Page 14

Chapter thirteen

Particles

Despite his conscience telling him he should stay away, Aaron pounded his fist on Kenny’s front door.

When Kenny opened it, he frowned. “Thought you had a key.”

Chest heaving, breaths ragged from sprinting the entire river path from campus, Aaron gasped for air. “Is it true?”

Kenny didn’t have to answer. The plastic box by the door, stuffed with papers and books, said everything and Aaron’s stomach twisted. Kenny stepped aside, silently inviting him in, and Aaron threw his bag in a heap by the shoes.

“Fuck, Kenny!” Aaron raked his hands through his hair, as if he could pull the turmoil out by the roots. “I got you fucking fired!”

Kenny shut the door behind him. “Hey, no. No, you didn’t.” He caught Aaron’s wrists and yanked his hands down. “I’m on compassionate leave.”

“ Ordered compassionate leave?”

Kenny hesitated, shoulders dipping. “I can’t work with my mind on… other things. I have the funeral to prepare for. I have… a lot going on. It makes sense to step back from the university for a while.”

Aaron waited for more. Hoped for more.

“It’s okay.” Kenny cupped the back of Aaron’s neck. “It’s all okay.” He brushed his lips to Aaron’s for a kiss, tender and aching, desperate to reassure. Aaron melted into it. As he always did. And right then, he understood. Kenny did those things on purpose. To keep Aaron together. Hold him steady. Stop the storm he knew raged inside him.

And now he knew why. Because Kenny was in love with him.

Kenny pulled back, exhaling deeply as he ran a hand through his hair. “You’re earlier than I expected.”

“I ditched my last lecture. As if I was going to sit through that after I heard about you.”

“You shouldn’t do that.” Kenny shook his head, brow furrowing. “Don’t sacrifice your final year for me.”

“Why not?”

Kenny stepped back, expression tightening as if he was retreating into himself. “You didn’t come this far to throw it all away. Certainly not for me.” He turned toward the stairs, shoulders hunched as he tried to step out of the moment. “You could get back for the last hour. I was in the middle of something anyway, and I should get back to it.”

Aaron stared after him. This was it. This was what Jack had warned him about. Kenny was spiralling. Retreating. Letting everything crush him because he didn’t know how to stop it. And Jack’s words rang loudly in his mind: Don’t let him drown in this.

So Aaron leapt forward, catching up to Kenny on the first step, and he grabbed Kenny’s shoulder, forcing him to turn back to him.

“Don’t.” Aaron gripped Kenny’s neck, pulling him into a kiss that wasn’t tender this time. Wasn’t a soft platitude to calm. It was fierce. Urgent . Filled with everything Aaron couldn’t put into words. And he moved his lips with Kenny’s, desperate to force him back from wherever he was.

Kenny froze for a moment before sliding his hands around Aaron’s waist, holding on as though he were the only solid thing in a crumbling world.

“Stay with me,” Aaron whispered.

Kenny closed his eyes. “ Aaron …I—”

“Forget everything. Forget it all.” Aaron kissed him. Again and again. Pouring his heart and soul into it. Into him . And he planted frantic kisses down his neck, nuzzling into his beard, then back up along his jaw, watching the emotions playing out over his face as Aaron once again captured Kenny’s lips with his own.

Kenny gripped him close, then dipped his forehead to Aaron’s. “God, baby. Don’t let me lose myself to this.”

Aaron dug his fingers into Kenny’s neck, hard and bruising. “Then stay lost in me instead.”

For a heartbeat, Kenny remained motionless, and the silence stretched, but Aaron could feel the shift in his body. The faint crack in the wall he’d built to protect himself. And slowly, Kenny opened his eyes, meeting Aaron’s gaze, and Aaron drew a breath at the hunger simmering beneath those dark eyes, intense and consuming.

Then Kenny tightened his grip on Aaron’s waist, dragging him closer, and crashed his mouth onto his, urgent and unrestrained. Aaron groaned into it, deepening the kiss as he pushed Kenny back against the wall with more force than finesse and fumbled for the hem of Kenny’s shirt. He yanked it free from his trousers, grabbing the fabric to tear it apart, buttons scattering over the stairs like rain drops.

