Tending Their SECRET (14 page)

Hours later, we’ve sampled every type of
food imaginable, and my arms are loaded down with the things Ellie
let me buy her. A small painting of a heart with the D.C skyline
behind it, a couple of distressed t-shirts, a wind chime, several
pieces of funky jewelry, and a giraffe made from aluminum cans. She
also insisted on buying me a few things, like a cool blue t-shirt
with holes all over the front, and a silver ring with two knives
crossing over each other. I put that on my ring finger, and hold it
up.

“Um, did you get married without me
knowing?”

“Trust me, if I got
married, you’d know since I’d be marrying you. I
am
taken, though, so why
not show it?”

“Maybe because I don’t have a ring. People
are going to think I’m on a date with a married man.”

“Oh yeah,” I say, moving it to my other
hand. “I didn’t think of that.”

“And you’re supposed to be the genius in
this relationship.”

“I don’t mind it when you’re smarter than
me.”

“Because it doesn’t happen often.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

“This is why I keep you around, to boost my
ego.”

“And I thought it was for the award-winning
sex. Which reminds me, did you order my trophy yet?”

“No. I’ll get to it.”

“Please do. I need the guys to see it.”

“What happened to knowing that you won it
was enough?”

“We both knew that was a lie when I said it.
You even called me out on it.”

“Men.”

“Man. You only need one, Doll. A
magnificently talented one. Lucky for you, I’m at your service, and
ready to service you.”

“Just get in the car and drive me to
wherever we’re going next, you idiot.”

* * *

Ellie

Aiden has already pulled
out all the stops for the first part of our date, but I know
there’s still more. I can honestly say that today has been one of
the best days of my life. Not because he bought me a bunch of
things—I can more than afford to buy my own stuff. It’s that
he
wanted
to buy
them for me, and let me take as long as I wanted to pick out things
I truly loved. And when he put that ring on this ring finger, I
nearly swooned. I had to hide it with humor since I’m not the type
of girl who swoons, but I pretty much was in that
moment.

We pull up outside some type of sports
complex, and this is totally not what I was expecting.
“Sports?”

“Roller derby.”

“Seriously? Are you trying to act out
another one of your Charlie’s Angels fantasies? Because I haven’t
been on skates in years.”

“No, smart ass. My friend owns one of the
teams, and I thought you’d like it.”

“I might,” I admit. “Let’s go see if you’re
right.”

Aiden buys our tickets, and we walk towards
the rink. We haven’t gone far when a woman screams his name and
then launches herself into his arms. From what I could see, she’s a
little older than me, and drop-dead gorgeous. Right now I can only
see her back, which is hardly covered by a cropped tank. There is a
tattoo of a unicorn on her upper back, and ones of a dog and some
kind of animated creature on her lower back. A motorcycle is
partially visible on the back of her left arm as well. She’s hot,
tatted up, and has her arms wrapped around Aiden like he belongs to
her. Yeah, I’m not feeling self-conscious. Not at all.

I walk away from them, and go to find a
seat. Aiden will find me when he’s done. Or he won’t. I’m stuck
here either way, so I might as well enjoy the show. I only make it
to the entrance before Aiden’s in front of me.

“That’s not what it looked like.”

“A wickedly hot chick didn’t just launch
herself into your arms like she belonged there?”

“She thinks I’m hot. I like her, Aid,” the
girl says, coming around in front of me as well. I take her in from
the front, and she’s no less spectacular. She’s got jet black hair
in a long bob, and some of the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. Hot
doesn’t even begin to describe her. “You should keep her,” she
adds, circling his arm with both of hers.

He pulls away to glare at
her. “I’m
trying
to keep her, but you climbing all over me isn’t
helping.”

“Oh, sorry,” she says, looking sheepish. “I
just got a little excited to see you after so long.”

“Are you going to introduce us?” I ask, now
more amused than angry.

“Yes. Ellie, the octopus who can’t keep her
arms to herself is my friend Haring’s little sister, Matisse.
Matisse, this is my girlfriend, Ellie.”

“Haring and Matisse, huh?”

