“I used to work with her,” he explained, trying to keep it vague. “We…she started out as a rookie when I was a cop. I was training her.”
“How long ago?”
“A little over six years now,” Aaron told Lawson, sinking down into one of the seats outside the room. He could hear River talking to Bailey inside, her tone soothing, though he couldn’t make out what she was saying.
Xavier and Lawson exchanged curious looks. “Why would she come and find you after all this time? And what happened between the two of you?” Xavier finally asked.
Aaron stared off into space for a moment as he tried to figure out how best to answer that question. He knew they deserved an answer. They had been kind enough not to press for information about his past when he had first arrived. Told him he could share what he was comfortable with when he was ready. He’d told them a little after a while, but never shared much. Thought it was better all around to just let the past go. He definitely never intended on sharing this part of his past. But with Bailey turning up out of nowhere, looking like she did, he didn’t have much of a choice now.
“I…like I said, we were working together,” he admitted. “She was just getting her start, and I took her under my wing. I was a sergeant in the Kings Mountain Police Department at the time, and I could see something in her, even though we were just working in a small town. The other guys on the force, none ofthem had anything on her. She had good instincts, always knew how to handle herself, even when things got hard. That’s why I…”
He trailed off again. Crap. He didn’t know if it was safe to talk to them about this, even after all this time. He had done such a good job of putting it all behind him, it almost felt wrong to dredge it all up like this. But now that Bailey had appeared in his life again, he needed to find out what was going on with her. He had to get to the bottom of what brought her to Warrior Peak looking for him.
“I thought I knew the guys we were working with,” he explained as best he could. “Usual small-town cop stuff, you know. That was, until I found out there was way more going on in that department than I had realized.”
“Like?” Lawson prompted.
“Like…they were covering stuff up,” he continued. “Hiding things, making sure certain information about certain investigations was lost so they could keep their contacts out of prison…bribery, threats. I had started looking into closed cases, some things that seemed suspicious, coincidences that just didn’t add up. I was getting close, but didn’t have time to get to the bottom of it all before they started to figure out that I was on to them. I guess they had their own suspicions and had someone watching me…and Bailey.”
His gut clenched at the thought. Even now, he could still remember the night when they had confronted him about what he knew. When they had cornered him at his car, he thought they might be fishing for information, maybe toss out a threat, throw a punch or two.
When Ziegler had pinned him against his car and the others closed in, he knew they were out for blood.
They beat the hell out of him. Busted ribs, a concussion, and a slew of cuts and bruises. He could empathize with Bailey’scondition right now. And that alone would have been bad enough to make Aaron rethink what he was doing, just for his own safety. But he would have still stayed if it wasn’t for the threat they made to Bailey.
We could take her out in a second if you don’t get out of town, and pretend none of this ever happened. You understand?
Even the thought of it had been enough to scare him. He hadn’t realized how deeply he cared for her until he was faced with the thought of losing her. He knew he couldn’t let it happen. He cared for her way too deeply, and he needed to know she was safe.
And while she could handle herself, she couldn’t take an attack at the level he had just suffered. She was so vulnerable, and she didn’t even know it. He hadn’t told her a thing about his investigation, not wanting to involve her until he had something solid to go on.
And so, he’d fled town. But first, he had written a scathing report about Bailey and left it on his captain’s desk. Something that he knew would get her sent to another department and stuck behind a desk instead of out in the field and in harm’s way. He’d felt horrible writing those disparaging words about her performance, but at least he knew she’d be safe from the corruption and threats. That mattered more to him than her feelings. He filled Lawson and Xavier in on the story as quickly as he could. When he was done, Lawson let out a long whistle between his teeth.
“No wonder she was chewing you out earlier.” He shook his head. “She thinks you just turned on her out of nowhere. I would be mad, too.”
“Yeah,” Aaron muttered, hoping her anger would fade. Surely, it had to, if she was here to get help, right? He knew she wasn’t safe, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the same guyswho had caused so much chaos in his own life were the ones behind her problems now.
“So what do you think she’s doing here?” Xavier asked, frowning. “Must have been something serious if she was willing to put aside what you did to her to come here.”
“Yeah, it must have been,” Aaron agreed. He could still see in his mind’s eye the way she had looked at him when he had asked her who’d done this to her—the split second of vulnerability, covered up by how much she hated him and what he had done to her. Did she have any idea why? It was all part of the process of protecting her from those men. Without him, she would’ve been easy pickings for them. Either she would have been forced to join their corrupt circle, or they’d have disposed of her in any way they saw fit. Neither option sounded like a good one to Aaron at the time.
“So, from what happened to you, you think the same guys are after her now?” Xavier continued, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know how important it is that we keep this place secure. Especially after what happened when Cade brought River here—”
“I know, I know,” Aaron replied, nodding. It had been a safe space for him when he had needed it most, and he was going to do his best to ensure it stayed that way. He just needed to get Bailey to talk to him, to confirm what he already thought to be true.
He wasn’t the only one either. Aaron knew exactly what Xavier was referring to—when Cade had stopped to help a woman on the side of the road. He’d given her a ride to Warrior Peak and they had ended up falling in love, and then her past had caught up with her. She’d had her own dark stuff to face, but with the help of Cade and the others there at the lodge, she’d done it. Now, River, the woman treating Bailey right now, was an essential part of Warrior Peak Sanctuary.
Aaron hadn’t beenaware of all the details regarding Cade and River because he had kept to himself in the background. He had been busy trying to escape his own past rather than getting involved with others. He would never forgive himself, though, if his presence at the sanctuary compromised the safety of others again.
“So you need to find out who did this to her,” Lawson added, with a scowl. “I don’t care what happened between the two of you in the past. What matters now is the present, and we need to have all the information we can upfront so we know what we might be dealing with.”
“I’ll do my best once she’s patched up,” Aaron promised, hoping they believed him. He had been working here for the better part of six years, and it had earned him a little grace—they hadn’t turned Bailey away when she had come asking for him, after all. But that was only going to last so long. If he couldn’t get some information out of her soon, there was going to be trouble.
“You want a coffee while you wait?” Xavier asked, jerking his head toward the cafeteria.
“No, I’m going to wait here,” he replied.
Xavier paused for a moment, clearly about to add something, but then thought better of it. “Okay, fill us in on what you find out as soon as she’s settled,” he said instead. Then he and Lawson walked away, leaving Aaron alone with his thoughts once more.
