Charlie paced the floor as she stared at the phone in her hand. Her stomach felt like a knotted rag being whirled around on a spin cycle as she willed the phone to ring. She had thought her world had crashed around her the moment Aiden had told her who he was, but that had only been a tremor in the quake that had brought her running out of her house faster than should have been possible, and racing to the dingy bed and breakfast, where she had rented a room for the night.
After fainting in the shop, Aiden had spent hours trying to convince her that he wanted to protect her, rather than kill her. Dropping onto the single bed in the corner of the room, Charlie thought about that conversation.
“Yes,” Aiden said, “He sent me. I tried to call it off but it doesn’t work like that. He will send others if I don’t complete the contract.”
“So you expect me to just sit here and let you finish your task after you’ve offloaded your… I don’t even know what the fuck this is,” she said.
“I’m not here to do that. I’m here to offer you my help.”
“Your help? You really are fucked. First, you tell me you’re going to kill me, then you say you want to help me. What sort of fucked up psychological shit do you get your kicks out of? If you think that I’m going to beg for my life, you’re mistaken. I won’t feed your ego so you might as well get it over with.”
She had been adamant that he was some kind of psycho but there had been something about the way that he had looked at her that made her want to trust him. “You say that now but if I was here to hurt you and I mean, hurt you, I would make you beg and scream and I wouldn’t give a shit what you thought of me. But I’m not here for that. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to protect you from those that will try to do what I can’t.”
“Why? Why protect me and why can’t you do it?”
“Because you remind me of myself,” he had said. She knew he was lying. Something in his eyes and the way that he had smirked at her, told her there was more to it, more than what he had been telling her, at least.
“Why should I trust you?” She had asked.
“Because I could have killed you twice already, but I didn’t.”
Charlie still, a fortnight later, hadn’t been able to think of where she had seen Aiden before, other than at the car park that day. She had asked him, eventually, and all he had said was “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
At the time, she had been terrified and decided it didn’t matter, but after spending another week with him practically living at hers, she had come to realise that he did just want to protect her.
He had travelled to work with her every day, making sure she arrived at least an hour earlier than usual, while also making sure that her routine was never the same. He made sure that she was with his line of sight at all times and noticed every person who gave her more than a glance.
The buzz of her phone brought her from her thoughts with a jolt. “I’ll be there soon. I’m just clearing the dinner things away,” Aiden said, before hanging up.
He had already explained that her father would send others like him and that she needed to be prepared for what could happen but knowing it could theoretically happen and actually going through it, we’re completely different things. She had never expected to have to follow Aiden’s plan if something was to concern him but she was thankful he had put it in place.
Her heart raced as she lay on the bed, waiting out the eternity it took for Aiden to knock on the door, sending her heart to her mouth as he did.
“What happened?” She asked.
“Nothing for you to worry about but we need to move you, first thing.”
Charlie shook her head. She couldn’t leave. “I have a business to run. I can’t just leave.”
Aiden sat down beside her, offering her the photograph he had found. As she took it, her mouth dropped open. “Where did you get this?”
“It was in his pocket. Rafael would have given it to him. It’s not safe now, Charlie. If I had known Raf knew what you looked like and exactly where you were, I would have moved you two weeks ago.”
“You said he knew where I was before…”
She watched Aiden shake his head and waited for him to continue.
“He told me your name but said Charlotte. He said you were in the witness protection program but he lied. I tracked you down through the internet with minimal information. He knows I’m good at what I do and knew I’d find you. That guy he sent, he must have been a test run. He was slow, lackadaisical, clumsy and not what you’d expect from someone who has experience.”
Charlie thought about what Aiden said but there was something niggling at the back of her mind. “What do you mean, a test run?”
“When he doesn’t check in tomorrow, your father will know that something has gone wrong. I would bet my life that he sent that guy on a suicide mission, knowing that I’m with you.”
“I have nowhere to go,” Charlie said quietly. She had always known it was a risk to agree to stand witness against her father but the prosecuting attorney had promised her that she would be safe.
“I have somewhere you can go. First thing tomorrow we get you what you need from yours then we leave. No arguments.”