Conviction (A Stand-alone Novel): A Bad Boy Romance (22 page)

We stepped into the elevator and once the doors closed Ayden let loose an angry sigh. "I can't believe I forgot there's also a federal investigation. We've got feds coming down on us from the almighty government and gangster businessmen slithering out from under rocks. It’s like the exercise yard all over again."

I crossed my arms tightly and pinched my lips to keep from saying anything out of frustration. Luckily the elevator doors slid open, and I was able to march towards the parking lot.

"Hey, I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in. How about we grab some greasy comfort food and figure out together how we're going to take it all on." Ayden caught my arm before I could step off the sidewalk.

My smile turned to a soundless scream as a car careened around the corner of the building and sped towards us. It swerved close to the sidewalk, the proximity blowing back my hair. If I had stretched my hand out four inches more, the mirror would have hit me.

The car sped off and took my breath with it.

* * * * *

Ayden pulled me back onto the sidewalk and enveloped me in a hug. His heart leapt against my cheek as I drew in a deep, ragged breath. Then one hand tangled in my hair and tipped my face up to his. Laser blue eyes searched my face until the recent distance between us was gone.

"Are you okay? That car was only inches away," he sounded out of breath.

"I'm fine. Good timing." I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed.

Ayden shook his head and pressed my head back to his pounding chest. "I'm so sorry. I've been distracted lately. I let my father get in my head, and this whole business with David is so ugly. All I can think about is that night. I should have gone with Jace to the meeting."

"I could have gone. David wouldn't have found a good reason to keep me away, but I didn't. We can't change it. We can only try to find out the truth." I leaned against Ayden's iron rod strength and tried to convince us both. "We couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Autumn, please, I know I was pushing you away. I'm sorry," Ayden dropped a kiss on my head.

"I understand. It's okay. We don't have to do everything at full tilt."

We had to pry ourselves apart as our town car driver sprinted up the sidewalk to us. He skidded to a stop and looked us both over, one hand pressed hard to his heaving chest.

"I saw the whole thing. That car deliberately swerved at you! I thought, I thought it was going to be the worst. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Shaken up, but not a scratch on us," Ayden said. He clapped the panicked driver on the shoulder.

He bent over and gripped his kneecaps, pulling himself together. Ayden took that opportunity to grab my hand and pull me so that he stood between me and the curb. I almost laughed at the protective move but standing out there made me feel exposed and jumpy.

Our driver finally stood up and straightened his navy blue coat. "I got the license plate number. Do you want me to call the police for you?" he asked.

Ayden's blue eyes lit on mine as I gave a tiny headshake. "No, we are going to look into it privately," he told him.

"Take you home then?"

I wrapped my arm through Ayden's. "No, thanks. Is that diner on 40th still open?"

"Best milkshakes," our driver nodded. He opened the door, and Ayden held my hand as I got in. I was grateful as my knees were still shaking.

The drive was quick with our driver tense and alert. He smoothly cut through traffic, the adrenaline from earlier making his senses sharper. After the record time trip through traffic, my knees were still shaking when Ayden opened the town car door for me.

We ducked inside the narrow door of the diner and found a vinyl-seat booth in the back. Tucked away in the booth at the back of a dive was comforting, but the smell of the all-day breakfast was even better.

"You have to try the French toast," I told Ayden.

He scrubbed his chin and looked everywhere but the menu. His lips quirked in a short smile as the waitress brought a fresh pot of coffee, but as soon as she turned to find cream, he scowled again.

"What are you thinking about? That scowl is going to sour my stomach," I said.

He chuckled and shifted in the squeaky booth. "Sorry. I just can't help but think this whole deal with the Mertz brothers is more than just greedy business. A real estate grab I get, but why are they still pushing for it? It feels like they want Knight Holdings under their thumb and will do anything to get it."

"No, you're not serious." I dropped my menu to the tabletop.

"Who else would send a car to scare us? Who else knew we were at that meeting and leaving at that time?" Ayden asked.

