Chapter 25
Zachariah
I knew that walking into the life that Avidya had here would be hard. I just hadn’t thought it would be so hard to talk to her. My emotions were everywhere. I wanted to yell, kiss, and spank her all at once. None of which were possible right now.
I was great at putting my foot in my mouth. The words just came out all on their own, and it was too late to take them back.
The screaming baby didn’t help matters. I just wanted to get this over with and start on living again with this girl that held my heart.
I kept my mouth shut as Avidya tended to the baby. I watched how she managed to soothe him with a bottle and diaper change. It seemed so easy to do so, yet I was still left baffled.
How could I not want children when I saw my wife giving loving care to one? She was pro at it. Maybe I shouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that I never wanted a child and given her desire a thought. Maybe I should have let her do what she wanted. Heck, maybe I was at the entire fault here.
Maybes never went anywhere.
So, I sat there and watched. And waited.
From here on out, I had to tread carefully with anything and everything I would do. I had to be mindful of what I would say, knowing it could either make us or break us. I hated the idea that I could lose this—this that was right in front of me—because of my stupid words. Stupid words that were said but not meant.
If only I could move on past this. If only we could both just skip all these and have our happily ever after.
If only life would work that way.
“How old?” I asked towards the baby that was now calmed down.
“Six weeks today,” she answered. “He arrived eight weeks too early, but he’s healthy and alive.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“I assume he wanted out,” she laughed sadly. “It didn’t help matters when I was held at gunpoint and forced to watch my family get shot right in front of me. Right here where I am standing now, actually.”
“Who would do that?” I asked, fear consuming me. My wife had been in danger, and I was nowhere near here to help keep her safe. My heart thumped in my chest, but felt like my entire body was on alert now that I knew what danger Avidya was in.
All this could have been avoided if she’d have stayed.
Looking around the room, I couldn’t tell that someone had been killed inside this house. No wonder why Travis had come here and didn’t tell me right away what was up. I would have taken a jet and been here within minutes if I had known.
“Aaron,” she answered easily. How the fuck could she be so calm about that?
“How did he come here?” I asked, leaning forward.
“I’m assuming he drove,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I didn’t ask.”
Really? Did she have to joke about this?I thought to myself.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said through clenched teeth. I was trying really hard to calm my anger, and she was not helping me at all.
“He came here to get me. He wanted to use me to get money and who knows what else. He was one sick twisted man who needed mental help,” she answered. “I think he was bipolar, or at least something along the lines of that.”
“Where is he now?” I seethed, anger and fear clouding my vision. I wanted to kill that fucker ten times over. I had thought he was still at the rundown, druggy apartment complex he had been keeping to since his reappearance a year or so ago. I thought he was so high on dope, he’d never come looking for Avidya without leaving a blazing trail behind him.
“Wherever the men took him,” she said, looking me dead in the eye. “I was in a bit of shock, so I didn’t really pay attention to what Travis had barked out. And I don’t really want to know. As long as he’s dead and stays that way, who really cares?”
“Did he touch you?” I asked slowly.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “He tied Taylor to a chair after somehow knocking him out, but he never touched me. I called Kent, and he sent men here to take care of him.”
“Good,” I said, my voice hard. “I should have put a bullet in his head years ago.”
