Dump and Chase: Nashville Assassins: Next Generation

by Toni Aleo

  I look over at him and smile. “Yeah, but I forgot, which kinda makes me one of those girls too engrossed in my boyfriend to remember when my cousin is coming into town.”

  He shrugs. “I won’t tell if you don’t,” he says, and then he winks, sending a rumble through my guts.

  “Deal.”

  We leave tomorrow for New York. My audition is in the afternoon, so we’ll only get one day in the Big Apple. He apparently has a romantic little something in the works from what he tells me. I’m sorta crazy excited for it. I’m nervous, though. As much as I want to get this part, I hate the thought of not being with him. It totally blows, but he’s being so damn supportive, it’s hard not to be excited. He helped me choose my music and has been practicing with me a lot. Apparently the guitars on the wall aren’t just for show either. He can play them—and not just okay, but really well.

  He blows me away.

  “Are you going to get a ride home with your mom?”

  “Yeah, or I’ll skip out early and get an Uber to your place.”

  He nods. “Cool. Text me when you leave.”

  “I will,” I say as he pulls up behind my mom’s truck. I lean over, kissing him quickly on the cheek. “See ya.”

  “Bye, baby,” he says as I fling open the door and get out. When I go to shut it, though, my mom is standing up from her truck holding a cake stand with a cake on it in her hands. Everything stops. Did she see me kiss him?

  Mom’s intuitive eyes go from me to the car before she bends a bit to see who’s inside. “Aiden Brooks, is that you?”

  Aiden throws his door open and gets out. “Hey, Elli. How you doing?” he says nervously, and I swear I’m biting a hole in my lip.

  “Good. What are y’all doing?”

  “We went to lunch with Wes and Boon. We have that jacket drive next week, and she’s making me do stuff at the gala. You know Shelli. Such a stickler for details.”

  God bless this man. I nod quickly. “Yeah, he had picked me up at the house, and I sort of forgot about this, so I just had him drop me off here.”

  “That’s nice. Thank you, Aiden.”

  “Anytime,” he says happily as he waves her off. “I’m gonna go—”

  “Do you have dinner plans?”

  Aiden blinks and tries to look at me, but my mom has him in her gaze. “Um… No, ma’am. A Hot Pocket and Netflix was my plan.”

  “Well, come on in. Grace has plenty of food, and Ryan is here, along with his beautiful wife, Sofia, as well as Amelia and her fiancé. Oh, and Shea. It’s gonna be a great time.”

  He swallows visibly. “Um, are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

  “Nonsense! Come on.”

  “Okay,” he says, and my eyes are as big as saucers as he shuts off his car and then locks the door.

  She waits for him to come to her before she wraps her arm around his bicep, being careful with the cake stand in her other hand. “I thought Shelli would have brought her boyfriend. Do you know him? I haven’t gotten the pleasure yet.”

  “Uh—”

  “He’s busy tonight,” I say quickly, falling into step with them. “Plus, I forgot I was coming.”

  “Oh, well, true,” Mom says simply as we head up the walkway of my aunt’s humongous house. It was massive before my uncle passed, but since then, she keeps adding on to it. I don’t know why she needs all these rooms, but she is happy, which is all that matters. “How does he feel about you spending time with these adorable men? I’m surprised he lets you hang out with Aiden here.”

  Aiden lets out a nervous laugh, and I scoff. “Lets? I do what I want.”

  “That’s the damn truth,” Aiden says then, and Mom gives him a look, her eyes narrowed. “I just mean, she’s very bossy and does what she wants,” he says quickly, and I roll my eyes.

  “You’re right on that one,” she says, letting him go and heading inside.

  I smack him on the arm. “I’m not bossy!”

  He rolls his eyes. “You legit made me unpack all my dishes into the dishwasher before we could go to lunch. You’re bossy.” He then leans in, his lips by my ear. “But don’t worry… It turns me on.”

  When he leans away, I fight back the grin that wants to show. “This is not good.”

  He shakes his head. “It’s fine. We’ll eat and go.”

  “Seriously, they can’t find out we’re together. Not when Amelia is telling everyone she’s pregnant.”

