Secrets Worth Keeping (Finding my Home Book 2)

by Nikita Parmenter

I don’t dare to look in her direction yet. If I see how bad her injuries are I am not going to be responsible for what I do next. My hand tightens around his throat as my vision tints red with rage. I know perfectly well what he was planning. It makes me sick to my core. I bring my leg up and slam it into his balls so fucking hard he immediately cries out. I let go of his throat as he curls forward and pukes his gut up from the pain. As soon as he’s done I shove him with my booted foot towards Rafe and Cash, they immediately smack him back down. I chose these two to help me deal with this since I thought they would be the ones most able to keep their cool. Jensen loves violence far too much and with someone he cares about being hurt he’s going to be even more deadly, meaning that once he starts he won’t be able to stop. Luc cannot stand a woman being hurt, none of us can but it triggers memories for him and he and Jensen become far more alike than anyone would’ve guessed. Riot is there to keep them busy and stop them from attempting to come over here once they get a good look at whatever that fucker did to Ever. He is the voice of reason in this situation. Looking at my brothers now as we play with Jeremy, I know I’m going to have to desperately keep a grip on that control I’m so fucking famous for because I can see Rafe and Cash losing theirs quickly.

  “You think we’re the ones she needs protecting from?” Rafe roars as he jumps and lands a devastating blow on the side of Jeremy's head.

  He goes down like a sack of potatoes but quickly shakes it off again and jumps up, we’ve surrounded him and he tries to escape by Cash wrongly assuming that he’s the weakest out of the three of us. Cash jumps and boots him in the chest making him stumble backwards.

  “Where the fuck do you think you’re going, playtimes not over yet” Cash smirks, he can be real fucking creepy when he wants to be.

  Jeremy spins towards me and I catch him with an upper cut, right now both eyes are swollen, his cheeks split, his nose is broken from my earlier hit and he has one arm wrapped around himself, so I’m guessing he has a broken rib or two as well.

  “Five minutes” Jensen growls from behind us alerting us that he’s called the cops and they’re only five minutes out. Jensen’s voice is dark with violence and it wouldn’t surprise me if Riot was having to hold him back right now.

  “Take him down” I order Cash.

  Cash nods once and as Jeremy spins towards him eyes wide with terror Cash darts forward and has him restrained and on the floor in seconds. It never fails to amaze me how fucking quickly he can do that. Unfortunately we can’t use cable ties to secure him like we would usually, the cops would definitely find that suspect. Once Cash has restrained him so he can’t move an inch I bend down and make sure his swollen eyes meet mine. I grab a handful of that fucking ridiculously stupid bright yellow hair and lower my voice dangerously.

  “If you ever come near OUR” I make sure to enunciate, “Everleigh again we will not be so fucking lenient. We will torture and then bury you. We will enjoy every motherfucking second of it” he’s shaking in fear as colour leeches from his face, he has no fucking idea who he’s messing with. We are pretty fucking lucky Atlas isn’t here, he would’ve killed the fucker and not thought twice about it. “Good luck in prison, we’ve got a couple of friends who’re going to give you a nice welcome” I chuckle darkly as I release his head and it bounces off the hard ground.

  Sirens flash in the distance and we all take a step back, adopting casual poses apart from Cash who continues to hold the deathly pale and now sobbing Jeremy on the floor.

  Chapter Two

  Everleigh

  Trick may have spoken quietly to Jeremy but it’s the middle of the night, on a back road in the middle of nowhere. I heard him clear as day and I’m not even going to lie and say it didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies because it absolutely did, what does that say about me?

  “Sunshine, where are you hurt?” Riot asks urgently.

  When I realised that the men pulling me out of the car were actually Jensen, Luc and Riot I collapsed in relief and haven’t stopped sobbing since. I was aware of my other guys beating the shit out of Jeremy but I was just so fucking grateful that they came for me, that it didn't even occur to me to watch.

  “You came for me” I say quietly my sobs finally ceasing.

