by Becca Van
Enya shoved her thoughts to the back of her mind, closed her eyes and thought of the black. It was a trick she’d learned when she was a teenager and the horrors in her mind wouldn’t let up. She concentrated on breathing in and out regularly, counting to five and she inhaled, holding the breath for the count of five and then she exhaled. With each breath she took, the tension in her muscles receded and she chanted the word black, envisaging the darkness of night until she was able to relax. The exercise didn’t always relax her enough to be able to fall asleep but sometimes it was enough to quiet her raucous, tumultuous thoughts.
She blinked when the truck slowed and stared at the large house at the end of the driveway Axel had just turned onto.
It was big and one of the most beautiful houses she’d ever seen. There was a wrap-around porch with deck chairs placed strategically to sit on. The iron lace work edging the veranda roof was white and the windows were sparkling clean even in the moonlight. There were two stories and from the solar lights edging the garden pathways, there wasn’t a weed out of place in the landscaped gardens.
The more she saw the more Enya felt out of place, but she didn’t want to go back to her rental. Even though the person hadn’t actually broken in, she still felt violated. If she hadn’t called the cops, she had no doubt things would have ended way differently than they had.
Axel stopped the truck and turned the ignition off. Phoenix was out before she undid her seat belt and without thinking, Enya grabbed the door handle. A cry of pain escaped her parted lips before she could hold it back and tears burned her eyes. Her bandaged hand throbbed over the wound site and her palm felt as if it were on fire.
Axel opened the door for her and before she could make a move to get out, he scooped her up into his arms. She sucked in a startled breath and glanced at Phoenix when he came to stand next to them.
When she heard footsteps coming toward them from behind, she tensed and gazed over her shoulder. Camden was striding toward them at a fast clip. He looked as if he was a man on a mission and wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way. His brown eyed gaze locked onto hers and while his face was a stoic mask, his eyes were full of determination.
Enya broke the stare down with Camden by closing her eyes and resting her cheek on Axel’s shoulder. She was too tired to deal with any of their antics right now. Although she felt as if she could sleep for twenty-four hours straight, she didn’t know if she’d even manage to sleep two hours without waking up. She just hoped that if the night terrors visited her tonight, that she wouldn’t wake up the three doctors.
They probably needed sleep more than she did with their stressful professions. She was grateful that so many people were medical experts, willing and able to save lives while dealing with blood and violence. Enya felt queasy just pricking her finger and seeing a drop of blood, let alone the amount that had caused her to pass out in front of the deputies earlier. That was another reason she didn’t think she’d fit with Camden, Phoenix, and Axel. Would they think she was weak because she couldn’t stand the sight of blood whether it was hers or someone else’s?
“Look at me, sweetheart!” Camden demanded.
Enya opened her eyes and while she’d been lost in thought again and hadn’t noticed that Axel had carried her inside, she’d been aware of him sitting with her on his lap.
“On a scale of one to ten, what would you rate the pain in your hand?” Camden asked as he sat next to her and Axel.
“Five, maybe.”
“She tried to open the car door with her injured hand before I could,” Axel said. “I’d stake my truck on her pain being more than a five.”
“So would I,” Phoenix agreed.
Camden sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You need to be honest with us if we’re going to take care of you, sweetheart. We don’t want you to be in pain when it’s not necessary. Okay?”
“Okay,” she answered. Enya could see the sincerity in his gaze and while it puzzled her, she could tell that he hated seeing her in pain. When she glanced up at Axel and then over to Phoenix, she saw they didn’t like seeing her hurting either. It had been so long since anyone had cared about her one way or the other, tears burned her eyes again.
Camden opened and dug into his medical bag and began to pull things out. When she saw the syringe and vial of clear medicine in his hand, she tensed.
Phoenix shifted from the sofa cushion beside her and went down on his knees at her feet. He laced his fingers with her hand and then clasped his other hand around her wrist. “Can you tell us why you have a phobia against needles?”
Enya shook her head vigorously and tightly shut her eyes. Those horrible torturous images flashed across her mind and though she tried to control her rapid heartbeat and shallow breaths, she couldn’t get a handle on them. Her lungs started to hurt and her heart ached as her head got woozy.
“Fuck!” Camden palmed her cheeks between his hands and brought her gaze up to his. “Take a deep breath and hold it, sweetheart. Don’t exhale until I tell you to.”
She did as he said and held her breath until her lungs began to burn.
“Good girl. Now, when you exhale do it slowly and count to five. Make sure you empty your lungs. When you breathe in again, count to five, hold it for another count to five and then count as you breathe out.”
Enya didn’t need to be told how to get a hold of her anxiety. She’d been doing so for years, but sometimes when her memories were triggered, the nervousness just seemed to get a hold and take over.
After doing the breathing exercises for a while, the fear dissipated and she slumped back against Axel. She shivered when he kissed her temple.
Phoenix leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Enya turned to stare at him, and the moment she locked gazes with him, she felt as if she was drowning in those deep sexy pools of blue. She was so mesmerized by the way his irises changed from a blue to a darker hue, she was only vaguely aware of Camden swabbing her upper arm and the needle piercing her skin.