“Yeah. Mom loves art. It’s great to meet
you. Anyone who can get Aiden to use the ‘G’ word has got to be
pretty special.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. Do you
skate?”

“Oh no. I suck, which annoys my brother to
no end. I’m a tattoo artist.”

“Awesome. You have some cool tats. I want
one, but I promised my friend, Zane, that he could do it once I
decide what I want. Otherwise I’d ask you to do it.”

“She’s definitely a keeper, Aiden.”

“I know. Now let’s go sit down so we can
watch your brother’s team kick some ass.”

The game is crazy and fun. Matisse sits next
to me instead of Aiden, and we talk during the short breaks in
between periods. She’s a stylist for a couple of up and coming
bands here in D.C., and I have to smile when she mentions that
Stella is one of her idols. I don’t tell her that I know her,
thinking I’ll surprise her when she comes to visit us, which she
promises to do. I really like her, and think we could be friends.
Her brother comes over once his teams wins, and he’s pretty cool,
too.

“Thank you for introducing me to your
friends,” I tell Aiden as he drives me home.

“You don’t have to thank me. They think I’m
the lucky one, you know. You totally charmed them.”

“I was just being me.”

“I know.”

“This was the best first date ever. I don’t
want it to end.”

“It’s up to you whether it does, or not,” he
says, pulling into my driveway, and looking at me intently.

“Not.”

“I was really hoping you’d say that.” He’s
out of the car and opening my door in seconds. I start to reach for
my things, but he stops me. “Leave it all. Well, maybe not
everything. Bring the flowers. I have an idea of how I can use
them. If you want.”

Oh, I want. He knows how damn much I want
him and whatever that beautiful mind of his comes up with.
Especially because I know he’ll only do things I’m comfortable
with. His friends said he was the lucky one, but I’m lucky too. I
can’t wait to show him how much I appreciate this date, the way he
loves me, and everything else he says and does for me. I just hope
he’ll one day forgive me for keeping the secrets I have to, and let
us have that “forever’ he talks about.

Aiden

It’s nearing closing time when I hear Ellie
shriek. I look over to see some guy with his hands on her tits. I’m
vaulting over the bar before she even has a chance to push his
hands off. My fists are flying, and he goes down hard. I follow him
to the ground and continue pounding on him until I feel several
sets of arms pulling me off of him. I try to break free, because
I’m not done yet, but then Ellie’s in front of me.

“It’s okay, Aiden. I’m okay.”

“He was touching you.”

“And you stopped him. He can’t hurt me
now.”

I look down, and see the guy bloody and
curled up in a ball. Ellie is looking a little green—she hates
blood. She causes it to spill when she has to, but she doesn’t like
it. I turn her away from him.

“Okay. Okay. I should clean up.”

She takes my hand and leads me to the
employee break room where the large staff bathroom is. I face the
sink and hold onto it as I try to let go of the rest of my rage. I
can hear her gathering things from the cabinet, but I can’t look at
her. I know she’s freaked out, and that right there tells me that
I’m right in keeping what I do from her. If she knew I hunted
people like that asshole, and hurt them worse than I hurt the guy
here, she’d be disgusted by me. I know it. It’s been over two weeks
now since I went out, but tonight tells me I’m still that guy—that
killer, and that my bloodlust isn’t really gone.

“Thank you.”

“For acting like a monster?”

“What? No. You were just protecting me.
You’re not a monster.”

“What if I am, Ellie?”

“You’re not,” she says, running her hands
over my shoulders and down my arms.

She lifts my hand and starts cleaning it. I
wince a little, and she kisses my palm before continuing to clean
and bandage both of my hands. I think our discussion is over, but
then she speaks again.

“The men who captured
me…who hurt me…they’re monsters. Men like
them
are monsters. You’re not, Aiden,
and nothing you could ever do would make me feel
differently.”

“I should’ve been there.”

“You would’ve been there if
you could have. I
know
that. I don’t blame you, and you’re going to need to stop
blaming yourself if we have any chance at a future.”

