Aiden averts her gaze from Riley to the door, and her body freezes in place, not in astonishment, but in curiosity. She takes a deep breath and moves forward, keeping an eye on each of them.
"Demolish everything in here," one man orders, and the others walk their separate ways in the small room.
Her gaze follows his movements. She focuses on one man who approaches a shelf with framed certificates and accolades. She takes another step forward, glaring at the man with the slick smile on his face. He looks at them smugly, which gets on Aiden’s nerves.
"If you dare, take that down," she says, straining her eyes as she watches his every move.
His lips twitch into an unappealing grin. He laughs, which is followed by his mates’ laughter. He lifts his brows in amusement at her. "Just a kid," he grumbles under his breath, but she hears him.
Aiden sets her palms on the large desk in front of them and leans over her arm. She swings over to the opposite side as she grabs the globe from the table along with her. She moves her gaze to the man who has touched the frame and leaps forward. She launches the globe in his direction.
He grunts, clutching his bleeding nose; she rushes over to him, pushing the shelf beside him onto his leg; his scream fills the room. She quickly turns around to see the other four men stomping in her direction and steps back to pick up an umbrella from the basket in the corner of the room. Her gaze follows their activities from left to right. She widens her legs and springs forward, striking their faces and beginning to retreat.
She looks down at the four men on the ground and turns around to see Riley.
What is he doing? she wonders.
Riley continues to smack the man over the head with a heavy book. He lunges over the man’s arm that is caught in the drawer, breaking his bones. She walks closer to him. When she hears the siren, she comes to a halt and her eyes widen.
Riley steps behind, away from the drawer. The man takes his arm out painfully. He staggers backwards, and falls to the ground for a gentle shove.
"Did you call the cops?" Her voice comes out loud.
"Yeah, Isn’t it a smart move?" he replies, his smile shrinks as he notices her.
Aiden runs her hand through her hair in frustration as she is sure that Eric will be sticking his nose in everything that happens in this city to keep himself and his boss safe. Calling him for help is like digging their own graves.
Riley stares at her, puzzled, as she lets out a heavy sigh and looks around. She hurries to the window and peeps out to see the car parked down. Without hesitation, she grabs the penholder from the table and lifts her arm. She hits Riley on his forehead.
"My goodness," he hisses, crouching slightly, placing his hand on the wounded area . He then moves his hand down to his view, his brown eyes widen in horror as he sees the blood. Crimson red liquid flows down the side of his face.
She doesn’t care... In a flash, she grabs a pen knife off the table and cuts above his white shirt’s left sleeve. The material begins to absorb and spread blood.
A loud yelp leaves his lips as he steps forward furiously. "What the fuck are you...," He stops when he faces her "do...in..g," the last words comes out softly.
"Why are you even mad at me?" he howls.
She doesn’t explain as she is short on time. She looks at the five men on the ground and faces him again. "Tell them it’s self-defence," she says as she dashes to the bulletin board and switches sides. "And don't let them see this," she says and dashes to the open window. Riley watches her with big eyes, astonished. She jumps through the window, her feet landing on the excess ceiling of the bottom room.
"What happened?" The familiar cold voice of Eric gets into her ears. She sticks her body to the wall, walking sideways, hoping that no one peeps through the window.
She turns her head and presses her ear against the wall, expecting to hear what's going on inside, but all she hears are the song of birds outside. She waits a little longer, her legs numb. Her brows meet as she hears the vehicle move. A sigh of relief leaves her lips. She gets back in and scurries to Riley’s car. She drives to the station.
She takes her phone and calls Blake.
"On duty?" She asks as soon as he answers. Her fingers tap on the steering wheel, impatiently, when the traffic light appears red.
"You alright? I'm off today, "
“I'm okay! Some men came to destroy Mr. Mintz's office." She is sure that they are from Aim’s, as Mintz has all the information. "Is Harry safe?" She asks.
"Yes, he is. Do you want me to do something? "
The car stops by the station. Her brows furrow when she notices one of the five men exiting the station. She quickly moves the phone away from her ear and takes a picture of the man. She sends the image to Blake.
“I’ve sent you a picture. I need his information ASAP. Let me know if you find anything suspicious around there. "
"Alright!" He hangs up.
Aiden sits back and rests her shoulders on the seat. She closes her eyes, waiting for Blake to reply. She has been waiting here since noon, and now the sun is about to set. Her lips spread into a smile at the thought of Riley, glad that he had poured out his emotions. Her grin widens as she remembers her actions. She recorded when Riley told her he wanted to apologize and sent it to Mintz.
The sound of her phone notification brings her out of her thoughts. A weary sigh escapes her lips as she sits upright and swipes up the screen. She checks the message from Blake: a shared location. The car moves, and she drives to the given address.
She pulls the brake by the house entrance and gets off the car. Her hand runs through her hair as she looks around, noticing the people around her. Many people walk around the streets when the shops open and are as busy in the afternoon. She gets back in and waits till the crowd reduces, and once the sky darkens, the road eventually is left lonely with few people around.
Knock!
A smirk appears on her face when she hears footsteps on the other side. The person inside creeks the door open and peeps through the small gap. His eyes widen in horror. He swiftly tries to shut the door, but before the door closes, she forcefully pushes the door and enters. He runs in and grabs a pair of scissors from the cupboard close by. He springs forward closer to her and strikes the scissor in the air. Aiden steps back and grasps his wrist. She twists his wrist and snatches the object from his grip.
###
The atmosphere tenses as the short needle of the clock ticks on twelve. Aiden stands by Eric’s office table, the man seated on the chair, hot red liquid flowing down his face.
"Isn't his explanation enough?" She slams her hands on the table. "You have no right to arrest someone who fought to protect himself," she says as she moves closer to Eric. He stands glaring at her . "The victim is held hostage while the others are sent home."
"They were supposed to be hospitalized to treat their wounds," Eric explains, his voice low yet cold.
"So?" She raises a brow questionably "You will imprison an innocent," he says quietly as he watches her.
She steps even closer to Eric. "I have the photo of the cash he received to destroy Mr. Mintz's office and I have recorded his confession," Eric furrows his brows curiously. "If you don't let Riley out now, I will have to go to the higher authority or publish this in the media." She says it calmly.
He stomps out of the room furiously. Aiden waits in the room, looking at the man with an assuring smile. "I'll send them abroad." She informs him, "I'll get everything arranged tonight. You can visit them later."
The man agreed to turn back as his life was in Aiden’s hands. He spilled the beans. He and his friends were forced to break into Mintz's office and destroy everything in it. They obeyed as they were involved in an illegal business. If they don’t do the job, their true colours will be exposed to the cops and their family will be at risk.
Aiden promised him to keep his and his friend’s families' safe if they confessed their crime.
She turns around, looking at the glass partition. She rushes to the door when Riley comes into her view, his eyes fixed on the floor. He walks with Eric, and they both stop in front of her.
"You can let this slide now," Eric says, his eyes looking everywhere except her.
She glances at Riley and faces Eric. "Shouldn’t you apologize?" she demands.
Riley looks ahead at her, his eyes expanding in surprise as her words repeat in his head.
Eric glares at her, his eyes red in rage. His lip quivers in anger. "Sorry," he utters in a low voice, inconsiderate.
"He didn't hear you," she says. Riley’s lips part as he stares at her. She continues, " And for your information, you’ve arrested a lawyer for no reason."
Eric raises his brows, astonished.
"Please accept my apologies, sir," he finally says.