  He moves my hair off my shoulders. “Shell, no one will know. I can resist you. It’s not hard.” I glare as he flashes me a huge grin before he holds his hand out toward the house. “Go on, I like watching that ass of yours.”

  “And grab it, I’m sure.”

  “No one is around,” he teases as I step in front of him, shaking my head.

  When he shuts the door behind us, I look up to see my stunning cousin coming toward me. She’s always been super lean from being a hardcore gymnast, and anyone else might not notice, but I can see the bump that shows when her dress pulls against it. My eyes light up as we embrace, and I feel this sense of completion. She’s always been my very best friend.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispers, and I hug her tightly, feeling her little bump against my own stomach. My siblings are scattered around the living room. The boys are on the couch, playing on their Nintendo Switch, while Posey has a book on her legs, reading. I’m not sure how long everyone has been here, but it doesn’t matter. I have missed Amelia.

  “I can’t believe you’re showing,” I say so no one hears us.

  “I know! It’s insane. No one has said anything yet,” she says in my ear.

  “No one can tell but me.”

  “You brought Aiden?”

  “No, Mom invited him in when he dropped me off.”

  “Do they always hug like that?” I hear Aiden ask, and my mom laughs.

  “Yes. We ignore them. Come on in here. Shea is in the kitchen being all scary dad-ish on poor Chandler. Have you met Chandler?”

  Amelia and I don’t move. “Do they know?”

  “Nope, and they won’t know. Not until after the season is over, according to him.” I kiss her cheek. “But he’s terrified of Dad, so let me go be there.”

  She kisses me back. “I’m terrified to tell them.”

  “Don’t be. It’s gonna be awesome!”

  I pat her belly sweetly and then head to the kitchen where my dad is standing in the middle of Aiden and Ryan.

  “I don’t like that guy—or his friend.”

  Aiden looks up just as I do. “Friend?” he asks, and my dad nods, his face scrunched up as if he smells something awful.

  “Yeah, Nico Merryweather. Full of himself, that kid is.”

  Aiden looks back at me, but I’m currently not breathing.

  What the hell is Nico doing here?

  Ryan, my older cousin, shakes his head. “Chandler is awesome, but the jury is still out on Nico.”

  “He called me old man. I’m not old,” Dad pouts, and Ryan scoffs.

  “Nope. Fresh spring chicken.”

  “You’ve always been my favorite,” Dad says, knocking knuckles with him, but Aiden is just looking at me. His eyes are dark and dangerous. This is not good. I try to tell him with my eyes that it’s okay, no big deal, but I know he doesn’t believe me. Hell, I don’t believe myself. Aiden hates Nico. Nico hates Aiden. Nico could blow our relationship wide open, which would piss off Amelia because she needs to be the center of attention since she is carrying my niece or nephew. I don’t care that the baby is technically my cousin; I’m gonna love on it just as hard.

  “Hey there, Shell.”

  I look to the doorway of the dining room to see Chandler Moon—the prince who was sent to save my cousin. A smile takes over my face as we hug tightly. I want to be happy to see Chandler, but I’m annoyed. “Why the hell did you bring him?” I ask low and angrily.

  “Didn’t have a choice. My mom invited him for the weekend, and he insisted on coming to see you.” I
pull back as he does, and our eyes lock. “I know. I’m sorry. Amelia already lit into him.”

  “You warned him. He can’t ruin this for y’all.”

  “I did.” But by the look in his eyes, I know he knows it doesn’t matter.

  Like me, Nico does what he wants. I’ll just ignore him. “I need to talk to him.”

  Why did I say that?

  I can feel Aiden’s anger coming off him in waves. “I might head out.”

  Ack. This is a clusterfuck. I just wanted to be here for my cousin as she revealed her news. It had been such a great day. Should have been an even greater day with Amelia’s news.

  “Wow, Shelli. Gorgeous as always.”

  Damn it.

  Nico comes up behind Chandler, his dark eyes meeting mine.

  “Hey, Nico.”

  “Hey,” he says sweetly, and yes, he is handsome and charming, but he is not Aiden Brooks. He is not the man I love.

  My mom walks into the kitchen along with my aunt, just as Amelia comes out of the bathroom. Amelia looks around, her eyes wild as she moves them from me to Nico to Chandler and then back to me.

