Corrupt Empire Series: A Dark Romance Boxset

by Sarah Bailey

  He smiled. Prick.

  “Oh well, would’ve come out sooner or later.”

  We always knew our relationship would be out in the open one day. I was fucking glad of it. Hiding it from everyone was taking a toll on both of us. Avery especially.

  “No, we’re not planning on creating any more shit for the press.”

  “Come now, Aiden, you and I both know what you want.”

  I glared at him. I didn’t want to talk about this. Avery put a hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze.

  “And whatever might that be… Rick?”

  His eyes darkened at the way I’d overly enunciated the word. I was never calling him dad or father. He could quite frankly wait until hell froze over.

  “Your little darlin’s family… gone… for good.”

  “Stop calling her that.”

  Fuck, he was really getting on my fucking last nerve. I knew she hated it.

  “Aiden…” she started.

  “No, he doesn’t get to call you shit like that.” I grabbed her hand on my thigh and held it. “She has a fucking name. Use it.”

  “Aiden, don’t, please,” Avery whispered. “It’s okay.”

  I turned to her.

  “It’s not fucking okay,” I said, keeping my voice low so as not to make a scene.

  The only person who was allowed to fucking call her any sort of term of endearment was me. I was her fucking husband.

  Her doe eyes were wide with concern and her face told me to chill the fuck out. How could I fucking calm down with him provoking me so fucking much? Fuck. I wanted to strangle the fuck.

  I took a breath, trying to keep my temper in check. I’d say something stupid as shit if I didn’t. She shifted closer, leaning her forehead against mine as she cupped my cheek.

  “Please, just get through this for me,” she whispered. “Later… I’ll make it better. I promise.”

  I tried not to tremble under her touch. Fuck. Her eyes told me exactly how she’d make it better. She’d let me tie her to the bed and fuck her without mercy. Take out all my fucking frustrations on her if I wanted to. What the hell did I ever do to deserve this fucking goddess in front of me?

  I nodded, squeezing her hand. She gave me the briefest of kisses which only left me wanting so much more. It was bad enough Rick was fucking sitting there intruding on this moment, so I let it go.

  I turned to him when she sat back in her chair properly.

  “She has a name.”

  He inclined his head.

  “I’m aware of it.”

  Yeah, well, he better start fucking well using it then.

  “How is your wife?” Avery asked, interrupting the both of us.

  Rick’s eyes flashed with pain for a moment before his expression cleared. I wondered what the fuck that was all about. Why would the mention of her make him react like that? Did it have anything to do with the fact that I was his son and he’d lied to her about it every day since I was born?

  “Well enough. Used to me being away for work.”

  “Do you work away often then?”

  “Well, our head offices are in New York, but the family home is in Washington DC.”

  Avery nodded.

  “I suppose the distance makes it difficult.”

  He shrugged.

  “Annabelle has her family to keep her occupied. Her sister lives close by. She takes care of our nieces and nephews.”

  I knew what she was going to ask him next and I almost stopped her, except I wanted to know the answer too.

  “You never had kids?”

  His expression faltered, eyes flicking over to me momentarily. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things or not but they were filled with regret.

  “Annabelle had trouble conceiving. We tried everything, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

  A part of me felt sorry for his wife, but I didn’t feel any sort of sympathy for him. He was a dangerous piece of work.

  “I’m sorry. That must’ve been difficult.”

  I glanced at her. She didn’t look very sympathetic or sorry. Trying to be diplomatic despite what we’d discovered earlier today.

  The waiters arrived with our food, saving him from saying anything. I didn’t give a fuck that I was his only offspring. Still didn’t make me want to have a relationship with the man. These dinners had nothing to do with me actually wanting to get to know him. All I needed was the information he was keeping from us.

  At least this meal sort of made up for having to sit with him for an evening. I cut a piece off for Avery and fed it to her because I couldn’t not share it. Her eyes lit up. She leant closer when she swallowed.

  “Can we have this at home one day?” she asked, her voice low.

  I nodded. I’d make her whatever the fuck she wanted if it made her smile like that.

  “Have I told you how good you are to me?”

  “On a few occasions,” I replied, smiling at her.

  I brushed her hair out of her face before kissing her forehead. Turning back to my meal, I noticed Rick assessing us. I wondered what he made of my relationship with her. Not sure why I cared. I hated the man. Except a part of me would always feel conflicted when it came to him. He was my only flesh and blood.

  My mother’s parents died when she was young and she’d gone into foster care. It was when she’d run away at sixteen that she’d got involved with the Daniels and Rick. A sorry fate. I only found this out from Tina when she deemed me old enough to know the truth. That’s when I started digging and I never stopped.

  The rest of the meal continued in relative silence. Avery excused herself to the bathroom when the waiters removed our plates. Rick sat back, eying me warily.

  “Not going to follow her in there like last time?”

  I clenched my fists under the table. What a fucking surprise that he’d worked it out. Not.

  “What I do with my wife is none of your fucking business.”

