10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Finn
O nce the shock that my brother just shot me wears off, I manage to get up and run after Aiden and Elena.
The one thing Aiden and I have never done is shoot each other. We’ve gotten into fistfights countless times, even before he fell in love with Elena. But shooting each other was always off limits.
Apparently, not any fucking longer.
I clutch my bleeding arm as I walk through the hallway. Aiden and Elena are up ahead, getting into the elevator. I pick up my speed and shove myself into the elevator with them before they can get away.
“Finn,” Aiden growls, pointing his gun at me.
“I’m not gonna shoot. You already fucking shot me. Me! You could have killed me.”
Aiden stands in front of Elena, who’s cowering in fear. “I know.”
I gape at him. “You… you tried to kill me?”
“No! Why do you think I shot you in the shoulder? But if it’s between you and my wife, then I’m choosing Elena.”
“And your unborn child apparently. You neglected to tell me that.”
“I didn’t want to risk Elena’s safety by telling you,” he admits.
“I’m not going to kill your pregnant wife, Aiden. Fuck. I no longer feel the need to kill Elena. She’s safe.”
His eyes tighten. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe you.”
“Fine.” I put my gun away. “See? I’m not going to shoot either of you. Unlike you, Aiden, I know what it’s like to keep my word.”
“I fell in love. I didn’t commit a fucking crime against you.”
“I’m only here so you can give a message to Dante. Tell him I’m coming for him.”
The elevator touches the ground floor and I get out. Aiden and Elena don’t follow.
Well, shit. That did not go how I wanted it to. My plan was for Aiden to lead me straight to Dante but instead he fucking shot me. Now I have to go deal with this before I get a fucking infection.
I have some antibiotics stashed at my old apartment in cases like this but I have to get there fast before anyone else finds me. I’m not in the best condition to fight at this moment.
It’s hard driving one handed but I manage. My old apartment is one of my favorite places to be. It feels more like home. Both Aiden and my mom helped me pick it out years ago.
Now, I’m barely here. It’s my own fault, I’ll admit. I’m on the run too much to come back here that often. I just make the payments on it and no one asks any questions.
I find the meds in the bottom drawer of the nightstand by my bed. Trust antibiotics. I stole them from a clinic once. I’m running low. I’ll have to get more in the future.
I need to get this fucking bullet out of my shoulder but I drive back to the small cottage Aria is at first. She can help me. My wife needs to learn how to stitch me up. It’s a common occurrence with me.
Aria is pacing around the bedroom when I return.
“Finally,” she grumbles, then stops when she sees the blood trickling down my arm. “What happened?”
“Got shot. Need you to help me get the bullet out and stitch me up.” I grab her hand and tug her behind me into the bathroom.
She rips her hand away. “No. I am not touching your disgusting, bloody arm.”
I peel off my shirt. I can’t help but notice the way Aria looks me over. She likes what she sees and that feels fucking good.
“Here.” I hand her a tweezer. “Get to digging.”
Her shudder is visible. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious, princess. Get the bullet out.” I sit down on the toilet so she has better access.
“I can’t believe this,” she mutters with a grimace before she places the tweezers to my arm. When she shoves it into the bullet hole, I grit my teeth to keep from yelling. Even I can feel pain.
With a determined expression, she manages to get the bullet out. “There.”
“Thank fuck,” I pant. “Now, stitch me up.” I nod to the first aid kit. “Needle and thread should be in there.”
“I don’t know how to stitch up a wound.”
“Don’t you know how to sew?”
“No.”
“I thought all girls knew how to sew.”
“Yeah, if this was 1950 but it’s not. I don’t know how to sew.”
I cup her face with my bloody fingers. “Princess, just stitch me up. Do you need me to say please? Fine. Please.” I pull my hands away, leaving blood behind on her perfect skin.
She stares at me with wide eyes for a moment before she grabs the needle and thread with shaky fingers.
“I thought you weren’t scared of anything,” I say.
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not going to hurt me. I have antibiotics I can take so don’t worry about an infection. Got it?”
With an eye roll, she starts stitching up my wound. She makes fast work of it, I’ll give her that. And when it’s done, I can tell she stitched it up good.
“I thought you said you didn’t know how to sew,” I say.
She shrugs. “Beginner’s luck.”
“I should say so.”
“So, how did you get shot anyway?”
“My brother.” I don’t look at her as I say it. Instead, I’m focused on trying to get this damn medicine bottle open.
