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“Looking for you, little bit. Now take a breath and talk to me. Where are you?” he asked calmly.
“I…no. I’m in the m-iddle of no-where….a forest. No stores. I…I’ve been w-alking f-or hours,” I explained as I tried to keep a leash on my emotions.
“Are you hurt?” Kyle asked.
“I’m okay. C-old. Really fuc-king cold,” I laughed flatly.
“Ev. Aleks has your location. Kailan is with your brothers about thirty minutes from you and they’re already on their way. Nick’s not much further away too. They’re all coming for you. Can you hold on for us?” Harris asked softly.
“Yeah,” I sighed with relief. They were coming for me. “I…I’ll hide. I’ll b-e alright.”
“Where’s Soloman? Is he following you?” Aleks asked.
“I do-n’t know. I…I stabbed him and r-an. I hid m-ost of the n-ight and I…I didn’t hear him loo-king f-or me, but he c-ould be,” I explained as I looked behind me, terrified he’d be right there. “I’m scared, Har-ris. I j-ust want to come h-home,” I whimpered, too exhausted to be strong anymore. I just wanted my guys to get there and sweep me up in the safety of their arms.
“I know, sweetheart. You’re doing so amazingly. Just a little longer, okay? A little longer and Kailan will be there. Just hold on for me…for us, okay?”
“How did he f-find me? How did he know?” I squeaked through my tight throat. I moved away from the road and hid behind a large oak tree. As hiding places went, it sucked, but at least I wasn’t in the open. I leant my exhausted body back against the trunk and took a deep breath to try and keep back the tears.
“Mom.” Kade spoke up. “She wanted to know where you were. She found your letter from Harris and looked up the location of the house online, after she spoke with you the other night. She didn’t realize the risk. She just wanted to know where you were,” he explained.
“Oh God,” I whimpered. I didn’t blame my mom. How could she know Soloman was likely monitoring their computers?
“She told us before we left. She was so sorry, Evie. She never meant for this to happen,” Kyle added.
“I know. It’s o-kay. He w-as go-ing to f-ind me any-way.” I pulled the cell from my ear and looked at the screen. “I should h-ang up and save the bat-tery. I only h-ave ten percent left,” I told them.
“Okay, but keep it turned on, okay?” Aleks spoke up. “Kailan and your brothers are getting closer. They won’t be long. Just stay out of sight until you hear Kailan’s loud mouth, yeah?” he told me.
“Yeah,” I laughed tiredly. “I can’t wait to hear that loud mouth.”
“He’s coming, kochanie. Just hold on,” Aleks promised. I agreed, then hung up quickly before a sob slipped free. Just hearing their voices was breaking me. All I wanted was their arms around me.
I sank down, too exhausted to make my legs hold me up any longer, and curled up in an attempt to keep myself warm, hidden behind the tree and praying Kailan and my brothers arrived before Soloman did.
I must have either dozed off, or given in to unconsciousness, but either way, I was startled awake by the sound of a car approaching. I stayed hidden, holding my breath, too afraid to look around the tree in case it was Soloman who was driving down the road. I listened as the car stopped, then doors opened and slammed closed.
“EVIE?” It was Kailan. I’d know his voice anywhere. Tears of relief streaked down my face as I fought to get to my feet, my legs shaking hard beneath me. I looked around the tree and saw him ahead, stalking from the road towards the woods.
“Kailan!” I gasped, then I was running. It was clumsy and slow, but I didn’t care. I just needed to get to him. He saw me instantly and started running too, his long legs eating up the distance between us until he was right there, pulling me into his arms and lifting me from the ground. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him tightly as I just sobbed hard.
“It’s okay, darlin.’ I got you. You’re safe now. I’ve got you,” he soothed as he pressed my head against his shoulder and kissed the top of it.
“Evie?” I felt a hand at the small of my back, and lifted my head, turning to look at Cole and Matt who both stood there. Xander was walking up behind them too. They looked the same. Tired and stressed out, but the same.
“You’re here,” I whimpered as I unwrapped myself from Kailan and turned to face them all. I launched myself at Cole first, since he was closest and he wrapped me in a crushing hug.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much, half pint,” he told me emotionally. He held me for a moment, then handed me off to Matt, who held me just as tightly.
“You gotta stop scaring us, Evie. We’re getting old. Our hearts can’t take it,” he told me as he held me.
“I’ll d-do my best,” I sniffled with a smile.
“Are you okay, Evie? Your head?” Xander asked as he held me at arm’s length and looked over my injuries.
“Just hug me, Xander, please,” I told him, but I didn’t give him much choice when I launched myself at him. I clung to him tightly, basking in the familiarity of his aftershave and his warmth. They made me feel safe, just like they always had and I was so happy they were there. I had missed them so much.
But as soon as I pulled away I gravitated back to Kailan, and was relieved when he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side. I just felt safest with him. Maybe it was because he had been at my side for the last week. Maybe it was because he had shown me how much he got my darkness. Or maybe it was the rapidly building feelings between us. All I knew was I needed him at my side in that moment.
