Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3) (13 page)

She was falling in love with the man she had so indisputably
hated just weeks ago and it was consuming her. There was no way to stop it. She
didn't know why she even
wanted
to stop it. She didn't, but telling
herself she did made her feel better. Tougher. Like she could just casually go
about her day not pining over him or thinking about him every two minutes.

She was working on it, but it wasn't looking good and the
last four nights were proof of that. She hadn't seen or spoken to Gus since she
had left his apartment after their moment in her new studio and she felt like
the biggest coward. She wanted him. God, did she want him. She just couldn't
figure out how it would work. She had to think about her sister, who was
telling her she was being an idiot.

She knew she was and that's what pissed her off the most.

The men from her past never dove any deeper than the shallow
waters she had allowed them in. She had slept with two of them, but it wasn't
about feelings, it was about release. Change was never a worry because none of
those men put her in that position.

She knew it was ridiculous, thinking she had to choose
between her family and a man, but her mind just wouldn't give it up. Lily's
marriage had been intense in the beginning and she hadn't hesitated to give
Brandon
everything
. Lily had recovered, but Aiden didn't think she was
capable of that, especially when the man she could see herself giving
everything to could be the man that destroyed her so completely. Being so
consumed by him, she hadn't even checked her profile, didn't care about another
man's interest. They didn't exist to her, not when
he
was all she could
see.

Her room was bathed in the dim grey of early evening. Not a
damn color in sight. Gloomy.

Figures
.

"Aiden! Get your ass up and dressed. You've been
sleeping for four hours."

Her sister's exasperation was expected, but her yell was so
loud that Aiden's head throbbed with each word.

"Good God, Lily. Pipe down and switch off the megaphone.
I'm getting up."

"Well, I've been trying to wake you up
gently
for the last half hour, but you've been dead as a log. You've only got an hour
before you have to be at the gallery and you haven't even wrapped your
paintings."

Shit
.

"Alright. I'm moving."

Lily walked into the bedroom - apparently deciding that her
yelling wasn't working anyway - and stared down at her sister. "You
alright, Aid?"

Aiden nodded as she crawled out of her warm fluffy bed. She
couldn't look her sister in the eye knowing that her own attitude was
completely uncalled for. There was no way she could change it now.

"You've been off for a few days now, Aiden. I think
it's time to spit it out."

She could feel Lily's glare on the back of her head, but it
didn't affect her tonight. Nothing could. She was shutting it out and just
going with the flow like she always did. Like she always would.

That was who she was and that was who she would always be.

"I'm fine, Lil. Just tired."

"Tired," Lily repeated.

"Yes. Tired."

Lily left the room without another word and Aiden sighed her
relief. She couldn't talk about it. Not yet. Not until she knew how much she
was willing to give of herself. She needed to keep her priorities in order.
Lily needed her and so did Aidy. She needed to remember that.

Tonight was going to be painful. The gallery she had sold so
many of her paintings with had begged her to bring more and spend the night at
a public showing with a few other artists. She never liked schmoozing people
into buying her work, that's why she had always left it up to the galleries to
find buyers. However, she got roped into it tonight thanks to her nosy sister.

Lily had been there when she got the call and literally
ripped the phone from her hands, making all the arrangements in a matter of minutes.
So now she was stuck wearing a perfect fitting little black dress with perfect
heels and - if Lily was going to continue her rampage - perfect hair and
makeup.

Aiden wanted to vomit.

Normally, she wouldn't have even allowed her sister to be
any part of the night, but after threatening to tell Gus about the showing,
Lily won again. Having Gus there would bring her agony to a whole new level.

Why?

Because she wasn't just falling in love with the man. She
had already fallen. Hard.

"Be in the bathroom in two minutes or I'm dragging you
in there by your hair," Lily shouted from the kitchen.

She heard Aidy in the living room giggling at one of the
cartoons she was watching and wished that there was some way the little
princess could save her. It was no use. Aidy loved Gus just as much as her
mother did.

So unfair.

Lily didn't say a word to her the entire time they sat in
the bathroom curling her hair perfectly. She didn't say a word when she spent
ten minutes doing Aiden's makeup - perfectly - and she didn't say a
word
when Aiden walked out of her bedroom ready to go. She knew she looked good and
Lily was always ready with a compliment, but tonight was different. Her sister
was done with her crap.

They took a cab to the gallery, Lily in the front and Aidy with
her in the back while her paintings and photos were carefully set on the
remaining seat and in the trunk. She didn't care if they were destroyed, it
would give her a reason to get out of this whole night and just go back home
and sleep. Maybe eat a carton of ice cream in bed.

Unfortunately, there were people ready to help the second
they pulled up to the building and all of her work was treated with the utmost
care. She spoke with the owner and manager briefly and set her base prices,
then hung back with Lily waiting for people to arrive.

Her sister was still not talking to her, but Aidy was
keeping a constant line of conversation with both of them. It was when Lily
glanced at the door for the hundredth time that Aiden finally bit the bullet.

"What's wrong?"

Lily turned to her, eyes narrowed and lips pursed,
"Nothing. You?"

Aiden sighed and turned away, "Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

Did she say this night would be painful? More like
agonizing.

Gus

I followed Evan and his wife, Kristie, as they pulled their
car into the parking lot behind the gallery. Lily had already texted me twice
asking where the hell I was. I would have been there an hour earlier, but
thanks to a last minute call from a guy reporting his girlfriend had been
missing for two days, Linc and I ended up in the middle of downtown Detroit
with a black eye for each of us, bloody knuckles for me, and both our guns
drawn.