It was more than a shirt. It was Kenny’s carefully curated world, his stoic professionalism, his academic laurels, stripped away in an instant. By him . And Aaron ghosted his hands over Kenny’s now-bare chest, revelling in the warmth of his skin, the soft tufts of his hair, the thrum of his pulse beating just for him. For this . This was real. This was Kenny. Not the professor. Not the man drowning in grief and expectation. Kenny unburdened and unguarded, if only for a moment, was the man Aaron was desperate to keep.

Breaking the kiss long enough to pull Aaron’s T-shirt over his head, Kenny cast it aside to nip Aaron’s neck, drawing a gasp from his throat. Aaron fumbled to unfastened Kenny’s belt, unzipping his trousers, and they pooled at Kenny’s feet. He kicked them off as Aaron sank to his knees, dragging down Kenny’s underwear to spring his glorious cock free, throbbing and pulsing. Aaron stroked him for a while, glancing up, then opened his mouth wide, ready for Kenny to use him to get out of his mind.

Kenny slid his hands into Aaron’s hair, gripping the strands. “Baby…”

“Fuck my mouth, lover. Blow your fucking mind.”

With a drawn-out moan, Kenny rocked his hips to thrust his leaking cock inside Aaron’s mouth. And Aaron took it. Took all of him. To the point he choked. But he didn’t let up, gorging on him, giving him what he needed. Sucking him back to the now. Getting him here . Back obsessed with him .

“Fuck, Aaron …” Kenny’s low, guttural growl of pleasure vibrated through every cell in Aaron’s body as he fucked Aaron’s mouth with a relentless, driving rhythm. “ Yeah . God, yeah.” He tightened his grip on Aaron’s hair. “Fuck, that’s it. God, that’s it. Keep going, baby. So good. So fucking good.”

Aaron worked Kenny with slow, determined sucks, dragging out every shudder, every choked sound, every tremor rippling through Kenny’s body. He knew exactly how to unravel him, how to drive him to the brink and hold him there, teetering, trembling. And he fucking loved it. So he pulled off with a wet pop, dragging his tongue along Kenny’s length, teasing, savouring, collecting the slick bead of pre-cum at the tip, the explosion of salty tang on his tongue sending a bolt of raw, unfettered lust through him. His cock throbbed painfully in his jeans, aching, desperate, but this wasn’t about his need. This was about Kenny. About owning him. Devouring him.

Taking him apart piece by piece.

Kenny gripped his hair, caught between the primal urge to shove his cock back down Aaron’s throat and the need to let Aaron control it all. Aaron smirked against Kenny’s skin. He loved that. Loved how he could drive Kenny to the edge of madness and hold him there, make him beg for the release he refused to grant too soon.

“You taste so fucking good,” Aaron said, voice thick with hunger, and he wrapped a fist around the base of Kenny’s cock, exposing the glistening head to his gluttonous mouth. “Fucking love how this fills me up.” He then gathered a mouthful of saliva and let it spill, coating Kenny’s dick in slick heat, soothing his strokes to a relentless pace.

He didn’t want to waste a second. Didn’t want to give Kenny a moment to think, to hesitate, or pull away. He wanted him like this—raw, unguarded, lost in Aaron.

He wanted him wrecked .

With a wicked gleam in his eyes, Aaron shifted lower, his mouth trailing hot kisses along the sensitive skin beneath Kenny’s shaft. Then, with agonising leisure, he took one of Kenny’s balls into his mouth, rolling it with his tongue, savouring the way Kenny’s body jerked beneath him.

“Fucking hell,” Kenny gasped, voice rough, guttural. He dropped his head back against the wall, breaths ragged, chest rising and falling as he watched.

Aaron suckled for a while, taking Kenny’s other ball into his mouth while gripping the base of Kenny’s cock with his hand, pumping him in slow, languid strokes. He wanted him mindless. Desperate . Wanted Kenny’s control shattered. His composure obliterated, until the only thing left was raw, frantic need. For him.

