It sounded like there was a smidgen of pride to his declaration, but if anything, it was a source of shame to me that I'd caved in to his demands.
I liked my legs attached and my brain not in a coma though... That was why I'd never gone to the cops.
"I haven't said dick to anyone."
Aidan tipped up his chin and when we stared at each other, I recognized something else.
Apology.
In the soft, rueful slant to his mouth.
Regret.
In the way he rubbed his forehead.
He'd used something I was ashamed of to instill a sense of trust in his brothers...
And he was sorry for it.
That shouldn't have impressed me as much as it did.
"You've met before?"
"Jesus, Declan, how fucking slow are you?" Eoghan groused. "Of course they know each other."
Declan gritted his teeth. "Fuck off, Eoghan. Can't you tell? They ain't—" His brow puckered. "Were you friends?"
Because that was so alien a concept?
Then, of course, I looked at Aidan and had to sigh.
Of course, it was.
Men like Aidan didn't befriend women.
They fucked them. Sneaked out in the middle of the night. Never called them again.
Men like Aidan were pricks.
Why did God have to make them so pretty?
Talk about the real crime against humanity. My belief, however, was confirmed when all of the brothers looked horrified.
Jeez.
If their gaping mouths were anything to go by, he'd fucked a lot more broads than I could begin to guestimate.
"I don’t know what we were," Aidan admitted softly, "but it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is what happened downstairs. Brennan, you’ll handle him later?"
I wanted to feel uneasy, wanted to be discomfited by the hidden meaning behind Aidan’s words, but I didn’t have it in me to emote that way. Not when I might never have been able to get away. Not when I might be dead now.
Torture was for the ages of the Spanish Inquisition, but ever since I'd been dealing with the injustices of the patriarchal society in which we lived, I'd admit to being more bloodthirsty than before.
"I’ll have some answers before midday."
Aidan nodded. "Good. Now, explain about the scar."
Brennan reached up and scrubbed the back of his neck. "You guys heard of the Valentinis?"