by A. K. Evans
On Thursday, I had a corporate shoot planned that I spent nearly my entire morning and early afternoon working. Trent had gone with me and was more than accommodating. He was just like Zane in that he wouldn’t even let me carry my own camera equipment even though I had two perfectly functioning arms. I learned quickly it wouldn’t be worth trying to fight him on this. All of the men I had met since I moved to Rising Sun had been chivalrous; and after everything I’d experienced in my life, it was definitely refreshing. What I was mostly grateful for was that even though Trent had seen me in some compromising videos he acted like a complete gentleman and never, as Zane so gracefully put it to Cruz on Tuesday, looked at me like he had seen me naked. I made a later lunch as soon as we got back to Zane’s place that afternoon and got to work right away on editing my photos. When Zane came home that night, Gunner was with him. At this point I was no longer surprised or caught off guard by the fact that every single member of Levi’s team was impeccably gorgeous. To top it off, they all, Gunner included, had this way about them that immediately made you feel like they’d move mountains to protect you. It was safe to say that I felt sufficiently at ease considering the anxiety I previously had about the situation surrounding Seth.
And finally, yesterday, Dominick spent the day with me. He went with me in the morning to the grocery store so that I could get some ingredients I needed to prepare a few items for my day with the girls and Greg today. Of course, during the shopping trip I realized that Dominick was likely not having very much fun, so I decided to get a few extra ingredients and make a special lunch for him. After getting everything I needed we made our way back to the house and I got started on my dessert for today. I had made my chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, but put the batter in my silicone individual mini-brownie baking sheet. It should be noted that I had made a request to Zane before we packed up and left my condo that he’d allow me to bring a lot of my kitchen gadgets that I used for cooking and baking. Since Zane knew this would result in good food and desserts for him, he didn’t mind. By the time the chocolate crinkle cookie-brownies were finished it was time to make lunch. I whipped up a quick batch of bison meatballs.
“Zane’s a lucky fuck,” Dom said about thirty minutes later as he bit into a meatball. “Pretty much knew the moment you walked into the offices earlier this week. Then, seeing how worried you were about him that day and not yourself proved that to be the case. Now, knowing you can cook on top of it all…I hope for his sake he realizes the gem he’s found.”
I felt my face flush at this and thanked him for his kind words. When he finished his lunch, I offered up a couple of the cookie-brownies for him to try. Dom devoured them in no time at all. Following lunch, I got to work on the avocado tuna salad and the chicken salad that I was going to be bringing with me to the wedding planning festivities while Dom worked for a bit before turning on the television. Just as I started dinner preparations, Zane walked in. He had a very tough day of training, so last night after dinner we showered, made love, and went to bed.
Having run through the week in my head I was now in bed realizing that if I didn’t get myself moving soon I’d not get in all the hours I could visiting with Nikki and Monroe since they were going to be flying back to California first thing tomorrow morning. On that thought, I rolled myself out of bed and got ready. After getting dressed, fixing my hair, and doing my make up, I emerged from the bedroom and made my way downstairs. I walked out into the kitchen at the same time Levi walked in from the great room.
“Hey, Levi. Good morning,” I said.
“Morning, Em. You seem to be in a good mood,” he replied.
“That’s because I am. I get to see my girls today, Zane only has a half day of training, and tomorrow is Sunday, which means I get to spend the entire day with him. I’m very much looking forward to that.”
“I’m sure he is, too,” he said as he grinned. “So, are you ready to head out?”
I nodded. “Just need to get a couple things out of the fridge and I’m good to go. Sorry about this, though. I’m sure this is not how you planned to spend your Saturday.”
“No need to apologize, babe. Wedding planning isn’t exactly my thing, but I’ve got my laptop with me and have some work to get done on a couple cases. I’ll have enough to keep me busy.”
“Any more luck on this case?” I asked, not really sure if I wanted the answer. Ignorance is bliss, right?
