His nostrils flare as he focuses all that fury on Jaxon, and by the twitch in his fists and the way his leg continues to bounce, it’s taking all his strength not to attack him.
My body locks as I wonder what on earth is happening for there to be so much hostility in the room.
Luke and Isaac take that moment to storm in, their expressions filled with rage. “Please tell me we can go after him?”
I know I should go, that I shouldn’t be here listening to this, but there is so much built up tension that I’m frozen with curiosity.
“Who?” Maddox snaps, throwing his hands up.
Jaxon, still ignoring the others, addresses the two triplets. “Is Reid asleep?”
“Passed out in bed the minute Mum gave him the medication the doctors gave him,” Isaac explains, before grimacing. “Mum is on the warpath though, which is why we are here and not with Reid. She’s currently banging around the kitchen making a cup of tea.”
Fascination fills me when all the brothers and Paisley flinch, clearly knowing something I don’t.
“What happened to Reid?” I ask, swallowing past the lump in my throat. I hadn’t meant to ask out loud, so they all turn their attention to me. I gulp.
“He was stabbed,” Luke says absently, his gaze on Jaxon, jaw clenched.
“What?” I yell. “Is he okay? Who did this?”
“Yeah, who?” Landon demands, his tone low, deadly.
Jaxon sighs, before gulping down some Jack Daniels from the bottle. When he’s finished, he pins Landon with an unwavering stare, his expression blank. “A man called Andrew Black.”
“The guy who got Paisley hurt the last time? I thought you fucking settled that,” Landon barks, clenching his fists.
“We thought we did too.”
I begin to shiver, taking a step away from Wyatt. He reaches for my arm, stopping me. “Hey, you okay?”
I jerk at his touch. He’s mistaking my guilt for fear; I can see it in his eyes, and that makes me feel even worse.
“I’ll, um—I’ll go get the first aid kit.”
He cocks his head to the side, his dark-eyed gaze pinning me in place. “Are you sure? You look pale.”
“Yes, but you need to get that seen to,” I rush out, ducking my head.
I lightly shrug his hand off my arm before heading over to the cabinet they keep all the first-aid supplies in. I try to gather my thoughts, to calm my nerves, but all of it keeps flying around in my head. Reid was stabbed and I don’t even know what happened to Wyatt for him to get those wounds.
My stomach turns, and I struggle to keep bile down.
Grabbing the box, I give myself one more second to compose myself, to hide the emotions that will flicker with truth before anyone can see. So, I close my eyes, sucking in a breath before squaring my shoulders. I need to get out of here, and quick.
Heading back over to Wyatt, I try to keep eye contact to a minimum as I place the first aid box onto the desk next to him and open it up.
“Was it cut by glass?” I ask when I see the thick gash, biting my bottom lip when he nods. “Is the glass still in there?”
“The nurse said no,” he rumbles, staring intently up at me.
I narrow my gaze at him. “And you didn’t think to get it stitched up?”
He grins, winking at me. “And lose the chance to get a scar? Not a chance.”
Eli snorts as he passes us to sit in a chair nearby, holding a glass of Jack. “He’s lying. He wouldn’t let anyone near him, not until he knew Reid was okay.”
“Way to call me out, brother.”
“You’re welcome,” Eli sings.
“How can you joke about this?” I ask, grabbing the bottle of saline solution. I use a piece of gauze to pour it on before pressing it onto his wound.
He leans back, hissing. The guilt stains my soul as I ease the pressure. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it will take a lot more to hurt me,” he assures me.
I meet his gaze, and immediately I’m trapped in the liquid pools of his irises. The sound of Landon, Jaxon and Maddox arguing is no longer even background noise. All there is, is Wyatt. Nothing else penetrates.
“You should just slap a plaster on it,” Eli announces, causing me to jump and press onto the wound with force again.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I rush out, grabbing another gauze to pat it dry.
“Dickhead,” Wyatt hisses.
Eli chuckles. “Anytime.”
