Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
ELLA
I’m finally free .
I kept repeating the words in my head, relieved to sit beside Sonny. He looked like he wanted hate-fuck and then kill me, but I was just happy to be on U.S. soil again. Happy to be on solid ground.
“How did you get into the container?” Sonny asked, tapping his fingers on the shifter when we stopped at a red light.
I held his gaze momentarily and said, “I walked into it.”
It was the truth.
Sonny snickered. “Sure thing, babe. You expect me to believe you intentionally locked yourself in a shipping container for the past two weeks?”
I shifted in the leather seat and stared out the window, thrilled to see sunshine after my time in a dark, creepy space. “Why should I bother telling you anything? You won’t believe me, anyway.”
His cell phone rang through the speakers, and Marcello’s name appeared on the dashboard. He snapped his head to me and held his index finger over his lips. I nodded, and then he answered the call.
On our way to the safe house, Sonny and Marcello talked about Drake Battle getting kidnapped. I didn’t know Drake well, but I knew of him. Lately, he’d been the talk of news outlets. Even in Dublin, I’d heard about Drake’s mind-blowing tech that governments were fighting over. One article called him a genius. Another called him a madman who needed to be stopped.
After a twenty-minute drive, we arrived at the safe house. I was expecting an actual house, not a dark apartment building.
Sonny ended the call with Marcello and looked at me. “Let’s go. Aiden is waiting for you.”
“Aiden?” I couldn’t contain my smile. “He’s here?”
He leaned over the center console and gripped my chin, those piercing blue eyes peering into mine. “If you hurt him again, I will kill you and ship your corpse back to Ireland.”
I didn’t hurt Aiden. If anyone did, it was Sonny. Before my father sent me away, Sonny walked away from us. He tossed us out like trash. All he cared about was money and status.
Sonny got out of the car and slammed the door. I took that as my cue to follow him into the building. We walked past a front desk that had long since been abandoned. The building was once upscale and probably had a doorman, the kind of place people wanted to live once upon a time. Now, it smelled of mildew and bleach, the two scents burning my nostrils.
“Can you turn on a light?” I bumped into the wall, still disoriented from being locked in the container. “I can’t see.”
With a groan, Sonny gripped my bicep and guided me up a flight of stairs. “You were always a pain in my ass. Why would now be any different?”
I laughed at his ridiculous accusation. “How was I a pain in your ass? I was never anything but nice to you.”
“You fucked him up,” he shot back. “Aiden hasn’t been the same since you left.”
“Really?” I croaked.
He ignored me and ascended the stairs. My legs trembled as we moved up each step, silence clinging to the air like smoke.
“Does he hate me?” I asked once my feet landed on the third floor.
Sonny stopped, considered my question, and shook his head. That was all he gave me before yanking me down the hallway. The second to last door on the right swung open. My heart thudded when Aiden stepped into the hallway, dressed in ripped jeans and a black graphic T-shirt. As if no time had passed, he looked the same as in high school, only older and with more muscle… and tattoos.
Aiden scrubbed a hand across his jaw, studying my bruised and dirty body. “Hey, Cinders.”
I inched toward him, tears streaming down my cheeks, thankful the long journey was worth it. “Aiden.”
Biting my lip, I looked up at him. Sonny moved behind me, caging me between two sexy ass billionaires. Aiden was a few inches taller than Sonny, the two towering over me, making me feel so small and fragile.
“I came back for you.” I reached for his hand, and he slipped his fingers between mine. “I need your help.”
“Of course you do,” Sonny hissed in my ear. “What did I tell you, El? Whatever shit you got yourself involved with has nothing to do with Aiden.”
“Shut up, Pretty Boy.”
Aiden hooked his strong arms around me and lifted my feet off the floor. I wrapped my legs around his back, my chest pressed to his, our lips almost touching.
“I missed you, baby.” Aiden brushed the hair away from my face and smiled. “You have no idea how much I fucking missed you.”
“Sonny told me,” I whispered, feeling bad for leaving him behind.
Not getting the chance to say goodbye to Aiden was my biggest regret. I thought about him every day for eight years. Some days, my thoughts of him were the only thing keeping me going.
“How did you get here?” Aiden walked us backward into the apartment, his hands cupping my ass like he was afraid to let go. “Why are you here?”
“I overheard Jimmy Walsh talking to his men about ambushing the container for Declan O’Shea.”
“Wait, what?” Sonny stood beside me, teeth gritted. “You were in on this?”
“No,” I fired back, annoyed by the accusation. “I don’t know anything about the guns. I was in the container for about twelve hours before you opened it.”
Sonny glared at me. “Bullshit. Tell me who put you up to this.”
“No one,” I shouted, spit flying out of my mouth. “If you’d be quiet and give me two minutes to explain, I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Aiden tightened his grip around me as Sonny breathed mint on my lips. He sniffed my hair, which must have smelled like rotten ass, but he seemed content to hold me. At least the long trip from Ireland to the States was worth it. There were moments I wondered if I would die on that boat.
But I was here.
With them.
“Why were you with Jimmy Walsh?” Sonny asked, a hint of anger dripping from his tone.
“I haven't eaten in days.” My stomach rumbled for the hundredth time since I woke up this morning. “Feed me first, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Aiden stroked his fingers through my knotty hair and studied my face. I could only imagine how horrible it looked. Not exactly the reunion I was expecting when I snuck onto the boat in hopes of a new life.
Aiden lowered me onto the couch and sat beside me with his hand on my knee. “Do you still like pepperoni and sausage pizza?”
I nodded, my stomach rumbling at the thought. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’d eat anything right about now.”
“Nope, not yet. Not until she tells me one thing.” Sonny stood before the coffee table, arms folded over his chest. “Why were you with Jimmy Walsh?”
I stared at my feet, unable to look at either of them when I said, “Because he’s my fiancé.”