BRIDGET GALLAGHER
"What can I do to help you clear your father's name?" I asked. The words must have come out in a foreign language because his face was blank.
"Your dad is dangerous, and he isn't afraid to hurt you. When you were taken and he receive a message saying to confess or let you die, he had zero intention of confessing. You knowing who I am is a risk of it's own. That alone puts you in danger of Kai, your dad, and god knows who else." He said.
The quicksand of guilt I had been sinking in was too much. It compressed my legs and pressured my chest. The only relief in reach was to fight back.
"I don't care if it's dangerous. He hurt you."
"You to leave this to me. I will answer whatever questions you have, but you have to stay out of it." He said sternly. When I didn't respond, he lightly gripped my arm. "Promise me."
"I promise." I muttered.
Deep grey clouds above us darkened his features. As his expression softened, I licked my lips, tasting the remnants of rain and the salty manifestation of pain that fell from my eyes.
"Nick and everyone else who knows about me don't know I told you. I'll let you decide what you want to do. All I ask is that you give me a warning if you are going to tell anyone else."
"I won't tell anyone. No one will know you told me anything." I assured him before standing up to leave.
His hand pulled me back, "Wait, are we... do you think you could ever forgive me?"
"I-I think we should take a step back for a little bit." I choked out, forcing the word passed the nagging ache in my chest.
"What do you mean?"
A new element of desperation laced itself into his words. It wasn't until he asked the question that I realised I had no idea what I was doing. The worried eyes in front of me was so different from three days ago. The trees in the forest irises I had gotten to know so well were now unfamiliar.
Everything felt so wrong as if my bones wanted to escape my body. The aftermath of what he did contorted my reality and bent my morals. I didn't know where I was planning to sleep tonight, let alone where our relationship stood.
"I don't know," I said cautiously, "You should focus on Abigail for now. I'll walk back with you."
We walked back to Abigail's room in silence. I felt a growing distance between us, eating at me. There were a million things I wanted to say him but couldn't, knowing it would make matters worse.
My mother was waiting outside Abigail's door for me with an unreadable expression. Out of habit, my hand nervously reached for Jacob's...er– Aiden's, and he held it without hesitation.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked her.
"I need to speak with Jacob," she turned to him.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"I'm afraid it's not. Alec and I are worried that you are filling Bridget's head with lies about our family. I think it's best if you two take time apart." She echoed my dad's manipulation.
"He hasn't said a negative word about you or Dad. I have been staying with him because he has been nothing but supportive of what I've been through lately. It's not because of you." I said in the fake polite tone she taught me.
"You should come home for awhile anyway. I don't like you spending so much time around the Shepard's."
"Mom, I'm here for Nick." I said, trying to be gentle but fuming on the inside.
"It doesn't matter why you are here. Her father was a killer. She and her brother are troubled. I don't want you around them." She said.
"You should go check on Megan." I begged, mortified she was doing this.
"Leave," Nick stepped in, "before I have you removed. Get out, now." He spoke calmly, but with the upmost seriousness.
"Nicholas, how dare you speak to me that way?! This Shepard girl has clearly already made an influence on you. I can't imagine how your mother must feel about you being here with such a troubled girl." She said before storming off. Unfazed, Nick ignored her and returned to the room.
"I'll talk to her and your dad." I grabbed his arm to stop him from going after her.
"Aiden, wait," I said, stopping him, "you will make it worse. Just leave it alone for right now." I quickly remembered Nick was sitting right behind us and that I just released a very large lion from its cage.
"Did you just say Aiden?!" Nick stood up from his chair.
"No, you misheard me." I attempted to lie, mustering as much fake confidence as I could.
"Bridget, you've clearly just said Aiden. Can you look me in the eye and tell me you didn't?"
I was silent, trying to avoid his glare. His fists clenched at his sides. I had never seen Nick this angry before.
"What do you know?" He asked. His voice was still calm, but he stood uncomfortably close to me.
"N-nothing," I stuttered and took a step away from him.
"What do you know?" He asked again and got almost threateningly close to her. Aiden quickly interfered and carefully pushed him back.
"Nick, leave her alone. She has no idea what you're talking about."
"You are both lying," he scoffed, "Tell me what you know."
I looked at Aiden for what to do. His face revealed he had no idea whether I should give in or continue to deny it.
"Don't look at him. Look at me, and fucking tell me what you know, now." Nick hissed.
"Everything," I gave in, "I know who he is, why he's here, what he's done, what you've done to help him, what my dad did, everything. I won't tell anyone."
Nick turned to Aiden with murderous glare as my slip up shattered the wall of secrecy between us.
"Bridget," He groaned, running his hands through his hair. I put my hands up in defense.
