Why hadn’t the alarm system been set off? It was configured to recognize only him and to alert him if anyone else entered his apartment. He’d also checked that it was on out of habit before getting completely smashed, yet it had failed to alert him. When itshouldn’thave, not unless whoever was here had been added to the device’s authorization list…
A shiver ran down Aiden’s spine, but not because of the cool wind grazing his adrenaline-pumped body.
The misplaced supplements and pills from yesterday.
Movement at the door snatched his attention, but it was hard to make out anything in the pitch black there. His bedroom, on the other hand, wasn’t as dark, the light streaming in through the gaps in the curtains giving furniture and walls a sickly orange glow. It was sufficient so that the trespasser couldn’t have missed Aiden’s braced form.
Realizing that sneaking up on the intruder wasn’t an option anymore, Aiden aimed the gun at the door. “Show yourself.”
When no reply came—and no movement—he took a step forward and let some of the adrenaline show in his voice. “Show yourself!”
Shit. How many were there?He was mostly in shape because of his semi-regular gym visits before starting the warden job at Horizons, so he could handle one or two men. Even if they were armed. More than that would prove difficult. It had been too long since he’d been in actual combat.
Long moments of nothing but Aiden’s labored breathing passed. Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, too jumpy because of stress, exhaustion, and intoxication. Just when he was about to lower the gun and head out to the corridor to find out if he’d gone crazy or not, a shadowy form darted in front of the door, disappearing before he could really see it.
There really was someone in his apartment, and it wasn’t just his mind playing tricks on him.
Fear bolted through Aiden, making his lungs work overtime. He squeezed the gun and lifted it up again. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the door, slowly placing one foot in front of the other in a measured advance toward the middle of the room. From there, he would have a better view of the corridor and, hopefully, the intruder.
Halfway there though, his toes bumped into something solid lying on the fluffy carpet. He squinted at the grenade-like object, realizing it smelled like lavender and was making a hissing noise. It sounded like one of those ancient gas hobs or—
Aiden’s legs went numb before he’d managed to kick the object away. He collapsed to the floor with a grunt and then didn’t really get to do anything else as the paralysis spread through the rest of his body, bringing with it a lavender-flavored blackness he couldn’t stave off.
Chapter 30
Aiden woke up disorientedand with the most evil headache he’d ever had.Had he really gotten that drunk last night?
Groggy, he sat up in bed, tasting lavender in his mouth.Had whatever he’d drunk been flavored?He couldn’t remember. Half of his evening was a blank and yet, somehow, he’d made it to his bed and even taken off his suit pants and vest sometime in the middle of the night.
Grunting, he massaged his cramping right shoulder and dragged himself to the lounge, not bothering to dress up. The answer to exactly how much he’d drunk greeted him from the coffee table, where an empty bottle of whiskey lay on its side.
He’d downed an entire bottle then. At least he’d done so at home rather than some place where waking up with a headache and a stiff shoulder would’ve been the least of his problems. The clock above the TV unit displayed 6:38 a.m., which partially explained why he was feelingso shit. But he didn’t really have time to lament about his impulsive behavior last night if he wanted to drop by PI Deverson’s office on the way to Horizons. He’d intended to do so after work, but the chat with Darren in the yard had been too much.
Cradling his face in his palms, Aiden rubbed his throbbing forehead, then ran his fingers through the longer portion of his hair. He moved onto the spot of tension just behind his ears and then worked on his nape before focusing on the space just below his right shoulder blade. He had little success with that and worse still, his whole body was sore and in need of a massage.
Fuck. He really regretted drinking so much when he knew alcohol and meds didn’t mesh well, but he’d also needed to just mute all of this pain inside him. To blank out. The whiskey had been there and so he’d drunk it, not caring about the consequences of his impulsive decision.
Swinging by the bathroom, Aiden took a cold shower and a few painkillers. He dressed and scooped up his bag from the middle of the kitchen floor, finding all his stuff still inside from yesterday. Minus his phone, which was atop the drying rack by the sink. While scrolling through the various notifications, he dispensed himself a strong coffee in his thermos and headed to the PI’s office. They had a lot of stuff to go through, especially after Marcus’ visit, and Aiden was sure that whatever PI Deverson had discovered most likely had something to do with the head of the DuLaurent Corporation.
The first sign that something was wrong were the lights in the PI’s office. They were off, when Aiden knew for a fact that the man rarely slept in past six. It did happen, but he’d sent a text yesterday, so PI Deverson oversleeping just seemedoff.
Or maybe he was out following up on some new clue?
Aiden truly hoped so as he took the elevator up, his guts twisting when anxiety threatened to flood him.This was a coincidence. It had to be because the alternative was not something he wanted to entertain.
As soon as he entered the PI’s office and saw Kim talking to two uniformed men with a grim expression on her face, he knew his hunch hadn’t been wrong. He waited for them to finish, growing frantic by the minute as he counted the storage boxes lining the wall near the water dispenser.
“Kim, is everything okay?” he asked when she waved him inside PI Deverson’s glassed-off office once the two men left.
She sniffled and her blue eyes went glassy for a moment. “Mr. Kesley, I… don’t know how to tell you this exactly, but Mr. Deverson was in an accident last night. A hit and run.”
Last night? A bolt of fear zapped Aiden, coiling around his heart. He squeezed his elbow and tried to keep the alarm out of his voice. “Is he okay? Which hospital took him?”
Kim hugged herself, training her gaze on the PI’s desk. “St. Michal’s. The doctors put him into an artificially induced coma, but they weren’t sure it would help. I got the call that he passed away thirty minutes ago.”
Aiden didn’t hear the rest of what Kim said. His ears pounded with his pulse and his body sucked the air out of him. He felt sick. Kyle Deverson was dead, only a few days after he’d warned Aiden that they both needed to be careful. An accident... A hit and run on the same day Marcus had visited Aiden in Horizons. Aiden heaved, trying to keepthe panic at bay, but it persisted, rising up to the surface as his ribcage tried to squish his lungs.
This was Marcus’ doing. Aiden knew it deep in his gut in that same way he’d known there was something wrong with Claudia’s death.
