Ransom 13

"Ok." Aaron said looking towards the clock on the kitchen wall, "You've got five minutes." Nothing Robert said now would make a blind bit of difference. Aaron just wanted to prolong his agony, he'd let him talk, let him lie some more... and then laugh in his face.

"You really have got this all wrong." Robert insisted desperate to drive home that fact.

"The clocks ticking... tick-tock tick-tock..."

"Alright." Robert snapped in frustration, he'd asked for five minutes but now realised it could take a lot longer than that to open Aaron's eyes to the truth. He wasn't sure how best to do that, he just knew he had to. "Shields phoned me yesterday, he said he needed money, I told him I couldn't help him. I didn't want to get involved with the likes of him, not again. Then later, when I was driving home he messaged me, I didn't know it was him then, not straight away. The texts were anonymous and... and cryptic. Then he sent a picture of you unconscious and bleeding. I felt sick... it hurt seeing you like that and when I realised who was responsible I was so scared for you, I was terrified I'd lose you."

Aaron yawned, he wanted Robert to know his words were having no impact on him.

Aaron disinterest was off-putting but Robert told himself he had to ignore it, "I went to the scrapyard, found your phone. It had been smashed, that was a warning not to mess with Shields. I wouldn't have anyway, I just wanted you back safe." Robert watched Aaron shake his head, had he really hardened his heart against him?

"I knew you wouldn't want me to tell your mum, that you wouldn't want her going through that kind of hell. I had to think of something fast and I told her you'd gone to see Hazel, that she was really ill. Chas believed me and..."

"You said she knew about this, Cain too!" Aaron said with a hint of triumph in his voice, he'd just caught Robert in another lie.

"She does now. She spoke to Bob this morning, asked about Hazel, found out where she was... and how she was! I didn't know those two had been close, that they kept in touch. I had to tell Chas everything and then she rang Cain."

Aaron had to hand it to Robert he hadn't batted an eyelid as yet another lie had tripped off his lips.

"I'd already organised the money or thought I had, Shields phoned last night and..." something else had happened last night, they'd had a visitor bearing some unexpected news. He couldn't tell Aaron about his father now...that would have to wait..."

Robert suddenly looked miles away, troubled even. Aaron decided he was just trying to conjure up another lie, well Robert's time was fast running out, and it seemed he needed another reminder of that fact, "Four minutes!"

"He was demanding more money, more than I could get my hands on at the drop of a hat, I asked for more time but he made threats... I was out of my mind with worry..." Aaron was looking out of the window now, his attention seemingly elsewhere. Robert knew he had to somehow quash Aaron's apparent indifference else he'd never get through to him, "I'd have done anything to get you back, anything." Robert paused, his head throbbed mercilessly, that and the fact he was trussed up like a turkey made it hard to think, he'd lost his thread and knew he was wasting precious time.

"Three minutes."

Robert took a deep breath to steady himself, "Cain knows Shields..." He was back on track now, he just needed to concentrate. Something he said would hopefully resonate with Aaron, would make him see sense.

Another obvious lie, "That would mean Shields knows Cain." His uncle had built up a formidable reputation over the years, only a fool would dare cross him. "No one would do the dirty on his doorstep."

"He wasn't meant to find out." That's what Robert was surmising. "He'd have been none the wiser if Chas hadn't caught me out. But I think it was for the best..." He realised that now. "Cain said Shields had to be working for someone, that hadn't crossed my mind up until then. He asked me if anyone had a grudge against me..."

Aaron snorted "I bet there's a list as long as your arm."

"Yeah probably, but there's only the one person who'd take it to this extreme... Chrissie!"

"What?"

"I realised it was her! It had to be. I betrayed her... we betrayed her. She knows how much you mean to me and she hates me enough to do this to us. Don't you see, she's done this out of revenge."

Aaron laughed, he just couldn't see Chrissie going to such lengths to hit back at Robert, or at him for that matter. He was disappointed in Robert now, couldn't he come up with a better story than this? "You're losing your touch, you're not doing a very good job of lying your way out of this one."

