Wake Me Up (Love Knows No Boundaries) (20 page)

I feel like a fly
trapped in a spider’s web. The slightest movement will set the spider off. She scratches at a line on the wooden table, and my throat closes up.

“
Emma, what’s wrong? Speak to me!” Aiden sounds tense, and it’s not helping.

“I can’t,” I manage to squeeze out.

“Is she there?”

“Yes,” I answer
, and some relief eases up my spine that I don’t have to explain this to him.

“
Emma,” he sighs. “Is there anythin’ I can do?”

“No.” He doe
sn’t realize every second I’m on the phone is making it worse. “Thank you for phoning,” I say, and I put the phone down, praying he’ll understand.

Oh. Dear. God. Help. Me.

She turns her face slightly, not looking at me, but enough for me to see her clammy skin. “Who was that?” she asks with the same deadly tone in her voice, and I know not to move.

“
My flatmate.” I’m not going to lie; she could’ve recognized his voice.

“What did he want?”

My mind goes blank. I’m so bad at lying.

“Just to hear if I landed safely.” It’s the worst lie ever!

“Only now?” she asks. “Go and stand where I can see you, Emma.”

I walk around the table to stand across from her
, and then take two steps back so I can feel the oven press against my back, it’s something to lean against. I fold my hands in front of me and look down.

“Do you see how da
ft this was? she asks, and then her voice dips again, “this daft thing you did?”

Here we go again. It’s last
week all over again, and I’ll hear it for weeks to come.

“Yes, Mu
m,” I answer.

“Next time I won’t take y
ou back, even if you’re rotting in the street.” I nod. “If you want to shack up with some bloke, don’t come running back to me again. I won’t be so forgiving. What if something happened to you?” she asks, and I’m so thankful she doesn’t know about the kidnapping. “I don’t want you back if you’re all broken, I’d rather have them kill you.”

Sometimes I wonder if she can read my mind.
She goes silent, forcing me to glance up, to look into her eyes.

“People can’t be trusted,
Emma.” She finishes her wine. “Fill my glass. Half ice, half wine.” I do as she says, my stomach churning. “You should’ve been a boy, then I wouldn’t have this problem now.”

I concentrate on throwing
ice into the glass. She doesn’t drink out of a wine glass, but a stemmed beer glass, it takes more wine. It was a gift she got my father for one of his birthdays. She’s been using it ever since.

“Here I was worrying about you
, and you were shacking up with this…” I close my eyes. I can take it if she goes at me, but not Aiden, “
commoner
.”

The word grates down my spine. I
take hold of the glass and put it down in front of her, grinding my teeth.

“You can’t just shack
up with someone.” I wish she’d stop using the bloody word. I’m not a whore! “Class and culture are important. You don’t know what the children will be like.” Her mouth pulls down and I ball my hands into fists.

“Mum,” I whisper, “h
e’s not like that. He’s gentle. He’s caring. He’s pa-”

“Next you’ll be tel
ling me you’re off to marry him.” she sneers. “I don’t care if he’s the bloody pope. No one you choose will be good enough for this family.”

I shake my head. “I’m not good enough for him.”

She stands up and that’s a rare thing. I watch her come at me, and when she reaches for me, my stomach lurches to my throat. I dig my nails into my palms to keep still. Her hands are clammy as she cups my cheeks. I don’t move a muscle. I let her touch my face, and I smell the sourness of the wine on her breath as she leans in. Bile pushes up, and tears burn in my eyes. I swallow hard.

“You’re beautifu
l, babes,” she says, and her hot, stinking breath wafts over my face, sticking to my skin. “You’re mine. You can’t make it out there without me. Ever. Don’t ever dare run away again. You don’t want me as an enemy.” I glance up and there’s no love, no sign of gentleness – only conceit reflects in her red-rimmed, beady eyes.

“Yes
, Mum,” I say, just so she’ll let go of me. “Mum’s right. I…” I can’t tell her I love her. I can’t fake it after telling Aiden the words. “I’m sorry, Mum.”

“Good, now go
and clean the pool. Make sure you get all the leaves, too, I don’t want them clogging up the drain. Time doesn’t stand still around here,” she says, and finally she lets go of me.

I rush to the bathroom to wash my hands and face. Repeatedly.

~*~

Chapter Twenty

Aiden~

I didn’t take in anything the Captain said in the briefing. I have no idea what the new case is about as I sit at my desk. All I can hear is Emma’s voice – the fear.

“Aiden,” Zac taps me on the shoulder
. I look up as he sits down on the corner of my desk. “You’re a mess, man.”

“I can’t be here kn
owing she needs me. It’s driving me insane. I’m going to lose my damn mind,” I admit to him, dropping my head into my hands.

“So wrap things up. Put in some days and go. Go get her and
bring her home,” he says, as if I haven’t been obsessing about it every second since she left.

“She’s only been gone a week
, Zac. A week and I look like this,” I groan.

“Go speak to Cap
and put in the days. I’ll be fine without you.” He pats me on the back before he walks away.

