Page 48 of Vain (Tempest #2)

Chapter Forty-Five

AIDEN

Kellen is yelling at the police on the phone, telling them we can’t stay when we have reason to believe Matilda is in danger. The fact that we couldn’t give them anything beyond her father did not go down well. In the end, Kellen loses his shit and hangs up.

“I’ll call Blake and get him to send our lawyer, if needed.”

I don’t speak. I can’t. I’m scared that if I open my mouth, I’ll scream. When we pull up outside, the gates are locked. The guard isn’t there, so I hope that means he’s still with Matilda.

We jump out and scale the gates, landing on the other side, and sprint up the driveway to the house. As soon as we get close enough, we can see the dead guard on the doorstep.

“Fuck.”

“We should wait for backup,” Kellen states

I shake my head. “There’s no time. He might have already taken her.”

“Jesus, just don’t get dead.”

I nod, then kick the door in. I see a blood trail heading toward the back of the house. Once we reach the hallway, there’s a fuck of a lot more of it. I swallow bile and keep my gun aimed, knowing Kellen is watching our backs.

As I turn the corner, I stop dead when I see Greyson leaning against the wall, soaked in blood and looking ashen.

“Shit, Greyson, can you hear me?” His eyes flutter open as Kellen drops down beside him.

“I’ve got him. Find Matilda.”

I turn and move slowly, toward the door at the far end of the room, passing the sofa on my way.

“She was mine first,” Greyson says with a gurgle.

A series of moments pass through my mind, innocent moments, that all stacked together, suddenly don’t seem so innocent anymore.

Like how he wasn’t in the room when the texts and photo were sent, and how disheveled he looked when he came back to the house.

He would have had enough time to stab Hattie and return.

He has access to the property and Tilly’s trailer, and he knows how to avoid the security cameras, not only because he knows where they are, but also how to disable them.

“Hattie said he’d gone home. This is his home,” I mumble before turning slowly to face him. “What did you just say?” But as I ask, my eyes fall on the body behind the sofa. “Oh, fuck no. Kellen, take that motherfucker’s gun and get over here.”

In the next second, I roll Tilly to her back with shaky hands. Her white tank top is soaked through with blood. It’s all over her face and in her hair, every inch of her is covered in it.

“Oh, fucking fuck me.” Kellen drops to his knees beside me as Tilly’s eyes flutter open. “Tilly, can you tell me where it hurts?” Kellen asks her.

“Not mine. It’s Marley’s,” she says, looking dazed

I turn, and that’s when I realize I rolled her off Marley, who is also covered in blood. I can’t see anything visibly wrong with him, apart from a gunshot wound to the leg. Unless it hit an artery, but there is far too much blood for that.

“Marley! Marley!” Tilly starts screaming.

Kellen grabs her and pulls her into his lap. “I’ve got her.”

I nod and roll Marley to see his back, and hiss in fury. His back is riddled with bullets. I lay him back down and feel for a pulse, but I already know it’s too late. When I don’t feel one, I look up at Tilly and shake my head.

“No. No, Aiden. Please, you have to try. He saved me. Please try.”

Feeling tears prick my eyes, I start CPR.

It’s too late, but I’m giving my woman what she needs right now.

She sobs loudly into Kellen’s shoulder as he rocks her gently.

I want nothing more than to be the one holding her, but I don’t stop chest compressions, not even when I feel his bones crack and grind beneath my palms.

Not once does he take a single breath.

It’s only when the police announce their arrival that I look into her eyes and watch her heart break. “I’m sorry, baby. He’s gone.”

When we get to the hospital, they have to sedate Tilly so they can examine her.

We told the police what happened, but we knew they’d be back, which is why our lawyer is on her way.

“I can’t get my head around all this.” Kellen rubs his eyes before leaning forward on his elbows, his eyes glued to the bed where Matilda is still sleeping. Physically, they say she’s okay, but she’s in shock and needs monitoring.

A commotion outside has us both looking up. Already on edge, I open the door and nearly fucking bawl like a baby when I find my whole damn team on the other side.

“We figured she’d need her family,” Blake tells me as I hang my head. He tugs me in for a quick hug.

I step back and let everyone in. “Shit, we didn’t mean to wake you, sweetheart,” Arlo says.

I turn and see Tilly sitting up, looking confused. As it all comes crashing back, she breaks down. Before I can get to her, Marcus does. He wraps his arm around her and pulls her to his chest. She grips his T-shirt and breaks.

I squeeze my fists, ready to go to her, when Felix grabs my wrist. “Give them a minute. Let her realize she’s not alone and we’re all here for her.”

I swallow, choked up, and nod. Once her tears stop, she accepts the tissue from Banner and looks for me. I make my way over and climb up on the bed beside her. I wrap my arm around her as she rests her head on my shoulder.

“Hey, Matilda.” Blake greets her by squeezing her foot. “As much as I don’t want to ask, do you think you’re up to telling us what happened?”

She shudders, but my brave, brave girl nods.

Her recall, from learning lines and shit, comes in handy here because she remembers every word and detail.