We arrived at the apartment complex when the guy who had
called came bursting out the door with four guys on top of him along with a
haggard looking woman screaming bloody murder. Turned out, the girlfriend had
actually left him two days before and he never got the message since he had
been drunk and stoned ever since. She'd shown up at the apartment just before
us to pick up her things with her new boyfriend and his back up. The new guy
wasn't necessarily a step up from the ex and we ended up arresting all of them
for possession of drugs and other paraphernalia.

I could fight with the best of them, but Linc barely got a
scratch. The only reason he got the black eye was because he had three guys on
him at the same time and one of them threw his elbow and nailed him. I don't
even think the guy had
meant
to hit him. He was just trying to get away.

Me? I ended up with a bloody nose, black eye, and what I
thought was a broken hand from how hard I'd hit one of the bastards.

We spent over an hour at the clinic getting cleaned up
before Linc looked me right in the eye and told me I was rusty. He meant it as
a joke, but I knew the truth. I wasn't on my game tonight and it was
noticeable.

Having a kidnapper out on the loose and all the other shit
flying our way was becoming too much. This case was getting too personal and I
felt like I was about to snap in two. I couldn't let my job interfere with my
personal life anymore than it had to, but the lines were getting too blurred.

Aiden didn't know it, but I was constantly checking up on
her sister and niece. The constant worry that Aidy could be taken away from her
mother was burrowing itself deep in my chest.

Every time we thought we got a handle on this guy, we ended
up even further away. Captain Payne agreed that we needed a fresh start, so we
hit the reset button. Sent evidence back in, planned to return to all the businesses
near the station, security footage was being reviewed again and those poor
families had to be questioned once more. Our only upper hand was knowing when
he had been at the station.

That's it.

Needless to say, we were all crossing our fingers.

Not seeing Aiden since the night I almost kissed her wasn't
helping either. I knew she was avoiding me, but it didn't change the fact that
I was more than anxious to see her tonight. Almost every night, I had found
myself at her door staring at it and wishing it would open on its own to let me
inside. When it didn't, I forced myself to walk away. If she wanted some time,
I would give it to her.

These girls had gotten under my skin. Aidy, with her quirky
humor and never ending curiosity, was always ready with a question that threw
me. Realizing a 5 year old could make me question everything I had ever done in
my life was an eye opener.

Linc and I had been at a local deli for lunch a few days
before when I heard that sweet little voice. Lily and Aidy were standing near
the counter and the little firecracker waved frantically, her bright red curls
bouncing on her shoulders.

"Gus!"

"Hey little Red, how are you doing?"

She'd pulled away from her mother's hold and marched right
up to me with a purposeful expression. I crouched down so we were almost eye
level and her lips pursed when she studied me, just like her mother's did. This
little girl was every bit of her mother except for the red hair and freckles,
but her sass must have come from Aiden seeing how Lily was as sweet as they
come.

Aiden only pursed her lips when she was mad. When she was
confused or nervous, her brow furrowed. She would bite her lip and tangle her
fingers together when she wanted to ask me something she thought I might not
like.

Aidy, on the other hand, didn't care if I didn't like the
question.

"Do you like my Aunty Aiden?"

Her question had obviously thrown me, but I didn't hesitate
with an answer. The only answer. "Yes, I do. Very much."

"Have you told her you like her?"

"Not exactly."

"Why?"

I'd chuckled and glanced up at Lily who had been watching us
warily. When I looked back to Aidy, her bright green eyes waiting impatiently,
I smiled. "It's not that easy."

"Why not?"

Two words. Two perfect words that I would have never
expected to strike me as hard as they actually did.
Why not
.

Why
couldn't
it be that easy?

When I had looked up at Lily, her expression was no
different from her daughter's.

Linc's phone rang before I could think on it anymore and
after saying a quick goodbye, we rushed out of there.

Why not?

A
tap tap tap
on my window yanked me out of my
thoughts. Evan and Kristie were standing just outside my door, worried
expressions covering their faces. I needed to pull myself together.

Avoiding as much eye contact as possible, I climbed out of
my car and took a deep breath.

"You alright, man?"

I nodded.

"Nervous?"

I shook my head.

"Alright."

Kristie smiled at me and took her husband's offered hand.
She knew I was a mess. Women know these things all the time, it's a damn
mystery how, but they do. I smiled back, thanking her for not pushing for more.

Evan and Kristie didn't have it easy when they first got
together. She had wanted nothing to do with him and he couldn't get her out of
his mind. It took months for him to finally convince her to go out on a date
with him and one night to convince her to fall in love with him. Blissfully
happy ever since, the only issue they had was getting pregnant. I hoped to God
they were able to have kids because she wanted a child more than anything in
the world and so did Evan.

I followed behind them, answering Kristie's questions about
Aiden's paintings. There were a variety of them - all different - from abstract
to portraits to landscapes. The woman had talent, but she didn't put it all up
for sale. I didn't even know what pieces she would have available tonight.

 The number of people crowding the open room wasn't
surprising. Lily told me there were a few other artists involved in the night,
but Aiden's work was what the gallery was dependent on selling. No wonder she
didn't want to participate. The pressure was too much and she hated buttering
people up anyway. She didn't care how much money her work sold for, she just
loved doing it and as long as she could support herself, she would continue
doing it.

I immediately spotted Lily who was sitting with Aidy in a
corner away from the crowd. She waved me over and Linc and Kristie followed.

"Hey, beautiful," I said and gave her a hug.

She scoffed and patted my cheek affectionately, the same way
Ash would. "You're too charming, Gus. If I was Aiden, I'd be all up in
your business right now."

I laughed weakly, the reminder that Aiden was
not
all
up in my business causing a twinge of disappointment. I had come to love Lily
like a sister over the last few weeks and she hadn't been the least bit subtle
about her wish for Aiden and me to get together. Hence, the secret mission she
took upon herself to get me here.