  Aunt Grace throws her arms around Amelia. “Isn’t it wonderful having everyone home?”

  “So wonderful,” Mom says happily. “You remember Aiden, right?”

  “Of course. So glad you could come.”

  Aiden looks as if he’s getting an enema. “Thanks for having me, but I don’t know if I—”

  I clear my throat. “Can I talk to you real fast? Privately, please?”

  Aiden looks at me, but then Nico says, “Can I talk to you after him?”

  “No,” I say at the same time Aiden does. Everyone looks at us, and I can feel Aiden about to hightail it out of here. “I have nothing to say to you, Nico.”

  “Shelli Grace, be nice.”

  I ignore my mom, as does Nico. His eyes hold mine as he says, “You won’t answer my texts or my calls.”

  I feel my dad’s gaze on me as I sneer, “Because I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “That’s not fair. We’re good together—”

  “Nico! Shut the hell up,” Amelia yells, and she crosses her arms over her chest.

  Chandler comes up beside her and wraps his arms around her. “For real, dude, be quiet.”

  “You guys saw it!”

  Mom looks back to me. “Is he your boyfriend?”

  “For the love of God,” I mutter.

  “No, I will not accept that. He’s a dick,” Dad yells. “Damn it, my chest is burning. He called me old, Elli!”

  Ryan presses his hand into my dad’s chest, his brow furrowed with worry. “Is it the angina?”

  I throw up my hands. Why can’t we just have normal dinners? “I am not dating Nico.”

  Nico glares. “Nope, she’s dating that scum—”

  Before he can even finish or point at Aiden, I yell, “Amelia! Don’t you have something to tell everyone?”

  “Scum, eh?” Aiden asks, and he takes a step forward, but I step in front of him.

  My gaze meets Amelia’s wide-eyed one. Probably wasn’t the moment when she wanted to say anything, yet here we are. “Amelia, what do you have to tell us?”

  I’m thankful when all eyes turn to Amelia. I press my hand into Aiden’s chest and look up at him. His eyes are wild and angry, but he stays put. Thankful, I turn my attention to Amelia when she looks up at Chandler as he grins down at her. “Um, well—” She pauses when he laces their fingers together before resting them on her little growing bump. “We’re pregnant.”

  The silence is deafening.

  “What do you mean?” Grace asks. “You’re not married.”

  “And we won’t be until after the baby comes,” Amelia says. “I want to look perfect in my dress.”

  Chandler grins down at her. “You’ll look perfect no matter what.”

  She cups his face, but Grace is still gawking at them. “But the baby will be born out of wedlock.”

  “Um, Mom, I was born out of wedlock,” Ryan says with a grin.

  Dad snorts. “Way out of it.”

  Why isn’t anyone hugging Amelia? “Well, I think it’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you guys,” I say, and I hug them tightly. “I love you both, and I can’t wait to be an aunt.”

  “Congratulations, Amelia and Chandler,” I hear Aiden say as Amelia gives me a thankful grin and Chandler squeezes my arm.

  “It really is,” Ryan says, walking over and hugging his sister. “I’m jealous. Sofia won’t have my baby.”

  Sofia, his gorgeous and very quiet wife, smacks his arm. “I just opened a business, and you’re gone all the time. Relax.”

  They share a loving smile before everyone finally starts to follow suit. I back off so they can get to the lovely couple, when Nico takes my arm. He pulls me to the side, despite me pulling my arm out of his hold.

  “Stop.”

  “No, really, Shelli. We’d be great together. I can love you right, I swear. I know your sister’s name is Posey, and you have twin brothers, Evan and Owen, and then your baby brother is Quinn. You’ve starred in Frozen, Cats, Les Miserables—”

  “Nico, stop,” I demand, shaking my head. “I don’t want to be with you.”

  “But I would actually love you.” Man, he knows what buttons to push. “He doesn’t love you,” he stresses, but I throw my hands up.

  “Stop, for real. I don’t know how else to say I don’t want to be with you.” When I hear the door slam, I look back to see that Aiden is gone. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  I turn to head after him, but Nico grabs my arm. My eyes are narrowed to slits as I look back at him. “I swear, I will break your nose if you touch me one more time.”

