Page 106 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

Chapter Eighteen

Aiden

Avery looked dejected when she walked in the front door. John hadn’t come up with her so I assumed he dropped her off outside the building. I was still feeling a little weird after yesterday when she basically told me she wanted to get married without actually saying it at all. I was in two minds about whether I’d misinterpreted her or not. It didn’t mean I was ready to talk about it. I loved this girl to death, but conversations about our future weren’t easy when we didn’t even know what the future would look like yet. Not when all the shit with her family was still up in the air.

“Long day, princess?”

She looked up at me as I walked over to her. She hung up her coat. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. My inner fucking turmoil which had plagued me since she’d been taken could do one. Right now, my girl needed me.

“Yes.”

“Want to talk about it? I have dinner ready for you.”

“Yes.”

I pulled away slightly so I could look down at her. Her cautious expression concerned me as did her monosyllabic answers.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m tired. Today was really weird. The shit with Frazier and then Ed was asking me about my love life. I don’t know what to think any longer.”

John told me Frazier had turned up. I watched the footage from her office. He really was a fucking thorn in our sides. I realised I had originally wanted Avery to get engaged to Tristan, but that had been one of the most idiotic ideas I’d ever had. Especially given how I felt about her. I couldn’t stomach the thought of that psycho near her again. I’d only just about held back from snapping his neck on Friday.

Nothing about this weekend had done either of us any good. I was still worked up about Rick taking her. It still killed me how helpless I’d felt. How out of control I’d been of the situation. I hated feeling this way. Hated how it brought back memories of a time I’d been so consumed by violent rage because they’d taken my mother’s life. I couldn’t allow myself to fall back into that black hole again. Not when I had to be the man Avery needed me to be.

“Ed asked you about your love life?”

“I denied being involved with anyone, but he was like what about James and after I said no, he thought I had a thing for Dante. Why would I entertain the idea of dating my best friend’s older brother? We practically grew up together. Do I seem like the type of girl who’s spent her whole life with some secret crush? Like what the hell? I don’t even know. I was too embarrassed to tell John about it. And now talking about it to you…”

She buried her face back in my chest, but not before I saw her cheeks going red. I held back a smile. Fuck. Sometimes she was so fucking cute, it killed me. Even though she was talking about other guys, it didn’t matter. I knew she was mine. The shit with James was over. We’d put it behind us.

“No, you don’t seem like that type of girl at all.”

Her cousin asking about who she was with should be an innocuous question. Except when it came to her family, nothing was innocent. There was always a hidden agenda. We just had to work out what Ed’s was.

“I don’t know whether to thank you for saying that or want the ground to swallow me up.”

“Princess…”

“I just had a really weird day, okay? I’m so fucking done.”

I held her, rocking her from side to side until she looked up at me.

“Aiden, we need to do something about Frazier.”

I nodded, pulling away and taking her hand. She slipped her shoes off and we went into the kitchen. I made her sit down at the table whilst I dished up enchiladas. I thought she might want her favourite after dealing with Mr Shaw earlier.

“This smells amazing,” she sighed, digging in.

I smiled. Avery always appreciated the simple pleasures I gave her like a homecooked meal and running her a bath after a long day. A part of me felt guilty for taking the easy way out yesterday. Not that this made up for it. I was just trying to make her happy. She was on the front line dealing with her family and Frazier every day.

“I feel like there’s something I’m missing,” she said after a few minutes. “Something important about why Frazier wants me to marry Tristan. They can’t take the company from me. The paperwork is signed. It’s mine by rights.”

“Maybe it has nothing to do with the company.”

“Then what could it be?”

There were only a few things men like Frazier desired more than anything. Money and power. It was a question of which one he wanted more. Did he think he could use Avery as a puppet or did he want her fortune?

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