  “Come now, Aiden, she’s a pretty girl. I can see the attraction. She gives you what you need, doesn’t she?”

  He was fucking baiting me. Despite what I’d promised Avery, I couldn’t fucking help myself.

  “You’d fucking well know all about that. Bugging her fucking house and all. You better not have kept that shit.”

  His eyebrows shot up.

  “You know about that.”

  “Yes and believe me, it’s taking a fucking supreme effort not to punch your fucking lights out right now.”

  He drummed his fingers on the table, his expression turning dark.

  “Yes, well, I suppose it was an invasion of her privacy.”

  “Our fucking privacy. You’ve got some fucking nerve.”

  “You seem to think she’s not an important part of this, but she is. I must admit I was rather surprised by this little development between the two of you, but it’s neither here nor there.”

  He could be surprised all he fucking wanted. I was done with his bullshit.

  “Why the fuck are you dragging this shit out? You know what I want to know.”

  He sighed, settling his hand on the table.

  “It’s not the right time.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  His eyes flicked towards where Avery had disappeared to.

  “It means I’ll tell you the truth when I’m good and ready to.”

  “Tell me why the fuck you need all this fucking time.”

  His eyes fell on me again. They were almost calculating.

  “You’re my son, Aiden. It ain’t easy for me to know you hate me so much. It won’t matter to you, but I’m sorry for what happened to Lizzie. I cared about her. She wasn’t supposed to die.”

  It took every ounce of self-control to stay seated. I didn’t want to hear him talk about my mother even though I knew he would eventually have to since he knew who’d murdered her.

  “If you cared about her so much, you would’ve
stopped all this shit long before it resulted in her fucking death.”

  He sighed, looking down at his hands.

  “Lizzie got pregnant just after the doctors told Annabelle she would likely never conceive a child. The deep seated sadness I felt was outweighed by the knowledge I would have you. It was the only good thing I did for your mother, giving her you even though she hated me for it. I was there the day you were born. I held you in my arms and you were the tiniest little thing. I ain’t telling you this to make you feel anything for me. I know that ship has sailed.”

  I said nothing. I didn’t know he’d been there. My mother never told me. In fact, the only thing she ever said about Rick was that he’d made sure we were comfortable. I hadn’t realised what that meant. Until now.

  “I paid for everything. After Lizzie died, I gave all the money to Tina. She loves you, that woman. She thinks of you as the son she never had. Lizzie’s death is my only regret. That I couldn’t take her away from the Daniels soon enough. I knew what was happening. I knew about Mitchell’s obsession with her.”

  Why the fuck was he telling me all this shit?

  “If you knew, then why the fuck did you let it happen?”

  “I wasn’t here to stop it.”

  He fucking well should’ve been. Fuck.

  “I know you were there that day. Tina told me. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry isn’t fucking good enough. Sorry doesn’t bring her back or change what’s happened since. You know she called me her angel. Said I was the only good thing in her world.”

  I laughed, but it was hollow.

  “The fucking irony is that Avery calls me the same thing. Her avenging angel. That’s what she thought of me the first time she saw me.”

  “I know what you did.”

  It didn’t shock or surprise me in the slightest. I’d been aware he knew what I’d done to Avery’s parents since the day he’d returned her to me after he took her.

  “And? You’ve not turned me in.”

  I looked up, finding Avery striding towards us, a concerned look on her face. She must’ve seen my expression. I didn’t try to hide it. This conversation had completely thrown me. I didn’t know what to fucking say any longer.

  She sat down, putting a hand on my arm. Rick looked at her for a moment, as if he was trying to decide whether to continue our conversation or not.

  “I don’t intend to. Do you think I wasn’t aware you’d take revenge on them? I counted on it happening.”

  I heard Avery’s sharp intake of breath, but I didn’t look at her.

  “You what?”

  “Tina told me how you were doing. Told me about the trouble you got into. It was my stipulation regarding the money. So I knew when you found out about… Avery’s family and what they’d done, that you’d want to take them out. I didn’t count on what happened afterwards nor that you’d take it as far as you have done now.”

  Avery’s hand on my arm tightened. I looked over at her. Her eyes were wide and she’d gone as white as a sheet.

  I should’ve known he’d manipulate Tina in that way. I didn’t blame her. All she wanted was to provide for me. Give me a life because she loved me. She’d had to take Rick’s money because I knew the Daniels had cut her off after what happened to my mother. And they’d made it impossible for her to be employed as a nanny for anyone else. She hadn’t told me where the money had come from, only that she had no other choice.

  “What do you mean take it as far as I have done?”

  “The Shaws.”

  I wasn’t going to fucking apologise for that. They deserved it. Especially after what they’d tried to do to my wife. Fucking pricks.

  “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  It was the truth. We were supposed to take them down without the need for their deaths. At least, Avery wasn’t meant to be involved in that side of things.

  “Quite.”

  “You knew?” Avery piped up. “You knew he would do that to them?”

  Rick nodded. Her expression turned venomous. Her doe eyes glowing with hatred.

