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“It’s okay. We’ll work with what we have. Aleks has hacked military personnel records so if you can draw those tattoos for us after you eat, he can start that search too,” Nick told me and I nodded. I’d do whatever they needed me to. I wanted this guy caught and locked away for the rest of his life. I wanted to be safe and I wanted my family safe.
“I’ll work on it this afternoon,” I agreed. “My art skills are seriously lacking though. The pictures I give you may end up quite childlike.”
“Aleks will be able to work with whatever you give him. He has software for everything,” Kailan assured me. I was still nestled into his side and neither of us were moving. I knew I should. I barely even knew him, but I just felt so settled there with him.
A few minutes later Aleks returned with a tray, which he set on the coffee table before me. On it was a plate with a bagel, filled with what looked like turkey and salad, a bowl of chopped up fruit, a soda, and a glass of water.
“I wasn’t sure what you like,” he told me, looking uncomfortable. “I can make something else if you don’t like this.”
“Thank you, Aleks. This looks amazing,” I told him with a smile. “And so you know, the only things I don’t like are fish and cilantro. I eat most anything else.”
“Good to know,” he smiled back as he spoke, and it lit up his entire face.
“No phone calls yet?” I asked him.
“Not yet, but it’s only early. It probably hasn’t been delivered yet,” he assured me. I nodded, but glanced at the clock on the mantel above the fire. It was two P.M. Surely it had to be delivered soon, right? I was desperate to hear the voice of one of my family.
As Aleks returned to his laptop in the kitchen I picked up the glass of water and took a sip. My hands were still shaking slightly, but I felt calmer. Kailan released his hold on me and sat back so I could lean forward to eat the food.
The room had gone silent, the only sound that of Harris, or Aleks clicking keys on their laptop. I tried to think of something to say, to break the silence as I moved to put the water back down, when a shrill beeping sounded all around me, scaring me half to death. The glass slipped from my hand and smashed on the hard floor below me as I leapt to my feet. Adrenaline surged through me as panic filled me all at once. I looked to Kailan, since he was closest, in wide eyed terror.
“It’s okay! It’s just someone at the gate. You’re okay, darlin’,” he told me quickly.
“Shit! Mind the glass,” Aleks cried when I moved slightly and when I looked up again, all four of the guys were around me, looking worried.
I heard the crunch of glass, and looked to my right. Nick stood there in his boots, walking right over the smashed glass to get to me.
“I’m just gonna pick you up and take you to the kitchen, okay?” he told me.
“I’m okay,” I told him, but I was shaking badly and my voice trembled. All because of a fucking doorbell! I hated myself for being that pathetic. “Sh-shouldn’t you answer whoever’s out there?”
“I’ll take care of it, sweetheart. Let Nick take care of you, okay?”
“O-okay,” I agreed, and before I knew what was happening Nick was holding me under my arms. He lifted me up like I were a child and I wrapped myself around him just like I was too. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder, feeling shaken and in need of the comfort his hard, warm body was offering.
“I’ll clean this up,” Kailan said from behind us somewhere.
“Fuck. Nick. It’s Kayla,” Harris called.
“Shit!” Nick cursed and I looked up at him. He looked agitated already.
“Whose Kayla?” I asked, worried by how concerned he seemed.
“A fucking nightmare,” he sighed. He set me down on the counter in the kitchen, but kept one hand so close to my side, he remained touching me.
“She has Zack with her. I’ll have to see what she wants,” Harris told him.
“Aleks, stay with Evie. I need to handle this,” Nick groaned as he backed away from me with a sad smile.
Aleks appeared before me as Nick headed for the front door. He stayed back a small distance and looked me over both with worry and apprehension.
“Tell me what I can do for you, malenka,” he said as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “The noise just startled me. Is Nick okay? He didn’t look it?”
“Kayla is the mother of his son, Zack. They had a one night thing just after we got out of rehab. She tracked him down when she found out she was pregnant and she’s been making his life a nightmare ever since. Nick pays for her place in the city and gives her plenty of money for Zack, but it’s never enough. She’s always turning up here, demanding more, or dumping Zack on Nick when she wants to go off with her latest boyfriend.”
“Nick has a son?” I gasped.
