Invisible (A Night Fire Novel Book 5)

by Watkins, TM

  Walking into the building was like returning home, I knew it in an instant. I looked around the vast area that was the place where so many people came and rocked it out with these guys. Memories flooded back as I remembered so many events, the place could go from something as intimate as a handful of people to the place being packed to the edges. Now it had children running around on it.

  With an ear piercing whistle, Jaxon commanded their attention in a second. They all stopped yelling and screaming, standing still as they looked to where the sound had come from. Then I was bombarded with little hands as they reached up, asking me to pick them up. I didn't know where to start, not wanting to show favoritism.

  “Form a line little monkeys.”

  Jaxon was off trying to make them form a line in front of me, I turned when I heard a soft laughter from behind.

  I looked at Curtis as he grinned at the line, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. His eyes darted from the line to me, the smirk settling into his face.

  “So, anything new to report?”

  “I know who you are, so that's good, right?”

  “Sure is. How could you ever forget me?”

  “Well I did. I forgot everyone.”

  I picked up Hudson who had managed to get himself at the front of the queue.

  “Owie.” he said rather sadly as his finger traced over the bruise on my chin.

  “Yeah, owie. But I'm okay so you don't have to worry about me.”

  “Hurry up Hudson.”

  Turning to the squeaky voice, I looked down at a sweet little boy. He smiled his grin that was missing his two front teeth. Jett. God help me when him and his brother had all of their teeth, I would never be able to tell them apart.

  Hudson struggled out of my arms, Jett was eagerly waiting his cuddle.

  “Be gentle.” Curtis softly chided him.

  It was like I was made of glass. I wanted to say that I wasn't, I survived a car accident so it proved I wasn't.

  “Have you seen the car?” I asked cautiously, Jaxon was at the end of the queue.

  Curtis nodded.

  “Good or bad?”

  “It will survive to see another day. Not that you'll get to see it again. Jerry's told him to get rid of it and buy you something more sensible.”

  Well that's just the shit. Maybe not, I suddenly remembered being rather flustered and a little annoyed at him for buying it.

  “Your next one will have daddy's approval first.” Curtis said as he snickered.

  Each of the children had their hug, Mia was a little upset at the bruises, Sahara was asking a lot of questions. Then the biggest child of them all waited for his hug. As I was being crushed in Jaxon's arms I heard the soft yet overly inquisitive voice beside us.

  “Are you going to get married?”

  Jaxon pulled away slightly and we both looked down at the bundle of brown curls. She clutched her rag doll and tried to play innocent as she fluttered her eyes at us. This kid was going to have the boys lining up for her attention in about ten years' time, which will probably give Fraser a heart attack.

  “One day.” Jaxon offered.

  Sahara's eyes widened. She turned as her father approached.

  “Daddy, Jaxon and Kaylee are getting married!”

  “I said one day.” Jaxon chided her.

  She ignored him and then looked at me.

  “Are you going to have a baby?”

  “Don't say one day.” the snickering voice behind me whispered with delight.

  Curtis was right. Sahara would twist the words and cause a scandal within minutes.

  I squatted to her, giving her a serious look.

  “When we decide that we want to have them and I've confirmed it, you'll be the first to know.”

  “Promise?”

  “Sure thing. But we're not getting married just yet, okay?”

  She nodded as she twirled the plait of woolen strands on the dolls head.

  “We'll tell you first.” I whispered.

  Sahara grinned and skipped away, joining the other children. I stood from the ground, feeling a little woozy.

  “Okay, inside you go.”

  Jaxon guided me to the lounge area of the office section, something that filled me with a multitude of memories. I sat on the lounge and looked around at the clean area.

  “Do you want something to eat or drink?”

  With a shrug he was off, figuring he'd get something anyway. Casually I pulled the draw to the lamp table beside me open, seeing where all the magazines had been put now that the children were around. I shut the draw when I heard them all traipsing up the stairs.