I had no good answers so it was a relief when the waitress reappeared with a small pitcher of cream and a list of the daily specials. I ordered the French toast and was not surprised when Ayden ordered a cheeseburger platter.

The food came, and he had a handful of fries before I articulated the thought that had been circling in my head. "You know, there is only one person that can really shed some light on all of this."

Ayden dumped ketchup on his plate. "Too bad I don't believe in psychics. I'm sure even Jace's spirit has a lot to say about the Mertz brothers. Do you think we should hire a private investigator to put us in contact with the Mertz brothers' driver, or someone else who could have told us what happened at that meeting?"

I poured extra syrup on my French toast before I said, "We need to talk to David."

"Oh, see I thought you said there was a
person
we needed to talk to, not a weasel."

"Ayden, I'm serious. He's the only one that can tell us what the Mertz brothers are really like."

He rolled his eyes and pretended to be very interested in the golf game playing on the flickering television in the corner. His little grimaces of disgust had nothing to do with the delicious food; he was imagining the location in which he would have to visit David.

"I'll go. You don't need to set foot in another prison," I told him.

Ayden shook his head and took an enormous bite of his cheeseburger. Around it he said, "No, I'll talk to him. He's not just going to volunteer the information we want."

"And you don't think I can convince David it’s in his best interest to share everything he knows with us?" I slammed down my knife and fork.

"Whoa, hold on. Why are you so upset?" Ayden paused mid-bite.

"How do you think I survived all these years? Do you think I just drifted around and waited for you to come save me? Believe it or not, I was a successful business person before you showed up," I snapped.

"Alright, alright. You can negotiate. You can handle yourself. All I'm saying is that I would like to be the person that talks to David."

I shook my head and started to get up from the booth. "I know you want to be CEO, and I know you have a lot to prove, but you're never going to get either if you don't start believing in your team."

Ayden grabbed my wrist and pulled me back into the booth. "Autumn, I'm sorry. You're right. That is exactly why Jace was such a great leader; he knew how to work with a team. That's a skill I'm still pretty rusty at."

I pulled my wrist loose but slid back into my seat and picked up my fork. I took a huge bite of French toast to prevent me from saying anything else before I had thought it through.

My silence turned out to be an excellent tactic because Ayden heaved a big sigh and confessed. "I worry about you. Too much. More than anyone else. After today, that car, how am I supposed to let you out of my sight? Autumn, I don't want to lose you."

"Protecting and underestimating me are two different things," I snapped.

"You're right." Ayden's blue eyes lit up as he dug out his phone. "And I have the perfect solution. Alan? It’s Ayden King. I'm going to put you on speaker phone."

I did not have time to ask why he was calling Jace's former bodyguard before Ayden laid the phone on the table between us.

"I'm wondering if you're available for a private security job. I'm here with Autumn Bishop, and we have reasons to believe that some unsavory people may be targeting her," Ayden said.

"Harassment, bodily harm, or other?" Alan asked gruffly.

"None of the above," I tried to say, but Ayden drowned me out.

"If we knew, we wouldn't be calling you, would we? Now I'm sure you know that she's going to protest, but would you be willing to shadow her for a few days until we get more information?" Ayden asked.

"Alan, really, this is just an overreaction--"

"Yes, of course. I'll meet you at the house in an hour," Alan said, and the line cut off.

"Succinct. I like that about him." Ayden sat back and sipped his soda.

"So great. Now that you've assigned me a babysitter, I can head over to talk with David," I said. I snatched up my purse.

"Finish your breakfast, please. I'm doing the best I can. Now at least I'll know that if I'm not with you, Alan is keeping you safe. We both have a lot of work to do besides this whole nightmare with David and the Mertz brothers."

"Work, that's all we do," I muttered. I knew it was ridiculous to say after I had made a stink over being an independent businesswoman, but Ayden was getting under my skin. It was impossible to tell if I was the one he really wanted, or if I was just the easiest and most available. The thought killed my appetite.

