She smiled at him shyly, embarrassment still written all over her face.
He wanted to stop and say something witty and funny to make her feel better, but the phone buzzing in his hand didn’t give him a choice. He grinned at her instead, winking playfully.
Oops. He probably shouldn’t have winked. Last thing he wanted was to get Felicity’s hopes up. Bad Aidan.
He stepped outside into a balmy Sydney summer night—perfect January weather—and answered his phone. “Hi, Claude,” he said to the IR chief to whom he reported directly.
“Aidan, I’m sorry that I’m calling straight after you just helped Justin. I know you’re still partying with the others.”
“No problem at all. I’m assuming this is an urgent matter.”
“Not really. In fact, we don’t have enough to go on at this point. But it’s important for you to know about it.”
Aidan frowned. “Yes?”
“Someone sent a message through our website saying they have their eye on our highest-ranking chief—that they’re hoping that this chief would die soon from natural causes. If that doesn’t happen in the time frame they want, they’ll make sure it happens, anyway.”
Fear gripped Aidan’s chest. “Maricar. Where is she now? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s still at her Bowral estate with her nurses and cook. Hugo is on his way there, too. He’ll stay with the women while this threat is active.”
Aidan felt relieved. Those people with Maricar were all trained IRs. What was more, Maricar’s country estate was very secure. He didn’t have to ask to know that agents were now monitoring the numerous security cameras that dotted the property. At the first sign of intruders, agents living nearby could be quickly dispatched. “Okay. I better head home to help man the cameras.”
“No,” Claude said authoritatively. “Maricar told me herself not to allow you to do that tonight. She wants you to enjoy yourself at Isla’s party.”
Aidan let out a heavy breath, knowing there was no point in arguing. But he couldn’t help his concern. Apart from being his most influential teacher and mentor, seventy-year-old Maricar Parlan was like a mother to him. She’d been his legal guardian after his parents had been killed whilst on an IR assignment when he was only fifteen.
“Do we know who sent the message?” he asked.
“We’re still working on that. They covered their tracks well, but our guys will find out who they are eventually. In the meantime, we’re ensuring Maricar is the safest she can be.”
“Right.” Aidan allowed himself to relax. He trusted the IRs. He had no doubts that Maricar was, indeed, the safest she could be.
“That’s all,” Claude said. “I just didn’t want you to find out about this later tonight or tomorrow and get annoyed that we didn’t inform you straight away. But, like I said, there’s nothing for you to do right now. Our guys are watching the cameras on Maricar’s property like hawks.”
“Okay. Thanks, Claude. I do appreciate you telling me straight away.”
“No worries. Party going well?”
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “It’s going longer than expected, too, as Kallan and Isla got engaged.”
“Really? That’s great. I’ll personally congratulate them when we organise a graduation dinner for them.”
“Cool. They’d love that.”
“All right. You enjoy the rest of the night.”
“Thanks, Claude. Goodnight.”
“‘Night.”
Aidan hung up. As he glanced at his phone screen, he saw a text message he hadn’t read yet. It was from Trish, his ex from over six years ago—his second and last serious girlfriend.
He opened it, and his brows rose. Trish was thanking him for sending her boxes of porcelain dolls to her cousin for safekeeping. It had been at least four years since he’d given those boxes to Trish’s cousin. She’d only found that out now?
He started to text a reply, then changed his mind. It was late. He’d respond to her tomorrow instead.
To his surprise, his phone started ringing. He answered, “Hello, Trish.”
“Hi, Aidan!” Trish said enthusiastically. “I had the phone in my hand to send you another message, and I noticed those text bubbles that indicated you were writing me one. So I decided to call you. I knew you’d still be up. You’ve always been a night owl. Anyway, how are you?”
“I’m good. How are you? I didn’t expect to hear from you after all this time.”
“I know! Well, I got back my dolls. Thanks so much. I honestly thought you’d thrown them all out.”
