Page 41 of Twisted Hearts

23Megan

“Megan!”Aaron called me from his living room. He sounded impatient as though he’d called for me several times before, but my mind had latched onto what I was doing.

“Yes? I’m coming,” I called back to him as I reluctantly stepped away from his laptop that he rarely used. Since he’d snatched me from my condo without my laptop or iPad, I used his when my brain became oversaturated with random ideas that I needed to dispel through writing.

We were heading to the store to pick up a few supplies after I’d let Aaron talk me into staying with him throughout the weekend. I’d lied to him. I didn’t want to lie, but I’d told him that I would come back to him willingly if he let me go long enough to relocate and settle into my new place. When he’d tracked me to my condo a few weeks ago, I’d been a few days from moving.

This move was going to be the most drastic I’d undertaken. I’d finally decided to leave the country altogether. I’d made plans to move to the Dominican Republic since hopping my way across the United States didn’t feel as safe as it once had.

If I left Aaron this time, I had to ensure he never found me again. I couldn’t return to him no matter how badly every cell in my body ached for him. I couldn’t let my past catch up with me and get Aaron caught in a firestorm that was meant for me.

If I didn’t leave Florida and soon, it would be too late to protect Aaron from some shit that I had stirred. He lived a dangerous life, but I embraced danger too. Although I was only twenty-four, I’d flirted with and lived with danger for more than a decade.

Aaron wasn’t stupid. He knew something was off with me. He’d always known it. He knew that I hadn’t told him everything, so he continued to subtly ask me questions, trying to figure out what else I was hiding from him.

“You’re quieter than usual. You okay?” he asked, as I sat slumped across from him with my head leaning against the headrest. The vibration of the speeding truck along the smooth path of the road relaxed me.

“I’m okay. Just thinking,” I answered absently.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked. His tone was filled with patience and calm that didn’t match his personality. The tolerance and care he’d taken with me during my breakdown had been a blessing. He’d proven that he truly cared for me. He’d cast aside his anger, his ego, and irritation to take care of me. His actions made me love him even more than I already did.

I couldn’t tell him that I was thinking about leaving him and never returning. For some crazy-ass reason I had yet to figure out how I seemed to make the man happy. I failed to understand how two people who outwardly appeared to be polar opposites, could be so compatible and so much alike. He understood me, and if I were willing to let him, he’d likely enter the gates of hell with me because hell was where I was destined to go. A storm was coming for me. I could sense it like old folks sensed rain, and I wanted to be as far away from Aaron as I could get when it hit.

When I took too long to answer, he asked, “My MC wasn’t the only group you’ve infiltrated, was it?”

I shook my head and swallowed hard, not wanting to go where his question might lead.

“How many others have there been? How many other groups have you manipulated?”

“Four.” My hoarse tone barely carried over the hum of the truck. I was ashamed for being this way, but I didn’t know any other way.

“Fuck, Megan! Are you trying to get yourself killed? You have to stop this shit. It’s only a matter of time before you get yourself into a situation you can’t get out of.”

I was already in a situation I couldn’t get out of and I didn’t want him to be dragged into it. He shook his head as his fists tightened around the stirring wheel.

“Is this the reason you’re anxious to move away from Florida? Because four dangerous groups of people may be after you at any given moment?”

“Well, I faked my death a couple of times, so only two groups of dangerous people may be after me.”

I could tell that my lack of emotion about what I’d done bothered Aaron. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He seemed to not know what to say to me after my comment.

The facts that I’d participated in violence with his MC and that Aaron seemed to have a weakness for me were likely the only reasons I remained breathing. That being said, I couldn’t let anything happen to Aaron because of me. I’d finally accepted the cold hard truth—I loved him.

* * *

It had taken no morethan thirty minutes to shop for the groceries and personal items we needed. Aaron loaded the bags into the bed of his truck and shut the metal bed cover over the items. As soon as I climbed into his truck and shut the passenger’s door, Aaron’s frantic shout pierced my ears.

“Megan, get down!”

Aaron’s booming voice scared the piss out of me. I craned my neck, twisting it from left to right with sharp jerks as I sought to figure out what the hell was going on. My fingers dug into the headrest as I peeked around it, but nothing behind the truck that justified Aaron’s shouts came into view.

All I heard next was a quick angry burst of Bam! Bam! Bam! Pop! Pop! Pop!

The passenger’s side mirror exploded into pieces, encouraging me to finally get my ass down like Aaron had ordered me to. My frantic wide eyes saw nothing but the ceiling and leather seat back of the truck interior as my body failed to catch the breaths that tore harshly from my panicked body.

My neck jerked in Aaron’s direction when he snatched the driver’s side door open and hopped in. He jammed the keys in the ignition and threw the truck into reverse after it roared to life.

I didn’t know where he’d gotten a gun from, but one sat wobbling across his lap as he slammed his foot down on the accelerator, sending the truck flying backward.

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