55. Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter fifty-five
Adair
The first thing I saw after entering the room was Lianne, hugging her brother.
“Li, I’m fine. I promise. You can let go of me.”
She leaned back and glared at him. “Not right now. I can’t.
Do you know how many years were shaved off my life being woken up in the dead of the night because there was a house explosion in your neck of the woods?
The panic I felt when I didn’t know if you, Quinn, or the guys were in one piece or not anymore?
Hearing you had a shootout during a high-speed chase this morning?
I only have one brother left. You need to stay in one piece. ”
Lukas nodded. “I know. But I’m here now, and very much in one piece.”
Lianne let out a tense breath. “Maybe I like physical confirmation, okay? Sue me.”
My heart hurt in the best and worst possible way.
I loved seeing how neither of them had changed at all in the past seven years, but it was also a stark reminder of what I’d never have with my sister.
I swallowed hard and blinked away a few more errant tears.
There were going to be a lot of hard emotional hits for a while.
Quinn chuckled softly. “You're not the only one, Lianne. For what it’s worth, I do my level best to keep this handsome pain in the ass upright and in one piece. I have to hand it to you, though. I don’t know how you keep everyone on your payroll in line. I’m in awe.”
Lianne smiled. “I’m not sure how in line I keep them, but I channel my mom’s badass skills and do my best. I’m also super protective of everyone here, so… Well, sometimes it works to my advantage.”
Lukas shook his head. “Hey, now. I’m still your overprotective big brother. I do my part, too.”
“Oh, my God. This again? You are four fucking minutes older than me.”
He tapped the tip of her nose. “And don’t you forget it.”
I couldn’t hold in my chuckle at their sibling antics. Damn, I’ve missed them.
Everyone in the room turned to look at me. Lukas and Quinn smiled, but Lianne stood there stunned, staring at me with her mouth hanging open. Tears appeared in her eyes, and she blinked several times. “Tori?”
I nodded. “Hey, Li.”
She swallowed hard, blinking back the tears. “You…” Lianne looked at her mom. “But she… and we…” Her attention snapped to Lukas. “You knew the whole time?”
Quinn chuckled. “See, Lukas? This is what you looked like.”
Lianne’s glare was still on her brother, who had his hands up, as if expecting the need to ward off an attack. “I only found out a few days ago. Mom told me I had to keep my mouth shut, or else. Trust me when I say I’m still processing it.”
“Same.”
Her attention snapped back to me. “You’re alive! Holy shit.” Lianne stared at me in awe before continuing. “Where have you been hiding? Are you okay? Would you like something to drink? Can I hug you?”
I couldn't help the nervous laughter that bubbled out. She really hasn’t changed at all. That realization brought a little more peace to my heart. “You know, I'd love both, actually.”
Lianne nodded as she took a step forward, but then paused. “Do you still like peanut butter?”
Random. “Yeah, why?”
She smirked, and Lukas chuckled. “You’ll see.” In the next moment, she had me wrapped in a tight hug. A sniffle met my ears. “I can’t believe you are standing in my lounge right now. I’ve missed you so fucking much. It broke my heart when you disappeared.”
A detached part of my brain was amused at how similarly the twins responded to seeing me again.
If only everyone would have this reaction.
I quickly shoved the intrusive thought aside.
Lianne held me for longer than I thought she would have.
Wiping the last tears from her eyes after eventually ending her hug, she gave me a cheeky smile. “Still interested in that whiskey?”
I nodded. “Please. It’s been a lot today.”
“I can’t even imagine.” She turned and walked to the bar cart.
It was then a man with short, dark brown hair and a very familiar smile walked up to me and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you officially, Hummingbird.”
“Wait. You are Tech?” When he nodded, I shook my head, processing.
This was the person who had to tell Lynette about Derek.
The person who helped me upgrade my safe room.
The person who made sure Peter could help keep me safe.
“I’m going to need a hug from you, Ryan. None of this handshake bullshit.”
He chuckled and let me wrap my arms around him. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
“Says the man who’s helped keep me alive for months.”
Ryan tightened his hug. “Do you know how shocked and relieved I was to find out you were alive?”