"It's the truth. You don't know her like I do. I know what she's capable of, the lengths she'll go to to get back at someone who hurts or crosses her. She had me locked in an outbuilding once, let me think she'd doused the place with petrol, that she'd..."

"Strange you never told me that." Aaron didn't believe a word of it, he was certain Robert was making things up as he went along.

"Pride I suppose, she scared the hell out of me."

"Two minutes!"

Robert shook his head he was starting to despair now, "I picked up the money, I was supposed to be heading back to the Wooly, but I kept thinking about what Cain had said, and the more I thought about it the more convinced I was that Chrissie was behind it. I went to the house, there was no one there..."

"How convenient."

"I think what she did to me was at the back of my mind, something told me she was keeping you close to her. I started looking for you..."

"And you knew exactly where to look." Aaron spat scornfully.

"I'd checked nearly every one of the estate's out-buildings before that one. When I saw the shutter up I knew you were in there...

"Yeah you knew I was in there alright! You'd already been there that morning, I heard you talking to that knob-head."

"No. No you didn't hear me." Robert protested vehemently. "It must have been Chrissie you heard." Seeing Aaron smirk Robert's temper flared, "There's no need for all this, if you'd just phone your mum she'd put you straight. She's worried sick, she needs to know you're safe..."

"She will soon. I'll have some good news about you too. That you're out of my life for good."

"No. Aaron please before this goes too far. Don't you see, Chrissie wanted to turn you against me, it's all part of her sick plan. You can't let it happen..."

"You're unbelievable, why can't you own up to what you've done?"

"The only thing I'm guilty of is loving you." Robert thought desperately for a memory for something that would add credence to his words. "Remember yesterday morning? The way I made love to you? That was real, that was..."

"Shut up!" Aaron snarled, he didn't want to hear it.

Robert knew he'd just found a chink in Aaron's armour, "That was no roll in the hay, no quickie on the backseat of the car, it wasn't me using you for sex. It was me loving you. Loving you Aaron."

"No..."

"Yes! Stop listening to that voice in your head, that's Shields' voice. Listen to your heart instead. I love you Aaron Dingle and you know I do."

Aaron's stomach churned, his heart raced... doubt was setting in. Was he wrong about Robert's involvement?"

"I love you Aaron and these past months I've proved to you just how much. I've been there for you, I haven't let you down, not once..."

Aaron was starting to realise just how wrong he'd been. Robert really wasn't to blame for what had happened to him. Shields had convinced him of his guilt... no he couldn't really blame him, he'd made a few comments, had said things he should have known were lies. Instead he'd believed him and let his poison seep through his veins.

"Aaron..."

"I believed him!" It was a crushing realisation, one that had Aaron sink to his knees. What had he done?

Robert could see the horror on Aaron's face. "It doesn't matter. all that matters is that you believe me now." Robert didn't want Aaron torturing himself over this. He was hurt and disappointed yes but taking the circumstances into consideration, the ordeal Aaron had been through and the fact Aaron had long standing trust issues... well he actually understood how Aaron could be so easily manipulated. As long as Aaron was safe and back in his life he could and would put it behind him. Aaron had forgiven him a lot worse. "We can go back to how it was, how we were. We can pick up where we left off... loving each other."

"What I did..." A tear trickled down Aaron's face, he couldn't believe how easily he'd turned against Robert. What did that tell him?

"Untie me." All Robert wanted to do right now was hold Aaron. make him see it was alright, that they could get past this.

"I'm sorry."

"I know and it's ok, you just need to untie me. Aaron please, undo the ropes," Robert coaxed wanting to rouse Aaron from his troubled thoughts,

Aaron scrambled over to where Robert was sitting, with trembling fingers he untied first the rope around Robert's feet and then the one securing his hands behind his back. He sat back on his haunches and looked on miserably as Robert rubbed his arms to get the circulation back. Then, when Robert wrapped his arms around him Aaron tensed. "No." He pulled away and stood up, he waited for Robert to get to his feet before looking him in the eye and saying, "I can't do this. You and me... I can't. It's over. It has to be."

tbc