22. Aiden
Chapter twenty-two
Aiden
The last member of my team finishes his piece in time to round out the hour mark of our meeting. It’s my policy that every meeting must be done within an hour to not waste anyone’s time. Mine, in particular.
While I rebuilt this organization after taking it over and am its biggest supporter, it doesn’t mean I actually enjoy doing the business and politics side of things.
I’ll make the decisions and fund what is needed. Otherwise, I’ve hired a team to run the rest of it for me.
I might have tried to do more if my brothers would have gotten more involved. But each one of them made it clear they had no interest in running a business or the Guild with me.
“If I may,” Parker, one of the team members voted in to help me run the Guild, cuts in as the others are preparing to leave.
“What is it?”
“A few of our newest members have been offered work and a place to stay at the Hype nightclub, owned by Elias Thorton.” My eye twitches at the implication that I didn’t know who owned that nightclub.
“Your point, Parker?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure if I should be talking them into staying with us. They’d be greater assets here—”
“Let them do what they want,” I cut in before he can finish and piss me off. “The Guild isn’t here to collect and use people like us. Our primary goal is their protection. Providing them with work options is next so they have a purpose and means for living if they choose it .”
Elias’s nightclub was here before the Guild was a speck in my mind. But it’s not sustainable for the growing number of gifted people flocking to this city. There are only so many jobs to do in one little nightclub. How does Elias plan to help the others who come once he has no work for them? The Guild was created with growth and scalability in mind. It will last far longer than Hype.
Parker nods and murmurs an apology. The rest are shuffling about, speaking among themselves.
I stand and button my jacket, then pass the others by to leave the room first.
My walk to the elevators takes me through the great hall, where ten-seater tables are lined up one after another with room for up to five hundred people.
The Guild membership is sitting around a hundred and fifty since its rebirth two years ago. Two years since Jack came to me and the others and asked for help taking down his mentor, who had been using gifted people to spread his influence and power. He was a mini version of GE all on his own, and once Jackson learned what he was doing, we were forced to kill him.
It left us with hundreds of gifted people and the Tower to look after, and so we repurposed it into what it was originally promised to be, using the resources left behind.
After we escaped the island, I always planned on finding a way to fight back. It’s our responsibility as ones who have survived them to do so. It took more convincing of the others, but after we found out Dane was being hunted and that they’d never stop coming for us, it left us with no choice anyway. They’ll never let us, or any other gifted person, live unless they are under their control.
We’ve been able to stay off their radar by running the business side as a temp agency and keeping the use of gifts hidden during the jobs, but there’s always the risk that something will slip.
A few members wave or smile at me, to which I offer polite nods in return. I catch Cassandra breaking off mid-conversation once she spots me and then hurrying my way.
I pick up my pace.
The elevator door opens, and I jab my finger for the Loft. She’s running now with her hand up, like she thinks I’ll actually stop the elevator for her even after I’ve repeatedly told her that I’m not interested.
My hand presses against the cold steel of the elevator, and I use my metal manipulation gift to shut the doors faster than normal. I keep them shut even after she tries ringing the elevator again, and then exhale when I’m finally lifted away from that floor.
I’m more irritable today than usual .
No, that’s not entirely accurate. I’ve been in a bad mood since Raegan suddenly appeared in our city out of the blue.
That was no coincidence either. I’d bet my Aston Martin on it that Jackson finally found and led her here. And then gave her a reason to stick around.
My hand rubs subconsciously across the front of my jacket over the inner pocket where I keep the picture of her hidden. I showed the others her birth certificate, but this? I’ve kept it to myself and on my person almost every day since I found it on the island.
The lights in the library flicker in warning that it’s time to pack up and return to our rooms. The sound of books slamming shut, wooden chairs moving, and chatter among the students who’d been studying in here peaks as they start to leave.
I wait patiently in an aisle of dusty old books no one has bothered to look at or read in years. The room goes dark within minutes, and then the hazy glow of the automatic lights embedded on the ends of the aisles adds an eerie light and darker shadows.
There’s a light giggle that I instantly recognize and confirms my suspicions.
Raegan, Kellan, and Dane were whispering with one another over something. Since Raegan is the smallest and quietest of the three, she would be the most likely one they’d choose to do whatever task or prank they’d thought up.
I should be annoyed with them for risking themselves like this. For risking her , most of all.
But my heart is racing in anticipation of catching her like this. It’s become a sort of game between the two of us. I give her rules and boundaries to follow. She pushes them. I get her alone to scold her.
I try to tell myself it’s silly and I should stop this. But every time I confront her, it feels like I’m getting that much closer to something that I want. Something I need . I need to feel that way again. To keep going with this game to see where it leads. Because maybe at the end, I’ll find myself and what I feel like I’ve been searching for.
I listen carefully to Raegan’s movements, following a few aisles behind so she doesn’t notice me, and wait until she arrives at her destination.
Adult movies.
There are only so many books and movies that GE has approved for us to watch and stock on the island. But there are also some that the staff have brought in with them to share, just for them.
