Where am I? Where’s Aiden?
Sitting up slowly, I start to really take the room in—trophies sitting on a shelf along with posters of rock bands on the walls. It looks more like a teenager’s room than anything else.
My eyes widen when someone knocks on the door and then a soft voice I know all too well says, “I’ve cooked you some breakfast, come down when you’re ready.”
Kim?
Why the hell am I at Kim’s?
I don’t answer her, I stay silent, looking around the room like it’ll give me some answers. After ten minutes and no explanation, I decide to go and find out what happened last night.
Standing up, I sway to the side and grab onto a chest of drawers to steady myself, accidently knocking over a framed photograph. Reaching out for it, I position it back to where it was, staring at a younger version of Luke in a football uniform holding the ball with a slight smile on his face.
I can’t help but wonder if he was always as broody as he comes across. When I first met him a few months ago, I didn’t know what to think of the huge man, but after getting to know him, after… kissing him… I know he’s not the hard exterior he portrays. Or maybe he is, but not with me?
Shaking the thoughts from my head, I gingerly walk to the door before opening it and taking one last look at Luke’s bedroom. Wow… I slept in his bed.
“Lily!” An arm is slung over my shoulder, and when I turn my head, I see Aiden’s giant grin. “How you feeling?”
“Everything hurts,” I groan as we start to walk down the stairs. “What happened last night?”
“Beats me.” He shrugs when we get to the bottom of the stairs, that air of not caring wrapping around him. It would though, wouldn’t it? He’s never had to deal with Dad’s wrath.
Shit! My eyes widen, my hands starting to shake. What will he do when we go home? I can only imagine—no, he won’t do anything with Aiden in the house.
“Well if it isn’t the two drunkards,” Kim announces, leaning against the kitchen doorframe with a smile on her face.
“I’m so sorry, Kim.” I start toward her, a lump building in my throat. “I never… I don’t even know what happened.”
She takes hold of my hand, leading me to the kitchen table before pushing on my shoulders so I’m sitting down.
She flits across the kitchen as Aiden sits next to me, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head, a pleased look on his face.
“I can’t remember the last time someone made me breakfast.”
“You be careful, mister.” Kim points at him, placing a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. “You’re on my poo list!”
“Your poo list?” he asks, his brows raised.
“Yes! My poo list.” She shakes her head, scoffing at him. “You’re meant to look out for your little sister, not get her drunk and then let her wander off.”
“Huh?” He leans forward, his brows now pulled right down as I scoop up some eggs and try to chew them slowly. Ugh, I don’t think these are going to mix too well with the beer I consumed.
“Mmmhmm, my Luke saw her sitting on the curb, drunk out of her mind with you nowhere to be seen. It’s lucky he was there because if he wasn’t…” She trails off, her eyes misting over. “Let’s not think about that, but your dad wasn’t happy either.”
“Shit! Dad.” Aiden starts to stand up, but Kim holds her hand out.
“I called him to say you came over to see me and fell asleep on the sofa. You’re covered there.” She wags her finger at him. “But you don’t do that again, you hear me? You protect your sister with your life, you don’t let her fend for herself.”
When I look up at her, I sense the undertone in her words, but I ignore it. Whether anyone likes it or not, I am fending for myself. None of them know what happens behind that door as soon as it’s closed with only me and my dad in the house.
They’ll never know the pain that lives inside of the walls, the countless tears shed in his office, the amount of words thrown at me from his mouth. They’ll never know, and I never want them to. I don’t want to be looked at like I’m a victim, because that’s not what I am. I’m more than what happens to me, I’ll make sure of that.
I try to eat another forkful of eggs, but when my stomach churns, I place the fork down.
“Oh!” Kim shouts from the sink where she’s now washing the dishes. “Luke said to check your cell.”
“My cell?” I ask, my eyes wide as I reach for my pocket but find it empty.
“He left it on the coffee table for you.” Kim turns around, a knowing smile on her face. “Go see then.”
I can’t contain the excitement running through me as I dash into the living room and grab the cell before unlocking it to read the message.
Luke: You’ll have a sore head, take two Advil and drink a glass of water.
Luke: And I didn’t ignore you because of the kiss… okay, I did.
Luke: Fuck. Why can’t I get you out of my head?
My smile widens as I read the last message over and over again. I don’t reply, instead I read it once more and lock the cell. Pushing it into my pocket, I look up and find Kim and Aiden’s attention focused on me.
“What?”
“Nothing!” Kim says at the same time Aiden says, “So... Luke, huh?”
LUKE
I head over to the warehouse, my head a mess, thoughts flying left, right, and center. I shouldn’t have told her what I was thinking, but my fingers were flying over the screen and sending the message before I could stop myself. Why the hell can’t there be a “take back” button?
I need to push it all out of my brain. I have too much going on right now, especially if Ty’s agreed to Charlie wanting to put me undercover.
Passing Ty, West, and Seb as they cross the compound toward Evan’s cabin, varying expressions on their faces, I tilt my head at them. Something must have happened with Darrell if they’re here. Even though we’ve been watching Evan when he’s been working for him, it’s been quiet the last couple of weeks.
Quiet is never good.
