Page 11 of A Tortured Temptress
"Stop looking at me like that mo chroi," Shane says as we turn onto the road leading through the exclusive neighborhood to the back where Aidan owns several houses behind a security fence and guards. Aidan chuckles from the backseat and I turn back to look at him. He just smirks and keeps working on his phone.
"Are you sure Fiona won't mind me staying with you for the night?" I ask again. I tried to get Shane to take me back to the flat, but I know the further we get from Belfast the calmer I become.
I'm worried that Britain is already here. That he has found me and will finally kill me. But I'm more worried about Britain coming after Shane and my friends. Part of me wants to warn him and the other part wants me to run. I turn to look out the window when Aidan continues to work on his phone.
"Fiona is excited to see you. She said she's making your favorite, madeleines," Aidan's deep voice breaks through my turmoil. "I'd also like to discuss some things with you before you settle down for the night."
"Boss?" Shane's voice is gruff and tight sounding. I turn to look at him and he's watching Aidan in the rearview mirror.
"We will discuss it when we get to the compound."
When I was kidnapped by Patrick, another man that has a vendetta toward the Knights of Purgatory, attacked and blew up Aidan's office. I know that he's set up an area at their home, but he does most of his business at another location.
As soon as the car pulls up to the covered entry a couple of guards open the door for Aidan and then mine. I get out and turn back to look at Shane.
"I'll be in shortly go spend time with Fiona." I know he has to park the car, but I don't know what else he has to do so I just nod and turn back to the entry. Aidan is standing there with Fiona in his arms but as soon as I step closer, she is pulling me into her arms.
"I've missed you so much." She smells like baked goods, suddenly I'm not feeling her arms around me. The memory of my mom baking cookies hits me and feel my throat tighten. Fiona pulls back as if she senses that my mood changed. "Oh, come on." She takes my hand and pulls me into the house. She doesn't let me go until I'm seated on a stool at her counter in the kitchen. "I'll make tea and we can talk."
She moves through the kitchen, and I don't say anything. I can't. The pain is just as raw as the day I woke up and found out they were dead. My chest aches and I can't stop my fist from rubbing the scar. My vision blurs for a moment from the tears that hang there before they fall onto my lashes.
I haven't cried for them in years. I drop my head my hair that I took down earlier falls around me, hiding me from the world around me until I hear the tell-tale sound of the coffee mug sliding across the marble countertop.
"Giselle?" Fiona's voice is soft and comes from next to me.
I sniffle and close my eyes to get the tears to stop. It's been years but I can't stop the loss. The pain. Most days I've learned to push it down but in this moment with her and the smell of madelines it's too much.
"I can't do this." I push away from the counter and start to move away still not looking at her. My body collides with another, and I know who it is without looking.
"What can't you do?"
"I can't put more people in danger. You need to let me go because he will kill all of you," the words come out in a rush. My heart pounding as my throat clogs up. Britain will kill them.
I can't survive losing Shane.
I twist in his arms and look up at him. When I look into the bright blue eyes that cause my heart to beat faster, I realize what I did. What I allowed to happen.
I let Shane in.
"You have to let me go." The words come out choked and garbled up.
"I'm never letting you go." His hands bury into my hair at the sides of my head, holding me staring at him.
"You must." I close my eyes to hide the feelings he'll see. "It's too late for me, but not you."
"Open your eyes, mo chroi."
I shake my head.
"Why?"
I pull my bottom lip through my teeth. "I didn't mean for them to die," I confess to him my greatest pain. "I shouldn't have gone back to them. I should've run. Two towns over wasn’t far enough and now he's found out I'm here." I open my eyes and give him what he wants. I show him the pain.
"Feck," he spits out the word before I'm lifted into his arms. I rest my head on his warm chest and close my eyes again. I don't want to like it, but I do. I love it. I love that he's always there for me, but I can't.
I don't pay attention to where he takes me until he lays me on a bed, and I look around recognizing the room he brought me to the last time I was here. The room I ran from.
"I wanted to take this slow. To give you a chance to tell me what's going on, but I can't do that if you're in danger," he says as he lays on top of me. His big body blankets mine, making me feel calm. For the first time in a very long time, I feel safe.
