Page 39 of Snapped
Chapter 26 | A Time and Place for Everything
The door to the library flew open, banging the shelf behind it loudly. Aiyan had the look of a madman, and it frightened Kaden. “What the hell happened now?” he asked his husband, shrieking when Aiyan grabbed him by the arms and shook him. “Aiyan, you’re hurting me.”
“Did he…” Aiyan froze, finally taking a moment to look around, realizing he and Kaden weren’t alone. Turning, he dragged Kaden from the library despite his protests. As soon as they were in their bedroom, Aiyan slammed the door shut and grabbed Kaden again.
“Let go of me!” Jerking away, Kaden shoved Aiyan hard, his back slamming against the door. They were both entirely too angry to notice the wood splintering down the middle. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I need you to tell me everything that happened when you were taken,” Aiyan said in a rush.
Kaden stepped backward, putting more distance between them. “I’ve already told you…”
“Did you? Everything?”
“Aiyan, I swear to God, if you keep yelling at me I’m gonna knock your lights out. Now start talking, and try making sense. What the hell is this all about?” Kaden was fuming, which was funny since Aiyan was starting to calm down.
Aiyan inhaled a deep breath and slowly released it before he spoke again. “When you were with Cillian, did he ever…what I mean is, did you…and he…did he force himself on you?”
“Aiyan, are you asking me if that brute of a man raped me?” Aiyan nodded. “You honestly think I wouldn’t have told you if that had happened? Why would you even think…oh God, Rian.” Aiyan nodded again. “Oh baby, come here.” Kaden rushed across the room to his husband, hugging him.
“Why didn’t you just come right out and ask me that from the start, jackass?” Kaden admonished half-heartedly.
“We weren’t alone, and Dad doesn’t want anyone to know; he’s fucking wrecked, Kaden. I’ve never seen him—either of them—I’ve never seen them so sad and miserable. Rian upset and crying is one thing, but Cirian—oh, hell no. He was crying like a baby, Kaden. It’s horrible.” Aiyan held on to Kaden, his face resting on his shoulder as he let it all out.
Kaden walked them over to the bed and sat, pulling Aiyan down beside him. “I’m so sorry, My Prince, truly. This has got to be killing your fathers. At least the bastard is dead and can no longer hurt people just for the thrill of it.”
Lifting his head, Aiyan smiled, leaning in for a quick peck. “I know, and I’m sorry I freaked out. I knew you wouldn’t keep such a thing from me. I guess my ego wouldn’t let it go until I heard you deny it.”
“Let’s stay in tonight, okay? I can run down to the kitchen and have Cook throw something together, and we can curl up in bed with our dinner and talk, maybe read a book. I just…I need you all to myself tonight.” Aiyan stood, not waiting for Kaden to agree, seeming to know he would.
Chuckling, Kaden smacked him on the ass. “I don’t know why you even ask sometimes; you already know I’ll agree to anything you say.”
“That’s because I’m always right,” Aiyan shouted, already halfway out the door.
***
Maeve was sitting in a chair reading, Sawyer stretched out across the bed with Ian beside him when Aiya came into the room. “Hey, what’d your father want?” Maeve asked, closing the book and setting it on the table beside her.
“It’s a long story. Could you take Ian for a walk or something, Maeve, give Sawyer and me a few minutes alone?” Aiya saw the confusion in Maeve’s eyes. They didn’t keep secrets, the three of them, so of course Maeve was concerned.
“I’ll talk to you too, Maeve; I don’t want Ian around when I talk about this. He seems to feed off my anxiety,” Aiya reassured her wife. Reluctantly, Maeve agreed, taking Ian and leaving the two of them to talk.
Sawyer scooted to the edge of the bed, sitting up and patting the mattress beside him. “Come, sit, tell me why you are upset.” And she did, albeit briefly but as thoroughly as possible without betraying certain confidences of her fathers.
Holding her shaking body close while Aiya cried, Sawyer rubbed her back softly and promised her everything would be okay now that Cillian was no longer breathing. “Wait, you don’t think he…Kaden?”
“I don’t know Sawyer; I don’t know if it’s our place to know either,” Aiya responded. She could feel her lover tense, his entire body going stiff. Pulling away, she looked up and met his eyes. “Don’t you think he would have told you ifthathad happened to him as well? And I’m quite certain I’d know too—Aiyan wouldn’t be able to keep it to himself.”
The anger and trepidation slowly ebbed away, Sawyer’s posture slacking without the weight of suspicion. Nodding, he agreed. “You’re right, babe, our brothers wouldn’t have kept that from us.” Standing, he held a hand out, pulling Aiya to her feet. “I’ll go find Maeve and Ian, and I’ll take him to see Kaden and Aiyan while you and she talk, okay?”
Aiya agreed, busying herself by straightening up their room while she waited for Maeve. She’d never been a spiteful or vindictive person, but knowing everything the man who should have been her uncle had done, how he’d tried so damn hard to destroy her family one fucking person at a time…Aiya felt nothing but hate and contempt for the man. Did that make her a bad person?
There was no time to ponder the thought further when the door opened and Maeve came into the room. Sharing the same story and details she’d given Sawyer, Aiya watched Maeve’s face fall, her eyes clouding over with sorrow. “Is it wrong that all I feel is, well, glad…I’m glad he’s dead, Maeve. Does that make me a bad person?” Aiya asked Maeve the question she couldn’t answer for herself.
“Of course not,” Maeve quickly responded. “It makes you human, Aiya. That man was evil incarnate, and the world is a better placewithouthim in it.”
With Maeve’s help, Aiya finished cleaning both their rooms and the bathroom. Showered and dressed, they left the room, Aiya glancing over her shoulder. “Where are you going? Sawyer and Ian are with the brothers. I thought we’d go get them and we can all have dinner together.”
Shaking her head, Maeve continued walking in the opposite direction. “Can’t, got a hot date.”
