling him with her as they tried to separate them.

Ian knew better than to move, so he stayed in his submissive position until the officers gave up on pulling Aria free and began offering her assistance. He felt an overwhelming need to never be apart from her in that moment, and knew that he would do any and everything in his power to keep her safe.

When Ian was sure none of the deputies were going to blow him away, he lowered his arms and embraced Aria. Pulling her close, he held her there until she calmed. He rubbed her damp hair as he whispered to her, “Let them look you over, Aria.”

Slowly, she reluctantly let her arms slide from around him and sat back so the EMTs could look at her foot.

“He needs help too.” She said to one of the people examining her, her eyes never leaving Ian’s.

One of the officers and an EMT came over and checked his eye. “How are Mr. and Mrs. Cole?” Ian asked low enough, so Aria couldn’t hear.

The EMT leaned back, and Ian broke eye contact with Aria so he could focus on the man in front of him. “Not good,” the EMT mouthed. “They’re en route to the Trauma Center.”

Jasper pulled his motorcycle off the highway and came to a stop under a bridge. He’d been searching for Ian and was beginning to feel that he wasn’t going to find him here in some forgotten town just outside Springfield, Massachusetts. It was Vincent’s idea for him to come to the location of Ian’s last communication. And though he’d turned over every stone looking for the kid, there was no sign of him or that he’d ever been here. Now he was heading back to Howl empty handed.

He hated search and retrieval work. He was more of a find then bury them kind of guy. Vincent was clear he didn’t want the kid hurt. Jasper, on the other hand, hadn’t cared either way. He didn’t like killing the innocent, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. Ian was innocent, but their goal was bigger than the kid’s life, or the life of the girl. It was unfortunate that Ian had to suffer. He’d been the one to train the kid, but he hated unnecessary problems, and Ian Howl was now a problem.

More like a weakness
.

If Vincent had let him strong-arm Victor, or kill Richard or Ian to sway Victor, they would have been done and would soon be getting what they both wanted. Of course, Vincent would never consider ending his nephew’s life, or his brother’s for that matter. Instead, he had thought of some stupid plan to kill a hooker and hold back the evidence that could convict Ian to sway Senator Victor Howl. When Jasper was away handling some business, Vincent had moved forward with a plan that was too convoluted. The shit had all but blown up in Vincent’s face, and now who was the one who had to fix it?

Me that’s who!

Jasper pulled out a piece of gum and put it in his mouth.

If he didn’t care for Vincent, if he didn’t owe the man his damn life, he would rip his bleeding fucking heart out. Jasper never really was a family kind of guy, and even though he loved Vincent like a brother, he could kill him without blinking if he had to. But Vincent had saved his life.

“Vincent saved my life” was Jasper’s new mantra of late.

Something he would chant to keep from gutting the fuck when Vincent was his usual arrogant self. Jasper sang it more and more these days. He treasured Vincent as his only friend and because Vincent had saved his life; that alone bought his loyalty. He would be hard pressed to turn his back on that but his patience was growing shorter.

So he would continue to be a devoted friend and take care of Vincent’s dirty work. Hell, he actually enjoyed it at times. He enjoyed killing that whore back in Baltimore. She’d deserved what she’d got. She’d deserved more. But he was tired of listening to her scream, so he’d done it quickly, against his primal wishes to draw it out longer. He hated screaming, begging, over-thinking situations, and this fucking searching.

I
AN SAT UP IN THE
chair and watched the cops that were coming into the waiting room. He held Aria’s hand on his lap, so he felt the way she tensed when she noticed them too. She’d gotten treated, but refused to stay in the room the hospital had given her. The knife hadn’t caused any permanent damage; she was actually quite lucky that it had missed her tendons and bones, and instead had landed in the flap of skin and tissue between her toes, but she had to be stitched and was given something for pain. The hospital staff told her to relax, but she was anxious for information regarding her parents, so he’d wheeled her up to the surgery waiting area.

He rubbed her hand as the cops approached them.

The one Aria called Harland spoke first, and the question was meant for him even though the officer looked at both of them. “Did you know those men?”

To Ian’s surprise Aria answered. He’d thought she had been lost in her own mind the entire time they were sitting here. “No, Harland, we’ve never seen those men before tonight. I’m so glad Ian was there or… I hate to think of what could have happened.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” the smaller of the three deputies said, looking nervously at them.

Harland gave her a sympathetic look then focused on Ian, his face hard. “They had no identification, had no cell phones, and their prints came back with no hits. They’re ghosts, and I want to know why ghosts were shooting up my boss’ home where his wife and daughter reside. So you tell me if you knew those fucks or not,” Harland ordered through clenched teeth.

It was clear the deputy was a friend of the family, and he was suspicious of Ian with good reason. Ian opened his mouth to tell them everything in hopes that they would protect Aria, but she squeezed his hand and gave him a pleading look. He would have preferred telling the truth, get it out in the open so Aria could be done with this, but he knew she didn’t want anyone else to know what had happened.

“No,” he said reluctantly as he looked at Harland, then flippant, “I didn’t know those fucks.”

Harland moved to grab Ian, but both of the deputies held him back. Ian heard one of the guys tell Harland to back off as he whispered in Harland’s ear what Ian had done to Carlos. Harland must have thought better of putting his hands on him, and backed off.

“Excuse me.” A small, light-haired woman interrupted. They all looked at the woman who stood a few feet away. Dr. Macomb was the name on the badge hanging loose on the breast pocket of her lab coat, along with a not-so-flattering picture. “We need to get Gavin into surgery, but he refuses until he speaks with someone named Ian,” she said, looking to Harland. Ian stood and the woman looked him over. Her brows were pinched together with concern, and she looked tired. Ian watched Dr. Macomb’s strained expression turn soft when she looked at Aria. “He wants to see you too, Aria, then he wants you, Harland.”

Ian wheeled Aria down the hall into some kind of pre-op room. Dr. Macomb waved to two of her staff, who were going about preparing Sheriff Cole for surgery, to follow her out. Ian wheeled Aria up to the side of the bed where she instantly took hold of her father’s hand. He had an IV in his wrist, leads on his chest and upper arms, and tubes in his nose. Bloody bandages covered his stomach and shoulder. Ian felt the sting of guilt pierce his chest, knowing that this man lay here because of him.

Sheriff Cole’s eyes bore into him. “I don’t know what happened tonight,” he hissed, “but you do.” It was a question. Ian nodded. “Were they after Aria and you?” Ian nodded again and the Sheriff sighed. Ian didn’t know what Sheriff Cole was thinking, but he prayed he didn’t forbid him to see Aria. “I saw how you protected my wife and me. Everyone can’t stop talking about what you did to the guy that attacked my baby.” He paused to catch his breath. “Those men, they were professionals, and you put them down…and have no scars to show from it.” Sheriff Cole tried to sit up, but grunted in frustration and pain when he realized his body wouldn’t allow it. “I need you to protect my baby girl until I can again.”

Aria was crying now. “It’s all my fault, Daddy. I should have listened to you about Gail.” She laid her head on his arm and sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Shh, baby girl,” Sheriff Cole told her. “I know there’s a story behind this, but right now your safety is my only concern.” He looked back at Ian. “Her friend, Gail—her body was found yesterday.” Aria gasped, but didn’t say anything. “I figure this is all connected. I want you two out of here. I can keep what happened tonight, the details and your identities under wraps for a time. I need my baby safe, Ian, and I think you’ll fare better than my men. They’re good men, but they’re not…” Mr. Cole looked down and let whatever he wanted to say hang in the air. He looked back up at Ian. “Will you take her somewhere safe, protect her and the baby?”