I nodded and then stepped back. “Do you know how much I appreciate you helping Lynette save my ass?”
He opened and shut his mouth a couple times before nodding. “Just doing my job.”
“Yeah, well, I very much appreciate you just doing your job.”
Lianne walked back over, a stunned expression on her face. “Hold on. You knew it was her the whole time?”
Ryan nodded. “My face looked a lot like yours when Lynette handed me the file several months ago.”
She shook her head and then handed me a short glass of whiskey before looking past me. “Peter, you know she’s safe here, right? You don’t have to be in protection protocol.”
“I know.”
I chuckled. “He stays pretty close, not that I mind.” I prefer it that way right now. It was amazing to reunite with the twins and Ryan, but it was hard to act calm when I was still being barraged by wave after wave of memories.
Lianne and Lynette’s attention bounced between the two of us before they looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.
It’s not like that… is it?
Lukas helped his sister pour some whiskey for everyone else, passing out the glasses before holding his up. “To family reunited, and a painful death to anyone who dares to separate us again.”
We all took a sip, and when a strong peanut butter taste exploded on my tongue, I couldn’t keep my shock in. “Where in the world did you find this whiskey?”
Lianne snickered and took another sip. “Jess, of course.”
I smiled and nodded. “That tracks.” Looking around, I took another drink, hoping the liquor would help settle my anxiety some.
Lynette walked over and gave me a warm smile. “Adair, you’ve been through quite a bit in the past week. Would you like some peace and quiet?”
“I’m fine. I can stay here for a while.”
She arched an eyebrow at me, silently challenging my weak lie. “Are you though?”
I tensed up and then shook my head. “I’m more than a bit overwhelmed, if I’m being honest.”
“You can’t stay in the safe room, but I did put you in the guest room farthest from everyone.”
Ryan gently bumped me with his shoulder. “And I don’t know if it makes it better or worse, but we get to be neighbors.”
I gave him a small smile. “I think I can handle that. I could tap on the wall to get a hold of you instead of logging into the app.”
He snickered. “I mean, you can still do that, too.”
“I might.” Turning to Peter, I gave him a tight smile. “Can you walk me there?”
“Of course.” Peter looked at Lynette. “Last room on the left?”
She nodded and then turned her attention to me. “I’ll make sure no one bothers you.”
“Thank you.”
Peter took my glass and set it on the small table next to us and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
I vaguely heard Lukas ask me something before we left the room, but I was too focused on keeping my thoughts from overwhelming me.
Peter slowly guided me down the hallway, opened the door, led me into the guest room, and stood in front of me.
“I can see you’re on the verge of losing it again. Do you want to sit or lie down?”
I swallowed and glanced at the bed. “Going flat is probably the best idea right now.” I sat down and rolled onto my side. Peter pulled a blanket over me, and I immediately let out a tense breath. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Do you need anything else?”
“I… It’s just that…” I reached out and grabbed his arm. “Can you stay?”
He gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “I can for a bit, but I will have to meet with Ryan and the rest of the team downstairs soon. There’s a lot of logistics to figure out now that we’re all here.”
“And I appreciate that. A lot.” I looked around the room. “It’s so weird being back here after all these years. The last time I was here, I was bleeding out… and now…”
“What?” He shook his head. “Another story for another time. Regardless, you’re not bleeding out today. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can. Would you be more comfortable somewhere else in this house? Would you like someone standing outside your door?”
I let out a sigh and looked around. “Probably not. And no to the door guard. I think I’d feel more awkward with that. I might feel better after a hot shower, though.”
He leaned forward and hugged me, his lips brushing against my temple, making my heart race for a new reason.
“Then take a nice, long, hot shower. Your duffel bag is already in here, and there are medical supplies in the bathroom, but if you need anything else at all, Ryan and I will both have our phones.”
“Okay.”
I laid there for a while after he left, but the need to clear my head drove me from bed and into the bathroom. After taking a hot shower and re-bandaging my arm, I got dressed, took some painkillers, and crawled back into bed, wrapping my ‘Lynette blanket’ around me.