Crouching down, I growl out, “You’re a piece of shit. Stay where you are, or I’ll knock you out to keep you quiet.”
His face pales as Kitty lifts the cell to her ear. “Charlie. I got him.” She nods her head. “Yeah, and the machine. On camera, too.” She chuckles. “Luke.” She looks over at me, her smile waning. “Oh… okay. Do you want us to… right, yeah. Be there soon.” Pulling the cell from her ear she says, “He asked if we could bring him down to the precinct. Charlie wants to talk to you about something.” She pauses a beat. “About Lily.” I nod and lift the guy off the floor as she bags up the machine.
“Hey, man! You can’t leave my shop open for anyone—”
“Shut the fuck up.”
Pulling him to the SUV, I ignore his pleas before unlocking it and pushing him into the back. Kitty slides in next to him as I start the engine and drive to the precinct.
We hand off the guy to the booking officer and I leave Kitty to talk to her and give her the evidence as I’m buzzed up the stairs.
Heading to Charlie’s office, I close the door behind me when I’m inside and wait for him to tell my why he wants to see me.
My hands sit at my waist and when he looks up, his face twists into an expression I know all too well.
“Her dad reported her missing,” he says, standing up. “He came in with his son.” He swipes his hand through his hair. “He knows where she is, Luke. Why else would he come to this precinct?”
“Fuck!” My hands grip the back of the chair opposite his desk, the plastic snapping with the force. “I need to get back to the compound.”
“Luke.” I ignore him, storming out and down the stairs. “Luke!”
“Charlie? Luke? What happen—”
“I need to get back,” I tell Kitty, my heart thumping in my chest. If he gets to her again, I won’t be held responsible for what I’ll do to him. And her brother? How could he come in here with him? Does he know what he did to her?
“Luke!” I don’t answer either of them as they call me, and it’s not until Charlie stands in front of me, blocking my way to get into my car that I finally look up.
“Get out of my way.”
“Listen.” He holds his hands out in front of him. “You need to calm down. He may know where she is, but he can’t get to her there.”
“He can try,” I growl out. “But I’ll kill him if—”
“Okay, I can’t hear you say that.” He steps back. “Just stop and think for a minute.” He takes a breath, Kitty standing beside me. “He played his hand. You know he knows now, you can keep her safe.”
Staring at him before scrubbing my hands down my face, I throw my fist into the driver’s door. “Fuck! I can’t let him get to her again, and this fucking job is keeping me from protecting her.”
“Talk to Ty,” Charlie says. “And I’ve got my team on it.”
I nod, knowing I need to figure all this out but not on my own. I can’t do it myself, no matter how much I want to. I need help, and the only people I’ll ask that from is my family.
LILY
I run the cloth over the front of the cupboard door, the smell of bleach surrounding me. I haven’t stopped cleaning since Luke left the house a few hours ago. He told me I don’t have to tidy up after him but what he doesn’t understand is I have to.
I’ve got to feel like I’m doing something. I’m bored with only my mind to keep me company, and right now, that’s not a good place to be. My injuries are healing nicely, leaving behind some scars on my skin as well as my soul. But outwardly I look better—normal.
Leaning back on my haunches, I run my gaze over the kitchen, the sun shining through the window and making it sparkle. Tidy house, tidy mind, right? Only my brain is all mixed up like drawers pulled out with clothes everywhere.
It needs organizing, but I don’t know where to start.
I jump when there’s a knock at the door, my head whipping around to face it. My heart starts to beat faster in my chest as my eyes widen.
“Lily? It’s Ty.”
I close my eyes and shake my head at myself. I’m not used to people knocking on the door without expecting something bad to come after it. I may be out of that house, but the gut reactions will take time to leave me.
Standing up, I then walk to the door, my movements jerky as I pull it open. My head tilts back to look up at him, his dark eyes focused on me.
