Chapter 46

(Aaron)

To keep myself busy while Annie helps Rosalie, I take my laptop into what used to be my home office. Throwing myself into work seems like an excellent distraction. So, after logging into our systems at G&C Enterprises, I get down to business.

Answering emails is tedious and time-consuming, but calming at the same time. All the work of being a co-owner of one of the most prominent businesses in the world is not as easy as it sounds. Quinn and I are past most of the grunt work and have managers and other staff to handle most of it.

We still have to make sure everyone is happy and that the well-oiled machine of our massive empire is running smoothly. Most of the emails I am sifting through are from all our executives giving their monthly reports.

As of right now, everything with G&C Enterprises is running exactly how it should be. That may change after we open the Outreach Center in a few months. I am certain that there will be another year, at least, to fine-tune that place, so it runs smoothly.

That is a headache for later.

After I am caught up on emails, I send one to Mac about the security detail that Rylan agreed to. Then I send another email to Max just to check in. It has been a bit since I have talked to him last. I know that construction on the Outreach center is going well, but I am curious about the toll his personal life is taking on him.

What he is going through with his wife is not something I ever want to experience and my heart goes out to him for what he now must be going through. To not only find out that your wife was cheating on you with not just your best friend but her boss too, must be devastating. To add insult to his already broken heart, he learned that the baby they were expecting isn’t his.

That is a nightmare of epic proportions.

I make a note in my phone to swing by his place later this week. Just to touch base in person rather than through email. Max is a great guy and I value him as a friend, one that has the potential to be a great friendship as we get to know each other better.

My phone rings an hour later, providing a welcoming distraction. I look at it, where it sits on my desk, and smile. It is my mother. I have never been happier to hear from her than I am right now.

“Hey, Mom. How are you guys?”

“I saw you called earlier. We were in the air, and I forgot to turn my phone back on.” My mother says.

That was when I noticed all the noise in the background. “Wait, are you guys at the airport now? Are you two back here in California?”

“Yes, we wanted to surprise you. Why don’t we talk once we are at your house?”

“Come to the penthouse instead. That is where we all are. I can take you two to your new house tomorrow.”

“Why are you at the penthouse? Did something happen?” My mother’s voice instantly takes on a worried tone.

“I will explain everything when you get here. I’ll tell the guard in the garage you’re coming so he can let you into the elevator.”

She agrees, then ends the call. If I know my parents, they will be here as fast as possible. My mother will drive herself and my father crazy with worry until they see I am ok with their own eyes. She has always been like that.

After that call ended, I quickly called down to security to let the guard on duty know that my parents were on the way.

I wasn’t expecting to come back here anymore and was prepared to sell it before Rylan asked if Rosalie could move in, so I didn’t think to give my parents security clearance since the entrance to my penthouse was on the other side of the building before. That elevator no longer reaches my floors. Quinn and I decided after his wedding that one elevator to reach both penthouses would be more secure.

I only just recently made sure Rylan’s and Rosalie’s fingerprints were on file, so Mac’s tech guy could give them security clearance now that the new elevator is working. The new one is also bigger inside to accommodate more people since Quinn’s family is expanding. Since their new home is being built, they have to stay in the penthouse until it is ready.

I offered my penthouse as a guest house if they need it, but that offer will be rescinded since Rosalie will live here until she is back on her feet. Well, as of right now, I don’t see that happening soon. Not with Donovan out there and what she is going through now.

She can stay here for as long as she wants for all I care. As long as she feels safe, then I am happy. I see her as family, and I will do anything in my power to keep my family safe.

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear a knock on the door of my office. I left it slightly ajar, just in case Rylan came looking for me. I call out to whoever it is, telling them to enter, then I close my laptop so they have my full attention.

“Hey you,” Rylan says as she walks into the room.

Her face is pale, and she looks tired and stressed. I scoot my chair back and then pat my lap. She smiles at me as she makes her way across the room to me. When she reaches me, she sits on my lap and lays her head on my shoulder. I maneuver her so she is sitting across both of my legs so that she can curl up on my lap.

When she finally relaxes against me, I lean us back in the chair and then softly stroke up and down her back with one hand while holding one of hers with my other. Soon she let out a quiet sigh.

I want to ask her how things went and where Annie and Rosalie are, but I keep my questions to myself to give her some quiet time. I should also tell her that my parents are on their way here. That would be better than her finding out when they arrive.

“My parents are on their way here from the airport.”

“Oh, is everything ok?” she asks in a sleepy voice.

“Yes, they are done packing what they need and wanted to surprise me. I would have sent them to my house, but with everything going on, I will just feel better with them here. There is plenty of space, and it will only be for tonight. I will take them to their new house tomorrow.”

She stays quiet for so long that I think she has fallen asleep. I keep softly stroking her back as I think of all the things that I need to do tomorrow with my parents. The house is ready and fully furnished, how I think my mother will like it, even though I know she will change anything she doesn’t like, anyway.

“I think I am going to sell my house,” Rylan says suddenly.

