My Beautiful Mistake

Chapter Thirteen

There was no way in hell I was letting these morons give me a repeat of what happened at the club.

I stamped heavily on my captor's foot and he immediately let go of me, sputtering curses as he did so.

I whipped around and came face to face with two heavily built men. They were both eyeing me like I was some type of prize.

I was tired of the s**t that had been thrown my way. I was frustrated at the world. Fate had to be playing a cruel joke on me by sending another problem my way.

"Don't you dare touch me," I snarled at them, surprising myself at how venomous I sounded.

They looked taken back by my reaction. One of them stepped forward with a gun in his hand. 

"You will do as I say unless you'd rather eat a bullet." 

Seriously, what was this? Some type of crime sitcom?

I shrugged and flipped him off before quickly hitting the button on my keys to unlock my car. The tears had stopped flowing and were now replaced by a carefree, hot-tempered attitude I didn't quite associate with myself. It was as if Jessica had triggered something in me, or was it because I was tired of being shoved around by fate?

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." the other man, I recognized him as the guy whose foot I had just stepped on, said in a calm voice.

He stepped forward and ran a cool finger down the side of my face. I flinched at his touch and he chuckled. "My dear Brooklyn. How nice to finally meet you."

I stood still, too frightened to make any sudden movements. His serene voice suggested they were just toying with me. They wanted to force a reaction from me.

Unexpectedly, a sharp hand came down on the side of my face, causing me to cry out more in shock than pain. I lifted a trembling hand up to the side that he had hit, and felt a wet spot near my jaw. My eyes landed on the rings he was wearing. One of them glistened with redness. 

I was hurt, not only physically, but emotionally. Apart from the memories of my mother that flooded my mind, I remembered that Aiden had done things like this to other people. In short, he was no different from this man. I shuddered at the thought, an action that did not go unnoticed by my captor.

His hand slowly trailed down my face and to my neck where he reached behind and roughly yanked my hair down, forcing another yelp out of me. His hot breath against my ear sickened me to my stomach. 

"Time to call Mr. Reyes out to play," he whispered with a smug expression on his face.

If I was anyone but myself, I would've already slapped that pleased look off his face. But, I had something else on my mind- a thought that caused me to freeze in fear, panic, and nervousness all at once. It was time to see the real Aiden Reyes come out to play.

He shouted orders at his associate to call Aiden and tell him that they were holding me captive until he made an appearance. His hand was still entangled in my hair and I desperately fought off the feeling of disgust that was rising in my chest.

As if he had just remembered where his hand was, he snorted and pushed me away with such force that I fell on the concrete ground. I bit my lip as tears welled up in my eyes again. It wasn't so much for the pain, but it was because he had put me in the same position someone I loved was once in. My mother.

"We don't need you trying to run away, Lyles. Better safe than sorry." 

I looked up just in time to see the butt of his gun come in contact with my forehead and in an instant, it was light's out.

***

Why don't you just leave him, mommy?

She looked away from me with tears in her eyes and stopped playing with my hair.

Because I love him, sweetie.

I scowled and sat up angrily in her lap. I put my small hands on both sides of her face and forced her to look at me.

But, he doesn't love you, mommy. He hurts you.

Why couldn't she understand that? Anger began rising in my chest because when I looked into her eyes, I saw nothing. They were bloodshot and lifeless with not a single sign of emotion.

Sometimes people in love do crazy things, Brooklyn. You'll realize that when you grow older.

I don't want to love anyone then. All it does it hurt people.

Her laugh floated through the air like a melody as she set me down back onto my bed and got up. 

My darling, love does not come without pain. 

She touched my nose lightly and bent down to kiss my forehead.

Without love we are nothing, but with it, we are everything. 

Good night, my darling.

***

"What the f**k did you do to her?"

I woke up hearing a furious voice shouting at someone. I was still in a daze after being knocked out and everything was still groggy. It took me a minute to remember what was happening.

