Hunted by the Wolf, Claimed by Three Bears

Chapter 13

Aiden POV

Olivia didn’t say a word as I drove her to the police station, not that I could blame her. What the hell could she have to say after all of that? My mind reeled with it all as I tried to come to terms with it, process it somehow.

The date I had been all smug about all week long was actually some big mistake. An embarrassing error that we couldn’t come back from no matter how hard we tried. That stung. She thought she was going out with Hudson, and I just didn’t exist in her head. As soon as she called me by my twin brother’s name, my blood went cold and I knew I was in trouble. But then it only got worse.

“Sorry for the scuffle,” I said awkwardly to break the tension somewhat. “It can get a bit heated between Hudson and me sometimes. We’re both just passionate and hot heads. But it never means anything. I know some people find it odd though.”

“It was a bit much,” she admitted weakly. “But I can see how much you two love one another. You must have a really close bond.”

“Hmm, deep down,” I admitted honestly. “But not so much on the surface. We’re a bit competitive and on edge around one another. I don’t really know why, we just have this weird energy. But there is definitely a deep connection.”

Olivia nodded as if she understood this, but she couldn’t possibly have a clue, not really. I found it weird myself, and I was in the middle of it, so I knew she had to think it was strange as well. But I didn’t want to get any deeper into it because I really couldn’t explain it. It was as if there was something undiscovered in our sibling relationship that would only come to light later on. If only we could be patient and wait until we understood it.

But Hudson wasn’t exactly known for his patience, and neither was I, so it was going to be a long road until we got there. Wherever there was.

“Okay, here we are.”

Thankfully, there was no need to discuss this further because we had arrived at our destination. It was time to focus on what was really haunting Olivia—her ex-fiancé.

“Are you ready for this?” I asked.

“Not really,” she confessed with a weak smile. “But like you said, I have to do this. The sooner I get the information to the police, the better chance they will have of finding Brady.”

“You really think this might all be linked to him?”

She offered me a weak one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know, but I do know what he’s capable of, and he really does need to be behind bars so that everyone can be safe.”

There was a real seriousness to her words that showed she really did think the man she thought she loved was capable of doing something so heinous. She was about to put herself more at risk to save others. She was a brave, truly impressive woman.

“Want me to hold your hand?” I half joked as we got out of the car. “Can we link arms?”

“Oh!”

She actually did want to hold on to me. That was nice. I offered her my arm and she took it eagerly. I had started to think that I only imagined the chemistry between us because I so badly wanted it to be there while Olivia thought I was someone else. But it was still here. Still strong.

This probably wasn’t the time or place to really be thinking about that, when I knew what was going on in her life, but I just couldn’t help myself. What did it mean? She was on a date tonight, whoever she thought that she was going out with, so that was a step in the right direction.

“Aiden, you’re back again?”

Owain, the chief of police, said as Olivia and I walked in, pulling me from my thoughts. “I thought you had to rush out of here after dropping off the fingerprints to get to your big date…”

His words trailed off when he spotted Olivia on my arm. Thank God, because I didn’t need to be even more humiliated by the foolish mistake I’d made tonight. As his face turned a funny shade of ashen, I shot him a crooked smile. No good date ended at the police station. Everyone knew that much.

“We just wanted to have a little talk with you if you have the time.”

Owain could tell by the intense look in my eye that I was being deadly serious. Thank goodness we had worked together a lot in the past. It meant we could communicate without words in a much more effective manner.

“Is this something we need to go to my office for?”

I nodded.

“Okay, follow me.”

I could feel Olivia trembling as we walked down the hallway. She probably didn’t want to do any of this for fear it might bring more danger her way. But I was confident this was the best way to handle it all. For herself and her son.

My twin brother and I might have struggled to agree on things, but I was pretty sure that neither of us was going to argue about protecting Olivia. She needed it, and we both clearly liked her enough to care. We would make sure she was fine. Together.

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“Do you think Chief Owain took me seriously?” Olivia asked as we climbed back into my car a little while later, much more emotionally drained than we were before. “I couldn’t tell if he was really listening to what I was saying about Brady…”

“Trust me, he was taking you seriously,” I did my best to reassure her. “He knows I wouldn’t have brought you in if it wasn’t something to be really worried about.”

She sighed deeply and rested her head on my shoulder like it belonged there. I couldn’t help but feel like it did. There was something so perfect about the way she fit me.

“I will take you home now. I’m sure you need to get back. It’s been a long day.”

She looked up at me gratefully. “I do want to check in on Timothy.”

I knew Olivia had been in constant contact with the babysitter, so there weren’t any issues with her son, but it was still a bit of a nerve-wracking drive. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible it would be if he wasn’t okay. Poor Olivia was shaken up enough.

“Thank you for being so kind tonight,” she suddenly said. “I know I messed up by inviting both you and Hudson out to dinner. I just had no idea you were twins. I’m very embarrassed about it all.”