“Can I come in?” he asks, his voice deep, but I can tell he’s trying to speak softly and all I can do is nod and step back. He moves past me, whistling. “I don’t think you used enough bleach.”
“What?” I close the door, following him into the living room. “Does Luke like more…” I trail off as he grins at me. “It was a joke.” I shake my head. “Sorry. I’m still getting used to… never mind.”
Standing next to the window, I wait for him to say something, but when he keeps staring at me, I shuffle on the spot.
“Eli said you like computers.”
“I… I do.” I swallow.
He places his hands on his hips, the black MAC SECURITY t-shirt he wears pulling at his biceps. “You bored here?”
I shake my head. “Oh no, I’m so grateful for Luke bringing me here. I—”
“No.” He steps forward. “Are you bored in this house all day?” I keep my lips mashed together, not willing to voice my thoughts from only moments ago. “I know you’re still recovering from your injuries, but if you want something to do, I have the perfect job for you.”
“I—”
“I need some help in the office. Kay used to do it but she’s out on jobs at least four days a week and the admin is piling up.” He smiles gently. “You can do it around your school work—”
“I don’t have school work,” I tell him, immediately berating myself for interrupting him. “Sorry… I just mean, I erm… I left school without my diploma and I wanted to get my GED, but—”
“We can help you with that.” He takes another step toward me. “You can work in the office, earn your own money and do your GED studies at the same time.”
I stare at him, wondering what I’ve done to deserve something like this. “Why?” The question is out before I can stop it, and when I slap my hand over my mouth, he chuckles.
“Do you intend on leaving Luke?” His face turns serious, and my eyes widen.
“No.” I shake my head, my hair flicking me in the face. “I’ll stay as long as he’ll have me. I know he doesn’t feel the same—”
“He does.”
I frown. “Huh?”
His face is hard to read, but I see the slight widening of his eyes before he says, “Never mind,” and tilts his head to the door. “Go get changed, we can head to the warehouse now.”
“I—”
“You’re family now, Lily.”
I keep my gaze connected to his, seeing the unspoken words there. My stomach flutters nervously, but my mind tells me it’s too good to be true. There’s no way people like this exist, not unless they want something.
Is that what it is? They want something from me? I don’t have anything to give that hasn’t already been taken, but then he knows this, and when he holds his hands up in front of me, he brings me back to the here and now.
“You don’t have to, Lily. I just thought it’d keep you occupied, give you a purpose. You can’t stay locked up in this house. I know Luke wants to keep you safe, but he won’t do that by keeping you away from everyone here.”
“I… right.” I nod, before stumbling back. “Thank you. I’d love to help out.”
He gives me one of those small nods again. “You’re welcome.”
My feet stomp on the stairs as I run up them, and when I get into the bedroom, I search the room for something to wear, but all I can find is a pair of dark-blue jeans. Crap.
Facing the chest of drawers, I pull open the top one and find Luke’s socks. Going one down, I open it and see his t-shirts. I pull the first one out I can find before throwing it over my head and tying
it at the waist so it fits better before pulling the jeans up my legs.
I run a brush through my hair so the soft waves fall around my face before pushing my feet into my shoes and running back down the stairs.
The door is open when I get to the bottom stair and I see Ty waiting on the path outside.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
I close the door behind me and walk by his side toward the warehouse. He waves for me to go first when he pulls the door open.
My gaze wanders around as I step inside, seeing Evan sitting at his computer and Kay at the meeting table.
“You got her to come out then,” she says to Ty, smiling at me before standing up.
“Yep. Did you ever doubt me, sweetheart?”
She rolls her eyes, embracing me in a hug. “I’d show you around but I’m about to head out to meet up with my friend Miss Maggie.”
“That’s okay,” I say when I pull back before stepping away.
She stares at me, tilting her head. “You should come over this week for dinner.” She nods her head as if confirming it to herself. “We can have a family dinner. We haven’t had one in a while. Evan!”
