59. Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter fifty-nine
Peter
When I rolled over and reached out to find a cold, empty bed, my eyes snapped open. Adair was nowhere to be seen. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my phone, praying there was a message.
Hummingbird:
She’d sent the message almost two hours ago.
How did I miss her leaving?
In a flash, I was dressed and making my way toward the living room.
As I entered the foyer, my steps slowed when I saw Adair standing in the kitchen with Lukas, Jess, and Connor.
It wasn’t that she was hanging out with them, but that she was smiling and laughing.
I soaked it in, hoping the happy moment would replace some of the pain and sadness I’d seen on her face.
“She's really been in a tough spot for a while, hasn’t she?”
I glanced to my left, smirking when I saw Avery leaning against the opening to the dining room, also watching the scene in the kitchen. “Yeah. She hasn’t spilled a lot of details, but what has come out is grim.”
Avery nodded, her eyes still fixed on Adair. “She’s handling re-entry well.”
“Well… yeah, I guess.” It wasn’t my place to spill all of Adair’s business, even if Avery had been, and was now, once again, her guard.
She turned and looked at me, narrowing her eyes as she studied my face. “Start talking.”
I tried not to let the woman’s intensity intimidate me. “I mean, panic attacks and night terrors aside, she’s doing pretty well.”
Avery clenched her jaw so tight I thought she was going to break something. “I’m going to kill that arrogant little piece of shit.”
“Not yet, Avery. Not yet.”
We both jumped at Lianne’s voice, and then I chuckled. “You’re turning into your mother, and I do mean that in the most complimentary way possible.”
Lianne grinned. “Thanks. Mom does have quite the knack for sneaking up on people.” She looked past me, toward the kitchen. “How’s Tori doing?”
“Overnight was better than her first few nights away from her safe house, so I’ll take the positive progress.”
She let out a deep sigh. “I so badly want to hang out with her, but I don’t want to overwhelm her.
” There was a pause as we all watched the group chatting in the kitchen.
“We had been getting so close… and then she was gone. She literally vanished into thin air. And then suddenly Liam was moving on. I didn’t want Susan as a sister-in-law. I wanted Tori.”
The bitter tone in Lianne’s voice surprised me a little. “You always looked so happy with Susan, though. Well, until we lost your dad.”
Lianne stepped in front of me, pinning where I stood with a fiery glare. “You don’t survive in this business by showing all your cards, Peter. You know that. Do you know how much I learned from hiding in plain sight?”
I shook my head, afraid to speak.
“By acting like the little sister who didn’t give a rat’s ass about what Dad, Liam, and Lukas were up to, I learned about all kinds of shit about allies, upcoming deals, who was being blacklisted, you name it.
By sitting quietly in dark rooms when the lights were too bright or standing at the top of the stairs, I overheard so many conversations than they’ll ever know.
Now, did I know all the details or have any context?
No. Did I store away every morsel of information?
Absolutely. Has my brother been underestimating me my entire life?
Yes. Is he about to get what he has coming to him?
” A wide grin appeared on her face. “Fool me once, shame on you. Try to fool me twice? Well…” Lianne glanced at both of us, rage and determination flickering in her eyes.
“He’ll see soon enough.” She turned on her heel and walked toward the kitchen, tackling Jess with a hug that had them all laughing.
My eyes went wide. “When did she get that intimidating?”
Avery chuckled in a low, slightly scary way.
“That woman has walked through fire and come out the most amazing badass. That intimidating force was always there. She’s finally allowed herself to use it, and I fucking love it.
” There was pride in her voice and on her face as she spoke.
“It’s truly an honor to work for her.” She shifted her attention to me.
“Do you and Tori have any plans for the day?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet.”
“Could I hang out with you guys?”
I’d never heard Avery ask for anything before. “That’s up to Adair.”
She narrowed her eyes and gave me a curious look. “Why do you keep calling her Adair?”
“That’s what she told me to call her after we finally met face to face. You, Lynette, Ryan, and the twins all knew her from before she had to disappear. I’ve only known her for a few months, and most of that was through a double encrypted secure app we used to send messages.”
Avery nodded. “And yet, you are the one she keeps close.”
“Right place, right time. That’s all.”
She shook her head as her expression became more serious. “No. It’s more than that. I’ve seen a lot of people go through shit. She trusts you more than all of us.”
Now I had to stare at her like she was insane. “How? I have the least amount of history with her.”
Avery poked me in the shoulder. “And that’s exactly why.”
I folded my arms over my chest and arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m going to need you to explain that one.”
She looked back at the kitchen again as more laughter spilled out, smiling for a moment before facing me again.
“You legitimately wanted to help without knowing a damn thing about her, other than she needed more protection. There was no obligation, no question about your motives. You were Lynette approved, which told her everything she needed to know. And if I had to guess, you’ve been nothing but the epitome of professional, kind, and compassionate. ”
“Of course.”
Avery nodded again. “You are the least threatening of us all. You have nothing to gain or lose by your actions toward her.”
I didn’t know what to say. Shifting my gaze to where Adair was still smiling and laughing, I sighed. While I could see what Avery was trying to say, I felt like I had a lot to lose.
Namely — Her. I was terrified to lose her.
Jess and Connor nodded their greetings as they left the kitchen and headed to the basement.