Aidan chuckled. When Trish had left him for Sandro six and a half years ago, she hadn’t taken her three big boxes of porcelain dolls to New Zealand, where Sandro lived. The freight costs had been prohibitive.
Out of guilt and grief, he’d kept them for a while. After all, he’d been mainly responsible for their relationship’s failure. He’d always disappeared to work on IR cases and never told Trish where he’d gone.
“I was tempted to throw them away,” he admitted. “But I know how much they cost you, so I handed them over to your cousin for safekeeping. That was over four years ago now. Didn’t she tell you?”
“No! She thought that mentioning it might bring up unwanted feelings for me. But we just came back to Sydney the other day, and she asked me to pick up the boxes from her today. I was so surprised. Thank you again for not getting rid of them.”
“No worries. So you’re back here for a visit?”
“No. Sandro got a transfer, so we’re back to stay. We both missed Australia so much. But I need to find a new job.”
“Okay. Good luck with that.”
“Thanks. So how’ve you been?”
“I’ve been well, thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say, which had been one of the problems in their relationship. He couldn’t share anything about his IR work.
The silence lengthened, and Trish cleared her throat. “Um, I better let you go.”
“Okay. You take care.”
“You, too. Bye, Aidan.”
“Bye.”
He hung up, shrugging. Funny how effectively time had healed that wound. He felt nothing but a little friendly caring for Trish now. In fact, the pain attached from the lesson he’d learnt from their two-year relationship was much stronger than the memory of his feelings for her. He guessed it was because things with Trish were well and truly over, whilst the lesson was ongoing.
Dating a non-IR didn’t work. At all.
He’d initially learnt that difficult truth with Priscilla, his first serious girlfriend. He’d been a young twenty-one-year-old when he’d fallen for her. Despite orders and warnings from the chiefs not to reveal their identities to non-Indie Rebels, he’d told Priscilla this secret on their one-year anniversary. Trusting Priscilla implicitly, he’d thought he was doing the right thing for their relationship.
But Priscilla had mentioned something to someone because, somehow, a crime lord had gotten wind of the fact that she had information regarding an Indie Rebel. Priscilla had been kidnapped. When IRs had stormed the place where she’d been kept, one of the goons had shot her before they’d tried to escape.
Priscilla had died in his arms, but not before swearing to him on her last breath that she’d never told anyone that Aidan was the IR she’d known. While she’d made the mistake of saying something vague to a friend of hers, she’d died keeping his secret.
Aidan blinked rapidly, taking a deep breath. That was why he emphasised to initiates how incredibly important it was to never, ever reveal their IR identities to those outside of their group. People could slip up accidentally even with the best of intentions.
He pushed the bad memories back into their box. Over the years, he’d learnt that the best way to live his life was to always focus on the lessons without letting the negative feelings swamp him. To date, that had served him well.
He gave himself a relaxing shake. He was supposed to be having fun tonight, not remembering pa
inful memories.
He went back inside the house and locked the door before rejoining the party. For some reason, despite the numerous guests in attendance, his gaze immediately landed on Felicity, who sent him a smile before continuing to talk to Kallan’s twin, Kerrod.
Had she been waiting for him to come back, or had she just happened to glance at the door as he’d come in?
He smirked. Why, oh why, couldn’t he meet IR agents he wanted to date? Why was he always attracted to women he couldn’t tell his most important secrets to?
And why on earth couldn’t he help but feel jealous that Felicity was laughing heartily at something Kerrod was saying?
Don’t go there, idiot. Just don’t go there.
Chapter 2
Felicity noticed the front door open, and her gaze locked with Aidan’s. Smiling, she forced herself to turn away from the gorgeous dark-haired guy she simply couldn’t stop looking at. It was crazy how she still remembered the feel of the muscular chest she’d had the fortune of stumbling into, and her knees weakened again at the memory of his smoking brown eyes staring into hers with concern.