  “Why the hell did you let that happen? Huh? Did you think for one second what it would do to everyone around them? What it did to me?”

  “It was necessary.”

  “Necessary?” she hissed. “It wasn’t fucking necessary.”

  I tried to put an arm around her, just to calm her down a bit, but she shoved me away from her.

  “Do you have any idea what shit you’ve caused? You could’ve fucking stopped it.”

  Fuck. I had no idea she’d react like this. I wanted to soothe her. She looked so enraged, like she couldn’t comprehend why anyone would allow their own son to go on a killing spree. It wasn’t like Rick could’ve stopped me. I hated the man.

  “Avery,” I said. “It was my choice.”

  She turned on me.

  “Stay out of this.”

  “Princess…”

  “No. You and I will have words later. Right now, I’m talking to him and you’re going to shut up before I make a scene in this fucking restaurant. Do you understand?”

  I stared at her. She rarely spoke to me like that. When I didn’t respond, she turned back to Rick.

  “Do you know what it felt like to see that? No, because you don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself. I see that now. You claim to care about him, but you don’t. This is all just some kind of joke to you. A means to an end. Well, let me tell you something. This isn’t a fucking joke. This is real life. And by not being an actual father to Aiden, you’ve just let everything go up in flames.”

  She stood up, throwing her napkin on the table.

  “You can kiss your dinners goodbye.” She looked at me. “We’re leaving.”

  Rick didn’t try to stop me as I got up. There were people staring at us, but I ignored them, letting Avery lead me through the tables. We collected our coats and walked out onto the street. She didn’t say anything to me as we made our way to the carpark nearby.

  When we got in the car, she turned away from me and sat staring out the car window. I didn’t know what to say to her. How to calm her down.

  “Princess…”

  “Don’t. Just don’t.”

  “Avery, I know you’re upset, but I’m not letting you get out of talking to me about this.”

  She sighed. I glanced at her. She was fiddling with her coat pocket.

  “I’m sorry I spoke to you like that.”

  “You’re forgiven. Now what the fuck is going on with you?”

  She didn’t respond. When I looked at her again, I could see the pain in her expression. I turned my hand on the gear stick, leaving my palm facing upwards. After a moment, she placed hers in it, clutching my fingers tightly.

  Then I knew exactly what had happened. She’d remembered both the nights which had completely changed her world. The nights which destroyed everything for her.

  And I couldn’t do anything about it because those memories would probably haunt her for the rest of her life.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Avery

  I hated him. I fucking hated him. Rick fucking Morgan could go to fucking hell. I was so angry and yet, Aiden just held onto my hand and stroked his thumb along the back of it most of the way home. His touch soothed me somewhat. It reminded me he was there for me.

  I felt like such an idiot for getting so worked up in a public place, but what Rick said made me see red. He’d known that Aiden would go after my parents. Probably long before it ever even occurred to Aiden himself. That’s what made me sick. That he’d counted on his own son becoming a murderer. It horrified me that anyone could ever think their child was capable of that. That they wanted their kid to turn into a cold hearted killer.

  And now I was dreading getting home because I was pretty sure Aiden didn’t know why I was so pissed off.

  We reached the flat long before I wanted to. I trudged into the lift with him, feeling completely
exhausted all of a sudden. It felt like every day of my life had become a nightmare. There was always something lurking around the corner to catch me off guard just when I thought we had things under control.

  Aiden unlocked the front door and we stepped in. He took my coat off me and hung both of ours up. He followed me into the bedroom, watching me strip down to my underwear. I took off my bra. He didn’t say anything when I stole one of his t-shirts out of his cupboard and put it on. It was huge on me but being wrapped up in something of his comforted me. The smell of cedarwood and pine filled my nostrils. Perfectly Aiden. He was right there and could comfort me himself, but I needed something more. Something to settle my racing heart.

  I sat on the edge of the bed and waited. He teetered on his feet for a moment before he stripped out of his own clothes and sat next to me in just his boxers. He put his hand out to me and I took it.

  “What’s wrong, princess?”

  “He’s a bastard.”

  “Well, that’s not news to me.”

  “I hate him. I hate everything about him.”

  He watched me carefully as if waiting for me to elaborate.

  “I know you don’t think of him as your dad, but he is. And it makes me sick. Sick to think he wanted you to… to…”

  I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t call him a killer even though that’s what he was. Heck, that was now what I was even though I hadn’t meant to kill Tristan. Not really.

  “He knew you’d kill,” I whispered. “He expected it of you. How can a parent want that for their child?”

  Aiden let out a long breath as if he’d been holding it in for a lifetime.

  “That’s why you’re upset?”

  I nodded, feeling tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

  “Not because it reminded you of that night?”

  I shook my head. It had reminded me, but I dealt with it. I was done crying over what happened. Done feeling like my world was collapsing before my eyes every time I thought of my parents dying in front of me. I’d faced that the day I went to the penthouse. I’d relived it over and over again. I couldn’t stay stuck in the past.