Tending Their SECRET Page 2

  No one’s heard from Aiden, and that scares me. I know Nate and Matt are worried, too, but they don’t say anything to me. Everyone is walking on egg shells. It was three hours before the Calvary came for me, and those were some of the most horrific hours of my life. They could’ve been worse. Much, much, worse. I know that, and I’m thankful that I was rescued before anything more happened to me. I’m messed up, though, and we all know it.

  I need to hear from Aiden. Just a text, email…anything. I got him in trouble with Reina, and I’m pretty sure he never wants to see me again. Nate and my therapist have told me that they don’t think he blames me, that he’s probably dealing with his own guilt for not being there, and very likely, not dealing with it well. He texted the guys that he’s okay, but I got nothing. Which is exactly how I feel when it comes to him, like nothing. My friends want to kill him, but I know there’s got to be more to what happened. I know that even if he didn’t want to be with me anymore, he’d still be there for me. He promised me he would, and he doesn’t take his promises lightly.

  I stop in the hallway outside of Reina’s office, and lean my head against the wall for a moment. I have to clear my head, because she said that the mission I’m being assigned to is really big. I was personally requested, and they’ve waited for me to be off of suspension so that I could take it. She wasn’t going to budge on my suspension for anyone, and apparently they said they’d wait. I’m a little confused by that. If it’s so important, why would they wait? And who knows enough about me to request me? I guess I’ll find out.

  I open the door to see the Vice President of the United States, and his ex-wife sitting in chairs in front of Reina. I’ve met them a couple of times, but I don’t really know them. Matt and Nate are here, too. They all smile at me as I walk in.

  “I’m sorry to keep you all waiting.”

  “It’s no problem, Ellie. It’s nice to finally meet you,” the Vice President tells me. He stands to shake my hand, giving me a genuinely pleased smile.

  “Oh. I’ve met you before. Both of you. It was at a party, so you probably don’t remember.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t. Official parties can be a little overwhelming. I won’t forget you again. I can promise you that.”

  His ex-wife doesn’t rise to greet me, or even look at me, really. I just stand there awkwardly for a moment, until Tim Jones finally speaks up. “Really, Heather?”

  “She hurt my baby.”

  “Your baby is a grown man. And we’re here because of him.”

  “I thought you were here to have Mrs. Jones protected from your protesters,” Reina says, narrowing her eyes slightly.

  “My last name is Ford now, not Jones.”

  I freeze. Reina freezes. Tegan freezes. And Matt curses under his breath. “Fuck.”

  “Ford?” I ask, in a small voice.

  “Yes. Our son is Aiden Ford and you have ruined him.”

  “I have no clue how you kept my secret,” Mr. Jones tells her with a sigh. “I had a plan. Aiden had a plan. You were supposed to let me do the talking.”

  “I couldn’t just sit here, and look at her, knowing she broke my boy.”

  “This is why Aiden didn’t want you to be here today. Do you want to lose your son?”

  “I would never lose Aiden. He loves me.”

  “He loves Ellie more.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “When was the last time he asked either of us for anything?”

  “I-I don’t know. Never?”

  “Exactly. Yet he came to me, and asked me to hire Ellie.”

  It’s Mrs. Jones—or Ford—who sighs now. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I’m sorry, Ellie. I’m very protective of my son, but it seems that he’s even more protective of you. Please accept my apology for being rude. I’m actually happy to meet you. Aiden has never once mentioned any other woman, let alone asked to include one in our world. You’re obviously very special to him.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, ma’am. I accept your apology.”

  “Call me Heather.”

  “Now that all the niceties are done with, I need someone to tell me what the hell is going on. And I want the truth. From all of you,” Reina says, giving Matt a look that would drop most men to their knees.

  “I didn’t know they were coming here,” he says, holding his hands up.

  “But you knew who they were when you walked in. Both of you did,” she says, looking at Nate now.

