“Jesus Christ,” he cut in. “Aid? That you?”
Aiden peered over his shoulder. He was uncomfortable enough making the call; he didn’t need an audience to add to it. But the maid was busy stripping the bed of bloody sheets while humming to herself. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“It’s been, what, five years? You were wicked good at dodging me. I didn’t think I’d ever hear from you again.”
He tensed his jaw and immediately regretted it when a sharp pain struck him like another punch. Between his injuries and talking to his ex–best friend, Aiden needed some Vicodin and a Glenlivet. “I know. I was a huge coward. Believe me, you couldn’t have done or said anything to punish me more than I did myself,” he said, gazing out the window. “But I still shouldn’t have denied you the opportunity to try. It’s your right.”
“You’re such a fucking asshole, you know that?” Finally, the anger Aiden expected had seeped into Joey’s voice. “You think I don’t know that what happened to Janey was an accident? You loved her like a sister. You woulda never hurt her on purpose.”
Aiden frowned. “So then why all the attempts at getting ahold of me?”
“Because I’d just lost my sister, and I needed to grieve with my best friend, you selfish fucking prick. I needed you, but all you could think about was yourself and your guilt.”
Holy shit. Aiden reeled. Joey was right. He’d been a selfish coward, only thinking of himself—his guilt, his pain—when he should have been concerned for the man who was like his brother.
Regret stung the backs of his eyes. Pressing his thumb and forefinger against his closed lids, he strained to get his words past the lump in his throat. “Joey, I’m…I’m so goddamn sorry, man. You’re right and I don’t deserve it, but I hope that someday you can forgive me.”
A sigh came through the receiver. “I forgave you forever ago, Aid. You just never gave me the chance to tell you.”
Aiden felt like he’d finally broken free of the steel band that had been slowly squeezing the life out of him since the night of Janey’s death. He took a deep, cleansing breath for the first time in forever and vowed to himself to be a better man going forward. “Thanks, man. I’m gonna make it up to you, I swear.”
“Fuck that shit,” Joey said. “I don’t need you to bake me cookies or wax my car. I just want my brother back, you feel me?”
“Yeah,” he answered, relieved. “I feel you.”
“Good. Now how ’bout I meet you at Paddy’s for a beer?”
“I’m not in Boston, Joey. I’m in Louisiana,” he said, staring at Kat’s purse. “And I need your help.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The week had passed at an agonizing crawl. Aiden had barely slept and spent most of his time training in the barn. He took out his aggression on Xan and Johnny and the punching bag until they’d all given up, the guys verbally and the bag physically when it broke under his constant abuse.
Though his friends tried to keep him calm and stop him from thinking the worst, he couldn’t help but picture Vinnie with his fucking hands on Kat, bringing her worst nightmares to the surface all over again. He’d never prayed so hard in his life, but he was willing to try anything to keep her as safe as possible until he could hold her in his arms again.
An hour ago, he’d listened to Joey go over things one last time on how they planned to take Sicoli down and rescue Kat. Joey had pulled him aside back at the house and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Remember, your job is to look like you’re keeping the deal. If she’s not with Sicoli in the arena, she won’t be far. He’ll want her close by in case things don’t go his way. She’s his leverage.”
Though he believed in his friend and the plan sounded solid, Aiden had a hundred different things that could go wrong running through his mind.
“We’re gonna get her back, Aid, I promise you.”
“Yeah, but what condition will she be in when we do? They’ve had an entire week to do God knows what to her.”
“You love her?”
Aiden nodded. “So hard it scares me.”
“Then you’ll get her through whatever she needs to do to help her heal. Just like you did before.”
Aiden narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t gone into detail with Joey about his relationship with Kat. He hadn’t wanted to talk about her while she was being held captive because it only made him more volatile. “How do you know what I did before?” he’d asked skeptically.
“Because Xan has a big mouth,” Joey answered with a smirk. “Come on, it’s showtime.”