Passing His Guard (Against the Cage #2) (40 page)

Anger and betrayal surged anew and Aiden slammed his fist into the bag over and over, welcoming the pain as his bare knuckles connected with the leather, abrading—burning—any distraction to dull the pain in his chest.

Aiden heard the door open behind him and ignored the intrusion, too caught up in his own head to pay attention to the click of the door. He knew full well who was standing on the other side of it.

“If you don’t give that shoulder a rest, it’s going to be shot for your fight tomorrow.” Nikko closed the door behind him. His sparring partner sauntered over and walked behind the bag, scooping up Aiden’s gloves from the mat and tossing them at him. “Put these on.”

Del Toro pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the metal chair in the corner. He didn’t say anything else as he released the Velcro on his own gloves and slipped his hands inside the open mitts before fastening the straps. His friend moved into the center of the mats and raised his hands, positioning into a fighting stance. “I take it things didn’t go well with Gingersnap.”

“You think? I’d say that’s an understatement.” Aiden circled left and Del Toro countered the movement.

“I warned you she’d be pissed if she found out. You can hardly blame her. It had to be a hell of a shock, discovering your dad snuffed her pops.” Nikko jabbed and Aiden deflected, ranging him with a left-handed punch that just fell short. Aiden was moderately ambidextrous, and since he’d injured his right shoulder, he’d been trying to strengthen his left-handed striking. But Nikko wasn’t here to train—his body lacked its usual guarded tension. That determined glint in his steely eyes wasn’t there.

Fuck . . . he wanted to talk. Well, Aiden had done all the chitchatting he cared to do. He wanted to fight. With a quick feint to the right, Nikko ducked to the left, closing the range and Aiden connected a solid uppercut to his ribs.

Nikko grunted with the loss of air but used his momentum to send a spinning hook kick into Aiden’s shoulder that could have just as easily been his head, had his friend meant business. The blow knocked Aiden out of range, and as he readied his stance again, Nikko was quick to get in his verbal jab. “I know you’re pissed, man, but manhandling and scaring the hell out of her probably isn’t winning you any points in the trust department. I’m just sayin’.”

Fuck this . . .
Aiden shot for Del Toro’s waist and took the fighter to the mat. They grappled for several minutes, but Aiden was already exhausted from working out. Nikko was still fresh, giving him the advantage, and he got behind Aiden and slipped his forearm beneath Aiden’s chin, locking him tight in a rear naked choke. Caught in the clinch and unable to speak, he had no choice but to listen to what his friend had to say, or tap—and there was no fucking way he was tapping.

“Have you even stopped to consider how things might look from her perspective?” Nikko growled next to his ear. “She hands you her father’s evidence and you practically ghost on her. What’s she supposed to think when you don’t talk to her and she discovers who really killed her father? I don’t know who’s feeding her the intel, or if it even matters at this point, but you guys had a rocky start and trust issues are bound to come up. You’re both going to have to cut each other a little slack.”

Nikko released the choke hold and shoved Aiden away. Aiden was too exhausted to do anything other than roll on his back and suck air. He canted his head to the side and held Nikko’s gaze, who was doing his own mat recovery.

“I don’t know, man,” Aiden panted. “I’ve never been in love before, what do I know about relationships?”

“Probably more than you think, and a hell of a lot more than I do. But even I can see that woman loves you, and if you let her go over a misunderstanding that you’re too damn stubborn and prideful to work through, then you’re a fool and you don’t deserve her. Not once has a woman ever looked at me the way Ryann looks at you—like her sun rises and sets on you—like you’re her whole world. Take my advice, a woman who looks at you like that is worth giving up everything for. Don’t let her go, man. Some shit a guy just can’t recover from, and losing the love of a good woman is one of those things. You have something special with her, Disco. Don’t let your pride fuck it up.”

CHAPTER

 42 

A
fter denying Aiden’s request that Ryann let him in, he didn’t return to their room again. She’d locked the bedroom door after he’d left the first time. Amid her heartbroken sobs, she heard the rhythmic echo of his heavy bag and the sounds of his paced breathing. He had been in there a good hour before she heard Nikko’s voice, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying between the dull thuds of their sparring and the whap of flesh slamming against the mats. A little while after that, she’d heard the metal chink of the doorknob’s resistance, followed by the soft knock and Aiden’s request she open the door.

