“You look happy,” Maya said to Athena.
Athena was leaning against the register behind the bar, staring at her men who sat at a table with some of their friends and were enjoying some beers as they watched over her. “I am, sort of.”
“Sort of?” Maya asked.
Athena looked away and then exhaled, but forced a smile. “It doesn’t seem real, almost like any moment it can change, and I’ll be back to being alone, dealing with the pain from the past, and reality will rear its ugly head.”
“Hmm, I don’t know what happened in your past, Hannah, but maybe talking to someone about it could help? It’s helped me a lot. I mean, I don’t date or anything. I’ve gotten more used to the idea of trying to, but just haven’t met the right guy yet. I talk a big talk but I’m still feeling raw. Kissing, fooling around a bit is fine, but for the big thing, hasn’t happened yet.”
“Well, I don’t know about counseling, all I know is that I’ve had to depend on me and only me. Not another soul for quite some time. But meeting Kane and his brothers, feeling the power of this connection, and the fact that they all broke down those walls a bit says something. It’s made me think that perhaps I do have a future with them, a happiness, eventually.”
“Eventually? Girl, you keep staring at them and they constantly are watching over you. A bystander can see and feel the power between you five. You accepted their guardianship. That’s a huge step in the right direction. It means you trust them, now give into that trust, and guaranteed it will only get better.”
“I want to, Maya. I really, really want to. It feels so right, so perfect with them, but then there’s the fear, my past, and I get scared, too scared to let go because of the potential consequences.”
“Maybe you need to confide in them and let them know all those secrets that are eating you up inside, and potentially ruining this perfect opportunity to be loved.”
“Loved? Jesus, that scares me so much. I’ve conditioned myself to be independent, to be the one in power and control, and I would need to let all that go for them.”
“They’re worth it. Just like a lot of other men around here who know how to put a woman first and to protect her and show her how real men treat a woman, not how evil men do.”
Athena stared at Maya. “I’ve never had a close friend before, Maya. The opportunity wasn’t there because of the past, and the world I was forced to be prisoner in. No free will, no rights, no opinions unless asked and no friendships, no one to trust, or to be allowed to be close to.”
“Well, you’re in Cherry Hill now, and not a prisoner in that life from before. You get to choose, to be free and do what you want and befriend who you want, and well, give your heart, body and soul to whomever you want to.”
Athena smiled and then reached down and squeezed Maya’s hand. “And make a good friend, maybe a best friend for the first time in my life, ever.”
She saw the tears in Maya’s eyes. “Damn, you’re going to make me cry.”
They both had tears in their eyes and then started to laugh. Some other people came to the bar and they went back to work, back to making drinks and then talking about normal things. Shopping, some events in town coming up, and going to lunch together on their day off. Normal things twenty-year-old women did. She embraced it, because tonight she would have to tell her men about Matias and her past, and hope they wouldn’t change their minds about wanting her as their woman, and that she could feel their arms around her protecting her, and could actually feel love, and be loved for the first time in her life.
Fox glanced down at his cell phone and recognized the number. He stood up. “I need to take this. He looked at Chase and nodded. He got up too and followed him. Culter and Kane immediately had to know it was work. They headed outside as Fox answered the call.
“Got something big, within the country as of right now. Involves friends and a situation they’re involved in, and I’m calling in only certain individuals. We need to discuss things ASAP.”
“Chase is with me. We can head inside to the truck and I can put you on speaker.”
“Okay, make sure there isn’t anyone around,” Ferion told him.
They got into the truck, Chase started it up. “We’ll drive down the ways a bit to make sure we’re isolated.”
“Good, let me get started by saying I’m using secure methods to discuss this with you. I’m being watched, which means they’re onto me and the team assisting our friends.”
“Fuck. You can’t make a move?”
“Our friends did unknowing that the ones watching them were members of Mussadan’s cell.”
“Holy shit,” Chase said, and then put the truck into park.
“Okay, we’re good, explain.”
As Ferion explained about Louis and Voight and about a sister who had been abducted three years ago and somehow escaped, his chest tightened and his gut clenched. He looked at Chase and he looked just as upset.
“A gorgeous young woman. The father caused it and Voight and Louis were on a mission when the shit went down.”
“When she escaped, why didn’t she go to them?” Chase asked.
“She was told they were dead by the man who held her prisoner for two years.”
“Prisoner and what else?”
