MrsSerrano1

Chapter 15 Drive **Warning, adult language, violence, and talks of past sexual abuse *** Aiden’s attention is drawn to the dead body on the floor, and his imagination races as he recalls the things, he said he did to Riley. He thinks if he doesn’t hear from her about it all soon, he will lose his mind to his wild imagination. Riley lay on the floor of the bedroom, surrounded by big dead guys that she didn’t want to look at but had no choice. She didn’t know them, except one. His smell was the only way she knew he was one of them. She would never forget the smell of body odor and stale cigarettes. The one directly in front of her that she threw the knife at She didn’t want him to see her; that’s why she threw it. She didn’t want those filthy words to come out of his mouth and taint Aiden’s view of her. She knows it’s not her fault; she didn’t want any of that and didn’t like any of it. She hated those times when they made her body feel good. She would try to stop it every time. She would usually vomit right on them, and if she were lucky, they would be so pissed they would slap her and leave. Riley would just curl up in a ball and cry. She would cry for hours. She cried as soon as she felt her body start to betray her. She would move and try to get away, but they would always pin her down, and with the blindfold always on, she couldn’t help when her mind wandered. She hated herself for that. She knows she is fucked up in the head because of that. She was surprised that she was so taken with Aiden, and even more surprised that she let him do what he did for her. She thought that was a huge step. But now, she thinks back to those times, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before she flips out on Aiden during sex. She can’t even imagine that. He doesn’t deserve that. She knows she needs to tell Aiden. This can’t go on any longer like this. She can hear the guy downstairs faintly. “Come on out, ya little bitch; I already know you’re in here.” We observed you leaving the store with the other man. Is that your new pimp now? You replaced us already, you little slut!” “Oh God, no! Shut up, you fool!” Riley whispers. He just keeps on talking like the fool he is. “And I admit, I wasn’t expecting you to take out that whole team I sent there. I admit, girly, you’ve got balls and grit. You’ve got a future in a world like this. We need a fighter like you. Now you might get a little punishment for what happened to the boys. To set you straight, a good belt whipping and a good rough fucking are needed. Me and my men will run the longest train on that sweet round ass of yours, and it will go all night, and you will take it all and ask for more when we are through with you. That’s your punishment for what you did to them, but we’re willing to look past that if you join us and be on our team. Come fight for us. You need us to survive. You’re good, but you’re not that good. You won’t make it on your own, girl. Why don’t you come home today? Isn’t it better to be with the monsters you know than face the ones you don’t?” Tears flood her eyes as she thinks of Aiden hearing these things from his mouth. She isn’t sure what she would do if he decided it was too much and left. What will happen then? Or worse, if he stays and looks at her with pity and stops touching her or wanting to be with her, if he stays just because he feels sorry for her, Riley thinks she will take off alone and leave him. She would rather be alone than with someone who is only there out of pity. Boom! Riley quickly sits up, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun. She stops and listens and hears what sounds like someone falling down the stairs. She is immediately relieved, stands up, and walks to the door. She looks out onto the balcony and notices Aiden speaking with Javier’s brother, the man who caught her in the backyard of that tiny house when she tried to save her family. She remembers the hold he had on her hair and instinctively rubs her hand over the back of her head where he held on. She is looking at Aiden and asks him something, “How many are there of you?” Aiden asks. “Fuck you,” he tells Aiden, and Aiden laughs. He then bends down, and she watches in disbelief as Aiden sticks his finger inside the man’s bullet wound. He puts his finger in his chest, and Riley is stunned. She knows it’s the way things are now, and she feels absolutely no remorse or pity for the monster screaming on the floor. She just hates that Aiden had to get to this part of himself because of her. He is such a gentle and sweet man that to see the complete opposite is like being in an alternate reality, and it makes her dizzy. “How many are there? Where is your camp?” he asks. “Forty, there’s forty. We are at the next exit on the freeway. Riley knows.” He is barely able to talk. “Don’t say her name,” he seethes. “Kill me, please.” “Oh, you’re already dead. You just don’t know it.” Aiden smirks. “Every single one of them is going to die like this; just know that. Now go to hell.” Riley can’t believe the darkness that has fallen over Aiden. She never saw any indication he could be so dark, but you can’t be a survivor this long without having some blood on your hands. Riley knows that better than anyone. She looks down and sees Aiden stab him in the head, and when she holds onto the banister, it makes a sound, and Aiden quickly turns with the gun raised. Riley puts her hands up, and Aiden quickly drops the gun. “Riley, you promised.” “I heard the gunshot.” “Yeah, and it could have been me laying here dead.” “No, silly. He had the shotgun. completely different sound. I knew you had shot him. I just needed to see for myself that he was no longer alive. “He’s dead.” “Good.” “Let’s go, Mija.” “Let’s take their car.” “Smart. Good idea” Aiden turns to feel the man’s pockets and pulls out a set of car keys. He grabs the gun, the shotgun, and the extra bullets he found. Riley turns back to the room, grabs her bag and Mary Jane, and looks around for anything they might have dropped. She purposely avoids the bodies on the floor. When she doesn’t see anything, they may have left, she grabs a thick blanket and folds it, puts it under her arm, and walks out of the room, never looking back. She walks down the stairs and meets Aiden at the bottom. “Are you okay, Mija?” he asks her. “Yeah, babe. I’m good now. Let’s search the kitchen for some supplies before we leave,” she says as she walks by him towards the kitchen door. Aiden grabs her hand and pulls her to him, bending his knees until he is eye level with her, grabbing her chin, and forcing her to look at him. “Talk to me, Riley.” “I’m fine, Aiden, I swear.” She looks at him and smiles a bit. “Riley, I know you’re not fine. Who could be after all that? Just talk to me.” “I will, Aiden, I will. Let’s just get out of here first. You never know if there are people waiting for them, and if they don’t show up, they will be out looking for them.” “Fuck, you’re right, Mija. Sorry. Let’s go.” He says this as he lets go of her chin and the arm he was holding. Riley immediately grabs him by the front of his jacket, pulls herself up, and kisses him so completely that Aiden thinks he died and went to heaven. Riley wraps her arms around Aiden, and when she finally pulls away from him, her lips are swollen and look like she has been properly kissed, and Aiden loves that. She looks up at him and smiles, and his heart swells with that smile. She grabs his hand, “Let’s go, Mr. Hernandez. ” “After you, Ms. Reese,” he says as he lets her lead the way into the kitchen. They quickly search each cupboard, drawer, and pantry. They were able to find about twenty cans of fruit and veggies, a bag of crackers, a box of granola bars, and two big cans of juice. "Jackpot," Riley thinks. They also found a portable grill that could be used with gas or not. As they were getting ready to leave, Riley flipped open the bread box and stopped short. “Whoa!” she says. Aiden comes, stops, and looks. Riley thinks he looks like a kid on Christmas morning. She reaches her hand in and pulls out a bottle of Patron tequila. A bag of marshmallows, a bar of chocolate, and a box of graham crackers. She holds them all up and looks at Aiden. “Now this is a party,” she says with a smile. “Hell yes, Mija! It’s a bomb ass party. Let’s go,” he says. She grabs everything, and they proceed out the front door. Aiden looks around first, telling her to wait by the entry. He walks to the car that’s parked in the driveway and inspects it. He looks at everything. He pops the hood, pulls out a GPS device, and tosses it. Once satisfied, he tells her to come on. “Let's go babe.” She runs up to the driver’s side and holds her hand out. “No.” Aiden shakes his head. “Please.” Riley says and looks at him with these “fuck me now” eyes that have Aiden wishing for a bed instead of a car. “No, Mija, let’s go; get in; we are wasting time.” She rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she says under her breath, then turns and stomps to the other side. Aiden laughs as he asks her, “Did you just throw a tantrum?” Riley stops, and she can’t believe she did. Her hand quickly covers her mouth as she realizes what she has done. She is so embarrassed and can hardly even look at Aiden. Finally, a few seconds go by, and she looks at him, properly contrite. She looks up at Aiden and says, “I’m so sorry, babe. I’m just so used to getting my way with my brother and dad, I never even realized why until you said something. I feel like such a brat.” “It’s okay, Mija. Normally, I would have let you drive, but right now, I need to feel in control a bit. Sorry, it’s a man thing.” He tells her. “No, it’s okay, I get it.” She gets into the car and fastens her seatbelt. Aiden gets in and does the same. He turns the key in the ignition, and for a brief instant before it starts, he says a prayer to someone for it to start. It turns on and starts purring, like a well-kept machine. They both smile and feel some tension lift from their shoulders. Aiden looks at the gauges, and he gives a silent thanks to whoever heard his prayer. “We’re in luck, Mija; we have three-quarters of a tank of gas,” he says, and she looks at him, holding his gaze as she smiles. They hold it for a few beats, then they both know it’s time to go. They both return to their seats and prepare to leave. Before they pull out, Riley extends her arm and rests her hand on Aiden’s knee. He looks at it there, and it could have very well been a normal day, back before the dead rose and people were more deadly. He smiles and thinks, and he looks at Riley, but she is just staring out the side window with a smile on her face. Aiden smiles even more and grabs her hand, places it on his knee, and laces his fingers with hers. Riley’s smile grew even wider. They pull out and head down the street, back on track to Lytle Creek. Not realizing they were spotted; they are now being reported back to the person in charge. Aiden instinctively starts driving fast, and he makes several unnecessary turns. Riley notices the change in the atmosphere instantly, and she instantly sits up straighter. She is checking the rearview mirror and looking for any movement. She is straining to see something to explain the sudden change. She looks at Aiden, and he is trying to make turns with one hand, so she releases his hand and says, “Two hands on the wheel, sir.” Aiden snickers at that and replies, “Riley, babe, I don’t know if I like the word, sir. At least I never did before, but when you say it, it sounds so dirty. ” He is chuckling now, and Riley’s mouth falls open, instantly feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment. He smiles at her, and she realizes he’s joking, so she smiles back. He looks back to the road and takes more turns than Riley thought possible. Luckily for them, they lost anyone that might have attempted to follow them. Riley knows this is bad, though. She is instantly biting her lip as she looks out the window. “Mija, Por favor, no more lip biting; I swear it’s going to come off. Please babe. I know you’re nervous about something but talk to me; I’m right here. No more biting your lip, please, babe,” he tells her, sincerely. Riley instantly stops and grabs her lip. “Sorry, it’s been a habit for so long that I forget I do it. It’s helped me out so much lately, ya know?” She responds. Seeing the confused look on Aiden’s face, she understands that he doesn't know. “When I am close to falling into another attack, I’ve realized that biting my lip hard takes me out of it and brings me back to the present.” She whispers. “Oh, Riley. Mija, I understand, but we will find you something else; your beautiful, delicious lip can’t take much more of those bites.” He says this out of genuine concern; he saw how bloody her lip was last night, and the scab she has on it today isn’t bad, but it will be if she continues. “I think it’s the pain that brings me back to the present, not necessarily the lip biting. It’s the sudden rush of pain that wakes me up.” She speaks softly. “Okay, babe, we will figure something out for you, I promise,” he says confidently. Riley looks at him and smiles. She believes him. Instantly her smile falls, and Aiden sees it, sending alarm bells going off in his head. “What?” he says. “Aiden, if anyone was there trying to follow us, then they obviously know that their guys didn’t get the job done, we are alive, and they are obviously dead, and that we have their car. It’s not over; they won’t stop looking until they find us.” Her voice began in a high-pitched panic and ended in a barely audible whisper as the meaning of what she was saying hit her. “Mija, Riley, look at me,” Aiden says as he pulls the car over. He turns to her and grabs her by the chin, so she looks at him. “I will never let anything happen to you again. You are safe with me. I will fight until my last breath for your safety, especially with those sick fuckers. Understand? You don’t have to be afraid, mi amor.” he tells her, as he kisses her on the cheek. Riley is already crying, and Aiden can’t stand seeing her so terrified. He hugs her tightly, and then he tells her, “Mi amor, I’ve got to drive. We will finish this when we get settled, okay?” Riley nods her head and looks out the side window. Aiden just can’t drive off yet. He already feels so much for this woman; he knows what it is. He knows beyond a doubt what it is. He needs to tell her. Riley looks at him when she realizes he hasn’t started driving. “What’s wrong?” she asks. “Nothing, babe, nothing at all; I just need to tell you something,” he says. “Okay.” “Riley, you are the bravest, smartest, and sexiest woman I have ever laid eyes on. I would be dead if it weren’t for you. You have no idea how close I was to it before you walked into my life. And I have never been happier. If you can believe that I’m happy in the apocalypse because of you. I love you, Riley.” Riley is listening to him, and her tears are already flowing before he is even halfway done. She is smiling and listening, and when she hears him say those words, she immediately gasps and throws her arms around his neck. “Oh Aiden, I thought I was feeling this on my own; I thought it was too soon, and you were going to think I didn’t know what love was because of my age, but Aiden,” she says as she pulls away from him to look at him in the eyes. “I love you too, Aiden,” she tells him, and Aiden smiles so big it lights up the night sky. He pulls her in and kisses her with so much feeling that Riley starts crying. She can feel his love through the kiss, and it is incredible. “Later,” he says, and he sits up and starts driving again. “Later,” Riley repeats. She is instantly full of dread, knowing that later means she is spilling her guts before anything else happens. She is telling Aiden everything tonight.