In the last three and a half years, she’d avoided men who wanted to date her. She was enjoying her freedom as a single girl too much. Plus, she knew she needed to focus on herself after walking—or, more accurately, running—away from Nolan West and their problematic relationship. That was why she was surprised at just how ridiculously attracted she was to Aidan.
“You look so pretty when you blush,” Kerrod said.
Felicity laughed louder than she usually did. “Stop teasing me,” she told Kerrod who, like his twin, had become one of her close friends.
“Frankly, Fel, I think you should make the first move.”
“What? No. I’ll just be embarrassing myself.”
“What are you talking about? He can’t take his eyes off you.”
“You think so?” she asked in an almost whisper.
“Isn’t it obvious? So, go ahead and talk to him.”
She scrunched her nose. “He’s only into casuals, apparently.”
“Oh? Who told you that?”
“Isla.”
“Hm.” Kerrod pursed his lips. “Kallan did tell me that Aidan works very long hours. Probably one of those people married to their jobs.”
“Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?” she asked jokingly.
Kerrod snorted. “I might be, but I’m not the one flirting with you with my eyes right now.”
At Kerrod’s words, Felicity found herself glancing in Aidan’s direction—again.
And, yes, he was looking at her, too. Again!
Aidan walked away the moment their eyes met.
Felicity furrowed her brows. If he was truly interested, why was Aidan avoiding her?
Kerrod chuckled. “Even I saw the sparks that just flew off the two of you. Feel this air.” He waved his hand. “It’s still sizzling.”
She scoffed.
Kallan turned up by her side. “Hey, Fel. Feeling all right?”
“I’m fine. No signs of sprains or broken bones.”
“Good,” Kallan said with a laugh.
“Hey, bro,” Kerrod said. “Tell me you’ve noticed the fireworks happening between our Fel here and your friend Aidan.”
Felicity didn’t miss the warning look Kallan threw Kerrod.
“He’s not looking for a relationship, unfortunately,” Kallan said to her.
She suppressed a sigh. “I know. He’s a bit of a playboy, huh?”
Kallan shrugged. “Aidan’s a great guy, but…not for you.”
“Of course. Of course,” she said lightly.
Isla came to join them. “Hey, peeps. What’s going on?”
“These guys are just helping me see the light,” Felicity said.
Isla lifted her brows.
“Just reiterating that Aidan’s not for her,” Kallan murmured, putting an arm around Isla’s shoulders and kissing her on the temple.
Isla nodded. “Okay.”
“Hey,” Kerrod said to Felicity. “How about I set you up with one of my buddies to make you forget about Aidan?”
“Who?” both Isla and Kallan asked suspiciously.
Felicity chuckled. “No, thanks, Kerrod. I’m good. You guys don’t need to worry about me. Goodness, it’s just a little crush. That’s all. And for the record, I’m happy being single. In fact, I know I’ll be fine if I remain single for the rest of my life.”
Isla’s smile was a mixture of dismay and understanding.
Felicity grinned widely to let her friends know she was totally okay. And, really, she wasn’t in a hurry to find a special someone.
Dance music started playing again, and Kallan and Kerrod’s father, Julius, pulled Isla away from their group.
“I thought I’d get a last dance with the birthday girl before the night ends,” Julius said.
“My pleasure, Dad,” Isla said, to Julius’s obvious delight.
The rest of the guests started to join them on the dance floor, and Kallan turned to Felicity, holding out a hand.
Felicity smiled. “Mind if I sit this one out? I actually feel like grabbing another piece of the birthday cake. Luckily, there’s some more, considering I wasted a bit of it earlier on.”
“Okay. Maybe I’ll dance with this guy.” Kallan indicated Kerrod.
“Sure!” Kerrod said, already moving to the music. “It’s time to show everyone who’s better at this.”
Kallan narrowed his eyes. “You’re on!”
