“Aiden will live. He’ll be fine. I patched him up. He’s out cold at the moment. And he’ll be out of commission for a little while, but he’ll be fine.” It was the question of what came after he woke up, for me, that I didn’t know the answer to.
There was a noise of frustration from Christian, and I agreed. It was less than ideal and very frustrating.
“What do you need from me?” he asked with a resigned sigh as I took a seat at the kitchen island, turning the chair so I could watch the rise and fall of Aiden’s chest.
This was the hard part. “To disappear.”
Christian choked out an, “Excuse me?”
“It’s less than ideal. I?—”
“Less than ideal? You think me packing up my life in the middle of the night—no, in the middle of amurder investigation, is less than ideal?” His frustration quickly morphed into anger, but I needed him to trust me, and to listen to what I needed him to do. I didn’t want to add him to my body count.
“Christian. I need you to stop and listen.” My voice was calm and controlled, despite the fact I felt neither of those things. “My boyfriend, a cop whom I just stabbed, knows we areconnected. We, who includes you, a man who found a man I murdered.”
I stopped and let that sink in for a minute. “Fucking hell, Nathan.”
“There are businesses and safe houses set up all over the country. Pack up and get on the road. Text me in three hours and let me know where you are and I’ll give you the location of one in the direction you’re headed. You can lie low there, or start over there, until I figure out what is going on here.”
“Until you… Nathan. Are you seriously going to stick around and see what he does with the information he has?” When I didn’t say anything, he started cursing again. “You fuckingstabbedhim. What do you think he’s going to do? Be fucking smart about this.”
“I am,” I snapped, banging my fist on the counter. “I am,” I repeated, calmer.
“You don’t understand, and that’s fine. I don’t expect you to. But this is what I have to do. You don’t need to ruin your life over what I did, though. So, let me protect you.”
Christian sighed and I knew he wanted to argue more, but there was nothing to argue against. It was my mess and I needed to clean it up.
“Good luck, Nathan.” The line disconnected and I stared at the phone as I lost the only person I’d ever truly considered a friend.
“Goodbye, Christian, and good luck,” I whispered to no one as I stood and went back to my little bird.
I checked his pulse again and was happy it was still strong. But I needed to get a move on because I couldn’t leave him on my floor indefinitely. Plus, I had a hell of a mess to clean up.
After I put the first aid kit away, I moved him away from the pool of blood he’d been lying in, and got the body wipes and cleaned all the blood off Aiden’s body before gently putting him in one of my oversized jackets. It was still on his pants andshoes, but I’d have to take care of that later. His pants were dark enough that it wasn’t noticeable unless you knew to look for it, at least.
So, for the moment, I just worried about what I could see.
He looked so young and fragile. I bit my lip, hating that I had done that to him. He shouldn’t have been in that position. I was his Daddy. I was supposed to take care of him, protect him.
And I’d failed miserably.
Heaving a sigh I felt down into my weary soul, if I even had one, which I seriously doubted anymore, considering what I had done to my sweet little bird, I gathered his prone form in my arms and made my way to the garage. When I got to the car, I gently placed him in the passenger seat and made my way back to his house.
The whole drive, I half expected to be swarmed with police cars stopping me. But there was hardly any traffic and I pulled up to his house without incident. When I got there, I let myself in and did my best to drag him in without looking suspicious. Not that he had many neighbors around.
Mindful of his injuries, I carried him to his bedroom and got him changed into his favorite pair of pajama pants and a loose tank top that wouldn’t cling to his body and press against the stitches.
He grumbled and pushed me away as he slipped in and out of consciousness, but he was weak enough he didn’t get very far. Given everything he’d been through, I didn’t think he would be so eager to get a start on his day as he passed back out.
Not wanting to leave him, I tucked him in before I settled on the bed next to him, but I remained careful not to touch him. Pain laced my heart as I leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, knowing I’d never be that close to him again. He’d seen the monster and he rejected me.
And I couldn’t blame him. I’d reject me too, if I had the option.
I let out a sigh and wondered if it was going to be the last time I’d see him at all. Or, if I’d let him catch me. At least then, I could see him when he interrogated me and at the trial.
But then I thought about how the embarrassment and the pain of seeing me, the reminder, would continue to hurt him. It would be a festering wound.Ifhe caught me, maybe I’d just plead guilty so he wouldn’t have to deal with any of that.
Wouldn’t have to deal with me.