***Warning, Violence and Hints of past Sexual Abuse ahead******* Chapter 14 Savage Riley can't believe this beautiful man standing in front of her, can have the dirtiest mouth she has ever heard, and it turns her on like no other. She loves that he is so willing to give her so much of himself. How did she get so lucky to be the one to receive it? How did she become the luckiest girl alive in a world full of death? She doesn't know, but she's not doubting it, she is relishing it. She is loving the fact that she gets to be the one next to him, and she'll do whatever she can to keep it that way. She pops up on your toes and kisses him one more time, then tells him, "I'll be on the other side of the door. I'll sweep the leg with a kick or roundhouse. I'll get them down on their knees, and that's when you come, and you get them with your knife. I don't care where you do it. I don't care how you do it. Just make sure that you get them before they have a chance to get back up." "I got you, Mija. I got you." He whispers. Riley steps away and walks to the other side of the door. She grabs her knife, and she's holding it in her right hand, with her other hand up, ready to fight. She starts bouncing on the balls of her feet, trying to get the adrenaline under control. She starts to deep breathe, closes her eyes, and listens. She listens to the sounds of what is happening downstairs. She wants to always know where they are. The doorknob jiggles again. She can hear talking outside now, there's more than one now. There's a big crack sound of wood being split, and she knows they broke through the door. They must have used the ax. She hears the movement of the furniture that they had there in front of the door, the scrape of it being pushed out of the way. She takes a deep breath, and she looks over to Aiden, he's staring at her the whole time, wondering what is going on in her brain. How does she figure all the tiny details out, like she's a genius. Aiden is looking at her, and she flashes him one of the best smiles he's ever seen, he can't help but return one to her. She is suddenly dropping into a crouching position but keeps her eyes on Aiden the whole time. Her heart flew into a million pieces when she saw the smile Aiden gave her. She concentrates, and closes her eyes, listening to whatever sounds she can pick up from downstairs. She needs to know what's happening downstairs and wants to know where each person is always. Suddenly, she hears footsteps inside the house, and she knows they made it in. Her eyes snapped the door, and she hears the creak of the stairs. One by one, the sound gets louder and louder. When she feels there’s one coming up the stairs, she looks over to Aiden and she puts three fingers up. She listens as the footsteps come closer. Abruptly, they stopped in front of the door. She drops down one finger, only showing two fingers now. She's looking at Aiden, then she closes her eyes again, as she hears them stop right in front of the door. She gets that immediate spike of adrenaline, and it tells her it's time. Instead of dropping the last finger, she points to the door, letting Aiden know someone is there. She looks at Aiden, and he just nods his head, one time, telling Riley he is good, she automatically does the same. Riley crouches down into the shadows and waits until she knows it’s time. That’s when she hears the steps back up, causing her to look at Aiden and mouth the words ‘he’s kicking it’ Aiden immediately understands and backs up, taking himself out of harm’s way. They both back up against the wall just in case and she was right, suddenly there was a big smash and the sound of wood splintering and the door flew open. Aiden had put his hand up in time and stopped the door from swinging back and hitting him. Riley doesn't want to breathe, she doesn't want to move, she doesn't want to give herself away, so she waits. She is waiting for him to walk by her, but before that even happens, that's when she gets hit with the smell of alcohol. Some type of stale alcohol comes off him and waves it makes her sick to her stomach. It takes her back to that time, in that place, in that house, and she just doesn't want to be there. She can't be there right now; she needs to be focused. She shakes her head trying to dislodge the memories that are fighting to come to the surface, but she is trying to stay in the present. She bites her bottom lip so hard she tastes blood, but it brings her back and she's present and she knows she will be okay. This sloppy dunk walks forward, limping, dragging his right foot, as he tries to move forward into the room. Riley can’t believe her luck; she waits until he shuffles forward and as soon as he passes her, she sweeps his right leg, his bad leg, he drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Riley didn’t even need her roundhouse kick because Aiden is there with a knife right in his temple with such perfect timing, it wasn’t even five seconds from the time he kicked in the door, to he was dead on the floor. They both dragged him out of the way, to the far side of the bed, out of view. They quickly go back to their positions. Riley crouches down and Aiden’s behind the door. That’s when they look at each other, Riley gives Aiden a nod, which he quickly returns, and they both smirk at each other. The sound of somebody else coming up the stairs brings her back to where they're at and she looks at the door, waiting. She gets down again in the shadows, hearing the creak of the stairs, as it gets louder, and the steps move closer to their area. Riley notices right away, this one is dragging his foot too, and it makes her wonder just what they have been doing before this. She hears him as he slowly walks to the door. “Derek!” a voice called out, suddenly and it’s so close to Riley, she jumped because she didn’t expect him to be that close to her. “Where are you, man? Hello?” The man steps in the room and stops. Riley hears his heavy breathing, and she then instantly smells his body odor and stale cigarette smell. Moving her hand slowly, she covers her nose, before she vomits. The guy stops and tries to look around, and can’t see anything. It is pitch black in the room. He is fumbling for something on his belt, Riley can hear the clanking of the belt buckle and must bite her lip again, because it sounded just like the clanking sound of a belt being undone and pants being dropped to the floor. She closes her eyes, but that doesn’t take her monsters away, they are there whether she has her eyes open or closed. The man is fumbling for a light that hangs on his belt, knowing she can’t let him turn it on and expose them, she decides to improvise. Taking a breath, hoping to God, Aiden is watching her and is on the same page, she just pops up and gives him a kick in the back, and when he flies forward, landing on one knee. “What the…” his words are cut off by Aiden, as he quickly grabs him from behind and slashes his throat. Riley then walks up to him, and plunges her knife into his temple, quickly ending him. They're both breathing hard now, they look at each other, and Riley bends down, grabs her knife and tries to pull it from his head. She places her foot on the guy’s shoulder and pulls back again, removing the knife from his brain, with a sickening squelching sound. Before Riley could even realize it, she starts to gag, and needs to turn away to stop herself from vomiting. Aiden rushes to her side, and she waves him off, “I’m okay, promise.” her breathing is ragged and coming out in pants. She swallows whatever it was down, and Aiden sees her eyes are shining in the little bit of light that filters in through the window, and knows she is stopping herself from crying. She is moving quickly now, and her breathing sounds back to normal, so he follows her lead, and they grab the body and toss it on the last guy. That’s when Riley finally looks at Aiden, and they just look over each other, making sure both are unharmed. Walking up to her, Aiden runs his hand over her cheek and brushes her hair that has escaped her braids off her face. He is checking to make sure she is okay. Riley grabs his hand that’s on her cheek and kisses his palm, her eyes never leaving his. Satisfied she is okay, he smiles, gently and they part, going back to their side of the door. Before they can even get there, they hear a voice call out way too close. Riley cannot believe she missed him coming up the stairs. “Fuck” she internally curses. “Yo, Paulie, Derek? Where the hell did ya go?” a voice comes closer, and suddenly a big guy rounds the corner and enters the room. Riley isn’t even anywhere close to being hidden, and when the guy stops, she knows he saw her. She lets instinct take over, and she steps forward, and in one movement, she is spinning with a kick to his nose, a knee to the groin and a roundhouse to the back of his head, laying him out flat on the floor, Aiden comes up and quickly takes him out with a knife through his temple. Aiden pulls his knife out and they both grab the body and try to move him, but he is big. He’s a big ass man, and Riley just drops his legs and shakes her head at Aiden. She is breathing hard and needs to catch her breath. The adrenaline has been spiking and falling with every kill, and it is making her feel weak. “They're still two more guys left.” Aiden whispers to Riley, but it looks like she is spent. “Fuck” he says and grabs a blanket from one of the windows, letting in more light, and covers up the body. “Sorry, “ she whispers. “The adrenaline keeps spiking and dropping, it is making me feel sick.” Aiden walks to her and before he can comfort her, They hear a voice. A voice so void of any kind of life, it sounded robotic, “Javier!” they hear, and Riley immediately freezes, her hand coming to her mouth, and her eyes were so wide, so full of fear, that Aiden immediately pulled both knives, and put Riley behind him. He knows this can’t be good. He can’t think about that now, because they hear it again, only so much closer. “Javier!” it’s so loud, it echos in the empty house, and Aiden hears Riley gasp, and her breath is ragged and coming out in what he thinks are sobs. This enrages Aiden to his core. He is determined to destroy Riley’s nightmares tonight. Riley feels like her blood has run cold, like she is frozen to that very spot on the floor. She has begun the start of another panic attack and she can’t even attempt to stop it or pull herself out of it. She is sweating and she is transported to that small, dirty house six months ago, where she was kept in a room, blindfolded and naked by a man named Javier. He kept her in a room, beat her, raper her and had his whole group visit her through the day and night. She thought she killed him when she escaped, now she's not so sure. She shuts her eyes closed and bites down hard on her lip, It is already sore from the previous times, this time she thinks she bit a piece off, and the pain shoots through her entire body, and she is fluttering her eyes open and she instantly is brought back to the present, her hand immediately going to her lip, scared to even look if she even has a lip left. Aiden turns when he hears her take in a ragged breath, his eyes find hers and they are clear, and he knows she is there with him. Before he can turn to her, he hears someone walking into the room. Instantly they both snap to attention, facing the door, Riley automatically grabbing both knives and holding them up at the ready. Aiden can see her from the corner of his eye, and he is so God Damn proud of her. He does the same, with both knives out, he knows his gun is close, He just needs to drop his knife and pull it out of his holster, it is already cocked and ready to fire. The man stops short when he enters the room, the name he was going to call out, dying in his throat. He has the ax, and Riley knows he will use it if he comes in range. He is looking at Aiden, and Riley knows he is blocking her from his view, so he has yet to see Riley there behind him. She uses this to her advantage, she decides not to take a chance with this guy. She flips her knife up and catches the blade part, and all she has to say is “Down” and Aiden is on the floor, allowing Riley the room to fling her knife and it hits home, dead center of his forehead. He drops before he even knew he was dead. “God Damn, Riley, what the fuck was that?” Aiden is up and over to her before the guy hits the ground. "I know it's not your fault, mija, but I'm getting dizzy trying to keep up with you." He startles Riley, and she instinctually steps back before she realizes it’s Aiden. This stops him in his tracks, and he instantly feels like a monster. He stops and raises his hands, dropping both knives, “Mija, Riley, it’s me, babe.” he whispers. “I know it’s you, Aiden, I’m so fucking sorry about all that. I don’t know why I took a step back from you.” She is instantly with tears falling from her eyes, and Aiden feels like the damn devil. “Fuck, Riley, no, Don’t cry please. Honey.” He is instantly in front of her, wiping her tears with his thumbs, holding her face so she is looking up at him. “I never want you to fear me, Mija. I’d rather shoot myself then have that happen.” Riley gasps, and is instantly on her tip toes, smashing her face to his, kissing him with everything she feels. She pulls away and looks at him, straight in the eye, “That is the last fucking time I ever want to hear you say anything about kllling yourself, okay? The thought of being in a world where you don’t exist, is unthinkable. And I won’t have you thinking that is ever an option for you, You got that Mr. Hernandez? Even if something happen to me, you will go on, and you will live this life you have and you will make the best of it, you got that?” She says each word with more conviction then the last, with tears streaming down her face. It does something to AIden that he doesn’t even know what to call it “Promise me, Aiden. Promise me, you will never think of that as a solution, please!” she tells him, Aiden can see she is starting to loose a little bit of control with this, so he hugs her and promises her, she has nothing to worry about. Aiden can’t think of this right now, theres still