Before I do anything
, I glance at my phone again. There’s only a message from Mom, thanking me for the visit this morning. I don’t visit them enough. We hardly see each other here at the station.

It’s been three
hours since I’ve spoken to Emma. I can’t stand it any more. I have to know she’s okay.

It starts to ring
, and I pray I don’t get voicemail again.

“I’m so
, so, so sorry,” she answers the phone breathlessly. “I didn’t mean to put the phone down, but she was right there listening and I-”

“
Emma,” I interrupt her. “Sweetheart, why are you whisperin’?” I ask, standing up. I can’t sit still any more.

“
Hold on,” I hear the panic in her voice.

I hear a man in the background
, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. And then she’s back.

“So much for hiding. My father
found me. I have to go,” she says.

“He’s there?” I ask. Why am I asking? Of course he’s there. Of course he knows. This was one of the reasons
Emma didn’t trust me. Because he can’t even protect his daughter.

“I have to go,” she says again.

“I’m coming to fetch you,” I say. I say the words so she can hear them and hold on to them. “I’m just sortin’ out everythin’ on this side, then I’m going to come and fetch you.”

“Please don’t come here. I’ll die if you see her.” I hear the despair in her voice
, and it makes me realize just how strong she’s been, not to let me know what’s really going on.

“I love you,
Emma. I’m coming to fetch you so you can come home,” I say, meaning every word. Her home is here. With me.

“Around the world and
back,” she says, and I wish she’d say it back, but I won’t ask. “Aiden,” she says, and my name sounds heavenly coming from her lips.

“Yeah?” I whisper.

“I love you most.” The words fill every corner of my being.

~*~

I cannot believe how much red tape there is. It’s like the world is conspiring to keep us apart. But I’ll take on the world if I have to. I meet with the consulate twice, to make sure I have all the facts straight. Interviews. There will be a lot of interviews once we’re back. People marrying just to get into the country are making my life hell.

It sucks.

And what is worse is Zac and Wyatt not taking no for an answer. So I’m getting dressed because they want to go out and I have to go with. Designated driver my ass.

I’m not in the mood for a bar or alcohol, or anything that doesn’t involve
Emma.

I grab my car keys and phone, and stalk off to go endure a night of torture with my brothers.

It’s just gone past nine-thirty, and I’m watching the time for ten. I don’t care where we are, I’m phoning Emma. That’s our time. It’s the only time we get to talk without her mother hanging over her head.

I pick up Zac and drive to Wyatt’s apartment.

“Have you decided when to go?” Zac asks.

“Next week hopefully
. Don’t tell Wyatt, he’ll tell Mom and she’ll ask questions, and I don’t want to talk about it right now. I want to get it all sorted out first,” I say, glaring at him for extra effect.

“Of course.
Are we going to The Liquid Lounge, or Don’s?” he asks, as I pull up to Wyatt’s.

“Any
thin’, I don’t care.” It’s five minutes to ten. “You drive, I need to phone Emma.” I get out and walk around the car, taking out my phone.

“And now?” Wyatt asks
, getting into the car.

“Aiden’s phoning
Emma, quiet.” Zac answers for me.

“Seriously, Aiden
. Just for one night, give her a break,” Wyatt says from the back. I’m about to snap at him when the phone starts to ring, saving his butt.

And it
rings. And it rings. I wipe my face.

“I can’t talk now,”
Emma’s voice suddenly comes over the line, trembling with fear.

“What’s
happenin’?” I ask, leaning forward. I need to walk, not sit in a car.

“She’s still up.
It’s not a good night,” she whispers.

“You mean the other days are,” I snap. It’s all too much. “What does that
mean? What’s not a good night? What happens then?” I ask. I need to know.

I hear screaming in the background
, and my blood turns to acid.

“Is that her?” I ask, gritting my teeth to
try and stay calm.

“Aiden,” m
y name rushes over her lips. She takes a strangled breath, I can feel her fear straight through the phone. It’s eating me alive. I’ve never felt so helpless in my live.

There’s a
loud bang, like a door being slammed open. And then I hear her mother voice, a drunken snarl. “I’ve not finished with you yet.”

“Mu
m.” I hear Emma whimper, like she does in her nightmares.

“
Emma,” I whisper, my throat is closing up.

The line cuts out and
Emma is gone.

“Pull over,” I hiss through clenched teeth.

The car has barely stopped and I’m out running. I have to let it out somehow. I’ve let her down just like her father. I didn’t protect her.

Zac takes me down and I cry. I cry in the middle of I don’t know where, in my brother’s arms, like he cried in my arms when Laurie died.

~*~

We go home and I pack immediately. I book my flight and Zac ta
kes me to the airport. I’ll stay in England with her until I can bring her back. I have to be with Emma.

I land just before noon.
I didn’t even last two weeks without Emma. I’m in for a surprise thought. I get a taste of what it was like for Emma the second I set foot out of the airport.

I have to remember to drive on the other side of the road.

I hate driving manual.

