Secrets Worth Keeping (Finding my Home Book 2)

by Nikita Parmenter

  “There was almost a knowing quality to the detectives voice when he spoke about that fucker being shot” Riot muses.

  “Do we really have time to be talking about this right now, I’m expecting a phone call from my dad any second now and you guys need to tell your parents before he does or I imagine all hell is going to break loose especially for you two” Jensen chuckles as he points to Trick and Cash who share a wide eyed and slightly panicked look.

  “Shit he’s right” Cash curses.

  “I don’t think our parents are going to want us to stay here tonight so we will all meet here tomorrow morning at eight, early enough that we can regroup and shit before that detective shows up” Trick says just as his phone rings. “Shit, that’s mom. He must’ve rung her first. I’d hurry guys. Luc are you even going to bother telling your parents?” Trick asks as he lets his phone ring, obviously deciding this is more important.

  “Nah, I’ll just go and pack some stuff and leave. I can do it without running into them. The staff know what they’re like and won’t say anything. Since I turned eighteen my trust fund was released to me. Not that I need it thanks to Jensen’s clever investing but there’s enough that if anything feels wrong we can use it to aid our escape” he adds and I can’t help but feel grateful, that hadn’t even occurred to me.

  “Ok, good idea” Rafe says.

  “Keep in contact. The detective said that our position is compromised. I assume that we are fairly safe or they would’ve found a way to get us to the academy now” Trick orders again as his phone rings again.

  “That’s another thing a school? I still don’t understand how that’s safer than the usual change names, schools and states” I say and they shrug not having any idea’s either.

  “Hi mom” Trick says as he finally answers the phone and then winces before pulling the phone away from his ear and covering the mouth piece. “Your mom is with mine” he directs at Cash.

  “Fuck” Cash starts but snaps his mouth shut as loud Italian comes from the other end of the phone. “Va bene, va bene mamma sto arrivando adesso!” he calls back in Italian and it is totally the wrong time to be turned on but damn.

  I obviously don’t hide my reaction well enough because Cash smirks when his eyes land on me and strides over to me. He pulls me towards him and I stand on my tiptoes wrapping my arms around his neck and tilting my head to the side as he kisses my neck, making his way no my lips before he kisses me hungrily, groaning when we hear Kat yelling in Italian again.

  “Damn it” he says as he pulls back and sighs before giving me one final kiss and saying goodbye to the guys, “I’ll message when I’m back. Are we doing two hour check ins?” he asks like they’ve done this before.

  “Yep” Trick replies, even though his mom is still on the phone.

  I vaguely hear her.

  “I am coming home right now, do not move” she orders.

  “I won’t mom, see you soon” Trick says calmly and I smirk.

  “We need to get going” Riot says coming over to me and kissing me.

  They all kiss me before walking towards the door.

  “Good luck!” I call after them and they chuckle.

  “The two hour check in applies to you too Sunshine, even though you’re here with Trick” Riot calls back and I grin.

  Once they’ve gone I turn back to Trick.

  “Holy shit” I say as it all really hits me.

  “Yeah, Sweetheart. It’s ok we’ve got this and we’re together, there’s not much they could throw at us that we won’t be able to handle” he reassures me as he puts his arm around me.

  “What do we even need to take?” I ask, knowing he got as much information as I did but I still can’t help but ask.

  “Just bring everything you might need and things you might want, we don’t know when or even if we can come back here” he says as he drifts in thought for a second, “and bring your knives. Always armed from here on out Sweetheart” he says and I turn to look up at him.

  “Are you guy’s going to armed?” I ask, wanting them safe.

  “We usually are, Sweetheart. Well we used to be. Since Atlas left we dropped the ball on a lot of things. All of the guys were armed today” he says, letting go of me and pulling up the leg of his pants to show me the knife strapped just above his boots.

