Wake Me Up (Love Knows No Boundaries) (8 page)

His
hand brushes my hair away from my shoulder, slipping up my neck and I feel the same explosion of flutters in my stomach I feel everytime he touches me. His mouth presses against mine and I feel a sweet tightening in my abdomen. I open my mouth to let him in, to experience more of him. I love the way he makes me feel. He makes me feel wanted, and I’ve never experienced that before.

~*~

The fights are brutal, to say the least. I sit mortified through the first three before life returns to my limbs. Aiden’s fight didn’t even last seconds. I’m not sure what happened. The bloke attacked him and Aiden got hold of him around his neck and they went down to the floor. Only Aiden got back up. I’m still not sure if I should be relieved or worried about that.

I’ve seen blood before
, and I’m not faint-hearted when it comes to the sight of it. I can’t say I approve of what’s happening here. Blokes going at each other until one is unconscious – it’s almost barbaric.

Colton
steps into the ring with a bloke who looks half his size, and it just doesn’t look fair. They circle each other, and I hear Katia cheer for Colton to wipe the poor fellow off the face of the planet.

I’m too
tense to sit. I stand up, walking closer to the side of the ring. I can see Aiden on the other side, talking to a few of the others. He’s not even looking at the fight.

The moment
Colton pounces, my eyes flit back to the ring. I flinch at the impact with which they collide. People cheer them on and it lends a charged excitement to the atmosphere.

The other bloke grunts when he hits the floor
, and I cover my mouth for like the tenth time tonight. Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? I search for Aiden through the wire of the ring, he’s watching the fight with such concentration on his face, as if he’s studying it.

Disappointment starts to bubble up, but I hardly have time to reflect on this emotion as
Colton straddles the other bloke. He pins the bloke’s chest between his knees, and just starts to pound down on him – not hitting – pounding. Like I’ve seen gorillas do.

The bloke
’s head wobbles with the blows and I move, because it’s not right. Nothing about what’s happening here tonight is right. Someone must stop them. My heart is pounding hard, as hard as Colton’s fists. I grab hold of the wire that forms the ring, and rush in toward the two men. When I shove at Colton, he shifts slightly. For a second it looks like he’s going to hit me, and a cold wave washes over me, making my hair rise all over. But I stand rooted and shove again, harder, budging him more.

“Move,” I growl. “Are you
bloody mental?” I’m seething, and when he moves I look down at the mess.

The bloke is
unconscious and I try to remember what to do. Keep him still. I can’t move him until the paramedics come. There’s too much blood surrounding his nose, and I open his mouth. Leaning down I feel, I wait. There’s nothing.

“O God
!” I need to stay calm. I grab his wrist and feel for a pulse. The seconds stretches out endlessly, but I can’t find a pulse. I move my fingers to make sure I have the right spot, and I still feel nothing. I really didn’t want to move him. I tilt his head back slowly, and press my fingers to his neck, praying I’ll find a pulse. Precious seconds tick by, and still there’s nothing.

Panic wells up in my chest, threatening to rob me of my own breath.
Aiden kneels on the opposite side, and I feel almost predatory, protective of the poor bloke. “Back off,” I hiss at him.

“Let me help,”
he says, far too calm, calmer than I feel.

“Back the bloody hell off,” I scream at him
.

I interlace my hands and shove hard into the bloke’s chest
. My throat feels too thick, but I swallow and lean down. I blow in, starting CPR. I don’t know how long I do it, how long I try until I feel him breathe, until officials arrive. I don’t know who phoned them.

Time warps around me, people all blur together and I feel sticky with his
blood on my hands and mouth. I wipe it off with the back of my hand, and walk away from the second most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t make me feel any less sick than when I have to face my mother. My stomach feels heavy, burning raw.

It’s really dark out
, but it’s good, because no one can see the blood smeared on my jeans from where I tried to wipe my hands clean. My body is out of adrenaline, and I hate that I’m shaking like a leaf caught in a shitstorm. I hate that I don’t know exactly where I am.

The
farther I walk, the more I try not to think. I can’t, because then I start thinking stuff like, does Aiden beat other blokes up like that? How can that even be legal?

W
ell, I was looking for some flaw in his perfect package, and now I have it. I am most disappointed in myself for falling for him, and not seeing this coming. Why do I make myself such an easy target? I run away from one monster only to find another!

Light
s come up the street, and I keep to the shadows, trying to make myself as small as possible. When the car slows, I quicken my pace even more. I hear a door slam closed and glance behind me. Suddenly Aiden doesn’t look as innocent as he did before.

“
Emma, please get in the car. You can’t walk home,” he says, still sounding far too calm for my liking.