This news stuns me into momentary silence, but then my brain clicks on another thought. One that I know I want, but it may be too soon to ask for. Having Rylan live with me would be amazing, but I am not sure it would be something she wants right now.

“Why?” I look down at her.

Her eyes are closed, and there is a frown on her face. “I bought it for the safety that the gated community should have provided. The safe room in the basement was extreme, but worth it. Now, that place no longer feels safe. Paulson found my home, and what…”

She trails off, but what she was going to say was obvious. What would he have done if she had been home alone instead of Rosalie? Would he have done what he promised to do?

That courtroom promise he made to kill her if he ever got his hands on her again.

Would Paulson have acted on his promise instead of just watching the house?

“Move in here with your sister, babe. I will take care of the house for you if you really want to sell it. This place is in my name and is as secure as we can make it. You will both be safe here and at work.”

She sits up and then hops off my lap. There is anger written all over her face as she paces around my office. The fire in her eyes is a stark contrast to the sadness that has been there all day.

“I refuse to hide from that fucker, Paulson. It isn’t how I want to live my life. Running in fear is not who I am,” she yells out in frustration. “I have seen war, survived bombings, for fuck’s sake. I can deal with a pathetic rapist like Paulson!”

I blink at her in stunned silence. There is the firecracker I know and love. Her temper was one of the things that attracted me to her in the first place. Yeah, I know it is a little disturbing, but what can I say? I like what I like.

“No one is asking you to hide, Rylan,” I tell her softly.

“No? Are you sure about that? You have already arranged a bodyguard for me. If that isn’t asking me to hide, then what is it?” She spins around to face me, and I flinch slightly at the rage in her eyes that is now directed fully at me.

“So, I am to blame for wanting to make sure you are safe any time you are out of the house? While you are at work? A place that has already been a source of pain for you not once, but twice now?”

Rylan opens her mouth and then closes it. Some of the rage in her eyes dies down as she just stares at me. “That isn’t fair.”

“No, it isn’t. Neither of those instances was your fault, and I am sorry for throwing them in your face. However, you can do things differently this time. Take precautions not just with your safety but also your life. You are not alone anymore, Rylan. There are people who love you and will be shattered if you …”

She rushed to me as I trailed off. Emotions that I am not used to clog my throat at the mere thought of losing her. I only just got her as mine; I can’t lose her. Not now, not ever.

She cups my face in her hand and then leans down to place a soft kiss on my lips. “You will not lose me, Aaron.”

I close my eyes as images of that fucker Heath on top of her flash through my mind. He was determined to get what he wanted, and it was pure coincidence that I was there at the right time to stop it. What if I hadn’t stopped by the hospital that day?

I wrap my arms around her and then pull her back down onto my lap. Before I even know what is happening, I am sobbing against her neck as we hold each other tight. I cry for all the time I wasted trying not to love this woman.

All that time wasted was my fault. It was my fault that Paulson had the chance to do what he did. She slept with Heath because of my actions. It is all my fucking fault.

Now all I want to do is keep her as safe as I can so that nothing like that happens to her ever again.

“I just want you to be safe.” I whisper against her neck.

“I will be more vigilant at work and will let Kimiko shadow me everywhere when I am not at home or with you. I know I am not alone anymore, and I am so very grateful for that.”

We sit, snuggled together in my chair, quietly making plans to sell her house and move all her and Rosalie’s belongings to the penthouse. She agrees it is the best thing for both of them until the threats against them are stopped.

Who knows how long that will take? There is a restraining order in place against Donovan in South Carolina, and I was assured that it would extend to California. I will make sure of that during the week. As for Paulson, there isn’t anything I can do other than what I have already done.

Not legally, anyway.

The boys and I could go on the hunt for Paulson, but with everything going on right now in my life and Quinn’s, I am not sure that is a good idea. At least not right now. Letting the police do their jobs is our best option. Until they fail to find him and get results or until he strikes again.

I am surprised that a predator like Jake Paulson hasn’t attacked someone else in all the time he was on the run. Or at least he hasn’t gotten caught. He got away with it for years before Rylan.

Rylan jerks her head off my shoulder in surprise when the landline phone on my desk rings. I lean us forward enough so I can pick it up to answer. I listen for a moment and then smile.

“Send them up. Thank you, David.” I end the call and then look at Rylan. “My parents are here. Is Rosalie asleep?”

“She may be now, but she wasn’t when I walked Annie to the front door. I will go check on her while you let your parents in.”

I lean my forehead against hers for a moment and then let her go so she can get off my lap. Once she is standing, I lean down to give her a soft kiss. We walk out of my office hand in hand and then part at the base of the stairs.

After taking a deep breath, I make my way through the foyer to the front door. Not that I don’t want to see my parents; it is just that my mother can be a lot to handle sometimes. Mainly when she worries, and after my cryptic answers with her earlier, I know she will have worried the entire way here from the airport.

I put a smile on my face despite the circumstances, and then I open the door for my parents.

(Author's Note)

(Join my Facebook group North Rose Novels for updates and info on when I can't update and why. My update schedule is once a week only on Fridays. No more, no less. Thank you all for reading Aaron's story.)