  I’m gently turned in Luc’s arms. Jensen was holding me but as soon as I said what Jeremy had planned for me he passed me off to Luc and now Riot is having to hold him back from going over to Jeremy’s prone form. I have to agree it’s a good call since Jensen is statue still, as if, if he moves a single muscle he won’t be able to hold himself back from killing Jeremy, violence has completely consumed any light in his eyes.

  “I promised you we’d always come for you Sweetheart” Trick reminds me gently his gaze finally landing on me and his eyes flashing with pain as they land on my battered face. “I’m so sorry” he mutters as he steps closer.

  I tug him to me, not leaving the safety of Luc’s arms, I’m going to be a clingy bitch for a while and I’m not even sorry about it. I pull him closer and look up at him.

  “Not your fault, you guys saved me” I try to smile but end up grimacing in pain.

  “Oh Ever” Trick says, his voice pained as he leans down and lightly traces my lips with his, fortunately it’s more the side of my face that is covered in gravel rash and my lips are blood and gore free.

  “Ever” Jensen growls out from beside me, so much pain and violence swirling in him that it’s caused his voice deepen.

  My head snaps towards him and this time I do take a step away from Luc and Trick but they just move with me which is a good job because I get a step away from Jensen and my legs give out. His arms snap out to catch me and he gently pulls me towards him, he stares down into my eyes and I can see his demons have fully come out to play in the depths of his green eyes.

  “You got to me in time Jensen” I say trying to reassure him.

  “You’re hurt” he growls.

  “I am but nothing too serious, I’m scraped up to shit and I think I might have a concussion but other than that I am absolutely fine.”

  His eyes trace over my features, before he reluctantly nods. My undamaged cheek lands on his chest as his arms wrap around my waist, Luc and Trick each have a hand on my back and I feel Riot reach around Jensen and stroke my hair.

  “Where are you scraped up?” Rafe asks his voice rougher than usual.

  “What’s wrong with your voice, are you ok?” I ask worriedly.

  “That’s what you’re worried about right now?” Rafe asks incredulously.

  “He’s done a lot of talking this evening, his voice isn’t used to it after years of not being used” Cash calls from the other side of the car, where I’m guessing he’s still pinning Jeremy, who is suspiciously quiet.

  “Yeah that and he pretty much roared at all the people in the diner, scared the living shit out of half of them” Jensen snorts his chest moving under my head and I raise my eyebrow at Rafe. He just leans forward carefully without dislodging any of the others and gently kisses me.

  “It would seem that normal people don’t react like we do to the sound of his voice, Sunshine” Riot practically purrs.

  I turn to look at Riot and smirk at him.

  “How do you two react?” Rafe grins, knowing full well, he’s used it on us both enough.

  “Guys there’ll be time for that later, right now we need to get Ever seen by a doctor” Luc lightly chastises.

  “Right. So back to my last question, where are you scraped up?” Rafe asks me again.

  I step back from the guys and they all keep their hands out ready to catch me if I fall.

  “Well my face,” I say pointing to it unnecessarily, “that was mostly my fault. I went boneless so he’d relax his grip and then threw myself forward but I was still disorientated from where he’d smacked my head into a wall and my arms didn’t react quick enough, so I landed on my face” I grimace, I’m not a shallow person but I am dreading seeing what my face looks like in the mirror. “He then gr
abbed my foot and pulled me towards the car but scraped me along the floor, which made my face worse and” I look down at myself, “I have scrapes on my chest and I’m pretty sure on one of my legs too” I hear a pained scream from the other side of the car as a sickening pop echoes through the trees. I’m guessing Cash didn’t like the sound of that. The ambulance and police car are nearly here but I still lift up my dress, wincing at the scrapes that are more on my left leg than my right I guess I was more on that side? It’s them same side the scrapes are on my face so that would make sense.

  “Fuck Angel” Jensen curses, reaching out and winding his fingers through mine, gripping tightly.

  The cops and the ambulance are just pulling to a stop and I take a deep breath. I don’t like hospitals but I know I need to be checked out. I know nothing is broken and although the scrapes bled a lot I’m not sure any of them need any stitches but they do all need cleaning out and I need to get my head checked out, it still feels fuzzy a bit like it's stuffed with cotton wool. Now more than ever I can’t wait to get away, just me and my guys.

