“That bastard is nothing but a wimp.” Corey continued, spinning around he spoke to someone out of view and said that he had to go.
“I want to know everything” Ty whispered. I turned, our lips centimeters apart.
“Listen, I’ll be back in a couple of months, I want a video call with you at least once a week.” He said with raised brows.
“Done.” Ty said.
“Love you lil-” The video cut off, I turned back to face the screen but he was gone.
Ty surrounded me. His breaths coming faster and harder matching my own closing my eyes I breathed in his musky scent.
“I’ll show you how you should be treated,” kissing underneath that sensitive spot under my ear. His lips trailed down my neck stopping at the curve where my neck met my shoulder.
“Hey!” I pulled back from Ty staring wide eyed as Evan came into the office “Who was on the video feed?”
Ty moved across the room pushing Evan out of the door before turning and giving me a wink then closing the office door.
Closing my eyes I could still feel his arms around me. I shivered.
It was going to be a long day.
*~*~*
When I woke up Saturday morning my eyes were drawn to the window, looking out I could see the woods that surrounded the compound. Memories running rampant of when my dad would take me out on adventures.
I remembered setting up camp one of those times and staying awake most of the night just gazing at the stars and finding all of the constellations. That was back before he drank, when we were all happy. When we would make memories as a family that we’d want to remember instead of all the ones that followed that I wished I could forget.
Shaking them from my head I made my way downstairs determined to provide Eli with those memories; the good ones. He’d had enough bad ones and that was my fault but all of that was changing from here on out.
I wanted him to run through the woods and get lost in the trees while we played hide and seek knowing that he’d be fine because I would always find him.
Pulling out a bag from one of the many cupboards in Ty’s kitchen I started to put food inside. Making sandwiches I added them to the bag along with some bottles of water and a bag of chips.
I was determined to make today as special as I could and to spend some proper family time with him. Everything had been so crazy over the last few weeks that I’d barely spent any time with Eli.
“What are you doing?” I jumped out of my skin, spinning around my hand flying to my chest I came face to chest with Ty.
“You scared me” I breathed.
Smiling he leaned against the kitchen counter, my eyes slid down his body, taking him all in. Messy hair, with a couple of days scruff and sweatpants that rested precariously on his hips; a dangerous combination.
“Kay?”
I blinked staring at him with wide eyes.
“Huh?”
“What are you doing?”
“Oh,” I turned zipping up the bag “going on a picnic.”
His head tilted to the side with narrowed eyes.
“We are?!” Eli shouted as he came into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him.
“Yep,” I pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and poured some cereal “Breakfast first though,” I smiled.
“Where are we going?” He jumped up onto one of the seats his smile uncontrollable.
“The woods,” I said and placed the bowl down in front of him.
“Yeah!” he punched the air with his small fist as he scooped up a bite of cereal.
“Coffee?” Ty asked.
“Please,” I sat down next to Eli watching him eat.
“Is Ty coming?” he asked, a mouthful of cereal and milk dripping down to his chin.
I laughed and looked at Ty, he held out a napkin smiling I took it from him. My stomach flipped as his fingers grazed mine.
These feelings had to stop, I couldn’t even be in the same room as him without staring at him or thinking of him in ways that I really shouldn’t.
“I-”
“I’d love to,” Ty interrupted handing me my coffee.
I guess that was settled, we’d all be going out on a picnic.
*~*~*
“So where are we going then little man?”
“The place we went before,” he said clutching onto Ty’s beanie hat. He’d been on Ty’s shoulders since we left the house saying that he had the best view from up there.
Ty nodded moving ahead of me with the picnic bag slung over his shoulder.
“You’re gonna love it mama!”
“Really?” I moved closer to them “What is it?”
I stepped over some branches and marveled at the trees. Calm washing over me, something that I only experienced when I was in the woods. It had been such a long time that I’d forgotten the feeling that it gave me, how much I loved being there.
“Not telling!” Eli taunted.
Ty laughed, so hard that he had to stop to catch his breath.
“This kid,” he shook his head, straightened and started walking again.
We walked for another ten minutes before the trees cleared a path.
“Just up here,” Ty said and bent so that Eli could get down.
We went through a worn path and in between two big trees, I gasped as I saw where we were. The clearing lined with wild flowers and grass so green that it almost looked like someone had painted it. I’d never seen anything like it. Various wooden equipment sat in the middle, there were ropes and something that resembled a climbing frame, but for adults.
“Training equipment” Ty said as he watched me stare wide eyed.
“You train up here?” I followed him to a picnic bench keeping my eye on Eli, who was currently trying to climb the rope but was having no luck.
“Yeah,” Ty nodded and put the bag down.
“Ty, come play wiv me!” Eli shouted.
Ty smiled wide at me, his teeth showing then spun round and ran for Eli.
They spent the next hour using the different equipment. They walked across the wooden beams, climbed the rope wall, ducked under the rope that was low to the ground.
All the while laughing, it was just as much fun to watch them.
