Tending Their SECRET (4 page)

“Hi, Ellie. How was your first day?”

“You mean, how was my first time seeing
Aiden, don’t you?”

“We can go that route, or you can tell me
about the bar and the other employees. I have a feeling you didn’t
call me about them, though.”

“No. I need to talk about Aiden.”

“Did something happen?”

“He touched my back. When we were walking.
He’s always done that, but tonight…I didn’t handle it well.”

“Did you tell him you don’t want to be
touched?”

“Not at first. He seemed to know.”

“Yet he still touched you.”

“It was automatic for him, I think. And also
a way to try and dissuade the other women who work in the bar.”

“I get the automatic part. As for the rest,
well, he is a very handsome man. I’m sure there are quite a few
women who would love to take him home.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be making me feel
better?”

She chuckles before answering. “No. You’re
the only one who has control over your feelings. I’m here to help
you explore where your feelings are coming from, and learn how to
heal.”

“Go all shrink on me, why don’t you?”

“That
is
my job. Now back to Aiden and the
women.”

“There’s no Aiden and them. I mean, you’re
right, tons of them were hitting on him, but he dodged them
all.”

“Okay. That’s good, right? Now back to the
touching. What happened?”

“Yes. Watching him ignore women who dress
like I used to, and have bigger boobs, made me feel good.
Especially because he kept smiling and winking at me. As for the
touching, I freaked out.”

“Define ‘freaked out’ for me.”

“I froze. I mean, I let him keep his hand on
me, but it was awkward.”

“Were you having a flashback?”

I sigh, knowing I need to be honest. I rush
the words out as fast as I can. “No. I-I liked his touch. I know I
shouldn’t, but I did. I felt bad about that.”

“Ellie, we’ve talked about this, but I feel
like I need to tell you again. You were abused by some horrible
men, but that doesn’t mean you’re not still a woman. It’s only
natural for you to like having the man you love touch you. It
doesn’t mean you need to act on those feelings before you’re
ready—and only you will know when that is—but I don’t want you
feeling guilty for liking it.”

“Even though...,” I say, unable to say the
words out loud.

“Yes,” she tells me in a firm voice.

“Thank you,” I tell her. I mean it. I need
to hear that it’s okay to want Aiden, even if I’m nowhere near
ready for that yet.

“Now, I’d like to hear more about the
comment you made about the women dressing like you used to.”

“You saw me before. I worse corsets and
short skirts, or tight dresses. They were like that.”

“Do you miss the way you used to dress?”

“I miss the confidence I had.”

“Let’s work on getting that confidence back.
No matter what you’re wearing.”

I’m not sure if I’ll ever
feel like the fun-loving, confident in her sexuality woman I once
was, but I want to try. I
need
to try. Aiden said he’d wait forever, and I
believe him, but I don’t want to wait. I’m not ready now, but I
want to be soon.

We talk for another hour, and while I don’t
feel a lot better, I feel a little bit that way. I hang up, and my
phone rings almost instantly. It’s Ainsley.

“Is he out?”

“Yep. We just got facial recognition on him
in Washington Highlands. He’s tracking someone, but he hasn’t
initiated anything yet. You can reach him in twenty minutes if you
follow the speed limit.”

“I’m on it. Can you let Faith know I’ve got
this one?” We’d decided to take turns following Aiden, because one
of us is going to be less obvious than two. If I need her, I know
she’s only a call away.

“Yep. Initiate your comm unit and we’re good
to go.”

I hang up, grab my keys, and practically run
down the stairs to the garage. I already have a small cross body
bag with a gun and a couple of knives waiting on my bike. I throw
on my helmet and am out on the road in under a minute.

Ainsley was cute to think I’d stick to the
speed limit. Or maybe she was being sarcastic—her humor is usually
too dry for me to get all the time. I’ll get to Aiden in under
fifteen minutes, which means I need to contact Isa and Jake now.
They already had a trip planned to visit his parents, so it’s not
suspicious for them to be in town.

“Hey,” Jake says when he answers. “Are we a
go?”

“Yep. Washington Highlands. Not sure who
he’s tracking, but Ainsley has him and is trying to find out who
he’s following is.”

