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Me, well, I put on a pair of black shorts and a T-shirt that has the logo for the club’s garage on it. It’s a medium and fits perfectly against my breasts and is loose at the waist. It’s also comfortable. I don’t worry about putting on shoes. I hate wearing the things and always have. I’d walk across burning coals if I knew it wouldn’t hurt.
“No,” I finally answer him and let out an uneasy breath.
“Remember, you’ve got me and the others. We’re not leaving you alone with them. Fuck, I’m not about to let them get near you unless I know you’re safe from them.”
“They wouldn’t hurt me.” This I knew without a doubt. They were always loving and protective of me growing up, I know they didn’t have anything to do with me getting taken or anything that happened to me.
“Get that, but knowing what you told me, I’m not taking chances.” Maverick takes my hand in his, lifts it, and presses a kiss to my palm. “Let’s get this over with.”
I nod while drawing my bottom lip in between my teeth. Maverick takes this in and glares at my mouth for a brief second before leading me out of the room.
Hand in hand the two of us walk back into the main portion of the house to find everyone already sitting at the table, food dispersed for everyone.
Wrath lifts his gaze first and meets my eyes. “Vaeh, Sabotage put your bourbon chicken to the side. We didn’t want anyone to get a hold of yours.”
As thoughtful as that is, they didn’t have to do that.
I nod as Maverick pulls out a chair for me to sit next to Sabotage. He takes the other one next to me, resting his arm on the back of my chair.
“You need to eat,” Maverick grumbles, grabbing the food from Wrath.
“I know,” I murmur and glance at my parents and three brothers, Banshee, Druid, and Kelpie. They stare at me, and I know they’re taking in the changes in me, though it’s not much. My hair is still blonde, and my body is still the same. That is besides the scars, but they can’t see those.
My dad is the first to clear his throat and speak. “Your mom got a call from her sister’s son two days ago. That’s how we found you.” His voice is gruff and full of emotion.
“Who are you talking about?” Pirate tenses and looks around the table, cursing. “You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me. There’s only one person who’s seen Nevaeh with us and found out her name,” he says, looking at his brothers. “Fuckin’ Romeo Cohen.”
“His name’s actually Gavin Kennedy. He changed it for the sake of the family,” Mom says and meets my gaze. “He saw you and knew who you were right off. He didn’t say anything because he’s smart. Called me and told me he found you and that you were safe. Asked us to give him a day to make sure . . .” Her breath hitches and tears spill down her cheeks. “He wanted to be sure, and then he called again and confirmed. Your dad, brothers, and I headed here first thing.”
“Fuck me,” Pirate mutters. “That fucker is one sneaky bastard.”
“I’ll have to make sure to beat the shit out of him for not coming to us first,” Maverick growls.
“He did the right thing,” Dad mutters, eyes sharp and focused on Maverick. “We’ve been searching for our daughter since the moment we found her missing.”
“Right,” Maverick remarks tersely. “He still should have come to us first. Fuck me.” I tense at the way he said those words. “Did y’all tell anyone else you were coming here?”
“No,” Banshee answers, voice vibrating with fury. “We wanted to come find Nevaeh for ourselves.”
I relax marginally at his words, thankful he didn’t tell anyone else.
Maverick also relaxes a smidge before shaking his head. “This shit still doesn’t fly. Nevaeh’s been through hell and is only now finally overcoming the bullshit she’s endured —”
“Maverick,” I whisper, turning in my seat to face him, “please.”
“Baby, I’m not about to tell them,” he retorts softly and strokes my cheek. “But they gotta know, this wasn’t the play they should have taken because I’m telling ya, Sweets, you’ve been through enough. I told you in the room, no one is going to hurt you again. That also means no one is going to force anything on you that you’re not ready for.”
“Okay,” I murmur, nodding and looking back to my family. I take a breath and finally speak up. “I missed you all. More than you know, but Maverick’s right, I’m not . . . I wasn’t ready to . . . to face you all again.” I don’t miss the pain that crosses my parents’ faces or the flinches my brothers all get. “That being said, I’m happy to see you because, as I said, I’ve missed you all so much.”
“Missed you too, Cupcake,” Mom responds, eyes darting between Maverick and me before going back to eating.
“After we eat, why don’t you introduce your mom to Gizmo,” Maverick suggests. “That and you could go for a walk on the beach. Catch up with her.”
Meaning he’s going to have a chat with my brothers and doesn’t want me to hear it. I glance over my shoulder at him and roll my eyes to which he gives me a lifted brow like he’s questioning whether or not I’m going to argue.
A smile spreads over my lips, and I shake my head because I know him, and due to knowing who he is, the fact I feel safe with him, it means everything to me. “You’re not going to do your he-man macho mess with them, are you?”
“That’s saved strictly for you, Sweets.” He snorts and jerks his chin toward my food. “Now eat.”
