Chapter 15
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Jack
“Maci, what are we doing?” I gently nudge all three ladies out the gate and lock this side behind us.
“What are you doing?” My little sister crosses her arms and shoots daggers at me with her eyes.
“ I’m making sure you three get home.”
“Didn’t look like it,” Maci snaps.
Great—just great. They saw Jenny. I open my mouth to snap back. I freeze when my niece’s arms circle my waist. Her frightful, tear-filled eyes gut me.
“Please, Uncle Jack. I just wanna go home.’ She sniffles and tries to blink back tears.
“Evie, sweetie. What happened?” My little sister and her big temper are instantly forgotten.
“Aunt Harley.” She lays her head against my chest.
I wrap her tightly in my arms. “I know, sweetie. Uncle Jay’s still watching over her.”
“I tried to pull her away. She wouldn’t listen.” She leans back and wipes tears away with the back of her hand. “One of the guys told me to get lost and let the grownups have fun.”
“What?” Maci and I ask at the same time.
I wrap my hands around Everly’s upper arms and hold her slightly away so I can look her in the eye. This little girl has owned my heart from the moment she was born. Her feelings matter to me. I want to protect her heart with everything I have, but right now, I wanna kill somebody.
“Evie, which guy said that to you?” Nobody talks to my girl like that.
She shrugs and sniffles again. “I don’t know. I didn’t look. Aunt Harley told me to go home, so I called Aunt Maci.”
Okay. It looks as though the entire group from Texas is about to die. Well, minus Shep, of course. My dear older sister needs to be brought down a notch or two as well. She knows how tenderhearted Everly is. Sometimes, it takes days to calm my niece down. Mom and Dad will go livid when they find out about this. Maybe Dad will finally put his foot down with Harley.
“Okay.” I look over her head to Maci. “Get her home. I’ll handle this.”
Coty has already locked the other side of the gate. I’ll have to go around to the side entrance and walk through the Den to get to the backyard. It’ll be worth it. Someone’s, a lot of someone’s, are going to regret this.
“No, Uncle Jack,” Everly cries and pulls on my arm. “Please don’t. I just wanna go home. Please.”
Once again, her pleas stop me. Her big puppy dog tears slice through my soul. I cup her little face in my hands for a moment before wrapping her in my arms again.
“Okay, sweetie. We’ll get you home.” This little girl has me wrapped around her finger. She may be about to turn seventeen, but she’ll always be my baby.
“Do you wanna come to the guest house with us? Uncle Jack can go find Grandpa. They’ll make sure Aunt Harley is okay and take her home.” Maci gently rubs Everly’s back.
“No. I really just wanna go home. Please,” Everly pleads again.
I glance past Maci to Lily. I didn’t forget she was there. I’ve felt her presence the entire time. That’s never happened with a woman before. One look at her causes my hands to shake. My niece is a nervous and emotional wreck. My older sister and some jerk were rude to her.
On top of that, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met has a black eye and bruised cheek. I knew she did. Seeing it changes things.
“Okay, sweetie. Aunt Maci will take you home and stay with you until Nanny gets there.” I walk Everly into my sister’s waiting arms.
“Jack?” Maci’s eyes dart to Lily and back to me.
Yeah, I know. We can’t leave an angel alone. The counselors have told us how bad it could be. Past experience with the abusers has proven just how bad things can get. Maci has nothing to worry about.
“I’ll stay with Lily until one of you can get to the guest house.” My sister wants to argue. I don’t let her. “The main thing is that Everly’s taken care of and Lily’s safe. Neither of us can do both right now.”
“You’re right.” Maci sighs and turns to Lily. “Are you okay with this?”
“Yeah.” Lily presses her lips together and nods.
Maci hesitates and looks toward the clubhouse. She wants to go get Mom. Maci’s the youngest, but she has a better head on her shoulders than our older sister does.
“Look. Let Mom help Nana with the party. You and I can handle things for a few hours. If Lily becomes uncomfortable with my presence at any point, I’ll step out on the porch and call one of the ole’ ladies.” I offer the only solution I can think of right now.
“Okay,” Maci agrees.
The four of us walk together through the trees. When the guest house comes into view, Maci and Everly take the path to the right. It leads to the main house where my parents and grandparents live. The path to the left goes to my house, and beyond that is Jay’s house. His mom lives with him. Their house in town was sold years ago.
Lily and I walk side by side up to the house. As badly as I want to, I don’t reach for her hand this time. Lily walks ahead of me up the stairs and to the door. I reach into the pocket of my jeans for my keys just as she turns the handle and pushes the door open.
“Wait,” I call out.
Lily jumps back and shrinks against the outside wall by the door. I mentally beat myself up. I didn’t mean to scare her.
I hold up both hands. The keys dangle from one of my fingers. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to shout.”
“What’s wrong?” Her voice shakes.
“Probably nothing.” I motion toward the door with the hand holding the key. “Maci didn’t lock the door.”
Lily glances at the open door and shakes her head. “I guess not. We were in a hurry to get to Everly.”
“Thank you for that. Everly gets very emotional when she’s upset. It usually takes Mom to calm her down. If it’s not too bad, Maci can handle it.”
“She’s a sweet girl.” Lily drops her head.
“She’s the best. Why don’t you sit on the swing while I make sure the house is clear?”
Her head snaps toward the open door as she walks backward toward the steps. “You don’t think? He couldn’t.”
I reach out and wrap my hand around her elbow to stop her from aimlessly falling down the steps. “No. I don’t think he’s here. The property is well protected. Even with all the security we have, we can still make a mistake. It’s just a precaution.”
She sighs with relief. It’s not a hundred percent, but at least she’s back in the moment and not stuck in her head.
“Okay. I’ll wait on the swing.” She sits with her hands clasped together on her lap. It’s not how I imagined her sitting out here.
I reach inside with one hand and flip the living room light on. With my other hand, I reach under my cut and pull the gun from the back of my jeans. I hear Lily take a sharp breath, but I don’t turn back.
Room by room and closet by closet, I check every nook and cranny of the house. I even checked the back porch and called Nick to watch the camera footage. The outside of the property and the commons room of the Viking Den are under twenty-four-hour surveillance. Not everyone knows that.
After I clear the house, I stand in the front doorway with my back against the doorframe and my eyes on Lily. It took Nick a little over thirty minutes to watch the footage from the time Lily and Maci left until she and I returned.
“All clear.” Lily doesn’t move or acknowledge me. I walk over and hold my hand out. “Lily?” She slowly lifts her head. “We can go inside now.”
She places her hand in mine, and I pull her to her feet. This was a setback for her. She’s now hiding behind a mask of fear. I want so badly to remove every ounce of it from her life.
“Can I get you anything?” I close the door behind us.
Lily slowly turns to face me. “A new life.”
“It’ll take a little time, but we’re working on it.” That’s one wish I can grant. “What can I get you in the meantime?”
She nervously laughs. “Coffee?”
“Oh, that’s definitely something I can do. One fresh pot of coffee coming right up.” I smile and wink at her as I walk by. “Come on, angel.
One wish easily granted. Another is in the making. I want to make more of her wishes come true. I have an idea. Hopefully, she’ll be intrigued and give me a chance.