Page 18 of Aidan (The Doherty Mafia)
“From what I’m hearing, Aldo is asking for meetings with the bosses of other families. He’s trying to rally troops,” Colin added.
Killian shook his head in disgust.
“He was going to trade Reese off to another old pervert for the sake of his business relations. He was going to use her as barter.” He spoke with his teeth clenched, his face turning purple with rage.
“But she’s here now and he’s not going to get to her,” I spoke up.
Killian looked at me. He needed the reminder, and his eyes finally began to soften.
“So we’re willing to withstand hellfire for the sake of this chick?” Nolan asked.
Killian whipped his head around to look at him and I stepped up closer to the table. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to separate these two. We rarely ever fought amongst ourselves, but Killian had made a decision that affected the whole family. So I knew where Nolan was coming from.
At the same time—I hid a secret that would affect the whole family too. Leah may have been working with the Barons, and trying to extract information by getting close to me. I allowed her to get close to me because like an idiot—I couldn’t control myself and wanted to keep seeing her.
I guessed that my brothers wouldn’t take too kindly if they found out about it.
“Yeah, we’ll withstand some hellfire, leave the city burning if we have to, right? We don’t leave a brother behind,” I growled.
Nolan looked up at me, suspicion and frustration marring his face.
“Leave the city burning? For a stupid decision?”
“Reese is his woman. He’s marrying her. She’s going to be a part of our family. A sister to us. Wouldn’t you burn the city down for Isabelle?” I continued.
Nolan gritted his teeth, sitting back in his chair dejectedly. He knew I had a point—as much as he didn’t want to admit it.
Killian watched me closely. Maybe he was even a little bit grateful. I gave him a nod and he nodded back.
“Instead of picking on each other, why don’t we focus on what needs to be done? How do we weaken the Barons and get other families on our side?” I said.
Ten
Leah
I didn’t expect Aidan to just show up at my apartment.
Every time I spent time with him—and even though our dinner together that night went well—I expected it to be our last time together.
It became quite apparent to me now that he struggled with his feelings as much as I did. I was sure he still hadn’t forgiven me for disappearing and not telling him. But at the same time, the more time we spent together—the more it reminded him of how good it used to be between us.
He felt the connection too.
I crossed my arms over my breasts, smiling softly up at him when I found him at my door.
“You’re back,” I remarked.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, glaring at me like it was my fault for dragging him here. He was struggling with what was the right thing to do.
“I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re doing okay. You seemed upset that day at the hospital with your mom. How is she?”
I tried not to stare into his blue eyes because I always found myself drowning in them. My fingertips tingled at the thought of stroking his rough beard. I loved the way it scratched my chin and cheeks when he kissed me.
I gulped and looked down at my feet nervously.
“She’s holding on. They don’t know how much longer she has. It could be a few weeks or a few months. I try to see her as often as I can.”
“So you’ve forgiven her for what she made you do? Force you to leave?” he asked.
“No. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her for that. But I can see she knows she was wrong. She wishes she hadn’t acted that way. I don’t want to abandon her in her last hours.”
Aidan quietly watched me. I didn’t know what was on his mind. Did he think I was just a foolish girl? Trapped in the emotional blackmail bubble my parents held me prisoner in?
Eventually, he let out a deep breath and nodded.
“You’re a strong woman. Even stronger now than when I first knew you.”
I had to fight the tears that threatened to fill my eyes. He had no idea how much all this hurt me. He didn’t know what I was really going through. I wasn’t strong—I was desperate. I was a liar. I betrayed him.
“Anyway, I have to be somewhere else. I just wanted to check on you.”
He stepped away from the door and my heart thudded in my chest. I wished he didn’t leave. I wished he would never leave—but I didn’t have that kind of say in his life. I didn’t belong to him anymore.
