Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3) (20 page)

Gus introduced each of them to his family and the questions
began. Back and forth for the next hour, they spoke as if they had all lived
this life together for a long time. Aiden had never felt more comfortable
talking to near complete strangers than she did right now. Lily and her
exchanged numbers with Ash and Emily with the promise that they would have a
girl chat soon. Gus was updated about Emily and her new teaching job and
couldn't wait to hear all the stories Con would have about junior high boys
crushing on their hot teacher.

Ash held up an ultrasound picture for all of them to see and
Aiden thought Gus would burst into tears. She reached for his hand and he shook
his head. "It's overwhelming," he whispered. He regained his
composure and cleared his throat. "I can't decide if I want to jump for
joy for my little sister or wring Luke's neck."

Luke probably wouldn't have noticed if he
did
. The
man couldn't wipe the smile off of his face and it looked like Aislinn might
get lucky tonight.

The banter between the Brannock siblings and their significant
others was highly amusing. Not once did any of them sincerely disagree with
anything that was said. They supported each other to the death and teased each
other mercilessly, but always ended with declarations of love and devotion.

It was poetic in a weird and chaotic kind of way.

Aidy got the most attention and she instantly fell in love
with Liam. The man couldn't hold in his excitement about the coming grandchild
and was already spoiling Aidy rotten.

When it was time for Lily to leave, she did so reluctantly.
Aiden walked her out and wasn't expecting the bear hug she was given.

"They are wonderful, Aid. I'm so glad you are giving
this a chance," Lily gushed.

"It's not a sure thing, Lil. We haven't even talked
yet."

"Then talk. I
know
you know you'll be happy with
him so stop stalling."

"Okay."

Lily hugged her again, "Okay. I'll see you in the
morning." She hugged Aidy goodbye and left to get ready for her date.

Gus was in a heated discussion with Conall and Luke when
they walked back into his apartment so she turned the television on for her
niece and sat back down next to him.

"We are not naming our son Fergus
or
Conall so
both of you can just shut the hell up," Luke shouted.

"What if it's a girl?" Conall asked.

Luke looked at an already beaming Aislinn before he said,
"If it's a girl, there is no question that we are naming her
Isabelle."

Liam looked like he was struggling to hold in his emotions
and Aiden felt the sting of tears hit her eyes as her heart went out to the
man. Con and Gus both ducked their heads with the same wistful expressions.

"That's perfect," Gus whispered.

"Yeah," Con agreed. "Boy or girl, that baby
is going to be perfect. Proud of you both."

They all said goodbye a few minutes later, promising to
spend more time talking when everyone was together for the wedding.

When Gus closed the laptop and looked over at her, the smile
on her face nearly splitting it in half, she leaned forward and kissed his
cheek.

"Your family is amazing, Gus. Thank you for letting me
meet them."

He pulled her in for a quick hug and kissed her forehead.
"The pleasure was all mine. Believe me."

Aiden couldn't stop smiling.

The rest of the night went perfectly. Gus made her and Aidy
spaghetti -
good
spaghetti - and ordered a bunch of movies on the
satellite. Granted, most of them were kid shows, but that was just fine with
her. She had no intention of staying with Gus, but she was going to spend every
minute she could in his presence tonight.

They were cleaning up the kitchen when Gus asked how her
painting for Marjorie was going and she remembered what she needed to tell him.

She hated to ruin a perfectly good evening, but it was more
important to her to be honest with Gus. He wanted to protect her and she wasn't
about to ignore something that could be a potential danger to her or her niece.

He didn't take it well, but he also didn't freak out and
demand that she stay indoors either. Instead, he told her he had been feeling
the same ever since they spent that day together, then he went into great
detail about what happened to Ash months before when she was taken.

"We had her locked up inside for weeks trying to keep
her out of sight and out of danger, but it still didn't matter. Please, just be
smart and make sure you stay vigilant whenever you leave the apartment. I wish
I could be here with you all day every day, but I'm sure you would get sick of
me if I did that."

