Never Ever (Never His Duet Book 2)

by Lia Ellison

  “It’ll be fine. Come here.” He opened his arms, and I snuggled close to him. “Just don’t worry about me.”

  “It’s weird, you know? You want me to be safe, and it’s okay for you to worry about me, but when I worry about you, then it’s somehow wrong and I don’t get to know anything about your plans?”

  “No, I didn’t say that. I... Can you trust me with this?”

  I was quiet for a few moments, but then I lifted my head and nodded. He could handle his brother. I knew that he could, but I supposed I hated not being able to do anything. Maybe he felt the same way when he couldn’t convince me to leave the city.

  “Just promise you’ll come back to me,” I said, and pressed my lips against his.

  “I’ll come back to you.” His eyes were intent on mine, and I believed him.

  And even though I wanted Carter just to be gone from our lives forever, I was glad that Aiden wasn’t willing to kill his brother without a second thought. Because, if he were such a monster who could coldheartedly end his brother’s life without even trying to talk to him and to make him understand, especially given their history, I’d have to be worried about my safety around him too as soon as we disagreed on something.

  But I trusted Aiden, and I had to trust that he’d fulfill his promise to me.

  Chapter 5

  AS HE MADE HIS WAY down the hallway of the house where he and his brother were currently staying, he thought he could still sense Veronica’s scent on him. Getting a chance to see her, touch her, and kiss her had been more that he could’ve hoped for, and she’d given him the strength he needed to do what he was about to do.

  The house was quiet, and most of his brother’s and his men were out trying to locate the Ritos. Maybe this really was the perfect chance for him to tell his brother everything.

  Veronica was safe at her club, and there were enough men protecting her, so at least he could worry a tiny bit less about her.

  Not that he could ever forget about her.

  She was something else.

  He’d never met a woman like her.

  The door to the room that his brother used as his office was ajar, so Aiden made his way toward it.

  Carter was probably busy with making plans, and he should be, because the whole mess with the Ritos was his doing, and he should be the one to fix it.

  But as Aiden pushed the door open, he realized that the room was empty. A movement behind him caught his attention, but it was too late to do anything as he felt the barrel of a gun jab into the back of his head.

  “Did you really think I wasn’t going to find out?” Carter yelled, his breath reeking of alcohol.

  Aiden went perfectly still.

  If Carter hadn’t pulled the trigger yet, it was because he wanted to talk.

  “I can explain.”

  “What is there to explain? You fucked my woman! You fucked her!”

  Aiden felt the gun shift slightly. He spun around as quickly as he could, shoving the gun out of the way and out of Carter’s wobbly grasp. His movements were automatic, and as his brother’s drunken gaze widened, he managed to punch him, sending him reeling back.

  Aiden rushed for the gun and pointed it at his brother.

  “Get up,” he said, kicking the door shut so that no one would interrupt them. This was between him and his brother, and he wasn’t going to let anyone ruin it.

  The only problem was that Carter was drunk, which meant he wasn’t thinking straight.

  “Fuck you! You betrayed me,” Carter slurred.

  “Get up or I will shoot you.” He aimed at his brother’s leg.

  “You son of a bitch,” Carter muttered as he clambered to his feet.

  “Sit down.” Aiden waved the gun toward the chair. “We need to talk. It’s not what you think.”

  “Oh no? So you didn’t stick your dick inside her when I warned you not to do it?” Carter glared at him, but he dragged himself to the chair.

  Aiden held the gun trained on his brother and made his way around the desk to find what he needed. It didn’t take him long to find the zip ties and some syringes with a tranquilizer.

  Had those been meant for Veronica or for some other woman? Or maybe even for Aiden himself?

  Aiden didn’t care.

  “Whatcha gonna do with that?” His brother tensed, and Aiden knew he had to be careful.

  Still holding the gun, he inched closer to his brother, and then he stabbed him in the neck with the syringe.

  “Fuck!” Carter growled. “You stupid...” He blinked.

  The sedative or whatever was in the syringe had to be strong, because his brother’s eyelids were already drooping. Maybe it was because of the mix of alcohol and the drug.

  Once his brother’s shoulders slumped and his eyes closed, Aiden waited a few moments and then holstered his gun.

  He tied his brother’s wrists and ankles to the metal chair and then used his brother’s tie as a gag so Carter couldn’t shout for help when he woke up.

  Aiden wanted to talk to his brother, but only once Carter was free of the influence of any drugs or alcohol. How the hell had Carter found out about Veronica? Aiden had been careful on his way to the city and back, but it clearly hadn’t been enough.

  Since there hadn’t been any guards to help Carter out, then maybe he at least hadn’t told anyone that Aiden had betrayed him and that he wanted revenge.

  Had the truth hurt his brother’s feelings so much that he’d gotten drunk and hadn’t had the chance?

  If there was a mole among Aiden’s men, then he should take care of that and find out exactly what everyone knew.

  After making sure his brother was secured, he grabbed the key and left the office, locking the door behind him.

  Hopefully tomorrow, this mess would be over, and maybe, just maybe, Carter would see reason.