“Your brother?”
“Don’t sound so shocked, princess. Me and my brother hate each other.”
“I’ve heard the stories about you and Aiden. Everyone has. Even Dante has told me things about you two but he’s never said you hated each other. I thought you were just mad at each other.”
“That too.”
She huffs. “Care to explain more?”
I get the bottle open and pop back two pills. “Aiden thought I was trying to kill his pregnant wife so he shot me. Can’t say I blame him for that.”
“But…”
“But I blame him for it.” I set the bottle on the counter with a sigh.
“He fell in love with Elena two years ago now. I was fucking pissed with him for it. It meant he was ruining everything. Everything we had built together. He stopped being a hitman so he could be someone Elena could be proud of. So he left me in the fucking dirt and never looked back.”
“He fell in love.” Aria’s voice is soft. “You can’t be mad at him for that.”
“I am. I’m still mad. I lost my brother the moment he decided to marry Elena. And now he fucking shot me because of her.”
“What if it had been you to fall in love?”
I stare at Aria sharply. “What?”
“If you had been the one to fall in love and your brother was trying to kill the woman you loved, you would shoot him too, wouldn’t you?”
“But I’m not the one who fell in love. I’ve never been in love. I’m not in love.”
“I know.” Her face flushes. “I was just saying. He’s just trying to protect Elena. Maybe you need to learn to let it go.”
I stand up and tower over her. It’s a dick move to do but in this moment, I don’t care. “Don’t tell me how to feel when it comes to my brother. You don’t have siblings. You don’t know.”
“You’re right. I’m a spoiled princess who’s been catered to my entire life. But I can tell that your brother is a sore spot for you and that he’s eating away at you.”
“Shouldn’t that make you happy? You want me dead, don’t you?”
“Of course.” There’s not as much conviction in her tone as there usually is. “I’m just saying.”
“Right.” I eye her over. “You’re wearing my shirt again.”
“I didn’t want to be naked.”
“Shame. I like seeing you naked.”
She narrows her eyes and backs up a step. “You say those things to me when you’re trying to deflect from what we’re really talking about. You know that, don’t you?”
“I’m allowed to compliment my wife.”
“The wife that you don’t love because you’ve never been in love before.”
I flash her a smile. “Exactly.”
She sighs and slumps against the counter.
“Finn, what are we doing here? You can’t honestly think you can keep me locked up forever.
You got shot today. You’re not invincible.
You’ll die. And what if you die when I’m locked up?
No one knows where I am. I could die of starvation in that room if you don’t come back. ”
“Then it’s a good thing I always come back. I’m a hard man to kill. And I’m not letting you go for anything. You’re mine now.” I grab her face and she doesn’t pull back. She doesn’t even fight it.
“I never agreed to be yours.”
“When you married me, you did.”
“You forced me into it.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Staring down into her beautiful face, I know I have to kiss her. I’ve been avoiding it. Kissing is too intimate. Too personal. But fuck, I want to kiss Aria more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time. I want it even more than I want to take Dante down.
“If it were me,” she says, “that your brother was threatening to kill, would you kill him to save me?”
“Don’t ask me that.”
“Why not? Because you’d kill your brother for me? Or because you would let me die?”
“My brother would never try to kill you. He’s too fucking nice now. So this is a hypothetical I don’t have to worry about.”
“Your brother will be your downfall, you know that? The longer you hold onto your hatred for him, the more you put yourself in danger.”
“I thought you wanted me dead.”
“I do. But I don’t want to get hurt in the process. It’s just self-preservation I’m thinking of.”
“Sure.” I lower my head down until there’s barely any space between our lips. Aria sucks in a sharp breath. I don’t move forward, waiting to see what she does.
“What are you doing?” she whispers.
“If I kissed you right now, would you stop me? Push me away?”
“Yes.” There’s no more fight in her words. It’s like she’s speaking on autopilot.
“Let’s test that theory, shall we?”
I bridge the gap between us and press my lips to hers. Aria is tense for a moment before she relaxes into my touch. I deepen the kiss, consuming her like I’ve wanted to since I first laid eyes on her.
The kiss quickly becomes rough. Aria puts a lot of passion into it, more than I thought she would. It just proves that I married the right woman. She has a fire to match my own and not many people can say that.
I push her back against the counter.
That seems to break the spell.
Aria shoves me back and stumbles away from me. “Enough. We can’t do that.”
“Why did you stop it?”
“You know why.”