Missing (The Brannock Siblings Book 3), page 4
"Yeah."
"Wait, is it like the usual. A fling or something like that?"
"No, Ash. I've been talking to this girl for a while now and I'm serious about it. I'm not getting any younger and I don't have the time to be wandering around looking for action."
"No, you don't," she stated firmly. Then I heard her talking to someone and the deep voice that responded made me panic.
"I gotta go, sis. Tell Luke we'll have a talk."
"Wait, he wants to know who this girl is," she said quickly, but I wasn't going to get sucked into that conversation. Luke was just waiting for the chance to get back at me for the shit I had given him over the years. Especially over the last several months.
"Can't. Got a case, love you. Bye."
I hung up and let out the breath I had been holding since I heard Luke in the background. Aiden was right. Payback is a bitch.
The thought of my snarky little neighbor made me smile and Linc noticed.
"You that happy about becoming an uncle?"
My head snapped up and my brow furrowed. I didn't think I was smiling that big, but apparently I was and I didn't like that it was because I was thinking about Red.
"Sure. I can spoil him or her as much as I want and send him back to Mom and Dad. What's not to be happy about? Except for the fact that it's my little sister and one of my best friends and if it had happened any other way, the man would be in the trunk of my car on the way to Lake Michigan."
Linc laughed and went back to his report, cursing his computer when it froze up yet again.
My words might have changed the subject out loud, but my mind refused to give in. Red was still there and I needed to get her out before tomorrow night or MysteryGirl wouldn't give me a chance.
"Let's go over everything so far, yeah?" I asked, hoping that burying myself in this case would be enough of a distraction.
Linc slammed his fist on the desk, "Stupid fucking computers. We can't do shit until I call IT and find out why the hell our system is so slow today. We'll have to work with that huge ass pile," he pointed to the folder overflowing with papers on the edge of my desk, "until they fix this."
He picked up the phone and started dialing while I flipped through the pages, chuckling at his extremely low tolerance for any kind of technology. "Who's got the honor of working with your cheery ass tonight?"
Linc smirked when someone answered his call, "Donny, my man. Got another freeze up."
Poor Donny.
***
I didn't get home until eight thirty the next morning and my head was spinning with exhaustion. Linc and I had finished our reports in record time, but the new evidence and a few pots of coffee had kept us going for longer than we had anticipated. It was Linc who finally cut me off mid sentence and told me he wanted to go home to his wife and 'get some' before he slept the rest of the weekend. Who am I to deny him that?
I needed some shut eye before I got ready to go meet my girl anyway.
My girl.
I chuckled to myself, not because I was being a complete sap, but because it was the only thing about the day that felt right.
As I made it up the stairs to my floor, I heard women talking and laughing and the telltale sound of a child giggling up a storm. I smiled to myself and wondered how I had never run into little Aiden before.
"Don't worry about it, Lil. We'll be fine."
"Okay, if you're sure. I'll try my best to leave as early as I can. This bitch has got her head so far up the manager's ass that I swear to God I can't tell where she ends and he begins. If she feels like she needs to, she'll keep us all day."
I couldn't help but laugh. Seeing this tiny slip of a woman use such harsh words was entertaining. Plus the look of pride on Aiden's face was that much more amusing, until she saw me walking toward my door and that expression turned into a fiery glare
"Oops. I said that kind of loud didn't I? Do you think Aidy heard me?" Lily whispered and looked into the apartment with a grimace.
"Lil, I'm pretty sure she didn't, otherwise she would have already run out here to repeat it."
"Well, that's not my fault," Lily countered. "You're the one that has introduced her to the wonderful world of Aiden curses. I swear to God, you'll be funding her Master's degree with that swear jar she has."
Aiden chuckled and I stopped in my tracks. The low rasp of it was the sexiest thing I had ever heard and for some strange reason, it knocked out the whole of my exhaustion.
"Hey, Gus," Lily sang with a small wave.
I shook my head slightly and found my bearings once more, avoiding Aiden's gaze at all costs. "Hey, Lily. Good to see you again."
"Same here, handsome. Found out you had never seen my Aidy before."
I rolled my eyes because of course Red would have informed her sister about my little scene the week before. "Yeah. Never got the chance. Hope I didn't scare her."
Red made a sound that sounded on awfully lot like 'Pfft' and leaned against her doorframe.
"What's that supposed to mean, Red?" I asked, feeling like I had just been thrown the ultimate insult.
"It means," she said slowly, bristling at my nickname for her, "that you couldn't scare a child if you wanted to."
"Why not?" I stepped closer.
Lily, obviously noticing that the situation was about to turn into one of those arguments, immediately chimed in with, "You're just too pretty, Gus. Kids would flock to you before running from you."
Aiden glared at her sister and I grinned, using all the charm I could muster and aiming it at Lily. "Well, thank you, darlin'." I turned to Aiden, unable to keep it in, "I could be scary if I wanted to be."
"Ha!"
"Aiden Murphy! You be nice," Lily demanded.
