Chapter 15
Mia
“The fuck is going on in here?” His deep voice booms as he extends a hand to help me up. In the glint of the neon lights, I notice scars along the top of his right hand. Many small ones, maybe six or eight, surrounding one longer, clean split. I hadn’t noticed them before amid all the ink.
“She said eight hundred for ten minutes!” the groom slurs as I take Aiden’s hand.
His eyes meet mine for a moment, and I see his jaw tic.
It’s obvious he’s trying not to lose his temper.
His broad, calloused palm swallows mine, the electricity when we connect an undeniable force as he holds me steady so I can stand.
I suck in a breath before quickly pulling my hand away.
He slowly looks from the shattered mirror on the floor, to the guy with his cock still out, and Cara, who’s completely naked.
“You push her down, Ricky?” he asks the guy, hiking his inked thumb at me.
“She attacked me. I just wanted to get the bitch off me.”
Aiden’s jaw tics again as he looks down at the glass, then back up. He’s the picture of calm.
“The party’s over. Let’s get you dressed and get these girls outta here. I’ll walk you out,” he orders to Ricky. “Put your clothes back on,” he adds to Cara. She nods, though she looks absolutely terrified.
My mouth falls slack.
That’s it? I’ll walk you out? I shake my head. What a piece of shit.
I turn to leave the room, tears stinging my eyes, just wanting to get out of here.
“No. You stay.” Aiden grabs my arm, stopping me just as I cross the threshold. I turn to face him. If looks could kill, this motherfucker would be six feet under. I hate everything he represents.
Aiden leans on the wall on the other side of the door and lights a cigarette, waiting for Cara and Ricky to put their clothes back on.
He takes a deep inhale. Just as I suspected, he isn’t angry, or even upset about what he just walked in on.
He’s simply going to sweep that under the rug and walk Ricky out like he’s an honored guest.
“You’ve had an eventful night,” he assesses.
“This place is…a fucking brothel?” I spit out, my blood boiling.
“Why did you stop them?” he asks, like he didn’t even hear my words.
I fold my arms over my chest, the most uncomfortable I have been since I first walked through the door.
“She was yelling out that he was hurting her, but apparently that’s just a fun little game for him.” Fucking pig.
“Hmm” is all he says as he takes another deep inhale of his cancer stick.
“And then he hit you?” He exhales smoke and practically blows it right into my face. His ruinous eyes find mine, and I can’t look away. As angry as I am, my traitorous body almost wants to breathe him in, smoke and all, which tells me I need to get the fuck out of here. I’m losing my goddamn mind.
I look away as I answer. “I jumped him…from behind. He was choking her, so I put him in a choke hold of his own. But then she screamed at me, and it broke my concentration. Yes, he pushed me into the wall,” I say honestly. At this point, what the fuck do I care?
“And you just happen to specialize in self-defense or…?” His words trail off, looking for an answer.
I smile sweetly. “It’s a hobby.” I mean, it’s true.
“You’re hurt.” His voice is low and even as he places his cigarette between his lips.
Without asking, he reaches down and flips my hands over.
Just like the moment his hand touched my thigh, it feels like there’s a direct flow of electricity sparking under my skin.
I fight it with everything in me as his brow knots and he inspects my cut.
I hadn’t even realized I was bleeding. His fingers trace around the slice on my palm, and he makes sure there isn’t any glass left in there.
I have no choice but to let him inspect before he lifts the hem of his shirt and presses it to my hand.
As he does, I get a glimpse of his ridiculously chiseled abs.
I try my best to ignore them, though not before my mouth turns to sand.
I yank my hand away. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
I stare at the floor for a brief moment, deciding, then I look up at him. “I’m quitting after my shift tonight, so you don’t have to fire me.”
“No one’s forcing you to be here,” Aiden says nonchalantly as Cara and Ricky come through the door, the former shooting me the evilest look.
“Follow me,” Aiden commands all of us.
“Wh-where are we going?” Ricky stammers, looking pale and clammy. “My friends…”
“Just gonna have a chat, Rick. I think you’ve had just about enough to drink, brother. We’ll find your friends, but you should head home.” Aiden doesn’t bother to look back as he leads the way down a long hall.
“If I get shitcanned, it’s on you,” Cara whispers beside me as we walk quickly to keep up with Aiden’s long strides.
