A A R O N' S P.O.V
I glanced up at the clock. It was nearing nine o'clock. I had overworked, again.
Fuck, Caitlin was going to be so mad again. I promised her we could watch the newest instalment in the To All The Boys I've Loved Before series. She was obsessed with Peter for some reason.
Rosa has probably put her to bed by now though and it would take me a good half an hour to get home. I might as well just stick it out and finish all these shipment slips before I leave.
It was just me and my secretary still here but she was Rahul's, 60 year old neighbour, and working for me was practically her life. She wouldn't mind.
I have to remember to give her a raise.
Working this late was bad but it was the only thing that helped get her off my mind. I refrained from saying her name, knowing how much pain the word triggers for me.
It's like my life has this huge void that only she could fill. Now, I guess it would always be empty.
I fucked up, so bad. I promised myself and Caitlin that I would try and win her back but...I couldn't face my mistakes. I'm a coward. It's as plain and simple as that.
Of course, I had a man tailing her though.
I wasn't an idiot about to let my Princess out into the cruel world without any protection. After everything that happened with Kane, she needed it too.
Sighing, I picked up the new photo frame I had placed on my desk. It was a photo of her. I took it that day at the gallery, and smile thinking back to our Paris trip.
God, everything was so perfect then. And like the dickhead you are, you had to sabotage your own happiness.
I heard a loud commotion coming from outside my office soo and immediately set down the picture. My secretary, Helen, was shouting at someone, warning them not to go any further.
My hand slipped under my desk and I pulled out my gun. It was fully loaded and I raised it high so I could shoot whichever sorry son of a bitch thought it would be a good idea to disturb my peace.
Staring at her picture, reminiscing the good times, makes me feel like a better man. The man she tried to turn me into.
The door was kicked open and I cocked the gun about to shoot, when I saw a mess of brown hair and piercing green eyes filled with an undeniable hatred for me.
Tristan.
I let out in audible sigh of relief, lowering the gun. Even though he was the person who probably wanted to kill me the most in the world, I felt at ease with him. Safe even.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I seethed, motioning Helen that she could go home. She gave me a tight lipped smile and then flared sharply at the back of Tristan's head. I swear, that woman could scare me.
"Where is she?" He growled, fists bawled up at his sides. I didn't even need to ask to find out who 'she' was, yet I still did.
"Who?" His anger intensified and he took a dangerous step closer, causing me to clutch the gun a little tighter.
I would fire if necessary. Ex-friend or not, I was a selfish bastard that looked out for myself first.
"You know who? Don't play dumb. Why? She didn't want to come back so you kidnapped her. I saw your guy parked outside the house, watching her every move. Probably with a pair of binoculars too you sick fuck."
I snarled at the accusation, images of Kane's video tape coming to light. "I would never do that. My man was there for her safety."
"That's what he claimed too, he told me she left when he was on a call and was about to follow her when I arrived. I don't buy it for one second. She hasn't come back to the house, her wallet and keys are at home. She's not answering her phone, so what? Did you kidnap her when she rounded the corner? Do you have her stashed here somewhere?"
The jerk had the audacity to start rummaging through my drawers, as if I had kidnapped Kiara and then stashed her in a tiny drawer for later.
"Are you thick or something? She's not here, I don't know where she is. Neil was there for her safety, I wasn't about to let her go around unprotected. I haven't seen her since" I hated reliving it. Every moment, ever harsh word that left my mouth, the tears that I caused. "...since that night."
"You're telling the truth?"
"Of course I am. Why would I ever hurt her? I lo...care for her." He seemed as taken aback as I was at my sudden outburst. Did I just almost...no, I couldn't. You can't love.
"Well, she's missing then."
"How do you know that she's not just out?" Kiara loved clubbing, shopping and this seemed like the prime time for both of those things.
"She wouldn't just leave without a text or a call. I always come over at this time, and besides she barely leaves the house." I felt this sudden surge of anger and jealously rush through my body. The thought of his hands on her naked body, his lips on hers. She was mine.
No, she wasn't. Not anymore. I couldn't claim her, I couldn't be jealous or angry. I broke her heart. Then, why does it hurt so much? Why does my heart clench at just the thought of her beautiful face?
"Why do you go over to her house?" I tried to make my voice sound as less inconspicuous as I could but he caught on to the slight tinge of jealously in my tone and smirked.
"So we can fuck all night long." He cocked his head to the side. "Problem?"
I pulled back my fist, only to launch it straight at his perfectly straight nose. Maybe if I disfigured him, Kiara wouldn't want him anymore?
I got in another three punches, taking him completely off guard, before he grabbed my fist and pushed me back.
"I was joking, I was screwing with you." I stopped where I was.
"What the fuck? Why?" I spat out, wincing when I looked down to my bloody and slightly bruised knuckles.
"Because you deserved it. I didn't realise you would be a pyscho about it though. We slept together once, the night you broke up. We were both heavily drunk though and regretted it the next day, so don't blame her."
"I never would." I deserved it. I deserved every tiny bit of pain thrown my way.
"Now back to Kiara? You know the love our lives that's currently missing." I chose to ignore his choice of words, and grabbed a tissue box, throwing it his way.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"You're dripping blood onto my carpet." He rolled his eyes. I don't even know why I said that, I hated the fucking crusty old carpet that Helen had picked out.
