Page 9 of Aidan (The Doherty Mafia)
Aidan looked over his shoulder at me while I held my chin up in defiance.
“You have my number. I’m open to meeting and talking again if that’s what you want, but I’m done apologizing to you for the past. We were young and stupid, we made mistakes. I hoped you would be over them by now.” I tried to be firm, even though every inch of my body shuddered.
Aidan’s eyes narrowed at me in surprise. He wasn’t expecting me to retaliate. I didn’t know how I managed that speech. It sucked every ounce of energy from me. I was disgusted with myself for talking this way to him.
He didn’t deserve it.
However, I needed to do something to catch his attention. Make him want to keep seeing me so I could get the information Aldo wanted.
Aidan said nothing as I walked away from him, however, I felt his burning gaze on me. I hoped my plan didn’t backfire. I hoped I hadn’t just made him more mad at me.
I wished I could tell him how much I missed him and that maybe in another life, we could be a real family.
But not in this one.
Five
Aidan
Leah just walked away from me, leaving me standing there by my car, like she just didn’t give a fuck anymore.
I was taken aback because this was not the girl I knew. This was not the girl I had fallen head over heels for five years ago. The Leah I knew was kind and caring. She loved me. Or at least, I thought she did.
Whatever reason she had to leave—must have been a big one, because it seemed like she still wasn’t over it.
It seemed like she didn’t care whether or not we saw each other again.
I watched her walk to the end of the street and I decided to follow her. I needed to find out what was going on with her. Where she was staying. What she was up to.
Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my bones.
Even though she tried to pretend like she didn’t care, and that she didn’t want to revisit the past—I felt there was something on her mind she wasn’t telling me about.
More importantly, she lied to me about her real reason for leaving.
I kept my distance as I walked after her. She looked over her shoulders a couple of times, but we were in a busy neighborhood now and she didn’t see me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
In the past five years, she had become more beautiful. If that was even possible.
Her red hair was shorter now, but still as thick and shiny. She still had the curves that drove me crazy. Her tight jeans sat deliciously low on her hips, making her ass look like a million dollars. And those big green eyes. I was a sucker for the way she looked at me. For the freckles splattered across her nose and cheeks.
Leah Michaels had always been sweet enough to eat, and now, she looked even sweeter.
She was headed in the direction of some serviced apartments, which I clocked were close to the hospital. I figured she wasn’t lying about her mother dying, and a part of me started to soften.
Maybe she was just going through the trauma of being close to losing a parent. Maybe that’s what made her act strange.
She weaved around the cars in the parking lot of the building and I stood back, watching her as she walked towards the steps.
But then a guy got out of a car parked up front, stopping her in her tracks.
I clenched my jaws tightly, pissed off already that this asshole walked up to her like he knew her. I was jealous, even though she probably didn’t care. It had been five years. Maybe she had a whole family now that I didn’t know about.
And then, he looked around to see if anyone was watching them.
I recognized him.
He was one of the Baron guys.
What the fuck was Leah doing talking to a Baron guy?
I waited a few moments, burning up in fury as I watched them talk.
She leaned away from him while he stood close to her. I waited for something to happen—like for her to run away. Scream for help.
Was he threatening her?
Was he a stranger to her?
It didn’t look like it.
They were deep in conversation, while she kept her eyes lowered to the ground.
It didn’t seem like they were in a…relationship.
Leah’s body language appeared defensive. Like she was afraid of him, but not afraid enough to run away. So they knew each other? This wasn’t the first time they met.
My mind was running a mile a minute, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
Was Leah working as a mole for the Barons? Was that why she wanted to talk to me again after all these years? Or was that the reason why she left town in the first place? Had they driven her out?