“Is it okay if we go in the kitchen, or is there something going on in there?”
I spun around to see Ellen standing behind me, a couple steps into the foyer. “It’s fine if you go in there. I was heading in, myself.” I looked past her. “Did Ryan already go downstairs?”
She nodded. “He said he had to get started on something.”
As we walked in, Adair was sitting between Lianne and Lukas at the island, and Ben walked in from the other entrance. “Morning.”
Lukas snickered. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“The one time you’re awake before me.” Ben shook his head, smirking. “It’s a good thing Li has a smile on her face.”
I walked to the coffeemaker and poured a mug, thanking Ben as he handed me the french vanilla creamer. “And if Lianne didn’t have a smile on her face?”
Ben grabbed the rolling pin hanging off the wall, flipped it in the air, and caught it effortlessly. “I’d remind him that he can talk to his sister however he wants to, but that her husband is extremely protective of her.”
Adair shook her head. “You have got to teach me that trick.”
Ben tipped his head to the side slightly and gave her a confused look. “What trick?”
“The rolling pin flip. That was so cool!”
“Oh, this?” He flipped it again, grinning. “I’ve been able to do this for a while.”
Lianne snickered. “We won’t talk about all the times he dropped it while perfecting his release and catch.”
Ben arched an eyebrow and looked at his wife. “And you’re going to sit there and tell me you were born the best markswoman in the family?”
A wide grin appeared on her face as she leaned forward. “Yep.”
“Yeah. Even I’m not dumb enough to poke at that.”
I nodded at Ellen’s comment. “You and me, both.”
Adair
I chuckled at Peter’s comment and gave him a smile, but then my attention shifted to the woman standing next to him. She looked familiar, and then I remembered she had been in one of the wedding pictures standing next to Ryan. “Hello.”
Peter cleared his throat. “Sorry. Adair, this is Ellen, Ryan’s fiance. Ellen, this is Adair.”
My smile widened. “You’re his person!”
Ellen blinked several times. “I am, though you have me at a bit of a disadvantage.”
How much do I say? Fuck it. “Sorry. Ryan has been on the team of people keeping me safe and alive for the last few months. He and I chatted a lot. Now, I didn’t know it was him until, well, yesterday, because of code names, but he mentioned there was someone special he liked.”
A wide smile appeared on her face. “He’s pretty special to me, too.”
Ben filled two travel mugs with coffee, handing one to Ellen before looking at Lianne. “I just emptied the pot. You might want to make more.”
“Lynette just asked me to check, actually. I’ll take care of it.”
A deep voice behind me had me looking over my shoulder and tensing up at the man standing a few feet away from me. It was none other than Gage St. James.
He worked with Liam.
“He’s good, Adair. I promise.” Lianne gave my hand a squeeze.
I nodded, not taking my attention off the man. Despite her words, which I trusted, I couldn’t convince my body to relax.
“Well, we’re going to head out.” Ben came up and gave Lianne a kiss before nodding at Lukas and then me. “I’ll start teaching you that trick after I get back from work.” He glanced over his shoulder before leaning closer to me. “Remind me to tell you the egg story then, too, okay?”
A tense chuckle came out. “I’ll hold you to that.”
He smiled before leaning in and giving me a quick side hug. “You’re safe here. I promise.”
“I know. Thanks.”
With a final nod, Ben headed out, Ellen following behind him. Gage hadn’t moved, and his attention was fixed on me.
“Victoria Vaux. It really is you.”
It was a statement, not a question, and I nodded. “St. James.”
His eye twitched slightly, and a tense silence filled the kitchen.
Lianne stood up, almost taking a defensive stance next to me. “You’re going to play nice, right?”
Gage’s attention snapped to her, and his eyes went wide as if she’d offended him. “Of course.”
My heart raced, but I found some bravado as I squeezed Lianne’s hand. “So you won’t be tipping Liam and my sister off that I’m here?”
His head reared back as he blinked in surprise, as if the words had physically smacked him.
“Absolutely not. I have no reason or desire to talk to that asshole. Honestly, I’m ashamed of how long it took me to realize just how corrupt he is.
” His eyes flicked to Lianne before he looked back at me, his voice laced with venom as he continued, “The only reason I haven’t put a bullet in his brain is because Don Agosti has told all of us we can’t kill him yet. ”
She nodded. “Good. Also, she doesn’t go by Victoria anymore. She prefers Adair.”
He looked at me and gave a slow nod. “Noted.” Gage opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.
A woman with brown and purple hair came breezing in. “Broody boy, why do you look like you swallowed a whole lemon? Did everyone eat all the zucchini bread?”
I couldn’t help the snicker as I stared at him in shock. “Broody boy?”
Gage sighed, but there was no missing the small smile that appeared on his face. “Adair, this is my girlfriend, Sunny. Sunny, this is Adair. She’s a close friend of the family.”
Sunny’s eyes went wide as she looked at me. “Oh! You must be the new arrival. It’s nice to meet you. But back to the nickname thing. Gage is my broody boy. He’s all tough and grumbly with everyone else, but he’s a little squishier with me.”
“Gage St. James? Squishy?” I looked at Lukas. “Really?”
He nodded. “Sometimes, but it happens the most when Sunny’s in the room.”