“Well holy fuck” Jensen smirks.
Cash ignores him walking towards me and ignoring the knowing looks that appear on the guys faces.
“Are you sure?” I ask and Cash’s grin widens, “of course. Here” he says giving me his keys as Jenny and Rob disappear, Jenny muttering something about having to tell Kat.
“Ok what’s the big deal?” I ask the others and they chuckle, smirking and looking to Cash to explain.
“I’ve never let anyone drive my car, Il mio Cuore” he says and smirks.
“And you’re trusting me!?” I exclaim and then decide to mess with him a bit, “you don’t even know if I’ve got my licence! I mean, I have only crashed like three times, so there’s that I guess” I try to keep my face straight as his pales slightly and Jensen snorts. “I can just buy you a new one now I guess.”
His eyes widen and I can’t help but burst out laughing as soon as he realises I’m messing with him he grabs me around the waist and pulls me close, kissing me hard until I’m breathless as the guys howl with laughter.
“That was uncalled for Dragonfly” he mutters grinning.
“Funny though,” I smirk and he chuckles, “thank you for letting me borrow your car, I promise to take good care of it” I promise.
“Thank you” he smirks, “we’ve got to take care of some stuff to do with Tomlinson. There were some fights or some shit. It’ll all calm down when the Pit opens back up” he sighs like he really can’t be bothered with it all.
They all kiss me goodbye before dispersing and Trick pulls me to the side.
“We have no idea what Jeremy’s game is but he seemed pretty certain in the text that he was going to see you soon. I also have no idea if Atlas has taken care of it yet and I don’t think we will know unless he tells us himself” he says seriously, “so do you have your knives, just in case?”
“Yeah I have my normal two and the two that Atty gave me. I’m not going anywhere without them again. My life just isn’t normal enough” I chuckle before standing on my tiptoes and wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Normals boring.”
He chuckles kissing me once more before stepping back.
“See you later, Dragonfly” he calls as I rush out of the door, now definitely late to meet Rylie and Darcy.
I hop into Cash’s car slightly nervous about driving it now that I know that it’s such a big deal. I really was winding him up earlier, I can drive and pretty damn well. I haven’t had an accident yet. I take it fairly easy on the drive to the mall, mainly because I haven’t driven a car for a really long time but also just in case. The car is practically begging for me to let her lose a bit though so I can tell you now I will not be taking it easy on the way back.
It’s not too hard to find a parking space and my excitement increases as soon as I finally see Rylie. She wraps me in a hug, grinning.
“Hey girl!”
“Hey, I’ve missed your face” I grin and she chuckles.
“Missed you too. I’ve not gotten up to nearly as much questionable shit since you’ve been gone.”
“I’m sure that’s not true” I say grinning at Darcy who returns it.
“It’s not, she’s been just as bad without her partner in crime” Darcy chuckles, smiling at Rylie like she's her world, it’s adorable.
They thread their fingers together and we make our way inside.
“So what are we actually here for?” I ask as we wander aimlessly.
“I don’t actually have a plan in mind this was just the first place I thought of when you said that you wanted to go somewhere crowded because of that freaky stalker. What’s going on with that?” she asks.
“Not much, he’s just managed to somehow pull some strings and get himself moved to a low security place and a reduced sentence. When they caught him for what he did to me they found loads of other fucked up stuff on him apparently but it made no difference to whoever pulled the strings” I explain giving her enough information to satiate her curiosity but still keeping fairly vague. Jenny let us know over breakfast this morning that little detail and I’ve been trying not to think about it ever since.
“That’s seriously fucked up. He should be going away for a long time just for what he did to you. Forget everything else!” Darcy frowns.
“I completely agree, Darce. Don’t even get me started” I say, “do you want to go and get a coffee to drink as we wander?”
“Sure I’m for that” Rylie agrees and Darcy nods.
We make our way over to the coffee place and get our orders filled quickly. Once we’re away from the crowds a bit, Rylie starts the question up again.
“So what do the guys think about it all?”
“They’re mad as hell” I chuckle. Downplaying their reaction.
“I can imagine. Did you have that conversation with them?” she asks and I grin.
“Yeah” I say taking a sip of my coffee.
“And!?” she says excitedly, “come on fill me in!”
Darcy chuckles and looks at me expectantly clearly wanting to know the answer too. I chuckle.
“And you were right. We’re together.”
“All of you?” Darcy asks and I prepare myself for some sort of judgement as I nod, “dude you’re living a straight girls dream” she says with a straight face before a grin breaks out making me and Rylie howl with laughter.
“You’re awesome” I compliment once I’ve got my laughter under control.
“I know!” she grins.
They make me tell them the story of how it all happened and obviously I have to bend the truth a little bit because Atlas plays a big part in it. My fingers twitch as they start to move towards my necklace with Atlas’s ring on that rests between my boobs. Atlas’s warning floats through my mind though and I know it’s one of those things that has a deeper meaning than what he told me so I resist the urge to make sure it’s still there.
