A iden wasn't surprised when he arrived at
Hamburger Mary's for breakfast the next day, to
find Lisa on the warpath. She'd had almost a full day
to stew about Liam's disappearance.
He grabbed the morning paper off the counter and
headed for the back booth, moving into the seat next
to the wall followed quickly by Evan and Bob and
then finally Daniel.
"I'm not interested in hearing from any of you.
Especially you Danny." Aiden glared.
"Asshole, what's this I hear about you throwing
Liam out onto the street." Lisa demanded.
"Ask your son about that." Aiden drawled,
pretending interest in the paper. "I'll have a coffee and
some whole wheat toast, no butter."
"When are you planning on getting the kid back?"
she demanded, hands on her hips.
"He's a big boy. He'll come back when he's
ready." Aiden stood up, throwing his paper on the
table. "I'm sick of all of this. Daniel, you're just as
192 Magical Moonlight
responsible as I am for Liam leaving. No one's riding
your ass."
"Well what in fuck bit him in the ass?" Lisa
asked, dumbfounded at Aiden's outburst.
Aiden heard her, but ignored her words. He was
worried sick about Liam, both because the boy had
disappeared and because of what he'd said to send
him away. And he was worried about Shay. Each time
he'd driven past Vanessa's house there was an aura of
danger around it, yet it stopped twenty feet all around
the house including the roof. Aiden knew that it was
Liam's doing, keeping whatever it was away from his
son. But he couldn't help but wonder if Shay would be
in danger when he wasn't in residence.
It was time to retrieve his drama princess. He
needed him close. He needed him for himself, for his
heart and soul and he needed him for Shay, for his
safety. He knew he was in Toronto, there was no
reason why he should, it was a feeling he had.
Not waiting to pack or fly to Toronto, Aiden did
what any Wahjee would do who was soul connected
to another, he walked behind the restaurant and
disappeared, unseen by prying eyes.
Aiden didn't need any kind of link or map or
address written on a piece of paper. All he needed was
the inborn bond he had with Liam. The one that told
him they were meant to be a couple, even if his
stubborn mind couldn't make the connection. He
appeared in the main room of a luxury suite in some
Toronto hotel. There was no immediate sign of Liam
other than a half eaten club sandwich and an empty
ER Bryant 193
margarita glass. Aiden, sure he could feel Liam close,
walked into the bedroom of the suite. Sure enough, the
red head was spread out on his stomach sound asleep.
Aiden stood watching him, there were tear stains on
his cheeks and every now and then he'd make a kind
of hiccup sob, much like Shay did. Aiden sighed and
shut his eyes for a moment. Had he ever been so
young that he'd cried himself to sleep? He hadn't
done anything like that in his teens, at least not as old
as Liam was. Aiden turned off the lights in the suite,
hung a do not disturb sign from the door and then
removing his clothing, crawled into bed with Liam,
pulling a blanket over the two of them. Liam gave a
half sob again, but didn't wake; instead he wiggled
and moved until he found Aiden, wrapping himself
around the older man with a sigh of relief.
Aiden wanted to be angry; he wanted to hold
himself tense and aloof while Liam slept. But he
couldn't. Instead all he could do was pull him in
closer, kiss red haired silken curls at the top of his
head, and rub small circles on a too thin bare arm.
As he lay with Liam in his arms, Aiden let his
mind wander over the last few days. Something had
happened to him since Liam had wandered into this
life. He'd changed the order of things as Aiden had
known them. And oddly enough, it felt good having
Liam around. Even the day or so he'd been gone, had
been enough to show Aiden that the red head was a
necessary part of his life.
"Aiden?" Liam stirred.
194 Magical Moonlight
"Shhhhh, sleep, we'll talk in the morning."
Aiden's voice was a whisper.
"I'm sorry." Liam began.
"Don't be." Aiden sighed and he kissed the top of
Liam's head again. "It takes two to fuck up. We
appear to be good at it."
"How profound." Liam giggled sleepily. He
sniffed, buried his head closer, immediately falling
asleep.
Must be nice to be young, Aiden thought smiling
to himself. And be able fall asleep like a baby without
any cares in the world. As soon as the thought went
through his mind, Aiden knew that it was wrong.
Shay, young as he was, cared. Liam, Liam cared too
much about him, about Shay, about things he
shouldn't have to care about at eighteen. He needed
time to be a child, to learn, to grow. He might legally
be an adult, but he was still young enough to cry
himself to sleep.