  I remembered not so long ago when we played a trick on them, taking the covers of their girlie magazines and putting them on muscle mags and others that were a lot more graphic. I nearly died when I saw an image of a naked guy that was a dead ringer for Jaxon. It made everyone think that he had a half-brother in this world.

  We won't discuss how the magazine quietly disappeared under the guise of getting information about this guy. And we won't discuss how the magazine somehow managed to make it back to my apartment.

  I smiled when I heard the laughter of Evan and then it died away, seeing the woman with him. Everything came hurtling back at me like a runaway freight train. Harmony Roberts. Wild weekend in Vegas with her sister Persephone or Seph as everyone called her. Jaxon and Evan out on the town, somehow managing to find them and spent the whole god damn weekend with them.

  Evan married Harmony and as I looked at her as she approached, all I could think of was parakeets.

  She looked like her sister, aside from the obvious difference with their hair. Once a pretty sandy blonde the pair of them had dyed their hair rather outlandishly. Harmony had black and blue on the top, hot pink underneath. But the parakeet, she had a mixture of colors that looked like a rainbow.

  I pushed out a smile as they sat on the lounge near me, looking at me with hope.

  “You look pretty banged up Kaylee.”

  I nodded to Evan's statement, wishing that I didn't have a reminder of how crushing last weekend had been. Now Nate's words last night made sense. I had lost it over the whole incident, I thought that Seph and Jaxon were a done deal because of Evan and Harmony marrying.

  Harmony was beautiful, I used to think that she was pretty when I'd watched her movies but seeing her in real life was far different. Worse yet, Seph was just as beautiful. Last weekend might have been crushing but somehow I had come out the winner. She was gone and I was here which to me said a lot.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Surprisingly Jaxon actually left my side. The band members and my father were downstairs in the recording studio. Another thing that I had remembered, the new album. It had come as a shock to hear that not only was the band getting first pick at either a song or an entire album for a movie that Harmony was staring in but Evan was going to be in it as well. He was quietly freaking out according to Harmony.

  The children were off to the side, playing with toys, coloring in and generally making a lot of noise. The wifey club as Jaxon had named them was in front of me. It consisted of Harmony who was the newest wife, Eden, Abbey and Frankie. They all concluded that I was the final member and if Jaxon ever ventured elsewhere they'd have him strung from the rafters in the warehouse. That was Harmony's suggestion which I found a little surprising considering that it had only been a few days since he was in between her sisters legs.

  They would occasionally hint at something and I knew to be suspicious of these women. I knew that they were after information as they tried to figure out what was going on. Abbey had casually put it out there that even though I was a little battered, I looked positively radiant. Translation, you've got that post sex glow. Frankie nodded as she agreed with her, saying that happiness will do that to a person. Translation, we know so how about you fess up?

  Then Eden said something. Honestly, the woman didn't know what too much was. She said that I should give up the horse riding
until I was better. Harmony nearly choked on her drink, Eden grinned at me, Abbey and Frankie giggled like a pair of school girls.

  I was blushing so hard it was crazy. So any thoughts of keeping it a secret was completely pointless.

  “Okay.” I hissed, putting my cold hands onto my flaming cheeks. “So we might have. You can't go saying anything.”

  “Because your father will flip his lid?” Eden asked plainly.

  “Yeah.” I sighed as I looked at the stairs.

  I feared him walking up, hearing the conversation.

  “I'll fill you in on what you missed out on so that you can understand that this is more than just the issue with the car.”

  “An incredibly stupid car to give someone who rarely drives.” Abbey chipped in.

  Frankie nodded as she turned to look at me.

  “Because it's not as if you'd go slow, right Kaylee?” she asked.

  I shook my head at Frankie.