Halfway through they tried to get me to have a go on the equipment, but there was no way that I was going to try. I’d end up breaking something, when I said this to Ty he laughed and ran across one of the beams.
“Come on sweetheart, have a go,” Ty nodded to the climbing wall.
“Yeah, please mama!” Eli smiled sweetly his hands together as he fluttered his eyes.
I really didn’t want to fall flat on my face but I wanted to join in the fun. Biting my lip I contemplated it. They looked like they were having so much fun and the whole point of today was to make some new memories.
“Come on then.” I dusted my hands on my jeans and hooked my leg over the bench Eli squealed and ran ahead of me.
They both waited at the bottom of the rope for me, taking a deep breath I planted my foot on the bottom rung. I squealed as it swung with my weight gripping onto one of the squares like my life depended on it.
I waited for the rope to stop moving then scaled it as fast as I could, slow and steady as my leg started to burn. Considering I still wasn’t fully healed I’d say I did it quite well. I swung my leg over the top and sat on the wooden frame to give my body a rest.
Grinning down at them I said “Bet you couldn’t do it that fast.”
Ty tilted his head, his shoulders back. He backed away from the rope and ran at it, making it up to me within a couple of seconds he swung his leg over the top bar pointed at me and said “Oh yeah?”
I rolled my eyes swinging my other leg over to climb down. I was doing okay until Ty started to climb down at the same time as me. The rope started to move in all directions.
My foot slipped, closing my eyes tight I braced for the fall.
It never came, instead a hand grabbed onto me. I hugged the rope
s and breathing a sigh of relief.
That was until I realized that Ty had grabbed my butt to stop me from falling. I opened my eye watching as his were fixated on his where his hand was.
“Ty?” I croaked.
He looked up at me, his eyes full of hunger. My tongue came out to wet my bottom lip his eyes tracking the motion.
“Mama!”
We both pulled back eyes wide. How had I forgotten that Eli was there?
I didn’t know how much longer I could be around Ty without something happening. It was getting harder and harder to be around him and not want to kiss his soft looking lips.
And now I was thinking about his lips. Again.
Chapter Twenty
The big gates loomed over me like a dark cloud reminding me that I still hadn’t stepped foot outside of the compound. Every day when I walked past them they reminded me that the outside world was still there.
That Max was still out there.
I’d gotten so comfortable with my surroundings that I started to wonder what was so great about being out there. In my world all that existed beyond those gates was pain.
I didn’t want was behind those gates, I wanted what was inside them. Protection and safety.
My hands would sweat and my breathing would come faster and harder each time I got closer to them.
It was becoming harder to keep it a secret it would only be a matter of time before someone noticed.
I was sure that Luke suspected something when he asked me if I wanted to pick Eli up and I said I was busy. The raised brow told me he knew something was up, but I just smiled and got on with my imaginary work.
I desperately wanted to pick Eli up. I’d been all he had known for such a long time, but now there were other people in his life and I found myself relying on them more and more.
It couldn’t last forever, I had to go outside those gates at some point. Miss Maggie hadn’t heard from me for almost three weeks, I didn’t doubt that she knew what had happened. Or at least a version of it.
But if the thought of going outside the compound terrified me then going back to that apartment block was even worse.
I sat back in the chair blowing out a huge breath not being able to stop the whirring thoughts in my head. It was tiring keeping a front on all the time.
“Ugh!” my eyes sprang open “What a week” Evan said slumping down on the couch as he grinned at me.
“Hey Evan.” I smiled, standing from the desk.
“So…”
Bending down I grabbed my jacket and bag from the cupboard and looked up at Evan “So?”
“Your Corey’s little sister?” he asked, a mischievous smirk on his face.
I stared in shock at Evan, I’d asked Ty to keep it a secret, but I guessed that with everything that had happened it wouldn’t stay like that for much longer.
“Yes,” I said making my way over to him on the couch. Sitting on the edge I rolled my eyes as he moved forward, his eyes scanning my face.
“I thought you looked familiar”
“Huh? I didn’t know you had been in the forces”
“I wasn’t” he said resting his arms on his legs.
“Then how do you know Corey?” I asked frowning.
“We met when he last came to visit”
“Last came to visit?”
“Yeah, about ten months ag-” I stood and nearly tripped over my own feet trying to make it to the door.
“Kay?” I ignored Evan and practically ran out of the warehouse my jacket and bag forgotten.
I couldn’t believe that Corey had visited, he’d been twenty minutes away from me and hadn’t even bothered to come and see me, or his nephew. I was upset. No, I was furious.
The gravel crunched as I stomped over to the house, Evan on my heels. Flinging the door open I went straight up the stairs knowing exactly where Ty was.
“Ty!” I shouted pushing his home office door open.
Sat behind his desk with the phone to his ear, his eyes widened when he saw me.
“Kay I’m-”
“I need to talk to you,” I looked behind me at Evan “Now.” I gritted out.
“I’ll call you back” he said into the phone.
“Boss-”
“Corey came to visit ten months ago?” I seethed.