Felicity laughed at the twins’ antics as she walked to the almost empty buffet table. She’d thought the enormous amount of food Kallan had ordered wouldn’t be finished, but there was little left.
She used a pair of tongs to grab a small piece of cake and put it on a paper napkin. After breaking several dessert plates earlier, she wasn’t going to touch another one tonight.
She turned around to watch guests on the makeshift dance floor, and her gaze once again landed on Aidan, who was dancing with Isla’s mother. Gah. What was wrong with her eyes? Or did Aidan have a homing beacon for her? She shook her head, annoyed and amused at herself at the same time.
Fortunately, she’d recovered from the deep wounds caused by her ex. Thanks to three years of help from Isla and her therapist, a lot of self-initiated personal development, and her work with the women in the New Again circle, she was now equipped with courage and confidence she hadn’t had before.
She didn’t think she was ready to make herself vulnerable again in a romantic sense, though—that was why dating was still off the table.
Not that it mattered. Aidan wasn’t interested in dating anyone anyway, by the sounds of it. And she’d never been into one-night stands.
Pity.
A week later…
Felicity walked towards the room situated at the back of the Bayside Council’s premises where she conducted the New Again workshops every Sunday afternoon. The space was pretty much just a big box with no windows, so hardly anyone hired the room due to it not having much of an atmosphere. That was great for the New Again circle, because the council had allowed them to utilise it for free indefinitely. They could even leave behind the items they were working on, as long as they were prepared to clear the place up quickly if it was needed by a paying customer. So far, that hadn’t happened.
It definitely helped that she worked in the council as an administrative coordinator. The bosses had been so impressed to learn that one of their employees helped vulnerable women rebuild their lives that they’d said yes straight away when Felicity had asked for the use of this particular room. Since then, her employers had continued to help the New Again circle in many other ways, and she’d been so touched by their support.
She unlocked the door to the workshop, flicked the switch for the rows of fluorescent lights, switched on the aircon, and dropped the packets of paint protector sheets she’d brought on a large rectangular table in the middle of the room. She smiled as she looked arou
nd. Apart from the table, some folding chairs, and two metal filing cabinets where they kept their power tools, paints, and other materials, there was no other furniture in sight. Last week, every single member had finished upcycling their pieces. Then, during the course of the week, every item had been sold through online channels and word of mouth.
Felicity shivered in delight. There was no thrill better than having all of their handiwork valued enough for people to pay for them. Today, they would be starting work on another batch of preloved pieces, most of it donated and some she’d bought herself from various sources.
She checked her watch. Kallan and Isla should be here soon. They’d be delivering six bedside tables, eight chairs, four bookcases, three wooden crates, and a wooden headboard with intricate carvings, all of which had been kept in the couple’s garage. With the workshop space not big enough to store all of the pieces they’d acquired, Isla and Kallan were happy for New Again to keep using their garage for storage.
How lucky was she to have such helpful, supportive friends—Isla, most of all? That dear, incredible, wonderful woman had started New Again specifically to help Felicity heal from her horrendous experience with her ex. Now, Felicity was heading the group, and she was incredibly grateful.
Her phone rang. “Hey, Kallan,” she greeted.
“Hey. We’re here at the car park.”
“Great. I’ll come around to help.”
“Cool.”
She left the room and walked briskly towards the parking lot behind the building, instantly spotting Kallan opening the back of a borrowed truck. Then another person came into view—
Her steps faltered, and she righted herself just in time. Luckily, she didn’t completely trip.
Honestly, Felicity! It’s only Aidan—the guy not for you, remember?
Shaking her head at herself, she walked slower towards the truck. What was Aidan doing here? And where was Isla? “Hello,” she said as she neared the guys.
“Hi,” Kallan said with a rather apologetic grin. “Isla has some urgent work to do, so Aidan volunteered to help. Not that I can’t do everything myself.”
Aidan: The Rescue (Indie Rebels Book 5) Page 2