“Yo.”
“Family dinner. Friday night?”
“You gonna bake cookies?”
She rolls her eyes, huffing out, “Of course.”
“Then I’m there!”
She chuckles, placing her hand on my bicep. “Don’t let Ty’s growls get to you, he’s like Luke, doesn’t know how to talk in normal-people tones.”
I chuckle. “I’m used to Luke’s growling.”
“You gonna stop distracting my staff?” Ty grunts, but when I look at him, I see the soft look in his eyes directed at Kay.
“I’m going, I’m going.” She lifts onto her tiptoes when she’s in front of him and kisses him on the lips. I turn away from them to give them privacy and my gaze clashes with Evan’s.
“Come’re, Lilypad.”
I raise a brow, walking over to him. “Lilypad?”
His lips lift on one side as I move closer to him. “It’s your new name; Lilypad King.”
I laugh, but when he hands me something, it fades away, replaced with a frown. “What’s this?”
“Laptop for you to do school work on—”
“We need to look into a GED,” Ty says from behind me, making me jump.
“Oh, you not going back to school?”
“I… well… I hadn’t thought that far. I thought getting my GED would be… safer.”
Evan stands up. “Colleges will prefer a high school diploma, but a GED will work too. How long you got left?”
“Only a couple months.”
“You should talk to Luke about it.”
“I did… when we were at the cabin.” I swallow, wondering how much I should tell them. “I found out how to get my GED, but I… I didn’t have the money to take the tests.” Evan opens his mouth, but I cut him off before he gets a chance to talk. “But now I’m working here, I can save up and book my tests.”
They’re both silent for a beat, and I wonder whether I spoke out of turn. But when Ty says, “You have a plan. I like it,” I smile up at him, a warm feeling rushing through me at his praise.
“Secure cell,” Evan says as he places something on the top of the laptop. He puts something else on there, a little device the size of a quarter. “Panic button.”
“Panic, what?”
“Just in case.” He shrugs. “If you’re in trouble, you click this, and it alerts all of us and sends us your location.”
“Will I ever need to use it?” I ask, my brows lowering.
“Hopefully not, it’s just a precaution.”
He sits back down. “I’ll make you a fob to the gates for when you get a car and need to come and go.”
“I…”
“Come on,” Ty says, tilting his head toward the door I know is an office. “He’s filling your head with too many things.” I follow him across the mats. “One day at a time. First thing, this is the office.” He points to a desk to the right, opposite a sofa. “This will be your desk.”
He walks me through what I need to do—the admin I need to input—and tells me I have to use the desktop to do it. He then shows me the filing system and ends with, “You need to be at each meeting every morning, and sign this.” He hands me a folder. “What’s said in this warehouse stays here.” His gaze turns serious and I sign the non-disclosure agreement without reading it, knowing I wouldn’t tell anyone—not that I have anyone to tell anyway.
“You can start with these.” He hands me three folders, walking me through the first one as he stands next to me, and when I’ve done it, I think I have the hang of it and tell him so.
“Good.” He steps back. “That pile over there needs to be done.” My eyes widen at the size of it. “Told you we were behind.”
“Yeah.” I snort. “That’s an understatement.”
I get my head down, trying to make a dent in the pile, and before I know it, a couple of hours have gone by. I lean back in my seat before looking over at Ty where he sits at the other desk. Just as I’m about to ask him if he wants a drink, the warehouse door slams shut.
“Ty!” My stomach flutters at the sound of Luke’s voice. “I need to talk to you about Lily.” His footsteps come closer. “Her dad—” He cuts himself off as he walks into the office, his gaze zoning in on me. “What are you doing?”
“Erm… working?”
He frowns, turning his attention to Ty who stands up and walks over to the other side of my desk.
“We need the help.”
“So, you thought you’d bring her in here?”
I stand up, my hands twisting around each other as my stomach bottoms out. “I’m sorry, I should have asked first.”