  “Your parents are searching through the house for you because they're going to do cake and your dad's got this whole speech about the day that you came into their lives. Jaxon said that you've gone to the bathroom but then frowns saying that it was half an hour ago and you'd gone upstairs for it. So they search more and still there is no Kaylee. Then Jaxon's phone rings and it's like they've told him that you're dead, he just goes pale and Jerry takes the phone from him. Imagine what they're thinking, Jaxon's car has been found on the side of the interstate after spinning out. Inside is a woman matching your description and they're asking if it's stolen or if she was allowed to drive the vehicle but none of that really matters because she's on the way to the hospital.”

  Eden looked at me, it was the cold and indifferent look that I had come to expect from her when she wasn't impressed at something. It was a look that said you're in the shit big time, don't play dumb and don't give me excuses.

  “They rushed off to the hospital, leaving behind the guests who were wondering where the birthday girl was. How do you tell two hundred people that she's runaway? Or that because something happened along the way and she's now on her way to hospital, injuries unknown. You're lucky Kaylee, you've got a few cuts and bruises and a bit of memory loss. It could have been so much worse and that thought plays on their minds constantly.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed, finally remembering that night.

  And then the crushing reason why I had fled.

  “I was sitting in the garden and I heard Nate and Jaxon talking. Nate outed me. Five minutes later I braved the situation, Jaxon talked to me like nothing had changed. He knew yet said nothing and so I decided that I needed a break. That's it.”

  The three of them looked at Harmony, she raised her hands slightly.

  “Hey, don't stress about me. Seph's moved on already.”

  “Yeah but she's been saying shit to the media.” Abbey said rather coldly.

  “Misconstrued words that were taken and altered to sell magazines. She's already threatened them and I've been told Jaxon has got his lawyer on it as well. Trust me, I got an earful from Evan about it.”

  Eden pursed her lips as her eyes narrowed. She ignored her distaste for the situation and let it go, turning back to me with interest.

  “You've been around as long as us, so that's what? Four years?”

  I nodded, it was indeed four long years.

  “We've always known. He's only been vocal about it since you turned nineteen.”

  Frankie and Abbey nodded in agreement and I was rather shocked.

  “I thought you were in your early twenties.” Frankie said like she was shocked.

  Yeah, I'd been told that one before. Nothing new ladies, everyone thinks I'm older than I really am. Maybe I should invest in some anti-aging cream.

  “You might think you're rather covert about your perving skills but you've gone up against the master.”

  Eden grinned as she pointed to herself.

  “The only difference between you and I is that Fraser did something early on, Jaxon was too scared to. Us women, we'd be giving you gentle hints because we're hearing what our husbands are saying.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Frankie nodded. “Jaxon's perving on Kaylee again Frankie, he's complaining that she's wearing short skirts again.”

  “She's wearing that tiny bikini again, how can I deal with that Aus? Doesn't she know what it's doing? Doesn't she see the assholes perving on her?” Abbey faked her pout. “Aus is sick of hearing about that swimsuit, said you need to lash out and buy something that fits better.”

  Oookay, this is just weird.

  “Ooh, I've got one.” Eden said rather excitedly. “She bent over today and I sooo did not look and I sooo did not see the tops of her stockings.”

  My jaw hung open a little.

  “My turn!” Frankie jumped in. “Curtis, did you see the jerk that Nate set her up with? Oh my god it was like we were stuck in some cliché surfer movie.”

  Abbey giggled as she waved her down, almost jumping in her seat.

  “Nate's at again Aus, you should see the dick. He had a bow tie and a woolen vest. Who wears wool at this time of the year?”

  Wow, who were these women and how was it that I did not know they were like this? Harmony sat quietly, a little shocked but grinning at the madness. She turned and looked at me when the mood died slightly.

  “I've got one.” she grinned. “Queen bee, the thing is... your sister and I, we're just not meant to be. We both know it and we're both cool with it. There's this awesome chick-a-dee that I just can't get my mind past. One day she's gonna join the ranks in the wifey club, at least I hope she will. Cuz you know, she might not like me that way.”

