Alina greets me at their door at the butt ass crack of dawn, handing me my usual to-go mug of coffee. Her expression is much like Roan’s from last night. Somberly she says good morning after shutting the door behind her. I escort her from the hall to the elevator in silence. This silence bullshit will be the damned death of me, I swear to Christ it will be.
By the time we exit the elevator and step out into the warm morning mid-summer air, I’ve had enough of this shit.
“What the hell is going on?” I demand from her when we start to walk down the street.
“What are you talking about?” Her words are coming out almost apologetically.
“Cut the shit, Alina. First Roan shows up last night, acting way the hell off, like he’s keeping something big from me, and now you’re as quiet as an old lady listening intently to the preacher’s sermon on a Sunday morning. What the hell gives?” She stops and stares at me for a moment, her eyes flitting back and forth between mine.
She turns and darts across the street without saying a word, leaving me no choice but to follow her.
“Goddamn it, Alina. Is something wrong? Trouble between you and Roan? I mean, seriously, fucking hell?” I sound like a prick, but at this point, I don’t fucking care anymore. I know these two, the three of us are tight. On top of that, being cautious my entire life, tip-toeing around my mother my entire life whenever I knew she had some kind of poisonous snake up her ass, I know when something is wrong. And something is definitely not right here.
Her feet continue to move at a much faster pace than normal, her gaze cast down to the cement on the sidewalk.
“Hell, I may get myself in trouble for telling you this.” She sighs deeply. “Deidre came over last night.” She continues to walk. I stop dead in my tracks.
The moment she realizes I am no longer beside her, she stops too and swings around with a look on her face that is unrecognizable to me.
Her words finally sink in. “Is she okay?” I ask quietly.
“She’s great.” Tears fill her eyes.
“Bull fucking shit. You’re lying.” I make my way to her in three long strides. I knew Roan was off last night, and now I know why. He knows how fucked up my head was when I was tied down, left to watch an innocent woman get tortured. And then she disappeared, fucking my mind up even more. The guilt clawing away inside of me because I couldn’t fucking save her.
“Where has she been?” I demand to know.
“Oh, no.” She spins around and starts walking at a rapid pace again.
“I shouldn’t have said anything to you at all. I promised her I wouldn’t.”
“What the fuck?” My words come out sharp.
“Look, Aidan. This is her story to tell. I’ve told you enough. When she’s ready to come see you, she will. Believe me when I tell you she’s fine. Now, you can walk me to work or you can turn your ass right back around. I’m not telling you anything else.” She waves her outstretched hand in the air.
I’m far from done though. I will find her, goddamn it. And I will find her today.
I beat Cain and Roan to the gym in our building. We all have gyms in our apartments, but they never get used. We tend to hit the gym that consumes half of the third floor of our apartment building. The three of us work out together as much as we can. Me, I’m constantly needed as a spotter. I push myself to the limit when pumping iron. The rip, the ache in my muscles ready to give away. It’s who I am. I push as hard as I can in every damn thing I do. Today, I’m pushing harder, my blood pumping like a caged beast’s, the treadmill I’m running on at full speed daring to steal my breath as sweat drips down my face, chest, and abs. I’m soaked, and I’m fucking pissed off at the whole damned world. I knew he was off last night. And fucking hell, he kept that shit from me. “Son of a bitch.” I reach up and pull the tiny red plug, shutting the treadmill off. Hoping off, I bend, retrieving my water bottle, and walk around the large room filled with men and women working out before they head to work. I pace around the room a few times, cooling down and guzzling the water.
Then I spot them both strolling in with smiles plastered on their smug faces. Does Cain know, too? Am I the last one to know she’s back?
I weave in and out of the machines until I come face-to-face with the two of them. Even though she isn’t here, all I can see is Deidre’s face by the time I come to a stop.
“The hell?” Cain holds his hands up in the air.
“Fuck,” Roan says.
“You got that shit right. Why the hell didn’t you tell me she was back, you fucker?” I point at his chest.