“Come on you can’t get dressed out here. Let’s get you inside.” He was looking over at the dogs as I pulled my nearly naked self out of the water. I looked down and it didn’t even look like I was wearing clothes, so I quickly ran into the towel as Aiden wrapped it around me. He didn’t let go immediately. He held onto me for a few minutes until he let go suddenly and walked away. Then I saw Jake on the porch watching us. Aiden walked towards the woods and not to the cabin.
I watched him start running and then headed towards Jake, but he was still watching where Aiden disappeared. As I reached the porch he finally looked at me.
“Hey sis late night swim?” He said, but I could see something behind that comment. I just wasn’t sure what it was he knew.
“Yeah, I was washing the dogs.” I said pointing to Cer, Ber and Rus.
Jake sort of nodded as he took in the sight of my three Rottweilers laying on the grass. This whole scenario was just so surreal. He didn’t say anything else, so I walked in and went to Aiden’s room. I missed him already. I wanted to be near him, so I took one of his tops out of his bag. When I got to my room I stripped off and dried myself then pulled on his t shirt. As I laid on my bed his scent was all over me. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way he cared for me, the way he looked at me, my body was longing for him. I wanted to move my hands down to where I was aching the most. I was imaging his hands around me moving them up and down my body. I could feel myself starting to pulse.
“Evelyn?” Oh, shit Jake was at the door. I quickly dived under my duvet and stuck my head out of the top.
“Jake?” I said sleepily trying to act like I wasn’t just touching myself in my brother t shirt. I felt disgusted now.
“Can I come in?” He asked.
“Sure.” I replied but as he opened the door I was attacked by the slobbering beasts.
“Ah stop it.” I shouted at them. I started spitting out my tongue that they just licked. “A little warning would be nice next time.” I said to Jake.
“Sorry they wanted you.” Jake said kind of bashfully.
Then I realised he knew I was wearing Aiden’s top and I wondered if he knew I was naked under it. Then Aiden appeared at the door.
“Jake what did you want to talk about.” Aiden said. I was really embarrassed when he pointed to his t shirt on me looking confused.
“What? It’s comfortable.” I said defending myself. Even the hounds looked at them as if to say get out. They turned and left, and I was now alone sharing a bed with three huge mutts. I threw myself back and closed my eyes. This is so fucked up.
Chapter 20
Aiden
I could hear Jake calling me, but I wasn’t ready to face him. I had lost control again and now he had seen. I just couldn’t let her go when she was in my arms. She was soaking wet, but she smelled so sweet like roses and having her against me was heaven. I knew she wouldn’t feel the same way as me, but I needed to kiss her. It was getting too hard now. When I wrapped her in the towel I kissed her shoulder, but I lingered to long and Jake had seen everything. I pulled away as soon as I saw him, which just looked more damning. I headed into the forest, but only a few feet. I could see Evelyn walking into the house, but he was still staring at me and I could feel Evelyn’s unease. It was like we had been caught doing something we shouldn’t be doing, which wasn’t far from the truth. After she disappeared inside Jake shouted out to me.
“We need to talk now.” He was demanding it.
Just then the dogs ran straight for him. When he jumped I wanted to laugh, but I felt like my insides were being ripped out. The dogs and Jake just looked at each other for a while then he turned and went in, but they followed. They wanted to be with her. I knew because I did too.
I had to talk to him. There was no getting out of this. I jogged back to the house and went upstairs, but he was at Evelyn’s door. I didn’t like him being alone with her but knew this wouldn’t help me if he saw my jealousy. As casually as I could I walked up to him.
“Jake what did you want to talk about.” I said, but then I saw Evelyn in her bed surrounded by dogs.
That wasn’t what caught my eye or made me feel elated though. It was that she was wearing my top and her cheeks were flushed. She looked exactly the way I wanted her to look at me. I could feel her arousal, but Jake was here. I didn’t want him seeing her like that. I pointed at my shirt with a confused look hoping it would throw Jake off the scent.
“What? It’s comfortable.” She said, and it was exactly what I wanted to hear.
I pulled Jake away quickly and closed her door. When we were out of earshot I turned to him.
“What do you want?” I said crossing my arms.
“Come with me.” Jake said walking across the hall to the other bedrooms.
I followed him in and sat on the bed. I was panicking inside but he didn’t see it. He pulled a chair around and sat in front of me.
“What’s going on with you and Evelyn?” He asked. I started shaking at little. I didn’t want to have this conversation.
“She’s just having a hard time with everything, so she got a little drunk.” I replied. I felt like I was throwing her under the bus, but it was better than the truth.
“You can’t even look at me Aiden.” He said trying to catch my eye, but he was right, and I was wrong. I was just completely wrong in the head.
“I’ve seen the way you look at her.” He said, and I felt sick. I lowered my head into my hands. I needed to wake up and realise I’m her brother. I’m supposed to protect her, I still couldn’t say anything. There was nothing to say except confess and I wasn’t ready. Jake put his hand on my shoulder.
