“Baby, I know you’re upset. And if you want to go home, then that’s where I’ll take you, but your mom would like it if we go back in and have that breakfast.”
His mouth hung open and he stared at me like I had just told him I murdered a baby, which was ridiculous. Even I wouldn’t do that.
“Are you serious? You expect me to go back in there?Now?”
My hands went to his shoulders, squeezing for just a moment.
“I don’t expect you to do anything, especially if it’s something you don’t want to do.” I moved back a couple inches so I could look into his eyes, study him and try to tell what he was really thinking.
“How am I supposed to face her? Ever?” His hand raked through his hair, gripping the strands tightly as he tried to release some of the agitation he was feeling.
Aiden’s voice went soft as he looked back up at his childhood home, a place that had once been a sanctuary of safety. That had all been ripped away in one careless moment and my heart went out for him, even if I couldn’t draw on my own experiences of understanding.
“She knows. She heard… What I called you. That you… I…” He shook his head.
I tilted my head as he sagged against the car in defeat. An unfamiliar tightness clutched at my chest.
“Aiden.” His name came out carefully, controlled, and the tone had his head whipping up, wide eyes meeting mine.
“I understand that you felt embarrassed at the moment, your mom knowing something you consider to be intimate.” I looked down at my clutched hands, my eyes furrowed. It was a nervous habit, but I didn’t have those. But my boy brought out a lot of things in me that I wasn’t used to dealing with.
With a sigh, I straightened my shoulders and looked at him head-on, giving him the attention he deserved. I also needed to see his reaction to what I was about to ask. “But the way you’re acting, it’s as though you’re… ashamed.”
He flinched at my words, but no denial came. The silence stretched for a long moment before he heaved a sigh.
“Can you please just take me home, Nate?”
17
NATHAN
My little bird flew the coop and I felt like he took my heart with him. Before him, I wouldn’t have even thought it was possible, that I could love or give my heart to someone. But I had, and then he ran from me, taking with him most of the pieces, only leaving behind enough to keep me alive.
I still hadn’t been able to grab Clint, and it pissed me off. Part of me wondered if I was able to offer him up as a sacrifice and present him as an offering to Aiden, if he would find his way back to me. Though, I also knew the likelihood of it being for the reason I wanted it to be, would be slim. More than likely, it would be with suspicion as to why the guy I manhandled at the club suddenly showed up dead and mutilated.
“You’d think he’d have some empathy, right?” Leaning down, I stared at the man tied to the chair as he struggled against the ropes that had his hands and feet bound together. “But no, it’s been radio silence. Won’t return my calls or my texts.”
My hand grabbed the man’s chin, pulling him closer. “That’s a little rude, don’t you think? I tell him I want to lay theworld at his feet, but his mother hears him call me Daddy one time and he thinks he can run from me? After I promised to give him everything?”
I gripped the knife that dangled at my side. The anger burned through my veins like a fire I couldn’t extinguish.
Confusion. Betrayal. Hurt.
When I had dropped Aiden back at his house and he asked if he could have a raincheck for breakfast, I hadn’t wanted to leave him. Every instinct had screamed at me not to leave him alone. And they’d been right.
My boy had shut me out. I didn’t know how to care about people, and this was why it was useless. Pointless.
He didn’t want me now that he thought it was something shameful. Being with a man was fine, he knew his parents accepted that, but he didn’t know how to accept that they could accept him wanting,needinga Daddy.
Because he thought he was supposed to be the one in control, the one to provide and protect. He didn’t understand it didn’t have to work that way. That he could be strong and still be vulnerable.
I stared at Jared Mackay and sneered as he screamed behind the gag I had shoved in his mouth. Usually, I enjoyed listening to the screams and pleading of my victims, but none of it brought me joy since my little bird ran away from me. After a few hours of his incessant sniveling, I’d needed to drown out his cries.
Briefly, I wondered if my monster would still be sated if I no longer found the wonder and satisfaction that I used to.
“How did someone I’ve only known for such a short time get so embedded under my skin? He shouldn’t mean that much to me in such a short amount of time. Yet, I find that losing him has meant losing a part of myself.”
My gaze wandered up to meet Jared’s.
