Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3) (28 page)

"I told Lily something like this would happen. You two
are pathetic and
you
," he glared at Aiden. "You are the last
person I would leave her with."

She didn't even have a chance to berate him because Gus was
there already, yanking Brandon forward by his shirt before slamming him back
into the wall.

"You stupid piece of shit! Don't you dare talk to her
like that.
You
are the pathetic one. Abandoning your wife and baby… you
think that makes you more of man?"

Brandon looked like he was about to piss his pants. Being on
the other side of that anger wasn't where she
ever
wanted to be, but it
was definitely effective.

"L-Listen," Brandon stuttered. "I don't have
anything to do with Aidy being taken. I swear to God. This guy already
questioned me." He pointed to Evan who looked just as anxious for Gus to
beat this idiot to a pulp.

"And you didn't give me a straight answer," Evan
spit out.

"I don't know
anything
. Yes, I followed Lily for
a while. Kara left me for some underwear model and I was a mess. I wanted to
see if I could get Lily back."

Gus released him and took a step back.

"Then I saw my daughter," he added. "It all
came crashing down. She's… she's beautiful."

Aiden didn't even realize she was moving. She lunged at him
and connected her fist with his jaw. Pain flared hot in her hand and wrist, but
she still wanted to kill the bastard.

"Whoa! Aiden!" Gus pulled her away and held her
back while Brandon cupped his jaw in pain.

"You son of a bitch! Five years! Five fucking years and
now you want to see her? Want to be in her life?"

He didn't respond, just stared at the floor as he absently
rubbed his jaw.

Gus held onto her and after a minute of soothing words and
touches, she finally calmed down. The pain in her wrist was excruciating and
her hand felt like it had been crushed with a hammer. She hugged it to her
chest as hot tears burned her eyes.

"Damn it, you're hand. Evan, go get some ice,
please." Gus sat her down on the couch and gently cradled her hand.
"That was quite a punch, baby. I'll have to give you some lessons so you
won't get hurt next time."

His attempt to bring humor into the situation was futile.
Aiden was numb.

Evan handed Gus a kitchen towel filled with ice and twisted
into a makeshift icepack. He covered her hand and wrist and had her hold it
steady.

"We'll get this fixed as soon as he's gone, okay?"

She nodded.

When everyone was settled, he signaled for Brandon to
continue.

"I followed Aiden because Lily left Aidy with her so
much. If there was any chance of seeing her, it would have been with her."

"So you thought showing up drunk and acting like an
asshole would win you that chance?"

"No! No," he cried. "It was a bad day. I'd
lost my job two days before and tried to forget everything by drinking. It
didn't work."

"And the park?" Aiden asked anxiously, remembering
when the bad vibes had started.

"What park?"

Gus' face fell. "That wasn't you."

"I don't know what park you are talking about. I
started following Aiden the day before I came up to her apartment and
yesterday. All she did was walk across the damn street to another apartment
building then go out with some guy later that night. Aidy wasn't with
her."

Gus looked over at me, his eyes filled with dread. Brandon
didn't know anything and it was exactly as he suspected.

They spent the next thirty minutes questioning Brandon and
asking him if there was anyone recently who may have been suspicious or asking
about Lily and Aidy in any way. He had been so drunk over the last few days, he
could hardly remember. The only thing he
did
remember was getting pushed
into the door frame at Aiden's apartment by Gus. He had the bruises to prove
it.

Before that, he had been home alone, missing work for
several days in a row before finally getting fired. He hadn't really talked to
anyone.

It wasn't much longer before Evan led Brandon out of the
apartment.

"I'm sorry, Aiden. Please, tell Lily I had nothing to
do with this."

"You can tell her yourself when she is coherent
again," she replied angrily.

Five minutes later, Gus answered another knock at the door.
He greeted his brother, Conall, with a long hug and several slaps on the back.
The slightly taller and more serious version of Gus walked into the living room
while Emily and Gus exchanged a loving hug.

