Page 50 of Brutal Truths

When I asked him to kiss me earlier, I wasn’t sure I could go through with it. But I was determined to make sure that motherfucker’s kiss wasn’t my last. I made a choice to be brave and see if Aiden could still make me weak in the knees.

It exceeded my expectations.

Kissing Aiden feels like coming home after a long trip through hell. I nearly forgot where we were, earlier. One more second and I’d have dragged him closer, hoping to convince him to take it even further. Strip us both bare—literally and figuratively—to help me wash all these horrid memories away.

The interruption earlier was a good thing. I’m not ready. Not yet.

Each day, the physical and emotional scars are a little less raw, a little less painful. The edges soften. And when I am ready… I’m climbing this man and begging him to do his worst.

“I’m far from an innocent man, babe.” His voices rough, yet grounding. “I’m more bad than good. Most of us who’ve served are. We just learn how to aim it. Channel it.”

The back of his hand skims down the uninjured side of my face.

“When I get my hands on Rurik, he’ll pay for letting his men do this to you.” His gaze darkens, his voice low. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

His thumb lingers.

“My woman.”

“Yours,” I agree. “And you are mine.”

“For as long as you’ll have me.”

The moment fractures as the shrill, insistent buzz of his phone cuts through the air. Aiden’s expression shifts instantly, irritation flashing as he pulls it from his pocket.

“So,” he mutters, “are you ready to talk, or should I pretend our service is shit out here?”

“Answer it.”

He doesn’t argue. Just answers and then puts it on speaker. “What?”

The voice on the other end is immediate. A sharp, commanding voice repeats. “What? When I call, you answer. Every. Fucking. Time.”

Recognition hits instantly. He’s a tough cookie when he wants to be, but he’s also a huge softie.

“Hello, Darius.”

“I told you,” Ingrid’s soft voice, like a gentle melody, filters through. “But did you listen to me?”

“Now is not the time, love,” Darius’s tone lightens, before he clears his throat. “How are you, Isabel? Is Aiden at least giving you the royal treatment?”

“I’ve been better,” I admit. “He’s great. Very supportive. And if you fire him, I’ll cry. Remember, you hate it when I cry.” I tease, but it’s true. My emotions are so fragile that I’d likely burst into tears.

“That’s not fair.” He laughs, but something about it feels wrong. Forced. “So, he’s told you.”

“He has.” With a nervous bite of my bottom lip, I finally muster the courage to say what needs to be said. “Did you know?”

“Know what?”

I’m so fucking tired of all this runaround, so I don’t hold back. “So, that’s a yes.”

“No, I’m lost.” Darius’s voice steadies. “My job is knowing things that most people never will. Like I knew your grandfather got himself mixed up in some risky business years ago. It nearly got him arrested, but your brother helped him get out of it.”

My stomach drops. That lands harder than I expected.

“He was more careful after that,” Darius continues. “And your grandmother, she and Polina Doyle were close. Until Polina left Trent and moved to France.”

Silence hangs in the air for a moment before he speaks again.