Kenny groaned, covering Aaron’s hand with his own, urging him faster, harder. Taut with restraint, muscles trembling under the strain of holding back, Kenny hissed. Aaron smirked, dragging his tongue back up the length of him, swirling it over the head, teasing, taunting, then sucking it into his mouth.

“Get up here,” Kenny growled, deep and feral, dragging Aaron to his feet and pinning him to the banister as he fumbled with Aaron’s jeans. “Get them off.”

Aaron obliged, wriggling, with effort, out of his ripped skinny jeans as Kenny spat in his palm. And with that spit-soaked hand, Kenny grasped both of their cocks, stroking them together in one tight grip.

“Yeah, fuck .” Aaron moaned, wrapping his arms around Kenny’s neck, thrusting his hips into the delicious friction of Kenny’s cock in his slick hand.

“So good, baby.” Kenny pressed his forehead to Aaron’s, eyes fixed on their joined cocks sliding in and out of his tunnelled fist. He then let go and forced Aaron around and Aaron slapped his hands on the wall as Kenny trailed kisses down his spine, delving his tongue into his crease, tearing him apart with a savage urgency that had Aaron moaning with gluttonous delight.

“Yeah. Oh, fuck, yeah .” Aaron arched into Kenny, desperate for that thick tongue to soak him, to plunge inside him. “Get that tongue in me. Get me wet for you.” A few more spit soaked licks, followed by two fingers easing him open, and Aaron was dripping. Desperate. A mess. But oh so fucking ready for Kenny to tear him apart.

Kenny stood, positioning the tip of his cock at Aaron’s entrance. “Can I?”.

“Get inside me, lover. Lose yourself in me.”

Kenny did just that. He eased inside him, and Aaron pushed his palms against the wall to force himself back, welcoming every inch of Kenny into his body the way he was already in his mind. His heart . And he groaned, the sound bouncing off the tight, suffocating walls of the stairwell, like a trapped whisper in a narrow vent. With every gasp reverberating, amplified by the enclosing walls, Aaron felt exposed. As though every breath, every slap of skin, was laid bare for all to witness their depravity. God, it was intoxicating. Wild. Utterly insatiable. And Aaron craved it. Hankered for it. Every sinful, unrelenting second of it. He adored Kenny for giving it to him. From the soft whispers of tenderness to the raw, unapologetic debauchery.

Fuck, he loved it.

Loved Kenny .

“That’s it.” Kenny slid a hand up Aaron’s spine, a calming gesture amid the oppressive, echoing enclosure. “Good boy.” He then shifted his angle, moving his hands down to grab Aaron’s hips and start his agonising thrusts in and out, building up to a rhythm that had Aaron gripping the banister for support. “Good fucking boy.”

Kenny rutted him against the wall, relentless and erratic, sweat pouring off him as he pounded into him. Aaron cried out, grunting, knuckles whitening, and Aaron revelled in every delicious railing. This was his Kenny. The man who loved to fuck. Dirty and desperate. Feral and free.

“Fuck, baby…so good. You’re so fucking good . I’m gonna…”

“Fill me up, lover.”

With a fierce growl through gritted teeth, Kenny came, digging his fingers into Aaron’s hips, keeping him in place, lodging his cock deep within Aaron’s body to drain himself completely. After a moment of steady panting, he eased out, guiding Aaron to collapse back onto him and sat down on the middle step, Aaron between his legs. He spat into his hand, then gripped Aaron’s length and stroked him.

“Gonna come for me, baby.” Kenny nuzzled into his ear, massaging Aaron’s cock, gliding his thumb into the wet slit.

“Fuck yeah ….” Aaron lolled his head back onto Kenny’s shoulder, as Kenny reached his other hand up to Aaron’s throat and dug his fingers in just that little too hard to create stars in Aaron’s vision. Aaron arched his hips to rut into Kenny’s palm. “Faster.”