“You’re right,” I
shock myself by snapping at him. I’m not the type to get into a fight with someone, I’d rather walk away, but this isn’t about just me, it’s about someone else getting hurt – it’s about, yeah, I guess I am scared, and this is me trying to show him I’m not. Instead of becoming a quivering mess, I lift my chin and snap at him some more. “I can’t walk home because I don’t bloody know where I am. Because I’m daft. Because I got in a car with a maniac.” Instead of just walking away, I do something I never dreamt I would do in my entire life – I stand and face him. It must be shock. Yes, I must be in shock to take on a bloke twice my size. “I should’ve listened when you warned me last night, when you said you could be psycho. Not could be, you bloody are!”

Oh bloody hell, now I’m insulting him! Have I gone nutters from all the tension? I should run before he gets angry. Run,
Emma. Now! I spin around and I start down the road as quick as I can to who knows where.

“Will you let me
explain?” He doesn’t sound so calm any more, and it sends my heart flitting into the nearest bushes. Bugger! It’s going to be like one of those dreams where you scream and no noise comes out, no one can hear you. He catches up to me and blocks my way. I cringe a step back and I don’t know what my facial expression looks like, but his changes.

He tilts his h
ead and his features soften. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He says the words calmly. We’re back to being calm again.

I just stare at him. Words mean nothing to me. Words are empty things
, spoken by people to gain control over others. Actions, now those count, and his actions are screaming for me to run.

“Will you let me explain?” he asks again. 

“You beat people to a bloody pulp? How do you explain that? You can’t almost kill someone, snap your fingers and then say ‘Bob’s your uncle’.” My voice falters at the end, and I step back to place some more distance between us.

“They do,
Emma. They do. I don’t fight like that. I’m there so I can stop that. I’m only there so I can stop it,” he says, quite passionately. Gone is the calm again.

“I don’t understand.” And I don’t. I honestly don’t.

“You can’t tell a living soul, Emma.” He scans the area around us before looking back at me with that penetrating gaze of his. “The whole student thing is only a cover so I can get in. Girls have been going missin’, and it has to do with these fighting circles. Girls like you, who don’t think, and just do.” I should be upset because he just insulted me, but I’m not. Not about that, but because something else is making all my alarms go off.

I’m bolt
ed to the floor. I’m gobsmacked as I start to realize what it is.

“What are you saying?” And even as I ask the question I start to shake my head
, willing him not to answer me.

“I told you I’m not on the wrong side of the law,” he says again, as if he wants me to figure it out for myself.

The final realization hit
s hard, harder than Colton’s fists were hitting that poor fellow. I suck in air through my teeth and I hear the hissing sound I make, like a pricked balloon.

“You’re a
copper?” I spit the word out as it burns up my throat. I manage to take another step away from him, and then realize I’m still shaking my head.

I stop. I stop everything.

Breathing. Blinking. Thinking.

My heart stops
for a second or two as the edges around my vision darken.

“You’re one of them?” I strangle the question out. “Y
ou’re a policeman?”

~*~

Chapter Six

Aiden~

She said it as if I’m
one of Satan’s spawn. She completely withdrew. I’ve never seen anyone switch off like that before.

I go
t her into the car, finally. She’s in her room and she might be packing. Not good.

I’ve taken a shower to give her time
, and for the first time, I feel nervous knocking on her door. She doesn’t answer. When I push the door open, I see her standing in the middle of the room, as if she came in and stopped right there, she hasn’t moved since.

I hate that I’ve placed her in that position. It’
s taking a lot of strength for me to not take her to the shower so I can wash the blood off of her myself.

“
Emma, can we talk about this?” I ask, hopeful. I’m not one to leave things unsaid and undone.

She does
n’t move.

I close the distance bet
ween us and move around her. She’s gazing at her hands, clamped tightly together at her abdomen. She looks so submissive. Gone is the fire she had when she fought for that guy earlier.

“There’s really nothing
to talk about,” she says softly.

Her eyes
darts up quickly, but only to my neck before they settle on my chest where she knows the eagle is.

I take a shot in the dark.
“I’m still the same man as before, the same man you kissed today, the same man who held you. Now that gut feelin’ you had about me then, just go with it. Nothing has changed.”

“Everything has changed,” she
whispers. “There’s nothing to talk about. I came, I saw, I’m going.”

“Is it really that bad?” I’m actually dumbstruck. What’s so bad about being a
policeman?

She
ducks her head down, focusing her eyes on her hands. “Yes. Yes, it’s bloody awful. You’re a policeman. Policemen…” She can’t finish her sentence, and reverts to swallowing. Her small shoulders jerk, but I can’t hear a thing. There are no sounds as she cries.

