Throwing his phone on the bed, Aiden went back to burning trails into the carpet of his hotel room. He knew he had to answer the call eventually; Rafael had a right to get a progress update, but what was he supposed to say? Rafael wouldn’t understand. Aiden didn’t even understand it himself. He had tortured people without a second thought but when it came to Charlie, instead of snapping her neck, he had asked for a date.
“I’m going to have to call it off,” he told the empty room.
He had no choice. Each time he had tried to complete his task, it felt like something had come alive, something inside him. He was tired of the voice, too, constantly begging to be near her. Cock brain, he could deal with but inner wolf driving him crazy? That was something else entirely.
Grabbing the phone, Aiden dialled the only number he had stored and waited for an answer.
“Aiden, my friend. I was beginning to think there was a problem.”
Rafael's soft voice was warm but held a hint of question and Aiden braced himself for the tirade that he knew would be coming.
“The deal is off.”
“No, Aiden. The deal is never off, you know that. What is it? Do you want more money? Do you want to fuck her first? Go for it. Strangle her while she rides your cock, for all that I care. I’ll even pay you double for your trouble. Just make it done. You have two days, Aiden. Two days.”
The phone hurtled across the room, landing on the floor after crashing into the wall. He had known Rafael wouldn’t allow him to walk away. He also knew that if Aiden didn’t kill her, the next person that Rafael hired, would.
“For fuck sake,” he growled. Picking up his phone, Aiden stormed out of the hotel room.
If the contract couldn’t be called off, there was no other option. He had to finish it himself and make it as painless as possible.
*
*
*
*
*
“No, I didn’t fuck him on the beach, you bloody idiot. We walked and talked, that was it,” Charlie said.
“You wanted to, though, didn’t you?” Jamie laughed.
Charlie rolled her eyes and threw a tattoo magazine at him. “Shouldn’t you be going? Mummy is going to wonder why her basement freak isn’t home for his dinner if you don’t hurry up.”
“Oh, and it’s fish finger night, tonight. I love me a bit of fish fingers,” Jamie mocked. “I do need to get off, though. I have a date, believe it or not.”
“Lucy Left-hand doesn’t count as a date, you know. Neither does internet porn or the hose on your vacuum cleaner.”
“Ouch, bitch. Bagless Betty has feelings, you know,” Jamie laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, babe. I need to do a stock check.”
Charlie nodded, then froze as Aiden walked through the shop door. “Oh, Aiden. Hi. I, erm,” she stammered.
“First time I’ve ever seen her speechless,” Jamie smirked, then ducked out of the shop door as a second magazine went whizzing through the air.
“Sorry, I'm not usually violent towards my employees but with Jamie, I make an exception. Is everything okay?”
“Are you alone?” Aiden said.
There was something fierce, almost dangerous about Aiden's eyes and the way he clenched his jawline, causing Charlie’s stomach to lurch in warning. “Erm, yeah. Do you, erm, want to sit down?”
She waited for Aiden to sit, before grabbing the chair from behind the counter and dragging it over. “I prefer to sit on these,” she said to answer Aiden's raised brow.
“This isn’t going to be easy to hear but you need to hear it, Maria.”
“Okay. Wait. What did you call me?” Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst. Nobody knew that name. Only the adoption agency and her adoptive parents.
And one other person…
The realisation hit her like a cyclone.
“He knows where you are. He knows your new name. You’re in danger, Maria.”
Charlie shook her head, trying to force the shock from her face. “You’ve got me confused with somebody else, Aiden. It was nice talking to you, but I think you should leave.”
Charlie stood but the minute she took a step towards the door, Aiden was there. She didn’t even have a chance to stop the arm that snaked around her waist, lifting her off her feet or the band that smothered the scream as it left her throat. She tried to kick back while her hands clawed and scratched at the hand covering her mouth. Her feet met with air and his hand may as well have been a mountain, for all the good that she did. He was strong, stronger than someone his size should have been.
“I’m not here to hurt you, Charlie, but you need to listen to me. Your life depends on it. If I let you go, will you be quiet and listen to what I have to say?”
Her heart threatened to burst her eardrums and break her ribs and her breath came in ragged bursts. Struggling to take in enough air, she nodded, then gasped in mouthfuls of air as his hand moved.
“I’m sorry. I never wanted to do that but you gave me no choice. Are you okay?”
The concern in his voice almost floored her and it took a moment for her to collect her jaw from the floor. “Are you fucking serious? Am I okay? What the fuck do you think, prick? I thought you were a decent guy but apparently you’re some fucking psycho who’s got me confused with someone else.”
“I haven’t gotten you confused. You came to England when you were a kid. Your name was Maria Jacobs but it was changed to Charlotte Garcia, probably to stop your father, Rafael Hernandez, from finding you. It worked until you were called as a witness. Now he wants you dead.”
Time stood still as his words repeated in her head. She knew there was no denying it. Her face and eyes had already confirmed that everything he had said was true.
“How do you know this?” She didn’t need to see the guilt in his eyes or the pain that worked its way across his face. She knew the answer as soon as her question had left her lips.
“He sent you…”
Her entire body became a house of cards and she hit the floor with a bump.