Rebuilding Stone (The Stone Brother Series Book 2) (6 page)

Sitting at Gigi’s brings back some good memories. This was
always a place I went to with friends. I’m glad I came today. I’m nervous as
hell, but I know this is the first step I’ve taken that was mine to take. Aaron
had no part in this. I vow to myself to take it one step at a time. To do
something new every day. Something that I want to do. The doorbell rings,
signaling someone has entered Gigi’s. I look up and see Molly. We didn’t know
each other very well, but she was there for me. She's still here for me. I
stand up and hug her.

“It’s so nice to see you, Kerrigan,” Molly greets me,
tearing up.

“You too, girl.” It’s all I can say for now.

“I’ve not been to this dump since you brought me here the
last time.” I let out a little laugh. Molly can be all kinds of scared or sad,
and yet she is still completely inappropriately funny.

“Hey, I remember you telling me how great the food was.”

“True. Let’s eat. Pregnancy makes me feel starved, even
though I just had a bowl of chili. Dammit. Chili and then pizza. Hello,
heartburn.”

“Wait. What? You’re pregnant again?”

“Yes. Five months. Another boy.”

“Well, let’s sit down so we can catch up.”

I’m happy for Molly, and I know she didn’t tell me to make
me feel bad. I know she told me because she wants me to feel normal, but it
makes me sad and jealous. When I started dating Aaron, I held onto the hope
that he'd get better and we could start our own family. Now, I know Aaron never
really saw who I was. Maybe I'm partly to blame. I've faked fitting in my
entire life. In high school, people lined up to be my friend and yet, no one
really knew me or knew who I really was. All they saw was a pretty girl. It
wasn’t until Lani came along that I knew what friendship actually meant.

I didn’t get to see Kerrigan walk in. She must have gotten
here before Molly and I. I’m dying to walk inside so I can see for myself that
she is safe and well. I can’t though. I promised Molly I wouldn’t and I'm
taking Landon to the park. I told Molly I’d give her an hour and then I’d come
back. I do love spending time with my nephew.

Before I leave, I check out the surroundings. Everything
looks okay. It’s warm for January and that means the streets are crowded once
again. I don’t see Aaron, which is a good sign. It’s a good thing for Aaron too
because I'd kill him. No, not kill him. Torturing him would be better. I’d
start by breaking every knuckle on the hands that hit Kerrigan.

Landon pulls me from my thoughts by tugging on my jeans,
ready to explore something else. I don’t see how Noah and Molly keep up with
this little dude. I tried putting him in the swing. He enjoyed it for a total
of two seconds before he wanted to walk and explore every inch of the park,
touching everything that’s dirty. Molly made sure I brought with hand sanitizer
with me. Typically me, I’d say let kids get dirty, but I’m pretty sure I just
saw Landon lick the slide. We walk around for about forty-five minutes before I
pick Landon up to head back to Gigi’s. I'm hoping to get at least a glance of
Kerrigan before she leaves. It only takes a few minutes to get back to Gigi’s
and park out front. Landon has passed out in his car seat on the ride back.

My phone starts going off. It’s Noah. Probably just checking
to see if everything's okay.

“Hello.”

“Where the HELL is my wife?”

“What? She didn’t tell you?”

“She told me she was meeting Kerrigan at Gigi’s. I asked her
not to, not unless it was at our home. She never FUCKING listens!”

“I’m here.”

“Yeah, and where's my son?”

“Relax, Noah. He is in the car with me and I’m parked
outside.”

“Jesus. Stay put. I’m coming to get Landon. What’s wrong
with you two?”

“What’s wrong with you? I will protect them. You know that.”

“Yeah, and if Aaron shows up and you have to leave the car,
what are you going to do about Landon then?”

I have to admit, I didn’t think of that. Now, I’m a bit
uneasy, but not by much. A simple bullet to Aaron’s brain would do the trick.
Shit, I can’t think like that. Especially not with my nephew in the backseat.

“Sorry. I didn’t know she didn’t talk to you about this.”

“Yeah, but you should know better. My reckless wife should
know better. Just know that I'm beyond pissed.”

Noah hangs up before I can respond. I hope they’re almost
done. The last thing Kerrigan needs is for Noah to make a scene. I know him
well enough to know that when he's this mad, no one is talking him down. Molly
is the only one who can do that, but since he's pissed at her, this won’t go
well. Again, I look around my surroundings and out of the corner of my eye, I
see him. My gut instinct takes over. One hand goes to my gun and one to my
phone so I can call Molly.

“Hey, we’re about to walk out of the door.” NO.

“Molly, listen to me. Get the girls and go to the bathroom.
Aaron is right outside.”

“Oh God, Maddox. Alright.”