“Just think the worse. There’s records after picking up this guy who was a guard for Matias Garcia. I’m sending you everything we have on him, on his organization, his business dealings and what I could get from the feds who have a special investigation going on as we speak. Once he moved into international theft and associating with terrorist, his name moved up on the watch list and it’s believed he’s helped establish a training and storage facility in upstate NY for terrorist activities.”
“Holy fucking shit, and this woman, Louis and Voight’s sister, is in the middle?” Fox asked.
“She was Matias’s interest from the start when working with her father in business, then he forcibly took her against her will, assaulted her several times, and from what this guy Frank said, she resisted and suffered the consequences. Broken bones, bleeding, bruising. He said Garcia is obsessed with her. Had his best men watching her around the clock.”
“How the fuck did she escape?” Fox asked.
“From what the feds got from this guy, she somehow jumped through a bathroom window in the hotel gym, ran through a next door kitchen restaurant, then ran several blocks to the subway terminal. From there they didn’t know and couldn’t catch her tail. She’s been running for the better part of a year. She hasn’t a clue her brothers are alive and can help. Obviously we can protect her, or because we’re being watched, I can assign men to her and a safe place, but now Garcia has Mussadan’s men helping. Voight and Louis took two of the men out last night. She’s as good as dead if we don’t find her first.”
“What do you need us to do? Where do we look? What do you have on her as far as pictures, name she might go under, etc.?” Fox asked.
“I’m sending you pictures now.” His phone and Chase’s went off and they opened it up as Ferion spoke.
When the picture popped up Chase cursed, and Fox felt like he stopped breathing and his heart suddenly pounded and hurt his chest. “Ferion, she’s here in Cherry Hill.”
“What?”
“We’re her fucking guardians. Holy fuck, we met her three weeks ago when we returned. Our brothers were interested in her and well we…holy fucking shit,” Fox said, and looked at Chase.
“Holy fucking shit is right. Where is she now? How the fuck did this happen? How long has she been there? She’s in Texas, too, this is insane,” Ferion said.
“She’s going by the name Hannah Murphy. She confided in us finally this afternoon about her real name being Athena,” Chase said to him.
“That’s right. Athena Monroe is her real name. How has she been able to hide?”
“By taking serious precautions. It took weeks for us to gain her trust, to show her the attraction was real, and she’s been resistant, but accepted gu
ardianship. Holy shit, no wonder she’s so resistant and fearful. That monster and what he did to her,” Fox said, rambling now and looking at Chase, who was clenching his teeth and breathing through his nostrils.
“I need to tell her brothers she’s alive and well.”
“They can’t come see her, not if they’re being watched,” Fox said.
“We got her, Ferion. We’ll provide the protection that is necessary. We’ll inform her that her brothers are alive, but what the situation is.”
“You better make sure she knows not to run. That she has to remain under your protection, and beyond guardianship. They figure out where she is and it’s over. They’ll send in everyone they have. Garcia is losing his shit,” Ferion told them.
“We got this. She’s our woman. You tell her brothers that. All four of us are her guardians, and we’ll be protecting her with everything we have,” Fox said, and then Ferion gave them some more details and sent them all the information he had thus far.
“When the time comes, Ferion, Chase and I want in on this. On any missions to take all of these men out.”
“Understood, Fox, and depending on how this investigation goes, hopefully you won’t have to do anything. My God, this is a fucking miracle, that’s what it is. She got herself to the right place, and who the hell knows how,” Ferion said, seemingly just as shocked as Fox and Case felt. Fox ended the call.
He looked at his brother. Their phones in hand, the sounds of the multiple alerts coming through their phones. They didn’t say a word, just both looked down at the same time and began to read the details from one man Frank and what he said about Athena being held prisoner. A young woman with her whole life ahead of her and this monster, this narcissistic dick, stole it all from her. There was so much more to learn and understand.
“She didn’t know that Voight and Louis were alive. She would have went to them, found them somehow.”
“I know, but if you think about it, they might have gotten killed since this Garcia guy sent men right to where they were at. He knew all along where her brothers were, and he manipulated her mind. I want to fucking kill this asshole, Chase. Kill him with my bare fucking hands, and we don’t even know everything she went through.”
“I feel the same way, but we need to focus on her safety, on securing this bond we have. She’s here in Cherry Hill.”
“Fuck, Mussadan is resourceful. They’ll eventually find her. If these men are onto Voight and Louis right now, and Ferion, you know they can infiltrate any contact.”
