Passing His Guard

“I’m so sorry! Aiden, I didn’t know . . .”

Whether that was true or not, it hardly mattered now. And this wasn’t the place to discuss it. With a death glare shot over his shoulder at his new employer, he ushered Rya

When they reached the door, Vincent’s voice rang out loud and taunting. “And just so you know, your first fight is tomorrow night. If you don’t show for a fight, we will find Rya

CHAPTER

28

Oh, God . . . oh, God . . . oh, God . . . she repeated the panicked plea over and over. Aiden must hate her . . . How could he not? Whether intentionally complicit or not, she’d done that devil’s bidding. It was her fault for bringing Aiden here, her fault he was being forced to fight for Moralli. She knew how bad it looked. There was no way she could ever convince him of her i

Rya

Everything about this man screamed Do Not Touch! Yet all she wanted to do was throw herself in the shelter of his arms as she tried to block out the past eighteen hours.

She’d been so sure she was going to die. If the head injury she’d gotten from the man called Frank didn’t kill her first, surely that massive brute still would have. Rya

Her mind was still reeling. She couldn’t believe it . . . her father had been working for Vincent Moralli. Why? Why would he do something like that?

Of course . . . the gambling debt. And now Moralli was using her father’s debt to manipulate her, too. Oh, my God . . . She realized with horrifying clarity that he never wanted the debt paid! He was just using the deadline as a bargaining chip. It was the only way she would have agreed to take Aiden’s case—and he knew it. Moralli was banking on her ability to convince Aiden to come back with her. Since the two men before her had tried and failed, he’d had to switch tactics.

Oh, Lord, she was going to be sick. A wave of nausea surged up inside her, her stomach clenched, and the bitter sting of bile burned her throat. Moralli was right, she really was nothing but a pawn—a pawn to be used against Aiden.

She wouldn’t blame Aiden if he never wanted to see her again, never wanted to speak to her again. The thought sent a sharp pang of regret piercing her heart, her breath catching in her throat. The sudden hitch of movement didn’t escape Aiden’s notice. His hard amber gaze briefly darted her way before returning to the road. “Are you all right?”

No. No, she was not. Her head was killing her and the knot along her temple was throbbing in time with her heart, which happened to be shattering more and more with each passing minute that Aiden refused to speak to her.

“I’m fine,” she lied, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself. She couldn’t possibly feel more horrible about what happened.

The muscle in Aiden’s jaw ticked. She was coming to realize it was his tell for I’m about to lose my shit. He turned the full strength of that amber stare on her and she never wanted to be a shrinking violet more in her life. It was a good thing they’d hit the highway taking them toward Brooklyn and it was a light traffic day, because that man’s attention was not on the road.

“When are you going to start being honest with me, Rya

She lifted her shaky hand to cover her mouth, holding back the sob that threatened to break free. “I’m sorry . . . You’re right. I’m so sorry, Aiden! I had no idea this was going to happen or I never would have brought you here, I swear. And I know how bad this looks. I wouldn’t believe me either, but I swear to God I didn’t know. I didn’t find out the truth until today!”

“What truth is that? That your debt is unpayable? That your father worked for Moralli? Or that you work for the bastard, too? You’re a smart woman, Rya

He’d never yelled at her before. Of all the things she’d done to him, all the lying, the manipulation, even drugging him, Aiden had never been this angry. “Just answer me this, was it the plan all along to get me to fall in love with you?”

A broken sob escaped her throat at his question. It fractured her on so many levels, all she could do was force air in and out of her lungs. That he could believe she would be capable of such manipulation, such deceit, broke what was left of her heart. Telling her he loved her was a bittersweet confession that rendered her speechless. A small flicker of hope bloomed inside her, flickering like a candle trying to stay lit in the torrential storm of his rage.

But he mistook her shocked silence for guilt and snarled, “You can’t even give me that, can you?”

“No!” she cried. “You don’t understand, there was no plan! I wasn’t trying to manipulate you to love me. I had no idea you even felt that way until two seconds ago! And I don’t expect you to believe me, but I love you, too. I fell in love with you the night you took me out to di

She didn’t realize they were stopped until the cars passing by began rocking the SUV. Aiden’s amber stare was locked on her, his expression giving nothing away as to what was going on in his mind. But she was seconds from losing it. She rushed to say her piece before she dissolved into a sobbing mess. “Your mother hired me to find you and bring you back to New York. I didn’t know Moralli was behind this. I’m sorry . . .” The last part was lost as she finally broke down, mourning for the loss of her father and the illusion of a hero he never was. She resented the mess he left behind, and the helpless situation she was now stuck in with Vincent Moralli. She regretted like hell the mistakes she’d made with Aiden and for ruining what could have been the best thing in her life.