  “How the fuck did I miss that. I’ve always been good at picking up when someone was armed. I had to be in order to survive” I say slightly worried that I’ve lost my edge.

  “One, you’ve had a lot going on today and two not only do you trust us and know that we would never hurt you but before today we haven’t been armed. If we were still making sure that we were always armed when you first saw us again then you would’ve noticed the weapons immediately” he says holding my stare so I know he’s being honest with me. “Don’t worry Sweetheart, we’ve got this” he dips his head and kisses me, taking his time. “Always” he says softly when he pulls back, just as the door opens behind us.

  “Holy fuck, I love you Jen but next time I’m driving” Rob says animatedly as they walk through the door.

  “Don’t start with me” Jen says although her usual amusement dances in her eyes. “You two” she says as her laser focus lands on us.

  Neither of us are prepared for what comes out of her mouth next.

  “I was worried that this might happen” she says and then walks up to Trick placing her hands on his face, “I have no idea how you managed to get them to allow you to go too” she starts sternly as her eyes fill with emotion and we both tense, “but I am so incredibly proud of you. Keep her safe” she says firmly shocking us both and making a tear fall down my cheek matching the one making a path down her cheek.

  “With my life, Mom” Trick promises his eyes colliding with mine and making the truth of his promise abundantly clear. I hope to hell that he never protects my life with his own.

  “I’m proud of you, Son” Rob says smacking Trick on the back before pulling him in for a hug.

  “Right, enough of that. What do you need?” Jenny says getting down to business. “The detective said a school, do you have enough supplies or do you want to go to the store?” she asks and before we can answer starts again, “although that’s probably not safe now is it?” she finishes frowning.

  “Mom we’re all good, don’t worry. We are pretty hungry though?” Trick says despite the fact that we literally just ate. It instantly distracts Jenny from her spiralling emotions though and I think all of us are grateful for that.

  Rob grins at him.

  “Good idea, you kids go and pack and I’ll make dinner” she says, squeezing us both tightly before walking into the kitchen.

  “Well distracted” Rob chuckles as he follows her.

  “We’d better get packing” I say despite the fact that the situation is less than Ideal and lets be honest pretty damn scary, there’s a small part of me that’s looking forward to the adventure, at least we are going to be together.

  Chapter Forty

  The next couple of hours are a manic mix of packing, checking in and fielding Jenny’s twenty million questions. Questions that we don’t have the answers to despite how many times she gives us the classic mom tell the truth look. The parents surprisingly all took the news fairly well. I think it helped that the place we are going to be relocated to is a school and after some serious grilling from Kat the detective admitted it was a prestigious place and we’d still get a good education. In fact we will be getting a better education than we would have if we stayed where we are.

  Considering we’ve got less than a year left of high school, I did wonder what difference it would make but it pacified them all a small amount which made it easier for all of us.

  Standing in my room and looking at the first safe space I’ve had for a long time, I feel the tell-tale sting of tears. I don’t want to leave this home or Rob and Jenny. In such a short time they have completely changed my life and shown me what parents are supposed to be like. I have never
been able to rely on an adult before, not since I left. I don’t think I could ever show them exactly how much that means to me no matter how many times I could tell them.

  I shake myself free of my soon to be consuming thoughts. I don’t have time to get emotional about it now. I need to pack and prepare. What I’m preparing for though, I’m not certain. This whole situation is somewhat obscure and I definitely think there’s more going on here than meets the eye. As I’m finishing packing I suddenly get a totally inappropriate and irrational wave of new school jitters come over me before promptly laughing and dismissing them.

  “You ok, laughing to yourself in here, Sweetheart?” Trick chuckles coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, I lean back into his chest.

  “Yeah I’m good. I wish we had more information” I say and he makes a sound of agreement.

  “Me too, Dragonfly, we’ll get it though. Are you done packing?” he asks and I nod.

  “Good, mom sent me up to grab you because dinners ready. She’s gone a bit overboard with it” he chuckles.