“Which is why we’ll be careful. My concern is her reaction to us knowing, to finding out who we are, that we know her brothers so well,” Fox said.
“We didn’t know they had a sister, Chase. We didn’t fucking know that.”
“Apparently, they told Ferion and asked for his help.”
“They asked too late. She could have died.”
“Well she isn’t dead, Fox, she’s with us.” Fox looked down the dark road. They had gone a bit away from the dance hall to avoid anyone listening to the phone call.
“I want her out of there right now,” Fox said as Chase gripped the steering wheel with one hand.
“I do, too, but we don’t want to scare her, or want to make a scene and draw attention to her.”
“Attention to her? Every fucking single guy has his eyes on her. Word needs to spread fucking fast that we’re her guardians.”
“It will, Fox. It will. Let’s get back there. Keeping eyes on her will bring us a bit more comfort. Then when we’re all together tonight, we can explain to Culter and Kane.”
Fox nodded and Chase started up the truck and they headed back toward Harper’s. He looked out the window, at the side mirror, and then even through the parking lot when they got there. He didn’t like feeling out in the open, exposed like this. He didn’t know what the enemy looked like, and he didn’t like feeling like the hunted when he was the hunter. As Chase parked the truck, his brother took a deep breath and released it.
“They don’t know she’s here. She somehow stayed on the run, hidden, on her own for over a fucking year. We don’t leave her side. We remain armed, diligent in protecting her and we make sure that others around Cherry Hill and Central Valley know, too. Our connections, the men we trust and have done jobs with. It will all aid in her protection.”
“Let’s get inside. I need to see that she’s fine.”
Athena saw Fox and Chase return from heading outside a while ago. She almost thought they had left and didn’t want to stay with Kane and Culter to watch over her. It upset her, made her feel uneasy, and like she was in danger or something. That shocked her at first, because obviously she trusted them and was going to tell them all about Garcia and her brothers tonight. She was on edge, and hoped their desire to make love to her, to help her be able to let down her guard and make love with them, would happen tonight. She felt anxious, and now watching them join their brothers Kane and Culter, their eyes narrowed, their expressions ominous, and she feared the worst. Were they going to leave her for a mission? She thought about that. About being involved with military men.
Though it seemed they did something a bit different than traditional military, considering she saw Fox talking to three men the other night, who Maya said were like mercenaries. She really didn’t know what that was, but as she described what she knew Maya thought about her brothers, Louis and Voight. Tears filled her eyes. She missed them so much. If they were alive she could have been with them, letting them and their resources protect her, but they weren’t. She was here in Cherry Hill, and she went and basically fell for four commanding men who she didn’t completely know, but felt like they were powerful, capable, truthful, and maybe even empathetic men. They intimidated her and made her feel a tad bit of fear maybe. Not like Matias, where she cowered and had nightmares about his possession and control. It was different. It was like Fox and his brothers protected her, and because of their professional positions, their military backgrounds, and their experiences in life, they expected respect, control, dominance, and full honesty. That was why tonight she needed to tell them who she really was and what she went through. When she made love, she wanted them to know everything, and know they still wanted her, scars, abuse, and all.
“Hey, you okay?” Maya asked, giving her elbow a nudge. When she looked up at her, Maya reached out, eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and dismissed the emotions. “I’m okay, just had a bit of a revelation that shocked me.”
“What?”
She gave a soft smile, then glanced at Kane and them who were in deep discussion at a corner table. “How much I really like them. How they make me feel protected, and how I want to please them, but there are scars from the past.”
“You need to tell them. To talk to them about those scars, because it’s obvious they really care about you, too.”
Athena gave her a smile. “I will. Tonight, I’ll talk to them about things.”
“Good, now we have about two more hours. Try not to freak yourself out,” Maya teased.
Athena gave her arm a tap. “Be nice,” she said, and then they went back to helping the new customers who walked up to the bar to get drinks.
By the time the evening ended, she was tired, her feet ached, and she just wanted to shower and go to bed. That was until she came around the bar as the guys said goodnight and Fox took her hand and started walking her out, with Chase right beside her and Kane and Culter behind them. Chase got into the truck to drive and Fox lifted her up into the middle, and he took the passenger seat next to her. Everyone got in and they headed out, and she leaned her head against Fox’s shoulder. His palms slid over her knee, as Chase’s palm caressed her other leg.
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