"I'm a scary guy," I continued defensively, because I felt the need to drop my maturity down to negative one thousand. I narrowed my eyes at Aiden, "I just choose not to be."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"You don't make any sense."
"What?"
"You heard me." God, I was really starting to suck at comebacks and this woman was driving my cleverness and sanity down to levels I had never experienced before.
"What does that even mean?" she huffed and crossed her arms under her chest, pushing her breasts up and drawing my eyes downward for just a moment. I prayed she didn't notice, but my luck was shit today.
Of course she noticed. Lily noticed so why wouldn't she. And it was so obvious that she noticed, I thought I was going to end up with my eyeballs burned out, her glare was that intense.
"You know what? I don't have time for this," she said with a flick of her wrist and turned to walk back into her apartment with Lily hanging back for a second longer and giving me a shrug.
A part of me was so damn grateful she had the ability to end the conversation because I was seriously struggling. Another part of me wanted to say something, anything, that would make her stay just a few minutes longer. She had always been hot. Sexy. Now more than ever she was unmistakably gorgeous. Fiery. And fuck if it didn't turn me right the hell on.
Not something I needed to dwell on when I had a date later that night with the one woman who had ever understood me. The one woman who could make me laugh more than anyone and the one woman that I knew without a doubt I would fall in love with after meeting her.
That was the woman I needed to focus on. Not my cute, snarky neighbor with the blazing red hair and chocolate brown eyes, who was the ultimate challenge for witty banter. She was my nemesis, not my match and I had to remember that.
After having a door shut in my face once more, only this time at a large enough distance that I didn't feel the breeze from it, I turned back to my apartment.
Red was a fireball of emotion. Yesterday afternoon had been proof of that. I hadn't planned on helping her with the armload of crap when I first saw her struggling to get into her apartment. In fact, I watched her for a long moment and thought she looked the most vulnerable I had ever seen her and I wanted to freeze time just to enjoy it a little longer.
Then I realized how badly she actually was struggling and the gentleman in me moved quickly. Her apartment had been a surprise. Of course I had seen inside of it before, but never noticed that the clutter wasn't garbage at all. It was actually stacks of really amazing paintings and pictures that until then, I had no clue she was the creator of. All the tubes she had been struggling to keep in that bag were actually paints. I wanted to ask her more about the paintings, but up until then, I had been an asshole and had no right to know more about her personal life.
I didn't want to know more. I just wanted to be less of an asshole if I could.
Ash always said my sarcasm would get me into trouble one day and I was feeling that day closing in fast, especially after the last few run-ins with Red.
Red.
It was hilarious how badly that nickname pissed her off because I was one hundred and fifty percent positive that a lot of people called her that.
I strolled into my bedroom and threw my keys on the dresser, followed by my badge and gun and stripped down to my boxer briefs. After setting my alarm to wake me up an hour before I had to meet MysteryGirl, I settled into my bed and shut my eyes.
Tonight was the start of something incredible. I could feel it in my bones.
***
I settled into the booth and tried to avoid the heated gaze from the hostess when she asked if there was anything else I needed.
"Thanks, I'll just wait for my date to get here."
Her exaggerated smile never faltered, but she went back to her post quickly and I wondered if I should have chosen another restaurant. This one was fancy, but not overly fancy to give the impression that I spent my free time at fancy places all the time. It was fancy enough, though, that every employee looked like they owned the place.
I adjusted my tie and tried to relax. After checking the time once again and seeing no incoming texts or calls, I forced myself to calm down. MysteryGirl - and it would be great to know her actual name after tonight - had texted me thirty minutes before saying she would be a little bit late, which was fine with me. I had run into Lily on the way out, who was on the verge of tears after picking up Aidy. I tried to help her out by being a listening ear, so I had been running a few minutes behind, too. Lily had apparently been through a hell of a day at work and felt awful for picking her daughter up so late.
"Was Red upset?" I had asked.
She laughed and wiped under her eyes with one hand while holding tightly to Aidy's hand with the other. "God, no. She's never upset with me for anything. I just wanted her to have a stress free night with her date and all. She needs this, ya know? I hope she has enough time to get ready."
"She will. She hardly has to do anything to look good anyway."
I hadn't meant to voice my thoughts, but there it was, and Lily beamed.
"Why can't you two get along?" she asked on a sigh. "You're perfect for each other, but neither one of you sees it."
Before I could answer, little Aidy chimed in with, "Because Aunty Aiden said everyone is too much smarter than him and it makes him a big meanie head."
I stopped midstride and Lily clapped a hand over her mouth. It took me a minute to process what the little girl had said and instead of feeling insulted, I was trying to figure out how she knew so many words.
"How old are you, Aidy?" I asked and her smile nearly split her face in half.
"I'm five," she all but shouted and held up a hand with all five fingers perfectly straight and spread apart as far as they would go. The bright purple nail polish caught my eye before she dropped her hand.
"I'm so sorry, Gus," Lily gasped.
I just smiled and shrugged, "No worries. She's probably right, but don't tell her I said that." I winked at Aidy and pointed up the stairs. Lily chuckled and kept her eyes straight ahead.