"I have no idea what to say to you right now. Are you insane?! How did this happen?! Are you quitting?! Is Abigail lying in this bed right now for nothing?!" Nick was furious.
"Of course I'm not quitting! None of this would have happened if you had just kept Abigail from running out of the study. This is just as much your fault as it is mine." He seethed back at him.
Aiden explained everything to him when they both calmed down. Nick wasn't as understanding as usual, but he was entitled to be a little angry given the circumstances.
After the two of them smoothed out the argument, Jacob– Aiden agreed to go home for a bit for a shower and change of clothes. From across the parking lot, I noticed a broad-shouldered, dark haired man with his arms crossed leaning against Aiden's car. Everything about him from his posture to his speed changed the moment this man came into sight. His hand took a firm hold of mine.
"Don't be scared. I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered into my while we were still far enough. "Keep smiling."
I didn't let the confusion show on my face as I followed his instructions. I smiled at the man as we got closer.
"Kai," Aiden greeted him and shook his hand.
I was face to face with the man who tortured me for seven days, and I had to smile. I squeezed his hand tighter to keep from shuddering as the organ pumping blood through my body failed.
You're okay. You're okay. You're okay. I repeated in my head, not even hearing what the two of them said to each other.
The interaction thankfully passed in blur. I must have said it was nice to meet him because we shook hands just before Aiden rushed me into the passenger seat.
"I'm okay." I breathed as he started to car.
"You are?" He asked, unconvinced.
"Yeah." I nodded without further disagreement from him.
"You need to wait in the car with the doors locked when we get there."
"When we get where?"
"Didn't you hear what he said?" He asked. I just shrugged. "He told me to follow him. I haven't spoken to him since what he did to you."
Tension thickened the growing barrier between us. He seemed uneasy, and I wasn't sure if it was because of Kai or me. We drove north for over an hour until we hit an abandoned, standalone building overlooking an empty pier. It truly felt like the middle of nowhere. Kai stood at the midway point on the pier waiting for Aiden.
"Why do you look so nervous?" I asked him.
"What happened to Abby was due to my failure. If I fail, I have enforcement training." He said blankly.
"What are you talking about? What is enforcement training?"
"Everything is going to be fine. Just please stay in the car."
Two men in all black stepped out the building to follow him down to the pier. One of them grabbed his arm, but he quickly yanked to away as he continued toward Kai. The distance was too great to hear what was said from the car.
Kai's hand was clenched around Aiden's throat before he pushed back against the two men behind him. Ignoring what I was told, I got out to the car and hid on the side of the building. It eliminated my view of them, but hearing was more important. At first, all I could hear talking without anything distinguishable. The waves crashing filled the pause in their exchange until the unmistakable cry of pain pierced my eardrums.
Without caring if I was seen, I came out from behind the brick to see the men in black beating Aiden while Kai watched. He didn't even fight back as sounds of torture broke through his lips. Deeper than a scream but harsher than a whimper, his voice made my stomach clench in terror. Instinctively, my feet carried me in their direction. I stopped dead in my tracks as someone behind me covered my mouth and pulled me back against the brick wall. Restraining me from moving was Kora.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" She snapped in a whisper as she dropped her hand from my mouth. "Do not go down there."
"They're hurting him!" I objected, trying to move under her grasp. She was too strong even though she really wasn't much taller than me. Her slim appearance was misleading.
"Doesn't matter. You can't— wait. How are you even here right now? Did you follow Jacob here?" Her eyes narrowed at me. Another struggled sound of pain from him robbed my patience.
"I know he's Aiden. I know about all of it." I used the shock on her face as an opportunity to yank my arms back.
"Then, you know that Kai trained him. What's happening down there is a training exercise that Aiden agreed to."
"That's not training. That is torture. Please, he's hurting." I begged.
"Bridget–" I didn't let her finish as I sprinted passed her to the pier.
Aiden had gotten back to his feet. Kora easily caught up to me, hooking her arm around my stomach to stop me. I was still at least thirty feet away, but I could see him and Kai clearly now even with her in front of me.
"Do not say a word. Those are the same guys that hurt you. If they even suspect you know too much, they will kill you and Aiden without hesitation. Kai is angry enough at him to let them." She whispered into my ear. "When I take my hand off your mouth, you stand here and pretend we are talking. Understand?"
I nodded, feeling Aiden's eyes on me from a distance.
"Do they work for Kai?" She didn't answer. She kept her arm across my collarbone, not trusting me to stay in place. "Why are they doing this to him?"
"Kai calls it enforcement. If you screw up, you are punished. It reinforces the training. Aiden has two strikes. First one is you, second is Abby." She said. The sound of Aiden hitting the ground again broke me.