  Her eyes lit up with her smile, I could see why she was a star. She could hold so much emotion in her face.

  “You've done that romantic shit queen bee, lay some words down.”

  Then her face altered, a little more serious now.

  “I've done movies Jaxon, my love life before Evan was a disaster.... Well then give me fake romantic shit, I don't care. Lay the beats down queen bee.”

  The giggling trio had stopped, waiting with anticipation.

  “Don't hold back, love her like there is no tomorrow. Otherwise you might regret it.”

  “And regrets, he has a few of them.” Eden butted in. “Like your party or maybe he regrets being so blinded to it all. Now that his eyes have been opened, he looks back and sees all of the missed opportunities. All of the things that could have been and even some things that should not have been.”

  “Something is brewing.” Frankie hissed under her breath.

  She narrowed her eyes at the stairs and then turned back to the huddle that she was in the middle of.

  “Have you heard anything?”

  “Nope.” Abbey stated rather abruptly.

  No doubt she wouldn't be impressed if Austin kept something from her. Those two shared everything and it was rather gross. So many things fell under the too much information category.

  “What do you mean?” Eden's incredulous voice was sharp and cold. “I've not heard anything. If there's something going on I need to know. It could be a schedule conflict.”

  Frankie shrugged. “I heard snippets of a conversation when I was searching for a lost toy. I think they're all in on it.”

  “What did you hear?”

  She turned side on to face Eden.

  “All I could hear was Curtis, I think he was talking to Jaxon but I don't know for sure. I heard him say something about getting Fraser to get dates from the schedule. Then he said that someone would have to organize the jet without you knowing.”

  They all looked at me and I had nothing to offer them. I had pieces of information at best. Some would flow freely back to me and others were blocked. There was no way I could give them any insight into what those unruly boys were up to.

  I had been nursing Quinn as we lazed on the lounges. She had slept on my lap for a solid hour which was just fine by me, she was like a little doll. One of the children star
ted crying as a fight broke out, causing Quinn to wake with a fright. Then she started crying.

  So I sat with a fussing baby and tried to settle her, failing completely. Her mother was off trying to pull Levi and Jett apart, Abbey and Eden were in the mix as well.

  It was always the same with those kids, one minute they'd be playing happily and then the next it was like war had broken out. Once they were calm and reluctantly playing nice, Frankie came and relieved me of the screaming child.

  I looked over the room and to the child that had settled now that she was being fed. Children were definitely on my radar but probably not so soon. I'd only just turned twenty-one, I wanted to live a little first. I hadn't even gone out on the town and had my first legal drink. Okay, so I may have gone on the town previously but we won't go there.

  Jaxon was almost twenty-nine, three of his friends were popping out the kids fast. I looked to Harmony and wondered how long before her and Evan followed suit. It was likely that Jaxon would be thinking kids. He'd want them to grow up with the other children, he'd want them to be a part of their lives.

  It was a conversation that I didn't think I'd ever have with Jaxon, one that I thought I would never have at such a young age and definitely not so early on in the relationship. But I knew that I would have to. No matter how much I wanted to run away screaming, I knew I couldn't avoid this particular subject.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I stared at the image of an old woman, she smiled sweetly as I nearly crushed her with a hug. Our cheeks were pressed together, my arms wrapped around her narrow frame.

  “Grandma.”

  Or otherwise known as El's mother. El smiled warmly at me and waited for me to turn the page. We were sitting on the lounge, drinking hot cocoa even though it wasn't cold. The marshmallow bobbed as the steam rose from the cup. I'd already devoured the top layer of whipped cream, chocolate shavings and the wafer biscuit. There would never be a day where I would refuse a hot cocoa from this woman.

  I looked at the image of two women, one I knew was El and the other I could only assume was her sister due to the fact that they looked alike. I'd met her, I knew this. I couldn't live in this house and be adopted by these people without at least meeting an aunt. Then something sprang into my mind, something that said rhyme to me. Hel and El.