It’s all kinda shitty if you don’t even know where the nearest gas station is, and people around here call them filling stations or petrol stations. Yeah, no gas … petrol. I have to rewire my brain. The best part? I have to drive two hours to get to the village Emma is at.

It’s going to be interesting.

When I get lost for the forth time I pull over and lean back, just taking in the view. I stare at the green, rolling hills in front of me. It’s raining. It’s cold. If it weren’t for the weather the view would’ve been beautiful. The weather really sucks. Rain in the winter?

And really, really, I mean come on, what the hell is a brolly, just call the thing an umbrella. Weird. Just weird.

When I finally make it to Emma’s town, or village like they call them around here, I book into the hotel and unpack.
I’m settling in for the long haul. I’m here to fight for her.

I send Zac a message that I’ve arrived in one piece. Now I have to remember to count five hours back
.

I’ve been trying
Emma’s phone but it’s off. Just going to voicemail. I’m contemplating going over, but just to show up without phoning. I don’t want to spring that on her. So I settle in and wait for three a.m., because that is the time she expects me to phone.

Jet
lag’s a bitch. Add no sleep to it, and I’m pacing the room by eleven so I don’t fall asleep on Emma.

By one
, my eyes feel like sandpaper, and no amount of caffeine is helping.

I try again
at two.

It rings twice
, and my heart beats again. “Hey.” Her voice finally sounds in my ear.

“Hey
, you. I was so worried. Are you okay?” I launch right into it.

“Always,” she says, like I’m
supposed to take that for an answer.

“
Emma, it’s me, Aiden. Don’t give me an answer like that.” I close my burning eyes. I need sleep. She doesn’t need me snapping at her.

“I’m s-
”

I stop her.
“Don’t, sweetheart. How are things tonight?”

“Better. She’ll be going to bed any minute,” she says.

Why am I so slow when it comes to Emma? “Until what time does she stay up, normally?”

“Three, on the weekends
, and around eleven during the week. She’s good during the week.” She adds the last part quickly.

“B
ut not the weekends,” I say. I just figured out why she has the nightmares at three a.m. “So, what, you just stay up until she goes to bed?”

Emma
doesn’t answer me for a few seconds. “It’s better that way,” she says. “Never turn your back on your enemy.”

I take a step back as if I’ve been punched in the gut.
I breathe it away.

“Sweetheart, get in bed,” I whisper. I listen to her move.

“I’m in. How-”

“No,” I stop her, and I walk over to the bed. “You’
re going to sleep now, no asking questions. Close your eyes and sleep. I’m right here, listening. Just close your eyes and go to sleep.”

I get in bed and listen to her breathing for a few seconds.

“I love you, Aiden. I love you so very much,” she whispers.

I close my burning eyes, soaking up her words.

“I love you most, Sweetheart. Sleep now.”

~*~

I didn’t tell her I was here, and driving up to Emma’s house, I start to think I should’ve. I just might’ve taken a wrong turn. But I have the right street. I park in front of the house. I sit and stare through the rain. It doesn’t add up. It’s like taking one plus one and getting eleven, it just doesn’t work.

I’m in a wealthy area, parked in front of a mansion. There
are even those little trees you cut and shape so they all form neat rows of balls, running up along the drive. The grass is a perfect carpet of green.

Emma
never said anything about this, if anything she gave me the impression that they might’ve been middle income. Never wealthy. The way she moved around my house. I’m a little confused now, to say the least.

It’s
just after ten. I take out my phone, wanting to surprise her.

It starts to ring and I wait
, my eyes on the house. She’s in there, somewhere. The door opens and Emma comes out, and I listen to the phone ring, my eyes glued to her as she runs through the cold rain to the side of the house, taking cover under a trellis of creepers.

“Hey,” she sounds breathless
, and now I know why.

I open the car door
and start toward her.

“Hey
, you,” I whisper. I can’t manage much more as the distance between us grows smaller. “Emma,” I breathe, “look at me.”

She looks up slowly and I hear her gasp.
A myriad of emotions explodes across her face: shock, happiness, relief – and then horror.

“Aiden,” she whispers
. She drops the phone and her whole body wilts. “You’re here,” she says. Happiness and horror are fighting on her face.

She’s dressed all in powder blue. From the cutest shoes, pants,
to a polo neck she tugs away from her neck. And her make-up is done to perfection. She looks like an angel with the drops of water in her hair.

If I don’t touch her now I’m going to stop existing. I reach for her and
she explodes into action, smashing into my chest and the ache is so sweet, it trembles through me.

“Dammit, I missed you,” I whisper into her silky hair
.

I take a deep breath of her, fi
lling my lungs with her scent.

Her arms are tight around my
neck and her fingers dig into me. She’s cold. I take her arms from around my neck and wrap them around my waist, under my jacket, and I swallow her up in my arms, closing her in my warmth. When her body starts to shudder against mine, I hold her as tight as I possibly can.

“I have y
ou. I’m here,” I whisper. I caress her hair and press her face against my chest, feeling her rapid breaths warm my skin.