  He lets me go instantly, and I rush to the front door. When I hit the porch, Aiden is rounding his car. “Aiden!”

  He glances over at me, and he just looks so defeated. “Go back inside. I don’t want to ruin Amelia’s night, but I need to go.”

  I kick off my shoes and run through the lawn toward him. “What is wrong? I’m not even speaking to him.”

  “I don’t like him!”

  “I’m aware. But, Aiden, I don’t want anything to do with him!”

  “But he thinks he can get you. How he keeps coming for you—”

  “I am yours, remember? I deflected him left and right, and I don’t want anything to do with him. I really don’t understand why you’re upset. Yes, I get being pissed at the guy, but that shouldn’t ruin the night with my family.”

  “For now.”

  I bring my brows in. “For now, what?”

  “You deflect him now, but what happens when you don’t?”

  I take a step toward him, my heart pounding in my chest. “I’m sorry, what? How many times do I have to tell you I don’t want him for it to sink into that thick skull of yours and you believe me?”

  “For him to be so confident, there has to be a reason.”

  I glare. “Because he’s a self-absorbed crazy person. I don’t know! I don’t want him. I want you.”

  I poke him square in the chest, and he just looks down at me. “Yeah, but what happens when you don’t?”

  I blink. “What the hell is wrong with you? We’ve had a great day. Everything was awesome, has been awesome. We’re great! But this is going to trip you up? I get it. I didn’t want him here either, but this isn’t about him because he doesn’t matter. We matter.” Why does he look so overwhelmed? So unsure of himself. This isn’t my Aiden. My Aiden is confident and knows what he has. Why does he get like this? “Aiden, what the hell, babe? This isn’t you.”

  He won’t look at me. “You think I like this? Like feeling like this? I don’t, but I swear, he’s completely convinced he can get you. There has to be a reason. There has to be something you’re doing to urge him on.”

  My jaw drops, and tears are starting to burn my eyes. “You’re accusing me of entertaining that craziness?”

  “I just don’t know. Why is he so convinced? W
hat are you doing to fuel that fire?”

  “I’m not doing a fucking thing, Aiden. Do you think I would really fuck this up? I’ve wanted this, you, since I was eleven. I am doing nothing. I don’t want him. It’s his own delusion. I don’t answer his calls or his texts because I respect your wishes. I don’t even think of him. I only think of you.”

  “I just don’t trust him.”

  “Don’t. It’s nothing off my back because he doesn’t fucking matter! We matter.”

  “It freaks me—”

  That’s it. “Damn it, Aiden. I don’t fucking love him—I love you.”

  He looks up then, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. I hate that tears start to fall down my cheeks, but damn it, here I am. “I have loved you my whole entire life. I put you on a pedestal and admired you up there. When you finally saw me, I knew, from that moment on, there was no way in hell I was letting you go. I know I am hard to deal with. I may clean a lot, and I’ve got one hell of a mouth, but I would never hurt you. I would never ruin this. Not with how much I love you.”

  He draws in deep breaths, his gray eyes dark and wild as he holds my gaze. I wait for him to say he loves me too, but he just stares at me. He looks absolutely terrified, and it knocks the air out of me. Why isn’t he saying he loves me too?

  Defeated, I look down at my feet. “But if you can’t see that, if you can’t trust me or even love me, then what the fuck is the point, Aiden? I don’t deserve that, not with how loyal and patient I’ve been with you.”

  I wait for him to stay something, but he’s just staring at me, his jaw hanging open. I don’t understand; I don’t even know what is happening. How can he not realize he loves me? I know he does. I feel it. Damn it. I turn around and head back across the lawn. He doesn’t call my name or even stop me.

  Maybe he doesn’t love me.

  “ARE YOU OKAY?”

  “Fine,” I say simply as I lean back in my seat on my mom’s plane. “He didn’t call or text me last night, so I’m pretty sure we’re over. Which is fine since I am going to get this part and move back to New York.”

  “Wow. You sound very detached, but I can hear the tears in your voice,” Amelia says, and I wipe away a stupid tear. “You’re not okay.”