one more guy somewhere. He needs to focus. “Riley, mija, I promise. Not even a thought about that. I promise you. But, Mija, there’s still one more and he has the shotgun, we can not be caught off guard. Por Favor, lets focus and get through this night together, okay mi amor?” “You got it. I’m good, we made it this far. Let's finish the game.” she says, quoting her favorite movie ever. “Did you just quote “Young Guns 2?” he asks her. She smiles so big, because he actually knew the movie. “Sure did.” she tells hm. “Cool” he says. As he bent down to pick up his knives, a shot rang out from downstairs. Aiden instantly pulls Riley to the floor, and is looking her over for any sign of injury, as she does the same to him. Miraculously, they both are uninjured. “Stay down, do not get up for anything.” he tells her. “What are you gonna do?" She whispers. Before he can say a word, they are interrupted by a man, yelling something from downstairs, outside the house. He didn’t even come inside and he was already taking shots at them. “I made you a promise, Riley, now it’s your turn, por favor. Promise me, you will stay on the ground, behind these guys.” He points to the dead guys on the floor. “I know, Mija, but they are all pretty big, compared to you, and they will shield you from gunshots.” Riley thinks about that, and she can not believe it, but she has to admit, he is right. Its perfect protection. “Okay, Aiden, I promise.” she whispers. “I mean it, babe, do not come out from there, no matter what you hear. Understand?” “Yes,” she says, “Good.” Aiden grabs her and kisses her like his life depended on it, and it made Riley soar and crash at the same time. “Go, Hurry.” Aiden tells her. He watches, as she scoots over and climbs over the dead bodies and lays with her back to the wall, facing them, but very well shielded. “Perfect.” he whispers. Aiden gets up, and gets his two guns, He crawls to the hallway and looks out. He doesn’t see anything yet, but he hears him, walking below him. Then he starts to talk, and all Aiden can do is wait and listen. He is looking around and he sees the last man walking around the first floor. He is older, stocky, ex-marine. He has a cigar sticking out of his mouth and he looks angry. Aiden decided to wait for him to climb the stairs before he shoots. He is waiting for him in the shadows and he became invisible in the dark. The guy is walking around, looking at everything, he whispers something to himself that Auden can’t hear. “Where are you, little girl?” he says in a singsong voice. And it rattles Aiden to the core. He needs to stop and get control of himself and wait. He knows this is his only shot, he can’t fuck this up. “Come out, come out wherever you are!!? He says a little bit louder, a little bit scarier. Aiden is standing still, barely breathing, back up against the wall, sweat dripping down his back. “Come on out ya little bitch, I already know you're in here. We saw ya leave the store with that guy. Is that your new pimp now? You replaced us already, you little slut!” He says and Aiden can barely keep his anger in check, he closes his eyes and tries to wash it away. He knows one thing for sure, if any of what this guy is saying is true, he knows beyond any doubt, she was forced into it, and these fuckers are the ones who did it to her. That information is enough to make his blood boil, he is seething and needs this fool to hurry his ass up the stairs, “I know you think you are some bad ass bitch, Rileyyyyy,” he extends her name at the end, in a song like way, “And I admit, I wasn’t expecting you to take out that whole team I sent there. I admit, girly, you got balls and grit. You got a future in a world like this. WE need a fighter like you. Now you might get a little punished for what happened to the boys. You know, a whipping with the belt, and a good rough fucking to set you straight. Me and my men will run the longest train on that sweet round ass of yours, and it will go all night and you will take it all and ask for more when we are through with you. That’s your punishment for what you did to them but we're willing to look that over if you join us and be in our team. Come fight for us. You need us to survive. You're good but you're not that good. You won't make it on your own girl. Why don't you come home today? Isn’t it better to be with the monsters you know, then face the ones you don’t.” Aiden is shaking so bad, he is vibrating, he wants to tear this guys tongue out and rip off his head. He wants to feed him to the infected and kill him over and over again. He knows Riley heard him. And he is absolutely livid. He can’t remember a time he has been this angry. He is so upset, he almosts misses the fact that this piece of crap started up the stairs. He is already climbing up the stairs, and all Aiden needs is one shot. Aiden standing with his back to the wall he is literally shaking trying to hold himself back before he can jump and kick this guy and kill him for everything that he's saying everything is coming out of his mouth he wants to shove it back down there and send them to hell where he belongs There's the footsteps, finally, they start to slowly come up the stairs, one by one, slowly. it's like he takes five minutes for each stair. He takes a breath, to try to calm himself, He has one shot and can’t miss. He won’t miss, as he thinks back to all the military training he has had, he could fire with his eyes closed and still hit him. He's about halfway up the stairs, and just needs those final two steps, to get the shot. Then finally takes the last step, and is clearly in his crosshairs, and Aiden calmly raises his gun, looks at this pathetic, waste of space, and pulls the trigger, hitting him in his chest. “Bullseye, mother fucker.” Aiden says. The man instantly drops, and rolls down the stairs, the shotgun dropped and forgotten. Aiden walks slowly down the stairs, taking his time. The man is writhing and gasping for air. Yeah, Aiden knows he put a hole in his lung. Now its slowly filling with blood, and losing oxygen. He knows he will live approximately five more minutes. That's all he needs. He gets to him at the bottom of the stairs and flips him over with his shoe, so hes on his back, looking up at Aiden. “Who the fuck are you?” he says but it came out gurgled and sounded like he was underwater already. “I’m vengeance, you fucking pig. I am the one Riley has to protect her now.” “How many are there of you?” Aiden asks. “Fuck you” Aiden just smiles, and sticks his finger in the bullet wound. The man screams in pain. “How many are there? Where is your camp?” he asks. Forty, there’s forty. We are at the next exit up the freeway. Riley knows.” he is barely able to talk, and the fact that he spoke her name makes him madder then he already was. “Don’t say her name.” he seethes. “Kill me please.” “Oh, you're already dead. You just dont know it.” Aiden smirks,. “Every single one of them is gonna die like this, just know that. Now go to hell.” Aiden slams the knife down into his head to the hilt. He is breathing heavy and feels he has rid the world of something evil. But hes not done. But as long as he has Riley, he has to be done, he tells himself. They will stay far away from that area. He has to concentrate on her now. And help her heal. That is his mission now.

Chapter 13 Fight They stare at each other, and so many emotions pass between them in that short amount of time. They look at each other, and Riley is forced to break the contact as she cannot stop herself from looking out the window. She carefully pulls the sheet from the window by the edge, just enough to see the street below. Aiden stands behind her; he grabs her by the waist and looks over her head out the window. They are both searching for movement. Riley sees them first, and Aiden knows because he hears her gasp. She then whispers, “Look to the right. One man is walking.” “I see him. But look, Mija, across the street from him.” Riley looks, and sure enough, there is another guy walking. She returns her gaze to the street and notices movement about two houses behind the first guy. “Damn it. Look behind them,” she whispers. Aiden is already looking and making calculations about whether they could take out the four guys when they both hear the engine as it turns onto the street. They instantly look at each other, and Riley stands up completely. She turns and is face-to-face with Aiden. He moves closer and snakes his arm around her waist, pulling her unbelievably close. They have swallowed any empty space that was between them, and Riley takes a breath and breathes Aiden in. He grabs her from behind her head and pulls her to him. He kisses her deeply and completely. Riley whimpers and grabs him tightly, and she is pulling him as close as he can go. When they finally break apart, there is rough breathing from both. “Riley, please go in the closet; let me handle these guys.” Aiden whispers to her. “Absolutely not. You promised me, Aiden. You promised we would fight together so we could both make it. Don’t change up on me, now, please.” She is practically begging him. Aiden knows she is right; the best opportunity for survival is for both of them to fight. “Okay, Mija, okay. You’re right, we do this together.” He lifts her chin to make her look at him, and he sees so much swirling in her chocolate brown eyes that he can get lost in them trying to figure her out. She pushes up on her toes and brushes her lips against his. He immediately responds and has his hands around her waist, pulling her close. She moans, and it goes straight to Aiden’s dick. He is an absolute slave to this woman. They pull apart, and after looking into each other’s eyes and knowing that everything was going to be okay if they stuck together, Riley lets go and goes to look through the window again, gently pulling the window covering over just enough to let them see. Riley sees the guys walking slowly, wielding weapons, swinging them around like new toys. a machete, a bat, an ax, and the last one had a sawed-off shotgun. “Great” “I see it; don’t worry; hopefully, we can take the rest out before that one.” Riley points to Mary Jane and looks at Aiden. “It might be worth the trouble the sound of it is going to cause us if it takes them all out at once.” She looks at him with raised eyebrows, asking for his opinion on her suggestion. “I don’t know.” Aiden looks doubtful. “If we can’t take care of these guys as soon as they come up, it has to be an option.” Riley says. She returns to the window and notices she no longer sees them. She looks and quickly tells Aiden. “I don’t hear the car anymore either,” she tells him. “I know, I don’t hear the car either,” says Aiden. “But don’t worry, Riley, we got this.” Riley looks at Aiden, and she sees the determination in his eyes, the way his jaw is set, and the conviction in his words. He is going to fight until his last breath, and that gives her the strength and the courage to continue to fight. She knows that she must tell him everything after all this is done; she just can’t go another night without him knowing. They both hear footsteps on the outside of the house. Riley automatically starts biting her bottom lip, and she closes her eyes as she tries to listen for anything else besides the one set of footprints. Releasing her breath after she is confident there are no other sounds they missed, she believes the others must be somewhere else. Riley thinks that they are hiding somewhere and that they’re watching and waiting for a signal. Riley makes herself a promise that if that is the case, then they will never get that signal. Aidan and Riley move quietly behind the door, and they both instinctually reach for their knives, getting ready for the fight that they know they’re going to have. Riley taps Aiden on the shoulder, and when he turns and looks at her, she looks at him and whispers to him, “What if we both take them out one at a time? They come in, and I can sweep the leg, and you stab them, easy peasy!” She whispers “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Riley?” Aiden questions. “Of course, I do. I can do it. I can take him down. Just put your knife to their head. You can do it, right? I know you can.” Riley rambles on, letting her nerves show through. “Mija, of course I can do it. And, sadly, it wouldn’t be my first time.” “I doubt it would be anybody’s first time if they’re this far into The Apocalypse,” she responds, using air quotes when she says apocalypse. “Exactly, Riley, that’s what worries me. Like, why are these guys here? What do they want? How do they know who is here, hiding in this house?” Aiden finally voices his concerns. “These guys might seem organized because of the way they’re presenting themselves, but they’re not. They’re sloppy, they’re lazy, and they’re slow. We got this.” Riley tries to encourage Aiden. “I know we could take them out, Riley, but my only problem is they look well fed, like they came from a camp or something, like they have more people somewhere.” Aiden says. “Whatever happens, once we do it, we leave. We have to.” She replies. “Yeah, definitely. Ready?” He asked. “Definitely.” She replies instantly. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of you. I promise.” “No, Aiden. We take care of each other, remember that.” She tells him. “Yes, baby, I remember.” He gives her a little slap on her ass as she walks in front of him. She turns back to him, smiling. Suddenly, they both stop when they hear footsteps closer than before, on the porch now, coming up the steps, going to the door. They hear the jiggle of the doorknob, and they both freeze. Aiden grabs Riley by the face, pulls her close, and gives her the deepest kiss they have ever had. He wants her to feel everything he feels at that very moment. When they pull apart, he knows she feels it because of the way she looks at him. lips swollen and pink, pupils dilated, and this expression on her face that Aiden swears is a “come fuck me” expression. It’s sexy as fuck, and Aiden must think of the danger therein to make his erection go down. He can’t stop himself when he tells her, “Riley, if we survive this, I’m going to fuck you so good, we won’t move for a week.”

