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“Fuck! Are you okay? What can I do?” A panicked voice I didn’t recognize said, only increasing my panic as I looked up with alarm.
The man hurrying towards me was tall and built, his shoulders wide in the t-shirt he wore. His size was intimidating, and I tried to back up further on to the sofa I was on.
I looked around me, desperate for the guys to come to my rescue, but none of them were there, and I had no idea where exactly I was. It looked like an office with a desk and shelves lining the walls, but that was all I could take in. The stranger was getting closer and I knew I had to do something to protect myself before it was too late.
I tried to stand, but I still wasn’t breathing, and my legs shook so hard I wobbled badly as soon as I was upright. I threw myself sideways and just managed to get a hand on the wall to steady myself before I went down.
“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” The stranger said as he froze where he stood a few feet back from me, and studied me hard. “Just stay right there, okay? Try and take some deeper breaths. I…I’ll get someone,” he told me, sounding almost as panicked as I felt. I was just relieved when he turned and hurried from the room, away from me.
My legs gave way instantly as soon as he was out of sight and I collapsed to the cold, shiny tiled floor. Where were the guys? Where the hell was I? I tried to think straight as I fought to breathe, but being alone in a strange place was only increasing my anxiety.
Footsteps coming back my way at pace, had me instantly planning some way to make my shaky legs get me up and hold me there long enough to get away, but my I forgot all about my escape plan when I glanced up and saw Nick racing towards me. He had cuts on his face and his clothes were dirty and dusty. I tried to remember, once again, what had happened, but the last thing I could recall was being home with all of the guys.
“I’m here, baby,” Nick soothed as he dropped to his knees beside me and scooped me up into his arms. I shakily reached for his shoulder and clung to it hard as he cradled me against his body tightly. “Breathe for me, okay? I’m here….we’re all here. You’re safe,” he told me.
“I…c-can’t breathe,” I gasped, terrified. Why couldn’t I breathe? What was wrong with me?
“You can, baby,” he assured me as he looked down and met my eyes. “You can breathe. Hold your breath for me,” he added.
I was pretty sure I was already holding my breath without trying, but I trusted him, so I stopped fighting to breathe and held it in. My panic made it impossible to hold it for long, but when I let it go I managed to get the tiniest breath of air in.
“That’s it. Do it again,” Nick coached me patiently as I tried once again to hold my breath, all the while I was clinging to his shoulder with one hand and a handful of his shirt in the other. He was the calm in the chaos of my panic and anxiety and I dare not let him go.
We sat there for a while, Nick repeatedly coaching me into taking deeper and deeper breaths until finally I was getting enough oxygen into my lungs to ask the question I needed to know.
“Where are th-the others. A-are they okay?” My voice was trembling as hard as the rest of my body. Nick readjusted his position, sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out before him, then he moved me so I could still cling to him, but I was more comfortably sat across his thighs.
“They’re all fine. They’re just down the hall, talking to a guy Harris knows from his time in the military. They’re making a plan to keep you safe,” he told me calmly as he moved my wild hair from my face and smoothed it down behind my ears.
“A plan?” I questioned. Then it came back to me – the explosion at the house. I had hidden with Zack, then the guys had rushed out of there in one of the cars.
“Zack!” I gasped.
“He’s fine. I was just feeding him. He’s with Eli, the guy who was here when you woke up,” he explained.
“Who is he?”
“His brother, Asher, was a SEAL and did his training with Harris and Kailan. Now Eli and Asher work together to run the family business, and Harris came to them for help. They’re willing to let us take their private jet wherever we want to go.”
“Private jet? So they’re really rich, I’m guessing?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he shrugged. “They both seem like good guys and Harris trusts them.” That seemed to be enough for Nick, so I had to just go with it too. Harris was a good judge of character and if he said we could trust these brothers, we all needed to trust in that.
“Are you sure y-you’re okay?” I asked as I reached a hand up to gently cup the side of his face. He had scratches and cuts on his face and forehead and he looked pale and exhausted.
“I’m fine, babe. Asher insisted on bringing a doctor in to check me over, and he patched me up. I’m all good,” he promised.
“And Harris? He was out there too when that explosion happened?”
“The doc checked him over too. He has a mild concussion so we’ll need to check on him when he sleeps for the next few hours, but he’s okay. I doubt he’ll be sleeping anyway. He’s definitely in action stations mode,” Nick chuckled.
“Is Soloman coming after us…after me?” I asked weakly. I just didn’t know how much more fight I had left in me. I was so tired of running scared. I just wanted it all to be over.
“I’m not gonna lie to you. Yeah, I think he is, but we won’t let him take you again, Evie. Asher and Eli have extra security covering this building right now, and they’ve offered us anything we need to keep you safe.”
“Why would they do that?”
“I think Asher, Kailan, and Harris went through a lot together overseas. It bonds you, makes you brothers cemented by more than blood. Asher would do anything to help Harris and Kailan, just like the guys would do anything for Asher if he needed them.” I nodded. It made sense, but I still hated that so many people were getting involved in my mess, and in so doing, putting their own lives in danger.
