Page 13 of Vain (Tempest #2)
Chapter Thirteen
AIDEN
I wait until the door closes and Tilly moves out of sight. I hate not being able to see her but I trust her not to leave.
“It’s good to see you, Aiden. Sorry it’s under such shitty circumstances.” Wade holds out his hand to me. I shake it briefly before heading over to Kellen’s bedside, ignoring Cora completely.
“You know what’s going on?”
When he doesn’t answer, I see him look at Cora, who is just standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.
“You supposed to be doing something other than making everyone feel uncomfortable?” he asks her.
She stamps her foot like a toddler. “I’m doing my job, and that’s to monitor Kellen’s vitals.”
“I’m pretty sure if he hears it’s you watching him, he’ll have a heart attack,” I mutter under my breath.
“Well, as you can see, Kellen is doing okay. If any of that changes, we’ll be sure to let you know.”
“You don’t even know what’s?—”
“Wrong with him?” I finish for her. “No, because you refused to tell me. If you can’t act like a professional, I’ll have you removed,” I snap, done with this conversation.
“Fuck you, Aiden.”
“That’s it.” Wade wraps his hand around her wrist and walks her to the door. He yanks it open and walks her outside. He speaks to someone before returning and closing the door without her.
“Thanks.”
“No worries. Blake fill you in on what’s been happening?”
“Arlo. Though he didn’t know much to share.”
Wade moves to stand on the opposite side of the bed and looks down at Kellen. “He’s gonna be pissed they shaved his head.”
I grin, knowing he’s right. Kellen is very particular about his hair. My smile doesn’t last long, though, as I take in his bruised face and the mask over it, helping him breathe.
“You got the guy who did this?”
“He’s in police custody in Vegas.”
“You hear from the others?”
“They’re waiting for Callie to get the all-clear, and then they’ll fly back. Do you remember Tate?”
“Blake’s friend from SWAT?”
“Yeah, well, it was his sister’s connections with a motorcycle club that halted the asshole’s plans for Callie.”
“A motorcycle club and a cop? How does that work?”
“From what I hear, all Tate’s brothers and father are cops.
I guess they love their sister more.” He shrugs.
“Anyway, it was one of Tate’s teammates that died in the explosion.
Tate’s flying back tonight ahead of the others.
The rest will likely be flying in tomorrow or the day after.
They’ll want to get Callie home. I know I would if it were Olivia. ”
“How is your wife by the way? I haven’t seen her for a while.”
“That’s what happens when you swan off to Hollywood. She’s good. Though, she’s worried about Callie and Kellen. Everyone is. You know what Tempest is like.”
“For Kellen, yeah, he grew up here. I’m surprised they rallied behind Callie so quickly, though.”
“You’re kidding, right? She won over the hometown hero and June adores her. That’s good enough for most folks.”
“I like her for Blake. She’s good for him.”
“Yeah, she is. He’s not the only one who needs a good woman.”
I glare at him. “I have a good woman, thank you.”
He grins, pulls out the chair, and sits down. “The hat and glasses might fool most people, but my wife is obsessed with Matilda Carson, so I’d know that face and body anywhere.”
“You can keep your fucking eyes off her body unless you want to find yourself in a bed next to Kellan.”
“Threatening a cop? It must be love.” When I move to stand, he laughs and waves me off. “I’m kidding. You know I only have eyes for my wife. If you have anyone to worry about, it’s her. I’m pretty sure she’d pass out if she knew Matilda was here today.”
“I don’t want it to get out that she’s here.”
“I figured, and I won’t say anything. It’s not relevant anyway. How are things going on that end? I heard she might have a second stalker.”
“Looks that way.”
“But you don’t sound sure.”
“Tilly has a theory.”
“Tilly?” He smirks.
I growl, leaning back in my chair so I don’t reach out and strangle him. As much as I know he’d never stray from his wife, I’m too on edge to brush his comments off.
“What? It’s cute. So what’s the theory?”
“She’s not convinced the guy in prison for the first attack is actually the guilty party.”
He leans forward, his face serious now. “She thinks he was wrongfully convicted?”
“He confessed, and from what I can gather, he’s enjoying the notoriety that comes with this kind of shit. Tilly doesn’t think it’s him, though.”
“What are the cops saying?”
“I haven’t spoken to any, but from what the guys found out before I left, they think she’s imagining things. As far as they’re concerned, they have a guy, he confessed, case closed. That’s why she has a security team and me watching out for her.”
He whistles. “Nothing worse than cops with narrow minds. We’re supposed to follow the evidence, not shape the evidence to fit the suspect. How’s she doing with it all?”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “For the most part, she’s doing okay. She ventured out for the first time with me to the studio.”
“She trusts you.”
“Yeah.” I look toward the door as if I can see her.
“Have you thought about how all this will play out after you’ve caught this guy?” he asks quietly.
“I haven’t thought of much else. I know there is something there, something I can’t walk away from, or I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Did you grow a pussy while you were gone?” a voice chokes out.
I whip my head down and see Kellen holding the mask away from his face.
“You’re awake.”
“Nothing gets past you.” His eyes flicker for a minute before landing on Wade. “What happened? You’re not here to arrest me, right?”
Wade shakes his head. “Guilty conscious, Kellen?”
“Of course not. I’m practically a saint.”
“Patron saint of assholes, maybe,” Wade mutters before assessing Kellen. “What do you remember?”
“Callie’s mom, we were interviewing her…” He hesitates before frowning. “There was an explosion, and then nothing.”
“You took a pretty hard hit to the head.”
“That’s why I feel like I’ve been run over?”
“A bomb went off with you standing at the epicenter of it all. Docs found a small brain bleed. They went in and stopped it,” Wade tells him.
Kellen reaches up and finds his head has been shaved, and he curses.
“It will grow back. I’m just thankful you’re okay, and your head is as hard as it is.”
“What about the others? Is everyone else okay?”
Wade’s expression changes to what I call his cop face. “Callie’s mom was pinned under the rubble. They got her out, but the doctor says there is no way to save her leg.”
Kellen groans. “I shouldn’t have stepped outside. I should have been there. Then I could have?—”
“Died,” Wade tells him matter-of-factly. “If you’d have stayed, you’d have died.”
Not being dumb, even with a head injury, Kellen curses, reading between the lines. “O’Neill?”
Wade shakes his head. “DOA.”
“Fuck!”
I reach over and grip his wrist when he tries to rip his cannula out.
“No. There was nothing you could have done differently, other than die. You think Callie could live with that? Because if you think for a single fucking second she won’t blame herself, you’re insane. I know this, and I’ve spent far less time with her than you have.”
“Why the fuck would Cassie blame herself?”
“Because Christian, the fucktard who kidnapped her, was the one who bombed Price Security.”