Aidan's Obsession

18. Emmerson

Hailey had the same response when I told her I was going to become a nurse. She thought I should be a doctor instead. She's in an arts program that doesn't appear to have any practical outcome.

"Nurses are needed everywhere," I say.

"So?"

"It's stability. No matter what, I'll always be able to find a job."

He examines me for a beat and then pretends to listen to the rest of the lecture. I know he's pretending because every once in a while, he sends me an intrusive thought about our next meal, as though food is his primary concern.

As soon as we leave the lecture hall, he's on me about getting a meal somewhere.

"I can't afford it," I say, sliding my messenger bag further up my shoulder.

"I can."

"How? Do you have a job?"

He grimaces. "Yes and no. I have responsibilities, that I've mostly been avoiding, and those pay well."

"How so?"

"My family is big, and each member has a stake in the..." He twists his lips, as though he's not sure how to explain or what he wants to tell me. "Think of my family like an exclusive club. To stay in it, you have to pay up."

"You tax your relatives?"

"We provide protection." He seems to bristle a little.

"You're the mafia. I fucking knew it."

He laughs, a genuine sound of amusement. "Sure, we're the mafia."

"Do you put your enemies on ice?" I ask.

"No," he says, and his amusement seems to double. "The fur does fly sometimes."

He's making a joke about the trained killer wolves, but I let it slide because I'm also joking about the mafia. I don't really believe that's what his family does for a living, but I also can't put my finger on who or what they are. Aidan's explanation that his family lives on an alternate plane of existence seems to make the most sense, and I guess in that version of reality, families tax family members. Seems odd to me, but I don't live in his world.

He leads us down some back alleys to the entrance of a butcher I've never seen before. At the door, he stares at me for a beat. "I guess we're gonna see how much you remember of my world."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember me now, but you didn't used to. You can see Kaden, and you can see the assassin wolves. Now we're going to see what else sticks."

"Are you being a rebel, Aidan?"

"Lately, I am terrible at playing by the rules, much to my family's disgust." He opens the door, but he doesn't let me enter. "Me first," he says, "because this could get weird."

"Okay," I say, dragging out the word and following behind him.

Once I'm through the threshold, I'm shocked at the transformation. From the outside, the glass windows boasted cuts of meat, and it looked like there were normal people inside working and ordering. The door seems to have opened on something completely different.

We're in a cave that has soft mood lighting, but I can't figure out the origin point of the lights. Around us, tables are set up, but the people sitting at them aren't human.

"Aidan," I murmur, and I reach for his hand.

He lets me take it, but he doesn't try to explain or justify what I'm seeing. We just stand at the entrance until a very hairy man wanders over.