He didn't pause when he saw her and sat on the couch beside
her with an arm wrapped around her shoulder. It surprised her, but she was too
numb to think twice about it.

"I'm sorry we are officially meeting under these
circumstances, Aiden."

She sniffed and kept her head down.

"I want you to know that we are all here for you. Emily
will help with Lily and we won't stop until we find Aidy."

"Thank you," she whispered and felt him squeeze
his arm around her and kiss the crown of her head.

Emily walked in with Gus and rushed over. "Oh my God,
what happened to your hand?"

"She punched an asshole," Gus chuckled.

"I don't see any bruising on your face, Gus," Conall
smirked.

"It wasn't
me
."

"Then what other asshole was here?"

Gus rolled his eyes, but the grin on his face was the first
flicker of hope Aiden had felt all day. Reinforcements had arrived. They would
get through this.

"Take me to Lily. Let's make a game plan." Emily
held out her hand to help Aiden up and side by side they walked down the hall
to Lily's bedroom while Aiden kept the ice steady on her hand. Emily
immediately sat down on the bed next to her sleeping sister and swept her hair
aside so she could she her face. She was still fast asleep, but Emily spoke to
her in a whisper. "We're sisters now, Lily. Sisters protect each other.
Right, Aid?"

Aiden met her determined stare and nodded. The numbness she
had welcomed so quickly started to fade more and more.

"Ash and Luke will be here soon," Emily informed
her as she continued to run her fingers through Lily's hair. "Once she
does, we'll work together to make this right. Lily can't lose what hope she has
left. We'll get the rest back for her."

With that, Aiden broke down. Tears flowing out rapidly and
her entire body sagging. Emily rushed to her side and helped her to the bed.
"Shh, I know it's impossible-"

"That's not it, Emily. I just realized that our
lives…" she motioned to Lily. "Our lives were missing something and
we finally found it."

"What is that?"

Aiden sniffed and looked up. Gus was hovering in the doorway
looking anxious as he stared at her with those beautiful blue and grey eyes.
Love shining through the shadows of worry. Her heart swelled. "You."

***

The water in the bathtub was no longer steaming, but Aiden
couldn't make herself get out. Gus had brought her back home, leaving Emily to
help Lily when she woke. He told her that she needed to clear her head before
she dealt with her sister.

"Lily will need your strength," he'd said.

It was the middle of the night and Luke, Ash, and Liam were
driving in from the airport. They hadn't been able to catch a direct flight
soon enough and ended up in a layover in Chicago. Gus was getting things ready
for them at his apartment. She had drawn a bath in an attempt to relax and
hadn't moved for over half an hour.

Her hand throbbed, but she ignored the burning ache and
stared at the wall in front of her.

Strength.

What strength had Gus been talking about?

She couldn't get those first moments of pure terror out of
her head. Wracking her brain to try to conjure up some image of the cars
leaving when she pulled up to the building was hopeless.

Nothing.

She finally released the angry sobs that had been building
since she first went to Gus. Her control hadn't wavered much since then, but
the bath, the loneliness, and the failure that consumed her was enough to tip
it over the edge.

"Oh, Aidy. I'm so sorry, baby girl."

She didn't hear the sound of her front door opening or Gus'
voice calling out for her. She didn't even realize he was in the bathroom until
he dropped to his knees beside the tub and pulled her into his body, holding
her as the violent sobs left her.

His shirt was soaked instantly, but he didn't let her go.
She cried into his shoulder for what seemed like forever, the incessant
throbbing in her hand reminding her that she wasn't strong enough to fight
this.

"Aiden, please. You're killing me," Gus murmured
in her ear.

His strong arms unknowingly holding her entire being
together and his warm breath fluttering across her skin was the comfort she
needed, but it didn't chase the guilt away.

"This is all my fault," she cried. "If I had
just left when I needed to instead of taking time to search for my stupid
phone, none of this would have happened. I was so worried about not having it
in case you or Lily called to check in."

