Chapter 33

Darren was in the middle of an arm-wrestling brawl with Matt by the E-Unit when their audience let out a cheer of joy, effectively distracting Matt and making Darren's win a walk in the park.

"Oi, Darren, that's not fair, man," Matt complained, pouting his lips.

"Not my fault your head's not in the game," Darren defended, shrugging when Matt made puppy eyes at him.

Plastering on a shit-eating grin, his friend shook his head. "Yer wouldn't be too if ya saw who's coming this way."

Darren whipped his head back just in time to see Nyle and a few other inmates ganging up on Aiden and showering him with thanks for the quick repairs. Aiden smiled at them, though it looked a little strained, like he was forcing himself more than usual and couldn't quite pull it off. Tossing a couple comments back at the men, he approached the table Darren and Matt had claimed, stopping a few meters from them.

"Mr. Howe," he said, exhaling a little sharply at the end. His tone was strange too, lacking that bite Darren had become adept at picking out. "I need a few moments of—" He made an awkward pause, his fake smile wavering for a heartbeat. "Your time."

A foreboding feeling clutched Darren's stomach. Inspections usually took two to three hours on average, so why was Aiden back so quickly? And why was he wearing an oversized long coat instead of his vest all of a sudden? His hair was messier too, like he'd rolled out of bed and brushed it back without bothering to look in the mirror… But it had looked fine earlier.

Something wasn't right.

"Mr. Howe?" Aiden said with a note of urgency. He sought out Darren's gaze, pressing his brows together.

"Yes, of course, warden." Darren pushed his chair back and hopped to his feet. He started toward the ramp but had to slow down to match Aiden's pace. There was a sway in his otherwise graceful gait and, upon a closer look, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were a little unfocused.

Another group of inmates crowded them as they made their way across the field, taking their turn to thank Aiden for the amazing recreational space and suggesting what other areas of the prison he should do next, unaware that after today he wasn't going to be the warden anymore. A fleeting thought about who Central were going to send as a substitute crossed Darren's mind, but it disappeared the moment Aiden tossed a witty remark at one of the men. Like earlier, the tart sharpness just wasn't there.

Darren led the way up the ramp, waiting until the people and the yelling were behind them before he threw a mocking comment Aiden's way. "I didn't take you for the goth type."

Aiden shot him a sideways glare but didn't say anything. His focus shifted to the corridor and when they were about to turn the corner, he paused and popped his head around as if to check that it was clear. Then he practically jogged over to the warden's office, Darren hot on his heels.

The moment the door shut behind them, the fake calmness drained from Aiden's face as he let out a strained grunt. Possible reasons behind it flooded Darren's mind, but he didn't even get to pick one, everything clicking in place when Aiden took off the black coat. Darren's eyes zeroed in on the blood-stained shirt first and then on the gunshot wound on Aiden's left arm. Fear took hold of his insides. Why was Aiden hurt? Why was there blood on his clothes? He grabbed Aiden's non-injured right arm and shoved the man against the desk.

"Easy, Howe!" Aiden hissed, gritting teeth in obvious pain. "Shit. Careful."

"Kesley—" Darren practically growled, cutting himself off so he could take a few calming breaths. "What the fuck happened?" he accused, not quite able to control his tone.

"I enjoyed a lovely chat over tea and biscuits with two friendly gentlemen," Aiden said flatly, scowling in exasperation. "What does it fucking look like?"

Like Aiden had been through Hell and had barely made it back. Darren forced himself to take two more deep inhales. He didn't know why he was kind of losing it just at the sight of a little blood, but he really needed to keep it together, because shit had clearly gone south.

"Marcus sent someone after you," he concluded once he had himself under control again.

Marcus had sent someone and now Aiden was hurt.

Darren's head pulsated and his hands twitched, balling into fists. He was finding it hard to stay still, the sudden urge to make those responsible for Aiden's state pay for what they'd done almost too strong to push down.

It surprised him, the intensity of his response, but he prevailed over it, if just barely.

