Chapter 27

FREYA

I managed a small, genuine smile. "Thank you for everything."

"You said that once," he muttered softly, almost soothingly, though his tone was matter-of-fact.

"Then I'll say it again," I swallowed. "You know, after I got out of the apartment, you were the first person I thought of calling." I don't know what made me blurt it all out like that.

He intently stared into my eyes. "Then why didn't you?"

"I didn't know if you were busy."

He frowned at my reason. "I can never be too busy for you two. I'll drop everything and come running to you anytime you need me. You and Gia are more important to me than anything."

The sincerity in Aiden's eyes rendered me speechless. Emotions clogged my throat. I was a tiny inch away from crying again. How could he say things like that and make it seem so genuine?

I let his presence soothe me for a moment before pulling away. I rubbed my nose, urging the burn at the back of my eyes to subside.

"I'll get you one of my shirts for tonight. Get some sleep." He stood up and walked out of the room. As I watched him close the door, I felt something had changed.

I knew I had come to trust Aiden, a man I barely knew but with whom I have a daughter. I cried on him, probably ruined his shirt, and he let me. He comforted me through my breakdown. For one, Aiden didn't seem like a man who would comfort people, but he did. He was there for us when we needed him. And Gus, he's so good with her.

He almost made it impossible not to trust him, but that's all I could afford. It couldn't be more than that. For some reason, I knew my heart was in dangerous territory and I had to protect it before it again walked a path of destruction.

AIDEN

"He's awake," Cillian reported, and I could practically hear his sadistic grin over the phone. When I'd informed him of everything last night, he demanded to be let into the Tun.

"Good. I want him awake and fully conscious." I heard him hum before hanging up. Freya had just walked in. She'd been quiet, but I'd heard her steps.

"Good morning," her soft voice reached me. I pocketed the phone and turned around to see her in my clothes. That would have been one of the best mornings of my life if the bandage on her forehead wasn't glaring back at me, almost taunting me. Automatically, I felt my facial muscles tense as I looked away.

A tense silence passed between us.

"You're up early," I muttered, glancing at my watch. Freya shifted her weight, a slight discomfort in her posture.

"Yeah maybe it's the new place," she shrugged, glancing around.

"As I told you, you can make changes to your room if that makes you comfortable."

"No, there's no need. It's just a few days," she offered a small, awkward smile that looked close to a grimace. My eyes narrowed slightly at her words. A few days? Was she considering moving out? Even the thought filled me with immense displeasure.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The low undercurrent in my words wasn't intentional, but it was there. I knew she'd sensed it, judging by her fidgeting.

"Uh I'll move out once I find a decent place."

So, she was considering moving out of my house. From another person's perspective, that might be logical, but for me, all logic took a backseat when it came to Freya.

"Will you, now?" I asked, thrusting my hands into my pockets.

Freya carefully considered me, nervously licking her lips. "Yeah, I know my staying here is bothering you. I get it. You're not used to sharing your space."

Not used to sharing my space, my ass! There's no one I'd rather share my space with than her and my daughter. What was she talking about?

I regarded her with a slight tilt of my head. I had told her

"No. But I assumed that you"

"I hate assumptions," I clipped.

She fell silent for a second, her brows dipping gently.

"Seconds ago you were avoiding looking at my face, and you looked angry," she explained slowly, as if I were a child unaware of my own feelings.

"And you thought that's because you're in my space?"

Freya stared at me with a confused expression. Her mouth opened and closed, no words coming out.

I called out, "Grilled out!" Freya almost spun on her heels, thinking the order was directed at her until she saw the staff scurrying out of the room.

I breathed, trying to exhale some of the rage simmering inside me, but it seemed impossible.

"You're right. I was avoiding looking at your face." I pointed at her bandaged forehead. "Because that right there is a reminder that I wasn't there to protect you from that fucker. Angry is a miserably small word to describe how that makes me feel."

I felt exposed, laying it all out like that. I'd stopped showing my emotions the second I realized they were useless. Staying in control gave me a sense of power and balance. But Freya had knocked me right off that balance the second she'd walked into my life. The sight of her hurt and bleeding last night had filled me with fury like never before. The need to inflict unrelenting pain was bubbling inside me. I knew I could feel slightly better only after I'd delivered my punishment to that sorry excuse for a man.

"It wasn't your fault," she stepped forward as if to touch my arm but ultimately decided against it. I watched her hand drop awkwardly to her side.

I need you to tell me what exactly happened.

I watched Freya stiffen at my demand. I agree it wasn't the best idea to make her relive the whole thing, probably a little too early. But it had to be done. I hadn't asked last night; she was emotionally and physically exhausted.

But now I needed to know. I wanted every detail so that when I dealt with that slimy fucker, I would know just how much pain to deliver.

She blinked before shaking her head. "It—it's in the past."

My lips pressed into a thin line as I considered her. It wasn't in the fucking past! It was very much in the present, fresh and throbbing with the need to inflict violence.

Even if the time period doesn't change anything. If there was anyone in her past who had hurt her in any way, I would hunt them down and deliver their fate. I just hope there isn't anyone like that.

"Why do you think I didn't get the cops involved?"

Freya remained silent, skeptically observing. By the look on her face, she'd guessed the answer but didn't want to believe it.

I walked closer until I was almost in her space. She stared at me with wide eyes.

(The final lines are unintelligible and need further clarification to be corrected.)