She must have blinked or maybe closed her eyes, because she didn’t even see him move toward her, but she could certainly feel.
His lips brushed over hers, once, twice and the second she sighed, his tongue stroked into her mouth.
Enya was surrounded in heat from the outside in. With Axel’s body cradling hers, Camden sitting close beside her and Phoenix leaning in toward her from his kneeling position on the floor, she felt almost hot, and yet she relished being enclosed between them.
For the first time in a long while, she felt feminine, sexy and cared for and though she wanted to reach out to them emotionally and physically, she didn’t know how.
She moaned when Phoenix’s tongue danced and dueled with hers before rubbing along her own. He tasted so good, like spice and masculinity rolled in together and while he tasted different from Axel, they were both delicious in a carnal way.
When he slowed the kiss, withdrawing his tongue from her mouth, she wanted to follow and taste all he had to give. She wanted to stroke into his mouth and explore to her heart’s content until neither of them could breathe, but she wasn’t that brave, had never been forward with anything other than her work.
Phoenix released her lips and as she tried to regain her breath, she kept her gaze lowered to her knees. Every time she looked up one of them was waiting to capture her gaze with theirs. Her insides were fluttering with sexual excitement, her pussy was wet and her nub was throbbing. Her nipples were hard aching points and she hoped that none of them noticed how they were pushing against the cotton of her tank top.
Camden nudged her chin up and when he leaned forward she thought he was about to kiss her, too. She closed her eyes once more and when he pressed his lips to her forehead, she sighed with relief, or maybe that was disappointment. She wasn’t sure which. Enya felt so out of her depth, she wasn’t sure what to do, let alone think.
“How’s the pain now, sweetheart?” Camden asked.
“Easing,” she answered honestly. Since he
’d injected the painkiller into her arm the searing, throbbing pain in her palm had begun to wane. She wished it would have had the same effect on her girly parts.
“Good,” Axel whispered against her ear as Phoenix released her hand and wrist. She gasped when he stood, taking her with him and began walking across the living room, skirting around the leather recliner armchairs, coffee table and headed toward the stairs off to the side of the room.
“You don’t need to carry me. I’m quite capable of walking.” She tightened the arm she had looped around his neck.
“I know you are, baby, but you’ve been through more than enough tonight. We can all see that you’re exhausted. Plus, I love having you in my arms.”
She licked her lips as she gazed up into his eyes. He looked down and winked without stumbling up the steps or missing his stride. When she heard footsteps behind them, she glanced over his shoulder to see Phoenix and Camden following them.
They were both staring at her with so much heat in their gazes, she couldn’t prevent the shiver coursing through her from shuddering up her spine. She quickly averted her eyes and sighed as she lowered her head back to rest against Axel’s shoulder.
Enya was so tired she felt ill. Or maybe she was feeling sick because of the pain medication. She’d never been great with medicine unless it was over the counter pills, and one glass of alcohol had her feeling a buzz before she’d even finished the glass.
When the tone of Axel’s footsteps changed until she could barely hear them, she opened her eyes again and gasped. He’d carried her into the biggest bedroom she’d ever seen. The walls were painted an antique cream hue and there was oak tinted wooden furniture about the room. The dresser along the wall beside the door was big enough for a family of four to store their clothes. There were two large bedside tables, a massive bed which looked as if it was bigger than a king size and there were two doors which she suspected led to an adjoining bathroom, and a closet. Why anyone would need a bedroom this size was beyond her. It was so big she had no doubt she could fit her bedroom, living room and bathroom with room to spare. She would have loved to explore, but the injected medicine was already making itself known and it was harder and harder to lift her eyelids.
Axel lowered her to the bed and she couldn’t help the sigh from escaping her parted lips and while she wanted to help him remove her shoes, her limbs felt as if they weighed a ton.
“Do you want to sleep in your sweats, honey?”
“What?” she asked and shrugged when she heard how slurred that word had been.
She blinked when someone cupped her face between their hands. Camden’s face was blurry, which made it look odd, and she couldn’t help but giggle.
“Someone doesn’t deal well with pain meds,” Phoenix said.
“Lift your hips, Enya,” Axel ordered firmly.
She lifted her hips and the sweats were tugged down and off. A shiver wracked her body and goosebumps broke out over her skin at the change in temperature now that she was only wearing her tank and panties. No man had ever seen her in so little clothing, but right now she couldn’t have cared less.
One of the men lifted her from the bed, and while she suspected it was Camden, she couldn’t get her lids open to see. She heard some rustling going on and then she was lowered to the mattress again and the covers were pulled up over her.
Enya snuggled into the pillow and though she tried to figure out what the men were whispering about, she felt as if she was floating on a cloud and surrounded by fog. Nothing made sense.
Just before she sank into the oblivion of sleep Enya prayed that she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her life by agreeing to come home with them.
Chapter Five
“She’s out,” Phoenix stated the obvious.
“How much medicine did you give her?” Axel asked.
“Less than is appropriate for her height and weight,” Camden replied as he led the way out of the bedroom.