She hadn’t been ready to see him yet. Everything was too jumbled in her head. She had too many questions to sort out and doubts to work through. She could close her eyes and still see Aiden’s bold, unwavering stare and the hard-core determination he displayed whenever he stepped into the cage to fight. It was a trait she admired in him—until that look had been turned on her last night.

He’d met her stare head-on—challenging and belligerent—but where was the guilt, the remorse for his betrayal? Hearing the truth from his lips, admitting he knew his father was responsible for her father’s death, was a blow she hadn’t been prepared for. His voice had been hard as steel and just as unbending. It hurt far worse than she’d ever imagined.

Even now, she fought against the ache in her heart as she remembered the accusations she hurled at him and his furious, indignant response. But he hadn’t come out and denied any of it. He’d lawyered her, twisting her words around by asking
her
how
she
could believe such a thing. How had it all gone so wrong? Just when they were never closer to seeing Moralli and his father brought to justice, they were never closer to losing each other.

The rest of the night had dragged on. With the passing of each hour, more doubts infiltrated her mind. Her discovery of the truth had been such a shock that doubt and suspicions had been swiftly ushered in right on its heels. If she’d had more time to process everything before seeing Aiden, had the time to reason through her thoughts and suspicions, she could see there was a very real possibility that she was wrong. And then again maybe she wasn’t, but she at least owed Aiden the opportunity to explain himself. She sure as hell wanted one for the strip club. But other than that, she had to admit that much of her assumptions had been based on circumstantial evidence, and just because it made sense to her didn’t necessarily make it true. Maybe if they could just sit down and talk things through, they would find a common ground. Last night she hadn’t been ready to do that, but this morning, she was ready to face him—to hear what he had to say.

She unlocked the bedroom door and slowly opened it, listening for voices but hearing only silence. Stepping out into the hallway, her bare feet padded against the cold marble as she went in search of Aiden. She checked the gym first, but it was empty. Turning back, she headed to the living room. A twinge of guilt pierced her heart at the sight of the wadded-up blanket and pillow lying on the vacant couch. She checked the dining room—empty. Her last stop was the kitchen. When she walked in and found the fridge door open, she breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t too late. She could hear someone rustling around on the other side of it. Her pulse quickened with anxiety. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous—she’d never had trouble talking to Aiden before. In fact, just the opposite . . .

“Aiden?”

The rustling of glass jars stopped. When the door closed, it wasn’t Aiden who stood up, and Ryann knew a moment of profound disappointment.

“Sorry, Gingersnap.”

Any thoughts Nikko had were locked down tight on his ruggedly handsome face. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment at the thought of what he’d witnessed last light—of her behavior . . . Had she really called out for him to help her?
Aww God . . .
Pushing aside her shame, she nervously cleared her throat. “Have you umm . . . seen Aiden this morning?”

“He left.”

Alarm sent her heart galloping in her chest. “He left? Why? Where? Do you know when he’ll be back?”

“I don’t. We’re not exactly on the best of terms right now.”

Because of me . . .
“Can’t you just ping him, or whatever it is you do to find him? I need to talk to him, Nikko.”

“His GPS is off, which means wherever he is, he doesn’t want to be found. You probably should have talked to him when you had the chance last night.”

Well, that was incredibly unhelpful and opinionated. The inflection of frustration in his husky voice was her first hint that he might be pissed—at her. “You’re right. Maybe I should have, but I was too upset to think straight. I was too caught up in my head. I needed some time to sort everything out.”

“And Aiden is caught up in his. He’s not in a good place right now. I wouldn’t recommend talking to him until he cools off. He has a fight to focus on tonight, a fight to win. Let’s just get through one thing at a time, huh?”

Maybe Nikko was right. She wouldn’t bother him right now. She could wait until he got home.

But as the day went on, Aiden didn’t come home. She tried calling him, she tried texting him. He wasn’t responding to her, and with each p
assing hour that drew closer to his fight, the more anxious she became that he wa
sn’t going to come back. Nikko hadn’t heard from him, either, which was making the unflappable Nikko Del Toro nervous as hell. Not that he’d ever admit as much, but she could see it in the fine lines of tension bracketing his mouth, pulling his
scar tight—the tension that radiated from him. His frequent upward glances at the clock served as a constant reminder it was getting close
to the time they needed to leave for the Lion’s Den. Where was Aiden?