Besides even if there wasn’t his warning about the ring itself, I still wouldn’t be able to show them because they’d have questions and I can’t answer them. I’m not putting Atlas in danger and I’m starting to think that it would put Darcy and Rylie in danger if they knew anything about Atlas and what was going on. It’s safer to keep them in the dark for everybody’s sake.
We end up walking around the store for a couple of hours whilst we mindlessly shop, picking up a few things to get and just catching up on what’s been happening since we last saw each other.
“Your scrapes on your face are practically gone now” Rylie comments.
“I’d forgotten about them to fair. They don’t hurt at all” I say.
I honestly haven’t thought about them, my mind has been so consumed with everything else that the last time I did was when that guy called me scar face and I got to play for a bit.
“I’m glad” Rylie smiles.
It turns out that I was right. Rylie and Darcy have pretty much spent every waking second together and nights too. Both of their parents are super cool with them being together so there hasn’t been any issues there. They really have been in a honeymoon period and I honestly can’t begrudge Rylie for her sparse replies to my messages after seeing just how happy she is with Darcy.
“School in a few days” Darcy frowns.
“I am so not ready to go back” I say.
“Me neither, girl” Rylie agrees. “I wonder how much shit Selena is going to give you. Especially if you’re not going to keep it quiet that you are all together.”
“Oh god, don’t remind me. I’d almost managed to forget she existed. I refuse to hide my relationship with the guys just because some people might have a problem with it. They’re parents know and they’re all cool with it” I say.
“That’s awesome. That would be the biggest problem I guess” Rylie ponders.
We talk for a bit longer about school before deciding to head back and meet again before we go back to school. I wave good bye to them as I hop into Cash’s car and enj
oy Rylie’s wide eyes as I drive off. She obviously knows all about Cash’s car and I’d be willing to bet money that I have a text by the time I get back to Trick’s house.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“I’m home!” I yell when I get through the door, “I dinged your car Cash” I add just because I can and Cash narrows his eyes at me as he comes into the hallway obviously trying to decide if I’m being serious or not. Jensen snorts with laughter and I can’t hold back my grin, which makes me lose the stare down.
“You’re in trouble, Il mio Cuore” Cash grins wickedly and my body heats.
Before he can get to me though I’m swept off my feet and into Jensen’s arms. He kisses me like he hasn’t seen me for years and I return it with just as much feeling.
“I missed you Angel” he mutters, before letting me down.
“I missed you too” I smile up at him.
“Did you have fun with Rylie and Darcy, Dragonfly?” Cash asks as we all wander into the kitchen.
“Yeah it was great. They’re so cute together” I grin and they chuckle. “Are the others still dealing with that issue with Tomlinson?” I ask.
“Yeah. It’s not a big deal but it needs sorting before we go back to school. Trick also wanted to get a few of our more trusted guys to keep a look out for Jeremy in case he somehow ends up back here before Atlas can deal with him” Jensen answers me and I nod.
“Fair enough” I say before changing the subject, “I am absolutely starving, we were so busy catching up that I forgot to eat anything!” I say dramatically, like it’s the worst crime in the whole world, making them grin.
“I think Jenny still has loads of left overs in the fridge” Cash says as he pulls it open. “What do you fancy?”
“Surprise me, I’m not fussy” I say and he grins.
Jensen comes to sit next to me and I lean against him. It was awesome seeing Rylie and Darcy and a great distraction from worrying about Atty but it was a bit weird not having the guys with me. I missed them all. Cash sets down a plate of a mixture of different leftovers in front of me and I grin up at him in thanks.
“Dude” Jensen says sounding all hurt when Cash doesn’t give him a plate too.
“Quit pouting your’s is in the oven, I’ve only got two hands” he chuckles.
“You’re one to talk, I named you two the pouty twins weeks ago” I giggle.
“Fair point” Cash chuckles as we start to eat, sharing minimal conversation as we enjoy Jenny’s cooking.
We’ve just finished eating, when the front door opens and the guys all come traipsing through.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me that was an absolute piss take” Rafe curses as soon as they get through the door.
“Agreed, it seems so pathetic” Riot adds as they take off their boots.
“It was pretty funny though” Luc chimes in, immediately wrapping me in his arms and kissing me thoroughly before I’m pulled into Trick’s arms and he does the same until Rafe and Riot get a hold of me. Riot kissing my neck as Rafe kisses me and makes my toes curl before I’m spun in their arms and Riot kisses me senseless.
When we break apart I’m pulled down onto Trick’s lap where he’s sat at the table, eating as the other guys make their own plates up and soon join us.
“What happened?” Jensen ask’s handing me a coffee and some cake he’s found from god knows where.
“Some idiot from our school started something with someone’s sister from Tomlinson and then when her brother gave the traditional big brother warning our guy fucking lost it. The absolute dick. Our guy was in the wrong and we needed to smooth it out before something bigger kicked off and we had to delay opening the pit” Luc starts to explain.
“Yeah we eventually convinced them to fight it out in the pit. Suddenly the dick from our school started to backtrack but we wouldn’t let him back out. If he’s going to make threats and pretend he’s a big man then he needs to back it up” Riot says.
