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I lift her head from my chest. “Okay… so maybe we should sit and talk.” I laugh out loud when she looks up, still blushing.
“Seriously. What were we thinking?” She’s shaking her head.
“Well… I know what I was thinking,” I say with a suggestive tone, waggling my eyebrows.
“Stop that!” She’s trying to sound serious as she sits on the blanket but the sparkle in those beautiful blue eyes tells me she’s not. I can tell exactly what she’s thinking and her thoughts are probably right on par with mine.
I sit down next to her and grab her hand, lacing our fingers together. I can’t be next to her without touching her. When the fuck did that happen? We talk for a couple hours. About her growing up in Texas, her aunt and best friend, Sydney, who is coming to town this week. Our conversation flows easy. It’s perfect. She’s perfect. I’ve never wanted to share my life with a woman before. My work has always been my priority in life. Addison is different though. My thoughts aren’t immediately about how we’re going to fuck tonight; I really want to get to know her. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve already had a taste of Addison and it’s addicting, so of course I’ve thought of all the ways I want her again.
I really need to ask her how she ended up at Travis’s house last summer. I’m not sure if this is the right time, but I don’t know if there will ever be a right time.
“How about you tell me how you ended up at Travis’s?”
“Talk about a mood killer,” quips Addison.
“It’s something we need to talk about.” I shrug. “Especially the part where you shot me.” I wink.
“Ugh. Can we forget about that part? I had no idea you were FBI. And come to think of it, what the hell! You’re FBI! I was being held against my will and you didn’t seem to be doing anything to change that.” She rolls to her side and playfully hits me.
I grab her fist and bring it to my mouth, kissing it softly. “Whoa. I made sure you were safe. I couldn’t blow my cover, but when Travis told me that you were staying indefinitely, I did do something about it.”
“Really? Did I miss something? I don’t recall you helping me escape. I wouldn’t have had to shoot you if you did!” She sits up and throws her hands up.
I laugh and shake my head, remembering the whole morning. “So the morning that you shot me and escaped, I actually had a plan in place for that night. A couple of FBI agents were going to come and help you escape. If you would have been a little patient…”
“What!” Her eyebrows furrow in frustration. “I needed to get out of there. How in the hell was I supposed to know that you were going to be my hero and get me out? You were one of the reasons I had to leave when I did.” She looks down.
I understand that and couldn’t have agreed more. Even if it stung like hell that she left, she didn’t belong there. I lift up her chin so she’s looking directly at me. “I get that, I do. I didn’t want you to leave, but there was no way you were staying.” I lean over and place a soft kiss on her lips. I have to force myself to back away or we’re going to end up in the same predicament we were in a couple hours ago.
“I still have no idea why you were there in the first place though. Travis was very secretive about the whole thing. And when you left, he was furious. He had me search for every Emily in Texas. Although, I was almost positive your name wasn’t Emily, so I knew it was a lost cause.” I raise an eyebrow, hoping she’ll explain.
“Aiden…” she pauses and starts to say something but stops again, sighing. Whatever she needs to say, it doesn’t sound good. “I wish I could tell you, I do.” She looks right at me. “But I can’t. Some things are better left alone.”
“Are you in trouble?” I’m worried about how this sounds. I would never let anything or anyone hurt Addison. Especially Travis. I wonder if she knows that he was extradited here. Or why? She’s never asked me but if she’s in danger, she might need to know. I just don’t know if I can tell her that she’s the reason Travis made a mistake. A mistake that allowed me to finally pin something on him. If Joe hadn’t tried to attack Addison, then Travis would have never ordered a hit on Joe. I still can’t believe on a drunken night that Bill sang like a canary, leading me straight to the body at the bottom of the Hudson. Fuck, if she doesn’t ask, I’m not telling her.
“No. Nothing like that. It’s hard to explain, but please don’t push this. I know why you were there and it has nothing to do with your case,” she explains as her eyes plead with me to stop.
“Addison, you know I’m FBI. It’s hard for me to not question things. You of all people should get that. But I’ll let it go.” For now. “So why don’t I tell you why I was there. You might think you know, but you really have no idea.” She tilts her head but remains quiet waiting for me to continue.
“You know I’m from North Carolina. Well, my dad used to work out of town a lot. He was never home and when I was younger I really had no idea what he did. I didn’t care. He was an asshole when he was in town. Drunk and always yelling. My mom was always there for Katie and me. Best. Mom. Ever. So involved with everything that it made it easier with my dad always gone. He wasn’t a good man, at least the man who I knew. Life was easier, calmer when he was out of town. My mom would tell me how they met and fell in love and when she talked about him, it definitely wasn’t the man I knew. Anyway, when I was fifteen my mom and dad were killed in a car accident.” I hear Addison suck in a breath.
“I’m so sorry, Aiden.” Her hand is on mine, and she rubs her thumb lightly across mine.
“The brakes had been cut and they went down a ravine and hit a tree. Died on impact. I guess I’m thankful that Katie wasn’t in the car with them.” I pause and see the compassion in Addison’s eyes. “They never figured out who cut the brakes so it went unsolved. We stayed in our house. My grandparents from my mom’s side came and lived with us. When I graduated high school they decided to move back to Florida where they had been living before the accident. Katie moved in with them. I got stuck with the job of packing up the house and selling it. While packing up the house, I found a journal of my dad’s hidden in the bottom of a drawer. Looking through it, I found out my dad was embezzling money from his employer. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was surprised because we definitely didn’t live like we had money—I’d actually say lower-middle class income. The dumbass actually had dates and amounts in the journal that he stole.” I laugh, thinking when I found it I couldn’t believe it. I shake my head and continue. “I did some digging around and found out that my dad was working for Travis Stein. I never found evidence that says he did it, but I’m pretty sure of it.” Addison’s whole body stiffens up, a look of fear flashes in her eyes. She recovers quickly, but I see it.
Chapter Thirty-five
THIS CAN’T BE happening.
I don’t know why I thought maybe, just maybe, Aiden and I could work. That he wouldn’t care that Travis was my father. Fate hates me. There is no way that bitch could let me be happy just once. Just one fucking time!
“One time what? Addison, are you okay?” Aiden looks at me concerned.
Shit! I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“S-sorry,” I stutter. “I was thinking how fate took both our moms away from us too soon and I was yelling at her. She seems to hate me. I think I wronged the universe in my previous life.” I look down at the blanket where our hands are intertwined, hoping my outburst is easily explained. It’s hard to look into his eyes knowing what he just told me.
He pulls me into an embrace, holding me like our lives depend on it. He continues telling me that he went to school and then the academy for the exact same reasons I did: revenge. Our paths mirror each other’s, leading us to the same person. Although, the end of our stories are so very different. He found his parents murderer and I found my father.
