Chapter Four #2
“Yeah, it must have been,” Aaron agreed.
He could still see in his mind’s eye the way she had looked at him when he had asked her who’d done this to her—the split second of vulnerability, covered up by how much she hated him and what he had done to her.
Did she have any idea why? It was all part of the process of protecting her from those men.
Without him, she would’ve been easy pickings for them.
Either she would have been forced to join their corrupt circle, or they’d have disposed of her in any way they saw fit.
Neither option sounded like a good one to Aaron at the time.
“So, from what happened to you, you think the same guys are after her now?” Xavier continued, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know how important it is that we keep this place secure. Especially after what happened when Cade brought River here—”
“I know, I know,” Aaron replied, nodding. It had been a safe space for him when he had needed it most, and he was going to do his best to ensure it stayed that way. He just needed to get Bailey to talk to him, to confirm what he already thought to be true.
He wasn’t the only one either. Aaron knew exactly what Xavier was referring to—when Cade had stopped to help a woman on the side of the road.
He’d given her a ride to Warrior Peak and they had ended up falling in love, and then her past had caught up with her.
She’d had her own dark stuff to face, but with the help of Cade and the others there at the lodge, she’d done it.
Now, River, the woman treating Bailey right now, was an essential part of Warrior Peak Sanctuary.
Aaron hadn’t been aware of all the details regarding Cade and River because he had kept to himself in the background.
He had been busy trying to escape his own past rather than getting involved with others.
He would never forgive himself, though, if his presence at the sanctuary compromised the safety of others again.
“So you need to find out who did this to her,” Lawson added, with a scowl. “I don’t care what happened between the two of you in the past. What matters now is the present, and we need to have all the information we can upfront so we know what we might be dealing with.”
“I’ll do my best once she’s patched up,” Aaron promised, hoping they believed him.
He had been working here for the better part of six years, and it had earned him a little grace—they hadn’t turned Bailey away when she had come asking for him, after all.
But that was only going to last so long.
If he couldn’t get some information out of her soon, there was going to be trouble.
“You want a coffee while you wait?” Xavier asked, jerking his head toward the cafeteria.
“No, I’m going to wait here,” he replied.
Xavier paused for a moment, clearly about to add something, but then thought better of it. “Okay, fill us in on what you find out as soon as she’s settled,” he said instead. Then he and Lawson walked away, leaving Aaron alone with his thoughts once more.
He shot a look toward the door, wondering if Bailey would let him come in right now.
He just wanted to see her. Being so close to her again after all this time was almost surreal, like something out of a dream.
She had been such a big part of his life for so long, but he’d had to sever the ties between them bluntly and brutally with no explanation.
Even if she did end up with a better understanding of what had happened, would it be enough to convince her to forgive him?
And what if this had something to do with the corruption he’d discovered before?
What if she had walked back into the middle of it and found herself faced with a harsh reality she wasn’t ready for?
She was a principled woman, always had been, and she wouldn’t have stood for that kind of behavior in any of her colleagues.
But her principles wouldn’t have been enough to keep her safe if they turned on her, and he hated the thought of something happening to her.
Maybe if he had told her the truth back then…
He tried to push the thought to the back of his mind.
He couldn’t obsess over what had happened before—that was in the past now.
All he could do was focus on the present, and how he was going to get her to tell him who had hurt her and why.
She might have been more willing to speak with one of the other women there, but he needed something to report back to Lawson and Xavier.
They wouldn’t want her here if she refused to tell them the truth. He understood why.
He and Bailey had shared a real trust back in the day, and he just needed to find some way to tap into that again. He had missed her every single day since he had walked away from his old life. Seeing her again brought up a million of the old emotions he had done his best to forget.
But things were different now. He just had to find some way to handle whatever came next, and make sure she didn’t end up with any more dangerous injuries in the process.
He looked once more at the door, then began to pace again while he waited. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day.