“We’ve been trying to keep the peace and diffusing situations, obviously without violence so we don’t attract the attention of the cops and we can get the pit open sooner. Which means that we’ve been a lot more pacifying with ridiculous agreements like these” Trick adds, “they’ve started to forget how it used to be and it was nice to remind them today even though it seemed so small and insignificant, it was boring” he chuckles and the guys joined in.
“Why do you think that I wanted to stay behind, I knew it was going to be no fun” Jensen chuckles.
My phone buzzing in my pocket distracts me from the guys conversation and I frown when I pull it out and see that the number is unknown.
“Guys, Shut it!” Trick yells and they instantly quiet, “put it on speaker, Sweetheart” he tells me more gently and I do as he says.
“Hello?” I say cautiously, fully expecting it to be Jeremy somehow.
“Hello, is this Everleigh?” a deep male voice asks, definitely not Jeremy.
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Reynolds. I’m in charge of your case with your father, although I am aware of the other things going on” he starts and I relax until I realise that this could be the call that takes me away from the guys. I know they said that they would come with me but my heart panics regardless.
Trick's arms squeeze me tightly from behind and I’m glad he pulled me down onto his lap.
“Always, Sweetheart” he whispers and my heart settles.
It truly amazes me how they just know when I need them.
“Are the guys with you?” he asks, throwing me off slightly when it almost seems like he knows they are and is asking out of obligation not necessity.
“Yeah they’re here” I reply.
“Good put me on speaker, if I’m not already, they all need to hear this too.”
“Ok, you’re on speaker, Detective” Trick answers.
“Some evidence has come to light and we have discovered that the case that involves your father is actually bigger than we thought. We need to move you and due to some of the evidence that has been found the boys need to be moved too” he starts.
We all exchange a confused look, that would suggest that they were involved somehow.
“We’ve also had to change the location that we will be moving you to,” he pauses as if trying to figure out the best why to explain, “it’s not the most traditional place to send you and we wouldn’t normally but your situation has become quite unique and it’s undeniably the most safe place for you all since it’s one of the only places that we can guarantee is out of his reach.”
I frown, who’s reach? I thought my dad was just dealing drugs and guns this sounds a hell of a lot more serious than that.
“Who. . .” Riot starts to ask the question I want to but the detective interrupts.
“I can’t explain any more over the phone but I promise I will when we pick you up, for now all you need to know is that it’s a school.”
“A school?” I question, “how is that safer?”
“Like I said, I can’t explain over the phone but I can assure you it is” he pauses, “we need to get you there as soon as possible as we’ve received intel that your position is not safe. We will pick you up at nine a.m. tomorrow morning, unfortunately I am unable to get to you any sooner. Your parents will be under police protection and with you gone shouldn’t be in any danger. Jensen I will speak to your father since you are still under eighteen. Ever I will ring your guardians after this. The rest of you, you need to tell them. The general story is that you’ve been accepted into an elite school, which is true. You can give your parents the name Redwood Academy to use when they tell someone or are asked. They will not be told the real name of the place that you are going and I won’t be telling you until we are on the way. It’s safer for everyone that way. Understood?”
“Understood” Trick says grimly.
“On the plus side at least you only have one problem to worry about now” the detective adds.
“What?”
> “Oh I thought the local PD would’ve already been in contact with you” he says sounding surprised, “your stalker Jeremy was shot and killed during his transfer to the lower security facility he was going to” he says although it sounds like there’s more to it than that and there’s a vague hint of pride in his tone that confuses me before the gravity of what he’s said hits me. “They found some truly disturbing things when they looked a bit further into him, I don’t think they’ll be searching for whoever did it that hard. We’re all pretty glad that he’s not out there anymore” he adds almost as if he’s trying to reassure us.
This whole situation is odd and has my instincts tingling although not necessarily in a bad way.
My vague inkling is proven correct when the guys share a grim but satisfied look.
“Thank you detective” Trick says and ends the call.
There’s a beat of silence whilst we all absorb the information dump that just landed on us before I can think about anything else I have to address the last thing that the detective said.
“Was that . . .” I trail off silently asking if Atlas was behind the shooting.
“We won’t know for sure unless he tells us but I’d assume so. He would do anything to protect you and if Jeremy was as bad as the detective alluded to then he would’ve had no problems in following through on that” Trick says trying to stay as vague as possible. The chances of someone listening in right now are slim to none but it’s better to be safe than sorry especially in this instance.
I nod. There’s not really much more to add to that. Does it make me a bad person that I feel incredibly relived and grateful that he’s no longer a problem? I ask myself and then immediately follow that up with another question.
Do I care if it does?
I don’t really have an answer to that so I move on.
“I wonder why it’s necessary now that you guys are bought in with me?”
“I think there’s a lot going on that we don’t know about and I hope like hell we get at least some answers tomorrow” Cash says.
The others nodding in agreement.
Secrets Worth Keeping (Finding my Home Book 2) Page 37