Ayden had not so much as looked at another woman. Up until now, I had taken it as a romantic connection. Now I worried it was because I was convenient and fit neatly into his busy work schedule. Was he taking advantage of me as well as underestimating me?

I picked up my purse again and sneered when he looked worried. "I'm just going to the ladies' room."

In the tiny diner bathroom, I tried to talk some sense into myself. I thought back over the conversations Ayden and I had had on topics other than work. I had to reach far into my memory for snippets. On the other hand, we both loved our work and before Ayden, work had always been central to my life. It was good to have a partner that felt the same.

The trouble was I had no idea how Ayden felt. He was quick to say the right thing, but it was impossible to tell the level of emotion underneath it. I understood why he was not quick to open up, but it was causing me no end of confusion.

One thing did not have me confused. Ayden was trying to relegate me to the role of helpless damsel. I scrubbed my hands and snatched two paper towels. He needed to see that I was not helpless and not about to quietly go sit in a cage and let him deal with everything. I had always taken care of myself.

I peeked out the bathroom door and saw Ayden still sitting in our booth. His black hair gleamed as he leaned over the table and demolished his cheeseburger. He was facing the front door.

Behind me was a narrow hall, a supply closet, and the rubber bumper door to the kitchen. The diner was small, so I slipped through to the kitchen and out the back door in just a few steps. Two blocks over and I could easily hail a cab and go talk to David.

I rounded the dumpster and clapped both hands over my mouth to stop a scream. Ayden was standing there with his arms crossed and a devilish grin on his face.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said. "I gotta say, I do admire your spunk."

Before I could squeak out an angry word, Ayden strode forward and caught me in his arms. His lips seared mine in a blazing kiss. The unexpected move and instant heat between us erased everything else.

I lifted on my tiptoes and devoured his kisses, racking my hands behind his waist, so I could press myself against every inch of him.

He groaned and pushed me back. "Not here," he said on a ragged breath.

I smiled. No matter how closely Ayden kept his emotions in check, there was one way I knew to make him lose control.

Chapter Fifteen

Ayden

I kept my mind on the fiery flashes of the night before and not the day ahead of me. Autumn had blown me away in the parking lot behind the diner. The rest of the day was a fog of paperwork and meetings. Then we had gotten home and dinner was quickly forgotten.

We had not even made it up the stairs. Autumn walked in front of me, teasing me with the sway of her hips. When I caught hold of her on the landing, she was ready and met my lips with such fire that I was helpless. She easily dragged us to the floor and moved astride me. Only after, with her smiling and sprawled across me, did I realize my head rested on a step, and we were still on the landing.

I hoped she remembered it too because Alan showed up early and waited patiently in the hallway. I saw Autumn's eyes flick back up to the landing when she greeted him. She marched past me to the kitchen, and I hesitated but followed. It was our usual routine to eat quick breakfasts standing at the kitchen island, but she frowned at me the whole time.

I checked my watch with the slightest tilt of my wrist. She could not suspect that anything was different about today. We were back in our routine despite the spectacular surprise she'd given me on the staircase last night.

"Good luck with the bank. I'll see you at headquarters for the endorsement deal meeting," I said.

"I'll be there with my looming shadow," she said over her shoulder, as Alan followed her out the front door.

Once they were gone, I sent the message on my phone. The town car that had been waiting down the street pulled in through the gates and up to the front steps. I ran down and jumped in before the driver could get out.

I checked my watch again and worried about traffic, but as soon as we arrived at the correctional facility, I wished the drive had taken longer. I was not ready to face the strange sensations that pinged around inside me like flies against glass. Sitting stock still as I eyed the prison did not do any good; my nerves jumped. The driver jumped out and opened my door. I still did not want to move.

"Thanks, I won't be long," I told the driver and repeated the assurance to myself eighteen times between the car and the door. Even entering the prison as a visitor brought on a wave of anxiety.