Chapter 12 Run They both look at the line of cars coming towards them. Riley audibly gasps, and her eyes widen with fear; she turns to Aiden, grabs his wrist, and tells him, "Aiden, please, let’s go now." She says it as calmly as possible, even though it came out rough. "Yeah, let’s get moving. The back door is the only way we can even try to leave without being seen." He tells her. He grabs her hand and instantly pulls her close, then heads for the back door. Riley turns and looks around to make sure nothing is left behind that would indicate they were here. Satisfied, she glances out the window before she steps out the back door, and to her absolute horror, she sees the cars start to pull into the parking lot of the gas station. "Fuck," she says under her breath. Flashes of dead bodies grouped in a circle, holding each other, start cycling in her mind. She knows now that this group of cars is exactly the one that she ran into on the bridge. She knows without a doubt that they are searching for her, thinking that she couldn’t be far. Her hands start to visibly shake, and she has to shake them out to get them to stop. Riley’s curse alerts Aiden, and it causes him to stop and turn, and when he does, he sees the same thing as Riley did. "Damn it, let’s go, Mija!" He grabs her hand and pulls her out the door, closing it behind them softly but making sure it clicks. They look at their options and see only one. Main Street is a straight shot, and if they run to get away from this group, they can separate themselves. "Are you ready?" she asks. "As I’ll ever be," he answers. They crouch down low as they move around the outside of the store, careful not to make noise and not to be seen, and finally, after about five minutes, he tells her to run, "Riley, listen to me. When I tell you to run, you take off, okay? You run, and you don’t stop until I tell you to. Don’t look back; don’t check if I’m there behind you. Know that I am. Even if you don’t hear me, do not turn around to find me. Keep running until I tell you to stop. "Do you understand?" He questions her. "Of course, I understand. I get it; I don’t like it, but I completely get it." She whispers. He looks at her, and Riley gets these butterflies that just take flight and start flapping their wings, giving Riley a jolt. She looks out over the street, and she knows this will be easier for them, so she begins to calm down. "Riley, Go! Go now!" He tells her. Riley looks at him, kisses him on the lips, and then turns and takes off. She starts to run like her life depends on it because she knows it does. She remembers all those days running with Ruben, and her eyes sting. She blinks the tears away, thinking to herself, "Not now." Riley admonishes herself. She starts at a pace that is fast but maintainable; she can keep her eyes on the street; and she is able to maneuver around the debris and cars. She can hear her brother now. "Come on, Riley, you will never outlast anyone with that kind of running. Don’t waste energy on unnecessary movements; barely swing your arms and lift those feet. Pace yourself, inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth, and purse your lips when you exhale. Concentrate on the sound of your feet slapping the ground. Count the slaps and know that even if you don’t hear my feet slapping the ground next to you, know that I’m there, not far behind." Riley immediately wipes the tears off her face, and she hears her brother’s words and lets them sink into her; she takes the cues like she always does, like she always did, and knows he is there, somewhere. She concentrates on the slapping her shoes make—the slapping and crunching from the gravel and broken glass that now mask the streets. She concentrates on her movements and breathing, and she adjusts accordingly. She knows she can instantly run longer with these adjustments. Slap, slap, crunch, slap. She hears her single step along the street. She doesn’t know for how long he wants her to run, but she is desperately wanting to hear something from him. She is tempted to turn around, but for some reason, she thinks of Lot’s wife from the Bible. The scene plays in her head: the story of Lot and his family fleeing the area, running for their lives, and God instructing them not to look back. Lot’s wife did not trust in the Lord, and therefore, when she turns to look, she is instantly turned into a pillar of salt. She doesn’t know the verse by heart, but the visual she experiences is all she needs to remember not to turn back. She hears it then—the double slap of two feet running. She smiles, and she finally realizes she can take a breath. He easily catches up to her and motions for her to stop at the strip mall that was just coming up on her left side. They go around one of the buildings, an old Del Taco that looked rundown before the end of the world. They go around to the back and stop, and she is instantly bending over, hands on her knees, trying to breathe. She pushed herself and knew they had to have run a good three miles straight in under 10 minutes. "I think they didn’t see us. Let’s keep moving, and we can find a place for the night." He tells her. Riley nods, and Aiden puts his hand on her back to guide her in the right direction. They end up off the main street, go down two side streets, turn left, then go down another side street, where they find the perfect house with a perfect window placement that looks like it was made specifically for keeping watch. They easily clear it and spend the next hour securing the perimeter, inside and out. They grab all the heavy furniture they can, like couches and coffee tables, pushing them up against the doors and stacking them. They then go pull all the thick bedding from upstairs and cover all the windows on the bottom floor. Afterwards, they grab what blankets are left and secure themselves in the room that has the two windows. one facing the backyard and their escape option to keep open, and the second faces the side and has an excellent view of the main street. They push the dresser and bed up against the door, cover both windows, and finally have a minute to just breathe. Riley slides down the wall and stretches her legs out by grabbing her ankles and pulling herself down as far as she can go, pointing and flexing her toes with each stretch. Aiden is just looking at her, and he can’t help the love that he feels for this woman. He just smiles at her and lets her rest. He grabs a can of fruit mix and a bottle of water, handing them to her and making her eat and drink. "You need your calories back; you’ve just wasted probably all you have left." He tells her. "What about you?" she asks. "Riley, I’m fine. Did you not see how fast I caught up to you?" He jokes with her. She smiles, then turns her attention to the window. "I’ll take the first watch," she says as she stands up. "No, Riley. We both will." He tells her. She smiles at that and whispers, "Perfect." She walks over to the ledge by the window facing the main street; luckily it had a window seat, but all the cushions and covers had long been removed, so she settled for the hard wood. She didn’t mind; really, she couldn’t see herself sitting for too long. She knew there was something she needed to do, and even with the situation being what it was, she knew now was the time to do it. She needed him to know before these guys arrived and if things went wrong in the worst-case scenario. Aiden is sitting under the other window, on the floor, with his back to the wall, knees up, and completely focused on Riley. He is looking at her as she stares out the window, and he wonders if she is even looking out there. He sees the way her jaw tightens, and she forces herself to breathe and then chew the fruit. like it’s a chore to get it down. He looks as she takes a deep breath again, closes her eyes, and releases it. He notices the slight shake of her hand as she raises the water bottle to her lips to drink. Aiden is very aware of the silence that they are in, and he is getting more and more nervous and worried. If he admits it to himself, he is feeling scared for some reason. Not because of these guys they think might be coming this way, but because he knows with his whole heart, that Riley is getting ready to tell him something, and he doesn’t think he can handle it. So he just takes a deep breath and waits. He would never push her to talk. When she is ready, he will be too. Looking out the window at the dark shade of night, Riley doesn’t really see anything. She is not really looking. She is in her head; she knows she has to tell Aiden, and she knows there can’t be another time. She knows it has to happen soon. She takes another deep breath, closes her eyes, and releases it. She drinks her water, and when she opens her eyes, she looks out and sees the moon. She sees the moon for the first time in a long time; she is actually noticing it, and she can’t believe how beautiful and perfect it looks. Even with all of those marks and the darkness it carries in places, it remains as beautiful as the day it was formed. Even though Riley was not around when that occurred, she knows the moon, the perfect celestial being, could never be anything other than beautiful. She says a prayer to heaven, asks for her brother to be there with her while she tells her story, and then she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and turns to Aiden. She isn’t surprised in the slightest that when she turns, she finds him staring at her with such acceptance in his eyes, and she knows that it will be okay. She smiles slightly at him and asks, "Do you mind if I sit with you?" "I’d love if you would sit with me, Mija." He reaches his hand out to her and smiles. Riley returns his smile and goes towards him, grabbing his hand and letting him put her where he wants her, which was settled in between his legs, resting her back on his chest, as he played with one of her braids, his other hand wrapping instantly around her waist, grounding her, and letting her know he was there and it was going to be okay. "This is good," she whispers. "This is perfect," he responds. She hums at that response. She grabs his free hand and starts playing with it. Looking at his hand next to hers, she grabs each finger, like she is examining it, and she laces her fingers with his, and she feels how well they fit. "Perfect," she whispers. "Yeah, they fit like they were made for each other’s hands to hold," he responds. It was the best response he could have given Riley because it gave him the courage and strength to tell him, "Aiden, I didn’t always have these attacks, you know? They just started around the time my dad died. I didn’t know what it was, and I would just zone out and relive what happened. But not so much like I was remembering it; it's more like I’m transported there and can see it happen; it’s like I’m there in that memory again. I can feel the ache in my chest and the tears on my face, exactly like the first time. "The first time it happened, it was Ruben and me, sitting in a tree house we found, and it was the safest place for us, off the ground and in a place we had 360-degree observation ability. We sat there, both grieving and silent. We were in our own little world, and in order to have some privacy, we shut off our li... " she says, cutting off the word quickly with a hand to her mouth, shifting on the ground, hoping Aiden wouldn’t notice. "Shut off your what?; I didn’t catch what you said; you stopped so suddenly," he asks. "Um, well, um." Riley stammers, trying to figure out the best way to say this, "Mija, what’s wrong?" "Aiden, I need you to keep an open mind, okay? "Please know I would never lie to you or try to make you believe something that wasn’t true." Riley says, still leaning on his chest. "Of course, babe, you can tell me anything." I do keep an open mind; I mean, there are freaking zombies roaming the earth." He says to lighten the mood, and Riley appreciates him so much that she just squeeze his hand. "When me and Ruben were 14, we had just started high school, and I had just joined the wrestling team at school, plus my mixed martial arts that I was doing. I had started running in the morning before school, so I would have to get up at 4 a.m. every morning. It was still dark then. So the first day, I got up at 345 and changed, brushed my teeth, and wrapped my hair in a big messy bun. I walked outside and started stretching. I stretched for about 10 good minutes, then started off. I hadn’t really planned the route; I was just going to go around the block a few times. So, all I can hear is the air going in and out of my lungs, the birds singing, and my shoes slapping the street. It’s soothing and calming, and before I know it, I’m in a rhythm and I've hit my stride. Then I hear the sound of two pairs of shoes slapping on the ground. And I get so scared that I stumble when I turn around because I think someone is chasing me." "Let me guess, your brother?" He asks "Of course it is. So I came to a halt and began yelling at him, asking him what he was doing there, why he had come, and telling him to go home. This guy jogs right up to me and stands in front of me, continuing to run in place as he speaks to me," she says with a smile. "It’s 4 a.m. and it’s pitch black out here; you can’t see anything. I’m not having you run in the city at 4 a.m. by yourself, Ri." He claims it is self-evident. "I got so mad, I was fuming." I laugh a bit, as I can see it as it happened. "Go home, Ruben, I mean it." I tell him, and he says nope. So we just continue to run, and at that time, I start to think about how lucky I am to have such a great brother who actually runs. who wanted me to be safe and loved me; I was thinking that I appreciated him so much and that I was lucky to have him. When I stopped thinking of that stuff and just thought about school after that, Ruben said, "Awww thanks, Ri. I love you too, and I appreciate you too." "Wait, what?" Aiden asks. "Yeah, exactly." "What happened?" Aiden sits up a little straighter. "I stopped running and told him. I told him I didn't say that, and he said yes, I did, and he heard me. And a sad no. I said it in my mind. You thought those things. He was mad. He instantly called me a liar and said it wasn’t funny to say that. I told him that I swear on Mami and Papa, and he lost it. He yelled at me and said to never swear on them again. He said I could find my way home because the sun was coming up and he was leaving. And he did; he left. Aiden’s jaw clenched when he heard that. "He left you?" He asks. "Yeash but we were close to home. But I was so enraged that I started thinking about how I didn't want him to hear my thoughts in the first place, and how I certainly didn't want to hear his boring asses thoughts that would make a caveman appear intelligent, and I burst out laughing so hard that I had to stop running. I laughed and laughed until I cried, and then I ran back home, planning on taking a shower most of the way home, until I walked inside and his big caveman ass was in the shower already" Riley stops and suddenly facepalms. "Oh, I had no idea. I knew He heard me when I was yelling at him, because he said he wasn't a caveman when I got home; he yelled from the shower, but the whole reason he was in the shower was because I had thought that was all I wanted—a shower as soon as I got him.Anyways, I laughed harder when he told me that about the caveman, and I shook my head and thought, "You don't believe me? You big fat jerk!" Aiden covers his mouth so he doesn’t laugh too loud, and Riley is smiling until she doesn’t. Her smile falters, and instantly it’s gone. She takes a deep breath, and then she says "He was so mad at me that he did the only thing his dumb 14-year-old teenage mind could think of, which was to envision himself going in and finding the connection in our brain that allowed us to do this, and he visualized a pair of scissors and cut it." He severed our connection. She says quietly, "Oh Riley, Mija, I'm sorry. That must have been hard." "Yeah, it was," she whispers. The sound is faint at first, but in the quiet, it might as well have been a diesel truck horn going off. The sound of an engine in the distance. Riley quickly sits up and turns to look at Aiden. Eyes wide, they stare at each other, listening as it gets louder. "Fuck!" they say at the same time.