Dammit, Noah. Get here fast! I know I should call the chief,
but I want to handle this. Just once, I want to handle him. Besides, I can call
after I’m done handling Aaron. I call Evan instead. He answers on the first
ring.

“Evan, Aaron is outside of Gigi’s where Kerrigan is with
Molly.”

“Okay. Arrest him. He's in clear violation of the
restraining order.”

“I want to handle this one. Off the books.”

“Maddox, if you handle this off the books, you could end up
in jail, which would leave Kerrigan unprotected and she will always live in
fear.”

Dammit, he’s right. The need to take care of Aaron on my own
is a mistake. It’s putting people in danger. As much as I think jail is an easy
punishment, it’s the right punishment. I will worry about retribution if he
walks.

“I can’t arrest him at this moment. I have Landon in the
backseat. Noah is pissed and is on his way. I had Molly take Kerrigan, Ari and
Lani into the bathroom.”

“Lani is there? Great, this just keeps getting better.”
While he's saying this, Lani walks out by herself. That tiny girl has a death
wish.

“Lani just walked up to Aaron.”

“What?”

“Aaron is cornering her.”
 

“WHAT is going on?” Evan demands.

“Hey, I have to go. I see Noah.”

“Maddox…” I hang up on him.

I open the door and motion for Noah to come get in the car.
I thought Noah was mad when we were on the phone, but he now looks nuclear.

“Noah, please sit in the car with Landon and keep your mouth
shut.”

“No. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Later.”

While walking across the street, I call the chief to let him
know I'm about to arrest Aaron.

“Aaron Reeves, you’re under arrest for violating a
restraining order. Put your hands behind your back.” He cooperates fully and I
know he's doing this because he'll claim he didn’t know she was here.
Motherfucker. I force him against the wall harder than I need to.

“Lani. Get inside. I will call you when you can come back
out.”

“No. I am waiting right here. He will not terrorize
Kerrigan.” What is it with women who don’t listen? Jesus.

“Lani, please.”

“No. Now do what you need to do.”

“What are you doing, Aaron?”

“I was walking. Decided to have pizza for lunch. That’s not
a crime.”

“Oh? You knew Kerrigan was here. Don’t mess with me.”

“I didn’t know,” the arrogant bastard smirks. I give him a
little push into the wall and I hear him grunt.

A few minutes later, the police arrive and take Aaron to the
station. After it’s over, I see a very pissed off Noah and a very scared, but
beautiful, Kerrigan. I'll deal with Noah later. I rush to Kerrigan’s side.

I watch Maddox run toward me. I’m relieved that he was here,
but also pissed. I don’t want his pity protection. Aaron has no plans to let me
go. I decide right now to leave Chicago. It’s not running, I tell myself. It’s
being smart.

“Kerrigan, are you alright?”

“No. This will never end. Aaron has me in his sights. I’m as
good as dead. No, I'm not alright.”

“I want to help. Tell me what you need, Kerrigan.”

“I can tell you that I don’t need your pity.”

“Pity?” he asks, confused.

“Yes. Your pity. I can take care of myself. Thank you for
today, but you can move on now.” I watch as he goes from confused to pissed.

“Move on? Fuck you, Kerrigan. I’m not moving on. I’m right
here.”

His language has me backing up. I know in my head Maddox
wouldn’t hurt me, but the tone scares me. I didn’t think Aaron would hurt me
either. And it’s an obvious lie that I can take care of myself. I’m not the
best judge of character. He must notice the fear because he relaxes his
shoulders and lets out a deep breath.

“Jesus. I’m sorry, Kerrigan. I'm not going to hurt you.
Please, let me help.”

“Why, Maddox?”

“Can I come by tonight? Please?”
 

“Yes.” I’m shocked at my response. It just came out.

“Thank you. We’ll work this out.”

“I’m not looking to work on us, Maddox. I’m looking for
security, a plan to survive Aaron.”

“That’s what I meant, Kerrigan. For now. That’s what I
meant.”

Still the same cocky asshole. Not too long ago, I would’ve
been excited about that. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“See you tonight.”

I watch as Kerrigan takes off with Ari. I know Aaron is on
his way to jail, but it still worries me.

I see Evan getting out of his car. Great. First, Noah and
now Evan? What the hell? My guess is Evan called Noah and he could hear how
pissed Noah was so he decided to come. The fact that Evan rushed over here only
confirms that I'm right about his feelings for Lani.

The last thing I want to deal with is my two extremely
pissed off brothers. Noah has Landon in his arms. I grab one of Molly's hands
with my right, take hold of Lani's hand with my left, and proceed to cross the
street. Inside, I’m laughing because I'm using these two very tiny women as my
protection. Noah seems to have calmed down, but Evan, looks like a man
possessed.