“You really mean that,” I say, turning to
search her eyes. I didn’t phrase it as a question, because it
wasn’t one. Her voice and her eyes tell me that she really doesn’t
blame me. I want to fall to my knees and thank her, but I manage to
stay on my feet for the moment.

“I do. And…and I also need to talk to you
about what happened…to…me. If we’re going to have a chance at that
forever, I need you to know what really happened.”

“Now?”

“If we can leave, yes. I can’t do it
here.”

“It’s almost closing time. Theo will close
up for us, and Tieny can handle your stuff, right?”

“Yeah. I’m sure she will.”

“Let’s go,” I say.

We stop so she can grab her purse, and we
can talk to Theo and Tieny. They’re both happy to cover for us.
Theo tells me he put the guy in a cab, and that he doesn’t think
he’ll press charges. I could honestly care less. No one puts their
hands on Ellie unless they have permission. Not even me.

“My place, or yours?” I ask her.

“Yours. Please.”

The drive there is quiet. I hold her hand as
I sense the change in her. The closer we get to my apartment, the
straighter she sits. I know this is going to be hard, maybe the
hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m glad she’s finally
ready to tell me what happened. I can’t help her if I don’t know
what I’m up against.

Once we’re inside, I make her a cup of hot
chocolate, and then we sit facing each other on my couch. She takes
a sip, and then places the mug on the coffee table before
speaking.

“You got my texts and voicemails eventually,
right?”

“Yeah. Too late.”

“No blame, Aiden. I mean it. I won’t be able
to get through this if I’m worrying about you blaming yourself. I
have enough blame for both of us.”

“You?”

“Yes, me.”

“El.”

“Please… just let me get it out.
Please.”

“Go ahead,” I tell her with a nod.

“You know the mission. I was supposed to go
in and kill the main guy who was running a child and teen
prostitution ring. The intel we gathered said that if he was taken
down, there was no one ready to take his place, and in the chaos
that ensued, we could save everyone. I was totally planning to go
along with the parameters and timing that had been set. I know
Ainsley, Tegan, and Isa work hard with their teams to make sure
almost every possible problem is eliminated. While I was watching
the compound, I saw a guard beating a little girl, and I just
snapped. I couldn’t wait. I had to save her. I had to save all of
them. I was so stupid.”

“Caring about kids isn’t stupid.”

“None of my team was in place, Aid. Even if
you had been there, it would’ve just been the two of us against too
many.”

“You ended up saving them, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, when the Calvary came.” She looks to
the ceiling and continues. “I went in and was captured. The man in
charge decided to make an example of me. He thought I was related
to one of the girls, or just someone hired by one of the families.
He wanted to humiliate me, to show other people what would happen
if they tried to come after him.”

She closes her eyes, and I reach for her
hand. She lets me take it and squeezes it hard before she
continues. “They stripped me naked and tied me to a cross in the
middle of the compound’s courtyard. Then they…they started touching
me. Several men at once. My breasts, my ass, my…my vagina. They
pinched me and put their fingers in me.”

“I’m digging up those bodies so I can put a
few more bullets in them, and then burn the motherfuckers.”

“There’s not much left of them.”

“That’s why I can’t touch you? They hurt
you.”

“No. I mean, yes, they hurt me. But not from
what I just told you.” She reaches for her hot chocolate and takes
another sip. Then she moves off the couch into the chair next to
it. I start to get up, but she holds up a hand to stop me. “If you
still want me after the rest, you can sit with me. You deserve to
have a chance to walk away if it’s too much.”

“No matter what you say, no matter what
happened to you, I’ll always want you.”

“We’ll see.” She closes her eyes again, and
I know that she’s going back into her memories. “I didn’t react to
the men. At all. I didn’t want their hands on me, and my body knew
it. I didn’t get wet, and though my nipples got a little hard, they
could tell that it was just a reaction, I wasn’t aroused. They
couldn’t break me if I didn’t react to them.

“Some of the men wanted to rape me, but the
leader realized it would be the same. I wouldn’t become aroused, or
come for them. That’s when he had them bring some of the teenage
girls out. He took off their clothes and told me that if I didn’t
come for them like he knew I wanted to, he’d make the girls come
for them instead.”