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Why did I do that?!

I quickly turned to run and hide in my car but his hands expertly grabbed my wrists and held them with one hand around my back. If i'm feeling pain just by his hands holding me imagine what his enemies feel. He pinned me against the car.

" Not so bad are you princess?" He whispered against my ear, his voice cold and emotionless.

" I'm sorry!" I cried out into the night as he twisted my arms more.

" What?," He chuckled. " No more sass?"

This isn't Jackson Miller.

" You're hurting me" A sob escaped my lips and I was released as quick as I was pinned down. I swung my arms around to make sure they weren't broken before turning around to find Jackson knelt on the ground, his back facing me.

I wanted to hop in my car and speed down the street calling for help at the top of my lungs but instead I found myself slowly taking steps toward him. I gulped the closer I got and frowned at his stiff position on the gravel. I reached out my hand to touch the back of his head and—

"Don't" His voice didn't hold the same valiant tone it use to have. Instead it was low and despondent.

I knelt in front of him and noticed his eyes were back to normal. The familiar gold flecks around his pupil twinkled. I rest my hands on my thighs in hopes of getting more comfortable but comfort is impossible at the moment. Not even the beautiful twinkling stars in the night sky and the crescent shaped moon could make things better.

"Talk to me" I whispered. I know I should probably run but I somehow feel drawn to him.

" I'm no good vanilla bean," Again his voice wasn't normal. " You should leave me"

" I'll never leave you" I uttered the words knowing I meant them. I can't leave him. Why would I? How could I?

He looked up at me revealing a sad smile. " I don't know what happened...something snapped in me...I was trained to...I'm sorry"

I don't know if it's because I was already crying before or because my heart ached for this broken badboy but I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. He shifted uncomfortably for a minute before wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me back. He nestled his head in the crook of my neck and we just stayed there. I'm not good with emotions —and neither is he— so I hope my hug told him everything I was feeling.

Well, maybe not everything.

"Jackson!" Aiden's voice echoed in the distance. Working mainly on instincts Jackson hopped onto his feet and pulled me behind him holding his hand out to the side to make sure nothing can get past him.

I blushed when I noticed my arms were wrapped around his torso and quickly pulled away before Aiden appeared in the shadows. Did something happen to Sadie? Did he find out Stacy has chlamydia? she certainly dresses like she wants to catch it —or pass it on to someone.

" What is it?" Jackson urged turning into boss mode.

"Uh..." Aiden looked at me hesitantly.

" I won't put her at risk by making her leave my side," He pointedly stated. " What's wrong"

" Your dorm is bugged" Aiden disclosed, his eyes darting back and forth as if expecting someone to jump out and start attacking us. A car started a few feet in front of us and Aiden pulled out a handgun I wasn't aware he had until now.

Something fell on the ground next to me and a heavy cloud of smoke upsurged into the air around us making it incredibly hard to see or breathe. I coughed and felt around trying to grab on to something. My hands wrapped someone's large bicep as I coughed uncontrollably.

"Aiden! Take her inside!" The hand shoved me into someone's chest.

" But it's wired!" Aiden called out, also coughing over the smoke.

" It's safer!," The voice —which I'll always know as Jackson's— yelled back. "Besides, I'm going after him, my car is faster and i'm pretty sure he can't see through the smoke either"

"No!," I broke away from Aiden, hoping my lungs won't explode. " I won't leave you, I promised"

" I know baby," His hand grabbed my waist from behind and spoke in my ear so only I heard. " But i'm allowing you to break it, just this once—"

" No!" I shook my head picturing him driving roughly down the street barely able to see.

" I'm protecting you, not the other way around remember?," His sweet voice laughed softly in my ear. " Later baby" he planted a kiss on my cheek and left.

"Wait!" I coughed as Aiden grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the entrance of the dormitory away from the smoke. I'm not sure if it was because I could see again or because the smoke was clearing up but I watched as a black lamborghini aventador pulled sharply out of the parking space and raced down the street into the distance.

"He'll be okay" Aiden assured wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me to the elevator. When we arrived in the room a few tiny pebble shaped items were lying on the coffee table. I walked over and inspected them. They look like...

A gasp escaped my lips. " Vito Bianchi!"

" Ashley," Aiden shushed. " You can't go around saying mob boss's names like that, he's like Voldemort from Harry Potter, don't say his name unless you want him to—

" He came over today," I cut off his ranting. " I let him in and...he was walking around touching stuff...what if that's who Jackson's chasing?!"

" Why would you let a dangerous man in when you're home alone?" Aiden questioned, I knew he was silently judging me but was too worried to be embarrassed at the moment. How could I notice?! what I brushed off as harmless curiosity turned out to be denouncing and hostile.

" How dangerous?" I knew I didn't want to hear the answer to that question.

" Dangerous enough to single handedly wipe out half of my boss's men at the warehouse down the street, we had to shut the place down" He paced the room making my nerves kick in.

" Can you call him?" I asked then noticed his phone resting on the sofa, turned off and plugged into the outlet.

"Ashley," Aiden stopped pacing and turned to face me, the first time I've ever seen a mafia member look...afraid. " Do you realize that if Jackson really is chasing Vito his chances of surviving —especially if it's a trap— is zero to one?"

" I..." I looked away.

" If he's chasing Vito..." He paused as if saying it would make it true.

I gulped. " That could be a death sentence"

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