A Matter of Vengeance

Chapter 17

Weeks had gone by and Aria had heard nothing else from her aunt and uncle about her cousin. She thought it was over. The last thing she needed was them poking around trying to figure out where he had gone. There was no way in hell she'd ever admit that her husband had killed her cousin. She would take that secret to her grave! Tig had forgotten all about the surprise visit from Aria's aunt and uncle as they had some club business come up. He had to take off on a run for several days leaving Aria all by herself.

It was part of being an 'ol lady, she understood that, but it didn't make it any easier being away from him. They had kissed passionately before he left for the clubhouse the morning they were set to head out. She worried for his safety and silently prayed for his safe return. Having her own job did help ease things some since she didn't have much time to think about things while she was at work. It was when she got off work that her mind went into overdrive. One day while Tig was gone, her Aunt Meg gave her a call.

"Aria, we need to talk." Meg stated making her silently swallow.

"What's going on, Aunt Meg?" Aria stated as coolly as she could.

"We have some news on Evan. He was last spotted in Las Vegas with some of his hoodlum friends." Meg told her making her eyes widen.

'Oh holy shit. Please don't let her know about the bikers!' Aria silently prayed.

"Oh really?" Aria exclaimed.

"Yeah. We got ahold of one of them. They were out drinking, doing drugs, had some high-end call girl with them." Meg sighed, "I raised that boy better than that nonsense!"

"What happened?" Aria asked as if she didn't know.

"Apparently they were out one night. His friend said one minute he was standing there with them as they decided which casino to go to next and the next minute he was gone. Not a trace of him anywhere. His friends looked for him but they never found him." Meg explained.

"Oh my goodness!" Aria gasped, "You don't think he ran afoul of someone out there, do you?"

"It's the only conclusion we can come up with. I repeatedly told him he was going to cross the wrong people one day!" Meg sighed, "I'm afraid my son might be dead, Aria! I tried to raise him right, to know right from wrong, but why did he do the things he was doing?"

"Aunt Meg, you did everything right. He made his own decisions and he had to live with them. If he did run afoul of someone out there, then it was because he did something to cause them to react in such a way." Aria stated.

"I know. Your Uncle Kevin is beside himself hoping that his son is still alive." Meg told her.

"All we can do is pray. Don't let this eat you alive, Aunt Meg." Aria calmly stated.

"You're right, sweetie." She heard Meg sigh, "But he's my son. I worry about him. I know he's made some really bad decisions in his life. I just...I'm his mother, Aria, and I can't help but feel a bit responsible for him."

"I know, Aunt Meg. But you have to remember he's his own person making his own decisions. If he's gotten himself into trouble somewhere, it's because he's done something or said something to put himself into that position. Don't feel bad for something you can't control." Aria stated.

"I know. Well, I should let you go. I just wanted you to know the latest in what we've found out about Evan." Meg told her, "If you hear anything, please let us know."

"I will, Aunt Meg. Keep me informed too." Aria said.

She sat back on her couch and sighed. Although she hated that her aunt and uncle were under duress not knowing what happened to their son, she also knew the shame he brought upon them and the fights they'd had about his bad decision making. They both knew that there would come a time he'd get himself into such trouble that he'd lose his life over it. She didn't want to be the one to tell them that he was, in fact, dead. She would deny knowing anything about it until her dying day.

While Tig was gone, Aria stopped at the local diner for dinner on her way home from work each evening. She'd shower once she got home then sprawl out on the couch to watch TV for a few hours before bed. It was strange not having him home. He called her when they made it to their destination to let her know they'd arrived with no problems. When they were about to hit the road for home, he called her again to let her know they were about to hit the road and an approximation of when to expect him home.

It would be very late when he got home but she didn't mind. All that mattered was him arriving home safely. Gemma wanted to throw another family dinner. Jax was quick to tell her if she wanted Tig to show up this time, his wife would have to be welcome as well. Gemma still wasn't liking her but agreed just so she could visit with Tig. He would always be one she looked out for even if he had remarried and taken an 'ol lady. Lyla was excited to get to see Aria again since she'd been so nice to her when they first met.

Tara had never liked Lyla do to what she did for a living. Aria didn't seem to know or care. She was nice to everyone. Tig pulled into the driveway and noticed her truck was gone. He wondered where she was as he cautiously opened his door. Had someone kidnapped his wife? What was going on? He checked every single room in the house and nothing seemed out of place. It didn't look like a struggle had happened, there was no blood anywhere, it was as if she'd simply walked out of the house and left.

He took himself a shower then sent a message to her phone hoping she'd answer before he got settled in bed. Maybe there was a reason she wasn't home. Something happened at the clubhouse he wasn't privy to yet. He quickly fell asleep, thankful he was back in his own bed again, hoping his paranoia was for nothing. He figured if she still hadn't come home by the next morning, he'd head to the clubhouse and bring it up with his brothers. When he woke up the next morning, she still wasn't there. He'd just finished getting dressed and was walking through the living room when the front door opened up.

His wife's scrubs were covered in blood, what looked like vomit, and something he thought might've been urine. He eyed her carefully as she slipped out of her shoes and set her keys in the bowl by the door. She immediately began stripping out of her scrubs without saying a word to him. Everything about her demeanor said she'd had a rough night and he wanted to know all about it.

"Babe, what happened? When I got home last night you weren't here." He asked as he picked up her clothes as she dropped them on the way to their bathroom.

"I was called late last night. One of the ER nurses didn't show for her shift. They asked me to come in and fill in for her." She sighed as she got the shower going, "It was an extremely long night. Thankfully they gave me the day off for my troubles."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Aria. Want me to make you something to eat?" He asked.

"That would be awesome. I haven't eaten since dinner last night." She replied before stepping into the shower.

"Ok, baby. You get cleaned up and I'll go make you some breakfast." He told her before dropping her clothes in her laundry hamper.

He walked into the kitchen to make her some scrambled eggs and bacon. Simple enough he could make it without making a mess of everything. She took her sweet time in the shower to let the water ease her aching muscles before giving herself a thorough scrub down. She'd been vomited on which made her feel incredibly gross. She'd been peed on which added to her gross feeling. Once she felt clean, she washed and conditioned her hair then shut the water off. She hoped her breakfast was almost ready so she could lay down and get some rest.

He was bringing her plate to the table as she was walking down the hall in her long black tank top looking night shirt. Before she sat down, he pulled her into his arms and just rested her head on his chest. She needed some affection after the long night she'd had. Pulling a double shift was rough enough but working in the ER seemed to amp everything up some. She gave him a squeeze before pulling away. "Thank you for making me breakfast." she stated as she sat down. He just smiled and told her he'd do anything for her. He kissed her forehead before telling her if she needed anything, he'd be at the garage.

A/N: How sweet is Tig? ^_^

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