She stood up and walked over to the window to see if she could view him. It had been a few minutes, so she didn't have high hopes of catching a glimpse of him but she would be wrong. There he was walking down the street toward his bike. After all that time he'd just gotten that far, and then he was going for his bike? Her mind whirled with accusations, but he didn't owe her anything. Everything outside the window was getting blurry, and she was getting angrier with each drop of water that filled her eyes. That was enough for her; she turned off everything and decided on going to bed early tonight. She could be whoever she wanted in her dreams too; it was just the morning light that would ruin that fantasy.
CHAPTER FIVE
Her fucking cousin? Her fucking ‘He's my best friend" cousin? What the hell? Aidan had paced outside back and forth from his bike to her door before he decided that he'd drive to the wine shop and smoke the emergency cigarettes he had stashed in the compartment of his bike. It had been a long time since he'd felt like he really needed one, but having them nearby was almost like a security thing. The drought was over now and the familiar crinkling sound of the paper was almost a comfort because he knew what came next.
Lighting up and filling his lungs with the smoky nicotine was like a salve to his emotions. He knew he shouldn't have gotten so close to Lorna, but she was beautiful, sweet, and sexy as all hell. How was he supposed to get one taste of a woman like that and walk away without getting his fill? The problem was the more he was with her the more he wanted. Which is why he was still hanging out with her and filling her pussy every chance he got a week later.
His phone rang, and he wondered if it was Lorna. She made his heart hurt the way she looked at him before he left. The sad smile was so forced, he half way wondered why she felt compelled to try, but in truth he knew. She didn't think he was coming back, and that thought did cross his mind for a few minutes. He was supposed to find out information that would lead him to find the man he now knew was her favorite cousin. His brothers had to do better with the intelligence. They had no idea that Lorna was the daughter of the biggest mafia boss in this area?
"Hello?" He knew he sounded short, and he really didn't give a fuck right now.
"What the fuck, dude? You've been out there a whole week, and your mark is still up and walking around. This is making us look bad." The leader of the Devil's Stepbrothers Motorcycle Club or the Devil's Bros, which is what the guys all liked to call it for short, wasn't good at salutations. It was like he never left off when he spoke to you last and was still in the same conversation. His number was always private just like all of his other brothers so when you answered your phone it was a crap shoot on who was going to be on the other line.
"Mav, I've been trying to get information from the girl and looking for him during the day." Aidan knew that was the truth, and he also knew that Mav probably already knew all about it. He'd been trying his best to find the guy, but Lucca was like a ghost. When he'd get information about him and went to the place the man was supposed to be, he'd either just left or hadn't been there. Asking too many questions would probably get him on the wrong side of a gun, so he was trying to lay low. He knew Lucca was close to the big boss in the area, and although he didn't have a problem with him, someone was paying big money to have him meet his maker.
"If you don't get this situation under control, I'll be sending down someone else. They may be able to do the job better than you. Well if not better, then at least faster." Mav had something in his mouth, and it sounded like he was frustrated, and there was no way in the world Aidan wanted him to be upset enough to do that.
"I'll get it done. I'm very close." Aidan was trying to be convincing, but it was hard. He was in a city he didn't know well, and he was trying to find a man who was familiar with the lay of the land. It was a hard pill to swallow, but he knew he had just found the way to Lucca. The plan had always been to use her for information, and he'd been okay with that, but now it was starting to feel personal. He hated that, because personal had no business in this type of situation. He had a job to do, and his reputation was on the line. He'd worked hard to be known as a hard ass who could handle any situation, and in this line of business, a reputation was really all you had.
"Yeah, yeah … that's what everyone says when they aren't getting the job done. I may need to get someone down there who's hungrier than you are."
Maverick always knew the words to say that would spur someone on because that was definitely something that could light a fire under his ass. It was hard to hear what else Maverick was saying as Aidan could feel his pulse throbbing and hear the soft swooshing of his blood coursing through his veins. He wasn't sure how he could keep Lorna after she found out that not only had he killed her cousin but that his plan had always been to get information from her so he could track him down, and he had to complete the mission. He'd never been a quitter, and that wasn't going to start today.
"Nobody is hungrier than me, Maverick," Aidan said into the phone.
"Then let me see it. I'd better hear that the deed has been done. This is the only phone call you'll get about this matter … consider it a courtesy call. The next time you hear from me it will be telling you that someone else completed your mission, and you can bring your slow ass back to the base. Comprende?" Maverick's mouth was no longer full of whatever he'd had in it, but Aidan was almost sorry about that because he didn't want to hear anything else from the man.
"Yeah, I understand just fine." Aidan tried to portray the calm and collected attitude he usually had, but it was difficult.
The phone clicked in Aidan's ear, and he tried not to seethe with anger. This just wasn't his night. He didn't have a choice but to pick up the wine he said he was going out to get and return back to Lorna. It wasn't going to do him any good to think of ways to get out of what he was going to do, so he decided that he was just going to take it as it came.
***
The house was dark when he went back, and he wondered if everything was alright. It hadn't taken that long to get the wine. He lifted the huge door knocker and let it fall to the brass plate on the wood. It took a few minutes, but he could hear something behind the door. It sounded like it was a scuffle going on, and he thought about drawing his gun. Thank god he was quick about it so he didn't have to stand here on the ready.
The door opened, and Lorna looked as if she'd been crying, or sleeping. Her eyes had bags under them and were red. She'd either got some bad news as soon as he'd left or she had been crying about him. Either scenario made him want to hurt something. This woman had his emotions all over the map, and that was new for him. He didn't think he liked it too much, but he wasn't ready to let Lorna go either.
"Is everything alright?" he asked as she opened the door.
"Yes. I just decided to make it an early night." She closed up her robe, and he shook his head for the second time that night trying to clear what seemed like cobwebs from his mind.
"I thought you said dinner would be ready in a few minutes. I took a few minutes more than I thought I'd take, but it's been less than an hour." He searched the place with his eyes quickly trying to scan for unwelcomed visitors. "Is anyone else here?"
"You mean did I call someone to off you when you got back?" She sounded hurt, and he wasn't sure what of make of it.
"No, I didn't mean that." He went to sit on the couch and watched as she sat beside him. "It's just the lights were off, and I didn't know what was happening. Maybe it didn't come out right because there is just so much going on in my mind."
"I'm sorry. I saw you walking toward your bike, and thought you were leaving. You told me you were going to walk to clear your head."
"I was going to walk, but then I got outside and wanted a cigarette. I gave them up a few years ago, but I keep a pack just in case of emergencies."
"Well, this was an emergency I can imagine." She sat there staring at him, and he realized that she actually didn't think he was going to come back.
"Come here," he said pulling her closer to him and sitting her on his lap. When she was settled in, she took a deep breath in and then turned her face toward his.
"I can't believe you came back. Dinner is probably ruined, but if you want I can call out for something." She looked so earnest, and he knew he'd never known a sweeter soul. He couldn't afford to have her though, so he would just have to be content to know that he'd once known someone of her caliber. Maybe that would keep him warm when he was without her, because that day was coming soon.