He shook his head. “He’s been quiet since he left the other place — definitely off the grid at this point.”
As I walked toward the refrigerator to get out the food I had prepared I questioned, “Does it worry you? Are you scared that you might not find him?”
“I’m worried about what other potential things we might uncover in attempting to locate him, but I’m not at all scared or worried that we won’t find him. It’ll happen sooner or later. Someone like him isn’t going to just walk away without another word. Sometimes, doing what the guys and I do we just have to learn to be patient while people like your ex get impatient and make stupid moves. I don’t like when it happens that way because there is more chance for bad things to go down. If it works that way in this situation, we’ll do everything we can to minimize the fall out to keep both you and Zane safe.”
“Well, in case he hasn’t mentioned it to you, I think you should know that I’m extremely grateful to you for doing this. And though it bugs me that you won’t let me pay for any of your services, I’ve found a way to not feel so bad about it. I’ve just been feeding the guys every day they are here,” I responded as I put everything in a bag.
“So I’ve heard. You know you don’t need to be doing that, though, right?” he asked.
“I know. But, one, I love cooking. Two, if I’m making breakfast or lunch for myself, there’s really no harm in making a little extra. And finally, it makes me feel like I’m not getting all of this completely free.”
He just shook his head at me.
“Listen,” I began. “You don’t give me a hard time about this and I’ll make sure you get some of this lunch I made up for later today.”
He nodded with a smirk on his face and explained, “Just so you know, Zane has mentioned how grateful he is that we’re doing this. He knows it makes you feel safe and more at ease. And for me, I see the way you love my brother — I think it’s safe to say you are someone worth doing this for.”
It warmed my heart to hear him say that. The fact that he knew that I really truly loved and cared for his brother was all I could have hoped anyone would see.
“Going to grab my shoes and jacket,” I said, certain he wasn’t look for a response to his previous statement and probably knowing that I’d have a hard time coming up with one.
I walked out of the kitchen, threw on my shoes, and wrapped myself up in my jacket. I still was nowhere close to feeling used to the cold here. When I walked back into the kitchen, I found Levi had put a beanie on, threw on his jacket, and had his laptop in one hand while he carried my bag in the other.
“You aren’t going to let me carry that, are you?” I asked, pointing to my bag.
He shook his head.
I let out a sigh and said, “And people say chivalry is dead. Either they have no idea what they’re talking about or they aren’t living here in Wyoming.”
Levi laughed at me as we walked out and locked up the house. Not quite fifteen minutes later, Levi pulled into the driveway at Wes’ house. As Levi came around and opened my door to help me out I saw Wes’ truck pull into his driveway. It was too cold outside and Wes’ driveway was long so Levi and I made our way to the door. I rang the bell and Charley opened the door seconds later.
“Emme,” she said as she pulled me into the house into a hug. “Hi, Levi. Come on in.”
“Charley,” he responded.
“Hey, sweets,” I said as I hugged her back. When she loosened her grip on me I pulled back and stated, “Wes just pulled in the driveway. Thanks, by the way, for flying them out here. It means a lo
t to me.”
“Anything for you, honey. Come on, Wes will bring them in through the garage. Greg just called. He just picked up Elle and is on his way with her. They should be here in about ten minutes.”
We walked out into the kitchen and the door leading into the mud room off the kitchen opened. Monroe walked in, followed by Nikki, and finally Wes. We exchanged hellos and hugs when Nikki finally asked, “Who is this fine specimen? Does Zane have a twin?”
I had to laugh. She didn’t care that Levi was standing there listening to every word she said. Of course, she wasn’t wrong in her assessment that there was some relation between them and I had made the same exact assumption the first time I met Levi, too.
“This is Zane’s older brother, Levi. Levi, these are my friends, Nikki and Monroe.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Monroe said.
“Likewise,” Levi responded.
“I’ve made a decision,” Nikki began. “When Monroe and I get back home tomorrow I’m making arrangements to move here. Every fucking guy I’ve met is drop dead gorgeous out here. What the fuck?”
