Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
When I finally get home, I go in search of Aurora.
I’ve been gone too fucking long, and I need to see her.
I need to touch her. I know she gets anxious when we’re apart.
That’s why I had Aisling come over, to try to distract her from her own thoughts.
I didn’t expect my cousin to bring Levi with her, but Aurora seemed genuinely happy to see him.
Where the fuck is she?
I’ve walked through most of the first floor and haven’t heard a single thing yet. Just as I’m about to walk up the stairs, Levi and Aisling are coming down it.
“Where is she?” I ask them.
“In your room,” Aisling says. “She’s fine.”
“What the fuck happened to you?” I look to Levi, who is sporting a bruised eye and a split lip.
“Your girlfriend is crazy,” he grunts.
Taking a deep breath, I control my urge to shoot the fucker. “You think she’s crazy? Call her that again and I’ll show you the real definition of crazy.”
I brush past both of them and head straight for my old bedroom. I don’t see her, so I walk into the bathroom. She’s not there either.
Where the fuck is she?
I pull out my phone and call her number. A ringing sound comes from the closet before it’s shut off. Drawing the pistol from behind my back, I walk over and open the closet door to the last thing I ever expected to find.
“Aurora? What happened?” I drop my gun onto the floor and kneel in front of her, ignoring the fact she’s pointing the barrel of that gold gun I bought her at me. I grab the top and lower that too. But I don’t move it out of her hand. “What’s going on, Aurora?”
She’s staring at me, but also not. Her eyes are blank, like she’s stuck somewhere else. My fingers pinch her chin, forcing her head to tilt backwards.
“Aurora, what happened?” I repeat.
“Connor? You were gone,” she says, her voice sad, low, quiet.
“I’m right here.” I sit down in front of her, pick up her free hand, and bring it to my mouth. Kissing the underside of her wrist. “Wanna tell me what happened?”
“I… I might have freaked out a little. I couldn’t breathe,” she says.
“What did you freak out about?”
“You not being here.”
“You should have called me. I would have come home earlier. You know I’ll always be your oxygen,” I remind her.
“Last time I told you I needed oxygen, I kidnapped you.” She casts her eyes to the floor. Eyes that are filled with unshed tears.
This is a sight I hate seeing. It breaks my fucking heart. Aurora is tough, strong, until she isn’t. And when she isn’t… it’s just so fucking wrong. I want to build walls around her. I want to be the bullet-proof vest she wears to protect herself.
“Aurora, listen to me carefully, because this needs to sink in and never be a fucking question in your mind.” I wait until she’s looking at me again.
“I will always be your oxygen when you need it. I will always come for you, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
I will drop anything and everything to come and help you breathe. ”
“I don’t like this, Connor,” Aurora whispers. “I hate it. This isn’t me. I’m not scared of things that go bump in the night. I’m not.” She shakes her head from side to side.
“Babe, we are the things that go bump in the night,” I tell her, my fingers stroking the hair away from her face. “You don’t have anything to fear. Because you and me, we can be scarier than anything else that’s out there. Together. You really think anyone is a match for the two of us?”
Aurora smiles at me. “I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. No one is a match for us,” she agrees and then she’s climbing into my lap. Her legs wrap around my back and her arms around my neck. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”
“Princess, you are not a mess to me. You are perfect.” My lips brush along the side of her temple. “I love you.”
“I love you,” she says.
“You wanna get out of the closet?”
“Not yet. Can we stay here a little longer?” Aurora asks.
“As long as you want,” I tell her.
Patty went out and got pizza for everyone, as well as a few bottles of whiskey.
I haven’t touched a drop, though. Instead, I’m watching everyone else relax, mostly Aurora.
We sat in the closet for about half an hour before she was ready to leave it.
I don’t think she knows how to deal with her fears, especially since she’s lived her whole life without being afraid of anything.
It's not something I can help her with either, other than reassure her that I’ll always be here for her. I can’t get into her head and erase the memories that are haunting her. The memories my own fucking father gave her.
“What the feck? Turn it up.” Aisling points at the television screen.
“A human heart was found hanging from a crucifix in St Patrick’s Cathedral. Authorities are still investigating the incident,” the news reporter says.
Aisling looks right at me. “What the feck, Connor? The church? Really?” She then makes the sign of the cross over her body.
“Not the worst thing I’ve done in a church.” I smirk and wink at Aurora.
“Mate, that is my fucking cousin,” Levi grunts.
“Third cousin. That right there…” I point to Aisling. “First cousin.”
“That’s what you did today?” Aurora asks. “I could have helped, you know.”
“I have no doubt.” I know she’d be down for anything, but cutting the heart out of one of my father’s underlings wasn’t the only thing I did today. I also went in search of the fucking vial the Albanians want. It’s here in this city somewhere and I’m going to find it. Sooner rather than later.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I don’t pull it out. Instead, I lean in, kiss Aurora’s temple, and tell her I’m going to the bathroom before standing and leaving the room.
Then I walk into the office, pull out my phone, and look at the message from one of the soldiers I promoted before I took Aurora to the Maldives.
Finley:
Accounts trace to a lab. Prism. It’s located within the Trinity College campus.
Me:
Thanks. Set it up for tomorrow morning.
I don’t need to tell him what I want set up. He knows. I’m going to go into that fucking lab my father was paying for and I’m not leaving without the vial of whatever fucked-up thing they’ve made to wipe out my wife’s bloodline. And then I need to figure out what the fuck I do from there.
Obviously I’m not selling the shit to the Albanians. I also don’t need them to know I’ve destroyed it either. I want them running scared from New York. And when they get wind of the fact that I know what the virus was developed for, they will.
The other problem I have is the twenty-five million dollar deal my father made with them. That money was being counted on for other investments within the organization.
Could I make it up easily from my own accounts? Sure, but I’m not going to do that. It’d be just as easy to set up a deal with another party for the same amount. I just need to figure out what the fuck I’m selling them first.
The door opens and Aurora walks in. “I thought you were going to the bathroom,” she says.
“I was, then I got a call.” I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my chest.
“From who?”
“Finley, one of the guys I had looking over all the accounts. Nothing important.” It’s not a total lie. I fucking hate not being able to tell her this. “I have something I need you to do for me tomorrow. If you’re up to it.”
“Of course. What is it? And do I get to use my new toy on someone?” She blinks up at me.
“Hopefully not. I need you to look into the leads I have. There are five, and one of them will be him,” I tell her.
“Him?” she repeats.
“I had those documents sent to a PI. They’ve traced the name back to five possible matches,” I explain. “I just want you to look over them, dig up any information from social media that you can, see what kind of person he is.”
“Okay. I can do that.” She nods. “Are you curious if he’s anything like you?”
“No.”
“I would be. If I found out I had a sister or brother in the world, I’d be curious for sure,” she says.
“Your father would never abandon his child, Aurora, so I’m pretty sure that’s not something you’ll ever have to worry about.”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t. But we don’t know the circumstances or reasons why your father hid another kid, Connor. We shouldn’t judge until we know.”
“Are you defending my father?” Now I’m confused as fuck.
“No, I’m just saying it’s not this guy’s fault. Do you think he even knows about his birthright?”
“Doubtful. If anyone knew they had a claim to this empire, you really think they wouldn’t come forward? It’s a lot of fucking money, Aurora.”
I don’t think my wife realizes just how wealthy the organization my father, his father, and his father before him built. With each generation, the trusts get bigger. Anyone would want this. Well, anyone but me. For me, it’s nothing but a death sentence.