18. Chapter Eighteen #2
“Of course, of course.” She grabs my hands. “But are you going to kill him, Aiden?”
“Enough is enough. If I have to… if it means saving Elena then…” Fuck. Killing my brother is something I never thought I would have to do but Finn has crossed a line. Kidnapping my wife? I can’t stand for that.
“I understand. But if you don’t have to kill him then…”
“Mom,” I say, feeling suddenly tired. Tired of all the shit my brother has put me through. Tired of the constant worry and stress. I’m bringing a child into this fucked up world. What kind of man does that make me? “Just tell me where he is.”
“The last time, I went to his house at this address.” She writes it down for me. “I’m not sure if he’s still there.”
“Then call him. Have you come meet you here. Tell him its urgent.”
“I can’t betray my son like that.”
“Ma, I’m also your son.”
She gives me a sad smile. “I know. But if I call him over here, you have to promise to talk to him first. Don’t immediately start shooting at him.”
“Fine. I promise. Just call him. Get him over here.”
“Ok.” She dials Finn’s number. “Finn? I need to see you. It’s urgent.”
“What is it?” he asks on the other end. Hearing my brother’s voice only pisses me off more. He has my wife and yet he has the audacity to sound perfectly calm. Fuck him. I’ve spared his life time and time again and now he’s betrayed me.
“I just need to see you. Please.”
“Ma, you don’t sound like yourself. Are you in danger?”
“Finn,” she practically screeches. “Just get here. Now. Ok?”
He’s quiet for a long moment before he says, “Ok,” and hangs up.
“Hopefully he’ll get here soon. And remember, don’t shoot him on sight.”
“I need to know where he’s keeping my wife so don’t worry. I’m going to talk to him.”
Her chin drops to her chest and her shoulders shake. It takes me a moment to realize that she’s crying. “What has happened to my sons?”
I rest my hand on her shoulder. “I know, Ma. I’m sorry. But Finn has just gone too far.”
She clasps my hand without a word and I stay silent as she cries.
Finn
Something isn’t right.
My mom never just calls me to demand I come over. She respects that I’ll show up when I’m ready to.
I’m out hunting for Sal as it’s at least one fucking thing I can do since I lost Aria back to Dante and her father. They’ll never let me see her again, that I know for a fact. But if I can kill Sal, then maybe I can show them I can do some good.
Me, doing fucking good. Never thought I’d see the day that would happen.
But if it means getting Aria back, I will do whatever it takes. She’s mine. Not Elio’s and definitely not Dante’s.
I give up the search on Sal and head to my mom’s house. Sal wasn’t even there at his house. He could have multiple houses for all I fucking know.
I knock on my mom’s door. “Ma.”
She cracks it open and smiles when she sees me, motioning me inside.
“What’s going on?”
She gives me a strong hug when we reach the kitchen. There’s a desperation there that I don’t understand. “I love you, Finn. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do. And you know I love you.” I let her go. “What’s so urgent?”
“Me,” my brother says from behind. I would know his voice anywhere. Spinning around, I come face to face with Aiden. He has his gun out but it’s not pointed at me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“She’s my mom too.”
“I know but obviously you want something. What?”
“He asked me to call you,” Mom explains. “Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not, Ma. What do you want?”
Aiden sneers. “You know what I want. I want my wife back.”
That… was not what I was expecting. “Your… wife? Wait. You think I have her?”
“Of course I think that! I went to Aria’s house.
She and Elena were gone and Elio was dead.
Neck snapped. Your doing. So where is Elena?
I won’t ask you to give Aria back since I assume you won’t.
But at least give me my wife back, Finn.
I will beg you if I have to. Give her back to me.
And tell me you didn’t hurt her. She’s pregnant. ”
“I know she’s pregnant,” I snap. “I saw it the last time I saw her.”
“Just give her back to me!” He points his gun at me. “Or I will be forced to do what I haven’t wanted to do.”
“Slow down,” Mom says. “You promised to talk this through.”
“I don’t have Elena. Or Aria for that matter.”
Aiden scoffs. “I don’t believe you. You love causing chaos, Finn.
It’s your thing. You do it so effortlessly like you’re not even trying.
I know you. You kidnapped them both just to start shit.
But killing Elio? Really? That’s not going to make Aria like you more. You just doomed your own marriage.”
Shit, shit, shit. I know for a fact that I don’t have either Aria or Elena. Which means…
No. Sal wouldn’t be that stupid to kidnap Aria right out of her own home. Maybe it was Viktor. He sent someone to…
No. He doesn’t like to hurt women if he doesn’t have to. Besides, his precious wife, Inessa and sister, Julia, would be disappointed in him if he kidnapped two women, especially one who’s pregnant.
I know Viktor is not behind this and it wasn’t Erik and it wasn’t Dante so that leaves Sal. He wants to hurt me because he’s a fucking psychopath. He has Aria. I know it in my gut.
