Page 15 of Infinite
She and that baby are why I’m working as hard as I am to get through to him. I’m going to use his family as a common ground, maybe if he can see that I’m going to be a father too, he’ll snap out of whatever this shit is.
“Aarabelle loves him more.”
“That’s not true, Aaron. You’re her father. She loves you.”
He scoffs. “She’s why I’m gone! I can’t be this monster in front of her! I can’t let her see how fucking broken and damaged I am. Don’t you see, Quinn, we’re the same. We were injured, beaten down, and then we thought we could come back and it would be like it was. It’s never the same!”
If he didn’t have me ripped from my life, I would feel bad for him. He’s clearly fucked in the head from all that happened. This isn’t a man trying to go out for vengeance, he’s just lost.
“So, you’re protecting her from you?”
“Someone has to.”
The shame and devastation in his voice staggers me. Then I think about the conversations I had with Mark about his location. They seemed to believe he was fine. He’s clearly not.
“Aaron, where does everyone think you are?”
He jerks his head to the door, and I listen for whatever noise caught his attention. I pray to God that whoever showed up is on my side and not his. I know I never would’ve guessed this shit, but...maybe.
I wrestle to my feet as quietly as I can, ready to help in any way if it means I can get the fuck out of here.
Aaron turns, and his face is contrite as he punches me in the stomach and slips the bag over my head a second before the dark isn’t from the lack of light.
Fuck. I’ve been drugged again.
* * *
I have to get out of here.
The only thing preventing it is the fact that he keeps fucking drugging me. It’s hard to plan an escape when you’re passed out.
So, I’m lying here in this dirty room that I’ve been in for God knows how long, doing everything in my power to be completely motionless.
I know I’m in a warehouse. I’m fairly certain I’m in the New York area. There are sounds and smells that I’ve grown accustomed to since being here with Ashton.
Ashton.
No—stop it. I can’t let myself go down that road. It will only make me desperate, and impatience isn’t something I can afford.
I have to keep my head on straight, which means not thinking about her even though she’s the reason Iamgoing to get the hell out of here.
“What are you planning to do with him?”
Aaron’s voice is distant but clear. “I’m going to talk some sense into him. If I can make him see what a mistake he’s making, then I’ll have saved one from their clutches.”
“And if he doesn’t cooperate?”
“He will,” Aaron says.
I’m still completely baffled that it’s him behind this. He was one of Jackson’s best friends. I know he’s been through hell, but this is a whole new level of betrayal. Then I wonder what exactly Mark and Jackson think Aaron is doing. And what about Natalie and Liam? Neither of them has said a goddamn word about him.
It is as if he was there and then gone.
“I still think this is a stupid plan,” the guy says.
“You were in the same war as I was. You saw the same shit. You know what it all means! I can’t . . . let this happen again.”
They move around, and I hear a chair scrape. “If anyone finds out it’s us . . .”