Oh, hell no. There was no way she could ever get sick of
this man.

He grabbed her wrist when she finished scooping the leftover
sauce into a bowl and gently turned her face with his other hand to make sure
she saw how serious he was. "Don't go anywhere there aren't lots of people
when Aidy is with you and set me on your speed dial. I'm not going to let
anything happen to you, okay?"

His touch never failed to send an electric hum throughout
her entire body. She nodded with a deep breath in an attempt to gain control of
her racing heart.

When his eyes fell to her parted lips, it was all she could
do to hold still.

"Aiden, I want to-"

"Aunty Aiden! Spongebob is on!"

Aiden startled and the tomato sauce in the bowl she still
held splattered all over the front of her.

"Shit!" she hissed.

Aidy giggled, "You have to put a dollar in the swear
jar."

She rolled her eyes. The moment was gone and Gus was laughing
as she tried to clean off her shirt. "Don't worry, Red. I'll spot
you." He pulled out his wallet and handed Aidy a five dollar bill.
"This should cover the rest of the night, Little Red."

Aidy dashed out of the room, clutching the bill in her tiny
fingers.

"Why don't you go change and then we can start a movie
for Miss Torpedo over there?"

Aiden hurried out of his apartment without looking back,
wondering what he had been about to say before Aidy had burst into the room.
She walked into her apartment, locking the door behind her in case Gus decided
to check on whether or not she had been listening to him earlier.

She pulled on a clean T-shirt and checked her appearance in
the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her brown eyes were dark like a rich
chocolate. She felt beautiful in a way she never had before. Sure, Gus made her
feel beautiful, but this was different. She knew in her heart that the path she
was taking was the right one. Lily was right. The risk is worth the happiness
she was feeling right now.

She hurried back to her door and yanked it open. In her rush
to get back to Aidy and Gus, she almost ran over the man standing just outside
her apartment.

Brandon.

"Where is she, Aiden?" he shouted, his face
looking green and the smell coming off of him making her feel like throwing up
all the delicious food Gus had just fed her. He was drunk and obviously hadn't
showered in the last three days or so.

She sniffed again and nearly gagged. Maybe more than three
days.

"Brandon, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I want to see my daughter!"

She was stunned speechless. Never, in the five years of
Aidy's life had this man been remotely interested in anything to do with his
daughter. The few times he did see her were because Lily forced it in the
beginning, hoping that her little girl could have a father. All the man cared
about was himself, though, and his visits ended quickly.

The man was a prick and Aiden felt her anger rising swiftly.
Her hands started to shake and she could feel the adrenaline coursing through
her veins as her body prepared to fight. It was probably not smart to poke a
bear, but she liked poking bears.

"She's not here, asshole!"

"Then where the fuck is she? Lily isn't at her
apartment," he slurred and stumbled, catching himself on the doorjamb and
getting a little too close for comfort. Aiden stepped back and held her breath
so she wouldn't smell the stench coming off of him.

She hated lying, but technically it wasn't a lie because
Aidy really wasn't
here
. "She isn't here so why don't you get your
ass out of my building and go clean yourself up. You haven't given two fucks
about your daughter in five years, why now?"

"You stupid bitch! She's
my
daughter!" He
shouted, spit flying onto her face. He raised his hand as if to strike her, but
before she could process the danger she was in, Gus was there, a blur forcing
Brandon to crash into the doorjamb face first.

Brandon cried out in pain, but Aiden didn't feel even a
flicker of remorse for the man.

"Who the fuck are
you
?" Gus shouted,
holding Brandon's hands behind his back and shoving him into the door frame
once more. He was going to have a couple bruises when Gus was through with him,
if not more.

"He's Aidy's loser father and he's looking for
her," she said angrily.

Gus eyes ran up and down her frame, looking for any sign
that she might have been hurt.

"I'm okay, Gus."

The warmth that had crept into his eyes when she spoke
quickly vanished and his head snapped back to the trash he was holding in front
of him.

