Page 92 of Veiled

“Then you can help her bury my body. I won’t even put up a fight.”

That earns a faint smile from Matt. “I have no idea how she can even start to forgive you after the shit you and your friends have put her through, and that’s ok, it’s not my place to understand. But do you really think you’re good enough for her?”

“Not even a little bit. But I’m trying to be.”

For a minute, we stand here in silence. Then Matt gives a single nod.

“Don’t screw it up.”

Definitely still not my biggest fan, but at least he’s willing to try being open-minded for her.

Chapter thirty-four

Annalise

“Congratulations on completing your mission,” Captain Lin says at the end of our debrief.

“Yes, you made a very convincing couple and truly played to each other's strengths,” Major Halden adds. “We would like to put you back together in these roles for a future mission, if you both feel like you can continue to be a successful team?”

“Yes, Sir,” we answer in unison.

“Good. Congratulations, again. You were under a lot of pressure with that fire alarm, but you made it work like pros.”

“Thank you,” I say, shaking his hand before leaving the clearing.

As soon as Aiden and I are on our own, I grab his arm, bouncing up and down. “Ace, we did it! High marks all around and only a few critiques!”

“Of course we did, you were amazing.”

“WE were amazing! Ahh! I can’t wait to hear how Sasha’s and Matt’s debriefings go. I’m going to send them a quick text, and then we can head back to the room to talk. Is that ok?”

“Ana, relax. First, you don’t need to ask me about texting your friends. We can wait here for them if that’s what you really want. My only plan tonight is to be with you.” He gives me a gentle kiss. “And second, I don’t want you to feel pressured about this talk. We both have our own pasts. If you don’t feel comfortable telling me everything yet, then just tell me what you can.”

Maybe it’s that he is willing to give me the time, but I find myself wanting to put it all out there. If he’s going to really be with me, I don’t want him to question why I flinch when men move too fast towards me, or for Sasha or Matt to make a comment and make him feel like an outsider.

“They can fill us in over breakfast; I’d really like to tell you tonight.”

He smiles as he puts me down. “Okay, Honey. We’ll talk tonight, but we need to stop by the dining hall to grab food to go. We haven’t eaten anything since the ice cream.”

I take a slow breath. The words feel like getting paper cuts repeatedly, on purpose, as they come out. “My dad isn’t a good man. He drinks a lot and likes to hurt people. Well, not people, me really. He’s actually the Sheriff back home.” I want to stop there, but I told him I’d give him the full truth. “One night he came after me when I had just gotten home from work. He had already been drinking his whiskey for a while, and when he noticed he had finished the bottle off, he accused me of taking it and used his fists to try to get it back.”

Aiden stays quiet, listening as he takes my hand.

“I was in pretty bad shape when Matt showed up. He tried to stop him, but my dad is a tank. He got some really bad hits in on Matt, and it took him a bit to get back up. When my dad came for me again, I accepted that he wasn’t going to stop.”

Aiden’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t look away.

“When I was on the verge of passing out from him strangling me, I reached for the only thing I could, and stopped him first,” I add softly. “He’s practically worshiped back home, so we knew there was no chance of us getting a fair trial if he was dead, so Mattey got me out.

“After a car chase and a brief swim in the river, we were arrested. Found out shortly after that he’d made it through surgery. When it all went to court, he made up a story about catching us stealing and trying to elope. Claimed the injuries I had were from the car accident and that he was the victim.”

I feel like I’m going to throw up as he sits next to me, silently processing.

“Matt. How did he even know to come over?” He asks thoughtfully.

“Honestly, it was just the stars aligning,” I say, remembering Matt’s answer when I’d asked him the same question. “We have a thing where I text him when I’m going to bed every night. It’s a simple ‘home safe’ message, so he knows I don’t need his help bandaging me up or resetting bones, or whatever. He didn’t know I had taken an extra personal training appointment that night, so when he saw the time and should have already gotten a message, his mind went to worst-case scenario, and he walked over. He was about to cut between our houses to come to my bedroom window to check on me when he heard me screaming.

“He shouldn’t even be here, really. He saved me, but he wasn’t the one who attempted murder.”