“You’re the one who decided to fuck the guy,” I whisper. “Besides, I wouldn’t worry about that. He isn’t even angry.” I gesture to Aiden a few feet ahead, who’s chatting easily with Ricky about his wedding.
“That’s exactly why I’m worried.”
I look at her and then back to Aiden. His easy, sure strides give nothing away as the noise of the club disappears behind us.
* * *
At the end of the long, dark hallway, above an unremarkable black door, sits a neon-orange exit sign. Cara looks at me nervously while we walk.
“This way.” Aiden holds the door open, and I look around as I step into the dark and narrow shit-smelling alleyway beside the club.
There’s a dumpster against the building, but the lighting is so dim I can’t make out much else.
A local cab sits idling a few feet away, taking up most of the space between the walls of the club and the building next door.
“My truck is out front,” Ricky murmurs. Aiden wraps an arm around him, squeezing tight. “What kind of a friend would I be if I let you drive home drunk, Ricky?”
Fucking hell. He’s actually going to put this pig in a cab like they’re old friends. Which means he’ll go home, and his poor future wife will be none the wiser that he was just fucking Cara tonight. Disgusting.
“Boss, I’m sorry… I needed the money… I lost that income when Marco—” Cara starts to apologize, but Aiden holds a hand up to her.
“We’ll talk in a minute. Let me get my friend here on the road first.”
“Hey, I paid my eight hundred,” Ricky says to Cara, then he turns to Aiden. “I paid my eight hundred, and I didn’t get my money’s worth.”
Aiden moves to the back of the cab and pops the trunk open wide and then turns, patting Ricky on the shoulder. “My apologies, let’s see what we can do about that, brother.” I audibly scoff. I don’t even give a fuck at this point.
Aiden pats the bottom edge of the trunk calmly.
“I’d like you to put your hands here, Rick.”
I flick my gaze up. My heart jumps into my throat, and Ricky’s mouth falls open, as if he heard Aiden wrong. I wonder the same thing.
“What?” Ricky questions.
In just a fraction of a second, Aiden’s eyes have gone stone cold. Vacant. They’re filled with a sort of ice-cold rage that actually does scare me. He grips Ricky by his polo shirt collar, practically lifting him off the ground, as if the action takes absolutely no effort.
A rush of adrenaline courses through me at the power and command he exudes. It’s not something that can be learned. It’s raw, masculine, fierce, and protective. Watching him like this has me tingling with anticipation and warmth all over.
“I said,” Aiden growls, “put your filthy. Fucking. Hands. Here.” His eyes are a murderous storm, and he pounds the frame of the trunk so hard with his free hand that I flinch. So does Cara.
Aiden’s bicep flexes as he lets go of Ricky, and he pats the trunk once more, his eyes laser focused. The eyes of a dark god about to unleash fury, and just that look alone further ignites the spark I felt the first time I saw him.
“Come on, man, oh fuck. I’m gonna fucking throw up.
” Ricky backs up a few feet, looking to the road at the other end of the alley, probably assessing his chances of escaping, but Aiden isn’t having it.
He almost looks bored. “If you try to run, my men will cut you off at the street, and then I’ll have to shoot you.
” He shrugs. “Probably right in the fucking dick for cheating on Michelle, because she’s Roz’s niece, and you know what?
She’s a good fucking girl who deserves better.
” I watch as he lights a smoke and takes a long inhale.
“So, the way I see it, you have two options. Either put your fucking hands where I tell you. Or…” He pulls his cut back, revealing a thick sheathed knife at his hip.
“I start taking body parts. And I won’t be nice about it, because I don’t like having my fucking time wasted, Ricky. My time is valuable, understand?”
Fire blooms beneath my skin, watching Aiden punish this filthy little rodent. There’s no line between the hatred I should feel for him and the lust I do feel. Guilt and pure desire coil like a hurricane through my body. Because I know I’m going to enjoy this creep meeting his fate.
Aiden takes another long, deep inhale and then drops the butt to the damp ground below, slowly closing the distance between him and Ricky. Cara is hyperventilating beside me, but I’m oddly calm and fixated, watching Aiden.
Heat slinks up my spine, over my hips, and between my thighs. A deep need stirs in the very marrow of my bones. It’s wrong, but it’s unstoppable, because watching Aiden Foxx wield his power is fucking electrifying.