Chapter 36

I

Alison

My eyes fell on the drink I was once nursing avoiding Damien’s alluring stare. Once again, Damien had messed with my mind.

It was almost like I was stuck in a loop, constantly coming close to something with Damien, but never really crossing the line.

That moment, just before he leaned in to kiss me, left me yearning for more. But it wasn’t just that.

It wasn’t just his touch or the way his presence seemed to consume me. It was everything. It was the tension between us, the way he could completely control the situation.

Sighing, I let myself collapse into the seat, my hand resting on my lap.

Damien, noticing my frustration, turned his head to look at me. That sly grin crept onto his face, the one that seemed to make him look so infuriatingly in control of everything.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, in a calm voice. Almost too calm.

The nerve of him, acting like nothing had happened. Just like what he did when he fucked Gemma in front of me.

I wanted to scream at him and let him know that I wanted that kiss so badly. I have been craving him for ages, then when he finally kisses me I just blame it on the alcohol.

I wouldn’t have to feel guilty, and besides Aiden would understand.

I groaned. I felt like a silly high school girl who was high on her feelings. But Damien appeared the same.

“Rae!” Damian called out, once again.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, my phone rang, interrupting my words.

I quickly glanced at the screen, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that it was Aiden.

I hesitated for a moment, fingers hovering over the screen. Part of me wanted to ignore it.

After all, he’d been avoiding me for days, hadn’t he? But something told me that maybe, just maybe, he was calling with good news. Maybe it was something important.

Then I glanced back a Damien I didn’t want him to know Aiden was calling. It would ruin the plan.

Damien raised an eyebrow, sensing the shift in my mood. "Go ahead," he said, in a smooth voice. "Answer it."

I nodded then I stood up, excusing myself from the table and heading toward the bathroom.

As soon as I stepped inside the stall, I pressed my phone to my ear, trying to control my breath.

“Aiden?” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

“Alison,” he replied, his tone sounding a little strained. “Why didn’t you call me? You’ve been avoiding me.”

I let out a soft laugh, half annoyed, half confused. "You’re one to talk. You haven’t said a thing since we had our last conversation."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then he sighed, and his voice softened. “I was angry with you.”

“Angry? For what? I just expressed how I felt and then you chose to act like it didn’t matter to you.” I felt my frustration rising. “I am the one who is meant to be angry.”

“You’re right!” He surprisingly agreed. “I shouldn’t have acted that way.”

The anger that had suddenly taken over, slowly reduced.

“Has anything unusual happened lately? With Damien? Anything strange?” Aiden said, lowering his voice.

I froze. The question hit me like a ton of bricks. “What do you mean, strange?”

“Just… anything. I need to know if something’s off,” he pressed.

I couldn’t help the suspicion that crept into my thoughts. Was Aiden working on something and if he was he wouldn’t leave me out of it, wouldn’t he?

“Well, we went to Edwardo’s place. Stole his new contract. But that’s it. Nothing out of the ordinary.” I said after pulling myself out of my thoughts.

There was a long silence, and I felt a pit form in my stomach. “Did Damien tell you why he wanted the contract?” Aiden asked, his voice sharp.

“No,” I replied, the unease in my chest growing. "He didn’t. And why are you asking if anything strange happened Is there something I should know?"

“It’s nothing serious I just wanted to check if the first base of my plan was in motion,” he said.

“What plan is that?” I questioned

“You don’t need to know!” He said sternly. “I want you to figure out why Damien took that new contact.”

I was about to ask him why he didn’t trust me enough to give me more information when the line went dead. I stared at the phone for a long moment, stunned.

He didn’t even give me a chance to speak. Why the hell was he so distant now? And why did it feel like I was the one left in the dark all the time?

I closed my eyes, trying to push away the frustration that churned inside me.

When I finally stepped out of the bathroom, I took in a deep breath preparing myself for Damien.

I barely made it back to the bar when Hugh appeared, he flashed me an irritated gaze.

When would this guy ever like me?

“Damien asked me to send for you,” he said, his voice low.

"Alright," I muttered. "Lead the way."

Hugh didn’t say another word. He turned and walked toward the back exit, and I followed him, the silence between us feeling heavy.

My mind was still racing, thoughts scattered. I was thinking about Aiden and I had this feeling that something was off.

The moment we stepped outside, I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. But before I could even take another step, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head.

I gasped, stumbling forward, and turned around in shock. My vision blurred as I saw Hugh, his gun was pressed against the back of my head, and he had a wicked smile on his face.

“W-what are you doing?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

He didn’t answer, just swung the gun harder against my skull, and I felt the world tilt as I collapsed against his chest. My head spun, and the pain was unbearable.

I was vaguely aware of being dragged forward, my body limp as Hugh pulled me into the back of a car.

I tried to speak, to scream, but everything felt muffled.

“Hugh...?” I managed to croak, but Hugh didn’t respond.

I didn’t know where he was taking me, but something told me that whatever was happening, I wasn’t going to like it.