Page 86 of Aiden

I cut him off. “No, no. You’re not about to tell me my Emilia lies. Are you?” He shakes his head and I get in his face. “You have the fucking balls to lie to me? To my face?” My skin is red hot as I bellow.

In one quick movement, my knuckles connect with his jaw with all my power. He falls on the hard flooring and I get on top of him, pummeling him with my fist. I wait for him to fight back as I breath heavily, but he lays there like a bitch.

“You want to try to fuck withmygirl, and yet when you face the consequences, you cower under me?” A deep laugh escapes me.

He shakes his head.

“You hit on my fucking girl. You’re her boss! You sick fuck. Couldn’t you tell she didn’t want you?” I spit.

He shakes his head and says in a weak voice, “She’s lying.”

I laugh at his audacity. Perhaps he has a death wish.

Emma may not have told me the truth but that’s because she didn’t think something like this would ever happen. It never should have. I do the things I do for her own protection. The thought brings fury throughout my core as I pummel my fist to his face until he’s unconscious. The blood splatters onto the white flooring.

This is exactly why I didn’t want Em to follow. She doesn’t need to see this. She still has nightmares from what happened before. Why do these things happen to her? Why can’t I protect her from everything? If only I could place her in a bubble and keep her away from the world.

I should fucking kill him, put a bullet between his eyes. Better yet, snapping his neck with my hands would be a satisfying sound. But Emilia asked me not to kill him.

Fuck. I’ll get Howard to do it.

Em’s eyes widen when she catches sight of my bloody knuckles when I return. I rush to her and scoop her in my arms. I couldn’t think clearly through my rage. But now that the problem is half solved, I can breathe.

How scary that must have been for her.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, baby.” I lift her into my arms and carry her outside.

“Do I need to get the body?” Howard asks.

I shake my head. “He’s alive. You know what to do.”

Emilia whimpers in my arms. “Don’t kill him.”

Why is she protecting him?

“Why the fuck not?” I put her down.

She wipes her eyes with shaking hands, her tone defeated. “No more bodies.”

I sigh before looking back at Howard. “Call Detective Stark and tell him what happened. Maybe Emilia’s not the only girl who’s been harassed by this creep.” I look over at Em and she nods.

I help her into my car, making sure to fasten her seatbelt.

I admire the way the fabric looks against her skin. I like her tied down. Chill, Aiden. She’s upset.

I place a hand on her knee. “Are you okay?”

She looks over at me with a small smile. I’m trying to keep calm. A thin thread holds me back from turning this car around and fucking ending that scumbag.

That thin thread is Emilia’s sad face.

“Yeah, I am. Thank you, Aiden.”

“You hit him in the balls?”

Her smile grows wide, her laughter filling the car. “I did.”

“Good girl. One of these days, I’ll teach you how to fight.” I clutch her hand. “For now, we’re going home.”

---