“Look you’ve both had a shitty time and I can see that you both really care for each other, but she’s vulnerable right now and I don’t want you fucking this up because I know you’ll never forgive yourself. It’s obviously confusing for both of you. I love you and I love her. I see her as my little sister and so should you.”
That hurt a lot.
“I don’t know how.” I confessed. Every time I close my eyes I see her. I dream about her. She’s all I ever wanted.
“I know bro. It’s going to be hard, but it will get easier. You need to ease up on us because you’re just showing your possessiveness to everybody.” He made it sound so easy.
“I can’t help it.”
“You need to help it. Evelyn is her own person. If she’s okay with it, you should be too.”
He was right, and it made sense. I felt maybe now I could do it until I got to her door and the feelings were stirring up again. The way she looked in my t-shirt, hair wet and messy and a flush on her cheeks. I stood outside for a few seconds until I could feel Jakes stare through the back of the head. I turned and headed for my room. Once inside I locked the door. I didn’t want him coming in. I really wanted to explore this place. There must be more clues around. This is where we were always heading, and I had already found the 100-year-old photo of them. I was so angry at them. I didn’t want to call them mom and dad. They put us in this situation with no guidance and it didn’t make any sense. If they were in danger, why split us up? Surely, we would have been safer as a family than individually. I had to get some sleep, but a shower was needed first. I knocked on the door first in case Evelyn was there. When no one answered I opened the door slowly and it was empty, but the door to Evelyn’s room was slightly open. As I walked over I could hear her deep breathing. I knew she was asleep, but I could also hear the snoring of the dogs and couldn’t help but take a quick look. The mutts were splayed on their backs on the small bed. Evelyn looked tiny compared to them. She was fast asleep and looked so serene. She had one of her legs out and wrapped around her duvet as she hugged it. I sighed deeply. She was flawless. Imagine if Jake knew I was staring at her while she’s asleep dressed only I’m my top.
I stepped back and locked the door from the inside. I didn’t want her to walk in on me while I washed away the shame I felt. I had to remember what Jake had
said and he was right. She was vulnerable. She’s lost so much lately and almost died twice, so she would be looking for something to hold onto and that’s me. Even as more than a brother. I would be taking advantage. Once I was out of the shower and got dressed I walked out into the hallway. I noticed Evelyn’s door was open, but the mutts had gone, and she was fast asleep. Then I heard the snarling. I ran down the stairs and my blood turned cold when I saw who the dogs had pinned against the front door.
“I’m here to help I promise! You need to leave now!” Mathew? I walked up to him and wrapped my hand around his neck.
“How did you find us?” I snarled at him, even the dogs backed off.
He was wearing one of the Gabriel’s army suits. I could hear everybody run in with all the commotion, but I knew Evelyn was asleep and hoped it stayed that way.
“Aiden let go he can’t breathe.” Caitlin said to me. Yeah, no way. I hated this little shit. No one would miss him.
“Aiden ease up.” Jake said. I let go.
“Mathew how did you get here?” Caitlin asked him, but he was still slightly gasping for air.
“Look you need to leave all of you. They are coming.” He said. What the hell is going on?
“Who’s coming?” Jake asked.
“My dad.” He was coughing now. I must have squeezed too hard.
“Your dad?” Caitlin said.
“Why is your dad coming?” Eli asked.
“He is the boss of Gabriel’s army. He knows you’re in these woods. I’m so sorry, but I remember when you used to talk about this place, so I looked for the entrance. Then I could hear this noise. I had to warn you they were coming. Please leave!” He was almost crying now.
“Your dad is one of the agents? And by the looks of things you are as well.” I stated.
“Yes, it’s disguised by the security company, but they are special agents. I got suspicious when we came to Michigan. My dad started training me and I overheard them talking. They want to kill Evelyn. Please leave.”
They want to kill Evelyn? That was not going to happen.
“You need to leave. You can’t know where we go.” I said trying to think of a plan.
“I’m going but here take this.” Mathew said handing me a phone.
“Are you kidding me? They’ll just track this.” I could feel the adrenaline surging through me.
“No, they can’t. Its registered under an alias. It’s not on their systems, I checked. I need to be able to contact you, so leave it turned off and I’ll send you updates when I can.” Mathew said. He then ran out the door and into his car and left.
“We need to go now.” I said to the rest.
“Go where?” Caitlin asked.
“We need to split up. Your car is still registered, so they may track you.” I said packing the stuff together.
“I’m not leaving Evelyn with you.” Caitlin said with her arms crossed.
“With me? What’s that supposed to mean?” I shouted at her.
“Every time she’s with you she gets hurt and you don’t seem to get a scratch.” She was irate now and I hated that she was right.
“Guys come on we need to go. I’ll go with Aiden and Evelyn. I promise she’ll be safe.” Jake said wrapping his arm around Caitlin’s shoulder.
