Chapter 11
Flee
Spinning in the black office chair, Riley is staring out the window, or what part of it she can see out of. She is in a trance, thanks to the spinning. She was bored and needed to move, so she improvised. She spun one time, and to her surprise, it didn't make any noise. So, she continued, and at first, she was relieved to have something to do; then, Riley began to consider how she was going to tell Aiden what happened that night and how she was going to be able to look at him afterwards, hoping he didn't consider her used and broken. She started thinking that she could just tell him about having to kill those guys to get away, but she instantly decided against it, as she is nothing if not honest. She doesn't think she can start lying now. She is debating with herself, and the spinning of the chair just continued absentmindedly. She begins to get so lost in her thoughts of what to do that she doesn't hear the door open, and Aiden comes through. She keeps thinking, and she just continues spinning.
As Aiden enters the room, he stops short in the doorway and sees Riley spinning on the office chair, staring blankly, not even blinking.
"Fuck," he says, assuming she is somewhere else in her head again. He drops his bag and rushes over to her. He grabs the back of the chair, causing her to jump up off the chair, with her right hand instantly grabbing her knife and raising it to the target. Her left hand is raised, ready to push back against whoever grabbed the chair. The knife is inches from Aiden's throat. Aiden jumped back, hands up, defenseless. A look of hurt flashes in his eyes before he recovers instantly, but Riley saw it. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, that look is gone from his eyes, so she lets it go.
She immediately releases the knife, with Aiden's and Riley's eyes following it as it falls to the ground. The second before it hits the floor, Riley has gone down and caught it with her left hand, flipping it in the air and catching it with her right, spinning the fucking knife and sheathing it before Aiden can blink. His jaw drops to the ground, and he can't get a word out. He is in shock. He's in love with a fucking badass.
She smiles and steps toward him. "I'm so sorry about that. I was just lost in my head and didn't hear you come in. The sudden stopping of the chair scared me, and instinct kicked in," she said, wrapping her arms around him.
His hands instantly found her waist and pulled her close. "Aye, Mija, that's instinct? I need to step up my game then." He smiles at her. She tries to smile but stops halfway, and she begins to blink back tears. He is instantly trying to apologize, but he's not sure what he said that could have caused her any kind of pain or hurt.
"Mami, no, don't be upset; I was joking. What's wrong?" He asks
"No, Aiden, it's not you; I just remembered something, and it hits hard, ya know?" She tries to explain. "My dad and brother, Ruben, had made it their life's mission to train me, constantly training me every day. That little move took me five days to perfect and make instinctive. That's five days with over 15 hours a day of just doing that move. I would mess up and have to start over. I got so tired of that move that, after I mastered it, I refused to do it anymore. That was the first time I'd done it in over 8 months. That's just one of my moves, I know. They trained me so hard, and I loved it. I wanted it. I was happy; we were learning to survive as a family. So, we wouldn't have to suffer like we did when we lost my mom." She laughs bitterly.
"I was so stupid and naive."
"What? Why do you say that?" Aiden is genuinely concerned for her, and it upsets him to hear her talk like that.
"They weren't doing it for the family to survive; they were doing it so I could. So, I could survive on my own. Somehow knowing they wouldn't be here to help me," She lets the tears fall as she says the last part.
"Oh, Mija. I'm sure it was just them being cautious, just in case. It can happen so fast."
"No, you don't get it, Aiden. I don't know how, but they knew I was going to be here without them. Somehow, one of them figured something out, and instead of talking to me about it, they talked to each other and decided without my knowledge or input. It makes me feel like they gave up on themselves, just to make sure I made it."
"They loved you. I can see why they would." Aiden says truthfully.
"No. No, please, not you too. Please, Aiden, don't you dare fall for that shit too. I couldn't survive losing anyone else. My heart and mind would die. Please don't tell me that shit. Tell me you are gonna fight next to me so we both survive. Please!" She is practically crying in hysterics now.