"No, Aiden. Stop. This isn't your fault. It isn't
anyone's fault but the bastard who took her. It's
his
fault. You love
Aidy and you never once put her in harm's way."

"But-"

"No."

"I just-"

"No! Enough!" His outburst made her flinch which
made him hold her tighter. "You reassured
me
now it's my turn to
reassure
you
."

He held her for a moment longer before reaching into the
water and releasing the drain plug. He stood to grab her towel from the shelf
and helped her stand, wrapping the fluffy material around her naked body before
lifting her into his arms.

The tears had stopped - for now.

Making their way to her bedroom with her cradled in his
arms, she decided to let him take care of her. She needed him to wipe away all
the fear overriding her and show her that she could still go on. That she could
be strong for her family. For Aidy.

He sat on the bed with her in his lap and started to dry her
off as best as he could. His shirt was cold from the water, but his warmth
seeped through and she snuggled into his chest anyway. "Let's get your
hand wrapped up. I don't think it's broken, but you strained it pretty
bad."

She nodded against his chest and breathed him in.

"Ash and Luke are sleeping in my bed. She was pretty
exhausted after the trip. Dad is staying on my couch and Con and Emily are
going to stay with Lily all night. We'll get some rest then switch up in the
morning."

"Thank you for asking them to come," she whispered

"I didn't really have to ask. They didn't
hesitate."

"They love you."

"They love
us
," he clarified and pressed
his lips to her temple. "They might not know
you
yet, but they know
I love you. That means
they
love you. They love Lily and Aidy,
too."

"I think I love them all, too."

She felt him smile against her hair and her tummy wobbled.
For so long, she feared being with him would make her lose what she had spent
her entire life trying to hold onto. Instead, she'd gained more than she could
have ever asked for. Another family to love and a gaping hole filled in so
completely.

The hole that had been ripped open when Aidy was taken was
agonizing, but she still had hope. This guy hadn't hurt any of the children he
had taken before and from what she heard when Gus filled his brother's in on
the case, there was a chance he might just return her. If it was as personal as
Gus was thinking it was… well, she didn't want to think about that.

"They can't wait to meet you officially. Ash almost
burst in here, but Luke held her back."

"That's probably for the best. I'm a mess anyway."

He pulled away so he could look into her eyes. "You're
not a mess. You're beautiful."

They stared at each other for a tender moment, just
breathing together. He cupped her face in his warm hands and traced his thumbs
under her eyes and across her lips.

"Take me," she pleaded.

"Baby, your hand-"

"Please. I need you to make me feel good, even if it's
for only a moment."

He watched her, as if waiting for her to change her mind,
but she lifted her chin and didn't back down. Then he kissed her. Tender at
first, as if he thought she would break, but she took control and turned the
kiss into something deeper, something erotic. Something she desperately needed
right now.

Without another word, he pulled the towel away from her body
and sat her on the bed. She nervously pulled her lip between her teeth,
wondering if he was just going to leave so he couldn't be talked into it.

His hand reached forward and tugged her lip from the harsh
punishment she was giving it.

"If anyone is going to bite that lip, it's going to be
me," he rasped.

She watched as he slowly stripped out of his clothes. His
badge and gun weren't on him, but she knew they were probably close by.

"When everything is back to normal, I want you to be
wearing your badge when you fuck me," she said, her eyes zeroed in on the
hardened flesh that was all for her. She was already aching for him to fill
her, to touch her.

He lifted her chin with a gentle finger and bent for a slow,
dreamy kiss. "I'll never fuck you, Aiden. It will always be
loving
you, whether it's hard and passionate or soft and unhurried." He slowly
kissed down her neck to the swell of her naked breasts, mumbling against her
skin, "I'll worship your body over and over again. It will never be
anything
but making love."

The tears that she thought had taken a break suddenly filled
her eyes. These weren't tears of agony, however, but tears of happiness that
she had this man all to herself. He must have heard her sniffle, because he
looked up from his sensuous kisses on her breasts to see her crying, but with a
peaceful expression on her face.