“How are we going to go about this, Cam?” Phoenix asked.
“One step at a time,” he answered as he took a seat on a stool at the kitchen counter and took the beer Phoenix handed him.
“I don’t want her going back home.” Phoenix sighed and took a slug of beer. “Did you fucking see how little she has? I can’t believe she’s sleeping on a mattress on the floor.”
“I wish we could just pack her stuff and tell her she’s living with us from now on.” Axel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“We all do, Axel, but if we start telling her what to do she’s going to baulk,” Camden said.
“I know.” Phoenix frowned. “We’re going to have to contact Delta and Violet and let them know she’s not going to be able to work for a while.”
“We can’t do that now,” Cam said. “It’s four in the morning.”
“I hope she sleeps a good eight hours.” Axel glanced toward the living room door. “Our woman looks as if she’s been running on empty for a long time.”
“She has us to lean on now.” Phoenix drained his beer, rose and took the empty beer bottle to the recycle bin.
“That doesn’t mean she’s going to accept our help.” Cam slapped his hand on the granite counter. “I hate that she’s fucking hurt. Do you think the intruder was just some kid being an ass?”
“I don’t think so.” Phoenix shook his head. “I’ve got a bad feeling in my gut.”
“Me, too.”
“So do I, but I put it down to Enya being hurt and scared.” Camden crossed his arms over his chest.
“Something else is going on here.” Phoenix sighed. “We can talk about it in the morning. We need to get a few hours’ sleep so we can counter any argument she has about leaving.”
Cam grinned. “She can argue all she wants. We’re going to have to set up a doctor’s appointment for her tomorrow afternoon. When she gets the low down on her injury from another GP, she won’t be able to dispute us telling, or should I say advising, her not to work until after the stitches are out.”
“I have a feeling she’d argue with us even if we told her she could work.” Axel chuckled.
“I think you’re right,” Cam said.
Phoenix agreed with his friends, but maybe if they put their figurative feet down, she would have to listen. They’d need to be careful with how they dealt with Enya or they might end up losing her before they even had her. “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”
“Night,” Axel said as he stood.
Cam waved just before he left the room. Phoenix was just closing his bedroom door when he heard them heading to their own rooms. After shucking his clothes until he was only wearing his boxers, he stared at his closed bedroom door. He hurried over, opened the door, glanced toward the master bedroom where Enya was sleeping and then turned toward his bed. He’d left his door ajar just in case their woman woke up and needed him. He’d hate not hearing her if she cried out.
* * * *
She knew she was dreaming but she had learned from experience when the dream came there was no way to stop it. The nightmare seemed to have to play out until the very end no matter what she did to try and wake up.
Enya glanced at her at mom when someone knocked on their small rundown two-bedroom apartment. Her mom smiled and then headed toward the door. She raced over to her mother and clasped her hand in hers. She had a bad feeling in her stomach, but had no idea why. Thankfully, there was a screen door for added protection when she and her mom opened the door to anyone who knocked.
As soon as she saw the young man and woman standing on the step outside their apartment, the bad sick feeling in her stomach got worse.
“Hi, our dog is missing. She jumped through the car window just outside the parking lot to this place and we were hoping to use your phone.”
Don’t open the door. Don’t let them in, mom. Something’s wrong. Please don’t open the door.
Everything took on a surreal quality and seemed to happen in slow motion. Eight-year-old Enya squeezed
her mom’s hand, trying to get her attention but when her mother unlocked the screen door she knew it was far too late.
The woman smiled as she reached for the door handle and opened the door.
They were in their home so fast, there was nothing Enya or her mom could have done to stop them. The man grabbed her mother around the waist and covered her mouth with his hand. Mom screamed and fought but the lady stuck a needle into her mom’s neck. Enya opened her mouth to scream, but before she’d finished gasping in a deep breath, the woman hit her across the face. She was stunned into silence as she fell to the floor.
When the guy dropped her mother onto the floor, careless of hurting her, Enya began to crawl over to her, but a kick to the ribs sent her flying a few feet away. The air was knocked out of her lungs and the pain was so intense she couldn’t inhale.
Enya thought she was going to die. She stared into the lady’s eyes as she bent over her and though she tried to scream when she saw the needle coming toward her, she couldn’t. She felt as if she had an elephant sitting on her chest and no matter how wide she opened her mouth, she couldn’t get any air.
The woman stabbed the needle into her shoulder. Whatever was in the syringe worked quickly and her vision grew blurry. She tried to keep her eyes open but they continued to close.
Enya must have passed out, because when she opened her eyes, nothing was familiar. She glanced about and when she saw her mom tied up with a gag in her mouth on the floor, she began to cry. It wasn’t until she rolled from her back to her side that she realized she was bound with plastic zip ties, as well, and there was a piece of cloth tied around her head, between her lips. She tried to push the material out of her mouth using her tongue, but it was tied too tightly.
Tears welled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks and she sobbed. When she heard her mom moan, she forced the tears away and then began to wriggle across the floor. It was hard going since she couldn’t pull in a deep breath through her mouth and her nose had become clogged from crying, but she was determined to get to her mother.
