“Andres is still on the loose. He was there tonight. He’ll come for her. He knows she matters to me.” Troy tugged his shirt over his head, his leather pants already back on. “Aiden’s right. She’s in too deep.
We can’t erase her memory, not if we want her to live. Besides, Aiden won’t tell you this but I will. He loves her. He will be destroyed if he loses her which means you’ll end up losing a damn good Warden.” Marcus studied Troy a long moment without reacting to his words. “You and I have business to attend so don’t even think about leaving.” His gaze shifted to Aiden, his brow arching. “Are you petitioning for the woman’s conversion? Because if you are, change her now. Leave the council no options. I’ll tell them I approved it to save her life.”
“They could kill you for that,” Aiden said. “You have to know that.”
“Yes well, remember the council member that was feeding Andres information that almost go your brother killed?” he asked, without waiting for an answer. “He was replaced with a certain female who is rather fond of me. Besides, I owe you a debt of gratitude. Besides, I don’t die easily. In fact, I’m a good thorn in many a side, and I love every second of it.”
“You owe me nothing,” he said, knowing Marcus referenced the secret he had long held of their Warden-in-Charge, and had never revealed it to anyone, not even to his brothers. Aiden went still, icy inside, unable to stand the idea of her hating him when she woke. “You saved Evan and his wife from sure death.
And I won’t change her without her permission.” Nor would he even allow himself hope that she might welcome such a thing.
Marcus smiled. “You’re a good man, Aiden Brooks, too much so for your own good. You will protect your new woman from my quarters inside the council headquarters. I will ensure her conversion is approved, if she so chooses to take that path. Otherwise, you will wipe her memories, and return her to her life.” He snapped his fingers and transported Aiden and Kelly to the inside of a plush bedroom and the leather décor screamed of Marcus. And his heart screamed for the woman in his arms who’d seduced him from the instant he’d set eyes on her.
***
Kelly blinked awake and jerked to a sitting position. “A
iden!”
“I’m here,” he said, quickly pulling her into his arms. “I’m here.” He stroked her hair. “You’re okay.
Everything is okay now.”
“Where is here?” she asked, looking around at the plush room. “What is this place?”
“The council headquarters,” he said. “This is the best place for you to recover safely. You’ve been asleep almost a full twenty-four hours.”
“Because of the drug?” she asked. “That’s what happened, isn’t it? Wright gave me the drug.” He nodded. “A high dose. You almost died.”
Memories rushed over her in a sudden, dizzying cluster. The parking lot, the stairs and the man with orange eyes. The coppery taste of the drug and the sex. Lots and lots of sex. “Did we… did I? Did…” Her chest tightened and she buried her face in his shoulder, fighting through the shadows in her mind. The memories of being with Aiden and Troy came back to her.
“We saved your life, Kelly,” Aiden said, his hand stroking her back, soothing her with his touch, the conviction of his words. “I had to save your life.”
He had to save her and he’d needed Troy. In her mind, she replayed the events, dug through the shadows and found Aiden there protecting her, Aiden telling her he loved her over and over. Aiden desperately trying to save her life, and Troy desperately trying to make sure his brother succeeded, that Kelly survived. Troy who she’d all but written off as a monster, when Aiden had not. She understood Aiden’s belief in Troy now, understood, and knew she had to help Aiden find answers for Troy.
“Let me help you save Troy,” she vowed, lifting her head to make sure he saw the promise in her eyes. “I know you have to wipe my memories, but let me keep them, Aiden. No one has to know but us.” His body tensed, his expression darkening. “I wanted to give you time to recover before we had this conversation.”
Dread filled her, and she sat up, instantly on guard. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, realizing then that she was wearing her Paris shirt from home. But Aiden was fully dressed in faded jeans and a Texas Longhorn t-shirt, and the difference made her more insecure.
“This is where you tell me goodbye and erase my memories, right?”
“This is where I give you a choice.” He stood up, mimicking her position, crossing his arms in front of his chest. They couldn’t have been more guarded if they held metal shields.
“What does that mean?” she asked, feeling desperate, her dread expanding, making her pulse race. “What kind of choice?”
“I can wipe your memories or I convert you to vampire.”
“No I- “She frowned, certain she’d heard wrong. “I thought you couldn’t convert me? I thought it was illegal.”
“It’s been given approval based on special circumstances,” he said. “Those circumstances being that while Wright is now dead, Andres is still on the loose, and therefore, you could still be in danger. If you choose to bypass conversion, we’ll offer you a safe haven here until Andes has been dealt with. Once he’s out of the picture, we’ll take necessary steps to get you back to your life and your job, and wipe your memories.”
She stared at him, searching his face, trying to understand why he was so withdrawn. More memories –
hers and his – flooded her mind with understanding. Memories of him losing his family, of the night he’d told her about Darla. Of his claim that Darla had looked at him with hatred, that she thought he was a monster and that was why he had hesitated to convert her. And then his certainty that she would see him the way he believed Darla had as well – as a monster. But more than any memory, she remembered him pulling her into his lap in her kitchen and telling her he ‘fucking’ loved her. He needed her to see past his reserve, past his imaginary monster.
“I just have one question, Aiden.”
“Anything,” he said, his voice low and tight.