Two days at camp and Steve still hadn't said a word to him.

Rob was still Rob, but Steve had frozen him out completely, and it was hurting. Aiden spent most of his time inside the little shack, away from Steve who had taken the tent outside. Rob was trying to play peacemaker, but Steve wasn't having it, and frankly, after hearing the little snippets of discussion between them, Aiden was pretty fucking sure he didn't want Steve anymore either.

When the door of the cabin opened, Aiden expected to see Rob. When he saw that it was Steve was standing there, he didn't know what to think. For a split second, he dared hope that Steve had forgiven him, but when the big man spoke, his voice was hard and distant.

“Your sister is here to see you.”

“What?”

“Ellie. She's outside.”

Forgetting all about his lovesick state, Aiden pushed up from the bed and ran past Steve. When he got outside he saw that it was true. Ellie was standing there, looking frightened and uncertain and well out of place. It was strange to see her like that. She was usually the ice princess to his confident outgoing prince. Something was wrong.

Ellie was the best dressed woman he had ever known. She had an impeccable sense of style. Right now she was wearing a simple dress, way too plain for her. She never left the house without spending an hour on her face, but her skin was devoid of makeup.

He thought about making a quip about her having gone Amish, but figured she probably wouldn't appreciate that.

Mason was there too, looming behind her. Tall, dark, devilishly handsome, and with a fucking agenda. Aiden was sure of it.

Aiden gritted his teeth as he looked at the man, stylishly dressed as always. How ironic that Mason was the only one of them who looked good. The days of Mason wearing cast-offs were long over.

All Aiden really cared about in that moment was Ellie. She was the point of all this bullshit. He grabbed her and hugged her close, the little sister he should have been doing a much better job of protecting. He felt like shit that Mason had stepped in to do what he should have been doing all along, and even worse that Rob and Steve had made it impossible for him to do anything for her.

“Aiden, I’m so glad you're okay,” she said, tears misting her eyes. “I was so worried.”

“I'm fine,” he assured her. “No thanks to these guys.”

Her pretty features collapsed into a frown.

“No, it's only thanks to these guys. Mason especially. They’re all trying to help us.”

What? What bullshit had Mason been feeding her? She obviously didn’t know that he was being held prisoner.

“I didn't need anyone's help. It's sweet and all, Ellie, but you should have stayed out of it like I asked you. I was taking care of things. These two idiots have really made a mess of everything,” he gestured to Steve and Rob, knowing they weren't going to come for him in front of Mason and Ellie. He was a bit guilty about putting the boot into Rob, but it felt fucking great to needle Steve. Fuck Steve.

“Hello, Aiden.” Mason finally deigned to speak. God. He was such an arrogant asshole. Handsome as hell, but far too serious for his own good.

“Hi Mason,” Aiden said. “I guess you're behind this, huh?”

“Guilty as charged.”

Mason didn’t look guilty at all.

Fuck. Looking at him sucked. Seeing an old friend who wasn't a friend anymore always sucked – though Mason would probably say that they were still friends.

The more Aiden looked at Mason and Ellie, the more sure he became that the only reason Mason was helping him was because of Ellie. Aiden could see it all now. Poor Ellie needed a knight in shining armour, and Mason had made sure to be there.

Mason’s plan was working. Ellie had retreated from Aiden and gone back to Mason’s side, looking up at him with a nauseatingly fawning expression. Obviously the hatred Ellie had harboured for Mason for years had been quenched. How fucking convenient.

“Listen, guys,” Aiden stretched out his hands. “This is just all way overblown, okay. It's not that big a deal. I owed a little money, that's all. There's no need to lock me up in the woods.”

“You owed over a million dollars,” Mason growled. “And the money was the least of your problems. Still is. You have a personal beef with Bobby Cornoli. It's going to take a lot of favors and a lot of time to make that go away.”

“Eh, Bobby's a dick,” Aiden shrugged. “He'll get over it.”

