Aidan (Blue Halo Book 5)

One Week Ago

Aidan Pratt walked into the Blue Halo building and climbed the stairs. It was late, and they’d spent the day dealing with that damn doctor kidnapping and almost killing Carina. Not to mention the motorcycle club attack. He was ready for the day to end, but if there was a meeting about a new security job now, at this hour, it had to be important.

The one good thing that had come out of the last twenty-four hours was capturing Ilias Forman, the fucking hired gun, as he called himself. Aidan and his team had done what was necessary to get as much information as they could from the asshole before handing him over to the FBI. Apparently, he actually lived in Idaho…but there were similar guys in a dozen other states. Men who had been part of Project Arma, just like Aidan and his team. Men who had been given the same experimental drugs. Made stronger. Faster. And a dozen other things.

He pushed into the reception area. The text had come from Callum. Over the last few months, Callum had taken over a lot of the administration and technical side of the business, but the entire team helped whenever and wherever they could.

When Aidan stepped into the conference room, Tyler was there too—he and Callum both looked solemn.

Shit. What was wrong now?

Suddenly, his chest seized. “Is it Cassie? Did something happen to her?”

At the thought of anything happening to his ex, everything inside him ached. No. Not ached. It tore him to fucking shreds.

Cassie might not be his anymore, she may have chosen another man, but that didn’t mean his heart just forgot about her. The woman still owned him. And not a day had passed—or would ever pass—when he didn’t think about her.

Tyler shook his head. “As far as we’re aware, Cassie’s fine.”

What the hell did that mean? “As far as you’re aware?”

Callum nodded toward the empty seat. “Sit. The call’s about to come through.”

“What call?”

“Will you just sit your ass down?” Tyler sighed, shaking his head.

Aidan dropped into the seat at the end of the table. Something was going on. And his team needed to tell him what it was, right the hell now, before he lost his damn mind. He was not a patient man. Never had been. But especially when it came to Cassie.

Callum tapped a few keys on the laptop. “We got an urgent job request. I spoke to the guy briefly, but he said it needed to be you who took the job.”

“Why me?”

“That was my question, too.”

When Callum didn’t offer anything further, Aidan blew out a frustrated breath. That short patience of his was about to snap. “What else did he say?”

“That’s the thing. He wouldn’t tell me shit. All he’d give me was his name. And the name of the woman he wants protected.”

Again, his friend stopped before providing any information that would be useful. The air tightened in Aidan’s lungs as he asked, “And what were those names?”

Before Callum could answer, a Skype call came through on the large monitor on the wall, and all three of them looked up.

The man who appeared on the screen had every muscle in Aidan’s body tensing, his hands fisting, and his eyes narrowing.

Damien fucking Webber.

Cassie’s husband.

Also, Cassie’s childhood best friend. A man Aidan had always liked. A man he’d never suspected would one day take his woman and make her his own.

The craziest part of it all was, Aidan had approved of the man’s friendship with Cassie. Neither of them had ever given him reason to believe they felt anything more for each other.

“What the hell do you want?” he asked quietly, his voice so low it would be impossible for Damien to miss the anger.

The man’s features were shadowed as he stood outside, in the dark. “Hello, Aidan. It’s nice to see you again.”

Nice? Aidan could think of a lot of words to describe this moment, but nice wasn’t even in the vicinity.

Callum leaned forward. “What can we do for you tonight, Mr. Webber?”

Aidan tried not to flinch at the guy’s last name. Now Cassie’s last name.

“I can’t talk long.” His gaze skirted somewhere above the camera, then back again. “I also can’t give many details. But I have a job I need Aidan to complete.”

The last thing Aidan wanted was to work for this guy. “What do you mean, you can’t give many details?”

“I don’t have the time. They could be watching.”

Aidan frowned. “Who?”

“I told you. There’s not enough time.” He shot a look around again, like he expected someone to join him…or find him. Then he looked back at Aidan. “I need you to kidnap Cassie this Friday at ten p.m.”

Aidan’s jaw dropped. Callum and Tyler straightened in their seats. Whatever he’d been expecting Damien to say, it wasn’t that.

“I’ll send you the location to grab her from. I need you to hold her for a week at a safe and hidden location. But you need to make it look like a real kidnapping. No one can know the truth.”

It took Aidan a moment to respond. “You can’t be serious.”

“I assure you, Aidan, I am.” For a third time, Damien looked beyond the camera, once more scanning his surroundings.

Aidan leaned forward. “I am not going to kidnap Cassie. First of all, that would fucking terrify her. Second, we’re not in the business of staging fake abductions.”

Damien stared straight into the phone’s camera. “It’s the only way to save her.”

“Save her?”

There was a short beat of silence. “If you don’t do this, they’ll kill her.”

Aidan’s insides iced over. When he spoke again, his voice was low and deadly. “You need to give me some fucking details, and you need to give them to me now.”

“I’ve already been on this call too long. I’m going to text you the address from this burner phone, then I’m going to destroy it. You won’t hear from me again, and it’s important you don’t try to contact me.”

Burner phone?

“How do we know this isn’t some setup?” Callum asked.

Damien’s gaze never left Aidan’s. And finally, he saw something other than shaky composure in the man’s expression. Desperation?

“I love Cassie. You know I do. That’s why I need you to do this for me. You’re the only one I trust to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

His words hit like rounds to the chest. Hell, he’d been shot. This was worse. Hearing the man say he loved Cassie… Hearing that she was in danger…

“Even if I were to do this, there’s no way I’d go alone.”

“Then bring a friend. Hell, bring your whole team! Just as long as you shelter her somewhere safe. I need to go.” Another flicker of his eyes. “This isn’t a setup or a joke or anything else. This is life or death. Whether you believe me or not, I’m going to send the information and then just hope like hell you’re in.”

The call ended, and the man disappeared.

For a moment, Aidan sat there, not sure what the hell had just happened. The only thing he did know was that he could never let harm come to Cassie, regardless of whether they were together or apart. He needed her alive and safe more than he needed anything else on the damn planet.