“I’d like you to stay the night.” She shook almost imperceptibly. “Just tonight.”
“Anything you need, bright eyes.”
She unlocked the door to her apartment and let them in. It was as run-down as the rest of the place, but Charlie had livened it up with bright throws on the secondhand furniture and equally bright prints on the walls. Her bedroom was more of the same, an orange and white chevron knitted blanket covering the dull gray comforter and makingthe whole place feel more like a home than just a location where someone slept. “I like it.”
“You’re already categorizing the improvements you’d make—if you wouldn’t buy the whole building and condemn it outright.” She carefully pulled the T-shirt off and slid the sweats down her legs. Her body was a patchwork of bruises and cuts, but she hadn’t had any trouble breathing and showed no signs of internal bleeding.
“I should call Doc Jones.”
“I’m fine.” Charlie shook her head and then winced. “Not fine. I’m nowhere near fine. But Mae was careful enough not to do anything that would kill me, and the cuts aren’t deep enough to scar. She wasn’t done playing yet.”
His stomach lodged in his throat. Aiden stripped quickly and pulled down the covers. “Come here.”
She didn’t hesitate. He settled them in her bed, her back against his front, and tucked the blankets up around them. Her little shakes didn’t dissipate for the longest time, but she slowly relaxed, muscle by muscle.
“If you need to talk about it, I’m here.”
“I don’t want to.” She pulled his arms tighter around her. “Not yet.”
“Okay.” There was nothing else to say. Nothing else to do. Aiden had played every card in his deck, and if he kept pushing her when she was still in shock from being tortured, then he was the worst kind of asshole. So he held her and murmured nonsense until her breathing evened out and the last of her tension melted away.
He said he’d give her time, and he would honor that. No matter how much he hated the thought of walking away from her, even for a short time.Hopefully, a short time.
Please, God, don’t let it be forever.
***
Charlie woke slowly. Every part of her body hurt, but her heart most of all. She kept flashing back to the way her dad had just walked past her in pursuit of arresting Mae. To the fear written across Aiden’s face, which hadn’t gone away, even when he was crawling into bed with her.
She reached out, but the other side of the bed was cold. Her hand came in contact with her phone, and she pulled it to her face. Someone must have found it at the warehouse, because she distinctly remembered Mae taking it from her. It was remarkably blood-free and fully charged. She had half a dozen notifications, and she scrolled through them without unlocking her phone.
From Keira:
Where are you? Everyone is freaking out and no one will tell me anything.
Charlie, what the FUCK is going on?
Oh my god, Cillian told me. You had BETTER come home safe, goddamnit.
From Carrigan:
James is less than 30 min behind Aiden. I know you won’t get this until after, but keep fighting, Charlie. They’re coming for you.
The last one was from a number she didn’t recognize.
Liam will live. I know you’ll be happy to hear that. He wants to see you when you get a chance. —Cillian
Charlie’s heart beat too hard. The O’Malleys had closed ranks around her. They might not be physicallyhere, but she felt it all the same.Is this what having a family is like?
She tried very hard not to notice that there were no calls or texts from her father. After nearly thirty years, that shouldn’t hurt. She should be used to it by now. Charlie had always come second to the job. Almost dying wouldn’t be enough for her dad to change.
Would he have come to my funeral if Ihaddied? Or would he have just arranged for me to be cremated, and scattered my ashes when he had a day off?
Feeling sick, she sat up. Her thumb hit the screen and accidentally swiped the wrong direction, bringing up the daily news. Charlie was about to swipe it away, but the headline caught her eye:
DIRTYCOPSARRESTED
She clicked the article. Shock grew with each line she read—with eachnameshe read. Her former partner. The same trio of men who framed her and then beat the shit out of her. Someone had come forward accusing them of taking bribes from local criminals and stealing drugs from the evidence locker. “I…What…How?” She finished the article and sat there for a long moment, just thinking.
