Page 20 of Impossible Crusade

His brother Ike prayed to heaven above, and Aiden knew Sutton and other impressive people did as well. If only Aiden could turn to a merciful God for help.

No. He was strong enough to fight through on his own, just as he always had.

“Aiden?” Mercedes questioned from shoulder level.

He opened his eyes and glanced down at her, pasting his charismatic smile on his face. “Yes, my illustrious benefactor?”

She smiled at him. She knew as well as he did that the million dollars she was paying him to be on the show wasn’t necessary. He’d use it to hire more people or install another security base. He currently had bases in mansions in Long Island, Newport Beach, and Costa Rica. A European center would be a great focus.

“Was Miss Anderson only a protection detail?” She blinked long, fake eyelashes up at him. Her teal-blue eyes said she knew he loved Chalisa.

How did she know? Was she a genie? Had she set this all up? Nobody knew about Chalisa and his feelings for her. Well, maybe Paul and Nick had guessed, but he’d never admitted anything to them. When Paul told him that Chalisa had asked if he was coming for her and Paul had told her he wasn’t, it had about broken him. He’d acted like nothing was wrong then.

Everything was a mess now.

He did a quick inventory as he thought about how to spin this. Shawn held Mercedes’s hand and was close enough to hear his answer. The blond Viking listened in but didn’t seem to care one way or another, and the cameraman was focused on Chalisa and her family reunion.

Family. He should’ve let himself research her at some point. He would’ve known everything about her and her family connection to the illustrious royals of Magna.

Instead, he was going into this blind. He’d feared if he researched her he’d lose all control and rush to her side. He didn’t know that he could walk away from her a second time. He’d assigned his trusted pilot, one of his top men, retired Air Force Reconnaissance Lieutenant Paul Braven, to watch over her until Aiden and Nick had successfully taken down Jorge and his empire and eliminated any risk to Chalisa. He’d instructed Paul not to give him any information about Chalisa beyond her being safe. He’d also allowed actress Jezebel Noir’s media team to do an extensive photograph and video session and pretend they were a couple for the past few months. It helped his name and image, but it also assured Chalisa wouldn’t go looking for him. He hated to hurt her, but a man could only be so strong.

The illustrious General Prince Kingston and Princess Reagan were her family. That was impressive. The media claimed he needed to marry a princess. Chalisa could fill that role by family association. She also conducted herself like a princess—benevolent, patient, and regal. The perfect fit for him.

No! He could not let his mind spin like that. Marriage was not part of the plan. He had to accomplish everything he’d laid out and promised his dad, become as well-known as Sutton, and bring drug dealers, mafia lords, and traffickers the world over to their knees.

“Aiden?” Mercedes’s brow wrinkled. She was waiting for his answer.

“Of course she was only a protection detail.” He winked at the famed billionaire. “No woman is equipped to handle all of this.” He gestured to himself, grinning like the cocksure idiot he portrayed to the world.

Inside, his heart ached. Everlasting love. With Chalisa. Had anything sounded as appealing as that dream? Had anything felt as perfect, tantalizing, and inspiring as Chalisa in his arms?

Yes. His goals. His dad had given everything to help Aiden and Ike succeed after losing their mom to a senseless act of crime when Aiden was only five. He hardly remembered his mom beyond soft touches and snippets of songs about Jesus, but his dad ... He remembered every word the man had said, everything he’d taught him, everything he’d done for him. His dad had saved every dollar of their mom’s fortune and invested it for Aiden and Ike’s future. He’d trained them to fight, protect, and sacrifice their entire lives for others. Aiden had made an oath at eighteen to focus on his life path and never let his emotional guard down. He’d sworn again to his dad the night he died that his life purpose would be to protect and help as many people as possible, not feel the sorrow his dad had felt at losing his wife. His dad had clasped his hand, his blue eyes shining at him, and told him how proud he was and how much he loved him. It was the first and only time his dad had said ‘I love you.’

Aiden’s chest poked out. His dad was strict and had pushed him and Ike beyond what most boys, or men, could handle, but they were his pride and joy and he’d been effusive with praise and showing love, just not saying the words.

Of course his dad was up in heaven, finally with his mom, and even more proud of Aiden for accomplishing all he’d set out to do. He’d already dismantled mafia, traffickers, and drug dealers, saving innocent people around the globe. He would continue to rid the world of evil. His security team was elite and growing. Nick was almost as well trained as he was at this point.

Aiden teased Sutton often that he’d pass him up as the top security specialist. Sutton always chuckled at that, affectionately called him a ‘barmy chap,’ and then returned to teaching or discussing with him. Aiden revered Sutton, and he would accomplish more than even his idol.

Not even the mesmerizing Chalisa, his everlasting love, could distract him.

This show was supposed to be a break, a fun week of exposure for him. The million dollars wasn’t the motivation. He’d taken his mom’s carefully-guarded-by-his-dad fortune and made himself a billionaire with commercial real estate projects. Aiden could live off the interest and even buy some fun toys like his jet, his yacht, and a garage full of motorcycles, supercars, and off-road vehicles at his family estate and eastern headquarters in Cape Cod.

“We’ll see,” Mercedes said softly. “Because she is incredible.”

She tilted her head toward Chalisa. Mercedes was right. Incredible wasn’t enough to describe the love of Aiden’s life. Charitable, inspiring, angelic, life-altering.

Stop it, he commanded himself.

A week of fighting against his own mind and heart?

This was going to be miserable.

But his path had been set since he was five years old, confirmed at eighteen, and written in stone when his dad died. Nothing and no one would change his trajectory.

Chalisa turned with her niece in her arms. She and her family walked back toward them. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. The silky blonde hair, the arresting blue eyes, the full pink lips, the lean lines of her body.

Seeing her with an adorable toddler in her arms, witnessing firsthand the love she had for the child and her family, made her even more appealing.