"Me? What did he do wrong with me? He's been using me for your 'mission' for months. I had no idea. Isn't that what he was supposed to do?"
"He wasn't supposed to like you or care so much about you. It's been a giant pain in the ass for everyone involved."
Before I could respond, another pained cry twisted my stomach.
"I won't say anything, but they can't keep hurting him." I shook my head and shrugged her off of me as I walked over to them.
Aiden was being restrained with a man holding each shoulder. A deep red leaked from his temple and lines the side of his cheek down to his neck. Swelling along the side of his jaw disrupted his perfectly symmetric face. I quickly realised I had no plan and no leverage.
"You shouldn't be here. You should go." Aiden managed to choke out.
"That is not necessary. Bridget is more than welcome to stay." Kai smiled, sending a sickening chill up my spine as he pulled me to him.
His forearm pressed against my throat while the other reached into his waistband. Aiden struggled to free himself from them, but they were twice his size. The fear in his eyes burned into me even while he kept his face as expressionless as he could.
"What are you doing?" Kora asked with caution. Aiden gave her a pleading look as if he couldn't speak for himself.
"Relax, just want to get some answers. He is quiet until you add a bit of pressure." He said casually. "Gentlemen, your work here is done for the day. Thank you."
They dropped Aiden's arms and left the pier. The relief was slight and short lived as I felt the barrel of a gun pressed on the side of my head. I expected nausea or my heart to race. All I felt was the coldness of the metal barrel threatening to send a bullet, penetrating through my skull.
"Kai, that's enough." Kora tried to ease him down.
"It's okay," Aiden mouthed to me as he took a careful step towards us.
"Aiden," Kai chimed, "since you don't care about her, you shouldn't have a problem with this."
"It doesn't matter. You can't kill her no matter whether I do or not." He stayed calm. If he showed the slightest bit of fear, that seemed to be enough for him to shoot me.
"And why not?
"Because it goes against the code and the entire plan. If we kill or physically harm anyone, we are no different from Alec. Now, put the gun down." Aiden reasoned.
"She's a distraction. She changed you. You're different. You've lost what made me believe you had what it took to follow through with my plan."
"I am different," He agreed, "but it isn't because of her. Abby and Nathan coming back changed me. I started out with nothing to lose, and then I had them. That's when I changed. Do you want to kill them too?"
"You still haven't answered my question. Do you love her?" Kai asked. I wondered which answer would compel him to shoot me. I closed my eyes tightly, bracing for his answer.
The mention of love nauseated me more than the gun to my head. It was never something I expected to hear Aiden say out loud. I haven't even had the chance to process if that word applied to how I felt. I reminded myself that it didn't matter. Any answer he gave Kai was tailored to save my life.
AIDEN SHEPARD
"No," I settled, "and because I don't, you have no reason to kill her."
"If you don't love her, then you wouldn't care I just pulled the trigger and—"
"No! No, I don't have to love her to care whether or not you shoot her. If you shoot her, you will undermine everything I have been working towards and everything you trained me to do. Please, do not shoot an innocent person just to prove a point."
"She knows too much. It's not to prove a point. It's the safest thing to do."
The click of his finger on the trigger took away my sanity. Fear paralysed the throbbing pain of my injuries into numbness. The quivering of Bridget's lip as her eyes closed tore me apart.
Kora came up from behind him and snatched the weapon from him, releasing Bridget. She backed away from both him and me.
"Are you insane?!" Kora screamed at him. It was the first time I had ever seen Kai caught off guard. She took the opportunity to throw the gun off the pier.
Before backing off, I yanked Kai by the collar as my fist met his lower jaw, not hard enough to break it but enough to leave him bent over. He recovered quickly though, throwing the same punch back, sending me to my knees.
"You are giving up on your father for her? For a girl bred by blood that demolished your own?" He snarled, once again throwing punch after punch to my abdomen. Bridget screaming for me in the background sent me back to my feet.
I stood up and swung at face again, this time not caring if I broke anything. His knees harshly hit the ground.
"You are a disgrace to your family, Aiden. You don't even deserve to have Nathan and Abigail back. You better be careful. Maybe I'll take them away, so you can remember what you are fighting for. Maybe I'll you make you earn your family back." Kai spat.
"Fuck you, Kai." I growled.
I kicked him hard in the stomach until he was completely double over on his side. The idea of him anywhere near Nate or Abby made my anger boil over. I hurt him for them and for everything he's done to Bridget. The broken image of her in tears relaying what he did fuelled each hit.
"Aiden, stop!" Bridget screamed. The blood pounding my ears drowned out any outside noise. It sounded like she was in a distant tunnel.
Someone pulled me away from Kai turned me away from him.
