Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden) novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31
Brooklyn

“You want me to do what!?” I all but shriek. Aden is lying flat on his back in the hallway outside my room, gritting his teeth in pain, struggling to get up.

For a second, I feel lost. It’s disorienting to see him this way, so helpless. All I’ve known him as, so far, is the most dominant, powerful criminal I’ve ever met.

But right now, he is also impatient. Someone is approaching up the stairs, quickly.

“Just get me to your bedroom, NOW,” Aden growls, nodding toward the open door of my room, just a few feet away.

I get a hold of myself, moving behind Aden and hooking my hands into his armpits. Then, I heave with all my might, pulling him towards the open door. Aden is big, and strong, but I am strong, too. He pushes with his feet to speed us along, the best he can offer.

When he’s fully in my room, he falls back against the carpet. I shut the door, then slide down the wall, exhausted, staring at him. He’s lying on his back, breathing hard.

A few horrible minutes pass when I consider what the hell will happen to me if people discover the Mafia King’s dead body in my room.

But, during those minutes, Aden’s breath softens. The horrible, crinkled look of pain disappears, and his face takes on its normal lines. He’s still sweaty and exhausted, but he was right. It passed.

“Are you…are you okay?” I venture after a few minutes of calm breathing.

“I’m fine,” he says, voice low, eyes still closed, like he’s trying to wish himself somewhere else.

I hesitate. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Because an Alpha like you shouldn’t have heart issues. But I can call a doctor…”

He heaves himself up to a sitting position, his form imposing once again, then makes eye contact with me at last. “I don’t need a doctor.”

I’m sure he can tell by my face that I don’t buy it. He shakes his head and looks down—embarrassed, I think—and pauses before he speaks.

“It’s just…” he says, pushing the hair out of his eyes, “something that happens to me sometimes. It’s been happening for the past couple of years. At times of…stress.”

I lean my head back against the door, putting the pieces together.

“Oh my god,” I say, my psychology degree taking over before I can stop it. “It was a panic attack."

His eyes shoot over to me, pure annoyance written all over his face.

“They’re really common,” I continue, “but not usually to this extent. We learned, in my program, that when they’re really severe they can present with the intensity of a heart attack.” It makes sense. Aden still has an Alpha’s heart, but his mind is troubled.

I bite my lip, finding myself feeling sorry for him. I know he’s terrifying, I know he took me here against my will, used me as a pawn in his business.

But I can’t help it. I’ve never really been able to see another person in pain and not want to help them.

“You know,” I say, as gently as I can. “There are people that can help you with this sort of thing. You shouldn’t suffer like this.”

“Brooklyn,” he says, angry with me, pressing his hand flat against the door so that I’m trapped between him and the exit. His body, his scent, are overpowering, but I’m too pissed off at him to really notice. Which is a good thing. “Do you know what would happen to me in my world if word ever got out that I have some kind weakness in my mind?”

I hesitate. I can guess, but I choose silence.

“I’d be dead. If they ever found my body, it’d be at the bottom of a lake with cinder blocks for shoes. And while I was missing, all of my enemies would come—like the vultures they are—and pick pick pick—” he taps the top of my head, like a little bird pecking, “—at the world I’ve worked so hard to build.”

I stare up at him, not knowing what to say.

“So, if you don’t mind,” he says, one brow arching upwards, “I think I’ll decline your offer of mental health services.”

He releases his hand from the other side of my head, and I step aside so he can leave. He twists the handle, but he hesitates before he pulls it open. “You will tell no one what you witnessed tonight. Ever. Not even Hudson. Do you understand?”

Slowly, I nod as he strides out of my room and down the hall.

I watch him go, still shocked at the events of the evening.

Then, a slow smile creeps over my face.

Well. It looks like I finally got my first little piece of power in this mafia game. Aden had just told me as much. The information I possessed could bring down his entire crew.

The question was, how would I use it?