Chapter 11 Flee Spinning in the black office chair, Riley is staring out the window, or what part of it she can see out of. She is in a trance, thanks to the spinning. She was bored and needed to move, so she improvised. She spun one time, and to her surprise, it didn’t make any noise. So, she continued, and at first, she was relieved to have something to do; then, Riley began to consider how she was going to tell Aiden what happened that night and how she was going to be able to look at him afterwards, hoping he didn’t consider her used and broken. She started thinking that she could just tell him about having to kill those guys to get away, but she instantly decided against it, as she is nothing if not honest. She doesn’t think she can start lying now. She is debating with herself, and the spinning of the chair just continued absentmindedly. She begins to get so lost in her thoughts of what to do that she doesn’t hear the door open, and Aiden comes through. She keeps thinking, and she just continues spinning. As Aiden enters the room, he stops short in the doorway and sees Riley spinning on the office chair, staring blankly, not even blinking. “Fuck,” he says, assuming she is somewhere else in her head again. He drops his bag and rushes over to her. He grabs the back of the chair, causing her to jump up off the chair, with her right hand instantly grabbing her knife and raising it to the target. Her left hand is raised, ready to push back against whoever grabbed the chair. The knife is inches from Aiden’s throat. Aiden jumped back, hands up, defenseless. A look of hurt flashes in his eyes before he recovers instantly, but Riley saw it. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, that look is gone from his eyes, so she lets it go. She immediately releases the knife, with Aiden’s and Riley’s eyes following it as it falls to the ground. The second before it hits the floor, Riley has gone down and caught it with her left hand, flipping it in the air and catching it with her right, spinning the fucking knife and sheathing it before Aiden can blink. His jaw drops to the ground, and he can’t get a word out. He is in shock. He’s in love with a fucking badass. She smiles and steps toward him. “I’m so sorry about that. I was just lost in my head and didn’t hear you come in. The sudden stopping of the chair scared me, and instinct kicked in,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. His hands instantly found her waist and pulled her close. “Aye, Mija, that’s instinct? I need to step up my game then.” He smiles at her. She tries to smile but stops halfway, and she begins to blink back tears. He is instantly trying to apologize, but he’s not sure what he said that could have caused her any kind of pain or hurt. “Mami, no, don’t be upset; I was joking. What’s wrong?” He asks “No, Aiden, it’s not you; I just remembered something, and it hits hard, ya know?” She tries to explain. “My dad and brother, Ruben, had made it their life’s mission to train me, constantly training me every day. That little move took me five days to perfect and make instinctive. That’s five days with over 15 hours a day of just doing that move. I would mess up and have to start over. I got so tired of that move that, after I mastered it, I refused to do it anymore. That was the first time I’d done it in over 8 months. That’s just one of my moves, I know. They trained me so hard, and I loved it. I wanted it. I was happy; we were learning to survive as a family. So, we wouldn’t have to suffer like we did when we lost my mom.” She laughs bitterly. “I was so stupid and naive.” “What? Why do you say that?” Aiden is genuinely concerned for her, and it upsets him to hear her talk like that. “They weren’t doing it for the family to survive; they were doing it so I could. So, I could survive on my own. Somehow knowing they wouldn’t be here to help me,” She lets the tears fall as she says the last part. “Oh, Mija. I’m sure it was just them being cautious, just in case. It can happen so fast.” “No, you don’t get it, Aiden. I don’t know how, but they knew I was going to be here without them. Somehow, one of them figured something out, and instead of talking to me about it, they talked to each other and decided without my knowledge or input. It makes me feel like they gave up on themselves, just to make sure I made it.” “They loved you. I can see why they would.” Aiden says truthfully. “No. No, please, not you too. Please, Aiden, don’t you dare fall for that shit too. I couldn’t survive losing anyone else. My heart and mind would die. Please don’t tell me that shit. Tell me you are gonna fight next to me so we both survive. Please!” She is practically crying in hysterics now. Aiden grabs her by the shoulders and says, “Riley, Calmate, Calmate, Mijita, please. I’m not giving up. I’m not planning to die any time soon. I just found you, Mi Amor; do you really think I want to lose you or lose my life? I’m gonna fight with everything I have to stay next to you. You have no idea how my heart and mind would die if I lost you,” he tells her with so much passion and conviction that Riley feels the truth in that statement in her soul. “Riley, hear me and believe me; my heart and mind would die if I lost you,” he tells her again. Riley is overcome by her feelings for Aiden and the fact that she can see his feelings for her are genuine. She never saw anything close to that with Rico. He is still holding Riley by the shoulders, staring into her eyes, and Riley cannot believe she found her soulmate at a time like this because she knows without a doubt that’s who Aiden is. She instantly gets on her tippy toes and kisses him, pulling him closer and holding him like she can’t get enough of him. Surprised by the sudden kiss, it takes Aiden only a second to respond, and then he is pulling her close and grabbing her by her ass. He pulls her up, and Riley quickly jumps up, wrapping her legs around him. Lost in his taste, she moans loudly when he moves down to kiss her throat. She whimpers again, wanting to experience all of Aiden this time. She has her hands in his hair; she is tugging him closer, and she feels his erection, making her want more. Bang! A gunshot rings out. That snaps her out of her lust filled haze. They stop and listen; Riley tries to wiggle out of Aiden’s arms. “Aden, put me down.” He immediately does, and she is off grabbing her belongings. She zips up her boots, ties the hoodie around her waist, and checks each of her weapons. She leaves the sheaths unclipped; just in case, she grabs her backpack, unzips it, and goes through it all. She grabs the clothes she had hanging up to dry and folds them, placing them on the bottom of her bag. She then piles everything else inside. She zips it up and throws it on her back. Tightening the straps, she makes sure it fits her and is positioned exactly right. She grabs her rifle and throws that on her back as well. She looks at Aiden, who is still standing there with a look of fascination on his face. “Let’s go, Aiden; we don’t want to be here when whoever shot that gun comes through those doors.” This snaps him out of it. “Yeah, I’m sorry, you’re right.” He gathers his belongings, throws them on, and double-checks to ensure he hasn’t forgotten anything. He does his weapons check, placing the knives in their sheaths on his belt, checking each gun, pulling the hammer back, then placing one behind his back, on his ankle, and in the holster on his waist. He looks at Riley, and she is looking out the window, trying to see who shot that gun. “Aiden, please let’s hurry; we need to go.” Riley speaks quickly. She started pacing by the window, chewing on her bottom lip. “Riley, Mija, we are gonna be fine; we are. I promise.” She finally stops pacing and looks at him, as he speaks. “Don’t promise me something you can’t keep.” she whispers, turning her head and pacing again. “I would never tell you about false promises, Riley.” Aiden says. He grabs his things, places the bag on his back, and walks to her, standing right in her path, so she has no choice but to stop and look at him. “I know you don’t know me very well, obviously, but there’s one thing you need to know. I never say something I don’t mean, and I never make false promises. If I say it, it’s for one of three reasons: I know it, I feel it, or I believe it.” He tells her this while gently grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. “Okay. Good. Because besides my papi and Ruben, every guy I’ve ever known has lied to me.” “I’m sorry about that, but that is not me. I’m not like that and never have been.” Riley looks at him, really looks at his eyes, and she knows he is telling the truth, not just saying pretty words to her. She gets on her tippy toes and brushes her lips against his. Aiden instinctually grabs her waist and holds her there, as his desire for her grows incredibly fast with the short, sweet kiss. “We should go.” Riley says this while her mouth is still on his. “Yes, we should.” Aiden says, as he is still kissing her. Riley pulls away and gets back on her feet. She now looks up at him, and he is looking at her, and Riley just feels the emotions radiating off him. It is wonderful and scary, and she smiles at him. He smiles back. “Ready?” he asks her. “Ready.” She answers. They turn to leave the office when, in the distance, the roar of an engine can be heard. Freezing in place, she quietly gasps and turns to look out the window. In the distance, she can see the faint reflection of the sun glinting off a windshield. A car’s windshield is heading straight for them.

Chapter 10 Savior As the sun rose in the sky, its rays of light crept through the dirty window of the back office. The window was partially covered in old newspaper that had faded with time. Riley blinked as the rays hit her face and reminded her that she had survived another day. She lay still for a few more minutes before remembering the night before and everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. Not sure if it was all real or her imagination, but Riley knew she was not that creative, so it wasn’t her imagination. She turned her head and saw the most beautiful man she had ever seen. She could not believe this man was here, lying next to her, and as she thought about last night, she instantly turned red, feeling hot about the things this man did to her, but not only that, the way he made her feel. Never in a million years did Riley think she would ever look at sex the same. She never thought she would enjoy it after the emotional and mental damage that was done to her. She closes her eyes and shakes her head a bit, not wanting to go back to that time, but she knows she owes Aiden an explanation for what happened. She knows she owes him a lot more than that. She opened her eyes again and this time, the beautiful man before her was looking at her. He is looking at her like she alone put the sun in the sky and gave birds a song to sing. Riley never had anyone look at her like this. She had only seen it once before, and that was when her daddy looked at her mom. She was mesmerized by the look he gave her. Smiling, she sits up a bit and rests her body against his. Her head on his shoulder ” Good morning,” she says quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet of the morning. “Buena’s Dias, princesas.” He says it back and kisses her on the forehead. “How are you doing this morning? Is everything okay?” He asks. He needs to know he didn’t step over any boundaries with her. “Everything is better than ever,” she says with a smile on her face. “How are you?” She asks in return, as she twists her body to look at him “Everything is perfect.” He says as he leans forward and kisses her nose. Riley giggled; she rolled her eyes internally that she giggled like a schoolgirl. “So, what’s the plan for today?’ she asks, hoping he doesn’t realize he turned her into a lovesick schoolgirl. “You tell me, Mija. When you found me, I had nothing planned or no real destination in mind. Truth be told, I had no plans past the bathroom.” Aiden says, as he looks at her, wondering if she will catch on to what he is saying and not saying. He knows she is smart and if she thought about it, she would understand what he means. He doesn’t think that she is paying attention, so he just grabs one of her braids and plays with it. “Well, I had some plans, I don’t know how realistic they are, but after our daddy died, me and Ruben needed something to focus on, so we planned out our trip to Lytle Creek.” she says, looking out the window when she finished talking. She takes a breath and it’s audibly shaky, her chin starts to wobble, and she swallows hard, to get the tears to go away. She blinks three or four times and tries to get control of her emotions, when finally, Aiden has had enough. “Mija, stop. You don’t need to pretend or be strong for me. If you are hurting or in pain or just sad, tell me. I want to know.” He tells her as he rubs her back, trying to comfort her anyway he can. “Lytle Creek sounds like a good plan, fresh water in the creek, fishing, hunting, isolation. Perfect. You and Ruben were smart to think of that place.” He tells her She turns her face and looks at him, her eyes are shining with tears she hadn’t let fall, swallows the lump in her throat and she nods her head. “Ruben thought it was perfect too when I told him.” “Maybe, one day, when we get a chance to just breathe, Ya know, maybe you can tell me about them? Ruben, your dad, and your mama if you don’t mind?” He asked cautiously, not sure if it was a good thing, but he was following his gut. His gut told him these people were the most important people to her and she needed to talk about them. “Yeah, I’d like that,” she whispers. Finally looking down and letting the tears fall freely. She doesn’t even try to wipe her face, which Aiden thinks is the strongest thing she has done so far. She jumps up and grabs her backpack, “I’m gonna use the restroom, I’ll be right back,” she says, as she grabs her knives and slides them into each boot, grabbing a gun, checking the clip, and putting it in the back of her waistband, all without thinking, and Aiden looks on in amazement. He thinks that this woman is a goddamn soldier. She swings the backpack around her and puts it on, then she carefully opens the door an inch and peers out. She listens for any sound, then when she is satisfied, she nods to herself and opens the door. She begins to walk out, then quickly comes back, “Before I forget, can you double check the perimeter, make sure nobody tried to come in when we were sleeping?” she asks Aiden, “Of course,” “Great, thanks,” she says and closes the door behind her. She walks cautiously to the restroom, it’s on the other side of the store from where they are. She didn’t hear anything but the last thing she needs is to be surprised now when she is not even close to being alert and ready to fight. Eyes looking around every which way, she stops in the hallway and listens. She closes her eyes and just listens. Satisfied they are alone, she continues to the restroom, pushes it open, and turns to lock the door. She grabs her flashlight off her bag and looks around. Not too bad, actually. It was kept decent. She walks to the sink and looks at her reflection in the semi lit mirror. She doesn’t know when the last time she had even seen herself in a mirror. It had to be close to six months, when they left that house. When she escaped and saved her dad and Ruben. Riley shuts her eyes, refuses to allow her mind to take her there. “Nope, not today.” she says to herself. She opens her bag and grabs her toothbrush and when she turns the tap on, she almost screamed. It worked. She ended up brushing her teeth three times, washing her face twice and was so tempted to wash her hair, but she remembers the last time she did that when she was with people, and refused herself the luxury. She hurriedly used the restroom, and decided she could change her clothes. And since she was doing that, she could hurriedly wash herself. The quickest wash anyone had seen. She grabbed the change of clothes, tight shorts that went to her knees, and met her boots, a tank top, with a short army vest, like a cropped version. When she had found it, she did some alterations to it. It was too big, so she sewed the inseams, and shortened it. With the extra material, she had sewn more pockets on the inside. She decided since there was water, she would wash her clothes. Honestly, running water was a rarity. She had just started washing her underwear and bra, already finished with her shirt and pants, when a knock came. She quickly turned off the water, “Yeah?” she asked. “Almost done, muñeca, I am gonna pop if I don’t pee soon.” He spoke. “Oh my God, why didn’t you say something, Yeah, hold on.” she quickly grabbed her things and rushed to open the door. When she yanked it open, Aiden stood there with a serious look on his face. Shaking his head, he said,”Not good. What if someone had caught me when I had went outside, and were using me to get you out of there?” “Oh,” was all Riley could say. “We always gotta be on out toes, okay Mija.” He says more gently. “Of course, you’re right. I wasn’t thinking.” “It’s okay, we will come up with a safe word okay, something that lets you know it’s okay, or even a trouble word too,” he says to her as she walks up to him. “Yeah, that will be good,” She agrees. “Okay, good.” He bends down and kisses her lips softly. Riley can’t help the way she melts at his tenderness, and she instantly wants more. Aiden steps back and motions for her to step aside, so he can use the restroom. “Oh, yeah, of course,” she says as she waves him in with her hand. Aiden walks into the restroom, and he sees the sink and he immediately closes his eyes, he is brought back to the day before when he was in this very restroom. He walks to the sink and he’s ashamed at what he saw the last time he looked at this very mirror, because he looks now and what he sees is completely different. He looks at his eyes, they have a shine to them now, they aren’t looking sad and dull. He looks at every part of himself in the mirror and he can’t believe how everything has completely changed because of this woman. Yes, woman. He knows she is young, but she is nowhere near a child. She has experienced things, he can’t even imagine the things that has made her have these attacks. He knows it will destroy him when he finds out, he doesn’t want to ask, he hopes she will offer the information up soon. He hopes she doesn’t have another attack before he knows where it’s coming from. He understands that what they are doing would be considered crazy and inappropriate, but honestly things are different. Things that used to be considered taboo or inappropriate don’t matter like they used to. Living does. Not repeating the samething and surviving and merely being alive every day, in Aiden’s opinion, was the same as basically being dead. Aiden repeated the same thing every single day, he had to scavenge for food, barely survive, and hope to live until the next day before repeating the process. If living is nothing more than existing, what good is it? Aiden’s desire is to live and be alive. We don’t have the luxury of taking our time to get to know each other and go on dates, but damn it, he still wants to experience the things he knows are still out there, like love. He knows this is quick and reckless, but damn it, he also knows that it’s real and it is love, and it’s something he wants to experience. He is aware that saying something so absurd at this precise moment is unthinkable. Even though he only met her a day or two ago, he already feels deeply for her. He couldn’t believe that a few days prior, he had been in this restroom trying to clean himself as thoroughly as possible, he doesn’t know if it was just to waste time or because he wanted to be clean when someone found him. All his weapons, his jacket, and three layers of clothing had been taken off. He always carried a muscle shirt, a thermal, and a t-shirt on top of that. He also carried a leather jacket and kept a hoodie in his bag. He was aware that summer would soon arrive but with his plan he just made, it didn’t matter what the weather was going to be. When he used to go walking around the streets or searching through buildings for supplies, he would always wear a hoodie and a leather jacket. He has a bite mark on the leather jacket as evidence that the layers are effective. He was washing up in the sink and had just started drying himself off, getting clean for his big day. He had decided he couldn’t take this anymore. The same thing every single day, the loneliness, and the terror of being eaten alive, shakes him to the core. He would rather go out on his terms. He wants to be the one to decide. Nothing else. He looks at his reflection, and his eyes tear up. He doesn’t really want to die, but he can’t see himself doing anything else. Taking a deep breath, he lifts the gun and cocks it. He holds it there and he allows himself time to take a few more deep breaths, then he decides, okay, it’s time. He inhales and, on the exhale, he will pull the trigger. Inhale, Goodbye world, tears streaming down his face. He hopes whoever finds him doesn’t think bad of him for doing this. He hopes they will understand. As ridiculous as it sounds. That’s when he hears the distinct sound of someone entering the store, that’s what caused the chime of the front door to go off. “Fuck,” he said, as he went to the door to listen, putting his gun away. He was hoping they would just get what they needed and leave. Aiden stayed quiet, listening to footsteps. They were light and rhythmic. A female, he knew right away. She didn’t stomp everywhere she stepped. He could tell she was cautious. She only stepped when she needed to. He was hopeful that she would be the type to just grab what she needed and be on her way. Someone who is smart like that wouldn’t risk being trapped inside. He thought this was his lucky day. Until the knob of the door, he was standing up against, trying to listen through, started jiggling. She was trying to get in the door. “Figures,” he thought as he quickly turned, wiped his tears with his hand and put his layers back on. The muscle shirt, thermal, t-shirt, hoodie, and finally, the leather jacket had just been put on in time to hear the door being kicked and a groan from the other side. Aiden knew that feeling all too well. The frustration is that no matter what you try, it doesn’t work. He figured he would step out of the restroom before she found him. He wanted to be the one with the upper hand and set up control of this spot first. He didn’t need any more surprises. He needs to be in control, at least until he can finish and complete his last mission. At the exact same time, he turned the doorknob, he heard a female’s voice, faintly talking about feeling lucky and calling someone a punk. He started to push the door open, when she turned and pointed, what looked like a revolver directly where he stood. For a second, Aiden thought she knew he was there, and those words were for him. He thought she was really going to shoot him and that she had lured him out. She screamed and dropped the gun, but quickly recovered and pulled out a sweet looking AR-15 from behind her back. “Don’t move,” she said, and Aiden knew he was a goner. That voice, the way she carried herself, the courage, the intelligence, he knew he was going to fall hard for this angel. He hadn’t even seen her face yet. Her face was covered in shadows, and that was a mystery. Her body, though, any hot-blooded man would say, was perfect. Thick thighs, round ass, soft, perky breasts. He is done for. He couldn’t help it. He called her dirty “Harriet,” and he doesn’t know if she liked that or if it pissed her off. She told him to come forward and remove his weapons. He couldn’t believe she named every location where he kept a weapon. She was an angel, or the devil. He wasn’t sure which one yet. He walked the five steps, and he looked down the whole time. He didn’t want to see her face once she realized what he looked like. “Look at me, please.” She said it so softly and gently, he couldn’t help but listen, and he did. He looked up and swore to any god who still existed that he would love this girl until his last breath. He wanted to be there with her, right next to her, because he would dedicate the rest of his life to ensuring that she made it through this hell on earth. He wanted to love her and worship her body like the angels’ worship in heaven. He never bought into the nonsense about falling in love at first sight. He had always believed it to be a fairy tale for other people. He didn’t even know anyone who remained married. Even his own parents separated when he was nine years old. He only knows one thing about love: it transforms people. It changes how people behave and respond to circumstances, and it often has negative effects. Aiden has seen how a person in love has the potential to snap and transform into a terrifying new individual. It turns people against one another, makes them stupid and gullible, and plays everyone for a fool. Love makes people its very own bitch. That was Aiden’s experience with love. However, Aiden now realizes one thing: he was completely mistaken about everything. He realized he was wrong, while still standing there and gazing at the angel in front of him, his dead heart suddenly fluttered, and he felt her strength and beauty deep within his soul. He felt like she reached deep down inside of him and grabbed his heart, squeezed it, showing it how to beat again. With a single glance, this angel held his heart in her hands and brought him back to life. Her smile, her eyes, her inner strength and courage and power, commanded his heart to beat again, and as Aiden stood before this goddess, Aiden felt different. Just by being in her presence, she had the power to change him. Aiden thinks he must be dehydrated because what the actual fuck is he thinking about? All he knows is that this goddess-like woman is biting her bottom lip and staring at him with eyes the color of molten lava, and, Lord help him, if she doesn’t stop, Aiden will have to bite her lip for her. Aiden shakes his head as he looks into the mirror and just smiles. His life has changed so drastically in the last 24 hours all because of a woman, an angel that he planned to live for the rest of his life. And he now planned on staying alive for a long time. All because Riley Reese walked into his life at the right time.