“Shit. That’s a bad place, El. You want me
to come down early?”

I appreciate his concern, but there’s more
than me to worry about tonight. “No. We need to stick to the plan.
I’ll keep whoever he’s after safe while you look for the victims
Aiden’s trying to protect.”

“Promise you’ll call us if anything goes
sideways.”

“I will. Thank you. Tell Isa that, too.”

Ainsley comes over my comm unit, telling me
that Aiden has started his beat down on a local gang leader who’s
shaking down small businesses. I’m not sure how he got the guy
alone, but he did. I park a few blocks away and activate my alarm.
I dare anyone to try and take the bike. They’ll be in for a
shock—literally.

Once I’ve climbed up a nearby building, and
crossed over to one that borders the alley Aiden’s in, I see that
things are almost over. Aiden is holding the guy by the throat and
eliciting a promise of staying away from some people. I have my mic
on so Ainsley can catch it all and send Jake and Isa over to where
they need to be. When Aiden’s satisfied that the guy has gotten the
message, he leaves him on the ground, and runs out of the
alley.

Less than a minute later, the man behind all
of his problems enters from the other direction. I have the element
of surprise, because I was expecting him, and know how he fights.
He doesn’t know who I am—yet—but I’m still pulling a ski mask over
my head. There’s a very good chance that we’ll be meeting soon, and
I need to make sure he doesn’t know me until we have enough
evidence against him.

I see the glint of a knife, and launch
myself off the building. I’m able to kick the knife from his hand
as I swing by on the high tech cable Darcy and Ainsley’s teams
collaborated on. It’s doing its job as I arc back up onto the fire
escape of the building on the other side.

“Who the fuck are you?”

I don’t answer, readying myself to jump down
again, and have some fun. That’s going to have to wait as I hear
yelling. I look over and see some gang members running down the
alley. I pull my cable tight, and then let go, allowing it to pull
me back to my original perch. The bastard I’m after manages to
climb onto the fire escape I just left and get himself up before
the guys below reach their leader. I make my way back to my bike,
and take off, hoping Jake and Isa make it to the business owners
before he does. I have faith in my friends, and honestly, after
even just this little victory tonight, I have a little faith in
myself again.

* * *

Aiden

I checked all the news sources today, but
there was nothing about the punk ass gang leader I fucked up, or
the guys I told him to leave alone. After the first rounds of
people ending up dead, I’d dialed back on my hunting, fighting my
natural urges in order to save lives. Then I realized that I had
enough money to hire some guys I knew. They’ve been keeping the
innocents safe. My “victims” have been on their own. Some have
escaped from my stalker, and some haven’t. At one time, I would’ve
been the one killing them, so I don’t feel too much remorse. I feel
some, though. That’s new, but not completely unwelcome.

The bar is opening in an hour, and I haven’t
seen Ellie yet. I’ve spent most of my time here shooting down the
overzealous waitresses who seem to think that my girl is a
challenge, and not a deterrent. Tieny’s been laughing at me as I
dodge their hands and continuously tell them I’m not playing hard
to get. I honestly don’t want anyone other than El.

Ellie walks into the bar wearing a white
dress with blue lace over it. She’s still covered to her neck, but
the skirt is a little shorter. It may seem small, but I’m taking it
as a sign of her feeling a little better. I won’t pretend that it’s
all me, but I hope I had something to do with it.

She’s smiling as she walks over to me. As
she gets closer to the bar, she crooks her finger at me. I lift up
on the bar and lean towards her as she stops on the other side. I
keep still as she moves herself forward and touches her lips to
mine. I want to grab her and haul her over the bar to me, but I
know I can’t. I let her kiss, sip, and nibble at my lips as I kiss
her back. She’s in charge, and we both know it. I’ll take whatever
I can get, and kissing Ellie has never been anything less than
spectacular. Even with no tongues involved.

After more than seven minutes of Heaven, she
pulls back to smile at me again. “Sorry. I had to do that.”

“You’re not seriously apologizing for
kissing me, are you?”

“Yes. I don’t have that right.”

“The fuck you don’t. Since you need to be
reminded, let me tell you again. I am yours, Elletra Gallagher. All
of me. Body, mind, soul, and everything in between. You can have
any or all whenever and wherever you want. Forever.”

