Chapter 45 Aiden
FORTY-FIVE
AIDEN
Raven made me so fucking proud.
When everything went down and we found ourselves fighting off twenty men, she’d remained my primary concern. We knew our chances were slim, so I instructed my brothers to fall back and take Raven with them.
I’d anticipated an ambush. We weren’t walking into a trap—we were walking into a counterstrike.
That’s why I brought in Blackhawk Security, the extraction team on standby, armed and ready to pull us out if my instincts were right. They were. My brothers managed to slip through our enemy’s fingers too.
My wife and I would have escaped too, but she was hit in the back of her head. I wanted to murder the bastard, but I rushed to catch her right before her head could hit the rough floor, and then I shouted at my brothers to run.
Now we just had to ensure that Raven survived until they all came back and leveled this fucking castle to the ground.
But my wife had taken matters into her own hands, and it was going even better than I hoped.
“I don’t see your men rushing to do what I said,” Raven said, her voice cold. But I knew her well enough by now to detect the tremor beneath her words. “Want another bullet, Duncan?”
“Untie that bastard,” he rushed to say.
The moment my hands were unbound, I reached for my wife’s gun and aimed it at the three guards, shooting them dead on the spot.
Then I turned to Duncan and drawled, smiling coldly, “You fucked up, Duncan. You had a chance to be an ally, but you had to go and be a lunatic and hurt my mother-in-law.”
“Now, you’ll die,” Raven added.
“My men will never let you get away with this,” he gritted. “You’ll die right along with me.”
“If you’re dead and gone, my death will be worth it,” I said darkly, but my heart clenched hearing Raven’s whimper.
Panic flared in Duncan’s face and he scrambled for the door like the coward he was. Shooting erupted and smoke engulfed one side of the room. Ignoring the commotion, I threw myself onto Raven and we tumbled to the ground.
“Stay down,” I whispered in her ear, hovering over her. “I got you.”
Bullets whizzed through the air and chaos closed in around us. I kept my hands on her head, my mouth next to hers, doing my best to reassure her.
“You’re good,” I murmured. “You’re safe.”
More gunshots followed, and she shook with a sob. “I’m scared.”
“I got you, mo cuishle.” I scooped her into my arms and crawled us a few feet over, tucking her under the bed, desperate to keep her somewhat sheltered and ignoring my instinct to fight. My brothers, River, Astor, and Darius would handle it.
“I don’t want our baby to die.” Her voice shook and she gripped my shirt, her eyes darting around. “I don’t want to die here.”
“We are getting out of this place. Alive,” I vowed, pressing my lips on hers. “All of us, including your mom.”
River collided with one of Duncan’s men, a whirlwind of rage and motion, the fight raw and primal. My brothers were less visceral in their methods, choosing bullets while dispatching the enemy with the cold efficiency of experience.
In the distance, the rhythmic bursts of gunfire told me Darius and Astor were holding their ground, keeping the tide from turning.
And amid it all, Duncan cowered in the safety of shadows, watching his men die for his pride, his cowardice, and his mess. He had built this storm, and now he couldn’t even stand in the rain.
I itched to join the fight, to kill all the bastards who even contemplated hurting my wife, but her safety took priority.
“Aiden.” Her voice was drowned out by the gunfight.
“Yes, my love?”
“If we don’t make it,” she muttered. She pressed herself tighter against me. “I want you to know… Leaving you five years ago was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, and I never forgot you. I loved you then, and I love you now. I never want to leave you again.”
The bullets stopped and the dust cleared. But still my ears buzzed from her words. I lifted off her slightly, searching her face.
“I promise you, Aiden—”
I smashed my mouth against hers while my heart soared to new heights. She loved me! Fuck, despite the blackmail and the fact that she deserved better than my old ass… she loved me.
Then I heard Tyran’s voice. “There you are, lovebirds.”
“Not a good time for hanky panky,” Kyran drawled.
I pressed another kiss to her lips and then helped her to her feet. Her eyes darted around the room and she bolted to her mom who was in the fetal position, unmoving amid the chaos.
Raven fell to her knees in front of her chair, the expression on her face gut-wrenching as she hugged her mom.
“We’re safe now,” she cried softly. “You’ll never have to hurt again. I promise.”
But her mom didn’t even flinch, the blank look in her eyes haunting.
Raven cradled her, rocking her back and forth and murmuring softly. “I’m sorry it took me so long. I didn’t know, but I’m here now, and I’ll take care of you.”
Her grief hit me right in my chest and I wished there was something I could do. Even if it just meant shaking her mother from her horrified state, making it clear that we’d get her to a doctor as soon as possible.
“Raven, love.” I went to her and lowered so we were at eye level. “Let’s get her out of here.”
Her tearstained face turned to me, then she looked behind me at my brothers and the three Blackhawk Security men. River’s hand was wrapped around Duncan’s throat as he dangled in the air, above the bodies of his dead men.
And then there were two of Raven’s family members that she’d never met: Duncan’s sister—Raven’s aunt—and her husband.
Raven’s brow furrowed. “Who’s that?”
The middle-aged woman flashed Raven a soft smile. “I’m your aunt, dear. Your father’s sister. But don’t hold that against me. He sure is a bastard.” Her gaze shifted to her brother, distaste clear in her expression. “It’s time you paid for your sins, Duncan. And the pain you caused your family.”
Raven followed her eyes to the man River had by the throat.
“You!” Her voice was rough, her eyes full of fury. “You monster!”
Despite his predicament, Duncan showed no fear. “She should have never kept my daughter from me,” he sneered.
“I’m not your daughter!” she screamed hysterically. “You are a monster.”
“Then so are you,” he taunted. “We all know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Her eyes lowered, locking on the gun I still held and then reaching for it. But I refused to let it go.
“No,” I said firmly.
She wasn’t a hardened criminal, and yes, she and her friends had hacked at Angelo Leone like he was on a butcher block, but they’d done it with tears in their eyes.
I cupped her face and forced her to look at me. Anguish, hatred, and pain reflected in those beautiful eyes that usually glimmered with defiance or lust.
“When we met,” I murmured, pressing my forehead to hers, “I promised to be the one to deliver your karma. Today will be one of those days.” She didn’t move, her sorrow-filled eyes locked on mine.
Fuck, I didn’t want her to do something she might regret.
Something that would eat at her for the rest of her life.
“Let me be your weapon. I don’t want this staining your soul. ”
She swallowed, her eyes darting to her mom, then nodded slowly.
“Consider yourself lucky,” she told Duncan. Hope flared in his eyes, but he didn’t know his daughter or her allegiances. “Your existence tortured my mom for over two decades. You deserve to die a long and painful death, but instead, you’ll get a quick one. Rot in hell.”
She stepped away from me and turned to her mom, shielding her from what was about to happen. I aimed my gun at his skull and pulled the trigger.