Although I say quiet, but after last night with Charlie and knowing there’s a mole somewhere, I’m on even higher alert.
Pushing into the warehouse before walking toward the kitchen, I grunt at Kitty and Kay as they sit talking and drinking coffee. Making myself a cup, I don’t say another word before sitting in my chair at the meeting table.
Ty walks in, Seb and West behind him, talking about what could be happening, but I don’t concentrate on any of that, instead I keep my gaze zoned in on Ty. When he finally looks at me, I raise a brow and he nods in reply, understanding my meaning and no doubt already having had a call from Charlie.
Kay and Kitty wander out of the kitchen, standing near the door as the sound of gravel crunching gets louder and the door opens, Evan walking inside with.... Lexi.
“Told you she stayed the night,” Kay comments.
After several seconds, Lexi clears her throat. “Kay? Do you think you could drop me off at home if it’s not too much trouble?”
“I’ve got to go shopping, you can come with if you want and then I can take you home.”
Evan pulls her closer, and I look away, not being able to get the image of Lily standing in my arms from my mind. I have to push it back, concentrate on what I do best and work the cases needing solved.
“Go back to the cabin, have a shower and chill out for a while,” Evan tells her.
Lexi’s gaze flicks to Ty before she looks back at him. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. Go and chill out and Kay will come and get you when she’s ready to leave.”
He pulls Lexi outside and I push my chair back, standing up. “Are we ever gonna discuss what we’re doing here or stand about staring at the new fucking couple?” I bark out.
My chest heaves, my temper starting to flare at all the fuckin’ dramatics. He shouldn’t have brought her in here, he fuckin’ knows that. Jesus, women turn men to fucking
mush. Another reason I need to stay away from Lily. There’s no way I’m gonna end up in that position. I don’t need any weaknesses, and that’s exactly what she’ll become.
Evan walks back in a few minutes later and finally we make a plan, although it’s not much of one considering we don’t know what the fuck Darrell’s next move will be.
I watch each of them in turn as we sit around the table, trying to decipher anything hidden in their eyes or body language that will give me hints to which one of them is the mole. I don’t trust Dean, West, or Seb, so all three are at the top of my fuckin’ list.
Once Evan, West, and Seb leave, Ty tilts his head at me. “I need to take Monty for a walk, you coming?”
I don’t answer him, I stand up and walk toward the warehouse door and pull it open before waiting for him on the gravel. He knows as well as I do after we found the device that it’s not safe to talk inside the warehouse at the moment.
We both stay silent as we walk through his house, getting Monty, and out the back toward the woods.
“Charlie called this morning.” I grunt, shoving my hands into my front pockets. “He wants you undercover, but I told him we have a lot going on at the moment.” He turns his head to face me. “And then he filled me in on the suspected mole.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. The whole thing last night screamed a setup. Thank fuck Charlie actually listened to me and called it off.”
We trudge through the woods, Ty seeming to think it all over before he says, “It makes sense.” He’s quiet a beat. “All this shit with Darrell and then this… there has to be a mole.” I nod, waiting for him to continue. “I still need you on Dean. There’s something not sitting right with him. But with Darrell too… I need you on top of your game, Luke.”
“I always fuckin’ am.”
“Not true. There’s something going on with you. Whatever it is, sort it out because we need you here. None of this works without you.”
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I nod, knowing I haven’t been the best I could be. My body is here but my mind is elsewhere and there’s only one reason I’m like this. Four letters, one name. Lily.
I don’t answer him, staying silent as my thoughts run through my head.
After letting Monty run around the woods, we head back to the compound, Ty going to his house and me heading to the warehouse to get a workout in to relieve some of the tension building up inside me.
Nothing helps me think better than when my muscles are burning with exertion. And ninety minutes later, that’s exactly what they’re doing: burning. But not just my muscles, also my rage. Someone is trying to cross us, and there’s no way I’ll not be on top form, not when my family’s safety is at risk.
Swallowing down half a bottle of water in one go, I take a breath, my hand on my hip as I start to relax. But as soon as the door is pushed open and Kitty and Kay come running inside, I’m back on alert.
“Kay? Kitty?”
“It’s Lexi…” Kay gasps before Ty runs into the warehouse behind them. “She’s been arrested.”
“Arrested?” I frown, my head reeling back. However much I don’t know her, I can’t help but wonder what the hell is going on.
Ty pulls Kay over to his seat at the meeting table as I walk toward them, listening as they talk a mile a minute about what happened when they took her back to the house she’s been staying at.
I open my mouth, about to ask if Charlie could provide us with any intel on what happened when the warehouse door bangs open again, only this time it’s Evan with Seb and West on his tail. His hands are clenched at his sides, his face red and nostrils flaring.
“I can’t believe it.”
Ty stands up to his full height, flicking his gaze to me before stepping toward Evan.
“We’ll sort it, Evan, it’s not the end of the world.”
“I know it’s not,” he huffs. “But today of all days?”
“There’s no way we could have known,” Seb says, leaning against the meeting table and crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes full of fire. “He’s a sneaky fucker.”
“Excuse me?” Kitty barks, stepping forward. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking about?”