Movies aren’t my thing. I prefer to get lost in a book that teaches me things. Business things. Learning about numbers, strategy, people…that’s all information I plan to use one day.
It doesn’t mean I won’t watch some scenes here or there, though, when the movie is on in the room.
I step up behind her. I’m not trying to be overly quiet now so I don’t startle her, but she’s so engrossed in her search that she doesn’t notice me anyway.
I clear my throat.
Raegan jumps and spins around, crashing back into the shelves hard enough that a few loose movies tumble and crash to the floor. She opens her mouth, and I quickly slap my hand across it.
Her blue eyes widen in surprise. I wait a little bit longer and then drop my hand.
“Aiden,” she murmurs breathlessly, and the sound of my name on her lips goes straight to my dick.
I know the way she feels about me. And the way I feel about her.
But I also know she has feelings for the others too.
Any of us giving in to those feelings means certain downfall of our little group. It’s best to keep it all at bay until I can figure out how this entanglement we’ve gotten ourselves in won’t be the end of us.
Logic tells me that’s the best course of action.
But it feels weak when she looks at me like this. When her striking, big blue eyes are looking up at me like I will punish her with more than words, and rather than looking scared by that idea, she looks curious. Maybe even excited.
I’ve never touched her before like that, but I can’t deny that the temptation hasn’t been there each time. And somehow, she can sense it. Like we’re both waiting for me to make up my mind and act on it, but she’ll push me into it if she has to.
I almost reach out to touch her, but I shift at the last second to grip the shelf by her shoulder instead. “Do I want to know what you’re up to this time?” I ask softly.
She swallows. The motion travels down her exposed throat, down to where her hands are clasped together at her chest.
“I’m looking for a dirty movie,” she confesses. “Kell and Dane want to watch one, and I told them I’d watch it with them.”
My grip on the shelf tightens. Absolutely not.
Are they both making their move? Am I too late?
This isn’t a race .
But if it was, if the others aren’t going to wait anymore, where do I stack up?
I lean closer. Even in the dim glow of the aisle lights, I can see the flush of heat beneath her cheeks. She reacts so easily to me. It’s intoxicating.
“I told you not to do things without letting me know first. So I can make sure none of you end up caught or in trouble,” I remind her on a soft chastisement.
Her lips curl into a smile and she strokes her hands down my shirt. Even though they stop at a safe distance, I can almost imagine the feel of her touch continuing downward until I’m hard as a rock in my shorts. “I know,” she starts in a soft teasing voice. “It was just a simple movie, Aiden. I didn’t want to bother you with it.”
The spark of wildness in her eyes tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing.
I grab her wrists in one hand to keep her from touching me again. “Did I say not to bother me if it was trivial?”
She licks her lips and then breathes out, “No.”
I nod. “Good.”
“So, can I get the movie now?”
“No.”
Raegan’s face flickers to surprise and then her nose scrunches in annoyance. “Wait, why not? You’re here with me now to watch my back.”
I push her back into the shelves, bringing a squeak from her lips, and I realize I’m still gripping her wrists. But I don’t let go.
I have her trapped against the shelves so she has nowhere to go, and no hands to stop me, though I know she wouldn’t. That’s not the point.
“Why?” she asks again softly when I still haven’t answered her. She’s pushing me again. Making me act or do things I’d normally hold myself back on.
So, I answer her.
My lips crash into hers, feeding this building need inside that I’ve been denying for so long. I’ve been holding myself back out of fear for what it would do within the group. Of what it would do to her to have to choose one of us.
But I can’t let her watch that movie with the others. I can’t take that risk of losing her to them either.
I slide my tongue along the part of her lips, and she opens them without hesitation. I cup her face and bring us closer together. Her hands grab desperately at my shirt and a moan pulls from her chest through our kiss.
I’m just as desperate to feel her. Every stroke of tongue, every press of our lips, even our hands grabbing and pulling at each other is never enough.
She feels better than anything I could have ever imagined. She tastes sweet and tart at once, and the rushing need to claim her in every way burns through my veins.
More movies fall from the shelves in our avarice.
It reminds me to slow down. To draw this out so it imprints on my memory if this doesn’t work out. If she doesn’t choose me.
When I finally draw back, I pull away enough to put some air between us. My hands at some point moved to either side of her face, and I bring them back as well while we both pant to catch our breaths .
Raegan touches her lips, which are swollen and perfect from our kiss, and then she looks at me. “That was…I mean, you…wow.”
Her reaction brings a smile to my lips, even as the reality of what I’ve done begins to sink in. It’s too late to take it back now, though.
I want to do it again. And again. And I don’t want to stop.
I step back from her before I give in.
“Aiden?”
“We shouldn’t do this here. Get back to the room and tell the others a teacher stayed behind and you weren’t able to get the movie.”
She chews on her lip. “What about you? Aren’t you coming back with me?”
“Jack’s meeting me here in an hour anyway so we can go through the records room again. It’s safer for me to hang out here until he shows up than to go through the hallways more than necessary. I’ll clean this up while I wait.” I point out the mess around us.
Raegan nods. “I could stay and help you?”
