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“They’re right, Ev. There are other ways to stop him. Aleks has all of the military files on his laptop. You can start going through them again to look for Soloman, and we can work with your brothers to find something the night he hit their place. There’s the explosion at ours too. We had cameras outside. Who knows what they captured? We’ll get him, but not by putting you at risk,” Harris agreed, much to my annoyance.
I sulked the rest of the drive back to my parents place. I didn’t get why they couldn’t see my plan was the best we had. It wasn’t like I’d be at risk really. They’d all be there and they’d stop Soloman before he even got to me. Maybe the FBI could be involved too? It was just the quickest way to end everything, and I needed that. I needed it to all be over and fast. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on.
When we pulled up to the gates of my parents property, there was a hulking guy, dressed all in black, waiting at the gates. He was clearly armed and had the Shepard Security logo on his jacket.
Kyle lowered his window and gave him a wave before driving past and through the, now opening, gates.
“Did they identify that girl yet? The one he pinned an eight on and left in your yard?” I asked.
“Yeah. She was a college kid from the city,” Kyle replied and tears filled my eyes at the thought of such a young life being cut short for no reason other that Soloman was a sick sonofabitch.
“Her death is not on you, Ev. It’s all him and he will pay for what he’s done,” Harris told me quietly, but how could I believe that when Soloman had clearly killed her to taunt me? Why else would he have pinned my number to her? Eight. That was me. I should have been the dead body with that number attached to me.
Thankfully the car came to a stop and the guys started piling out, saving me from having to say anything. I stepped out and looked up at my childhood home. It looked just the same as when I had left it to run to the store that fateful day.
My brothers surrounded me then, all four of them wanting hugs which I was more than happy to give. Even in the short time they’d been gone, I had missed them, especially when we had parted the way we did.
“Where’s Xand? Working?” I asked.
“Yeah. He said he’d try to be here for dinner if things weren’t too crazy in the ER,” Matt told me.
Just then, my mom opened the door and stepped out onto the top step. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater and she looked so much like the last time I had seen her, leaving her on that very same step to go to the grocery store.
“Mom,” I whispered as tears slipped down my cheeks. My legs shook beneath me as I ran across the drive, up the steps and right into her open arms.
“Oh my baby girl!” My mom cried as she held me. I could feel her own tears soaking my sweater as she lay her head against my shoulder and just sobbed.
“I’m okay, mom. I’m here and I’m okay,” I tried to comfort her through my own tears.
“Let me look at you,” she said as she gathered herself, then held me at arm’s length. She looked at me from top to bottom, then nodded, as if reassuring herself I really was whole. “You’re too thin, but we can soon fix that,” she told me. It was like a threat coming from her. To say her cooking sucked was being kind.
“Come on. Let me get my girls inside,” Dad said as he appeared beside us. He wrapped one arm around my mom and one around me, then led us both inside.
As we walked in with my brothers and my guys behind us, I turned to Matt and mouthed ‘Did you cook?’ to him. He grinned widely, then gave me a thumbs up, reassuring me, for that night at least, the food was safe to consume.
“Evie!” A voice cried, and when I looked up Livy was hurtling towards me from the kitchen. I hurried to her too and we met somewhere in the middle, tangling ourselves in a hug filled with so much understanding for what we had each been through. It was like we now knew each other so much more deeply than we ever could have before, and that hug said all of that and so much more.
She was smaller than me by a few inches and so slim and delicate in my arms, yet I knew inside she was so strong and tough. She had been through so much and it had made her into this amazing, powerful woman who I had always idolized.
“Thank God you’re home,” she sighed as she stood and looked me over. She smoothed some stray hairs from my face, tucking them behind my ears as she smiled gently. “You’re going to be okay, sweetie. I promise you that,” she told me as she wiped a tear from my cheek.
“Are you okay? What happened at your place, it must have been terrifying,” I asked as I tried hard to compose myself.
“I just wish I’d gotten my hands on the monster who hurt you. I’d have ended him then and there,” she growled with a scowl.
“Bloodthirsty, nowadays, isn’t she?” Cole laughed as he appeared at his wife’s side and wrapped his arm around her.
“I am when people hurt my family,” Livy told him firmly.
“Okay Brains, stop scaring people and come and meet Evie’s….erm…friends,” Cole told her, making me laugh. Livy turned back to me with a knowing wink, then allowed Cole to lead her over to where my guys stood.
I followed them and when I got to Aleks, he reached out and grabbed me, hooking an arm around my waist and pulling me into his side.
“Guys, this is Livy,” I started the introductions. “Livy, you already know Harris from before. This is Aleks, Kailan, and over there is Nick. With his adorable son, Zack.”
“He smells pretty far from adorable right now, babe,” Nick laughed as he scrunched up his face at the smell coming from his son.
“Let me show you where the bathroom is,” Mom said as she stepped out of dad’s arms and moved towards Nick. She grabbed Zack’s hand and instantly started cooing over him. I knew it was only a matter of time before she had the little guy in her arms and refused to give him back.
