Free Agent E2: Aidan (Superhero Romance) (The D.I.R.E. Agency) by Joni Hahn Page B

before. She didn’t tiptoe around him, and even laughed when he forbid her to marry Tristan.”
    “Forbid her?” Aidan gave a short laugh. “Like he has a say in that. Jacobs is in it for the long haul and beyond.”
    She pulled in her lips over her teeth and squinted her eyes.
    “I saw my father through Rachel’s eyes – the maliciousness, the self-pity, the highhandedness. For the first time in my life, he wasn’t the I-can-conquer-the-world-and-no-one-can-stop-me father I grew up believing in. And, it hit me that I’ve wasted my entire life following his dreams of power, money and revenge.”
    Looking down, she shook her head. “Now, I’m headed to jail or wherever D.I.R.E. is going to send me, having wasted every blasted second.” A tear fell on her arm.
    Panic stole the breath from Aidan’s lungs. He hated seeing her this way, hated Robert Naylor for putting her through it.
    Aidan wouldn’t allow Cassandra to go to jail. No way. Mitchell would have to go through him first.
    “I always wanted to open an animal shelter.” She glanced up at him and gave a short laugh. “The daughter of Robert Naylor. Can you believe that? It’s corny, I know, but it’s my dream.”
    He shook his head. “That’s not corny at all. I love animals, too.”
    She gave him a soft smile. God, he wanted to kiss her. “Once, I even mentioned it to my father. It had taken me
    weeks to build up the courage to say it. When I did, he laughed me out of the room.”
    Tears blurred her eyes. “Now, I’m just flat pissed off - at myself, for living in a constant state of fear. At him, for laying the burden of his broken heart on Dar and I, and at my mother, for not sticking around to prevent it all.”
    She looked up at him, her eyes and nose a bright pink. “And, I’m mad at you for not telling me to shut up and stop feeling sorry for myself.” She got to her feet.
    Aidan grasped her fingers when she moved to pass. She stopped in front of him but wouldn’t look his way.
    “Come here, baby.”
    A sob escaped.
    He tugged her to him.
    She buried her face in his chest. Aidan held her tight as she cried with utter abandon.
    Anger gnawed a hole in his chest where she soaked his shirt. He wanted to hit something. Robert Naylor would be a good start. The man had buried this beautiful, kind-hearted woman behind a mask of retribution and false bravado. Not that Cass wasn’t a strong person. She’d never been allowed to lower her defenses. Ever.
    “It’s okay to disagree with your father.”
    Turning to lay her cheek on his chest, she gave a short laugh. “You don’t know my father.”
    He stiffened. “Has he hurt you?” He set her away to look into her eyes.
    “No. At least not physically, anyway.” She looked down at the floor. “But, he always finds a way to make us pay if we go against him.”
    Missing her warmth, Aidan pulled her back against his chest. “You don’t ever have to be afraid of him again. I’ll protect you.”
    Sighing, she stared up at him. “Oh, Aidan. Don’t be naïve. He’d find a way to get back at us. He always does.”
    That pissed him off. “You don’t think I could protect you?”
    “If anyone could protect me, it would be you, Aidan. The question is why? If we have any kind of relationship at all, we’re enemies.”
    “Last night sure as hell didn’t feel like we were enemies.”
    She stepped away. “We both know last night didn’t mean anything. Our emotions were just running high.”
    Didn’t mean anything? So, their messing around didn’t keep her up last night? When he’d slept, he had vivid dreams of Cassandra Naylor on top of him in bed.
    When he didn’t sleep, he had vivid dreams of Cassandra Naylor on top of him in bed.
    Face it, Monroe. She’s just not interested in you that way.
    “There you are.”
    Rachel and Tristan came around the corner. The three of them were supposed to get out of the hospital for a while and grab some dinner.
    His sister had taken another blow