"I don't know if I want to get up. When we were talking before and you said the Devil's were thinking of moving to this area did you mean that you'd be around more permanently?" She knew that they were great in bed, and the small amount of time they lived together had been great even though it was under duress had been a great time too. She didn't want to scare him away, but she wouldn't mind staying in this apartment. Maybe finding a job and getting her life together would be something that she could obtain. She didn't like being dependent on anyone, and she didn't want him to think she was using him, but she didn't know how to get from under the oppression of her father.
"Yep. It's looking like I'll be around here trying to get you to be my old lady." He tried to make it sound like a joke, but she hoped he meant it because in all honesty it was going to be hard to let him go.
"Old lady? That doesn't sound like a position I'd like to fill. What does the job entail?" She liked joking around with him. It was always so easy to talk to him about almost anything.
"It would be a lot of fucking, pussy tapping, ass slapping, nipple pulling, talking, motorcycle riding, and maybe we could throw a few meals and some sleep in there every once in a while." Aidan actually had the nerve to look like she might say no to this very exciting offer.
She lifted her head up and looked into the light green eyes that reminded her of her mother's gems. "That sounds like a mix between a girlfriend and a friend with benefits."
"You are correct. I've checked all your references, your paper work seems to be in order, and the job is yours if you want it." He pulled back from her to look at her, and she felt so exposed. Not because she didn't want to do it, but because this forgiving man didn't even give her any of the business, and she wasn't used to that. There was only acceptance of what had happened and desire to move on. It was almost too much.
She hugged him because he was saving her life. Lorna hated to cry because her father said it was like a weakness and she never wanted to be weak, but she didn't know how chained she felt until Aidan came along and offered her a key.
"I'll take that as a yes?" He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "I don't know what we'll be up against as we make this move to be together, but I'm going to tell you where I keep my money socked away. Then if something happens to me, you can have money that your father doesn't control."
That was it. She couldn't hold the sob inside any longer. It was horrible to feel so bad about crying, but that was how she was raised. Unfortunately these weren't tears she could hold back, and they barreled out in loud gushing sobs. Aidan gathered her in his arms and didn't once tell her to stop crying or settle down. He patiently waited for her to stop. When she'd cried for longer than she'd ever cried in front of anyone, she lifted her head and he wiped her face with his t shirt before giving her a kiss.
"What was that for?" She asked.
"It was for trusting me with your tears and for agreeing to see where this goes and for making me feel so good."
"I hope I'm not more trouble than I'm worth." She wanted that to be a joke, but she had a feeling that Aidan didn't know how low down her father could go when he wanted to.
"You are worth all the trouble you'll bring and more."
She looked at him and smiled. "I'm going to hope that you'll always believe that because the Giovannis are something to behold when they don't get their way."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The phone rang and woke both of them up, well it woke him up; she seemed content to just snuggle into him as she moved her head from one cheek to the other. Aidan usually liked to be in a bed when he slept, and that was probably a product of not always having a bed growing up, but with Lorna stretched out on his chest, he was fine but disoriented. It was almost like a dream having her in his arms, and he almost had to shake his head a little because he wasn't sappy, and those were some sappy ass thoughts.
When the phone stopped ringing in the most jarring ring tone he'd ever heard, he breathed a sigh of relief but it didn't last long, because the phone started ringing again almost immediately.
"Someone wants to get in touch with you," he said shaking her a little. Picking up the phone and looking at the caller ID told him the person on the other line was The Devil. "You may want to get this."
She reached for the device and looked at the screen. "It's my Papa, and I don't want to answer it."
"You're going to need to talk to him, Lorna. You're a grown woman, and you don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go, but this man has arms and eyes all over the city. You need to know what he wants."
She didn't agree or disagree, but she did put the phone on speaker. "Yes, Papa?"
"Where the fuck are you? I knew I shouldn't have let you out of my sight." The leader of the local underworld sounded pissed, and Aidan moved Lorna off his lap so he could make a call of his own.
"I don't have to do what you say. You took away my money, my home, and my career so you could control me, but no more."
"So you ran to the man who killed Lucca for protection? He's only using you to get to me." The man calmed down quickly when he found out her little girl wasn't playing around and had found a way out of the jail he'd made for her.
"I got a copy of a tape that I was told you knew about. Would you know anything about it? It was a tape of the way Lucca was killed. It hurt me to my heart to watch it, but it showed that Aidan didn't kill Lucca and that he was trying to save him. Lucca was also telling him to go so he didn't get killed by his men that were on the way." She waited to hear what he'd say. Lorna looked like she really wanted him to confess what he really knew, but Aidan could tell that would be hard for the proud man he'd met a few weeks ago. This was a man who liked having control, having everything go his way with little to no questions.
"Everything isn't what it seems, little girl." Her father played the ‘you don't know what I know' card perfectly, but the look on Lorna's face said she wasn't going for it.
"I'm not coming back. I had some resources stashed away in my office, and I'm thankful that you let me get it, but no one deserves to be treated like this."
"I know where you are and who you're with. Let's see if I'm in a good mood to listen to this nonsense from you or Mr. Barnes when I get there." The phone disconnected, and Lorna looked scared.
"They're coming for us. My Papa says he knows where we are."
Aidan didn't like watching her get so upset, but there wasn't anything he could do to calm her right now. "Get dressed. We're getting out of here."
He watched her throw on her clothes, and he called Maverick.
"Yo," answered the man who rarely ever had a greeting for someone who called.
"Mav, it's me, Aidan."
"Yeah, I know or I wouldn't have said anything. What's up?"
"I'm here with Lorna. We met up to talk about what happened, and now her father is coming to get us."
"Fuck! Aidan didn't I tell you that I didn't want to have to cross paths with him. He's pissed at us for the mark we had on his right hand man. I really wanted to make a name for ourselves here and then attempt to join forces."
"Well I'm sorry to fuck up your plans, but I'm going to need some assistance. Where is everyone?" Aidan had everything he needed; he just wanted to make sure he knew where his back up was.
"They're all right here. Are you at your apartment?" Mav sounded like he was getting up and walking around. Aidan was grateful that this was working out the way it did because if he'd have been in town alone, who knew how this would have played out? The last thing he wanted was to have her dad shoot him with her present.
"Yes," Aidan said knowing that he was going to get shit for that one.
"Well that's stupid. He probably knows exactly where you are."
"I get that. We are on our way out the door now." Aidan gathered his keys and motioned for Lorna to come on.
"All right then, head over to the Round House Bar, and we'll meet you there. Be very careful. I think you have the makings of a time bomb on your hands, and the detonator has just been lit." Maverick hung up as soon as the last word left his mouth.
"We have to get going," he said to Lorna whose face was pale as a sheet.
"If I would have known I would could get you killed, I wouldn't have met up with you. I was so excited to see you, I didn't think about how this would play out."
"Don't worry about that now. Let's just try to work our way through this." He pulled her along after him as he took her down the stairs and out the exit in the back of the building. His motorcycle was right where he'd left it, and he gave her a helmet to put on as he put his on. Then they jumped on, and he took off. There was no other way to go but by the front of the building, and he saw the same cars that had come to pick Lorna up from the cabin. He counted seven, but there could have been more.