Page 44 of Vain (Tempest #2)
Chapter Forty-Two
MATILDA
Marley is barely through the door before I throw myself into his arms. He goes back a step but thankfully doesn’t land on his ass.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“It will take more than a little fire to keep me or Greyson down.” He pats my back and I loosen my hold.
Aiden swoops in and kisses me. “Sorry I left. I needed to see what was happening.”
“I get it. And Kellen’s been looking after me, though he sucks at poker.”
“I let you win,” he calls out as he walks over to us. I roll my eyes but don’t argue.
“He get you to eat?”
“I had some soup and some bread. Not sure my stomach could handle much else.”
“Hey, I’m Kellen. So you’re Marley?”
“That’s me.”
“Gotta tell you, those banoffles? Better than sex.”
We all turn to look at him, but it’s Marley who answers. “They are good, yes, but I think you might be having sex wrong.”
We all dissolve into laughter, but it’s exactly what we need.
“I’ve got you booked in across the corridor. You want to stay, or you want to get settled?”
“Honestly, I’m shattered. I just need to shower and sleep.”
“Okay. You want to come with me to visit Greyson in the morning?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions, Matilda.” He tuts as Kellen hands him the key with a chuckle.
“Yeah, Matilda.”
I elbow Kellen in the ribs, making him wince.
“See what I mean? I’m gonna walk my new bestie over,” Kellen huffs, leaving Aiden and me alone for a few minutes.
“I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean to check out. It was just a lot to deal with. I’m feeling better now, knowing that everyone is okay.”
He presses his lips to my forehead. “Baby, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
“I know. Ugh, my head’s a mess.”
“I bet,” he says, wrapping his arms around me. We sway in each other’s arms until Kellen comes back.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I’ve got Banner on the phone.” He holds the phone up as he closes the door.
“Hey guys!” Banner calls out.
“Hey Banner.”
“You doing okay, sweetheart?”
“Better than I was, thanks to Aiden and Kellen. They’re taking good care of me.”
“That’s what I like to hear. I’d hate to have to beat their asses.”
“As if he could,” Aiden mutters, dragging me over to the sofa, where he tugs me into his lap.
“So I’ve done some digging. You want me just to lay it all out?”
“I don’t know, Banner. It’s already been a rough day.” Aiden looks at me, worried.
“It’s okay. I’d rather just rip the Band-Aid off.”
“Balls of steel.” Kellen winks.
“Ovaries of titanium.” I wink back, making him laugh.
Banner waits for us to quiet down before he begins. “The same vehicle that ran you off the road was seen a street away from Matilda’s house, an hour before the fire started.”
His words hit me like a blow. “What?”
“I agree it’s fucked-up. Please don’t ask me how I know this, but the police have been looking to question Daniel again, only they can’t locate him. Your mother, who says he’s been staying with her, hasn’t seen him for two weeks.”
I look at Aiden, trying to figure out what that means. “Do we know if Tilly’s mom saw anything that might implicate him? Even if it was just to tie him to the shit sent to the studio.”
“Nothing that I can find in those files. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know something, of course.”
“Would she willingly protect her daughter’s stalker?” Kellen asks.
“She won’t go out of her way to protect me. But she wouldn’t set me up to be harmed either, because then she’d lose everything I worked for.”
“Not if she’s the beneficiary of your estate,” Aiden says softly.
I shake my head. “She’s not.”
“Does she know that?” Banner asks.
“Yeah, it was one of the stipulations in my father’s will. The house could never be left to my mother under any circumstances. If I died and didn’t have a will, my assets were to be divided between various charities.”
“Shit, I’m guessing there was no love lost between your parents.”
“I think I was the glue that forced them together, which made them both resentful of me in different ways.”
“That’s bullshit. They were fucking adults. Their choices led them to where they ended up,” Aiden snaps.
“I know. I don’t take their issues on board, I have enough of my own.” I chuckle.
“Life insurance policies?”
“Again, she isn’t the beneficiary. I have two. Marley and Greyson are the beneficiaries of one. Zoe is the beneficiary of the other.”
Silence blankets the room before Aiden leans over and kisses me hard. “Fuck, I love you.”
“Good. Because you’re the beneficiary of my estate.”
His mouth drops open in shock as Kellen and Banner laugh. “Why would you do that?” Aiden croaks out
“Because I want to know you’re taken care of. It’s my money. I can do what I like with it, Aiden. Plus, I know you look after Zoe, too.”
He looks a little shaken. Kellen smiles smugly.
“And on that note, I’m gonna go. Just keep your eyes open and watch your back. This fucker has proven he doesn’t care who he hurts and I don’t see him stopping until he’s caught or?—”
He shuts up abruptly, but I finish for him. “Or he gets me.”
It was after a tearful reunion with Greyson, during which the man told me he was fine and to stop fussing, that Aiden and I had our first fight.