“Tell me where she is!” Aiden shouts, his face turning red. I’ve rarely seen my brother look this frantic. This… afraid. He really does love Elena.
I resented him for it. For leaving me behind to go off with some woman.
But now that I’ve found my own woman and I know what it’s like to care for someone that you would die for them, I can’t blame how Aiden feels for Elena. I’m finally starting to get it.
The only way to make my brother listen is to show that I’m not a threat.
I slowly pull out my gun.
“Don’t!” He points his gun towards my hand. “Don’t even think about it, Finn.”
“I’m just doing this.” I set the gun on the ground and kick it away. “There. I can’t shoot you. Are you really going to shoot an unarmed man?”
“You have other weapons on you.”
“None that I can get to easily without you killing me first. I am not going to shoot you, brother. If you want to talk, let’s talk. But stop waving your gun around.”
“Please, Aiden,” Mom adds.
He looks between us before he slowly lowers his gun. “Fine.”
“Set it on the table.”
“No. I know you, Finn. You’re fast. I’m keeping my gun at my side but I’ll stop pointing it at you. Just tell me where Elena is and I’ll leave. I won’t kill you.”
“I don’t have Elena,” I say as slowly and clearly as I can.
“Bullshit.”
“I didn’t kidnap her. I didn’t kidnap Aria. I didn’t kill Elio. But I think I know who did.”
“It was you,” he growls.
“No it fucking wasn’t. I know you have no reason to believe me.
I know I’ve hurt you, brother.” My own admission is shocking even myself.
I never thought I was capable of these words and yet…
here I am, saying them. And they feel right.
“I know I deserve for you to think I’m capable of hurting your pregnant wife.
I killed Ivan. I wanted to kill Elena before but that was years ago.
I no longer want to hurt her. I just want my own wife back. ”
“So you had to take mine with you?”
“No!” I suck in a breath and force myself to remain calm. This goes against all I’ve ever done in my life but this is my brother. I have to get through to him. I have to get him on my side to save Elena and Aria. “Aiden, I didn’t kidnap Elena or Aria. I didn’t kill Elio. I did not do this.”
He stares me for a long hard moment before he sighs. “You’re telling the truth. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Thank you. I am telling the truth. I did not do this, Aiden. But I have a sneaking suspicion about who did. Sal Alvin.”
“The hitman?”
“He kidnapped Aria once before. You know this. He’s after me. He’s fucking crazy. He tortured Aria. If anyone wanted to get her, it would be him. But I don’t know why he would take Elena.”
“She was with Aria at the time.”
“Then Sal probably saw an opportunity. I’ve tried killing him but he keeps sneaking through my fingers. I don’t know for a fact if he has them but he’s the one who makes the most sense. Viktor wouldn’t do this.”
“How can you know for sure?”
“Because I spent the past year working with Viktor and I know him. He has a sort of honor code. He wouldn’t just kidnap two women for his gain. He just wouldn’t, especially if one was pregnant. Trust me on that.”
His eyes flash. “How can I? You’ve made it hard to trust you.”
“I know. But I know this wasn’t Viktor. This was Sal. I feel it in my bones. If we want to save Elena and Aria, we need to go now. He hurt Aria, Aiden. He cut her. Tortured her. He’ll do the same to Elena. I know it. He killed a newborn baby.”
“I remember when I first met him, I thought he was crazy but I only met him the once. I never knew what he was capable of.”
“He’s capable of a lot of depravity. Even things I’m not capable of. I wouldn’t kill a baby and I definitely wouldn’t kill a pregnant woman. No matter how evil you think I am.”
“I don’t think you’re evil,” he grumbles.
“Good. Now, do you want to get your wife back?”
“Of course.”
“Then we need to go find them and we need to work together. Dante and Erik cannot know about this. They will try to kill me if they think I had any part in this.”
“I know.”
“We always worked better together,” I tell him. “You know this. If we’re together, we can kill Sal. He won’t be able to stop us.”
Aiden slowly nods. “We did use to work good as a team.”
“Exactly. Let’s do it again.”
“This isn’t permanent, Finn. I’m not going to promise that things are going back to how they were before I met Elena. You have to know that. We work together to get them back and that’s it.”
I push aside the sting inside my chest. “I know things can never be the way they used to. But I wouldn’t want them to anyway. I have my own wife now. I care about her. I want her back just as much as you want Elena back. For just today, let’s go back to how we used to be. Just to save our wives.”
Slowly, Aiden nods. “Agreed. I won’t tell anyone. We’ll handle this on our own. I don’t want to spook Sal into running.”
“So, we have a deal? We don’t kill each other. We work together to get our wives back.” I hold out my hand.
Aiden looks down at it for a long moment. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Probably thinking what a fucker I am but that he needs me.
“Come on,” our mom says. “Put aside your differences just for today.”
That does it for Aiden.
He takes my hand and gives it a firm shake. “Just for today.”
I have the brother back I remember. I know it won’t last forever but I’m going to savor it.
And I’m going to get my wife back.