He huffed sitting back in his chair. “Yeah.”
“I can’t believe this” I started to pace the small office and mumbled curses at Corey. If only he was here to hear them.
“Wait, what’s the problem?”
“The problem?” I laughed turning to Ty “Do you know when the last time I saw Corey was?”
“Ten-”
“Four years ago!” I threw my hands up in the air and watched as understanding passed over his face.
I paced the room back and forth, not taking in any of my surroundings. My jaw was clenched tight, I hadn’t felt this kind of anger in…well never.
“I got this Evan,” the door clicked shut, then it was just me and Ty.
“Sweetheart,” standing he then sauntered towards me “I didn’t know.”
“I can’t believe he was this close and didn’t come to see me, or his nephew.” I choked out.
Corey was my only family and he’d just left me behind. I’d heard the phrase out of sight out of mind, but for him to take it literally hurt. How could he have come this close and not come to see me or Eli?
Without Miss Maggie I would have had no one to talk to. She’d been my family these last four years, and I hadn’t even let her know that I was okay. That thought weighed heavy on me.
“I’m sorry sweetheart” I stopped pacing and stood in the middle of his office.
I hadn’t yet been in here. It looked much like the rest of his house, light walls covered in windows to let the sun stream through. It didn’t matter what room in the house you were in the view was always spectacular.
A sleek black desk sat in the middle of the room facing the windows, behind it was a wall full of books.
“If I had known-”
“You didn’t” I pointed out as he stood in front of me.
My eyes started to fill with tears as he rubbed up and down my arms.
“Don’t cry sweetheart” he said as one escaped and rolled down my cheek, moving closer he wrapped his arms around me.
I buried my head in his chest breathing him in.
“Miss Maggie” I gasped through my tears.
“Miss Maggie?” he pulled back just enough to look down at me.
“Yeah” I nodded and wiped my face. “I haven’t spoken to her since…”
His eyes roamed over my face, searching. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as he assessed me.
“She’s been there for me and Eli and I…I…”
“Invite her over,” he shrugged.
“Here?” I frowned.
I didn’t want to get my hopes up but the thought of seeing Miss Maggie changed my mood slightly. That didn’t mean I wasn’t still pissed at Corey, I was, I so was; and I’d be sure to tell him just how pissed I was.
“Unless you want to go to her place.”
“No.” I choked out.
“Then invite her over for dinner”
I didn’t know how it would all work but I wanted to spend some time with her, I missed her. I’m sure that Eli did too.
“Okay,” I sniffed backing away a little.
Ty pulled me back into his embrace, his breath tickling my neck. I stiffened at first, but after a couple of seconds I started to relax.
“Corey’s not getting away with this” I warned.
“I didn’t expect him to,” he chuckled.
Corey wouldn’t. He was in the doghouse for doing that and I started to wonder if that was the only time he came back and didn’t see me.
Was that the reason he didn’t want any of his friends to know he had a sister, why he kept me in the dark about his friends?
He had some serious explaining to do.
*~*~*
> “Time for some training,” Ty said when the meeting ended.
It had been a couple of days since I found out about Corey. I refused to talk to him when he rang choosing to ignore him in the same way that he had done. Yes it may have been a little childish but I wanted him to feel what I felt. I still couldn’t believe he’d been so close and not even told me.
“Training?” I croaked. “Now?”
“Yeah.” Ty nodded
He stood up and walked over to the mats, the others following him.
Now? He wanted me to train now in front of everyone?
Luke pulled my chair out spinning me around.
“Just some simple self-defense again,” Ty said from the edge of the mats.
“Erm…okay?” I shuffled closer.
“Luke?” Ty tilted his head at the mats.
Luke moved onto the mats and crooked his finger at me.
“Wait? I’ve got to-”
“You need to practice.” Ty said.
“Can’t I do it with Evan?”
“No” he shook his head “You’re to used to him”
Ty moved onto the mats standing a few feet away from us. Widening his stance he looked between me and Luke.
“Luke, grab her wrist,” he grabbed my wrist, not too hard but enough that I felt like I couldn’t move.
“Kay? Try and get out of it.”
Pulling my arm back toward me didn’t make his grip loosen at all. So I tried several more times but all that it was doing was making my wrist burn from the friction and ended up frustrated.
“I can’t do it,” I moaned.
“You can’t get out of it by pulling. You need to turn your wrist, so that your thumb is pointing to the ceiling.” I moved my wrist. “Now jerk your arm by bending at your elbow.”
I put all my weight behind it, not expecting it to work. It did and I stumbled back as his hand let go, only just managing not to fall onto my butt.
It worked. I couldn’t believe it actually worked. I stared in amazement at my hand, my arm and then at Luke.
“It worked!” I squealed.
Ty grinned at me. I’d just got out of that big hulks grip!
I was on a high, nothing would bring me down-
Arms wrapped around me from behind squealing I thrashed about but it was no use I was brought down within seconds. The air whooshed out of me as I landed on my back.
Fractured Lies: Book 1 MAC Security Series Page 17
