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“No. That’s not necessary, you guys. I don’t want you wasting any more money on me. We can just hang out here, like we always do,” I assured them.
“It is necessary. Stop arguing. We want to do something nice for you on your birthday,” Cameron cut in.
“Please, Mads. We’re all excited to spoil you a little, so just let us, okay?” Ev added as he squeezed the arm he held around me, pulling me even tighter against his side. I looked to the others and saw hopeful smiles on each of their faces.
“Fine,” I agreed, giving in. They were all way too cute to deny and I had to admit, the idea of dinner and a movie sounded exciting.
“That’s our girl,” Kai grinned.I wish I could be their girl, I thought to myself, but I couldn’t. They didn’t see me like that. They saw me like a kid sister and I wasn’t stupid enough to ruin that by admitting I had feelings that weren’t exactly brotherly towards all of them. Instead I kept my mouth shut and was grateful for what I had. All of them, in my life, giving a damn about me and seeing past the flaws. It was enough. As long as I had them to bring light into my life, I could get through the rest of the darkness.
***
The next day I stood under the willow tree at the same time, dressed in my favorite band t-shirt which I had scrubbed by hand the night before, my hair tamed into a style I had seen a girl at school with, looking the best I possibly could for my birthday evening out.
I was so excited as I waited for them all to come, so thrilled to spend an evening doing things other girls my age got to do. Nothing had been able to take the smile from my face that day. Not Clive lashing out at me before I went to school that morning, or the bullies in the halls between classes. Nothing could dull my excitement for my time with my guys, on my birthday.
Nothing except them not turning up to meet me. I waited for an hour under the tree, but they never came. I called them, but their phones were switched off. Eventually, after ninety minutes and terrified something had happened to them, I went to their house.
They had made me promise never to go to the house they lived in, not wanting me near their foster father, who they said was a real asshole, but I had no choice. I had to know they were all okay. I was terrified they had been in some kind of accident.
Tears were running down my face as I stood pounding on the front door, but there was no answer. They weren’t there. No one was.
I tried for two weeks, constantly calling each of them, reaching out through Facebook and every day after school I went to the house to knock on the door, but no one ever answered. They were gone without a word and wherever they went to, they took a huge part of me with them, leaving a void inside me I knew could never be filled.
CHAPTER 1
MADDIE
13 years later...
“Hey, what are you still doing here?” Nico asked as he stopped by the reception desk.
“I know! I’m going. I just wanted to get these filed,” I told him as I held up the small pile of case files I was trying to get locked away in the filing cabinets. I had worked atMilite Securityas their receptionist for just over a year and I enjoyed it. Nico was one of five guys who owned the company. All ex-military, they were damned good at what they did, providing security for private and corporate clients across Chicago. They were also good men to work for and I was so grateful that they had taken a chance on me when they hired me with very little experience to offer.
“Do you need to pick Willow up?” he asked as he leaned on the counter opposite me.
“Yeah, but I have time as long as I hurry,” I assured him. I tried not to allow my thoughts to wander to how damned good the man looked draped across the counter before me. Nico was a work of art and there was no denying that, all tall dark and handsome, with rippling muscles and tattoos up both arms. His piercing green eyes ensnared me every time he was close, and it took everything I had not to just stare and drool. The problem was, he never missed a damned thing, and I had much I wanted to keep hidden.
“I can give you a ride, if that would help?” he offered. He was so kind. They all were, but Nico seemed to give me extra attention, always checking in with me and making sure I didn’t need anything. He was a good man, and in another life I would have loved for the chance to know him more personally.
“Thanks, but I’m good. You have a client coming in anyway,” I reminded him.
“You going to this charity thing tonight?” he asked.
“The Children’s hospital fundraiser?” I asked. “You’re going?”
“Yeah. Usually Mia and one of the others would handle it, but they’re not here,” he sighed. Mia, or Emilia as I knew her, was Nico’s younger sister. She was in a relationship with three of the other owners of Milite – Lincoln, Jax, and Parker, all of whom were currently on a holiday in Miami. Emilia worked the reception desk with me, the both of us covering it part time, and she was the closest thing I had to a friend.
“Having to dust off your tux?” I laughed.
“I fucking hate suits,” Nico grumbled and I found myself fighting away an image of how damned good he would look in a tuxedo. “Please tell me you’ll be there so I at least know one person who isn’t an asshole.”
“I’ll be there,” I replied, enjoying his grumpiness immensely. It was just the way he was and I had come to like it in the time I had known him. I found it endearing. It was a stark contrast to my husband, Edward, who was filled with bitterness and anger all of the time.
“Thank fuck for that,” he sighed. “Just a shame about your asshole husband.”
“Nico…” I sighed.
“The guy’s an asshole. I have no idea why you don’t just leave him.” He made no secret of the fact he hated Edward. That was my fault, because he had seen some of the marks on my arms one day when I stupidly pushed up the long sleeves of my shirt when I got hot. Nico had been enraged, despite me lying and assuring him it was a onetime thing that would never happen again. Since then there had been other instances when he had found me teary eyed after a call with my husband, or when I had needed to rush out because Edward refused to pick Willow up as planned, that had made his dislike, of the man I was married to, greater.