Aiden grabs her by the shoulders and says, "Riley, Calmate, Calmate, Mijita, please. I'm not giving up. I'm not planning to die any time soon. I just found you, Mi Amor; do you really think I want to lose you or lose my life? I'm gonna fight with everything I have to stay next to you. You have no idea how my heart and mind would die if I lost you," he tells her with so much passion and conviction that Riley feels the truth in that statement in her soul. "Riley, hear me and believe me; my heart and mind would die if I lost you," he tells her again. Riley is overcome by her feelings for Aiden and the fact that she can see his feelings for her are genuine. She never saw anything close to that with Rico.
He is still holding Riley by the shoulders, staring into her eyes, and Riley cannot believe she found her soulmate at a time like this because she knows without a doubt that's who Aiden is. She instantly gets on her tippy toes and kisses him, pulling him closer and holding him like she can't get enough of him.
Surprised by the sudden kiss, it takes Aiden only a second to respond, and then he is pulling her close and grabbing her by her ass. He pulls her up, and Riley quickly jumps up, wrapping her legs around him. Lost in his taste, she moans loudly when he moves down to kiss her throat.
She whimpers again, wanting to experience all of Aiden this time. She has her hands in his hair; she is tugging him closer, and she feels his erection, making her want more.
Bang!
A gunshot rings out. That snaps her out of her lust filled haze. They stop and listen; Riley tries to wiggle out of Aiden's arms.
"Aden, put me down." He immediately does, and she is off grabbing her belongings. She zips up her boots, ties the hoodie around her waist, and checks each of her weapons. She leaves the sheaths unclipped; just in case, she grabs her backpack, unzips it, and goes through it all. She grabs the clothes she had hanging up to dry and folds them, placing them on the bottom of her bag. She then piles everything else inside. She zips it up and throws it on her back. Tightening the straps, she makes sure it fits her and is positioned exactly right. She grabs her rifle and throws that on her back as well. She looks at Aiden, who is still standing there with a look of fascination on his face.
"Let's go, Aiden; we don't want to be here when whoever shot that gun comes through those doors."
This snaps him out of it. "Yeah, I'm sorry, you're right."
He gathers his belongings, throws them on, and double-checks to ensure he hasn't forgotten anything. He does his weapons check, placing the knives in their sheaths on his belt, checking each gun, pulling the hammer back, then placing one behind his back, on his ankle, and in the holster on his waist. He looks at Riley, and she is looking out the window, trying to see who shot that gun.
"Aiden, please let's hurry; we need to go." Riley speaks quickly. She started pacing by the window, chewing on her bottom lip.
"Riley, Mija, we are gonna be fine; we are. I promise." She finally stops pacing and looks at him, as he speaks.
"Don't promise me something you can't keep." she whispers, turning her head and pacing again.
"I would never tell you about false promises, Riley." Aiden says. He grabs his things, places the bag on his back, and walks to her, standing right in her path, so she has no choice but to stop and look at him.
"I know you don't know me very well, obviously, but there's one thing you need to know. I never say something I don't mean, and I never make false promises. If I say it, it's for one of three reasons: I know it, I feel it, or I believe it." He tells her this while gently grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him.
"Okay. Good. Because besides my papi and Ruben, every guy I've ever known has lied to me."
"I'm sorry about that, but that is not me. I'm not like that and never have been."
Riley looks at him, really looks at his eyes, and she knows he is telling the truth, not just saying pretty words to her. She gets on her tippy toes and brushes her lips against his. Aiden instinctually grabs her waist and holds her there, as his desire for her grows incredibly fast with the short, sweet kiss.
"We should go." Riley says this while her mouth is still on his.
"Yes, we should." Aiden says, as he is still kissing her.
Riley pulls away and gets back on her feet. She now looks up at him, and he is looking at her, and Riley just feels the emotions radiating off him. It is wonderful and scary, and she smiles at him. He smiles back.
"Ready?" he asks her.
"Ready." She answers.
They turn to leave the office when, in the distance, the roar of an engine can be heard.
Freezing in place, she quietly gasps and turns to look out the window. In the distance, she can see the faint reflection of the sun glinting off a windshield. A car's windshield is heading straight for them.