She gets to the part when Greyson tells her that if he can’t have her nobody can before she has to take a break.

Arlo hands her a cup of water that she takes with shaky hands.

She drinks it all before resuming her story.

“Marley knew what he would do a second before I did. He threw himself on top of me. He kissed my cheek and told me he loved me. And all I could hear was bullet after bullet hitting him. When the bullets were spent, I rolled him off me and dragged him behind the sofa. I covered his body with mine and waited. I didn’t know if Greyson had another gun or if he was working alone.

I just knew Aiden would come.” She looks up at me. “Daniel? My mom?”

I shake my head. “I’m so sorry.” She nods, a few ears slipping free but she holds it together.

There’s a knock at the door before Suzie, our lawyer, pokes her head around.

She introduces herself to Tilly quickly before giving us an update from the police.

“The bedroom of the outbuilding he lived in was plastered with Post-it notes. There were also a lot of pictures of you taken over the years, from birth until recently. There is nothing improper in the photos, before you ask.”

“That’s what always threw me,” Tilly whispers, drawing all our attention to her once more.

“There was nothing sexual in any of the notes he left or the gifts he sent, which seems to be most stalkers’ MO.

It’s why I couldn’t get my head around it being Daniel, because he made it clear how he felt about me. ”

“Shit, she’s right.” Kellen sighs.

“Is there any news on Greyson?”

“He’s still in surgery,” I tell her.

She nods. “When can I go home?”

“The police will want to talk to you first if you’re up for it. But then I don’t foresee it being a problem. They know where to find you.”

I shake my head. “No. I want to go home…to Tempest. There’s nothing here for me anymore.”

Suzie’s face softens. “I’ll see what I can do.” She leaves and everyone stays silent, not knowing what to say or do.

“I have boxes packed, ready to go. I… can’t go back there,” she chokes.

“We’ll take care of it as soon as the police give us the okay to enter,” Blake replies.

She nods, leaning into me further. “Marley has a brother. Timmy. I need to call him. Tell him what happened. See if he wants any of his things.”

“I’ll do it,” Kellen offers.

“Okay. And I, um…I don’t want to overstep, but I’d like to pay for his, Daniel’s, and Cliff’s funerals, too. I need to arrange my mom’s…” She breaks down again.

“Alright, that’s enough for now. We got this,” Felix tells her.

She looks around and nods. “Thank you.”

The press devoured the story, but for once, they showed respect to the woman who had already lost far too much.

Daniel and Cliff’s funerals were first. We sat in the back so we wouldn’t draw attention to ourselves. The next was her mom’s. Only a handful of people came, which somehow made it seem even more tragic.

And then finally, it was time to say goodbye to Marley. This was the one we’d been dreading. All the guys flew back out for it, and even my parents came to offer their support, as did all the cast and crew of Tilly’s movie.

It was beautiful in that way only death can be and when I laid a rose on Marley’s coffin, I said a prayer of thanks to the hero who saved my woman’s life.

Tilly held it together, even when she spoke about what a fantastic man he was.

She shared the million memories she had made with him, which had the group both laughing and sobbing.

Tilly didn’t break, though. Not until Timmy walked over to her with his friend, both of them carrying a white wooden chest between them.

They place the chest on the ground at her feet. Timmy steps forward and reaches for Tilly’s hand. She doesn’t flinch, but she reaches out for me with her free hand, which I take.

“He loved you so damn much. I wanted you to know that.”

“I know. He showed me in a million different ways.”

“Good,” he says, taking a deep breath. “He’s been making these for you since you were a toddler. He said you were demanding and always came up with wacky combos, but they always turned out the best.”

She tilts her head in confusion as Tommy bends down and pops open the chest, pulling out one of the books from inside.

He opens it up and spins it around. Tilly gasps, her hands covering her mouth, as she takes in the photo of a very young Tilly standing on a stool at the kitchen island next to Marley, baking.

There’s a recipe printed on the side of the page at the top in thick black writing, it simply says Banoffles .

She flicks the page, and there is another photo and recipe, this one for Do Me Dark and Dirty , which makes her laugh and sob at the same time. She closes the book and looks up at Timmy. “This is the best gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”

“They were always meant to be yours. Take care of yourself, Matilda. You know he’ll be watching over you to make sure you do just that.”

He walks away as I pull her into my arms and hold her tight as she lets it all pour out. Eventually the tears stop falling and her breathing returns to normal.

“I thought there might be one more funeral,” she murmurs.

I thought so too. For a while, it didn’t look as if Greyson would make it. When he shot himself, he hit his liver and intestine, causing a lot of damage. But ultimately the surgeons managed to save him. Life can be unfair like that sometimes.

“If he’d died, I would have come to his funeral. I’d have paid for it too. I’d have mourned the man I loved to the moon and back. But I want nothing to do with the man awaiting trial. He’s not my Greyson anymore.”

“No. He’s not. But don’t let who he became undo all those memories you have with that man he once was. “

“I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“I know.” I look around as people mill about and say their goodbyes before I look down into Tilly’s bloodshot eyes. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

“So ready.”