Loving the Ruthless Mafia Man

Nightmare

Chapter 6

Nightmare

Lia

“Papa, can we get ice cream?”

“Honey, we’ll be at your aunt and uncles in an hour. You can have ice cream after dinner with your cousins,” Mom said, her voice steady but lacking its usual cheer.

“But I’m bored, Mama! We’ve been in the car all day!” I whined, kicking my legs against the seat in frustration.

Papa’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and he smiled warmly. “Just a little bit longer, pumpkin. Then we’ll be safe at Uncle Seamus’s house. We’ll play and have loads of ice cream. Alright?”

I nodded.

Trips to Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Seamus’s house were supposed to be fun. They were always filled with stops for picnics, playgrounds, and milkshakes. But this time felt different. We hadn’t stopped for anything, and the car ride dragged on forever.

“I don’t like this,” I whispered, crossing my arms.

“Sweetheart—” Mom started, but she didn’t get to finish.

Something slammed into the back of the car, and my head snapped forward, hitting the seat in front of me.

“Sarah!”

“Kenneth, oh no!”

My head throbbed, and everything felt disorienting. I could hear Mama and Papa’s panicked voices, but before I could process what was happening, the car jolted again.

The world turned upside down.

Everything was chaos—glass breaking, metal crunching—and then there was fire. Fire all around me, licking at the edges of my vision.

-

I woke up screaming, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath.

It took a moment for the nightmare to loosen its grip, for reality to come back into focus.

I wasn’t in the burning car anymore.

There was a deep, soothing voice, soft yet firm, grounding me.

And when I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into piercing blue eyes.

Those eyes—I had painted them a thousand times, angry and filled with fire. But now, there wasn’t anger in them.

There was something else.

Worry?

No. That couldn’t be right. I shook my head and leaned away from him, creating distance between us.

Aiden Kavanagh wouldn’t worry about me. The man didn’t care if I existed. To him, I was just a responsibility—a burden he had to carry because of who my family was. I’d always been just that.

I blinked a few more times, forcing the remnants of the nightmare away, and slowly sat up.

That’s when I noticed his hand resting on my thigh.

My gaze fell to it, and I couldn’t help but notice the scar running across his skin—the burn mark he’d earned saving me from that burning car so many years ago.

The memory stirred something deep within me, but I pushed it back down, unwilling to let it resurface. I couldn’t.

I knew Aiden wasn’t the type to ask if I was okay, but I also knew he wouldn’t leave until I said something.

“I—I’m fine,” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.

He watched me for a moment longer, his expression unreadable, before standing up and returning to his seat without a word.

Niall, sitting across from me, gave my arm a reassuring pat before turning his attention back to his phone.

I turned to glance behind me, only to find Oliver glaring at the back of my head. The intensity of his look sent a chill down my spine. He noticed me watching and gave me a look that promised retribution for my actions—or what he considered my actions.

But then something shifted in his expression.

He winced.

I followed his gaze and froze when I saw Liam.

In one hand, Liam held a switchblade, flicking it casually. One moment it was spinning between his fingers, and the next, it nicked Oliver’s hand just enough to draw blood.

I gasped audibly, my eyes widening in shock.

Liam shrugged nonchalantly, his tone almost playful. “My bad, man.”

Oliver looked horrified, his mouth opening as if to say something, but then he closed it again. Something was stopping him—whether it was the unspoken threat in Liam’s actions or the suffocating tension in the room, I couldn’t be sure.

He just sat there, silent for once.

After what felt like an eternity—since I was too scared to go back to sleep—we finally landed at a private airstrip just outside of Boston. I had tried to relax after the nightmare, but Aiden’s woodsy scent lingered in my nose, bringing with it a flood of memories I fought to keep at bay.

Once off the plane, I was ushered into one of the waiting SUVs. As I climbed in, I glanced at the driver and passenger and couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey, peach,” Declan greeted, his tone light and teasing.

Sean gave me a grin in the passenger seat, tipping his head in greeting.

“Hey, guys,” I replied warmly.

Declan and Sean Kavanagh—Aiden’s cousins. Sweethearts at heart, though I knew better than to ever say that out loud. If I did, they’d probably murder someone just to prove me wrong.

“Drive,” Aiden barked as he slid into the seat beside me and slammed the door shut with enough force to rattle the car.

“Wha—” I started, but stopped as I looked around for Oliver.

I spotted him being unceremoniously pushed into the car behind us.

Turning back to Aiden, I felt my annoyance bubble to the surface. “What are you doing?”

He ignored me, his attention firmly fixed on his phone.

“Why is Oliver in the other car?” I demanded, my frustration growing.

Again, he ignored me, as if I hadn’t even spoken.

The tension was suffocating. I didn’t want to be trapped in a car with Aiden, of all people, especially not alone.

Without thinking, I reached for the door handle and pushed it open. But before I could step out, Aiden’s deep voice stopped me cold.

“Shut the damn door.”

I froze, turning toward him defiantly. “I want to sit with my boyfriend,” I said firmly, my voice sharper than I intended.

Aiden turned his gaze to me, his emerald eyes dark with a fury that sent a shiver down my spine. His glare was so intense, it felt like he could reduce me to ashes if he wanted.

“Shut the f*****g door, Cordelia,” he said, his voice low and cold. “Or I’ll go back to that car and shoot your boyfriend in the head.”

I swallowed hard, stunned by the edge in his voice. There was more than just anger behind it—something darker, something that made me falter.

Without another word, I shut the door and turned away, refusing to meet his gaze. My heart was racing, and my chest tightened.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was scared.

Not of him, exactly—but of what he was capable of. Of what might happen next.

Aiden Kavanagh was a dangerous man. Everyone knew that, but it was different when you truly understood it. When you’d seen the lengths, he was willing to go to, the cold precision with which he handled threats, and the utter lack of hesitation when he made decisions that left others trembling.

I had never felt in danger around him—not really. Even now, with his temper simmering just beneath the surface, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. But that didn’t mean I was blind to the darkness in him.

I knew what he was capable of. I had always known how ruthless he could be.

And I had still fallen for him.

It wasn’t until that ruthlessness turned on me that I finally realized the truth: I wasn’t built for his world.

I had tried to fit, tried to hold my own, but it was like standing on the edge of a knife. Aiden didn’t bend, didn’t soften, not for anyone. And when he turned that cold, unyielding side on me, it broke something inside of me.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, his sharp profile illuminated by the glow of his phone. He was calm now, composed as always, but I could feel the storm brewing just beneath the surface.

I turned back to the window, willing myself to stay quiet. There was no use arguing with Aiden Kavanagh.

He was the kind of man who made decisions, and everyone else just lived—or didn’t—with the consequences.