“You have no idea, Nikki,” I murmured.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
I looked to Charley. “Have you told them?” I asked.
She shook her head.
I looked back to Nikki and said, “I need to unpack the bag and get out the chocolate crinkle cookie brownie bites. We’re going to need them. I’ll explain then.”
“Oh shit,” Monroe said. “This is going to be bad.”
Levi looked to Wes and confirmed, “Emme said you’ll be out this afternoon. I’ll be here at least until Zane gets here.”
“Sounds good,” Wes said. “Help yourself to anything you need, man. And,” Wes paused as he looked to Charley, Nikki, Monroe, and then me. “Good luck today.”
Levi rolled his eyes and said, “Thanks.”
With that, Wes left. Levi took that opportunity to find a spot in the house that was far enough away to not only give us some privacy, but to likely also protect himself from the torture of being cooped up in a house with the four of us girls. He hadn’t even met Elle or Greg yet, and I already felt bad for him.
I grabbed the desserts from the bag while Charley threw the food I brought for lunch into the refrigerator. Then, the four of us made our way to the great room. No sooner did we sit down and we heard the chime for the security system alerting us that a door had opened.
“That’s probably Elle and Greg,” Charley said as she got up and walked back out to the kitchen.
Seconds later, Charley walked back in with Elle and Greg following behind her. We all got up and were in the middle of exchanging hugs and hellos with them when Levi reappeared.
“Everything ok?” Charley asked him.
I looked to Levi. His eyes were glued to Elle.
“Levi?” Charley called.
He shook his head almost as if he were trying to remove the image of Elle from his brain and looked to Charley. “Yeah, I heard the security system chime and wanted to make sure you all were alright.”
“Charley, girl,” Greg started. “Who is this gorgeous man and why have I never met him before?”
“Greg, this is Zane’s brother, Levi. You’ve never met him before because I only just met him about a week ago,” Charley answered before she turned her attention back to Levi. “Levi, this is my friend, Greg, and this is Wes’ sister, Elle.”
“Nice to meet you both,” he said, but he was only looking at Elle.
My eyes went back and forth between the two of them. Elle was giving Levi the same exact look.
“Oook,” I said. “Let’s get down to business now. Levi? Are you staying for girl talk?”
His eyes came to mine and he questioned, “Girl talk?”
I nodded.
“What’s he doing here then?” he asked as he motioned to Greg.
Charley chimed in, “Greg is gay, Levi. Girl talk is one of his specialties. You dabble in that, too?”
He looked to her, narrowed his eyes, and then turned to walk off.
As soon as he was out of earshot Nikki asked, “Is it just me or does anyone else here think that it’s only a matter of time before Levi and Elle are an item?”
“What?” Elle questioned, shock filtering through her voice. “No.”
“Honey, he’s got the hots for you,” Charley started. “And from where I’m standing, the feeling seems to be mutual.”
Elle started looking a bit uncomfortable, but quickly recovered and deflected. “I don’t understand. Why is Zane’s brother even here?” she asked as she looked to me.
Monroe answered, “We were just about to find that out ourselves. I have a feeling Charley and Wes lured us here under false pretenses telling us that there was going to be wedding planning happening.”
“There will be wedding planning,” Charley insisted. “Emme, it’s up to you. We can start with wedding stuff if you aren’t up to it now.”
“It’s ok, Charley. I need to start talking about it,” I said.
We all sat down and I spoke. I told them all everything that had happened since last Sunday morning. I knew Nikki and Monroe were shocked to find out that Seth had contacted me a week ago and I hadn’t told them about it. More than that, they were absolutely devastated when they learned that the abuse had been so bad for so long and that I had been raped by him for a year. By the time I had finished that part of the story more than an hour later, all of them, even Elle and Greg, were in tears.