Chapter 9 Want **Hi everyone, I’m doing some editing and realized that chapter 8 needed to be separated. It flows better this way. So, chapter 9 is the end of chapter 8. Don’t worry, chapter 10 will be up either later tonight or tomorrow. Please review thank you! Riley is curled up on something that is so incredibly comfortable and smells so good. Her hand is still grasping the fabric of his shirt and she feels the strength and the undeniable love radiating off this person’s body. She slowly opens her eyes and comes face-to-face with a chest. Riley took this time to inspect Aiden. She is curled up in his lap and watches as his chest moves steadily up and down with each breath. She looks at the well-defined muscles that run from his chest to his shoulders and down his arms. so defined, toned and strong. She lifts her hand and with her index finger she lightly runs it down his bare arm, from his bicep to his wrist, watching how, after her finger glides over his skin, it erupts in goosebumps. Riley is amazed that her touch had that effect on him. She shivers at once, and when she looks at his face, his eyes are open. Dark, smoldering eyes that look like fire dance behind them. She immediately pulls her hand back, embarrassed at her actions and getting caught too. He grabs her hand and puts it back where it was. She looks back at him and offers a shy smile, which he gladly returns. No words have been exchanged. She knows they must be told eventually, and God knows she owes him that. She looks around now and sees where they are, and she instantly wants to shrink into nothing and hide. She couldn’t believe they were in the exact same place they were when her attack started, it was just on the floor. It’s reckless and stupid of her to put them both in danger. She wants to kick herself. Why is she cursed to have these attacks? She wished they would go away. Aiden clears his throat before speaking: “There’s an awful lot going on in your pretty head. You’ve got some loud thoughts. I feel like if I listened closely, I’d be able to hear them.” He tries to joke with her, and she grows concerned with what he is trying to do. She has no words, so all she does is what she has been wanting to do since she opened her eyes. She turns and hugs him tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She squeezes and melts at the way he feels in her arms. It is like their bodies were meant for this purpose. She pulls back and, without second-guessing herself, she captures his lips in a kiss. Aiden’s hands instantly reach for her hips and pull her closer. She was relieved he didn’t push her away, so she turned and jumped into his lap to straddle him. The minute she sat down on him, she could feel his erection, as it sat right in the middle of her legs. Riley shivers and can’t help the moan that escapes her mouth as Aiden wants to deepen the kiss. He licks her lips ever so slightly, and Riley thinks it’s the sexiest thing she has ever experienced, and she can instantly feel the wetness grow in response to that. She opens her mouth, and he quickly continues to kiss her hungrily, as if he were starving and she was the only food. It’s his turn to moan when Riley shifts onto his lap. She knows she is pushing down on his erection, and it feels so good, she can’t help the moan that comes from deep down inside. Aiden feels this growing desire for this angel in his lap, and he wants her just as badly. He could almost taste it. She is kissing him like she has never kissed anyone before, and she starts to feel an ache low in her belly that needs more. She moans as she begins to rock her hips slowly against Aiden’s erection. Aiden breaks the kiss, panting and resting his forehead on hers. He looks into her eyes and tries to catch his breath. She tightens the hold around his neck, and she pulls back so she can look at his beautiful face. “Why did you stop?” she asks him, still outta breath. “I wanted to see you, look at you.” Riley closes her eyes at the sound of his deep voice, and it’s only a whisper, and it does things to Riley. She never thought she would have a chance to experience something like this. She never thought anyone would want her, after everything. Riley feels this need to be closer to him. She reaches up and, in one quick movement, starts to yank her top off, but is stopped halfway by Aiden. She looks at him, confused and a little hurt. Before she can say anything, Aiden bends down and kisses her completely, then moves to her neck and down her chest. He grabs the edge of her bra and lifts it, giving him access. He looks at Riley first and when she nods her head, he swoops down and grabs her nipple with his mouth, twirls his tongue around it until it’s hard, and he does the same to the other one. He looks up and Riley’s head has fallen back giving him complete access to her beautiful throat. Riley feels his tongue glide around her nipples, and it feels like she is in fucking heaven. He then starts licking up her throat and catches her on the side and sucks on her throat, marking her, then gently licking it. He grabs her by the thighs and squeezes, then moves them up to her ass and squeezes both sides, and Riley lets out the sexiest moan he has ever heard. Riley rocks her hips again, and my God, Aiden can feel how wet she is when she moves like that and presses her heat against him. She knows that she is too far gone to even care to be embarrassed. She moans again, and Aiden can’t help but help her move with his hands still squeezing her cheeks. “Oh God, Aiden, please.” I need you, “she whimpers. Honestly, Aiden could have fixed the situation for both, giving them both some much needed release and pleasure, but he was holding back. He had been holding back since he learned her age. He knows there are girls her age that fuck anything with a dick, just like there are guys the same way. Aiden knows, knows without a doubt, she is not that way. He held back and showed restraint, letting her set the pace. Hearing her say those words almost makes him snap and flip her over on this dirty concrete floor and fuck her into the ground until she can no longer walk, but she deserves so much more than a dirty gas station floor. And if he is being honest with himself, he knows they deserve more for their first time than this. With that thought in his head, he loosens his hold on her ass and slowly stops kissing her. He is completely out of breath now, and he rests his head on her shoulder. Riley is still trying to find some much-needed release and rocks her hips again, moaning his name. “Fuck,” he exclaims. “Wait, don’t stop Aiden, please. I need you. I need something, please. ” She is almost in tears, and Aiden knows that pain, the ache, that need that drives you wild, if you let it. He looks up at her and her pupils are blown out with need and desire, and he gently cups her cheek and brings her closer for a kiss. He kisses Riley, and her toes curl. He was so full of passion and need and more. Riley knew he wanted more; she knew he did, but he stopped her, and Riley is feeling the tinge of rejection starting to flow. He tells Riley, “Look at me.” he whispers, and Riley looks deeply into his eyes. “God knows how much I want to take you and fuck you into the floor and not stop until you have come more times than you can count.” He whispers, showing how sincere he is. “But?” she asks. “But Mija, look around you. You really want this on the dirty concrete floor, with trash all around us? ” Riley looked at this man and just fell into those chocolate brown eyes, and she knew at once, she would spend the rest of her days loving him and treating him like a king. “Riley, I know it’s a silly thing to make you stop at the point where you are, and I don’t want to do anything you don’t want me to do, but I can still take care of that need for you”. Riley closes her eyes at the thought of him making her feel good and she rocks her hips again. Aiden is looking at her face now, and Riley instantly bites her lower lip and looks at Aiden in the eyes as she nods her head up and down and whispers the word, “Please.” She begs him again. Aiden doesn’t waste any time and quickly reaches for her button on her pants. Riley helps get them open and then her belt, and now Aiden kisses her again and gently turns her so her back is up against his chest. He continues to kiss her, and he sucks on her neck, earning him a moan from her. His arm is around her shoulder, and with his hand, he grabs her by the throat. As he continues to kiss her, he leaves a trail of kisses down her throat. He looks at Riley and licks her throat up to her mouth, loving the taste of her. Softly, Riley can feel Aiden’s hand trail down her arm, crossing over her waist and stopping at where her pants lay unbuttoned for him. “Tell me to stop if you need me to stop. Y’hear?” he says, earning him a nod from Riley. He then continues and slides his hand inside of her pants, and with a finger, he rubs it up and down on top of her panties. Riley’s legs fall open, granting him access, and her head falls back in pleasure, and he hasn’t even touched her yet. It is all this amazing, intense buildup, and the expectation of something happening is driving Riley crazy. She’s watching his hand disappear into her pants, and it’s so fucking sexy that it turns her on even more, and she can feel an instant sensation of wetness once more. Aiden continues his touching, slowly going up and down her core, this time he goes to the edges of her panties in between her legs and slowly starts to go inside the material. His fingers find her heat and instantly are soaked with her juices. “Fuck” Aiden whispers and begins kissing Riley’s neck and kicks her throat again. He is so turned on, he knows without a doubt he’s shooting his load without even touching himself. He’s heard of it happening before, but thought there is no way, but again he is learning that when it comes to Riley, everything is possible. He is moving his finger up and down, and sliding in her juices, making his mouth water. He is touching everywhere but where she needs it and Aiden thinks he could do this all night. Riley wiggles and tries to get her pants off, but Aiden holds her still with one hand across her stomach. “No, not yet, Mija.” I just want you to see what I can do for you. Watch and feel how good I can make you feel. ” “Aiden,” she whines. “Please don’t tease me,” she says in between moans. Aiden thinks he couldn’t tease her for much longer without shooting his own load in his pants, because seeing her like this, so spread out, relaxed, and wanting him, is pure heaven. “What do you need me to do for you?” He whispers in her ear and her hips rock to get her point across. “Say it, baby, please, I need to hear you say it,” Aiden practically growls in her ear, making Riley moan in response. “Make me come, Aiden.” “Please let me come”. She whimpers, and Aiden thinks he has about died and gone to heaven because nobody has ever said those words to him like that before. He must give her what she wants. He finally touches her clit and rubs his fingers down to her entrance and barley touched it and comes back up to her clit. She falls back as she curses. “How’s that baby?” Aiden asks her. “Please, Aiden, more, please don’t tease me.” “Okay, mi amor, I’ve got you covered. I’ll make you feel so much better. ” He kisses her neck and then his hand gathers her wetness again, but this time, he teases her entrance and when she is whining for more; he inserts his finger into her. When she says his name, it sounds like a prayer falling from her lips, and he thinks he just came in his pants. He begins to move his finger in and out of her wet heat. And it’s an incredible feeling to be inside her. “Oh my god, Aiden, please don’t you stop.” He picks up the pace, adding another finger inside her, then another, using his thumb on her clit. Aiden can’t help but do as she asks, and he begins pounding into Riley and rubbing her clit with his thumb. She is almost there already. She just needs something to help her fall off the edge. Aiden bends down and licks her throat and begins to kiss her neck, sucking on her neck and all she can do is grab his arms and hold on tight. She’s moaning louder and louder, and Aiden knows it’s time to send her over. He hooks his pointer finger towards her front, and suddenly Riley’s hips are moving and meeting his hand and she is moaning and he knows she is close. She is moving faster and he goes faster and rubs her clit and God he wishes he was there with his mouth and tongue instead of his hands. She grabs his wrist and let’s out a scream almost instantly Aiden’s hand is soaked, then she freezes and when he looks at her she is locked in a silent scream of pleasure, and Aiden feels the gush of her orgasm on his hand, and he thinks he came again with her, but he doesn’t stop. He continues the pounding and rubbing of her clit and pulls another orgasm out of her and this time she screams. She moves with his hand and is begging for him to not stop. She screams his name and he can see when he hits it a certain way, she actually squirts and Aiden is over the fucking moon. His arm is aching but he doesn’t give a fuck. He will continue to finger fuck this gorgeous goddess until she tells him to stop. He keeps going and she is breathing hard and sweat dripping down her neck and he licks that up and he can’t believe this girl is here wanting him to give her what she desperately wants and needs and Aiden vows to always be there for her. She is quiet now. He looks at her face and she is in pure ecstasy and having an orgasm so intense she feels it in every cell of her body. He continues to finger fuck her and rub her clit. She is in her fourth orgasm when she finally tries to pull away his hand, And it’s only from pure exhaustion and over stimulation that she tries to get away and pulls his arm. She is heaving up and down, her eyelids already closing, and Aiden pulls his hand out of her, and licks his fingers, groaning at how fucking incredible she tastes and she turns and smiles at him. She whispers in a raspy voice, “next time.” And her eyes close again. Aiden can not believe he heard her right. She definitely was made for him. He then pulls up her pants, and buttons them. but he also pulls off her belt, so she is more comfortable. He gently slides her from his lap, and he stands up, adjusts himself, and walks to the back of the store. He pushes open the door that leads to the manager’s office, and he moves things around and tries to make room for them to sleep. When he is satisfied, he has enough room for them both. He goes to where she is and picks her up, wedding style, and walks her into the office. He lays her down, and she instantly turns to her side, arms tucked under her cheeks and breaths deeply. He looks down at her for a few seconds and then turns and walks out the door. He walks out to the store and makes sure he has everything that belongs to them, grabs some water bottles he found, and continues to lock themselves up for the night. Once the door is secure, he quickly goes and lays down behind his angel, grateful for the chance to be the big spoon. He thanks God for bringing her to him when he did. She will never know how close she came to walking in to find a very dead Aiden in the bathroom. The gun was in his hand, ready to pull the trigger. Then he heard her. And he forgot all about that until now. He hugs her tightly and kisses her on the forehead. He whispers good night to her and lays down to fall instantly asleep. “Good night, Aiden,” she mumbles. “I think I love you,” she says afterwards and instantly falls back to sleep.

Chapter 8 Us **Warning for sexual content ahead ** "Do you do this a lot?" Aiden asks Riley, as he waves his hand in front of her face. "Are you okay, Mija? Why are you crying? " He sounds concerned and is starting to panic. “Riley, come on, babe, snap out of it." He starts talking louder than he would like. He does not like this situation at all. It puts her in more danger than Aiden believed they could handle now. Riley is staring at something. Her eyes are moving back and forth so fast, it reminds Aiden of someone in R.E.M.’s sleep. but knows she couldn’t have fallen asleep that fast. He knows exhaustion will make your body do anything, but standing up with your eyes open, he thinks, is too wild, even for their situation. Her lips are moving like she is reciting something. Wherever she went, her mind seemed to have fully engulfed her. She is only here in the physical sense of the word. Aiden thinks he should just sit her down and be there for her when she snaps out of this. "Riley, come on babe, please wake up or talk to me." Aiden is almost pleading with her. Now she is speaking in whispers and Aiden still can’t make it out. He catches some, but that’s not his main concern. What he is worried about is that she is somewhere experiencing a panic attack. She’s sweating, her tears are falling nonstop, and now she is panting, like she is hyperventilating. Aiden has no idea how to help her. Does he shake her awake and force her out of it, or will that cause her more damage? Does he let it ride out and just keep her physical body safe and deal with her mind later? Will she even know him when she comes back? Aiden suddenly feels scared for a whole different reason. He just found his angel. He has already come to terms with the fact that he has now dedicated his life to this woman, so what if she wakes up and wants nothing to do with him? Aiden has gone too far to be okay with that. He would spend the rest of his life following her from a distance, just to make sure she was safe, but the Lord knew he did not want that. That’s the last thing he wants to happen. That decision was made for him, and Aiden is grateful. She starts to stir, and he thinks she is coming out of it. He'd made sure she wasn’t going to hurt herself, or him for that matter, when he removed her AR-15 from her grip. He did not want that thing to go off and kill either one of them. She is saying something, but Aiden still can’t make it out. It’s like she is reliving something that happened. Aiden has never seen anyone have a panic attack and wonders now what caused this one to start, and it is both fascinating and scary as hell at the same time. "No, no, please don’t do this. Please let me go. "I promise I will run and never look back." Riley pleads in a voice that startles Aiden. She starts crying and is frantically trying to get away from someone or something, Aiden just grabs her out of instinct and holds her. She is fighting him and crying, "Please don't, I'm a virgin, please don't touch me!" She cries out. And Aiden thinks his heart broke at that moment. He has tears steaming down his face and he almost hit his knees when she let out a sound he had never heard before. It was this wail that appeared from somewhere deep in her soul, and it broke every part of him to hear it and know that she had had to experience whatever pain caused this. He is heartbroken upon hearing this. He gets angry, and something comes over him where he is ready to walk the earth to find whoever did this to her. He can’t think about that now, though, because Riley is going down. Aiden sees her legs give out and thankfully, he catches her before she hits the ground. He holds on to her as she screams out again. He tries to comfort her, so he just sits down, bringing her down to sit on his lap. He holds her like a baby and continues whispering things in her ear. Riley is breathing shallowly, like she is gasping for air. It happens a lot after crying. She calms down, and Aiden thinks it’s over. and not because of anything Aiden did. Even though he helped, he knows it’s because whatever it was had run its course. He is rubbing her back, up and down, slowly, and he continues to talk to her softly. She is leaning her head on his chest, and Aiden feels something stirring in him at the sight of this goddess resting her head on his chest. He knows that whatever she's just relived in her head is something very heavy and extremely traumatic. He knows they will tackle it when they need to. He has no intention of asking her about it. Not after she just experienced it again. He is looking down at her. She is laying there on his chest, cradled in his arms, and she is simply perfect. Her hand is clutching the front of his shirt; her eyes are closed; and she is breathing deeply. Aiden lets out his breath and is relieved that she is getting some rest. He takes this time to look at this angel and thank God, the angels of heaven, and anyone who will listen. Her breathing is so steady it's hypnotic, and slowly Aiden feels himself getting sleepy, and before he realizes what is going on, he lets out a huge yawn, eyelids heavy, and he says, "Fuck it." He scoots back against the bottom of the counter and relaxes with Riley safely tucked in his arms. His head goes back, and before Aiden has time to react, he lets go, and they fall asleep.