Reaching for the pack of steri-strips, I begin to place them over the cut above his eyebrow, using three in total. I do the same to the one on his forehead, using a few more. It’s red, slightly swollen due to the bruise around it. I don’t like seeing him hurt.
He moans, his lids fluttering closed as I lightly run the pad of my thumb around the wound.
“Did I hurt you?” I whisper, stepping between his legs after grabbing a sterile pad to cover it.
He lazily opens his eyes when he feels me brush against his knees. “No, baby, you didn’t hurt me.”
I can’t look away, not if my life depended on it, not even when I hear Maddox threaten to murder Andrew Black. He’s a beautiful man, but right now, I feel like he’s reaching in and stealing a part of my soul.
“I—” I stop myself before I can say something stupid and instead take a step back, knowing this has to end tonight. All of it.
He grabs my hips, sensing I’m about to run away. “Are you okay? If you’re worried about being in danger, don’t be. We will never let anyone hurt you.”
I finish with the last pad, avoiding eye contact as I clean away the mess left on the table. “I have to go.”
“Wait, why don’t you stay? We were—”
The rest of what he was going to say is cut off by Jaxon. “Evie, I’m sorry that it’s had to come to this,” he begins, and the blood drains from my face. He’s going to fire me. “But from now on, we need to be vigilant. No leaving clients alone in the office, no giving information out, even if we know them. Family is fine. And make sure you take precautions when entering and leaving the office,” Jaxon orders, looking haggard and tired.
It’s like a hammer has been struck to my chest and I can’t breathe. I manage to force a nod. “I’ll be careful.”
I grab my handbag and coat before heading to the door. I shouldn’t have stayed here, where I don’t belong. I’m intruding on a moment these guys need and I’m doing it whilst being me.
And they don’t even know who the real ‘me’ is.
The back of my throat begins to tighten, and my eyes burn with the promise of tears. “I’ll see you all Monday.”
And I will. Because I have no choice.
“Hey, are you okay?” Paisley asks, keeping her voice low when I reach the door. She searches my face, and although I know she can’t read my thoughts, it’s like she can sense them. If only she knew.
“Yeah, I just forgot I need to be somewhere,” I tell her, forcing a smile, even though my stomach clenches with nerves.
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am,” I assure her, before taking a deep breath. “And I’m really sorry for what happened tonight with your family. I hope Reid recovers soon.”
“Thank you.”
With my hand over the handle on the door, I’m ready to leave, but my feet freeze in place. And like I’m compelled to, I glance over my shoulder, finding Wyatt staring right back at me.
My lips part, letting out a small puff of air. There are a thousand reasons why I should stay away from him. Whatever passes between us when we are in close proximity shouldn’t go any further and for good reasons. And yet… and yet it’s the one reason why I should that drives me towards him.
His eyebrows scrunch together, and the sick feeling once again hits my stomach, causing it to cramp. I leave without another word, pushing open the door to the night air before running down the steps and over to my car.
Unlocking the car, I get in and reach into my bag for my phone, seeing messages and misse
d calls from the one person I don’t want to speak to right now. Not yet anyway. When the time comes, I have a few choice words to give him.
I cry out, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. “Argh!”
It’s unfair—so unfair that I’m in this position, that he put me in this position.
Inhaling and exhaling until I finally calm down, I dial the one person who can help me.
It rings in my ear as a few tears slip free, running down my cheeks.
“Hey, bab, you okay?” Rebecca, my best friend, answers.
My lids lower at the sound of her voice, and I instantly feel relaxed. “I messed up, Becca. I’ve messed up big time and I don’t know how to get out of it. He didn’t give me a choice but to do what he wanted and now I’m so beyond screwed.”
“I fucking knew your scummy father had something to do with your distant behaviour lately. What the fuck has he done? Because this is about him, isn’t it?” she bites out, livid on my behalf.
“Can you meet me at The Ginn Inn by Boat River? It’s something that needs to be said with a lot of drink on tap.”