  THE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL had to be out of Carter’s system already, so Aiden unlocked the door to Carter’s office when he was sure no one was around. The guards had stayed away and were only patrolling around the house.

  The others were still supposed to be looking for the Ritos, and Jo hadn’t reported any suspicious activity around Veronica’s club, so it seemed like everything was just business as usual, which was good.

  Carter let out a muffled noise as soon as his eyes landed on Aiden’s. The chair was in a different place, so Carter had clearly tried to free himself, but it hadn’t worked, because he was still in it, and Aiden was really glad the chair was perfect for tying someone up, which was probably why Carter had bought it in the first place—he just hadn’t thought he’d be the one tied up in it.

  “Feeling better?” Aiden asked as he removed the tie from Carter’s mouth.

  Carter spat and coughed. “Let me go. Now!”

  “You’re not in a position to make demands right now. You pointed a gun at my head last night over a complete misunderstanding. We need to talk about that.”

  Carter’s eyes turned expressionless, and Aiden hated that he couldn’t tell what his brother was thinking. “Will you untie me first? Please? I was drunk. We’re brothers. I was never going to hurt you. You know that.”

  “First I want to talk to you. About Veronica.” Aiden pulled up a chair and sat down across from his brother so they were eye to eye.

  Carter was quiet.

  “You should’ve never kidnapped her, and she’s not yours. She’ll never be. She and I... I really care about her, okay? I didn’t do it to spite you or for whatever reason you think.”

  “Yeah, I get it. You like her. You want to be with her. It’s fine by me. I overreacted last night.”

  He was lying. Aiden knew it. His brother wouldn’t have agreed so easily, no matter how much Aiden wanted him to. “I don’t think you do.”

  A slow smile spread across his brother’s lips. “If you really care about her, then you should untie me now.”

  “Why?” Aiden’s shoulders went stiff.

  What had his brother done?

  Was
he just bluffing to get himself free?

  “If you don’t do it, I won’t tell my men to stand down. And then you’ll lose her.”

  Aiden got to his feet so fast his chair toppled over. “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you really think I wouldn’t want to punish that filthy whore for what she did? She has to die!”

  Aiden’s fingers buried in Carter’s shirt as he brought his face close to his brother’s. “Whoever you sent after her, you’ll tell them to stand down now or you’ll be fucking dead. Do you understand that?”

  “This is my gang, brother. They won’t listen to you, and I won’t tell them anything until I’m free. Do you understand? And I know all about the men you sent to protect her. They won’t be enough. I guarantee it.” His lips twisted.

  Aiden gritted his teeth as he let go of his brother’s shirt. If he freed Carter now, there was no way his brother was going to change his mind and tell anyone to stand down.

  At least not until it was too late.

  Rushing for the desk, Aiden found another syringe in the drawer.

  Carter’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything as Aiden stabbed him with it.

  You can protect Veronica.

  You know you can.

  The men with her are good at their job. Carter was just bluffing.

  As his brother fell asleep again, Aiden hoped like hell that he wouldn’t be too late and that Veronica would be safe.

  Chapter 6

  THE DOOR TO MY OFFICE burst open just as the alarms went off. My heart leapt into my throat, but I relaxed a tiny fraction as I recognized Jo in the doorway.

  Her panicked, wide eyes in combination with the alarm told me that something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

  “We need to go! Hurry!” she yelled, waving me over.

  “What’s going on?” I focused on my tablet, which had come to life to alert me of the danger too. The first row of the cameras showed multiple masked shooters storming my club.

  Oh shit.

  My hand flew to my mouth as a choked gasp escaped me.

  Not my club. I’d known the risks, but I’d been hoping Carter wouldn’t get an idea to shoot it up because it would draw too much attention, but it seemed like he didn’t care about the cops or about anyone else.

  The only good thing was that it was already morning and people had already left, just like most of the staff, and I was about to get ready to leave too. But now it looked like I’d have to run for my life.

  “Now!” Jo snapped at me, and I pushed myself to my feet, leaving everything behind as I raced for the door.

  “Sophia! Is she still here?” She usually stayed until after I left to make sure everything was all right, and I couldn’t just leave without her.

  “We need to worry about your safety. The car’s waiting for you in your usual spot, but we need to get to it before the attackers realize where we are.” Jo grabbed my arm and tugged me with her down the hallway.

  “I know, but I can’t leave Sophia!” If anything happened to her because of me, I was never going to forgive myself. I was the only reason she was still here too.

  Jo let out a curse. “Okay. I’ll go make sure everyone comes out safely. Aiden’s men are keeping the attackers at bay for now, but you have to get to that car. If I don’t show up in five minutes, just drive. The key is in the ignition. Get out of here. Okay?”

  “Yeah.” Even though I wanted to find Sophia on my own to make sure she was really fine, I knew that it was better for me to leave.

  Jo was a professional, and I had to trust that she’d find Sophia and keep her safe. Besides, if the attackers were after me, then Sophia should be as far away as possible from me.

  If they decided to use her to lure me out, it was going to be a problem, but I couldn’t think about that right now.

