This is the chapter when Aiden finds out that Arian is being abused and finds her holding Desmond at gun point.
AIDEN
Not her, not her, not her.
It was all I could think as I ran up the apartment stairwell, gun at the hip, more than ready to fucking end this cowards life.
Not her.
She didn't deserve this. Not Arian. If I ever needed proof that angels exist, it was her. All I could see as I took the stairs two at a time, was her smile, such a genuine smile. The way she listened, as if whatever I had to say, no matter how trivial, was of the utmost importance to her.
How anyone could put a hand on her, in violence, in rage, in anger, I couldn't fucking fathom it. I hoped she hadn't killed him, I wanted to do that myself.
But more than that, I didn't want her to have blood on her hands. She had no idea how much that burden could damage a person.
I wouldn't let myself consider the alternative of what she wanted that gun for. Memories of our conversation on the rooftop played over in my mind but I refused to believe she would point that barrel at herself. Until proven otherwise, she was still alive and I hoped I found her before it was too late.
Her apartment door wasn't closed properly. It was shut, but not latched, as if it'd been swung shut in a hurry.
I quietly pushed it open and focused on keeping my breathing even, my senses sharp and aware. As soon as I was inside, I heard it. The harsh male voice snarling and Arian's voice, her words trembling, panic lacing her instruction for that piece of shit to shut up.
Following the voices, I paid little mind to the household, noting only that it was clean and undisturbed. There were a few glass tumblers on the coffee table, the remnants of a strong alcoholic beverage at the bottom.
I had no idea what was about to go down but I was putting together a cover up scene as I walked through the living area and toward the corridor.
The voices were closer, coming from the first door on the right and then I saw her at the foot of the bed, pointing the gun at the other end of the room.
Arian's back was to me, but I could see a shadow of bruises climbing up her arm and shoulder, her hair was pulled back and when I saw the finger marks around her neck, I shuddered with violence.
It threatened to consume me. I couldn't stop seeing him holding her down, strangling her, hitting her.
My shoulders sagged as the images knocked the wind out of me.
Storming that room and extracting torture like I never had before was almost too tempting. I'd shoot his motherfucking kneecaps out so he couldn't run. I'd sever his fingers, one at a time, so it was slow. Those fingers which had so violently hurt my girl.
I would cut out his tongue, and then his eyes and then his ears and slowly, so he was alive for as long as possible, I would dismember him and I would fucking thrive on his pleas to let him go.
"I have had enough," Arian's voice broke me from the thoughts and I heard the desperation in her voice. How broken she was, how hurt and torn and devastated she had become. I had never heard her speak like that before, it fucking killed me.
"Put-"
"Shut up!" She said, moving forward and in a split moment, I knew this couldn't be about me.
No matter what I wanted to do, no matter if I wanted to walk in there at the full height of my rage with a gun in my hand and his fucking face at the end of it, this was about her and I knew she couldn't stomach seeing the things I wanted to do to him.
"Arian," I said, walking in calmly, a stark contrast to the fire inside of me.
Her shoulders tensed but she didn't turn around. If that filth in the corner was surprised, I didn't know, nor care. I didn't spare him a glance. I had a feeling it would shatter the control I was fighting so hard to hold onto.
"Ari, don't do this," I said.
"What?" She asked, almost laughing in disbelief. In the time I'd known her, I'd never heard her sound so deranged and it broke my heart to know that bastard was responsible for it. "Don't do this? This is what you do, right? You take care of lowlifes. Well this one, this is the lowest one of all."
"I know you want justice," I said, taking slow steps toward her, never taking my eyes off her. The gun in her hand trembled. "But taking a life has its price, Arian. No matter how much that person deserves it, you can't kill someone without baring the weight of that choice for the rest of your life."
"He needs to die."
I couldn't have agreed with her more. Maybe she felt like she needed to do this right now. Perhaps she saw it as retribution and it needed to be at her hands. But If I could save her from bearing that cross, I would, because it was too damn heavy and I knew that more than anyone.
Desmond spat, from the corner of my eye I could see him shaking with hatred. It was clear he was used to being in control and the lack of it, was causing him to spiral. "You're both fucking dead," he seethed with sincere threat. "Dead. I'm going to put a fucking bullet in your throat bitch."
She calmed me, when I looked at her, it was easier to ignore that rancid voice, threatening further harm on the woman I was falling in love with.
"Baby," I said, so close that I could smell the blood on her skin as I stood behind her. My heart pounded at an agonizing speed. "Don't do it. You're too pure to tarnish that sweet soul."
"There's nothing pure about this whore," Desmond spat. "She's been screwing you after I've held her down and fucked her so hard that she cries. Trash. She's trash."
My fists clenched at my side, ripping out his tongue was becoming harder and harder to abstain from. I whispered in Arian's ear, letting her draw all of my focus. "Don't let him take this piece of yourself."
I wouldn't scar her. She would leave this room with as little damage as possible.
My arm stretched the length of hers, I wrapped my hand around the weapon and as I took it from her relenting grip, I held her head, tucked her face into my chest so she couldn't see and looked dead on at Desmond with a smug smile.
The last thing he would know, was that Arian was safe with someone who would terminate anyone who fucking hurt her.
I pulled the trigger and while I couldn't drag it out, I did ensure the first few shots weren't fatal. There were moments, brief, but still moments that he was in pain before I put the last bullet in his forehead.