“Fuck,” he spits, taking two big steps toward me before his hands frame my face and tilts it back. “I didn’t mean it like that, darlin’. I just… you don’t have to be working here. I’ll take care of you.”
My nostrils flare as I step back. “I don’t need you to take care of me. I’m not going to sit in that house all day waiting for you to come home. I’m my own person and—”
“He knows where you are.” My face pales, my body knowing what he means before he continues. “Your dad came to the precinct. He knows you’re here.”
“Shit,” Ty whispers. “Did Charlie tell you?”
“Yeah,” Luke answers, not looking away from me. “He can’t get in here, I’ll make sure of that. But you do need me to take care of you.” He steps forward. “Just like I need you.”
A lump makes its way into my throat at his words and the flames stoking in his eyes. “You do?” I ask on a breath.
He moves forward, and I step back, my back colliding with the wall. “I do.” He places his palm on my cheek, his thumb rubbing back and forth. “I love you, Lily King.” My breath stutters out of me. “I’ve loved you since before I should have, and there’s no way I’m gonna let him near you again. I promise you, angel.” He leans his forehead against mine. “I promise.”
A tear escapes my eye, trailing down my cheek and then over his hand. “I love you, too.”
His body moves closer as his hand grips my waist before he pulls me toward him, our chests moving in the same rhythm.
We’re locked in a stare, one I never want to get out of, so many things said and promised, and for the first time in my life, I feel at peace. At peace with what happened to me, at peace with knowing my life will never be a bad one with Luke, but most of all, at peace with who I am.
I may be broken, but Luke sees that, he relates to it, even if I don’t know how. Two broken things shouldn’t fit together, but we do, just like a jigsaw.
“Luke?”
“Yeah?”
He turns to face Ty, and I fear when he looks back at me the spell will be broken. But when he does, it’s still there. Everything on plain view for me to see.
“We’ll tighten up security, get Ch
arlie to station a couple officers nearby.”
“Good idea,” he says, not looking away from me.
“I’ll give you guys a few minutes.”
The sound of the door closing still doesn’t have him moving, and when he gazes down and back up, his eyes flare. “What are you wearing?”
“I—one of your t-shirts.”
He tilts his head. “Why?”
“Because… I don’t have anything else to wear.”
His head reels back, his body following the movement. “Fuck. Why didn’t you tell me?” I shrug, not willing to tell him I didn’t want to feel like a burden. He’s already done so much to help me.
He grabs my hand and pulls me along with him as he opens the office door. “I need a tail.”
“A tail?” Ty frowns as we come to a stop next to him, Kitty, and Evan.
“I need to take Lily to get some clothes.”
They all look at me, seeing what I’m wearing.
“Kitty,” Ty says, and throws his arm wide in a silent signal to move. Luke pulls me toward the door, but I hesitate.
“Luke, it’s fine. I’m okay with wearing your t-shirts.”
He shakes his head as he opens the warehouse door and doesn’t stop until we’re at the passenger side of his SUV. “I am too, darlin’.” He pauses. “Believe me. They look way fuckin’ better on you, but you need more clothes. I should have done this sooner.”
I look over at Ty as he gets into his SUV with Kitty beside him.
“It’s fine.”
“No.” He grips the top of the door, his knuckles turning white. “You need something, you tell me. No matter what it is. Got it?”
I smile, nodding. “Got it.”
Lifting onto my tiptoes, I place a kiss on his lips before his arm comes around my waist. He starts to deepen it, tracing his tongue along the seam of my lips, and I don’t hesitate. I give him access because with him I’m not only safe, but willing. I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything. And when I move closer to him and grip the sides of his t-shirt, everything fades away. All that matters is him and me. Nothing else. Just us.
LUKE
I roll over and reach out my left arm, Lily lying asleep on my right. The ringtone of the burner cell I have stops and starts up again, the loud noise causing Lily to stir.
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