  I raced down the hallway, pulling out my gun. Just holding it in my hand made me feel better, but as I pushed the door open, my heart thudding loudly in my ears, I was sure that I wasn’t going to feel safe until this was all over.

  My club.

  It was getting destroyed right now, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Sure, it was just a damn building, and I shouldn’t worry about it, but it was impossible to fight the sadness and anger that filled me.

  Carter was trying to take everything from me. Because who else would’ve done this if not him? At least he’d avoided the busy hours, but I supposed he didn’t want too many people to get in the way.

  Not that he cared if innocents died, but he probably thought that if there were fewer people, his assassins could get to me easier.

  It was me who he’d wanted, and everything else was just collateral damage.

  I’d known this might happen, and yet, I supposed I hadn’t really believed that Carter would make such a move, especially if the situation with the enemy he and Aiden were fighting in another city was so serious.

  Aiden.

  My breath got stuck in my chest as I thought about him.

  What if he was dead? What if, once he’d told his brother about us, Carter had somehow overpowered him and hurt him, and now he’d sent his men after me to finish me off too?

  I couldn’t think like that, but I couldn’t help it either.

  I stopped as I reached the back door. Holding my gun up, I slowly unlocked the door and pushed it open as I pressed myself against the wall.

  Peering outside, I breathed out a sigh of relief when I realized no one was waiting for me there, so I ran toward the car, looking right and left to make sure there weren’t any attackers ready to jump me.

  I got in the car, making myself as small as possible in my seat. Five minutes. Jo had said she’d need five minutes, but what if she didn’t return?

  What if something had happened to her too? I chewed on the inside of my cheek, my hand shaking over my gun.

  Everything’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay.

  Except I had no idea if that was true.

  I was about to move over to the driver seat when I spotted the door opening. My shoulders tensed, but then Jo raced out, and I leaned back into my seat.

  She quickly got in the car and started the engine. We were speeding out of there before I could even say anything.

  “Is everyone...?” I asked as we weaved through the cars.

  “Yeah, everyone’s fine. Sophia too. I got them out through another exit.”

  “And Aiden? What about him? Is he...?”

  “Yeah, he’s fine. He was the one who called me to tell me to get you out of the club ASAP, but I guess we weren’t quick enough.” She flew through a red light, and I clenched my fingers around my seat belt, hoping we wouldn’t crash.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Someplace safe. But first we need to get out of the city and make sure no one’s following us.”

  “So Aiden has a safe house or something?”

  “Yeah, he’s going there too right now.”

  I was going to see Aiden. Just that thought immediately made me feel better.

  “I’m sorry about your club,” Jo said, glancing at me.

  “It’s okay,” I said, but it wasn’t.

  Not really.

  “I’m sure the attackers will leave as soon as they realize you’re not there, and the cops must be on their way too.”

  I appreciated that she was trying to reassure me it was all going to be okay, but I wasn’t sure if I believed that. Fixing broken glass, chairs, tables, the bar... It wouldn’t be all that hard, but now everyone was going to know my club had been shot up by the Lawrence gang—even if those men were work for hire, I was sure Carter was going to take credit for it.

  If I ever managed to get my club back up and running, who would be willing to come and feel safe knowing that the owner had been involved in some gang shit?

  And it was all Carter’s fault. I hated him even more just for that. Sophia and the others would have to find a new job, and I...r />
  “Is Carter there too?” I asked. If his men had attacked, then maybe he was somewhere nearby too, and the last thing I wanted was to run into him.

  “Um, you don’t have to worry about him.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for an explanation, but she didn’t say anything else. She’d slowed down, though.

  “We need to get rid of the car,” she said. “This one’s too obvious.”

  I supposed she wasn’t going to tell me anything else about Carter, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Did that mean Aiden had already dealt with him? Or that Carter was still out there and a threat to me, but Aiden didn’t want me to worry about it?

  As Jo took another turn, I hoped I was going to find out soon.

  Chapter 7

  “VERONICA? ARE YOU OKAY?” Jo asked, and I was about to answer when I realized that we’d pulled over and I hadn’t even noticed. “We’re here.”

  “Oh okay.” I blinked, glancing around.

  We’d been driving for what seemed like hours, and things had started to blend together in front of my eyes until I could no longer see anything. All I could do was think about Aiden, the club, Carter, me...

  It all seemed so complicated, and at moments, so unreal.

  Jo got out of the car, and I focused on the house in front of us. It was a big two-story house, and there were plenty of trees around it and a huge yard with a spiked fence.

  Everything seemed so calm and peaceful, and then a movement caught my eye.

  One of the guards came into view and quickly disappeared. He was armed. This whole place was probably like a fort, but looking at it from afar, it would be impossible to tell.

  Anyone would think it was just some random family house. There were two other houses not too far away, and as I stepped out of the car, I frowned.

  “Those two belong to Aiden too. They’re for the guards,” Jo said as if she could read my mind. Well, that made me feel a bit better.

  All I needed right now was to feel safe, even if it was just an illusion, and I didn’t want anything to break through it.