My eyes opened to see an obviously furious Aiden standing by the side of his Porsche with a gun in his hands pointed at the other two men. His eyes were dark and his expression was menacing, with rage dripping off every word that escaped his mouth.

"Now, Aiden, that's no way to treat your father."

I couldn't contain the shock that overcame me and I blurted out in disbelief, "Father?"

They all turned towards me and it was then that I saw the little features on the man who knocked me out that gave away his age. He was greying but had blackened his hair to hide it. There were also firm wrinkles on his face. 

"Brooklyn, get in the car." Aiden's voice was firm and he kept his eyes steadied on his father and the other man as I slowly got up. 

I instantly became aware of how empty my pockets felt, and to my dismay, couldn't find my keys in them. Aiden's father laughed darkly as he watched my reaction and pulled my keys out from his pocket. 

"Looking for these?" he dangled them in front of me as if I was a little child, clearly bemused.

Aiden scowled at his father's amusement and signaled for me to get into his car. I immediately complied and locked myself away in his car.

"Relax, Aiden. I didn't rough her up too badly." his father held his hands up mockingly, probably noticing that the gun was still held firmly in his hand.

"How did you find out about her," Aiden glared at his father.

"You don't think I wouldn't keep tabs on my son? I know everything." his father said smugly.

"And might I say, this has been one of your best catches yet," he added knowing that would only set Aiden off.

As if he wasn't already close to drilling a bullet through his father's face, Aiden clenched his teeth together as if trying not to pull the trigger. "I don't want to see you anywhere near her ever again, understand?"

"Oh, you're threatening me? Your own father? Guess it really is my blood that runs through your veins." his father taunted him as if begging him to pull the trigger.

I watched Aiden's expression carefully as he seemed to go between a variety of emotions. He didn't know what to do. Was this the ruthless gang leader Jessica had told me about or was he trying to keep his composure because I was present? Still, seeing the gun in his hands and the hard expression on his face created an inexplicable fear deep within me, even if I was the reason he was holding the gun.

"Just. Leave." he managed to say, his eyes still full of fury.

His father chuckled and nodded to his associate to leave. They both shortly disappeared from the scene and I watched as Aiden let out a loud sigh of relief and tuck the gun away in his pocket. 

My heart stood still as he began to walk towards the car with me in it. I unconsciously backed away from the door, the fear still deep within me.

He opened the door and stepped inside. 

He didn't look at me, but his chest was still rising and falling heavily, so I assumed me was trying to calm himself down- until I saw a droplet fall onto his jeans.

"Aiden?" I spoke softly, moving over to him, unsure of what to say.

He still refused to look at me and I lifted a hand to his shoulder.

When he looked up at me, it was a completely different man that I had just seen raging against his father. His eyes were wet with tears and he looked younger, more boyish. 

He grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Angel, I'm so sorry." 

What I saw in his eyes frightened me. They were full of pain and fear, something I had never once seen in Aiden. 

"It's okay," I whispered and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I tried so hard to protect you from my life. You shouldn't have been mixed up in all this. I'm so sorry he hurt you."

My heart felt heavier with each word. He seemed so fragile, so vulnerable. This was not an Aiden I was used to.

"f**k, I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."

He looked down at me, his eyes still full of sorrow and anguish as he ran a gentle finger over the bruise his father had inflicted upon me. I flinched at the pain, causing him to immediately withdraw his hand. He took a deep breath and watched my eyes carefully as he spoke.

"Brooklyn Lyles, I love you."

Without love we are nothing, but with it, we are everything. 

Throughout our short journey together, I had learned one thing. Aiden Reyes was a complicated man, but he was also worth every minute spent uncovering the mystery behind him. What started out as a hopeless infatuation on a handsome stranger had turned into something more, something real. And I didn't regret a single second of it.

That's when it dawned on me that I didn't want to live a life without him. He swept me off my feet and became my very own prince charming. After the short time we had spent together, I was more sure of this than anything else in my life. 

"I love you too."