The rest of the walk out of the building was silent and I couldn't for the life of me think of anything else to say because a five year old had put me in my place thanks to Red.
I'd spent the drive to the restaurant thinking of intelligent comebacks for the next time I saw her and had filed away several that would work no matter what she had to say.
I checked my phone once more and saw that there was a text that had come in while I was lost in my thoughts.
MysteryGirl: Almost there.
I have never been nervous for a date before, but this one was important. It was the first time I had been completely honest with a woman about my past and the first time the woman knew that this wasn't just about getting into bed together.
She may not know specific details, but she knew enough about me. She knew details about my past that no one else did and it had taken a huge weight off of my shoulders. She liked me for me, no matter what - or who - I had done before her. It was refreshing and very necessary for me now that I had watched Ash and Con's lives change so much because they had found the one. I wanted that for me and I was going to get it no matter the cost.
I waited for another few minutes when I saw a flash of red outside the window next to me.
Aiden was scurrying down the sidewalk in the dark green dress I saw her carrying the day before. And just like I had thought it would the day before, it looked really good on her. It stopped just above her knees, showing off the creamy skin of her toned legs, and the shoes she was wearing… those heels made her legs look miles long. Her curled hair draped down her back, the perfect shade of red to go with the dress. I still hadn't seen her face, but there was no mistaking that hair.
I was right. She didn't need much time to look good.
My perusal of her was cut off when she turned into the door to the restaurant and strode up to the hostess.
"Lucky day," I said to myself, curious to see who her date was and if he was the smart sophisticated doctor-like gentleman I could picture her with.
The hostess started to lead her through the same maze of tables I had walked through and as they got closer, I wondered at the coincidence that her date was in the same restaurant and, from the looks of it, possibly at the table next to mine. I tore my eyes away from Aiden who was concentrating on not running into anything and my heart stuttered to a halt, my hands starting to sweat when the hostess met my gaze then smiled as she came to a stop next to me.
At my table.
"Here we are, Miss."
The look on Aiden's face when she finally saw me had to be the exact visual replica of the way I was feeling sitting there like an idiot, staring at what I had come to realize was my MysteryGirl.
"What the fuck?" The hostess flinched at my outburst, but I didn't give a shit. This had to be some kind of joke.
"You're Dreamy?" Aiden gasped.
"You're MysteryGirl?"
The now frowning hostess hurried away as Aiden's face began to turn bright red, almost as red as her hair and I felt like a complete dick. I should have seen the signs. Artist, hot date, funny as hell. Of course Mystery Girl is Aiden.
She's fucking perfect for me. In. Every. Way.
Realizing that made me wish I would have seen it sooner before I was a complete asshole to her all those times. Whatever she was about to do, I deserved one hundred and fifty percent.
Before I could say anything, even process anything beyond the fact that she was the woman I had been communicating with this whole time, she turned on her sexy as hell heels and took off through the obstacle course of linen covered tables, knocking over a centerpiece or two, and all but running out the front door.
My jaw was still flat on the table, but now I was drooling. Curves I had never noticed before were moving quickly away from me.
Yes, I deserved it.
No, I wasn't going to accept it.
It only took me another two seconds to make my decision.
I had waited too long for her. Too long trying to convince her to meet me in person. Too long lying awake at night wondering what she looked like. Too long imagining her body wrapped around mine while we talked for hours on end.
MysteryGirl was mine. MysteryGirl was Aiden. Therefore, Aiden… yeah, she was going to be mine, too.
I was watching her hurry down the sidewalk while I attempted to scoot out of the booth without taking my eyes off of her.
"Excuse me, sir. Will your date be returning?"
I quickly glanced at the now more hopeful hostess and grinned, "No. We are both leaving. Thank you for the table and I apologize that we won't be using it."
I didn't wait another second. I flew by her and my eyes found Aiden once more as I reached the glass front door. She was folding that body into a cab and my heart thumped wildly against my chest.
"You can run, Red. But you can't hide."
Another one bites the dust.
Chapter 3
Aiden
"This can't be happening."
"What was that, ma'am?"
Aiden looked up at the cab driver and gave him a shaky smile, "Nothing."
He turned back to the road and drove like a ninety year old man who had absolutely nowhere to be. She was ready to knock him out and take over just so she could get back to her apartment before the end of the year.
"Can we please hurry? It's very important."
He grunted and glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then pressed only slightly harder on the accelerator. She looked behind her and realized they were already a few blocks away from the restaurant and her out of control pulse finally began to slow.
This was the last thing she expected when she walked into that restaurant. She had already been anxious about telling the hostess the name on the reservation.
Dreamy.
She had giggled like a little school girl when he told her what name to use and wondered how long it would take him to get her laughing like a hyena. Every conversation had been better than the last and she was only nervous about what he looked like. The rest was a no brainer. They were made for each other. Period.
She should have noticed where they were heading as she followed the hostess, but she was too busy trying to walk straight in those damn heels Lily had insisted she wear.
When they stopped and she saw Gus… well, let's just say she almost broke out in a fit of laughter at the obvious joke it was.