“Alright. I’ll grab a taxi so both our cars aren’t left there.”
“See you soon,” I tell her.
I throw my phone onto the passenger seat as I glance up at the building in front of me. They’ve done nothing but be good to me, and it’s only a matter of time before that ends. And it wasn’t until tonight that I realised how much I had come to care.
It could be the way Jaxon always makes sure I have everything I need or lets me know when I’m doing a good job.
It could be how Paisley has latched on, even though, at times, I was a rude bitch. She let me in, being nothing but supportive and friendly towards me and my role in the company.
It could be that although Reid flirts shamelessly, he never gets inappropriate. He’s hilarious and a joy to be around. He also goes out of his way to make me laugh.
Even Eli, the quiet one of the group, makes me feel welcome, always including me in decisions or discussions.
Or it could be Wyatt. My feelings towards him are nothing close to how I feel around the others. But even if I didn’t have those feelings, I’d still care about him, because he has done nothing but be kind, funny and charming. He goes out of his way to make sure my sweet bowl is filled, that I have cups of tea, and even makes Jaxon have a cleaner come in to clean the toilets and kitchen area that they use as a staff room of sorts.
When they find out Andrew Black is my father, and they will, all that will go. Because if Andrew finds out I’m getting close to them, he will exploit it, and if he realises my loyalty is not with him, he will make sure they know exactly who I am and twist it in a way that is cruel.
With that in mind, I start up the car, because the quicker I get out of here and to The Ginn Inn where Rebecca will be meeting me, the sooner I can get this off my chest and finally put a plan in place.
And if there is anyone who can give me sage advice, it’s my best friend.
CHAPTER SIX
EVIE
The Ginn Inn is a bar I drive past every day when I’m getting to and from work. It doesn’t look much from the outside with its peeled paint and cracked walls, and the inside isn’t much better, but I like it. It has character and gives off good vibes. It is certainly a place where the locals come to hang out, and they do it because it’s welcoming. The owner, who I’m assuming is the older guy working the bar, is greeted by pretty much everyone. He is liked. This bar is liked.
The interior, although some of it is clearly old and outdated, also has pieces of new furniture, like the owner was slowly having to replace things. The table Rebecca and I are sitting at is one of the new ones.
“So, spill,” Rebecca orders, brushing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
Even with the short notice she had to get here, she still managed to look flawless in her white body suit, flashing a good amount of cleavage. Her black jeans look glued to her legs, making them appear longer—with help from the light-grey pointy stilettos. And as always, she’s adorned with gold jewellery. Around her neck is a three-chained, thin, gold leaf necklace, around her wrists are five or six bangles, and her right index finger holds a ring that reaches her knuckles, the rhinestones entwining around her digit. However, Rebecca could wear a ratty T-shirt and PJ bottoms and still look hot.
Instead of diving right into what is happening now, I start from the beginning, needing her to hear it all. “Andrew had me fired from my job at The Royal Oak.”
Her head whips up from her drink, her jaw slack. She clearly didn’t expect to hear that.
“What? So where are you working? Do you need money? I can loan you—”
“No, I don’t need money, but thank you for the offer,” I tell her, forcing out a chuckle before downing half of my drink.
I should have ordered some shots. Maybe I’ll order vodka next.
She leans forward, resting her forearms on the table. “What’s going on? You look pale.”
“Andrew came to me a few months ago and gave me an ultimatum.” I pause, taking a deep breath. “His dad—or maybe it was Andrew—opened another business base here. I didn’t know. I thought I was finally rid of them all.
“When they fired me, they let me know exactly who was responsible, and since I didn’t have a contract, I couldn’t even argue. Then I got home to find him leaning against his car, waiting for me.” I pause, feeling a lump at the back of my throat. “He happily informed me he had lasting power of attorney over my mum’s care.”
“That son of a bitch! Where was he when she fell sick? Where was he when you were going to school and taking care of her? And where the fuck does he get off coming into your life like this, after everything he has put you through?”
