“A chapel.”
***
Aiden couldn’t make himself let go of Charlie. He held her the entire car ride to the Russian’s home. He carried her up the stairs to the suite that was apparently theirs for the duration. The bed was luxurious to the point of ridiculousness, but he was more concerned with getting Charlie cleaned up so he could see the damage.
He turned to the man who’d met them when they arrived. “We’ll need medical supplies and something loose and comfortable for her to change into.” The man nodded, and Aiden shut and locked the bathroom door.
Only then did Charlie speak. “I can stand on my own.”
In more ways than one.“I know, bright eyes.” He helped her sit on the counter and carefully took stock. The blood had dried in many places, fusing the clothes to her skin. To get them off, they were going to have to reopen the wounds. “If we get these wet, they’ll be less likely to hurt you when we get them off.”
“And harder to get off.” She gave a halfhearted smirk. “That’s what she said.”
He pulled a knife from his boot and set to work cutting apart her clothes. It would make it easier to pull them away once he got her in the shower. “I’m sorry.”
“For what? Saving my life?” She rested her hands on his shoulders as he worked. Her passiveness and too-wide blue eyes read shock to him. The faster he got her cleaned, patched up, and in warm, dry clothes, the better.
“You wouldn’t have been in that warehouse if it wasn’t for me. I pulled you into this mess.”
“Because I’m John Finch’s daughter.”
He froze. He could lie to her. He could remind her of all the good things they’d shared that had nothing to do with whose children they were. But if he wanted a chance in hell of her staying, he couldn’t dodge this truth. “You’re right. I picked you because of who your father was and the fact you were burned by Romanov.”
She sifted her fingers through his hair. “I know.”
“Charlie, I’m sorry.” He went to his knees in front of her, still holding onto her hips. “I could have found another way, and we both know it. It sounds cliché as fuck, but my motivation changed almost immediately, right around the time we ended up in bed together. I don’t even know how to explain it, but youfit. You see me in a way that no one else does, and you’re never afraid to push back when I’m being a dick.”
“Which is regularly.”
For once, he couldn’t read a single thing on her face. Aiden didn’t know if it was shock or if she had written him off right around the time Mae took her. “If I hadn’t—”
“Aiden, stop. As charming as it is hearing you grovel, the truth is Mae taking me had nothing to do with you.”
He went stock-still. “What are you talking about?”
“That vendetta you have against my father? You’re not the only one. From the sounds of it, he’s managed to piss off every single organized-crime family in a three-hundred-mile radius.” The corners of her lips turned down. “He never told me. I knew his work was important—dangerous, even—but he never bothered to warn me that it might trickle down to me.”
She looked so damn heartbroken that he pushed to his feet and gathered her close. “I know this isn’t something I can make right, but I meant it when I said I was playing for keeps. It’s too fucking soon, but if the last twelve hours have proven anything, it’s that we can’t take a damn thing for granted. I love you, Charlie. I love your strength and your intelligence, and your wicked sense of humor. I love that you’re a survivor and it doesn’t matter how hard the world knocks you down, because you come back swinging.”
“Aiden.” There was a wealth of information in the way she said his name, weary to the core.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, right above one of the cuts. “It’s too soon. You don’t have to answer now. Or tomorrow. Or, hell, next week. You’re safe, bright eyes. I’ll wait as long as you need, and once you make your decision, if you tell me to get lost, I’ll respect that.” He checked to make sure she wouldn’t keel over and then stood up to turn on the shower.
Neither of them spoke as the water heated up. Silencecontinued to reign through the painful process of cleaning Charlie’s wounds and bandaging her up. Aiden found two sets of clothes laid out on the bed and quickly changed into the sweats and T-shirt meant for him. He helped Charlie put on a matching set.
She looked like she’d gone through a war—and she had.
“Where do you want to go?”
“My apartment.” She rattled off an address that he remembered from the file Liam had compiled when they first put the plan into motion.
Aiden nodded. “Let’s go.” The sooner they were out of the Romanov residence, the better. He didn’t think Dmitri would go back on his word after enduring so much shit to keep them alive, but he wasn’t willing to risk Charlie on an assumption.
Forty-five minutes later, Mark dropped them off in front of a run-down building six blocks from the bar Aiden had first found her in. He fought down the instinct demanding that he toss her ass back into the car and drive to a safer neighborhood. Charlie had lived here for two years without incident. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.
That didn’t mean he had to like it.
He hesitated in front of the door. “Will you let me check the place out?”