She seemed to trust Jake quite a lot, but I wasn’t wasting time. I went to go into Evelyn’s room to get her when Caitlin tried to stop me. She put her hand on my shoulder from behind and the dogs jumped in between us growling at her. She jumped back into Jakes arms. I didn’t stop. I kept walking and the dogs didn’t let them past. When I walked into Evelyn’s room she was still fast asleep, so I went into my room and gathered up all my clothes and the paperwork I had brought. I saw the picture on my bedside table and took it with me along with the picture in the drawer. I knew she would want to see it. Then I went into her room and packed all her clothes. She was still wrapped around the duvet wearing only my top and her underwear. She was asleep on her left side stretched out with her right leg over the duvet.
As I got closer I noticed that on the back of her right leg just under her bum was a very faint vine shape almost etched into her skin. I could hear Jake and Caitlin in the hallway, but I wanted to see what this was. She had never mentioned a tattoo before. I could see Caitlin and Jake looking in at her, so I closed the door. No one could see her like this. I walked back over to the bed and sat down. She moved a little but didn’t wake up. I rubbed my finger over the vine. I could feel it was raised up and it was turning a very faint green. It definitely wasn’t a tattoo. It looked more like a scar that had a green glow. I traced the vine with my finger. It wrapped around her leg moving higher up and around her inside thigh until it disappeared under her knickers. If I moved my hand slightly I would be caressing her. I could feel my control slipping away. I traced the curious vine again and it started to glow a little brighter and it seemed to move. Evelyn let out a soft moan as I rubbed the inside of her thigh. I could feel lust rearing its ugly head, and I knew I had to stop. What the hell was I even doing? I put my hand up to her face and stroked her cheek. She let out another soft moan which made me shiver all over.
“Evelyn.” I called to her.
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at me. She was so beautiful.
“Hey, you need to get up now. The agents will be coming through here soon and they might find us.” I tried to sound calm, but the look on her was the same way I was feeling. Terrified. I passed her some clothes to put on while I stood by the door. I guess the dogs were still there. When she was dressed we walked out into the hallway.
“What the hell.” She said looking at the mutts.
When they heard her voice, they relented and ran over to her happily. I could feel Caitlin staring at me with malice. Then she turned and walked down into the living room with us in tow.
“We need to split up. In four days we’ll meet at the hotel in New Orleans where we first met.” I said. Then I could see Evelyn looking at me curiously. I realised then we never had that conversation, and now was not the time.
“Won’t that be too obvious?” Jake asked.
“Yes exactly. They won’t think we’d go back there, but if they can find us here they’ll find us anywhere. We all know what’s important.” They all looked at me with understanding.
“I thought this place was protected?” Caitlin asked.
That’s what I thought, but I couldn’t chance it. If Mathew could get through why couldn’t they?
“It’s too risky to ignore.” I said to her.
Caitlin and I weren’t getting on too well, but we both loved Evelyn. She was the most precious thing in the world and we needed to work together.
“Where’s Evelyn?” I asked them. She had disappeared.
“Sorry I’m back.” She shouted bouncing into the room with a small safe.
“What’s that?” I asked her.
“Secrets I guess! My mom had it in her room. It might have something useful in it if we can get it open.” Evelyn tucked it under her arm.
“Let’s go.” I said taking her hand. I dragged her to the car.
“Wait.” She said pulling away from me.
“I love you so much.” Evelyn said to her as she pulled her in for a long hug. She whispered the next part, but I heard as clear as day. “If anything happens please just run. Don’t come for me. If it comes to it I want to be with my mom. I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt.”
I could see the tears falling down Caitlin’s face. She let go then Eli walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. He whispered something in her ear, but I couldn’t hear him.
“Time to go Evelyn.” I said hoping to end the intimacy.
She jumped into the passenger seat and Jake jumped into the back. Unfortunately for Jake the mutts jumped in with him. I started the car and pulled away. I didn’t even look back. I needed to focus on getting Evelyn safe.
“How do you know they were coming? I thought we
were safe here. They can’t find this place.” Evelyn said.
“I know but we don’t know for definite that they won’t be able to find us there.” I said. I know she wanted to know how we knew, but I hated saying his name.
“Well how do you know?” She asked again.
“Mathew told us.” I said through gritted teeth.
I could see the confusion in her eyes as she looked back at Jake who had decided to stay out of this one.
“Why was Mathew here?” She asked us both. There was no point in lying.
“Well he turned up at the cabin and told us it’s his dad who is hunting us. He said they knew our general location and would be scouring the forest. They are also grooming Mathew. He is one of the agents now. He heard them talking about you, well us, and he came to warn us.” I omitted the part that they were mainly after her, but it didn’t matter, if they got her I was coming too.
“His dad is the one after us? Did he say why?” She was very pale now and tears where forming in her eyes. I wanted to comfort her, but with Jake watching I didn’t want to slip up.
“He didn’t say why, but he’s given me a phone. He said there no way for them to trace it to us.”
I looked at her, but she was looking out the window. I looked in the rear-view mirror to look at Jake, but he was busy trying to fend off the dogs in the back that were now showering him in kisses.
Evelyn turned around to them “Cer, Ber, Rus, leave Jake alone!” She said to them and they obeyed.
“Thanks sis.” Jake said very gratefully.
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