  “We knew, but we wanted to hear them out,” Nate tells her.

  “And continue covering for Aiden,” Reina says.

  I can feel the tension between her and Matt. I understand that she wants to protect me, and he wants to protect Aiden. At one time, those two things wouldn’t have been mutually exclusive, but now they are. That’s one of the hardest things for me to handle. Matt and Nate are still 1000% behind me, but all of my female friends want to murder Aiden. Even Darcy. I don’t want that—I want him to have support, too. I just don’t know how to convince my friends that I mean it.

  “Please sit down, and we’ll explain everything. Or at least as much as we know,” Mr. Jones says. We all sit. After all, he is the Vice President.

  Chapter 1

  Ellie

  I’m still trying to process everything the Vice President told us—and showed us—as I land in D.C. I know now that there was a good reason Aiden didn’t come and back me up. It’s all like a crazy spy movie. I mean, my friends and I live a pretty crazy life, but what’s going on with Aiden is just…well, it’s hard to believe that it’s real. If I hadn’t seen that video with my own eyes, I would think the whole story was made up. But it’s not, and that’s why I’m not alone on this plane.

  Reina turned pale when she saw that video, and heard the parts of the story that Aiden’s parents had figured out. She’s feeling guilty about cutting him off, but there was no way for her to know. Aiden doesn’t even know what’s going on, and for now, we’re keeping it that way. He knows that someone is trying to frame him for murders around D.C., but he has no idea how bad it really is. I’m going to have to be the one to tell him, but not yet.

  Faith and I are going to play along with his game. Well, at least we’re going to make him think we’re playing along. We’ll pretend to be working at Heather Ford’s bar in order to protect her. We will watch out for her, but we’re really going to be there to stop—and catch—the man who’s after Aiden. Tegan wanted to be here because apparently he told her all about his overwhelming need for justice and killing those who set out to hurt others. After she apologized for not telling me what he told her, I asked that Faith accompany me instead. I’m not upset with Teeg, but Faith is the female version of Aiden. She never went full vigilante, but she very well could’ve if she hadn’t joined us.

  I’m going to be managing the bar while Faith takes over the kitchen. Both jobs are in our wheelhouses—my family is famous for their bars back home, and Faith is world-renowned for her cooking. The bar is already open, but we’re planning to elevate it to the next level. Not just as a cover for our mission, but because it’s for Aiden’s mom. Once she got over her animosity towards me for hurting her “baby,” we had a great talk about the bar, and Aiden. We both love him, and would do anything for him.

  My biggest problem…worry…fear…is what will happen when we see each other. I want to just melt into his arms, but that’s going to be a problem. Both because of what he thinks I feel towards him, and also because that would require me to be touched. I haven’t let anyone other than my doctors touch me since everything went down. I didn’t want them touching me, but I couldn’t get out of it. I do want Aiden to hold me, and touch me, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it.

  I’ve already changed the way I dress and act. I know…I know…that what I wear has no distinction about how I’m looked at or talked about. I was in jeans and a fitted t-shirt when I was captured. But despite what my brain tells me, I can’t bring myself to walk arou
nd in corsets or short skirts anymore. And I can’t be flirty and sassy. I just can’t.

  I’ve moved on to cool retro dresses that make me look like I stepped off the sets of Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Mad Men. It’s what I had planned to wear when I wanted to make Aiden look at me differently, but now it’s for everyone. I want to show that I’m not a victim, but I don’t want to look like the old “Ellie.” I can’t convince myself that what I had to do in order to survive was okay, and no one but my shrink and Nate even know exactly what that was, but I also know I can’t hide forever. I just need to be a different, more respectable looking version of “me” when everyone finds out. It’s wrong, and against things I thought I believed, but when it’s happening to you, what you look like and portray to the world becomes different. I’m different, and not in a good way.

  “You ready for this, El?” Faith asks as our car whisks us off to the Society townhouses here in town, where we’ll be staying next door to each other.

