Chapter 26
Aspen
It's no surprise to me that I wake up alone. I don't even know if Nolan came back to bed after his shower. Exhaustion plus the high of a very intense orgasm left me damn near comatose.
My body aches in the best way imaginable when my eyes flutter open. I stretch, making the least sexy grunting noise possible as I lift my arms over my head.
I know I can't stay in bed forever, ignoring all the things in my life that aren't going my way, but I just can't gather the strength to climb out either.
Guilt swims inside of me for taking a moment for myself last night when I still have no idea where Eli is and if he's safe. I can't for a moment forget how brutal and abusive Damien is, especially when he feels challenged, and I know that hatred and anger will be cast on my innocent son.
As if I can sense things going terribly wrong, my heart begins to race, and my eyes widen when the bedroom door opens.
Nolan steps inside, fully dressed, and ready for the day, making me realize just how damned tired I was not to hear him get up and get dressed.
"You need to get out of bed," he says, his voice flat. "And come downstairs."
"What happened?" I ask, flipping the blankets back and climbing from the mattress.
He doesn't speak, doesn't offer an explanation or even a comforting word.
"Zara sent those for you," he says, pointing to a small pile of clothes sitting on top of the dresser. "I'll meet you downstairs."
Without another word, he turns and leaves the room. I rush to the bathroom and wash my face, rinsing my mouth with mouthwash because I can't find an extra toothbrush in any of the cabinets. Even as intimate as things got between us last night, the thought of using his toothbrush makes my skin crawl in a germophobic kind of way.
I strip out of the borrowed boxers and t-shirt and leave them on the bed before pulling on the sports bra, t-shirt, and sweats that Zara has provided for me. I make a mental note to hug her for being so considerate before leaving the bedroom and rushing down the stairs.
I have no idea what I'm walking into, but I know I have to face it head-on.
Other than Zara sitting on one of the many sofas in the massive living room, I don't see anyone else.
"Coffee?" she asks, sitting up and placing the book in her hand on the coffee table.
"No," I say, holding my hand up. "You've done enough for me. Thank you for the clothes."
"You're welcome. The guys are just finishing up a meeting. Oh, there they are," she says when the double doors of a room near the front entrance opens.
I curl into myself when a line of men walk out of the room. There have to be a dozen or more guys, and it's very reminiscent of the times my father would hold meetings at the house just before sending his men off to work a job. They always looked like they were going to war, with frowns on their faces and vengeance in their eyes.
These guys look no different, other than the fact that they're much larger than the men who worked for my father. These guys look like they bench press cars for a living.
Each of them looks in my direction, dipping their heads in acknowledgment, before heading out the front door. It's completely different from the way my father's men acted. To them, it was as if I didn't exist, and for the most part, I liked it that way. Hames was the only one who took the time to look at me, and when he did, it made my skin crawl.
"Aspen?"
I jerk my head in the direction of the voice, seeing Nolan standing in the open doorway to the room they all just exited.
"Can you come here?"
I walk toward him, waiting for the last man to leave out the front door before giving him all my attention. Have they been in the house this entire time? Am I really as safe as Nolan assured me I was?
I'm scared and trembling as I join him in the room. Hemlock and one other man on a computer are in the corner. I think it's just going to be the three of us, but another man steps forward with his hand outstretched.
"I'm Kincaid, president of the New Mexico Chapter of Cerberus," he says.
I shake his hand, confusion drawing my brows together. "Cerberus?"
The man releases my hand, looking over my shoulder at Nolan.
"Have you explained anything to her?" Kincaid asks.
I don't know how Nolan responds, but it isn't verbally.
"We're a motorcycle club that specializes in rescuing sex-trafficked persons," Kincaid says, making my blood run cold.
I swing my eyes back to Nolan, and I see that he reads exactly where my thoughts go. He walks up to me, hands held up in mock surrender.
"We don't have any reason to believe that's what is going on with Eli."
"We're hoping you can give us some more information," Kincaid says, swiping his hand out to indicate the offer of a seat at the table.
I take it simply because I don't know how long my legs will continue to hold me up. I've considered a bunch of terrible things that could happen to my son but being hurt in that way wasn't one of them. It opens up a whole new level of terror for me.
"I'll help in any way that I can," I offer.
"We're hoping that you know the names of Gaines's employees who have children," Kincaid says, taking a seat across from me at the massive table.
I shake my head the second the words are out of his mouth. "I don't know anything personal about any of his employees. They're all terrified of him."
"And the ones who are still around after your father was killed?"
I shake my head. "They were scared of him too. No one speaks to me, and I don't mean they don't tell me things. They literally go the other way when I walk toward them," I explain. "I go days without seeing anyone other than Damien, and when I do see house staff, they make themselves scarce very quickly. I can't tell you who has children and if they do, if they've been taken or how long they've been gone. Is it possible that Samuel was lying?"
