Drink Me

76. WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU

WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU

On hearing Aidan's cold voice, the two froze and slowly turned to the man standing by the now open door, the look on his face as hard as his tone.

But Riley didn't care for Aidan because behind him, Alice was standing in the dim light, her face unreadable as her dark eyes fell on the two bodies still tangled together.

Then she was gone.

No, Ally...

"It's none of your business."

Riley heard Caroline say and her hands pushed him gently away from her, bringing him back to reality. He moved, giving his back to Aidan as he made himself presentable again.

"For Christ's sake, Carol," Aidan bellowed. "Your son is sleeping upstairs."

"My son is also none of your business," Caroline spat out. "Don't you dare tell me how to be a mother."

Riley rolled his eyes; he didn't have time for this screw-up or for another of their petty fights. He needed to talk to Alice, explain why he had to let her down, and tell her how dangerously close to being exposed they were.

But his gesture had drawn Aidan's attention. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise my dismay could annoy you," he said looking at him as displeasure grew more evident on his face. "Have you no shame?"

Riley's first instinct was to apologise, but something grew tighter around his chest and he couldn't bring himself to feel anything other than anger towards his cousin.

"We're all adults here, Aid," he replied. "We don't need a lecture from you."

Aidan sneered, but Riley could see all the rage in his cousin's eyes, his jaw clenched and his hands closed in fists and Riley prepared for a punch that never arrived.

"Try to keep it quiet," he said instead. "It's not a good look on you, Caroline, if the rumour spreads around the cell."

And with that, he was out the door that slammed loudly behind him.

"Well, now he knows," Caroline said, walking to the cabinet and checking her reflection in the glass door.

"I think it's best if we apologise," Riley offered. Now that Aidan was out of his sight, some good sense had finally crawled back into his brain and he realised he should have done it in the first place. He needed his cousin on his side for a little longer.

"He's a grown man," Caroline replied. "Once his bruised ego is healed, he'll get over it."

"I don't want to do anything that could jeopardise the relationship between us three and make things difficult," Riley explained, but Caroline sighed in exasperation.

"Aidan needs to learn how to be less selfish," she retorted. "I am not his property and neither are you." But her look softened when she met Riley's worried expression. "I'm sorry I've put you in this position."

"It takes two..." Riley replied, trying to sound as convincing as possible while his hands itched to lower the door handle so that he could finally get out of that room.

"Maybe it is wise to keep some distance for a while," Caroline granted. "At least until Aidan gets over it."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Riley agreed, putting on his jacket. "Should we go back and try to act normal?" He winked.

"You go ahead," Caroline replied, reaching to wipe a smear of lipstick from his face. "I'll be right there."

With a nod, Riley left the studio and turned the corner, he leaned against the wall and took a moment to breathe.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

He didn't know what was worst, knowing the mole was so close to the truth or the look on Alice's face when their eyes had met.

But the second could have killed only him.

Tugging at the seams of his jacket, he fixed himself and walked back into the living room where most of the guests were now enjoying the comfort and warmth of the indoors. He scanned the place for any signs of Alice, but neither she nor Aidan were anywhere to be found.

Pushing his way across the room, he walked to the garden where a handful of people were bravely fighting the cold mainly for the purpose of a cigarette; among those, Aidan and Alice were deep in conversation. From where he was standing, he couldn't hear what they were saying; their exchange seemed intense but not heated and his cousin looked upset more than angry. Then Alice frowned, her eyes downcast. Aidan took her hand and with the other one he lifted her chin towards his face and said something that made Alice smile feebly, then Aidan leaned closer and kissed her as he pulled her close into his arms.

Fucker.

Riley felt his jaw tense as his heart beat fast in his chest in rage, jealousy, anticipation and a plethora of mixed emotions that he struggled to keep under control.

But he had no other choice; he needed to pass on what he had found out. He couldn't waste any more time.

Unable to find a good excuse to break the happy couple, especially now that he ranked at the bottom of Aidan's favourites, and most probably Alice's too, he thought about his next best option to relay his discovery. Making his way through the living room, he exited into the much quieter front yard and walking as far from the house as possible; he called Gabriel.

He waited for the call to connect, but was met by an automated message instead.

Shit.

He rubbed his face in exasperation, trying to push away the feeling of dread and impotence that was washing over him.

He had to pass on that information, he couldn't waste any more time.

As risky as it might have been, he decided that if he still couldn't get to Alice, his only option was to get back to London and go straight to MI6.

He jogged back towards the house, his racing heart almost impossible to control, but as he approached the building the noise of tyres on gravel made him turn around to check the incoming car.

Behind the blinding lights of a dark sedan, a second vehicle followed and when Riley made out the insignia of a police car, he stopped walking.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked from behind him.

Riley turned to her, the puzzlement in her eyes mirroring his own. And that's when he noticed Aidan and Alice also standing by the front door.

"Mr Murphy?" a detective in a pinstripe suit and a dark trench coat asked, claiming his attention.

Riley nodded and in his state of confusion, he barely noticed the policeman approaching him as the Detective stopped in front of him. "Riley Thomas Murphy, I'm Detective Miranda Dales and I'm here to arrest you for espionage and breach of the Official Secrets Act..."

Riley felt the cold metal of the handcuffs around his wrists, but his brain wasn't able to process anything else happening around him.

All voices blended together as background noises, and footsteps sounded muffled on the gravel behind him; he turned towards the house where Alice was standing, looking at him with yet another unreadable expression, her big eyes round and dark as the wind blew strands of hair on her slightly parted lips.

Aidan had left her side and was now walking towards him, his features hard as he took in the scene happening in front of him.

"Keep your fucking mouth shut," he heard him say viciously before turning to the detective. "I'm Mr Murphy's lawyer..."

Then a policeman grabbed Riley's arm and carried him away, helping him inside the car and there, in the silence of the backseat of the police van, Riley had the first chance to really comprehend the gravity of the situation.

Something in the system had broken, and he was going down.

Then the doors opened and closed, and the car started to move.

Riley had the time to steal another glance at Alice that was now in Aidan's arms before the car drove out of the property and into the dark.