  “No. I want to see him, but I’m not sure how to act.”

  “Just be yourself.”

  “I don’t know who that is anymore,” I say before I can stop myself.

  “A strong, smart, beautiful, courageous, and compassionate woman. That’s who you are. I don’t know all that happened to you, but I know that it doesn’t define you. To me, or anyone else.”

  “Thank you,” I tell her, meaning it. I needed to hear it. I’ve heard it from the doctor, but to hear it from one of the strongest women I know means more. I have the urge to tell her something, so I do. “I-I wasn’t raped. That’s not what happened to me.”

  She reaches over and places her hand over mine. “You don’t need to tell me anything. Just know that if you ever want to, I’m here.”

  “Saying ‘thank you’ again doesn’t seem like nearly enough. To all of you.”

  “We don’t need your thanks. We just want you to be as okay as you can be.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “Aiden will help.”

  “Are you telling me I need a guy to help me?” I ask her with a smirk, lightening the mood.

  “Yes. Being a strong woman doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rely on anyone. It means letting your friends help you when they can, and it also means letting a good man stand next to you, holding you up when you can’t do it yourself.”

  “Aiden’s good.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  We finish the rest of the drive in silence. My townhouse is gorgeous, equipped with every state of the art piece of technology I could need. As well as every type of weapon I could possibly want. I have a feeling that I’ll be using more than one on this mission. I’ll do anything to save Aiden from this bastard who’s targeting him—and made me collateral damage is his campaign of hate. Anything.

  * * *

  Aiden

  I thought I was mentally prepared to see Ellie, but as I walk into Ford’s I realize just how wrong I am. She’s in some red and white patterned dress that ties at the neck and covers her all the way to her knees. It’s not the way I’m used to seeing her, but she still takes my breath away.

  “There he is, The Monk,” says Tieny. She’s a feisty cocktail waitress who doesn’t take shit from anyone. She’s been giving me crap about turning down everyone, including the other waitresses. She’s the only one who hasn’t blatantly hit on me, and for that, I’m grateful. She just messes with me, which I can easily deal with. “It’s a good thing he can throw those liquor bottles like he does, or we’d be losing business with all of the rejections he throws around.”

  “He better throw the bottles well. After all, I taught him everything he knows,” Ellie says with a smile. Her eyes had widened slightly when she saw me, but she’s too much of a professional to let her surprise show.

  “I taught you a few things too, if I remember correctly.”

  Her eyes darken for just a second before her mask falls into place again. It’s enough, though. I know she remembers our private bar sessions in her apartment. The ones where she taught me how to throw and pour like a professional bartender, and I taught her new ways to lick and suck alcohol off a body. Things I thought up on the fly, inspired by my very sexy muse.

  I need to stop thinking about her that way for the moment, though. She doesn’t need a sex-crazed maniac, she needs a caring boyfriend. I don’t have that title yet, and maybe I never will, but I need to show her that I care.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” she tells me.

  “My mom owns this place. I figured I was adequate enough to help her out. I manage the other bartenders and even work my own shifts behind the bar.”

  She smiles—her “I’m glad you’re being honest with me” smile—and nods. I knew I couldn’t keep my parents a secret once my dad asked for help. After trusting one too many people in power, the Society is incredibly thorough in their background checks. Ainsley, Isa, and Tegan can find anything on anyone, even the Vice President of the United States.

  “It’s good to see you.”

  “You too, El. You look beautiful.”

  “Well, this is different,” Tieny says, and I’m reminded that we’re not alone. I’d almost forgotten that Tieny, my friend Theo who’s heading up security for the club, and the other waitresses are all here. The prep cooks are in meeting the new chef, but I’ll take Ellie back there in a few minutes. I want to make sure she’s comfortable with everyone out here.

  “You’ve met everyone?” I ask, once again ignoring everyone but her.