“So, the reason Levi is here with me now is because until the guys at his firm can find Seth they are providing Zane and me with one-on-one coverage,” I said.
“Do you get to spend every day with Levi?” Elle asked.
Yep, she had the hots for him, too.
I shook my head at her. “No. They rotate. I’ve had a different guy every single day this week. First, it was Zane’s younger brother, Cruz, on Tuesday, Holden on Wednesday, Trent on Thursday, Dominick yesterday, and now Levi today. There is also Lorenzo, Pierce, Tyson, and Gunner. And, swear to God, when I met them all I thought I had died. They are all hot…every single one of them.”
“Well there’s the bright side of it all, girl,” Greg announced. “If they all are as fine as that man in the other room I might have to find myself in a crisis so that I can utilize their services.”
We all burst out laughing.
When we all settled down and it got quiet again Nikki murmured, “Heartbroken at what you’ve just told us, babe. Cannot believe you went through so much for so long and none of us knew it. That said, I’m so happy that you now are surrounded by a pack of men whose sole mission it is to keep you safe. The fact that they are all beautiful only sweetens the deal.”
It was then that Monroe caught me off guard by not saying anything to me about everything I’d just shared. In fact, she changed the subject and asked, “So Charley, have you and Wes set a date yet?”
To say I was hurt was an understatement. The four of us had always been so close, but we all always looked to Monroe as our mama bear. When one of her cubs was hurt, she would always be there to make it better. Now, it was like she wanted nothing to do with me. I tried to brush off the hurt I felt, but couldn’t swallow past it. I faked being happy for the next hour while we discussed Charley’s wedding, for which she and Wes had not yet set a date.
Finally, Elle said, “Charley, love, I’m starved. Mind if I raid the fridge?”
“Emme actually made a ton of chicken salad and tuna salad for lunch and I went out and got a bunch of different cheeses, crackers, and fruit. I could stand to eat some food now, too. That work for everyone?”
Everyone agreed and began moving to the kitchen.
Charley turned around, looked to Elle again, and suggested, “Why don’t you go find Levi and tell him to come out and join us for lunch? There’s plenty of food.”
Elle narrowed her eyes at Charley, but quickly took off to find Levi. At that, Charley, Greg, and N
ikki walked out of the great room toward the kitchen. I looked back at Monroe once more and grew even more sad. She hadn’t moved off the couch and the second my eyes came in contact with hers she turned away from me. My head dropped and my heart shattered into a million pieces.
Chapter 26
Emme
I took a moment to attempt to swallow past the lump that was still in my throat while trying to blink back the tears threatening to fall. I’d never seen Monroe like this. Ever. With my head still down, I walked out into the kitchen to join the rest of the group. Monroe followed behind a minute later, but refused to make eye contact with me.
Before I really had any time to dwell on it, the man door from the garage into the house opened and in walked Wes, followed by Zane, Stone, and Luke. My heart swelled at the sight of Zane. His eyes immediately came to mine and he smiled. I was fighting the urge not to breakdown and he knew it instantly. His brows drew together and he walked over to me. I’m certain that nobody else noticed because Wes had gone over to Charley while Stone and Luke approached Monroe and Nikki.
“Where’s Elle?” I heard Wes ask.
Uh oh. My eyes rounded.
“Where’s Levi?” Zane asked.
“Oh shit,” Luke said, a hint of humor in his tone.
“Relax, Wes,” Charley said. “We all just came out here for lunch and Elle went to find Levi so he could join us. The man might be working, but he deserves to eat, too.”
As if on cue, Elle and Levi walked out into the kitchen. They were so caught up in talking to each other that they hadn’t noticed the silence in the kitchen. It was a moment later when they realized they were the only ones talking and their eyes came to all of us. I looked around. Nikki, Luke, and Stone were beaming with excitement, Monroe was watching, but her mind was preoccupied, Greg and Zane both had devilish smirks, Charley was biting her lip, and Wes looked about ready to murder someone.