Kenny sucked Aaron’s neck, sinking his teeth into his tattoo, speeding up and drawing out a trembling moan that had Kenny rasping into his ear, “So good watching you like this. Like you’re all mine.”

“I am. Oh, God, fuck, yeah. I am!” Aaron trembled as he shot his load.

Kenny stroked him through his release, whispering soothing praises of, “Good boy. That’s it, baby. Let go. I got you.”

He then spread Aaron’s cum over his hand, offering his oozing fingers to Aaron’s lips and Aaron licked them clean. Kenny pulled his face to him and kissed him, lapping up the remnants for himself before he fell back, panting, and Aaron dropped against him, catching his breath.

After a moment of stillness, Kenny pressed his lips to Aaron’s ear. “Happy birthday.”

Aaron snorted. “Better be getting more than that.”

“You will.” Kenny stroked his hands down Aaron’s chest, ghosting over his nipple piercing, then dipped his forehead to rest on Aaron’s shoulder. There he stayed. And Aaron knew this was one of those moments where Kenny bit his tongue. Preventing himself from saying what was on his mind.

Aaron reached behind him to tangle his fingers in Kenny’s hair. “I know.”

Kenny lifted his head, lips grazing Aaron’s neck. “Know what?”

“About your mum.”

Kenny inhaled sharply, falling back. Aaron spun, knees on the step to stay within Kenny’s legs, and he dragged his hands through Kenny’s hair to clasp his neck.

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” Aaron tugged his hair. “But you don’t have to do this alone. You don’t need to shut me out. Not to protect me. Or because you think this is only your burden to bear. I know I’m damaged. I know I’m a billion years younger than you. But, fuck Kenny, if there’s anyone in this world who gets this, it’s me. And I know I probably brought this to you. I know somehow this is all my fault. But at least let me try to make amends for that.”

For a while, Kenny said nothing, and Aaron feared he was losing him to the darkness. Then he gripped Aaron’s neck and those eyes that were filled with unrelenting lust before now held nothing but honest conviction. “None of this is your fault.”

“Neither is it yours.”

Kenny closed his eyes. “It feels like it is.”

“Well, you’re wrong. For once in your life, you’re fucking wrong.”

Kenny breathed out a defective laugh, then kissed him. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Pulling me out of myself.”

“You’re welcome.”

“But also fuck you about the billion years younger comment.”

Aaron chuckled. “Sorry, I rounded down.”

Kenny bit Aaron’s lip, and Aaron shoved him off. “Why don’t we do this together?”

“Do what?”

“What you do best. Think. Theorise. And I’ll sit there with you, naked and in awe.”

“That does sound like a much better plan than the one I had.”

“Keep telling you, I’m smart.”

“And sexy and beautiful.” Kenny kissed him again, softer and filled with conviction. “But how about we shower first, then…talk.”

“I only like clean talk, anyway.”

“Liar.”

Aaron laughed, then stood and held out his hand.

As Kenny took it and rose from the stairs, it felt monumental. As if Kenny was allowing Aaron to pull him free from himself. And Aaron could see the tension loosen around him, even if just a little. And it made him smile. Because that was trust, tentative and fragile. It was Kenny letting him in. Letting him help carry the burden threatening to crush them both.

Kenny led him to the bathroom and the hot spray of the shower enveloped them both inside the growing steam, shutting everything else out. Kenny’s hands were all over him. Massaging away the aches and pains, lathering soothing gel over his skin, firm yet tender. And when he moved to Aaron’s hair, working the shampoo through, Aaron’s breath caught. Because there it was. Kenny’s intense gaze. Piercing, unwavering, drinking him in. Kenny wasn’t just looking at him. He was seeing him in all his messy, complicated entirety. And his touch was more profound than any words could be.

God, he loved him.

And as Aaron returned the favour, smoothing his hands over every inch of Kenny’s body, those words sat heavy on Aaron’s tongue. I love you. They surged forward, almost tumbling out. But he hesitated, swallowing them back, unsure if they were too much or not enough right then. So, he stayed quiet, letting the moment stretch, letting their touch fill the silence.

