Brooke glared at him.
“That means no contact, doesn’t it?”Lizzie asked.
Aiden hadn’t realized her mother had walked into the room, his father’s arm around her shoulders.
“Yes,” Aiden said.There was no use lying or hedging the question.“But Remy promised to move heaven and earth to get this situation resolved quickly.”
She turned to the oldest Sterling sibling.“How long will that take?”Her words sounded more like a demand.
Remy rubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw.“It’s hard to say.I think it’s clear that these are some powerful people we’re dealing with.Taking them down could take weeks… months…”
“Years?”she asked in a hollow voice.
“Maybe,” Remy admitted.
“No.Absolutely not,” Brooke said.
If he hadn’t convinced her by now, he never would.“I have to do this, so there’s no point in further discussion.”
Shooting an apologetic glance at everyone, he walked out of the room, leaving his heart behind him.It killed him to think about leaving them, especially Brooke, but keeping them safe was his priority.
He stormed up the stairs to his bedroom and started to pack.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brooke paced theliving room in an attempt to calm down.Again.She’d convinced her mother and Alex to give her space to think, and Remy went to find Raven, who had gone to the den to wait.
Alone, she understood Aiden needed to protect the people he loved, but he was forgetting one very important thing, and she had every intention of sharing it with him.
Brooke stormed to his bedroom, a woman on a mission.She was so done with Aiden’s lone wolf crap and she wouldn’t let him have his way again.
Fueled by her anger, she shoved his door open and didn’t care when it banged into the wall.
Aiden spun around from where he stood by the bed, folding clothes into a large suitcase.“Brooke?”
She slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against the white wood.“Let me make something clear to you, Aiden.You took charge of my life once and I am not letting you do it again.”
His jaw clenched before he let himself speak.“I’ve made up my mind.”
“Oh, I’m aware.So you’re packing already?”she asked.
“Yes.I’m leaving in the morning.”He picked up another shirt and folded it, placing the garment in the suitcase.
“I see.”
He faced her, narrowing his gaze, his wrinkled brow showing his confusion.She knew he expected a shouting match, but that wasn’t what she planned to give him.
Strolling over to where he stood, she folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side.“Okay, where are we going?”
He was in the process of tucking a pair of well-worn jeans into the suitcase when her question obviously registered.Pausing with the jeans in his hands, he looked at her with his eyebrows drawn together, creating a crease in his forehead.
He was clearly still a confused man.“Did you just saywe?”he asked.
Brooke treated him to a patronizing smile.“I certainly did.”
Aiden groaned, running his hand through his hair.“Brooke, I can’t take you with me.”
She realized he looked bone-deep tired.Not just sleep-deprived like her, but emotionally depleted, and she understood the feeling.