  “I’m going to miss this” I say.

  “We’ll be back, Ever. This isn’t goodbye forever. We’ll get this shit figured out and then we can come back” he reassures me as we walk down the stairs.

  It doesn’t escape my notice that he said we will get this shit figured not that the cops will. I feel like I’m right on the edge of something truly monumental and that when I finally fall, it will be into something I could never have predicted.

  Something that changes my life forever.

  “There you are, I was just about to come and find you” Jenny says as we enter the kitchen.

  My eyes widen as I see not only the sheer amount of food but the number of different choices that she’s prepared, it’s pretty damn impressive. I don’t comment as I sit down sensing that although she thinks us going is the right thing to do for our safety and theirs, any small thing will send her over the edge right now.

  Dinner is spent steadfastly ignoring what’s going to be happening in the morning and we all spend far longer than usual sat at the table just talking after dinner is done. Before we go to bed, me and Trick bring all our bags down and put them by the front door so that we’re ready to go in the morning. The action prompting Jenny into hugging us both tightly for about ten minutes before she finally lets us go with tears in her eyes but a tough as nails grin on her face.

  After we’ve gotten ready for bed, we end up having a massive video chat with the guys making sure that we’re all prepared for tomorrow.

  “Jensen for the last fucking time you cannot bring all of your knives” Trick orders sounding less than patient since it’s the forth time he’s had this argument with him.

  Jensen pouts exaggeratedly and the giggles I was trying to keep in throughout the argument finally spill over making Trick shoot me a playful glare and setting the guys off over the phone. Jensen’s lips twitch into a slight smirk before falling back into a pout as he ignores us and continues the argument.

  “Why though?” he says and then carry’s on with a straight face, his eyes becoming serious, “I mean we’re going to need them. None of us are naive when it comes to that.”

  “He makes a good point” Riot comments trying not to smirk.

  “I don’t fucking care. He owns over fifty of the fucking things, how’s he planning to get them into a god damn fucking school?” Trick explodes and we all lose it with laughter.

  “But how am I supposed to choose?” Jensen says.

  “Dude. I swear it’s like they’re your fucking children” Cash comments and I grin.

  “They are!” Jensen throws back before focusing back on his argument with Trick. “Thirty” he says.

  “Are you seriously fucking bartering with me?” Trick groans.

  I lean back on the bed enjoying watching the whole thing play out. To be honest it’s fascinated me that Jensen’s bothered to ask Trick in the first place. I guess it just shows that Trick really is the unofficial leader, even Atty listened to him and I got the feeling he was more than capable of leading, he just didn’t want to and never would.

  They all respect Trick.

  “Fine, ten” Jensen finally concedes after admitting that even he couldn’t hide thirty knives, especially since some of them are big enough that personally I’d class them as swords and not knives.

  “Can you honestly promise me that you will get them into the school without being fucking caught?” Trick demands, “until we know what the fuck is going on with the place, we need to lay low” he finishes and I nod my head agreeing completely. It would be better to fade into the background of the school until we’ve got more information on it and the kids that attend.

  “Yes, I can” Jensen says seriously, all his playful pretence falling away.

  “Then fine” Trick concedes. “To be honest I’m looking forward to seeing where you’re going to hide them all.”

  “You underestimate me brother” Jensen smirks and I watch in amusement as Trick grins back.

  The call ends not long after that and me and Trick finally go to bed. The enormity of what’s coming weighs on me and as usual the longing for Atlas and to know he’s ok makes my heart hurt. I finally fall into a restless sleep long after Trick has already succumbed.

  ********

  The next morning is a blur and before I know it we’re all gathered in the front entryway. The guys have already said goodbye to their parents and promised to keep in contact with them if they’re able to. We honestly don’t know what we’re going to be able to do. The detective was intentionally vague when it came to any sort of details. But then again, if it’s as dangerous as he suggested then he couldn’t really have told us anything more than he did. Jenny goes around and squeezes each of us tightly, Rob doing the same and I try my hardest to lock my emotions down. I can’t go into this situation emotional from saying goodbye. The only problem with that though is that I already have the whole Atlas situation behind a flimsy barrier and there’s not much room for anything else.