Almost.

He almost said it.

And maybe Kenny already knew. Maybe he saw it in the way Aaron clung to him. In the way he traced his fingers over Kenny’s skin. Maybe he already knew that Aaron couldn’t let go of this. Him. Because Kenny looked at him like he did. As if he already knew Aaron’s secret. That he was a needy, desperate, lovesick mess for him.

And he wasn’t running.

* * * *

A while later, Kenny ran a towel through his damp hair, glancing over his shoulder at Aaron sauntering out of his bedroom and downstairs in the borrowed joggers and T-shirt he’d handed him. Aaron wore more of Kenny’s clothes than his own when he was here. He should give him a damn drawer .

Fuck, I should just tell him to move in.

The idea lingered, heavy and unrelenting, lodging itself in his chest and forming a lump in his throat. It was too soon. Yet it didn’t feel soon enough . As if it was inevitable. And everything Aaron had said earlier made him realise there were two of them in this. Not just him. But there was still so much between them. So much to resolve. So he shook the thought off along with the droplets from his hair, and after pulling on a pair of loose joggers and an old sweatshirt, he padded barefoot to his office. His laptop sat there on the desk, open and waiting. It was a trap. A gaping rabbit’s hole beckoning him to fall back into the darkness.

He slammed it shut.

Then pulled open the top drawer, retrieving the carefully wrapped gift he’d tucked away days ago. Pre Barcelona. His heart raced as he held it, the meaning behind it. Clutching the package in his hand, he headed downstairs, bare feet tripping on the scattered clothes littering the hallway. He ignored them to step into the living room, where Aaron glanced up from the couch, face softening into a smile that made Kenny’s chest flutter.

“Guess this is where we talk, huh?”

“In a minute.” Kenny crossed the room, the gift tucked behind his back as he sank onto the coffee table in front of him. His knees brushed Aaron’s, and he sat there for a moment, holding his breath, willing himself to speak. Finally, he brought the gift forward, holding it out with both hands. “Happy birthday.”

“You… you got me something?”

“Of course I did. Shouldn’t I have?”

Aaron took the package. “I don’t know. The only thing I got you for your birthday was a Crème Egg and a blowjob.”

“Best damn gift I’ve ever had.”

Aaron turned the present over in his hands, brow furrowing as though he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“You can open it.” Kenny nodded to the package.

“Give me a minute.” Aaron looked up with an intensity that made Kenny still. “This is the first birthday present I’ve had in… a really long time.”

“It won’t be the last.”

Aaron’s lips curved into a faint smile, the kind that lit his entire face, and he took another steadying breath before tearing the paper. Tossing the wrapping aside, he ran his fingers over the smooth leather casing and Kenny could feel that touch as if it was on his skin. Cautiously, Aaron opened the box, the lid clicking back to reveal the vintage silver watch nestled inside. Aaron plucked it from its foam cushion, turning it over in his hands, ghosting his thumb over the engraving on the back, and his voice faltered as he read aloud, “This is your time.”

Kenny felt the need to explain. “The past is the past. Leave it there. You, Aaron Jones, have all the time in the world to become everything you’re meant to be.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

“Just you.”

Aaron’s eyes glistened, caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Then he launched forward, wrapping his arms around Kenny and held him. Kenny shifted, manoeuvring Aaron onto his lap, and as Aaron pressed against him, Kenny took the watch and strapped it onto his wrist, the silver catching the light.

“You know you’re killing me here.” Aaron nuzzled into Kenny’s neck.

“With affection, I hope.”

Aaron pulled back. “I’m sorry about what happened to your mum.”

Kenny nodded, lowering his head. “Who told you?”

“Jack.”

“Of course he did.”

“I made him. Chased him down at the station. I knew you were hiding something.”

Kenny sighed, long and heavy. “For a while, I thought I was losing it. As if my guilt for not being there when she died was feeding this… need to find a reason. A culprit. I didn’t want to accept that I, once again, wasn’t there to stop it from happening.”