"Wait, why wasn't Neil following her?" I was going to kill that bastard if anything happened to my Princess.
"He was taking a call from his mother, got momentarily distracted and it also happened to be the exact moment that Kiara left the house. I found him wandering around the house aimlessly, trying to find her. Essentially, he lost her." Yep, he was so dead.
"I need you to track her cellphone. I know you have some sort of tracker on that thing, don't even lie because you had one on mine and we weren't even sleeping together." I gave him a sharp glare and that sat down at my computer, quickly logging onto the wide database I would use to track her.
"By the way, I killed Neil." I froze, slowly turning to look at him. He was smirking, leaning back against my wall.
Shrugging I went back to finding Kiara. "As long as you disposed of the body correctly, I don't care." One less job for me.
I found her location and pinpointed it to some old abandoned factory near her house.
Grabbing my key, we hopped into my car and drove straight to the location. Tristan was loading all the guns I had available and I was calling Rahul, informing him that I needed him on standby in case we needed back up.
I doubted it though. I was going in, getting what I wanted and then out.
"Should we call Ryder?" I shook my head, knowing he was the last person to help us. We were literally the two people he hated most in the world.
"He'd just do more bad than good and we need a swift recuse mission. Get in, get out. Kiara is the top priority. No matter what, she comes out of this unharmed."
"At least we agree on something." He muttered, climbing out of the car. We were both conveniently dressed in black and I had a bunch of hand guns in my boot which were perfect for this type of operation.
I glanced through one of the broken windows, only to see her. My Princess.
She was struggling against some burly hulk looking man, a sharp blade pressed against her neck. Her shirt was ripped slightly revealing her black bra and her eyes were filled with this raging anger, directed entirely at a blonde haired man who had his back to me.
"Found her," I whispered, and Tristan motioned for me to go forward whilst he snuck around the back.
I crept in, careful not to step on the crunchy glass below, and alert them of my presence. I counted four men in total, including the one with the knife.
We could do this. Four men, was an easy take out. The problem was...there had never been someone I care about in the equation.
Four armed men, add my Princess equaled complicated. I had never felt this vulnerable on a mission because there was so much at stake here. Kiara's life was everything to me, and right now it was being threatened.
I hid behind one of the beams, listening in to the man in charge's voice. I recognised it so clearly. Kane.
"...therefore Princess, I have no other choice but to kill you. I hope you understand." My feet were moving before I even registered it, and I found myself in the middle of it all.
My gun was pressed against Kane's head, my finger itching to pull the trigger but then I looked up.
Kiara's eyes were filled with this beautiful hope and relief, as she stared straight back at me. Her stunning brown doe eyes were piercing my very soul, cracking open my blackened heart that was now softly beating under her mere presence.
I wanted to hold her, hug her, kiss her but the sound of three guns being cocked and pointed my way brought me back to reality. I had three guns but only two hands.
I pressed the barrel hard again Kane's head. "Put the guns down, let the girl go and I will maybe consider letting your pussy ass leader go?"
None of them even dared to move, all eyes focused solely on their bastard of a leader, who had the nerve to smirk. "I don't think so,"
He snapped his fingers and a man emerged with Tristan, a gun held to his temple, just as I had Kane. "Wow, so I've got a gun to your head and you've got one to my man. So what? We're even."
"Not exactly." He muttered, and angled his head at the hulk. The hulk pressed the knife harsher against Kiara's throat, causing a small knick to form. Blood trickled down her neck, trailing between her cleavage.
I saw red.
Kane used my momentarily distraction to elbow me in the chest, causing the gun to clatter to the ground. He spun around and punch me straight in face. I stumbled back but launched my fist at his chest, aiming for his lung. He choked, and his men stepped forward.
The one holding Tristan lost his advantage and Tristan attacked, swinging his fists at the man's face. I dodged a leg, grabbing it and then twisting it around until I heard a snap.
Another pulled out his gun, whilst the other tried to punch me. I ducked just in time for the punch to hit the other guy, and then I grabbed the gun, and shot them both twice.
I reached into my pocket, pressed the button in my phone that would automatically send for help from Rahul. Kane looked shocked, and I smirked at the stench of fear he was emitting.
Tristan was still wrestling over the gun with the fifth but he had the upper hand and would soon win that battle. All I had to do was take out Kane.
Before I reach him, Kane whistled and suddenly six more man came barrelling into the building.
Four grabbed me, hauling me back so I was facing Kiara, hulk and Kane whilst the other three did the same to Tristan.
I tried to yank my arms back but they were too strong, overpowering my every move. It was a coward's play but effective.
"If you were a real man, you would let everyone else go and fight me with your bare hands."
He shrugged, walking back to my Princess, and trailing one of his slimy fingers down her cheek. "I don't care about masculinity, I care about winning."
I glanced over at Kiara. She was scarily quiet, obeying with every command given to her. Her face looked completely defeated, as she surrender her angelic body for Kane to touch, marring her with his greasy hands.
I wanted to scream at her, shout at her, beg her to fight back but I couldn't. All I could do was watch helplessly as my sweet Princess surrenders herself to the dark.
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A/N: Finally Aaron and Tristan are reunited!!!
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