  An EMT comes rushing towards me and I’m jumpy as hell, some of the reactions I’d managed to lose being around the guys have obviously come back thanks to Jeremy. I flinch away from him hard, cringing back into Jensen and Rafe who both growl at my reaction as Trick and Luc step forward blocking me from the EMT. My heart starts to beat normally as Cash rounds the side of the vehicle coming to stand on my other side, obviously having handed Jeremy over to the cops.

  “I think a female EMT might be best for now” Trick says, his tone allowing no arguments.

  “Now listen here kid, I am a fully trained EMT I think I know what’s best” the guy threatens, totally not reassuring me in the slightest. He’s also only a couple of years older than the guys and has obviously only just finished his training, so he’s on some kind of power trip.

  “No you fucking listen, Ever has been kidnapped and injured by a male, she is obviously not going to be comfortable with strange men around her” Trick states firmly, his fists clenching at his sides as he tries not to lose his temper.

  I know I’m being silly right now but I can’t seem to help it and something about this guy just rubs me the wrong way.

  As if to prove my internal thoughts correct, the guy scoffs and tries to dart his hand through the guys to grab me, I instantly make an embarrassing squeak which I’m immediately pissed about but I can’t help cringing back into Jensen and Rafe again. Trick has the EMT in an arm lock and pushed up against the car in seconds, just as a cop walks around the corner.

  “Arrest him for assaulting me” the EMT screeches.

  I worry for a second that Trick is going to be in trouble but the officer just raises his eyebrow at the pinned EMT and turns to Trick.

  “What did he do Trick?” the cop asks simply, talking to Trick as if he’s on good terms with him.

  “Ever has been kidnapped and hurt by a man, when this douche came racing towards her she understandably flinched away from him and it scared her. We politely suggested that a female EMT would be better due to the trauma she’s just experienced and he argued and then tried to reach through us to grab her, she screamed, I put him in an arm lock. I will not allow anyone else to cause her any sort of pain, sir” Trick explains respectfully.

  “Good on you boy” the cop compliments. “Let my boys take him. A night in a cell and having to explain to his superiors why he’s in there should straighten him back out” the cop says thoughtfully.

  “We will be making a complaint to his superiors as well, if we weren’t here he would’ve traumatised her worse. I would hate for anyone else to experience that” Luc says firmly.

  “Well advised decision on your part Mr Carmichael” the cop says.

  The EMT blanches before muttering, “C-c-Carmichael?”

  “Yes” the cop answer him simply.

  Luc’s parents may be absolute assholes but the family name carries a hefty weight in this part of the country. Big money names always do.

  The EMT sags in Trick’s grip as Trick hands him off to a couple of waiting officers, all the bravado has drained out of him as they place him in the back of a cop car. The EMT that came with him finally appears and his head swivels between the guys and his colleague before he sighs and pinches his nose, he slowly makes his way over to us and I appreciate the effort and understanding.

  “Do you trust these guys?” The cop asks me gently his tone soft and not taking a step closer to me.

  “With my life” I say firmly.

  “I’m afraid all the female EMT’s are out on callouts at the moment, Miss” the other EMT says just as softly as the cop spoke, “that’s why it took me so long to get out of teh ambulance, I was trying to see if someone could help us. If you feel comfortable with the boys and since I can see from here that you have no injuries that need attending to immediately, I’d suggest that they drive you to the hospital to get checked over” he says kindly.

  “See that’s how that other fucker should’ve handled it” Jensen says from behind me.

  “We can take her” Trick says, reaching for me. “Come on Sweetheart, lets go get you checked out.”

  “One minute Trick” the cop says holding his hand out, “Miss Ever could you please give us a quick statement as to what happened here. We won’t be able to hold him if you don’t. I can leave it until Monday to get a full statement though, let you rest a bit” he smiles kindly again.

  I absolutely do not want Jeremy free so although my body is hurting and emotionally I am just absolutely exhausted, I give him a quick run down of events.