Oh shit.
Evan’s head reels back. “What the hell?”
Kitty pushes her shoulders back. “I don’t know who you think you are, and yeah, it sucks big time, but we don’t know everything at the moment. We need to wait it out and—”
“Wait it out?” Seb throws his head back. “What is there to wait out? He knew who we were from the fucking beginning!”
The warehouse goes silent and Evan stares at each of us in turn. The atmosphere changes, becoming so thick that it’s almost unbearable.
“Ty?” Evan pauses a beat. “We’re talking about the job and Darrell…”
Ty looks at Kay then back at Evan, cursing under his breath. “Sit down, Evan.”
He widens his stance. “What do I need to sit down for?”
“It’s Lexi.”
Everyone seems to stop breathing until Evan practically shouts, “What happened?”
“We…” Kay clears her throat, stepping forward and taking Ty’s hand in hers. “We went shopping and then took her home, but…” Her gaze flicks up to Ty’s, looking for something, and when she finds what she’s searching for, she continues, “When we pulled up, Charlie was there. Along with several other police cars.”
“And?” Evan grits out.
“They arrested her,” she whispers.
His eyes flare with so much anger it causes me to take a step forward. I never thought Evan could look like that as he focuses on Kitty. “Did Charlie tell you this was happening?”
“No,” she grinds out. “You know we keep work separate.”
He stands still for several seconds before pulling out his cell, answering it, and barking, “I know and I’m on my way to the precinct.”
He pulls the cell away from his ear, spinning around, but halting when Ty asks, “Do you not want to know what she was arrested for?”
“I don’t need to know,” he growls, turning back around before pulling the door open. “Whatever it is, she didn’t do it.”
We all stay silent as we listen to his tires squeal out of the compound, none of us knowing what to do or say. When my cell vibrates in my pocket, I pull it out.
Lily: Thanks for last night.
I huff out a breath, knowing I need to do what Ty said and get my head in the game. There’s only one possible solution, and it’s something I didn’t want to do yet, but I don’t have a choice. I may think I know what’s happening with her, but the fact is I don’t. Not really. The signs are all there, but the words coming from her mouth aren’t.
I let my head drop back, blowing out a breath, and knowing I have to do this. For me. For her. For my family. Because if my head isn’t in the game, people will get hurt.
LUKE
Two days since Lexi was arrested and Evan hasn’t left his cabin once. For the first time in months, all I’ve been focused on is my family here. Evan is going through the ringer and all we’ve been doing is trying our hardest to help him.
The warehouse is currently a command station, all hands on deck—apart from Evan. Everyone has tried to get him out of his cabin, but not one of them has been successful.
And now it’s my turn.
Huffing out a breath, I walk toward his cabin. I have a thousand other things on my mind, but I can’t entertain any of them until he sees what we’re doing. That we want to help him help Lexi.
Him first, and then Lily.
Shit. Just thinking about her has my stomach dipping and my hands clenching. The incessant ramblings on how I should approach her so I can fully focus go around and around in my mind. But I know the answer to it. I have to ask her outright. No beating around the bush, no flowery sayings and promises. Just simply ask her.
Halting when I get to his door, I bang my fist on it several times, shouting, “Evan!” W
hen I don’t get an answer after a few minutes, I step closer. “We want to help!” I push open his door, not giving a shit whether he wants people in here or not. He doesn’t have a choice. I’ve had about enough of this bullshit. He needs to know he can lean on us, that we’re here, and to use us to help him.
Stepping inside, I’m greeted with an empty room. “Where the fuck are you? I just want to talk!”
I jump back when a hatch in the floor opens up and Evan appears, his face red and nostrils flared. My eyes widen, wondering where the hell he came from. Is that a—
“You want to judge!” he grinds out. “You don’t want to help.”
I hold my hand up. “Ev—”
“No! When it was Kay, I was there!” He smacks his palm off his chest. “When Kitty needed help, I was there!” He makes a closed fist, doing the same thing. “When any of you need or want something…” He stares into my eyes. “I’m. There.”
“We want to—”
“I’m sick and fucking tired of this shit… none of you know a fucking thing about me, never mind me and Lexi.”
I stand stock-still as he storms out of his cabin, finally realizing he’s about to unleash all his pent-up fury and follow him. Good. It’s about fuckin’ time.
I jog over to the warehouse, walking in behind him as he storms inside, and I start to say, “He’s not doing good—”
“Shut it!” he shouts, whipping his head around to me and then back at everyone where they stand scattered around the table. “I’m done.” He swipes his hand through the air. “You need anything and I’m there… always. The one time I need all of your help and you disappear. Lexi is my family. My family.” He pauses, probably trying to get his point across. But it’s not needed. We get it. Jesus Christ, we fuckin’ get it. “Don’t you get that? I can’t…” His breath catches in his throat. “I can’t live without her… she’s…”
There’s a beat of silence before Ty says, “She’s it.” He looks over a Kay. “I get it.”
My teeth grind together as I look around, seeing Ty and Kay watching each other, Kitty’s eyes misting over, and Evan torn to shreds with what’s happening to Lexi. They’ve all got their person. The one who means more to them than anyone else.
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