I take a step closer and lean my head in
. “Emma,” I whisper, as tears glide down her chin and neck. What can be so bad to bring this on? She doesn’t move. She just keeps her head down, and it’s starting to eat away at my insides.

“You’re
supposed to be protectors,” her voice rasps right at my heart. “If you can’t even protect those you call family, how will you protect others?”

Her words hit hard. I take a second to breathe them away. I have to remember she’s talking about herself. This has got nothing to do with Laurie.
“Who are you talkin’ about?” I want to reach for her, but hold back. I don’t think she wants me touching her right now.

“My father p
rotected everyone but-” she stops, and a breath shudders through her, “I didn’t put an ocean between us to move in with another one. I won’t.” She looks at her suitcase, and for a second I think she’s going to run, but then she just settles back into her submissive stance.

My first reaction is to tell her not
to judge everyone the same, but that might be disastrous.

“
I know we’ve only known each other for a short time, but do you really think I’m the same?” She doesn’t answer me, and I move closer still. “You came to me to get away from Katia, why is that, Emma?” I wait, my heart hammering. I really don’t know why it’s so important to fix this.

She turns her face
slightly up and peeks at me, and then she reaches for my chest, but she hovers an inch from the eagle.

“I thought you were different.” She sounds drained.

“Is it really just because I’m a detective?” I can’t believe that’s a deal breaker.

“An eagle is the ultimate bird of prey, but like you said
, it’s the only one that doesn’t look over its shoulder when it attacks. It’s fearless for a reason. Nothing will dare attack the most formidable creature, so why should it know fear? What chance do I stand in your presence?”

I stand still, not sure how to react to that.

“You walked into that ring, and within seconds the other bloke was unconscious. And how the others went at each other…” She lets the sentence trail dead. “I don’t know how to understand that. If the bloke goes down you stop, surely you stop. If you don’t have any boundaries then…” She shakes her head and starts to withdraw her hand.

I g
rab for it and hold her hand against my chest with both of mine.

“I ha
ve boundaries. They don’t, Emma. I’m only doing this so I can get to the finish line. Girls have been disappearin’, and we have the who, but not the when and where, not for certain. I have to go through the rounds to make sure the next one doesn’t go missing. That next one could very well be you. Katia hasn’t shown interest in any other girls yet – so you’re it for our group.” Her eyes go wide, and I might have stepped over the boundary right about there. “But I won’t let anything happen, because I do protect those close to me! I do protect, Emma. Like I said, I fight so others won’t have to. Don’t go lookin’ at me the same as your father. I’m not him. You need to give me a chance. I haven’t done anything to make you doubt me yet. I have not lied to you.”

She meets my gaze and she holds it. The longer she holds it
, the more intense it starts to get in the room. I want to kiss her doubts away, but the last thing I want to do is scare her.

“Your
secret is safe, Detective. I won’t tell anyone, Detective. Ever. You’re right, Detective,” she pronounces each word clearly, slowly.

I can’t re
ad her eyes. There’s nothing there.

She pulls away and walks to the bathroom. Maybe she just needs time. I’ll give her time, but I’m not someone to let things go.

~*~

I can’t sleep. I’ve been checking in on her since she fell asleep. I can’t get what she said out of my head. The way she said it.
It sounded just like what she whimpered in her dream, and I know I shouldn’t, but I take her phone and laptop. I need to know more. I need to know why, and I need to know how I can fix this. I check on her again, curled up real small on the double bed, before going back to the privacy of my room. I’m relieved when her phone comes on without needing any passwords.

Missed calls, again twelve
from
mum
.

Messages. Let’s hear them. I open her laptop
up while I listen to the phone go through the basics. A beep.

‘Babes, you can’t do this to me! You won’t survive out there. Come home or I’ll come
and fetch you.’

O
kay, sounds a bit worried.

‘You’re not
hing without me! Do you hear me? Nothing! I brought you into this world. I made you who you are. You need me to think for you. People can’t be trusted.’

I sit and stare at the blank screen of
Emma’s laptop.

‘Are you shack
ing up with some bloke? Are you making yourself cheap? No one is good enough for you, babes. You’re mine! You’re so beautiful, but you just can’t think for yourself. Are you even eating right? How can you do this to me after all I’ve done for you! How dare you!’

Her mother is sounding more and more
venomous. I stop listening when I hear something. Not sure what it was, I close the laptop to go check it out.

Whimpering.
Emma’s whimpering again, like the night before. I open her door wider. She twists and turns, and then tumbles off the other side of the bed. I hurry into the room and round the corner of the bed as she kicks at the covers wound around her legs. Her breathing comes in quick little puffs, and her eyes are wide, too wide.