  “Thank you, Ever” the cop says once I’ve finished. “You are an incredibly brave young woman.”

  “In the same cars you came in guys” Trick instructs as he walks me towards a car I’ve never seen before. “Someone message the boys and let them know we will have their cars back to them tomorrow” he instructs as he opens the passenger door for me and helps me sit down, my legs now turning to jelly. He even goes as far as to fasten my seatbelt for me and my heart melts. I turn his face towards mine and kiss him, being careful not to pull on the damaged side of my face.

  Riot hops in the back of the car, his fingers flying over the screen as Trick rounds the front of the car and hops into the drivers seat. He then fiddles with the radio until the rest of the guys voices come through the car speakers.

  “Hey Sweetheart, we saw you moving around in the back seat what were you doing?” Trick asks curiously as he pulls a U-turn and point’s us back in the direction of town and the hospital.

  “I was trying to take my other shoe off so I could use it as a weapon before running like the hounds of hell were fucking chasing me” I explain.

  “That’s our girl” Riot says softly, putting his arm through the front seats and grabbing a hold of my hand.

  “I might be a bit more clingy than usual for a while” I say in a small voice, not wanting to seem needy or clingy but needing to warn them anyway.

  “And you think we won’t?” Jensen scoffs from over the phone. “Fucking hell Angel, we almost lost you. You’re going to be damn lucky if I let you pee alone” he adds a teasing lilt to his tone that has me smiling softly.

  “He’s right Il mio Cuore you better prepare yourself. We are coming absolutely fucking everywhere with you for a while” Cash chuckles.

  “I think I’d like that, just for a bit anyway” I admit, “he really scared me.”

  “You’re safe now Ever” Rafe growls adamantly and Riot and I share a heated look at the deep timbre, effectively cutting through the tension.

  Trick chuckles quietly.

  “What’s so funny?” Luc asks.

  “It seems that if we ever need to get Riot or Ever to agree to something it would be best to get Rafe to ask them” Trick explains.

  My cheeks heat but I don’t bother denying it, it’s quiet for a beat before the guys all burst into raucous laughter and I can’t help but join in, yeah ok admittedly the laughte
r is slightly desperate but we all went through some fucking shit tonight and it’s going to take us a few days to get somewhat back to normal. I’m just so freaking glad that they got to me in time.

  “I’m still worried” I say suddenly a thought occurring to me.

  “About what?” Cash asks.

  “Well, how did Jeremy find me so easily?” I ponder aloud, “I was careful to the point of being paranoid when I came up here. I switched my plates and everything, I would’ve noticed if someone followed me up. So how did he find me?”

  The car is silent as they all absorb my words.

  “That’s a really good point, hopefully the cops will sort it all out though and if there was a problem with your dads case then that detective would’ve gotten back in contact right?” Riot says from behind me.

  “That’s true I guess” I sigh my body sinking into my seat.

  “You ok?” Trick asks glancing over at me worriedly.

  “I’m just really tired in every way, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I just want to sleep for a week” I grumble sleepily.

  “I hear ya Sunshine but you need to stay awake until the doctor checks you out” Riot commiserates squeezing my hand gently.

  “Besides if you sleep for a week you’ll miss Christmas and the first few days at the cabin” Jensen teases.

  “That’s a good point. I’ve been looking forward to the cabin since you first mentioned it.”

  “Not Christmas?” Rafe asks.

  “Well I don’t really know what to expect from Christmas if I’m being honest. The last few have sucked balls so I’m definitely more excited for the cabin” I admit chuckling.

  “We’re going to make up for all your shitty Christmas Ever” Cash vows.

  “Too fucking right we are” Jensen agrees loudly.

  “How did you guys catch up to us so quickly?” I ask, trying to stay awake.

  “Well you can thank Jensen for that” Rafe chuckles.

  “How so?” I ask.

  “Well this isn’t our first kidnapping. Jensen get’s himself kidnapped for fun by Waverly because he gets bored” Trick explains, sounding like a weary parent.