I turn and settle my palm across her lower back and start walking her back to the door. “We won’t be long. Jack just stands guard to watch my back and I want to look through the files myself. If you and the other two watch a movie, we’ll be back before it’s over.”
She stops at the door to smile at me. “Okay. I’ll see you in a bit, then.”
“In a bit,” I confirm, then close the door behind her.
The elevator dings when it finally reaches the top, and I drop my hand. I found her birth certificate in the records room that night. And rather than telling the others what I found, I hid it from them so I could look into it more on my own first. I didn’t want to worry them. I chose my feelings for Raegan over my brothers. What if I’d told them and we’d been more careful around her? We could have warned Vera to not be alone with her. But I didn’t. And I have to live with that guilt.
I take another few calming breaths and then flash my tattoo at the scanner to open the doors. Then the face scanner to get into the Loft.
Kellan’s sprawled on the couch to my left, one arm and one leg hooked over the back of it and his other arm dangling off the side with an empty bottle in hand. His feet and chest are bare, with only black sweatpants covering his lower half. His hair is shorter, cut shoulder-length.
His trimmed facial hair is what ticks me off.
I’ve tried getting him to clean up for years .
Years .
Raegan is back for a few weeks and he does it without complaint. I don’t know if it was by her request or he suddenly felt self-conscious, but there you have it.
Prick.
Kellan’s sudden change is proof of why she needs to stay away from him. I can’t trust she isn’t here to hurt one of us again until I find out more. Until I have my answers, I can’t trust her to get close again to the others. I already failed us when Vera was killed.
I failed Dane.
Last time, I let my feelings for her cloud my judgment.
I refuse to allow something like that to happen again to any of us. She’s far more dangerous to us than anyone at GE .
Even knowing she could wind up as the enemy, I still crave every glare, every sharp-tongued jab, anything she’ll give me. Love, hate, anything so long as it’s just for me.
I’ve avoided her as much as possible while she’s been here. Tried to scare her away. Threatened her with her secret. Anything to make her leave before I can’t control myself anymore.
I’d hoped to get answers when I confronted her, and instead, I only got more questions. What is she hiding? More than what happened with Vera, there’s something else she’s not saying. She’s a complex puzzle, but I need more time and information to solve it.
Then I witness Kellan and Jackson coming home with genuine smiles and peaceful expressions I haven’t seen them wear in years, and jealousy burns through my veins like lava. Here I am, trying to get to the truth for everyone’s safety, and they’re hopping right back into old habits and feelings without a second thought.
“Got a problem with Kellan?”
Dane’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I’m standing over the couch glaring down at Kellan, which is probably what prompted the question.
I pull my gaze away from him to seek out Dane, who’s sitting at his desk surrounded by monitors like a bird in his nest. “He stole my Aston Martin last night for a joy ride,” I tell him instead. I know it was him because he messed up all of my settings. And I fell into my seat because it was so far back, it was almost in the back seat.
“Could’ve been Jackson,” he adds, though he’s only aiming accusations his way since Jack has made it clear he’s on Raegan’s side.
“Where is he?” I glance around the room and the sliding doors to the balcony, but there’s no sign of him.
Dane grunts. “Said he could smell a storm on the wind and that he was going to seek it out.”
I look out the windows at the bright, blue sky with hardly a cloud in it.
“A literal storm or GE?”
“Mm, yes. He tells me everything,” is his sarcastic but distracted reply.
I stalk over to his nest and scan the monitors to see what he’s working on. “No luck on the island?” I guess based on the satellite maps of oceans all over the world.
Once the congressman informed us in our interrogation session that there are new islands being used like the one we’d been on, it’s been our sole focus on finding them. Those should lead us to more information on who and where the board of directors are, and most importantly, there will be a lot of gifted people to rescue.
If it’s not too late for them.
“Jesus fucking fuck!” Dane shouts and slams his fingers down on the keyboard.
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Since he’s been isolated in the Loft, he’d taken on a crazy number of online classes, some legitimate and some offered through the dark web, to master hacking. It was his way of helping us since he couldn’t physically leave, and so far, it’s been beyond useful. I’d also thought he had mastered it, because there was almost nowhere he couldn’t go.
“Something wrong?”
“Someone’s fucking with me. I’m trying to hack into the satellite images over the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico areas, but every time I think I’m in, I get kicked back out.”
“Are you sure you were actually in?”
Dane spins around in his chair and scowls at me. “Of course, I was. Someone is deliberately letting me spend hours getting in and then changing it the second I get through, so I have to start all over again.”
Hm. “Sounds like you’re on to something in that area. Do any of the regular online maps show what’s there?”
“They don’t show anything out of the ordinary, though the images aren’t clear enough to even see what’s on the islands they do show.”
“You think there are more islands?”
He shrugs. “It’s just a hunch.”
I rub my hand over my mouth. The time it would take to fly or boat around and island hop until we found the right ones would be too long and would alert GE.
“Just keep trying and let me know what you come up with. If not, we may have to find another way—”
The lights cut out, covering us in darkness.