Kincaid looks from me to Hemlock as if wondering if they should share the information they have with me.
"What is it?" I demand.
I hate being on the outside of everything. I have lived that life every single day since I was born, but I'm tired of not asking questions, tired of people deciding what is okay for me to hear and what isn't.
"They found another body," Kincaid says.
"Another?" I breathe, my hands trembling as I lift them to my mouth.
I feel like I'm about to be sick.
"What do you mean another body?"
Nolan earns another unimpressed look from the man. "We've been going to all the places linked to your husband's organization, and so far we've found two bodies of young people. The first one was a boy about fourteen or fifteen and this last one was of a little girl."
"Oh God," I mutter, bile racing up my throat. "He's killing children?"
I snap my eyes in Nolan's direction, terrified of what this could mean for Eli.
"I don't want you to think about shit like that," Nolan growls.
"Are you?" I snap back. "Did you consider this shit before you grabbed me off the fucking street?"
Nolan glares at me, pulling in a deep intake of breath, but he stays silent. I can see from the look in his eyes that he didn't consider this. He was fully committed to his plan, a hundred percent sure that the team they had in Hartford was going to get Eli to safety. He never thought that wasn't going to work out the way he wanted it to and look where it has landed us.
I stand from the table so quickly that the chair rolls away, slamming into the wall, but I'm too upset to care whether or not it caused any damage.
"I will never forgive you if something happens to my son," I snarl at him, tears streaming down my face.
" Our son," he growls back.
"I know you're in a very emotional state right now, Aspen," Kincaid says, his voice low and calm. "But we need your help."
I look toward the man because staring at Nolan and seeing the pain and regret in his eyes is enough to fully break me.
"Have you heard mention of anyone talking about sex trafficking in either your father's or your husband's organization?"
"Thank you," I tell Hemlock when he rolls the chair back toward me. "Sorry about the wall."
He doesn't even bother to look over his shoulder at the damage the chair caused to the drywall.
I take a seat once again, letting memories filter through my head about the times I've borne witness to my father working and the handful of times things have gone on in the house that I've observed.
"We have it on good authority that your father had made plans to get involved with that type of business but he pulled out at the last minute," Kincaid continues. "We believe it's why Damien had him killed."
"Had him killed?" I ask. "He didn't do it himself?"
Kincaid shakes his head. "We have evidence that shows he hired out the job."
I don't see that going well with the other families. If Damien isn't man enough to take my father's throne with his own hands, then they're less likely to respect him and his authority.
I shake my head. "I can't recall any talk of sex trafficking. I'm not saying my father was innocent by any means, but I don't think he'd hurt children the way Samuel says he did. He never laid a hand on me growing up. I never got a vibe that he would assault anyone in that way."
"People aren't always who they want you to think they are," Nolan says, and the tone of it makes my hackles go up once again.
"You would know, huh?" I snap at him.
"Damn," Hemlock mutters, and I can tell by the way the word comes out that he didn't mean to actually vocalize it.
A chuckle comes from the other side of the room, making me remember the guy who was there on the computer, but I don't bother to look in his direction.
"The original house we found had twelve beds for children, but we haven't found proof of more than three or four kids. We can't track them if we have no idea who they are or who their parents are," Kincaid explains further.
"I can't help you," I whisper, feeling useless. "I really wish I could. What does this mean for Eli?"
"I can't put it past a man like Damien Gaines to do anything nefarious, but Eli is his only connection to you. It's how he has controlled you all these years, and it's unlikely he'll do something to sever that ability. He's narcissistic enough to think that he will have you crawling back to him in order to protect your son."
"I would. In a heartbeat."
"The fuck you will," Nolan growls.
"Jericho, that's not helpful," Kincaid chastises. "I know exactly where your head is," Kincaid says. "I have two daughters and six grandchildren. I'd crawl over broken glass and give my last breath to ensure their safety. All that being said, we're doing our very best to bring Eli home. Please know that every man on my team and the ones on Hemlock's team treats every child we work to save as our own."
"Thank you," I tell him, saltiness from my tears coating my lips.
Knowing people are willing to fight for him means a lot, but that still doesn't stop the pain from knowing all of this would've never happened if Nolan had just stayed the fuck out of our business.
"Peach?" Nolan whispers after a long moment, and it's my breaking point.
I stand once again, my hands clenched in fists.
"I will never forgive you if something happens to him," I say, my voice low and full of hatred.
"Peach," he says again, his tone low and full of pain, but I can't consider his pain.
It doesn't matter to me.
"You should've stayed dead!" I scream as I inch closer and pound my fists on his chest.
He stands there and takes it. I break when I look up and see the tears streaming down his face, traveling the length of the scar on his left cheek.
When he lifts his arms and wraps them around me, I fall against his chest and sob.
Eli is my entire world, and somehow, in a matter of days, he has become Nolan's entire world as well.