“What do you mean ‘once again’?”

Kenny swallowed the lump in his throat. He owed Aaron the truth. To talk about it. “Jessica begged me to walk to the shop with her on the day she was abducted. I refused. Was too busy watching Gladiators .”

“That’s not your fault.”

“Maybe not. But had I gone with her, had I been there…she would be alive right now.”

Aaron reached for his hand, entwining their fingers, then kissed his knuckles. “I’m so sorry.”

“Now, with the card and roses from Jessica at my mother’s bedside, I know this isn’t random.”

Aaron pulled away. “The what?”

“Jack didn’t tell you that?”

“No.” Aaron shifted, slipping off Kenny’s lap to sit back on the sofa, but he kept Kenny’s hands in his. “He just told me about the cause of death. Fuck. So someone targeted her?”

“It looks that way.”

“And you have theories.”

Kenny let out a bitter breath, his mind already working, the pieces rearranging themselves in a pattern he didn’t want to see but couldn’t ignore. “Yes.”

“You gonna share them?”

“First off, this isn’t about my mother. It’s about me. They’re trying to get to me . And they used Jessica as bait. They knew exactly what they were doing. It wasn’t impulse. It wasn’t random. It was planned. Calculated . My mum’s mind was fragile, stumbling between reality and delusion. To be smothered like that? To go quietly? Without any fight? She had to have been blindsided. Lured into submission by someone who knew exactly how to manipulate her. She’d have believed anyone was Jessica, anyone who played the part well enough. And the killer had to have known they could do that.”

“Who would know that?”

“It’s not hard to find out what happened to Jessica. I’ve written about her. But to use that knowledge the way they did? That takes insider information. And to know my mother was susceptible , to know how to break through her delusions, someone had to watch her. Study her. Plan for this.”

Aaron swallowed with unease. “But why kill her? A frail, elderly woman in a nursing home? It just seems…cruel.”

“Killers aren’t known for their empathy. You’ve studied this. Lived this. You know that.”

“Yeah. I know. But…If they want you. Why not come at you directly?”

“Because this isn’t about killing me. It’s about control. Proving they can get to me. Whenever they want. Even in a care home, surrounded by staff, they were able to do this. They’re clever and they want me to know how clever. They want to hurt me first. Play with me. Disarm me. Leaving the flowers and the card, putting my sister’s name all over it, that’s a taunt. A cruel mockery. They want me to know this is a game.”

“And they want you to play.”

“Yes. Looks that way.”

Aaron’s phone vibrating on the coffee table interrupted whatever he was going to say.

Kenny peered down at it. “Why is your ex-boyfriend calling you?”

Aaron grabbed the phone and cut the call. “Fuck knows. Second time today. I imagine he’s having an attack of the guilts.” He threw the phone back down on the table. “Do you think someone’s targeting you because of me?”

“It’s a theory. We can’t ignore the links. Like with Rahul, putting those roses there is a deliberate taunt or sign. If this is about you, then it’s someone who knows about us and they don’t like it. They might see it as an insult to your parents’ memory, a betrayal of their twisted ideals. Or they could see me as a threat, someone who’s pulling you out of their shadow.”

“So who knows about us? If we’re thinking that way? Who knows?”

“If you had asked me a week ago, I would have said no one. Obviously, there’s Jack, but he’s unlikely to have spread that news anywhere considering the implications for himself. Plus, I know him. I trust him. Other than that, I’d not told a soul. You?”

“No one. I mean, a week ago, no one.”

“And now?”

“Taylor saw me when I was shopping. Saw your list, but…that was after your mum. And I had to tell Mel today, after all that shit about Barcelona in class. She guessed. But before that…” Aaron’s eyes drifted to the ceiling, veering left, knitting his brown in concentration, a subconscious movement toward his memory centres. He was searching through his internal archives. “ Fuck .”

“What?”

Aaron closed his eyes. “Fuck. Fuck .”

“Aaron?” Kenny shifted closer. “What is it?”