“Forever?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, realizing for the first
time that the thought really doesn’t scare me anymore.

“I-I’m yours. But I can’t give you all of me
yet.”

“I already told you, I’ll wait as long as it
takes.”

“We can kiss whenever you want.”

“Yes, please.”

I cover those few inches again and take her
mouth. It’s a little more passionate this time, but still in the
PG-13 range. I need to show her I can be satisfied with this,
because I truly am. I’ve always been a very sexual person,
especially after a kill with all the adrenaline flowing through me.
But with Ellie, I’d probably die happy just knowing I kissed her
for the rest of my life. My dick might fall off, but I’d still be
good with it. Well, I mean as good as a guy can be when he’s
dickless.

“I better go check on everything,” Ellie
tells me, moving back a little again.

“Wanna hang out during my break?”

“Are you asking me out on a 30 minute break
date, Aiden Ford?”

“For now. I’d like a much longer one when
you’re ready.”

“I’m ready…for a date. Like dinner, movie,
whatever. Not whatever, but you know.”

“Do I look like a guy who would take you on
a dinner and movie date?”

“Um, yeah. We’ve done that quite a few
times.”

“We’re not doing that for our new first
date.”

“We didn’t have an official first date
before.”

“Because I’m an idiot. I’m an evolving
idiot, though, so I’m doing things right this time.”

She gets serious then, reaching out to
stroke my cheek. I lean into her hand, and close my eyes. “Thank
you, Aid. Come find me when you’re ready for your break.”

“I won’t need to find you. I always know
where you are.”

“I know,” she says, giving me one last peck
on the mouth before walking away.

“You won’t even look twice at any of us, but
you’re seriously locking lips with her?” Norma, one of the
waitresses asks me.

“All day, every day.”

“There’s no chance at all that you’ll change
your mind?”

“Nope. None. But thanks for playing.”

“Bastard.”

“Exactly.”

“Still leaving a string of broken hearts in
your wake, huh Aid?” Tieny says with a laugh.

“There’s only one heart I worry about
breaking.”

“She’s ‘it’ then for you?”

“The One? Yeah. Without a doubt.”

Ellie

It’s been a week since I went out, following
Aiden as he stalked his latest “victim.” Faith has had her turn,
and she got to actually fight the guy we’re after. She said he was
a worthy opponent, and he almost got the upper hand on her. Reina
called me after that, and said that she doesn’t want us going out
alone again. I don’t like it, but I know our safety has to be
important. We’re no good to Aiden, or anyone else, if we get
seriously injured—or if we’re dead. Jake and Isa have had an easier
time, because we figured out that Aiden has guys watching the
people he’s protecting, too. They still go out, but they’re able to
hang back, and just observe what goes down.

Tonight, the bar is closed and Jake’s mom
insisted on having us over to her house for a small get together
with some of her close friends and allies. Aiden’s dad will be
there, and this will be a little bit of a test, pretending that
we’ve never met. I’m trained for it, but keeping things from
enemies, and keeping things from the man you love, are two very
different things. Most of my friends have had to do it, and no
one’s ever said it was easy. Because, it’s really not, even if it’s
to protect them from a threat they don’t understand.

My doorbell rings, reminding me that it’s
five minutes from when Aiden said he’d pick me up. Trust him to be
here early when I’m still barefoot and haven’t put my lipstick on
yet. I pad down the stairs and throw open the door to see him in a
suit, looking like every woman’s hottest fantasy man. I gesture him
inside, and he catches me checking out that fine ass of his when he
turns back around to face me. His eyes twinkle and I roll mine. We
both know how good he always looks.

He’s got his dark blonde hair styled up
higher in the front, which makes him almost look like he has half
of a Mohawk with his closely shorn sides. He usually makes it less
obvious, but he’s playing it up tonight, wanting to look like he
didn’t grow up as Virginia royalty. His face is darkened by the
stubble covering it, and I feel myself getting wet just remembering
how those whiskers used to feel on my most sensitive areas. I bite
my lip, and see his eyes flare before he schools his features back
into a blank mask once again. I’m sure I’m hiding nothing, as I
take him in.