Aiden turned his head to the side, teeth pressed into his bottom lip. "They came asking questions about Sara. Two men posing as inspectors. I don't know how Marcus figured out I lied to him, but he did."

Darren let the violent impulse pass, studying Aiden's bleeding arm. "So you are saying you didn't tell Marcus about her?"

Aiden snapped his attention forward, flaring his nostrils in indignation. "I told you I didn't already! What do you take me for, Howe?" He shoved his shoulder into Darren and squirmed, cursing under his breath. "I'd never turn Sara in, not after what Marcus did to the Valrais…" he trailed off, likely realizing just what his words actually meant. Then he glared at his right shoulder. "Fuck! I think my shoulder might be dislocated."

Darren wrapped his fingers around Aiden's forearm, tugging on it gently. Whatever was going on, the injuries needed treating first. "Let me have a look."

"It's fine."

"It sure as hell doesn't look fine to me, Kesley," he countered, making his point by ripping another groan out of Aiden when he pulled more insistently.

Aiden scowled at him, but didn't rebut him. He also didn't bother to correct Darren for dropping the ‘warden'. "It can wait. Probably. Fuck!" His swearing was aimed at more than just the pain. "I need your… help, Howe. I need to disappear. Marcus won't let me walk away from this."

Darren recognized the seething anger and pain in Aiden's eyes, aimed both internally and at him. The plea for help was not just a request, it was Aiden accepting a side. Making a choice that wasn't really a choice anymore at this point. But it had been, earlier when Aiden had still had the option to pick Marcus' side. Yesterday too, when he could've just told Marcus about the hideout. Yet he hadn't. Couldn't even, because that was the kind of man Aiden Kesley was. Tortured, desperate, carrying as much darkness as Darren did, but also a fighter who, deep down, wanted the same thing as Darren.

To move on and find his place in the world again.

"He will hunt you down," Darren warned, meeting Aiden's gaze. The hazel engulfed him, still just a thin rim around blown-out pupils, but also just as captivating as ever.

"I'll manage."

"No, you won't. He will find you and he will torture the answers out of you." Just like he'd tried to torture them out of Darren for months. Except that the torture wouldn't stop at the physical level when Aiden was someone who was expendable. "And he won't ever stop. He will keep going unless someone stands up to him."

Aiden's jaw flexed, lines forming across his forehead. Darren wanted to smooth them out, wanted to tell Aiden everything would be fine, but he couldn't. Aiden didn't need more lies.

Aiden's gaze focused on the wall as he seemed to digest the words and Darren waited, holding his breath. His entire body vibrated, both from Aiden's proximity and the weight of this moment, goosebumps erupting all over him when Aiden closed his eyes and let out a deep exhale.

"I'll do it, Darren Howe. I will assist you in reinstating the Valrais. And if we're not dead by then, I will kill you myself once the heir has his throne back."

Darren's chest suddenly felt too small for his racing heart. He smiled because he couldn't hold it back and that seemed to surprise Aiden, making his eyes go wide.

This unlikely alliance was good enough. It was more than Darren had hoped for, beyond his best-case scenario even. He should've been the one asking for Aiden's help, trying to convince him to choose Sara's side over Marcus. But the choice had been made, with or without his help, and maybe as early as that night when Aiden had given up on his revenge so he could go on a treasure hunt mission to an abandoned asteroid.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" Darren said when he couldn't think of anything else, pointing at the bullet wound.

"It's not deep. I'm fine. We need to find a way off the station," Aiden protested, trying to shake him off.

Darren knew it was probably a longshot, but he asked anyway, "When is the next shuttle?"

"Four hours, give or take," Aiden huffed out over a squirm as he rolled his shoulder. It was the same one that had looked stiff all morning and it clearly bugged him more than the gunshot.

"Doesn't look like we have that kind of time."

"We don't. I… ki—" Aiden cut himself off, taking a sharp breath. "I killed Marcus' men. We have one hour, two at most, if we are lucky. And… I don't think it's a good idea to use my phone or laptop. They are probably being monitored."