Chapter 7 ½ Wonder Twins **Author’s Note** Hi everyone, I’m deeply sorry about the mix up with the chapters, there was just something missing and I couldn’t move forward until I was able to work out the last half of the chapters and arrange them like I needed the story to go. It didn’t flow for me, so after a few sleepless nights, I think I have fixed them. This chapter is a companion to the previous chapter 7. It didn’t belong in chapter 7, yet was the wrong tone for chapter 8, so then we have chapter 7 ½ 🤗 Please enjoy, like comment and review. When Riley stood there, in front of Aiden, she had been remembering Rico, but then she was able to see the same memory, from Ruben’s perspective. That was new, either she had completely lost her mind, or the connection between them was so strong, even death wouldn’t break the bond. She had no idea how she was able to see her brother’s thoughts from that night. She figures the link between them was never fully lost, as hard as they both tried. She is so consumed with her brother’s thoughts and being able to see him so clearly, as if he is standing right next to her. She can’t help but take the chance to look at him, but when she does, the memory fades, causing her to quickly look back at the scene in front of her. She sees his perspective on what happened that night; she can’t believe she can feel what he felt too. She is so overwhelmed by this information, she had forgotten everything that was happening now in the present and was instead stuck in the past, where she was, who she was with, and what was going on. She simply slipped into the memory and relieved it like it was happening. She stood in front of Aiden and was staring at some place only she could see. She cried silent tears down her face, and she yelled at him for breaking her. Then, instantly, she was at that house again. Riley visibly shakes now; she is praying for God, the Virgin Mary, and all the saints to please help her. She could feel the stickiness of the blood on her hands as it dripped down from the blade over the hilt and the handle; her head is aching from her hair being pulled; and her fresh cuts on her bare legs and arms are stinging with the fresh air and sweat that coat her skin. She thinks she is losing her mind as she shakes uncontrollably, not from being cold but from fear. She feels paralyzed. The absolute terror those animals caused her will never leave her. She used to have nightmares every single time she closed her eyes. It got better; Ruben and her papa helped her so much. They knew what she needed when she didn’t even know herself. Looking back at it, Riley knows there have only been two significant nights in her life that have fundamentally changed the path and direction she was going. The first was that night with Rico. The second was the night she realized that if she were going to get out from under the sex trafficker and simultaneously save her family, she would have to stop fighting them off when they came to her every night. It was a cold, bitter realization when she had come to terms with it, accepting what she was going to have to do. She knew that as soon as she stopped fighting them, they would relax and get sloppy. She’s surprised they have managed to keep her locked up this long; she can only guess the number of days it’s been—more than four, but no more than a week. To Riley, it doesn’t matter; the second they chose that house to cause trouble in, where Riley and her family were trying to rest and gather supplies, was the day those men decided they wanted Riley to kill them. She already has taken out two of them. That left them with five members. Riley knows they have more in their group; she isn’t dumb, not by a long shot. She knows these animals think because they have her blindfolded the whole time that she can’t tell the difference between them. Riley knows that there have been at least fifteen people who have come to her room. They have all been different. From their weight, height, size of their dicks, hairy, bald, sweaty, dry, bad breath, body odor, the type of alcohol they drink, and even the type of cigarette they have been smoking, Riley can tell the difference between each and every one of them. They had put her in the master bedroom of the same house. She remembers that after they had dragged her inside the house by her hair, the leader, or wannabe leader, Javier, had mentioned something to her brother about not running the show anymore. Then he walked towards Riley, grabbing his cock, and licking his lips. Riley’s whole body started to fill with terror and an absolute fear that she had never felt before. Her eyes quickly scan the room, intentionally avoiding her dad’s or Ruben’s eyes. They had pulled her up by her hair and made her stand there, never letting go of her hair, and they turned her left and right, twirling her like a damn ballet dancer for that asshole. Riley was starting to panic. She couldn’t do anything but hold on to her hair, so this monster didn’t pull it out of her head. She tried to remember her father’s words: “Count your enemies, count your exits, count the distance between them, run if you can, don’t look back. Escape if you can, and don’t worry about me or your brother. They can’t do to me or your brother what they can do to you if they catch you, Riley, Remember that please!’ Daryl must have known his daughter would never leave them there while she found safety somewhere else. The thought that the daughter he raised would ever do that was almost comical. The one thing that they all had in spades was their love and loyalty for each other. Riley would never have left her dad and brother behind to fend for themselves. So, while Riley is being manhandled and twirled around like a rag doll, Ruben is about ready to lose his shit. He is fuming because he is forced to look at what they are doing to her, and he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what they have planned for her. His blood is boiling. He needs to get free, but every single time he attempts, one of these assholes hits him in the ribs or the head with the butt of their gun. He gets more frustrated because he knows he is fucking useless to Riley right now. He stares at her, and she is doing amazing; not a tear has fallen from her, and she is holding it together. She is actively avoiding her brother’s glare as he is staring at her. He wants to communicate with her like they used to when they were younger. He thinks they still might be able to. even though it’s been a long time since they last did it. He can remember the first time they realized they could talk to each other secretly. It freaked them both out, and it was all by accident that they even knew. Riley instantly believed this was another one of their gifts—being able to see from another’s perspective, and not only that, but feel them too. She is so grateful for these pieces of her brother that she can hold on to them. She goes back to that night, in the house, and the heaviness of that night settles around her like a weighted blanket. Ruben is staring at Riley as she is dragged through the house, by her hair, like a dog on a leash. He is staring at her, practically willing her to look at him in his mind. “Riley, look at me, please. C’mon, sis, you’re stronger than these fucks, you can do this. Just look at me!!!” Ruben yelled in his head as loudly as he knew how. Riley’s eyes jerked towards her brother’s, and she just stared at him. She couldn’t believe this was happening to him. Her big strong brother had been turned into a beat-up crumpled mess on the floor. Her heart broke at the sight. “Riley! Stop with the water works, we will be fine if you snap out of it and take these fuckers out!” Ruben thought as his eyes bore into Riley’s. Finally, the recognition he had been hoping for came. Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and started to take deep cleansing breaths. She forgot about the hold the guy had on her hair, blocked out all the pain, and concentrated on her breathing. Deep breaths in, anxiety, fear, and doubt left her body on her exhale. She focused her energy on looking at her options. The main guy is too close, standing there practically drooling while he looks at her up and down. Riley wants to throw up. She is physically sick just from looking at him. She turns and looks around; she can feel her hair loosen, and the guy finally let's go of it. Riley immediately grabs the spot he was pulling and rubs it, trying to massage the pain away. She doesn’t like her hair down at all. not even a little bit. She quickly gets it, twists it high on her head, and expertly secures it with another piece of her hair. She feels instantly better now that she has control of her hair again. “Riley! Enough playing like you’re in a damn beauty salon, get us out of here!” Ruben yells from his mind. She can’t believe he figured out a way to reattach their link. She’s impressed and angry. She looks around, and she sees the main guy move towards her, she recoils at his advance, and that pisses him off. “Don’t ever move away from me again, you little bitch,” he says, as he grabs her by the jaw, forcing her to look at him. When he’s done, he slaps her across the cheek hard, and her head whips to the side, and she keeps it that way. She hears her brother and dad protest, and then he hears grunts and knows they were hit because of it. This moment is when Riley knew she was not getting out of this. She realized; her training didn’t mean shit. She couldn’t save her family. They were all going to die in this house, and horribly too. She tells herself not to give up. “You got this kid; you can handle this. You are made of some tough stuff, and there is no way some country hillbillies are going to break you! You can handle anything they do to you. Just don’t give them the reaction they want. Don’t feed their sick fantasy.” She is mentally giving herself a pep talk. “Ri, I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep you safe and protect you.” Ruben’s mind link is strong, she hears his apology like a bullhorn, and she looks his way, but she doesn’t see her big brother, she sees a man who looks defeated, and for the first time, she is worried, she won’t be able to make it. She won’t be able to take what they are going to give her. And she is terrified, but she won’t show them. She is the queen of masks. “Let’s go, bitch.” The main guy forcefully grabs her by the elbow and steers her through the house and finally up the stairs, to the master bedroom. She starts to panic and doesn’t want this at all. “No, no, no, please don’t do this. Please let me go, I promise I will run and never look back.” The guy laughs, he is fucking laughing at her, and she can’t believe where her life has gone to. Tears instantly started to fall, and she knew her fate now. Riley is back at that house, in the master bedroom with the leader. She wants to puke when he comes near her. Her face is red and blotchy from the tears, not to mention the slap she took from that other guy. Her eyes are red and filled with tears that don’t stop coming. Her nose is stuffy from crying, and she doesn’t care. She lets it run; she doesn’t wipe her face at all. All she can think about is What had she done to deserve something so horrific? Why did she have to go all Rambo like Carol from The Walking Dead and think she could take these grown men on? Why didn’t she just hide? That is because she knows who she is. She is a Reese, and her mama is a Rivera; she has both of their blood running through her veins, and that is some strong stuff. They don’t know how to quit. They have been fighters since the beginning, always having people count them out before even giving them the chance. She knew she would never be a meek, submissive woman. She was born in the fire, and every time she went through hell, she was purified and became that much stronger. As she is thinking this, she can feel her body calm, and fear begins to leave her. She’s not going to let these pigs break her. She is stronger than all of them put together. She took two down with just one knife; that’s all she needed—just one knife and the element of surprise—and she knows she can beat them. She feels the calm come to her center, and finally her heart rate slows, and her breathing is under control. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, pictures her brother, and tries to talk to him. Ruben suddenly jumps and yells, but then gets control of himself. Riley mentally facepalms herself. “Ruben, stay strong; please, tell Papa too. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got a plan.” Something breaks up the memory she was in, and she comes back to the present day, Riley realizes she has been looking at Aiden the whole time but has been lost in her past. She can recall his face; slightly hear the words he told her. He stuck next to her the entire time, and never once panicked. He is stronger than most. She knows the next part of the memory will get dark and graphic quickly. She closes her eyes and wipes the last of the tears off her face. She thought her heartbreak and the recovery from it were the hardest things she ever had to deal with, up until the dead started walking the earth, and then people became worse than the dead. Riley was never one to be with as many guys as she could. She doesn’t see the temptation in sleeping with a bunch of random guys, so she never has. She would still be a virgin if it were her choice. But it wasn’t, and she is forced to live with that. She has chosen to live with her actions from that night. Not only that, but now it looks like Aiden will have to live with that too. Because this is Riley, and of course she will tell him. She will tell him every part of her blackened soul, and hopefully he can help her cut away the rot in her heart that has formed.