“He’s removed her from the home she was in,” I inform her on a sob. “She’s in a private one. She’s happy there. Really happy. But he said if I don’t do as he asks, he will stop visitation and put her into a home where she won’t get the full care she needs, and make sure there is nothing I can do about it. I’ve already spoken to a lawyer. Mum signed the documents when she was pregnant in case something happened to her. He’s not putting her in danger, so I can’t even take him to court.”
“That son of a bitch,” she repeats, earning curious stares from others. “What has he made you do in return?”
“First, I work for Hayes Removals,” I tell her, waiting for her to explode.
“Jesus, bloody, Mary. It never just rains with you; it fucking pours. What on earth made you go there? How do you concentrate? I’ve seen those guys, and boy… they are on fire. I’m pretty sure my panties would be constantly wet with arousal, and that’s only if I had a mind to wear any around them.”
“Becca,” I hiss, then burst out laughing because she’s right, they are a hot bunch.
“What? It’s not like anyone would disagree with me,” she points out. “Now, tell me what the Hayes have to do with this. You wouldn’t have mentioned them otherwise. Please tell me you’ve not let one in your knickers because, girl, they are bad news. They go through girls like we go through underwear. They are the definition of man whores, babe. And as much as you deserve a good fuck, you catch the feels. Unfortunately, they won’t; many have tried to turn their heads. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
I’m not going to say it doesn’t hurt hearing that, it does. I knew it was true already, but hearing it from my best friend, hearing it out loud… it hurts.
“No, it’s worse; I have a massive crush on one of them.”
She relaxes into her chair, sipping her wine. “At least it’s only a crush. You’ve had those before and resisted,” she tells me, before pursing her lips. “But they are the Hayes boys. They’re hard to resist.”
“It’s more than that,” I whisper, covering my eyes. I can’t look at her. “I just can’t explain it.”
“Alright, bab, I get you. I’ve been there,” she replies softly, instead of going on about how it would be a ba
d idea. “But what does this have to do with your dad?”
“When I approached Andrew outside my house, he didn’t start with the news that he had lasting power of attorney. He began by asking for a favour…”
My blood is still boiling after being fired, so seeing the sight of my biological father leaning against his car has made me livid. I want to scream, to claw at his face, but it would be wasted energy on my part. He wouldn’t care.
All my life he has only bothered to show here and there, but never because he cared or wanted to see me. So why he is messing with my life right now, when I have so much going on, is a sick joke on the universe’s part.
“What are you doing here?” I growl, leaving out the part that I know he had me fired. I don’t want him to know it got to me.
“I have a problem,” he drawls, straightening his suit jacket.
“You have a lot of problems,” I snap, because he does. Not having a heart is one. “Why you think I would care is laughable.”
He continues like I hadn’t spoken, or he hadn’t heard me. “There is a family out to destroy my business, to take everything I have built. They are stealing and vandalising properties of mine. They are ruthless. They even attacked my receptionist only a week ago.”
I can taste the lie in the air, but there is also some truth in his words. I’m just not sure whether he’s twisting it to make him look the vulnerable one.
Still, I harden myself at hearing someone got hurt. “That’s interesting and all, but it has nothing to do with me,” I tell him, my voice sharper.
Still pretending he hadn’t heard me, he continues. “I had my assistant apply for a receptionist job they have vacant, on your behalf. Your interview is tomorrow lunchtime. I want you to get that job by any means necessary,” he tells me, his words leaving no room for argument. “You’ll report to me with all information obtaining to their overseas business, and the jobs they have had or will have. I also want to know their every move.”
Dumbfounded, it takes me a moment to gather my thoughts, and when I do, I burst out laughing. He truly thinks he’s something.
I shake my head, pitying him. This is going to be hard for him to hear, but I don’t care. “No! And it’s absurd that you think I’d even consider it. Laughable really. You got me fired, thinking I would say yes, but the answer is no. I will never do anything for you, Andrew. Sort your own mess out.”
Eye for an Eye (Take a Chance Book 2) Page 6