I insisted on returning to work and finishing this project if it killed me. He argued that it actually might. There was yelling, some tears on my end, and some anger on Aiden that stemmed from his fear of losing me. All that culminated in the best make-up sex of my life.
In the end, he gave in. But only with both him and Kellen accompanying me to the studio when I needed to go. I did what I could at home and only needed a handful of days on-site before I could officially say I was done.
I stretch out the kinks in my back from being hunched over, looking at shots with my AD, and sigh when I see it’s dark again. “We are so damn close I can almost taste it. But I think we should call it a night.”
“I mean, I can stay later if you want, but fresh eyes is probably the smarter move. Besides, your friend looks like he’s about to slip into a coma.”
I look over and see Kellen with his head resting on Aiden’s shoulder, eyes closed, mouth open. Aiden’s eyes, as always, are on me.
“All right, get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I tell him as I pull out my phone and walk over to my man. Once I’m near, I snap a photo of sleeping beauty and text it to Banner.
“I’m ready for you to take me to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Aiden’s phone pings. He pulls it out and grins when he looks at it. He turns it around to show me Kellen’s sleeping face. “Banner sent it to our group chat.”
“Lord, Kellen’s gonna kill me.”
“I think he’s rubbing off on you. It’s exactly the kind of thing he would do.”
“Good point.”
I reach over and poke Kellen in the forehead. He swats my hand away and mumbles, turning into Aiden.
“Fuck this.” Aiden stands up, making Kellen pitch sidewise with a yelp.
Kellen looks up, his eyes narrowing on Aiden before he jumps up and lunges for him. Aiden uses me as a human shield, which stops Kellen in his tracks.
“The audacity.” He places his hand on his chest.
“Oh my god, you two are worse than kids. Can we go home now? My feet ache, and I need ice cream.”
“Alright princess, your carriage awaits.”
Kellen offers me his arm, but Aiden swoops in and tosses me over his shoulder. “Mine.” He stomps off to the parking lot, careful not to jostle me too much, while getting a good grope of my ass.
My phone dings as he sits me in the passenger seat. I see a message from Tom, so I open it up and smile wide at confirmation that everything has gone through.
“What’s got you grinning like a loon?” Kellen asks as he jumps in the back.
“None of your business, nosy. “Oh, that reminds me,” I say as Aiden climbs in. “The fire marshal called me earlier as I was coming out of the restroom.”
“He confirmed it was arson?” Aiden guesses.
“Yep, but it’s nothing we didn’t expect.”
“How did you forget to tell us that?” Kellen shakes his head.
“Blame Aiden. He dragged me into the janitor’s closet and banged my brains out.”
Kellen shakes his head, his lips twitching. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
“Anyway…” I continue as Aiden waits for the guard to let us out and pulls into traffic. “He wanted to let me know that the place has been cleared and I’m allowed to go back inside. I should be wrapped up here by Friday, so I figured we could go on Saturday and see how bad it is.”
“Sounds good to me,” Aiden agrees.
Once we get back to the hotel, I head straight to the bathroom to get showered and changed before walking over and knocking on Marley and Greyson’s door.
Greyson answers, pulling me in for a hug when he sees me. “I was wondering when you’d get back.”
“It’s been a long day, but fingers crossed, everything will be finished by Friday. The fire marshal called and said we can go back to the house and check things out. So do you want to come with me on Saturday?”
“Wild horses couldn’t stop me.”
Marley steps up behind Greyson. “Hey Matilda.”
“Hey. Oh, we’re about to order food. Do you want to come over and eat with us?”
“Yes. I’m going stir crazy,” Greyson admits, making me grin.
“He’s not kidding. He’s making me go crazy, too,” Marley grumbles as he nudges Greyson out the door and follows him out. He gives me a hug before heading to my suite.
Greyson waits for me. “Any news about who might have started the fire?”
I shake my head. “Cops are still looking for Daniel, but he’s in the wind. I’ve had no more deliveries on set, so that’s something. I’m just tired of waiting to see what happens next.”
“Almost makes you miss the days when it was just the three of us tucked away from the world in that big old house, huh?”
I chuckle. “I don’t know. If nothing else, all this brought me Aiden. I guess even storms have silver linings.”
I walk through the door. Kellen has his ear to his phone, his eyes on me as Aiden turns on the television and Marley sits on one of the sofas.
“What’s going on?”
“Laura called to let us know the interview is about to air. She wanted to give you a heads-up, but the network only just told her themselves.”
“Oh god.” I blow out a shaky breath.
“What interview?” Greyson asks from beside me.
“Come sit down and you’ll find out,” Aiden tells him, holding his hand out to me. I walk over, and when he sits, I climb into his lap.
Kellen hangs up and joins us on the sofa. “I ordered a bunch of pizzas and sides. Sometimes only pizza will do, and I have a feeling that this is one of those times.”
“Shh, it’s starting,” Marley tells him as I lay my head on Aiden’s shoulder and watch while I finally reveal my truths.