The main thing was that he could no longer hurt her. It was a fucking relief. He couldn't hurt her.
I dropped the gun to the floor and then held her, pressing soft kisses against her head because I was so damn grateful she was here, alive, safe. "It's over Ari. It's over. You're safe."
Arian tried to lean back and look over at where Desmond was on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Red mist covered the walls and bed, it'd even showered both of us. It wasn't something to bask in. The sight was graphic and people had nightmares over lesser horror.
"Don't," I whispered. "Don't look, Ari."
"He's— He's dead?"
"He's gone. You don't have to be scared."
Instead of looking at the scene, she looked at the floor. Propping a finger under her chin, I lifted her face to mine and the world went quiet. Everything in me shattered at the sight of her injuries. Her face was swollen, bruised, her lip split, gashes all over her skin.
Maddie must have tended to her the best she could last night but the damage was done and I wanted to burn down the world for letting this happen to her.
Tears began to slide down her cheeks. She was ashamed of it and that was the worst part.
In no capacity would I ever think less of her for what that monster had done and I didn't know how else to show her that, than to kiss the wounds she wanted to hide.
Slowly, gently, I traced my lips across the planes of her face, the taste of her tears on my tongue. I would spend the rest of my life loving this woman, every single part of her. And if someone threatened her peace again, I wouldn't hesitate to remove them.
"I'm so sorry that I didn't stop this from happening," I said, throat thick with remorse and regret. "I should have stopped him sooner."
I would never forgive myself for not having seen the signs. I'd assumed she wasn't happy in hwe marriage and when Maddie told me Desmond cheats on her, I thought that was the missing puzzle piece.
For all the work I do ensuring I'm familiar with the monsters that walk among us, I failed the one person who I've discovered I can't live without.
She tip toed, throwing her arms around my neck. "It's my fault for thinking that I was strong enough to do it alone."
"You are strong," I said, cupping her neck and holding her stare. She needed to hear me, she needed to know that strength like hers wasn't the sort of strength someone builds, it was part of who she is, embedded in her soul, radiating from her, like a beacon of hope. "You were going through that and you never failed to smile or show kindness to the people around you. You're the strongest woman that I have ever met."
Her lip quivered and I brushed my thumb over it, admiring her and all that she'd survived and stood against. She didn't need me. But I needed her.
The sound of sirens interrupted us and I looked at the window, not surprised that someone had called the police. I'd been expecting it. Maddie was gone, I'd instructed her to leave if I didn't come back in ten minutes.
"I can't cover this up, Arian," I said. "It's too late."
Reluctantly, I let Arian go and picked the gun up off the floor, stalking toward Desmond but being careful not to tread in the blood around him. Arian kept her back to us as I picked up Desmond's wrist and wrapped his hand around the gun.
"Listen to me," I said, the sirens growing closer. "This has all of our prints on it. I walked in on him threatening you with it. He and I wrestled over it and then you got hold of it and shot him. Alright?"
"I'll go to jail?"
"You won't," I dropped the gun on the floor again and pulled out my cellphone. "It was self defense, Arian. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but the sight of you will confirm the story that he's a violent piece of shit. His knuckles are busted too. You will not end up behind bars. I promise Ari. Trust me?"
She looked at me and the warmth seeped into her eyes as she nodded. "The police will be here soon," I said to her before Ian answered the phone. "Ian, I need a nine mil serial number MG998HL cleared. It doesn't exist. It needs to be done now."
His confirmation became background noise when I noticed Arian staring at the floor, her chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. She was panting by the time I reached her and pulled her into me. "Arian, just breathe baby, calm down."
She nodded but the hyperventilating continued and at this point, the sirens were outside.
"I'm here, Arian, I won't let you down again," I said, cupping her face and lifting it to me. "I will never let you down again. You hear me? Ever. It's going to be okay."
Our gazes remained locked, even when we heard the front door being slammed open, the shouting of police announcing themselves, the quick footsteps of approaching enforcement. Time slowed down as I gave Arian a light kiss on the forehead.
"We need to raise our hands," I whispered as the room was broached with shouting. Arian nodded and we both lifted our hands into the air and made a slow turn towards the officers pointing their guns at us.
"I did it," Arian said, a strength in her voice that made me look at her and wish she'd never known pain. "I killed him. He was hurt—"
Her confession was cut short when an officer snatched her wrist in the air and threw her onto her stomach, his knee went into her back as he put his gun in it's holster and reached for cuffs.
"Get off her, she's hurt," I shouted, rage flickering through me at the sound of her whimpers. "She's not resisting mother fucker, get off—"
And then I was face down on the ground, looking at her while my hands were drawn back behind me too. I knew it was procedure. We were standing in the middle of a homicide scene and we had to be eliminated as a threat before questions were asked. But seeing Arian face down with an officer on her back made me pissed enough that I could've killed this entire room.
"It's okay," she whispered, a tear rolling over the bridge of her bruised nose. "You said it'll be okay. It will."
"I know."
"It was me," she said again, louder this time, wincing as her cheeks grazed the carpet. "He was going to kill me. It was me."
The officer held her around the elbow and pulled her off the ground with little care. "Ow," she cried, stumbling.
"Fuck," I shouted, still on the floor and all I could do is watch as they pushed her out of the room. Not knowing how long I would have to wait until she was safe with me again.