“Heads of crime families don’t get over things, Aiden. Not until they put someone underground.”

Aiden smirked. The funny thing about this entire situation was that for all the guarding he’d been subjected to, he wasn't afraid of Bobby Cornoli. He wasn't afraid of anything. Why was it so hard for them to understand?

“People came to my place with guns, Aiden!” Ellie burst out suddenly, raising her hands in the air in exasperation. “They threatened to hurt me! They would have seriously hurt me if Mason hadn't been there... and this is how you thank him? You act like everything you've done is just no big deal? Do you have any idea how much trouble we're all in because of you?”

Her panicked tone made him feel guilty, and feeling guilty made him talk like an asshole. “Ellie, you sound like grandma.”

“Good,” she said. “Grandma would never have let this happen. If she knew you were involved in drugs and, and....” she stumbled over the words, but found them. “Selling women! How could you, Aiden?”

“It's not what you think, Ellie...”

“It's exactly what I think,” she replied, her gaze full of fury. “It's degenerate bullshit, it's the easy, lazy way out. We have a very generous allowance. We don't have to work. You could have spent the rest of your life fucking your way through a never ending string of debutantes and you still somehow managed to screw that up, Aiden!”

“Okay, Ellie, I get it...” Aiden was very keenly aware that Mason, Rob and Steve were very much enjoying watching his slip of a sister tear strips off him.

“But you don't get it. At all,” she continued. “You're irresponsible, and stupid, and you're putting everyone in danger, especially me. But that doesn't matter to you because all you care about is getting ahead without doing any real work. That's what drugs are, Aiden. They're a short cut. And so's prostitution. It's just all a way to get to the end game without having done anything to get there. It's a cheat and it doesn't work, and if you keep it up, one day you will end up dead, and...”

“God, Ellie, stop being such a bitch!” Aiden interrupted her tirade.

The shadow behind her moved quickly.

WHAP!

There was a loud popping sound and a second later Aiden reeled to the side, a large red hand print on the side of his face. He'd been caught around the cheek and ear by Mason's blow and his head was ringing as he stumbled back into Steve's arms.

“Easy,” Steve rumbled, his strong hands closing around Aiden's upper arms, holding him back to stop him from lunging at Mason. He needn't have bothered. The hard blow had broken Aiden at his very core, the last traces of his ego snapping as his sister watched him get beat down.

“This is nothing compared to what you deserve,” Mason growled at him. “You have no idea what she's done for you. If she has something to say to you, you'll damn well listen to it.”

Vicious and angry, Aiden tried to get his own back. “So you finally found a way to fuck her, huh? Good for you, Mason.”

He braced himself for the beating he knew was going to come, but it didn't happen. Mason went ice cold and looked at Steve and Rob instead.

“I'll leave him to your care, gentlemen,” he said, draping his arm around Ellie's shoulders and turning her back toward the vehicle. “Sounds like he needs a few more lessons in manners.”

“Hey, fuck! Get off!” Aiden struggled as Steve and Rob dragged him back into the cabin. He was shit scared of what they were going to do to him. Seemed to be beat on Aiden day as far as he could tell.

“You have got to learn to watch your mouth,” Rob sighed as Steve kicked the door closed. He put his hand on Aiden's chin and turned his face back and forth. “Steve, get an ice pack would you.”

Steve did as he was asked and soon Aiden was sitting on a rickety camp stool, holding it to his ear and cheek. Being hit by Mason was a real blow in more than one way. They'd been friends their entire lives. Mason had been the one he'd helped a hundred times. And now? Now he was some junkie piece of shit Mason hit for swearing at his sister.

“You ran prostitutes?”

Steve asked the question. Aiden could see the distaste on his face.

“Yeah,” he admitted.

“Male or female?”

“Both.”

“An equal opportunity pimp,” Steve said, no trace of humor at all.

Aiden didn't say anything. He sat in silence, knowing it was his fault, and knowing that there was really only one way to end this.