“Avery is a man.”
He shakes his head. “I already fucking know that, Emilia. Now, tell me what happened.” He growls.
I bow my head in embarrassment.
“Now!” He yells.
I flinch. He’s never raised his voice at me before. “He…well…” I stutter.
He strokes my hair, cooing, “Baby, please.”
I take a deep breath. “I didn’t want to tell you about Avery being a man because you didn’t need to worry.” I wipe away fallen tears. “I wanted to show you it wasn’t a big deal. But things changed when I went in this morning. I was rolling dough when he came up behind me and helped.”
I see his body go rigid.
“He leaned against me. At first, it was odd, but then…” I trail off.
He squeezes my shoulder. “Then what, Emilia?”
I lean in and whisper, “He pressed into me and I could feel him. Like he was–”
Aiden cuts me off with a finger to my lips. He looks furious as he steps back. His face contorts before he laughs manically.
I don’t have the strength to stop him as he throws the door open and steps in.
“Where?” He demands.
I gesture to the kitchen.
“Stay,” He states.
I don’t listen.
He stops, pinching the bridge of his nose to hide his annoyance, before placing his hands firmly on my shoulder. “Emilia, I need you to stay,” He hisses through gritted teeth.
I shake my head.
“No. Absolutely not. You fucking lied to me. You lied about your boss being a man. And now, look what happened? You fucking stay.”
I don’t argue when he pulls out a chair and gently pushes me down like a child, but I cross my arms. I look at him with pleading eyes, not wanting any more bloodshed. “Don’t kill him.”
Aiden simply looks at me with a maniacal smile before opening the kitchen door.
I bury my face in my hands.
Twenty-Four
Aiden
∞∞∞
Isee who I presume is Avery standing over a counter.
“Emilia darling, you came to your senses.” He turns around, confusion on his face when he sees me.
I study him. The audacity, no, the balls this man has to hire a young girl, and then hit on her thinking she’ll never tell is fucking sickening. I own my own business and I’d never use my position of power to get into a girl’s pants. It’s something that comes naturally to me, which tells me this guy is a sick fuck.
I notice he’s holding an ice pack between his crotch. My Emilia must have kicked him in his balls. I would laugh if I wasn’t seething with rage.
I put my hand on my chin in thought. “You know what I love.” I run my hands along the shelving, knocking the glass containers to the hard flooring. The shattering makes my pulse quicken.
“When a grown man hires a young lady thinking he can have his way with her just because she works for him…” His body goes stiff as my legs glide in front of him. “But that’s where you fucked up.” I growl, grabbing his throat. “You tried to take advantage of someone very important to me.” His pulse on my palm is unsteady and quick.
“I didn’t–”
I cut him off. “No, no. You’re not about to tell me my Emilia lies. Are you?” He shakes his head and I get in his face. “You have the fucking balls to lie to me? To my face?” My skin is red hot as I bellow.
In one quick movement, my knuckles connect with his jaw with all my power. He falls on the hard flooring and I get on top of him, pummeling him with my fist. I wait for him to fight back as I breath heavily, but he lays there like a bitch.
“You want to try to fuck with my girl, and yet when you face the consequences, you cower under me?” A deep laugh escapes me.
He shakes his head.
“You hit on my fucking girl. You’re her boss! You sick fuck. Couldn’t you tell she didn’t want you?” I spit.
He shakes his head and says in a weak voice, “She’s lying.”
I laugh at his audacity. Perhaps he has a death wish.
Emma may not have told me the truth but that’s because she didn’t think something like this would ever happen. It never should have. I do the things I do for her own protection. The thought brings fury throughout my core as I pummel my fist to his face until he’s unconscious. The blood splatters onto the white flooring.
This is exactly why I didn’t want Em to follow. She doesn’t need to see this. She still has nightmares from what happened before. Why do these things happen to her? Why can’t I protect her from everything? If only I could place her in a bubble and keep her away from the world.
I should fucking kill him, put a bullet between his eyes. Better yet, snapping his neck with my hands would be a satisfying sound. But Emilia asked me not to kill him.
Fuck. I’ll get Howard to do it.
Em’s eyes widen when she catches sight of my bloody knuckles when I return. I rush to her and scoop her in my arms. I couldn’t think clearly through my rage. But now that the problem is half solved, I can breathe.
How scary that must have been for her.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, baby.” I lift her into my arms and carry her outside.
“Do I need to get the body?” Howard asks.
I shake my head. “He’s alive. You know what to do.”
Emilia whimpers in my arms. “Don’t kill him.”
Why is she protecting him?
“Why the fuck not?” I put her down.
She wipes her eyes with shaking hands, her tone defeated. “No more bodies.”
I sigh before looking back at Howard. “Call Detective Stark and tell him what happened. Maybe Emilia’s not the only girl who’s been harassed by this creep.” I look over at Em and she nods.
I help her into my car, making sure to fasten her seatbelt.
I admire the way the fabric looks against her skin. I like her tied down. Chill, Aiden. She’s upset.
I place a hand on her knee. “Are you okay?”
She looks over at me with a small smile. I’m trying to keep calm. A thin thread holds me back from turning this car around and fucking ending that scumbag.
That thin thread is Emilia’s sad face.
“Yeah, I am. Thank you, Aiden.”
“You hit him in the balls?”
Her smile grows wide, her laughter filling the car. “I did.”
“Good girl. One of these days, I’ll teach you how to fight.” I clutch her hand. “For now, we’re going home.”
Her smile doesn’t reach her glistening eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I pull into the parking garage and slam on the brakes. I cup her cheek as I look into her sad eyes. “Don’t you dare apologize to me. I’m so sorry that happened to you. It’s not your fault.”
Emilia
∞∞∞
I took a shower once I got home and passed out on the bed. It was dark out when Aiden came back in the bedroom.
I wake to the feeling of him snuggling against my back, but his arm doesn’t go around me. I back into him, desperate for his hands to be on me.
He lets out a deep breath. “May I touch you?” He asks, confusing me.