  Before I can dwell on what’s going to happen when that barrier breaks and let’s loose all of the things I’m not dealing with, there’s a firm knock at the door and Rob opens it to a tall, dark and surprisingly good looking man in a suit that I’d say was far too expensive for a detectives salary, but I let it drop choosing to observe instead of comment. He strikes me as vaguely familiar but I can’t put my finger on why.

  “Good you’re ready,” he says looking over us, his eyes lingering on me for long enough to make the guys close ranks but I don’t get a bad vibe from him especially as his eyes light up with amusement at their reaction and he hides a smirk. “We’re going to need to leave right away, we got a tip that there’s a leak at the station” he says turning back into a professional.

  “Let’s go” Trick says to us keeping his own mask in place and we grab our bags waving to Jenny and Rob as we walk out.

  “Whoa” I say as I spot the freaking limo out on the curb.

  Why the fuck would a detective arrive in a limo? The guys share a look obviously thinking the same thing and I’m glad it’s not just me. We get in silently and I’m boxed in on either side by Trick and Riot as the guys make sure to position themselves so that the detective is sat as far from me as possible.

  “What’s with the limo?” Luc asks as soon as the car is in motion.

  “The school has a certain reputation and you need to uphold that high standard if you’re to blend in successfully” he says.

  “It’s a school for rich snobs then?” I scoff, grinning.

  “That’s one way to put it” he chuckles, “however since I just got the judge to release your entire inheritance wouldn’t that mean that you fit into that category too now?” He raises his eyebrow at me clearly expecting a reaction.

  I watch him with suspicion. If image is so important to this school that I’ve needed to have my inheritance released early then I’m starting to wonder what kind of school this real
ly is.

  “What about us?” Cash questions.

  “Well you and Luc are more than fine, financially are you not?” he says and they nod, “and the rest you are also incredibly well off. Something your parents don’t know about.”

  “How the fuck would you know that?” Riot questions, angling his body so that I can barely see the detective from behind a solid back.

  I smirk at his protective gesture, he knows that I am more than capable of taking care of myself but it’s natural for him to protect to me.

  “I’ve done my research. I had to when Ever said she wouldn’t come without you” he tells us but I’ve got this niggling feeling that there’s more to it than that simple explanation. “Listen, we can talk about what I do and don’t know at some other point but for now I really need to give you some information about the school if you’re going to survive it. It’s not the most traditional place to send you guys” he finishes that confusing sentence as his eyes land back on me and Riot tenses back up, having only just relaxed his posture enough that I could fully see.

  “Survive?” Rafe asks out loud, a growl to his voice and the promise of violence flashing in his blue eyes.

  “The kids at the school are cut throat. Rich beyond belief and know how to make it work for them so they get away with all kinds of shit and not just skipping detention or paying off teachers to pass exams. The teachers can be just as bad” he states and we share a look.

  In all honesty I’m not that worried. I’ve dealt with rich pricks before, they don’t scare me, although they probably should considering the shit the last rich fuckers put me through.

  “We can handle that” Jensen states simply sounding almost bored.

  “I sure as fuck hope so but I still felt the need to warn you.”

  “Consider us warned” Jensen says his voice tinged with a decidedly icy tone.

  “So a bit of information. You will be able to call your parents but we have encrypted phones for you to use and you will not be able to go back on breaks as it’s too risky for everyone involved. If there is even a hint of your houses being watched then the calls will have to stop” he eyes us seriously until we nod, “It is a school and although we will try to smooth over any issues that arise there’s only so much we can do. So in other words either behave or don’t get caught” he adds with a quick flash of a grin.