"You smell like shit that bathed in whiskey. You have
ten seconds to get your ass out of here before I arrest you."

He turned around and shoved Brandon towards the stairs. The
drunk idiot crashed to the floor and struggled to get himself back up. When he
was finally standing unsteadily, he turned and glared at the two of them.

"Tell Lily I want to see my daughter."

"Go to hell," Aiden snapped. Gus was standing in
front of her so she had to lean to the side to glare at the bastard. She felt
him reach back and grasp her hip, obviously hoping it was enough to stop her
from jumping the big fat jerk. She wasn't so sure he'd be able to with the fury
consuming her.

Neither one of them moved as they watched Brandon descend
the stairs, stumbling several times before disappearing. Gus turned and wrapped
his fingers around her shoulders, his eyes searching hers anxiously.

"You okay?"

She nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to speak without
her voice shaking. Her hands trembled at her sides and her heart was still
racing. She hated Brandon for hurting her sister, but she hated him even more
for abandoning Aidy. How dare he come to
her
home and threaten her like
that.

"Come here," Gus said softly and pulled her into
his chest.

She automatically wrapped her arms around his waist and her
shaking fingers curled into the back of his shirt. She loved the safety his
arms provided and held on for dear life.

"I despise that man with every fiber of my being. He
never deserved my sister and he sure as hell doesn't deserve Aidy."

"Not arguing with you there, Red, but I need you to
calm down and take a few deep breaths for me."

She did as he requested and instantly started to feel her
composure return. His arms tightened around her when she felt his kiss on the
crown of her head and her heart started back up again for an entirely different
reason.

When he pulled away a moment later, a hand moved to her
cheek, pushing her hair behind her ear and lightly grazing his fingers down her
jaw. He cupped the back of her neck, those strong fingers molding against her
skin. His eyes were soft and warm as he looked at her, but his lips were set in
a firm line. He was upset, but his concern was winning out.

"Better?"

She shrugged because, technically, no.

Their eyes locked, his piercing deep into her soul, as if he
could see her desire for him and she could swear she heard his breath hitch
when her tongue darted out to wet her lips. His eyes flicked back and forth
from her mouth to her eyes, just like that first night and so many times since.
She tightened her fingers around his shirt, silently pleading for him to give
her what she so desperately wanted.

He leaned closer, but instead of planting those perfect lips
on hers, they landed on her forehead. It was like the end of the fireworks on
the 4th of July. She tried to push away the disappointment, but it was no use.
She had pushed them to this point, to the friend zone even if he had fought it
along the way and she didn't know how to get them out of it.

It will take time, Aid. Just be patient.

"You and Aidy are going to stay with me tonight, okay?
I don't think he will even remember coming here, but I don't want to risk him
coming back and hurting either of you."

"Okay, I guess that explains why I've been feeling
watched lately. It must have been him holding out to get a glimpse of
Aidy."

He didn't look convinced, but didn't question her either.
"Come on. Let's not think about it anymore. We can build a fort in my
living room."

"Okay".

"Aidy will love it."

"Okay."

"I love when you're so agreeable," he smiled and
reached out to pull her door shut. After making sure it was locked, he wrapped
his arm around her shoulders and pulled her along to his apartment.

Aidy was sitting in front of the television watching
Spongebob, no sign that she was aware of anything that had just happened. Still,
Aiden worried that she heard her father's harsh words.

"She's fine, babe. So absorbed in the show that she
didn't even hear me when I told her I would be right back."

Aiden sat next to her niece, her hands less shaky, but her
mind still racing. She needed to call her sister, but she wanted to make sure
Aidy was okay.

"Go call Lily. I'll stay with her."

"Thank you, Gus."

He sat next to her niece as she found her phone and quickly
dialed her sister. The conversation went better than she thought it would. She
could hear Chad in the background trying to calm a furious Lily and decided she
wanted to meet the man right away. Lily calmed down after a minute or two. She
knew Gus and Aiden wouldn't let anything happen to her daughter.