Aiden looked at Claire's expression and could see the thousands of questions she wanted to ask him. He beat her to it by answering even before she spoke.
"I had them moved. It's the share holders floor. It has the best security and accommodations. Your brother is right next door with your secretary." Aiden could see her face morph from having a confused expression to one that he couldn't understand. She almost looked.... sad? Hurt? Seeing as it had the opposite effect to what he had intended, he immediately regretted his decision and began to nervously ramble.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep your boundaries. You can have them moved back if you don't like it. I just thought they would be better protected and more comfor-" A soft body collided on him making him abruptly stop talking.
Claire had wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug. Aiden was so shocked he didn't register what had just happened. Snapping out of his initial surprise, he was about to hug her back, but he was too late.
"Thank you." She said to him as she removed her arms.
'Dammit! How could I be so slow!?' Aiden thought to himself as he made a mental note to do more speed training. He would not let that happen again.
While he inwardly berated himself he spoke again. "You should rest. You've had a hard day." Aiden wanted to stay with her, but he knew he had to give her some space. Today had been a major roller coaster for her and his presence was only keeping her from resting like he wanted her to. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything. Cameron will also be right outside."
"Alright. Thank you again for.... everything." Claire would've wanted to have a proper conversation with him about everything that had happened, but she was too tired. She decided to leave it for another time.
"I'll be taking my leave then. Goodnight." He lifted his hand and gave her cheek a gentle stroke. Having missed his chance to hug her before, he would have to conform himself with a simple touch of her soft skin.
He looked at Ben and gave him a slight nod receiving one back in response. Having done that, he turned around and left. Cameron closed the door behind him.
As soon as Aiden heard the door click closed, the temperature in the hall reached freezing point. Cameron knew his boss wouldn't leave him off the hook so easily for disappearing from his radar even if Claire had asked him to. He waited for his punishment to be sentenced with his head hanging low in a form of submission.
He waited and waited for Aiden to speak, but after a few moments of silence he mustered the courage to face him. The look is his eyes was so deadly it made him started to breakout into a cold sweat.
"You should be grateful she has apparently taken a liking to you. If it weren't for her asking me to wait for her explanation, you would've already been chained to a wall with every ounce of your blood dripping out of you." Aiden spoke with such a calm and serene expression on his face that it made the hallway feel even more chillingly eerie.
"Pray that what she tells me changes my mind about having you permanently removed from my sight." His eyes were dark. Not a speck of humanity in them. Having said that, Aiden turned around and started to leave. "If I were you, I'd protect that door with my life."
--------------
"Everything okay while I was gone?" Claire asked Ben as she bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Lily's forehead.
"Yes Madam. Both Miss Lily's and the young master's conditions have been stable. Master Colton will be kept under observation while he's recuperating, but the young miss will be discharged tomorrow morning." Just as Ben finished saying, a soft knock was heard on the door making them both turn their heads.
"Ma'am it's Cameron." His voice could be heard from the other side. Claire made her way to the door and slightly opened it. "Your dinner is here."
Claire opened the door wide enough to see what he meant. As soon as she did, a nurse walked inside the room pushing a cart with food and a large bag on top of it. Once she had done as she was instructed to do, she bowed her head and left without saying a single word. She looked up at Cameron with a confused expression.
"Boss." Cameron grinned as he offered her that single word as an explanation. After he did, he gently closed the door behind him.
Ben approached the cart and grabbed the large bag. Without even inspecting it's content, he passed it to Claire. "You may freshen up while I serve the food Madam. The bathroom is the door to your right." He gently ushered her to the bathroom door without letting her rebuttal.
Once Claire was inside the bathroom, still confused as to what just happened, she opened the bag. A genuine warm smile spread across her face due to what she saw.
Inside was two sets of clothes. One was a set of pink pajamas with cute white bunnies on it. The other was a knee length baby blue dress for her to wear the next day. Aside from that there was underwear, shoes, slippers, a tooth brush and every other amenity a person could need to bathe and freshen up.
Claire showered and got ready to sleep with Lily. She stepped out of the bathroom in her cute pajamas and saw Ben finish placing the food that was brought on the small table at the far corner of the room. When she got close enough, the delicious smells clogged her brain and made her stomach grumble. She sat down and noticed that it was exactly what she had ordered at the restaurant earlier that day with Aiden, but didn't get the chance to even taste.
Everything was extraordinary. The green spinach and cherry tomato salad was fresh, the lentil, mushroom and onion soup was extremely tasty and the apple risotto with scallops was divine. Claire was so full she felt like any sudden movements would make her pop. Ben started to clean up the table once she was done.
"Rest well Madam. You very much deserve it. I will be here if you or the young miss were to need anything." His voice was as soothing and caring as it always was when he spoke to her. She nodded and gave him an appreciative glance before she stood up and walked towards the bed.
She lifted the sheets and quickly settled in. Once she snuggled close enough to Lily, she closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Somewhere on the other side of the city.
A man sat at the edge of his desk while swirling a glass of expensive whisky in his hand. In his other hand, he held a picture of a beautiful young woman's side profile as she walked down the sidewalk. He was deep in thought as he looked at the picture when a knock was heard on the door.
"Come in." He said while tucking the picture away inside his suit pocket.
The man that knocked took a deep breath before he stepped into the office. He knew that just because he was the messenger, it wouldn't save him from the wrath he was about to face after being tasked to deliver such bad news.
"Good evening Boss." The man bowed as a sign of respect. "I bring an update regarding the mission." He slowly straightened himself as he placed his hands behind his back to hide his trembling. Seeing as his boss remained silent, he understood he was waiting for his report.
"I'm sorry to report that the entire team failed to bring the target into custody and were captured in the process." Complete silence ensued after he finished speaking. One minute passed and then another. The man before him simply sipped his drink while his eyes were fixed on him. An inexplicable expression on his face.
He suddenly stood up and went around his desk. Sitting in his chair, he placed the glass cup on the wooden top. They stared at each other in silence for a few more seconds before the man at the desk pulled out a gun from inside his suit jacket and shot the person by the door between the eyes.
He silently stared at the corpse on the floor as two men walked in and started dragging him away. Placing the gun back where it belonged, he took the picture from his pocket and started to caress it while looking at it once more.
"You can't run from me forever my little firefly. I finally found you after all these years. And this time, I'll make sure to rip out your wings so you can never fly away from me again." He said as his lips formed into a twisted grin.