  “Yeah. Well, except for the kitchen staff.”

  “Let’s go meet them, then. There’s a new chef starting today, too. Should be fun for us all.”

  “Oh, it will be.”

  I give her a quizzical look, but she isn’t giving anything away to me. I shouldn’t expect her to—she’s still Ellie, no matter what happened to her. I need to remember that. She may need to be handled gently in some ways, but no one can steal her strength. If she thinks they did, I’ll just have to show her otherwise.

  I place my hand on her lower back without even thinking about it, until she stiffens. Shit. I need to take my hand off of her, but the waitresses are eyeing us, and I’m honestly over their not so subtle advances. I pull back a little so my fingers are barely grazing her, but I don’t break contact completely. I hate that I’m making her uncomfortable, but I’m hoping she’ll understand.

  She doesn’t relax until we’re out of sight down the hall, and I remove my hand. “I know you needed a cover, but please don’t touch me again without permission, Aiden.”

  Her words—while expected—are still like knives to my heart. “I’m sorry, El. I didn’t even think when I put my hand there, and then…yeah…I wanted to throw the girls off.”

  “Why don’t you just sleep with them?”

  “You know why I won’t sleep with them. Or at least you should.”

  “Because of me?” she asks, a hopeful note in her voice.

  “Always because of you. You’re the only one I want. I’m so sorry I let you down. If I could go back…”

  She places a hand over my mouth before I can say anything else. “It wasn’t all your fault, and we can’t go back. I-I only want you, too, but I can’t…I mean, I can…but sleeping with you…”

  This time, I stop her. “I’ll wait. Forever. If that’s what it takes. My hand and I have a nice relationship going on.”

  “I could maybe, um, help you out with that.”

  I reach out and hover my hands just shy of her face, curling them like I would if I could cup her cheeks. “That is an amazing offer, and one I would normally never turn down, but not yet. I want you to be comfortable with me again first. Once you’re able to finally forgive me.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive, Aid. You would’ve been there if you could. I know that.”

  “I don’t. I was drunk, El. Crazy drunk because of something else that was going on in my life. You deserve to be first. Always. I have to take care of some stuff before I can be
that guy for you. The one you need.”

  “I could help you with whatever it is.”

  “Just being here to look out for my mom is help enough. I mean, that is what you’re doing here, right?”

  “Yes. But if there’s something else…”

  “No. This is something I need to deal with myself. I don’t want to add to any of your worries.”

  I mean it. Whoever is trying to frame me for the murders of my “victims,” and the people I was protecting from them, is my problem to deal with. I won’t involve Ellie, or anyone else. Matt and Nate would be here in a heartbeat if they knew what was going on, but I can’t risk them getting into any trouble for me. I don’t even know who’s doing this, or why, and that’s another reason I won’t bring anyone else in on this. I will find the person and make them pay—both for distracting me from Ellie, and for the murders they’ve committed.

  “Aid? Are you ready to go into the kitchen?”

  “Huh? Oh yeah. Let’s meet this wonder-chef my mom’s been raving about.”

  I push open the door, and a knife goes sailing past my head, grazing me on the ear. What the fucking hell? I instinctively step in front of Ellie and reach for my gun, forgetting that I only have one strapped to my ankle right now. But when I look to the culprit, I can’t help but smile.

  “Trying to kill me, Faith?”

  “No. If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. My hand just slipped.”

  “Seriously, Faith?” Ellie asks her, moving in front of me. “It just happened to ‘slip’ when Aiden walked through the door?”

  “Yep.”

  “You promised not to hurt him.”

  “I only nicked him. I could’ve aimed lower.”

  “Thanks for that,” I tell her, and then look around. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “I sent them outside on a break since I knew you’d be coming to meet me soon.”

  “I appreciate you being here for my mom. Both of you.”

  “Well, when the Vice President of the United States asks for help, we tend to listen. Nice job hiding your family, by the way.”