“Molly, what the hell were you thinking?” Noah asks calmly.
I think it’s because he doesn’t want to scare Landon.

“I wanted to have lunch with my friend.”

“Dammit, Molly. You put our son in danger. Get in the car.”

“I didn’t know, Noah. You know I would never do that. I
called Maddox.”

“I know, babe. But until this Aaron situation is dealt with,
no more. Okay? Besides, you don’t need the added stress. None of us do.” Noah
places his hand on Molly's belly and leans in to kiss her. I feel like shit
realizing he was so worried about his ‘everything’ as Noah once referred to
them.

“No. Next time I will ask Missy or Brayden to watch him. You
can’t keep me from being there for my friend.”

“Don’t push me, Molly. Get in the damn car. My kid is inside
you and you’re my wife. Don’t do this again.”

They keep arguing for a few more minutes. Typically, I’d say
Molly would win. This time, Noah will. Molly finally gets in the car and they
take off.

“Maddox, you’re not an idiot, but you’ve put everyone in
danger,” Evan says.

“I had it under control. No one was getting to Kerrigan.”

“That’s exactly my point. No one was getting to Kerrigan.
What about our nephew? Or Molly? Lani or Ari? Or yourself?”

I know he has a point. I should not have had Landon with me.

“Leave him alone. Obviously, someone has to protect her. You
let him walk,” Lani says to Evan.

“Oh my God. Stay out of this. This is between me and my
brother,” Evan barks at Lani.

“No. Tell me why you let him walk.”

“I didn’t let him walk. It’s how the law works. Aaron is a
cop with no criminal history. If you don’t like it, fight it. Start a movement.
My recommendation to the judge was for Aaron stay in jail until trial. Aaron is
smart; he knows the system.”

“In the meantime, you go on like she doesn’t matter. Just
another case. Oh, it’s the pro-bono thing, right? Not getting enough money? How
much would it cost? How much money can I give you to keep my best friend safe?”
Lani’s anger increases, but her voice softens until it’s a cry.

I take her hand and squeeze it. I know Evan doesn’t give a
damn about the money. He offered to represent Kerrigan for free. But Lani is
right, everyone is moving on like this didn’t happen. Not me. When Kerrigan
moves on, I'll move on as well.

“You think this is about money?! That’s what you think this
is about?” Evan replies.

“No. It’s what I know it’s about. I see the designer suits
and the sports car. Kerrigan’s case won’t buy you a new pair of shoes,” Lani
retorts and runs off.

All my life, I’ve never seen Evan look the way he looks
right now. Completely devastated.

“Hey, I’m going to head over to the station,” I announce.
Evan doesn't look at me. Without a word, he gets into his car.

When I get back to the apartment with Ari, I break down. The
tears start flowing and the nerves run through me. Lunch was fine. We talked a
little. No one brought up the attack, for which I was thankful. Still, sitting
with friends, I noticed I do what I always do—hide who I really am.
Growing up, I had to. When your mom is the town joke, you have to hide.
Everyone knew my mom, and they made fun of her. She’d always be dressed up with
bright red lipstick and live at the bar every night searching for her Mr.
Right, while always giving it up to Mr. Wrong. My dad, even though he wasn’t in
my life, gave me enough to have nice clothes. So, I lived two different
lives—I was the confident girl everyone saw, and the insecure girl who
was afraid to let anyone see the real me. Lani was the only person who knew
everything, and now Ari does, too. Ari needs to move back home. I don’t want her
in danger. I don’t want to be the cause of her not doing what a typical
twenty-one year old does.
 

“Ari, can we talk?”

“Sure. Is this about today?”

“Kind of,” I reply. “I want to know what your plans are.”

“I don’t know. I’m figuring them out as I go along.”

“I think you should move back home. I worry about the danger
you’re in while you’re here.”

“What?” she asks. “No! I’m not going back.”

“Ari, listen to me. I love you, and I appreciate all that
you’ve done for me, but you had a life. You should get back to it.”

“No, I had the life mom and dad wanted me to have.”

“Well, at least it was safe.”

“Kerrigan,
you
listen to me. I missed almost everything with you. I had a big sister, but I
didn’t know her. I wanted to call you so many times with boy or friend issues.
Mom took that away from me. No, I’m not leaving.”

“We will talk about this later. Think about it, really. I
want you to take your time and think about it.”

“I don’t need to, Kerrigan.”

“I’m going to go lay down,” I say. Ari isn’t listening and I
don’t feel like arguing.

I walk off to the bedroom. Tomorrow can’t get here fast
enough. Someone needs to tell me how to fix my life. How is it that I have
never been okay with who I am? That’s what got me into this mess with Aaron. I
know he is going to get out again. It’s only a matter of time. With nothing
else to do, I start crying.