“I’m heading down to the Den,” Nikko announced, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair and pulling it on. “If you see or hear from Aiden, let him know I’m already there and text me. If I see him first, I’ll text you.”

She nodded. It was too difficult to speak past the lump in her throat. He grabbed Aiden’s gym bag from the floor and left, leaving Ryann alone to stew in her own worry and wallow in regret.

An hour later, Ryann’s phone buzzed in her back pocket and she halted her pacing to grab it. She swiped her thumb over the screen and a text from Nikko popped up.
He’s here. He’s fine. Be home after the fight.

Oh, thank God! Ryann plopped into her chair, slumping with exhaustion. She was too relieved to dwell on the fact that Aiden hadn’t bothered to respond to her himself. She was just glad he was all right. Ryann couldn’t let herself worry about the upcoming fight tonight. This was Aiden’s career. She couldn’t put herself through that kind of emotional torment every time he stepped into the cage. Everything would be fine, she told herself, despite the doubt pricking her conscience. She was just being overly sensitive, because she hadn’t slept in thirty hours. Aiden would be home later and they’d talk about things then.

Ryann enjoyed approximately five minutes of rest before Aiden’s landline rang. She startled at the shrillness, her heart immediately taking flight. She crossed the living room and answered his phone just as the answering machine was picking up. “Hello?” The desperate part of her hoped it was Aiden calling to make sure she was there. What she wasn’t expecting to hear was a woman’s clipped voice on the other end.

“Is Aiden there?”

She recognized that voice, or more the sour, impatient tone. “No, I’m sorry he’s out for the evening. Can I take a message?”

“Ryann, this is Madeline. I really must speak with Aiden immediately.”

So the woman did know who she was, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was a definite sense of urgency in her voice that made Ryann nervous. “Aiden isn’t here. He has a fight tonight. You could try his cell,” she offered lamely, not sure what else the woman expected her to do. But that odd niggling of unease now returned with a vengeance. Why would Aiden’s mother be calling and demanding to speak with him?

“I have tried his cell—several times. He isn’t taking my calls.”

He isn’t taking my calls, either.

“Ryann, I need you to get ahold of Aiden. I overheard a conversation between his father and one of his men this afternoon. Moralli and Bennett know he’s been meeting with the DA and the FBI. The fight is a setup, Ryann. Moralli plans to have him killed so he won’t be able to testify. You have to warn him before it’s too late, before he gets in that ring tonight.”

It took Ryann a moment to get her mind wrapped around what Madeline was telling her. Her heart plunged into her stomach, trepidation seizing her as dawning reality sent her mind into a full blown panic.

Madeline’s call confirmed how wrong she was, how hurtful and foolish she’d been with her assumptions. Aiden was working with the police after all. He hadn’t betrayed her. When she thought of all the things she’d accused him of, the shame of it nearly crippled her. Oh, God . . . how could she have misjudged him so horribly? How could she have turned against him so easily? She glanced at the clock and checked the time. Depending on how quickly those fights went tonight, Aiden could already be getting ready to get into the ring.

“This had gone too far . . . It was never supposed to get this out of hand.”

“What wasn’t? Madeline, talk to me. I need to know what’s going on.”

“I hired you to find Aiden for Moralli. You were supposed to bring my son home—that’s all. He was never supposed to fall in love with you. Once he and Cynthia were wed, he would have become the new don. But then that chit ran away with another man and it all fell apart. Moralli’s been forcing him to fight. This has to stop. I can’t stand by any longer and watch those men destroy my son. Despite what Aiden believes, I do love him, Ryann. Please, tell him . . . tell him I’m sorry, and that I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“I will. Madeline, I have to go.”

“Please hurry,” she urged.

Ryann hung up the phone and quickly dialed his number while she grabbed her purse, shoes, and coat, and ran out the door. When the call rolled over to voicemail, she muttered a curse and dialed Nikko. When his call switched to voice mail, she disconnected and shot him a quick text as she waited for the elevator to arrive. When the door opened, she stepped inside, hit the lobby button, and headed for the Lion’s Den, praying to God she wasn’t too late.