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“I…I w-want you all to go home,” I told them shakily. “I’m glad you came out here, but I…I’m okay. I’m safe here. Livy, the kids, and mom and dad need you right now…m-more than I do.”
“No, Evie. Just listen…” Kyle started, but I cut him off.
“I don’t want to argue, Kyle. I just…I need you all to go. I’ll follow soon, but I n-need some time. I’m not ready yet,” I admitted.
“We’ll follow, all of us, when Evie let’s us know she’s ready,” Harris added and I looked to him and smiled gratefully. That was what I had been hoping for, because there was no way I could face going anywhere without the four of them at that time. I was a mess, and afraid too. They were the only people who could keep me together.
“You can’t expect us to just leave you here when this Soloman is obviously getting bolder and bolder,” Matt said as he looked to me with annoyance.
“Please…I…I can’t do this anymore….I can’t. I n-need you to go. I need some time. Please. I love all of you but I…I feel like I’m falling apart and I just….I d-don’t want you all here. Please j-just understand and g-go,” I sniffled.
“We’re not just gonna leave…” Cole started, but I turned back to Nick.
“I need to g-get out of here, please. I c-can’t,” I squeaked between my tears, then I was hiding against him and clinging to him with everything I had left in me, as I just sobbed.
“Go. Get her upstairs,” I heard Harris say, and then we were moving, Nick holding me tightly as he jogged effortlessly up the stairs. “Guys, you need to go,” I heard Harris tell my brothers, but the rest was drowned out as Nick got me to my room and closed the door behind us.
“I-I’m s-sorry,” I hiccupped between deep sobs.
“None of that now,” Nick soothed as he climbed onto my bed and leant back against the headboard. He pulled me even tighter against his chest and banded his strong arms around me. “No more talking. Just let it all out. I’m here and I’ve got you. No more hiding,” he whispered.
So I let go of everything I had been fighting so hard to hold back, and I just cried. Every tear I had forced back, every thought I didn’t dare allow myself to consider, it all came from me as I cried buckets, the whole time feeling secure enough to do it because I knew Nick meant what he’d said. He had me.
KAILAN
Getting rid of Evie’s brother’s hadn’t been easy. They were pissed and refused to leave until they saw her.
Harris had been pretty blunt in the end, telling them how much Evie thought she had to stay strong when they were around, because she was so afraid of ever disappointing them. I was taken aback by how shocked they were to hear that. Didn’t they see how much, even now as a grown woman, she always strived to make them happy? Didn’t they see that they were her idols?
In the end Xander had seen reason, always the calmer of the five. He’d explained that Evie was struggling to deal with everything on top of the trauma she had suffered and that was likely what she meant when she needed time. Yeah – I thought the same – no shit Sherlock, right?
Finally they had listened and agreed to head home, but not before having Aleks take them through his entire security system to prove to them it really was better and more secure than theirs. Then there had been the threats, over and over that if we allowed anything to happen to her, we were all dead men. What they didn’t realize was that we were dead men anyway if anything happened to Evie. She was our everything and without her we would all be lost.
Now they were driving away, finally. They had flights back to Chicago booked that afternoon, and expected us to follow in days, not weeks, but that would all be down to Evie. We would do whatever she needed, and judging by the state she was in as Nick carried her away, she was going to need a while to get over everything that was going on and find her feet again. She wouldn’t be alone though. She’d never be alone. We were all here for her and we were going nowhere.
“Rush, can you check on Nick and Ev? Aleks wants to run his system for any bugs again, and I want to check the perimeter,” Harris asked.
“Take her some food. She needs to eat,” Aleks added.
“Sure. Can I ask what the plan is? I mean I know it’s up to Evie, but what if Soloman is coming here for her? Can we really keep her safe?” I asked, suddenly feeling unsure. Evie was too important to us to risk her safety.
“If that fucker shows up here, we get rid of him for good. You really doubting our skills right now?” Harris asked, seeming shocked.
“I just don’t want to take any chances. We have to keep her safe,” I explained.
“We will, brother. We’ll know if he comes anywhere near here, and we’ll be ready. We’re not taking any chances. I promise you that. We will keep her safe.”
I nodded, feeling calmed by his words. We were trained for shit like this and much more. Harris was right. We could deal with this bastard if he came within a mile of our place and I should never have doubted that. But I was pretty sure I was falling in love with this amazing woman, and it terrified me to think she could be taken from us again. Just the thought of it made me lose all rational thought. It wasn’t an option. I needed her in my life. We all did.
CHAPTER 12
EVIE
It was barely light out when I walked into the guys home gym the next morning. I had spent much of the day before hiding out in bed and wallowing in my misery and self-pity. There had been tears and a few outbursts of anger at the unfairness of all that was happening – both to me, and because of me, but I hadn’t scared the guys away. They’d all been there with me throughout, only leaving to take turns to check the security and the perimeter of the property. They’d made me eat and done the best they could to make the mood lighter, but in the end I had needed the meltdown I was in midst of and they seemed to realize that and instead just held me until I once again cried myself to sleep.
Nightmares had plagued me all night, but these weren’t the nightmares I had become almost accustomed to. No, these nightmares were new and made up by my subconscious, mixed with my terrifying fears of Soloman getting to and hurting the people I loved. I had watched every member of my family and my guys all be hurt by Soloman every time I closed my eyes the night before, until I just couldn’t take it anymore.
That was how I found myself stood in the gym. Working out was not my thing, despite the fact I grew up with a dad and brothers who practically lived to work out. I enjoyed the self defense training I’d done with them all over the years, and I occasionally jogged to keep up a bare minimum level of fitness, but the gym was very far from familiar to me.
