Page 43 of Foxx
Aiden drains the pasta in the sink, then turns to face me. “Just because I asked you a question doesn’t mean I care. I need to make sure you aren’t doing something that will cause problems forme. You’re living in my home.”
I realize he isn’t going to let up, but it still pisses me off. Apparently, he tells me nothing but expects me to tell him everything.
“Family is there,” I offer.
“What kind of family?”
I fold my arms over my chest as I contemplate. The only way to get him off my back is to give him something plausible.
“Over the last couple years, I’ve had this fear of being attacked.”True.“My father had a friend who teaches self-defense. He’s like family to me. Like an uncle. He’s on Grayson Island.”
“So, he taught you the moves you tried on me the other night?” He doesn’t look up from where he’s mixing pasta with sauce, and his perfectly rugged face shows zero emotion.
“He teaches me self-defense, yes. I work with him a coupletimes a week. I wanted to be able to take care of myself if I needed to.”
Aiden takes me by surprise when the corners of his lips turn up in a smirk as his gaze meets mine.Fuck, he’s infuriatingly beautiful.
“For when you try to choke out your boss, but fail miserably?”
My mouth falls open.Was that a joke?
I watch as he carefully plates our food. It’s tortellini, and I’ll admit it looks incredible.
“I chose not to.” I test the waters further. “It’s obvious there’s a little bit of a sadist in you. Wouldn’t want to, ya know…entice you into tearing me apart.”
His eyes harden as he sets my plate down on the table. Guess the moment is over.
“Entice? Or fucking annoy?” he says, pulling out two forks.
I can see the lie in his eyes. I remember the way he looked at me, gripping his cock before he left my room.
“Eat. And next time you go to Grayson, you tell me. That’s a long drive. Anyone could be following you. It wouldn’t surprise me if they already have.”
“Like Dicky?”
“It wasn’t Dicky I sent. It was Raef.”
I can’t understand why he’d put someone as important as Raef on my tail. Why not a prospect?
He picks up his plate and leaves the kitchen. Off to his dark lair, I assume.
Fucking whiplash.Almost human one moment to solid brick wall the next. He won’t find out much about Briggs even if he looks. Briggs is off the grid, a steel trap, and the property is owned by a numbered corporation.
I take a bite of the pasta, looking out toward the river. A sigh of contentment slips out as I chew.Goddamn, it’s so good.
I shovel more in as I consider my next move. I’ve been here for almost a week, and in his circle for over two, and I’ve gotten no more information, despite living in his house.
Aiden is a closed book. But since I’ve been here, I’ve obeyed all his rules. MaybeIneed to switch things up in order to knock out the first icy block of his carefully built wall. Starting with a nice hot shower and a drink from the bottle of very expensive bourbon sitting on his counter. Tonight, I won’t be staying in my room like a good little prisoner.
Chapter 26
Aiden
I’m so cold standing here. I shiver nonstop as every single member of my dad’s club takes their turn, throwing dirt onto mom’s coffin with a shovel. The rain is starting to turn the dirt to mud, covering the roses lying on top of the coffin. I swallow as tears fill my eyes again. I’ve cried for three days, wishing it could have been someone else, not my mom. I’m graduating elementary school in two weeks, and my mom won’t be there now. She was so excited to see me wear the suit she picked out, saying it would serve me well to get out of my dirty jeans and the same three T-shirts I always wear. Then she mussed up my hair and kissed the top of my head the way she always does. The way she always did.
Fuck this life.
This is all my dad’s fault. His stupid club. Last year, I lost my aunt because the feds bribed her to talk. The first chance the club had, they took her out.