Inching in closer, Darren yanked Aiden's hand away from the shoulder. He resisted, but gave up with a whimper when Darren pressed on the bump just under his shoulder blade.

"Fuck, Howe! We don't have time for this!"

Relief flooded Darren. It wasn't dislocated or broken. Not with a bump like this.

"Kesley, when did it start hurting?" He felt around the spot on a hunch. He didn't know what he was looking for exactly, but he knew he would recognize it if it was there.

"Huh?"

"Your shoulder. When did it start hurting?" he repeated, turning Aiden around so he had easier access to the area.

"I told you it's nothing. One of Marcus' men kicked me," Aiden said, wincing when Darren pressed on the bump.

"You were stiff all morning."

Aiden grumbled, most likely realizing that Nyle hadn't been the only one to notice. "This morning," he said gingerly. "I must've hit something when I passed out last night."

Concern twisted Darren's stomach. He paused, catching Aiden's sideways glance. "You don't remember?"

The disapproving look turned into a glare. "Do we have to do this right this moment?"

"You said the goons knew more than they should have. I'm trying to figure out how if you swept the office."

Aiden tried to slip out of his hold again, but Darren didn't let him. "I don't know! You are the only person I spoke to about her. Plus…"

"Plus?"

"They referred to her using my exact words. But there were no listening devices or bugs… I double-checked."

Darren found it, the telltale hardness he'd been looking for but hoped wouldn't be there. "Kesley, take off your shirt."

"For fuck's sake, Howe! We should be legging it, not stripping each other in my fucking office! My shoulder is fine."

Darren let out a humorless snort. Stripping Aiden Kesley certainly sounded a lot more tempting than what they were currently doing. But even though he was about to have Aiden naked, pleasure was the last thing on his mind. If Marcus' men had known about Sara and acted on such short notice, there had to be a listening device somewhere on Aiden's person. And Darren suspected exactly where it was because of his own experience with the swelling they caused after being implanted.

His own one was now usually in his pocket—or, when he wanted some privacy, between the pages of the mag he kept under his pillow—rather than at the back of his neck. After his imprisonment here, he'd cut it out the first chance he'd gotten, but instead of destroying it, he'd kept it to see if anyone would notice that he'd figured out how they'd tracked him down.

They hadn't. In his two years here, no one paid him a visit to install a new one. He still didn't know how he'd been injected with it, but he suspected that the fight on that recharging outpost a week or so before his capture was the likeliest candidate.

"Either do it yourself or I will," he threatened, letting Aiden know exactly how serious he was.

With a show of great displeasure, and a few bitten-off curses, Aiden unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his right side. His ivory flesh was bruised in several places, most notably his side and shoulder, and when Darren brushed his fingers against the bump, a sharp exhale escaped the man's lips. It turned to a grunt the moment he pressed against the swollen area again in search of the small device.

"I need your first aid kit. You've been chipped," he said calmly, squinting at the swollen flesh.

"What?"

Before he could elaborate, someone knocked on the door. He froze and so did Aiden, their gazes leaving each other as they both stared like spooked rabbits at the door. Darren willed whoever had decided to interrupt them to give up and go away after receiving no answer, but the knocking simply continued, telling him their visitor most likely knew they were inside.

"Look, I know you are in there," Nyle's singsong voice sounded from the other side. "And unless you want the guards to know too, you will let me in."

Darren felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. Giving Aiden a reassuring nod, he dashed over to the door and yanked it open, causing Nyle to stumble into the room. Catching himself before he could lose his balance, Nyle squared his shoulders and gave them an evaluating look.

"Hello, warden Kesley, Darren," he said with a smile, his curious blue eyes roaming Aiden's half-naked torso. "Right. I'll cut to the chase as I can see we don't have the luxury of a proper catch-up now. I know who both of you are." He grinned like the devil he was. "And I want in."