Aaron dropped his head in his hands. “I’m sorry. Fuck, Kenny, I’m so fucking sorry.”

“For what?”

Aaron lifted his head. “Roisin knows.”

Kenny flinched. “How?”

“I visited her.”

Kenny felt the punch before the words fully settled. A deep, gut-wrenching blow sending a sharp crack through his ribs, an impact that left him staggering back. Aaron had seen Roisin. Without telling him. Had walked into that prison, sat across from his mother, let her see him, speak to him, sink her claws into him, without so much as a warning. Without so much as a fucking whisper.

A slow, searing wave of fear curled through his veins, hot and all-consuming. Beneath it, panic twisted, cruel and clawing, dark and ugly whispering that it was already too late. That whatever damage had been done was irreversible. That Aaron had already given her exactly what she needed.

Kenny swallowed hard, fighting to keep his voice level, but the words came out like gravel. “You visited her?”

Aaron darted his gaze away, shame flickering behind the electric blue. “I—yeah. I didn’t—”

“ When? ”

Aaron scrubbed a hand over his face, exhaling hard. “A couple months ago. And a year before that.”

Kenny clenched his fists and forced himself to breathe, not to react on instinct, not to let the full force of his anger crash down like a wave. But it was impossible. The naivety of it. The reckless carelessness . Yet he knew it wasn’t Aaron’s fault. He couldn’t blame him. Aaron had rights. Had questions. But Kenny knew the impact of having any sort of relationship with a woman who only saw people as pawns in her game. Including her son.

“You—” He cut himself off, teeth grinding together. “You went to her. Alone ?”

Aaron lifted his chin, defiance flickering beneath his guilt. “I…”

“Oh, God, Aaron …” Kenny closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you have any idea what you did ?” His voice was dangerously quiet now, vibrating with restrained distress. “Any idea what that woman is capable of? You walked straight into her hands. You handed yourself over.”

Aaron flinched, but he held his ground. “I wanted answers.”

“Answers? You think she gives answers ? She gives stories . She weaves lies into truth until you can’t tell the difference. She knows how to twist people into her puppets.” He held Aaron’s gaze, tilting his neck, fighting against his heart thudding in beats of frustration. Fear . For Aaron. “You gave her exactly what she wanted.”

“Which is?”

“You, baby. You .”

Aaron’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. His voice was quieter now, hesitant. “She already knew. About us. I didn’t tell her—”

“No, she suspected. And she did what she’s always done. Manipulated you. Extracted the information she needed from you. She played the odds, influenced the gaps in your reactions, made it sound like she already had the answer so you’d confirm it for her. That’s what she does. She doesn’t know . She hunts. ” Kenny raked both hands through his hair, gripping at the roots, his panic clawing its way up his spine, threatening to crack through his composure. “But this isn’t about what she knows . It’s about what she does with it. You think she’s just been rotting in that prison, waiting to die? No. She’s been watching. Calculating. Refining her control, sharpening her instincts, even from behind bars. That’s how people like her survive . Because the prison isn’t a cage to her. It’s a fucking incubator. And she can’t stop . She won’t. People like her don’t just give up their urges.”

He took a breath, pausing to take in Aaron’s guilty, terrified expression. So he dipped to the edge of the coffee table. “Even from a cell, she still has the ability to kill. She doesn’t need to lift a finger. Look at what happened to your father. She just needs to pull the right strings . ” He slid a hand around Aaron’s neck to draw him closer to him, taking in the sheer devastating beauty of him. “And now she has the one thing she needed most. Leverage. You. ”

“I’m sorry.” Aaron’s breath hitched. “Sorry, this is all my fault.”

“Oh, baby …none of this is your fault.” He kissed him, lips cool to the touch. “I just wish you’d told me.”

A sharp knock at the door sliced through the tension.

They both froze.

Another knock pulled Kenny back from the brink, so he let Aaron go, stood and strode toward the door, breath uneven as he yanked it open.

Kenny didn’t have time to fully process the look on his face before Jack, stood the other side of his door, said, “You might want to hear this.”