"That's enough, Aiden. Stop." Kora ordered, keeping a firm grasp on my shoulders. One hand gripped jaw, forcing me to look her in the eye, "Calm down."
The second my eyes left Kai, I regretted it. He had already recovered. Before I registered what he was about to do, he did it. Bridget was no longer next to me and instead falling into the choppy waves below us. Ignoring the dizziness throwing off my balance, I immediately dived in after her. The water was freezing. The waves made it hard to stay above the water.
"Bridget!" I yelled. I didn't see her.
It didn't make any sense. I jumped in only five seconds after her. She could not have been in the water longer than a minute, but I couldn't find her. I frantically looked all around me screaming her name. Finally, I heard coughing behind me. As fast as possible, I swam back to the shore with Bridget weakly holding onto my arm. Kora was closer to the shore. She tried to help get Bridget to the sand, but I stopped her.
"Don't touch her. This is your fault. You told Kai. You set him off." I snapped at her. Bridget was violently coughing to clear her lungs of the salt water.
"What can I do?" Kora asked.
"You can make sure Kai doesn't try to bloody kill her again, and then, leave me the fuck alone." I said harshly.
"I didn't tell him to do this. Aiden, I never wanted her or you to get hurt." she said.
"This is your fault! You told Kai you thought I was off track. You are the one who convinced him I was failing the mission. We both know him well enough to know how he was going to react to that. If you want to help, go find him and keep him away from her." She nodded and ran to catch up with Kai.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked Bridget, who was still catching her breath.
Her skin was like ice. As she leaned more into me, without even thinking about it, I kissed her forehead. A serge of panic struck through me when I realised when I had done.
"I'm fine." She said expressionless, still coughing.
As we got back to the car, her breathing had returned to a normal pace, but she still hadn't said anything.
"You're too quiet, Bee. Talk to me."
"Your friend threw me off a pier." She chuckled with a palm to her forehead.
"And you find this funny?" I cocked my eyebrow.
"No...yes... In the past eight months, my dad killed someone. Meg needed a heart transplant because she developed a genetic heart condition from a father we don't share. I got abducted because it turns out my dad basically kills anyone who slightly inconveniences him. And don't even get me started on you..." She ranted. Although I knew her laughing was from stress, it didn't make it any less contagious.
"What's next? Is Peter the Zodiac Killer?" She laughed hysterically with a hand covering her mouth.
It reminded me of the day she nearly got caught in a riptide immediately after I had finally convinced her to swim. The second she let her guard down, she nearly drowned, and she found it hilarious then and now. We faded back into a comfortable silence for a few minutes until I found it was time to break it.
"I'm sorry about that kiss. I didn't even think about it. I didn't even realise I did it. It was just habit . I'm sorry." I apologised.
"It's okay. I didn't think about it either until I saw the panic on your face afterwards." She smiled a little. We were quiet for most of the car ride until we were back in a familiar part of town.
"Can I ask you a favor without you taking it the wrong way?" She asked quietly, looking out the windshield. Her voice was still rough and hoarse.
"Yes, of course." I said.
"Do you think I can still stay with you for a little while? I know how insane it sounds because I'm still mad at you. I was going to ask Cara before I remembered her house is also Nick's house, and he hates me." Her voice was strained. She was rambling nervously, "All my other friends are friends I've met because of my family or my family's company. You are the only person other than Nick who understands why I cannot be in my own home right now, and–"
I interrupted to put her out of her misery as she rambled nervously. As I approached the red light, I made a point to look at her. The fact that she was embarrassed and seemingly ashamed to ask bothered me.
"I never assumed you would stay anywhere else. I have guest rooms. I won't take it as anything more than helping a friend." I said softly, almost saddened she felt the need to ask.
"Thank you." She smiled.
As I approached my front door, I realised I hadn't been home since Abigail was shot. Blood stains remained on the rug in my foyer. The spot where my sister was shot was marked and blocked off. The image of her bleeding out on the floor in front of me penetrated my chest cavity. A phenomenon I hadn't experienced in years began as a tingling in my fingertips. I recognised it immediately, but it was too late to control it.
Please, not now.
Bridget was in the kitchen starting a pot of tea. My feet were frozen behind my sister's blood. I had to get out and away from her. My lungs burned with the sensation of smoke inhalation as they did each time this happened since the fire.
"Aiden?" She sounded so far away. The sound of her saying my actual name didn't help calm me at all.
"Aiden, your hands are shaking."
Move your legs. Get out.
"I'll be upstairs for a bit." I flinched away from her touch and left too quickly to my room.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Sorry this is so long but hope you liked it! Please vote and comment!
P.S.
If I'm behind on reading your book, I promise I haven't forgotten. I've been really sick the past month and I'm behind on everything so sorry