When she looks up at me h
er eyes are filled with such despair, it twists at my heart.

“Please get it of
f me.”

I’m down next to her
, and I only need to yank at the sheet once to throw it aside. She reaches for me with both arms and I slip mine around her trembling body, pulling her to me. She molds herself around me, wrapping her legs around my waist.

“I have you,
Emma.”

She presses her face against my neck and I
carry her back to my room. I hold her tight with one arm as I throw the cover back.

“Lower your legs for me, s
weetheart.” I’ll never call her babe again. It’s too close to what her mother calls her.

She lowers her legs and I lay her down. I get in next to
her and cover us. Her arms wrap around me, and her wet cheek presses hard against my chest. I weave my hands into her hair and turn into her, shielding her.

“Sleep
, Emma. I have you. You’re safe.”

I whi
sper the words to her again before she drifts off. I recap what I’ve figured out – Emma doesn’t trust me because her father doesn’t protect her from her mother, only I don’t know what exactly it is her mother is guilty of doing, I only know it’s bad enough to give her nightmares.

I lift myself slightly and look down at her sleeping face. It’s not even a full two days and she’s managed
to somehow crawl into my life. I’ve always loved being a cop, but she wakes up something else in me, a need to take care of someone else besides myself.

The thought settles warm inside of me and I hold her tighter.
I finally fall asleep.

~*~

I wake up alone. No Emma.

When I sit up and I can think clearl
y enough, I notice no phone and laptop. I dart out of the bed, and, heart racing, I head for her room. If she’s gone…

Relief washes
over me when she comes out of her room. She has the laptop, and I watch as she gently puts it down on the coffee table in the living room. Then she rushes back to her room. She’s dressed damn smart. I mean … WOW. Cream blouse, black pants that sit just right, and sandals. I step closer to her room and watch her brush her hair. It’s hurried movements, over and over. She grabs a box and disappears into the bathroom.

“
Emma?” She doesn’t answer.

She’s doing
her make-up. Not like I’ve seen her wear it the past two days. It’s all-out make-up. Powder and stuff. I stand back so I don’t get caught up in it. I notice the tremble when she does her mascara and lipstick. She pauses to look at herself for a second. Then she takes a shaky breath, and heads right by me for the living room. The laptop.

She sits down in front of it,
opens it up, shifts it back a bit and types on it. Up until this point she just seemed jittery.

Then
Emma changes. It’s like she flips a switch. She folds her hands together, grasping tightly, and her shoulders drop.

“Mu
m,” she says with the same whimpering voice I’ve heard now for two nights in a row.

“
Emma, you disappoint me.” It comes from the laptop. “After all I’ve done for you. After all I sacrificed, this is how you repay me? You run away? Am I such a horrible mother that you want to hurt me like this? It would have been better for you to have ripped my heart out. Next time take a knife and dig the bloody thing out.” The voice goes all weepy and Emma looks down, all submissive.

Oh
. Hell.

“No
, Mum. I’m sorry, Mum. It’s not Mum, it’s me. Mum has only been wonderful. I’m selfish, Mum. I don’t deserve Mum.”

I can’t listen to this. I walk, no
, I stalk toward Emma, but she doesn’t notice me, because that woman consumes her.

“I have to threaten to cut you off to get you to talk to me! What have I done to deserve such treatment from you? You’ve ignored all my calls, my messages,” I hear a sharp intake of breath and
Emma cringes, “What do you mean you need a break? From what may I ask? You won’t last a day without me!”

“I’m so sorry, Mum. I was stupid, Mum.”

I move in behind her, protectively. I can protect her. I will protect her.

“Who. Is. That?” her mother hisses.

She doesn’
t look anything like Emma. Red hair and dark eyes. A hard face.

Emma
looks over her shoulder at me. She starts to rise, then slumps right back down, almost defeated.

“Mu
m,” she panics. “My flatmate. He’s my flatmate,” she says it twice as if she’s trying to convince, or pacify, her mother.

“Shack
ing up, are you? You’re not even gone a full week and look what’s become of you!”

I place my hands on the back of the couch so I have something to hold onto.

“I know, Mum. I’m so, so sorry, Mum.” Emma continues to pacify the woman. “Mum’s right.”

I’m a little stunned to say the least. It’s taking my brain a minute or two to sum up w
hat’s going on, and for a moment all I can do is frown at the woman on the screen.

“Look what you look like!” her mother hisses, “In a fortnight he’ll have you turning tri-”

I reach over and close the laptop on her mother. That’s about as much as I can take
, because it sinks in – Emma actually ran away from home. She skipped a country to get away from that woman and I can see why.