LAILAH
TWENTY-FIVE
Jay and I stayed at the river for a little longer, just holding each other, taking time to enjoy the feeling of our new Bond.
Out of all the Bonds, I was most excited to be able to get a glimpse inside Jay's brain since he was the hardest to read.
To say that I was stunned at the intensity of his love for me was an understatement.
It was borderline obsessive, but made me understand his need to keep me safe and healthy all the time.
This didn't mean that I was going to let him control everything in my life just to make him feel better, but it helped me see his point of view.
We walked back to the car hand in hand, not wanting to let anything come between us, even getting into the car with that fleeting moment when he had to get in on the other side was too much.
I wasn't sure if it was his need or mine that was driving the clinginess but neither one of us wanted to fight it.
In a way, it was odd that I'd been so comfortable and adamant about him sealing our Bond after what I just went through with Parker, but now I knew he couldn't ever leave me.
Knowing that I now had four of them tied to me for the rest of my life curbed some of the fear that I would be abandoned by them all, as irrational as that fear was.
This is one of those moments where the heart and the head didn't agree with each other right away—not that it mattered, since the deed was done.
We arrived back at the house where I paused at the front door, knowing the moment I walked in there I was going to have to face all the problems I'd left behind.
"Beautiful…" Jay murmured, wrapping his arms around my waist. "You're not alone in this, we will help you figure this out."
"They’re my parents though, how do I tell them that I let my brother's girlfriend get taken and turned into a body for one of the most evil female demons?" I countered leaning into him.
"First of all, you didn't do any of this," Jay stated. "Secondly, they are our family now too, and I know any of us would be happy to explain things if you don't want to."
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly before squaring my shoulders and giving Jay a nod to let him know I was ready.
Together, we walked in to find everyone seated in the living room with tense, worried expressions on their faces.
No one was speaking, just sitting in uncomfortable silence taking coffee from Cami as she handed them out to everyone.
Hearing us enter, all their heads snapped in our direction and Mom was half out of her seat before Dad took her hand to stop her.
She looked down at him then returned to her spot, clutching the coffee mug in her hand and waiting for me to join them.
"I was just getting everyone something warm to drink, did either of you want coffee or tea?" Cami asked, breaking the tension as she walked up to us.
Without letting go of Jay I hugged Cami with my free arm. "Thank you for looking after them, Cami. What would I do without you?"
Cami gave me a warm smile. "Well, you need someone to keep a level head around here when all your men lose their shit without you around. How you manage them being all moody, I'll never know." With a wink she headed back to the kitchen to do who knows what.
Jay and I took one of the remaining open armchairs, him pulling me onto his lap and resting his head on my shoulder.
"Did we all look that whipped after we Bonded?" Micah asked, grinning at us.
"You have no room to tease, mister. I remember someone being very needy about spending quality time with me after it happened," I shot back.
Brayden snorted at that. "No one was as bad as Hudson though—he was a total goner."
"Says the man who got her all to himself for two months," Hudson countered, looking down his nose at Brayden.
My father cleared his throat, drawing all of us back to the reason that they were even here. "Lailah, I know this is going to be difficult for you with what Parker's told us, but we have so many questions and he felt it was better to talk to you about them."
I tensed hearing this. "What did Parker tell you?"
"Well…he explained how you two are no longer together because of something he did, that also resulted in Phoebe going missing," Dad explained. "It didn't really make sense to us at all, and then Dylan was saying something about demons at the powerplant."
My gaze shifted to Dylan, and he looked just how I felt about the whole situation. Both of us lost someone that we thought we loved, in ways we never expected. My heart ached for both of us, but I knew there was nothing I could do to fix things for him, especially after I talked with Lilith.
"Dylan," I started drawing his attention. "What can I do to help you?"
"You can get her back," he bit out his eyes stormy with anger. "But not until you kill the bastard who did this to her."
Standing up, I walked over to Dylan and knelt down in front of him.
"I will bring her back to you just like I promised I would, but you have to understand that she won't be the same.
Even if I can bring her back to you alive, which I can't guarantee, the Phoebe you know is gone forever.
As for your second request…it would be my honor to avenge her death for you, because I will take them all down—every last one of them.
I won't leave here until I destroy whatever hold they have here and then I'll move on to the one who started this war. "
"How did this happen Lailah? I just don't understand it, why Phoebe?" Dylan pressed tears welling up in his eyes. "She was a good person."
My thoughts went back to my talk with Lilith and I knew I couldn't trust her to say anything truthful, but I was sure that some of what she said was true.
"The demons look for people they can manipulate in some way shape or form. Good or bad, everyone has a weakness, whether it’s money, power, fame, it's the crack they can use to get their foothold in.
This demon could grant Phoebe's wish, and manipulation is the strongest weapon they have.
I've experienced it myself, the reason that I have these markings is because they tried to do the same thing to me they did to Phoebe.
They threatened to kill everyone I cared about, and a group of innocents, if I didn't comply.
I decided that it was better to give up my own life than to let you all suffer at their hands. "
"Why can't you save Phoebe if you got away?"
"It would seem that being an Elementi Warrior, and blessed with Synergy, made me somewhat resistant to their efforts.
If I hadn't been bonded to these men I would have been lost, but since they hold a part of my soul it couldn't be taken from me the same way.
I suffered in many other ways, but it gave us hope that my blood might give us a chance to save those who are lost. They just haven't been able to find the right combination yet to make it work," I shared.
"Please trust me to do everything I can to save her and if I can't, I won't let them use her for something evil, I'll set her free in another way.
" Dylan looked at me, numbly nodding his head, turning his gaze away from me.
"I need all of you to be careful, they have already started to threaten to hurt you to get to me if I don't fall in line.
I would ask that you guys stay here for now, we have a protective barrier around our home they can't get through, so I know you'll be safe.
The rest of us need to head into Chicago to meet up with the Elementi team that is there. "
"We can't just stop living our lives to hide here!" Kyle blurted. "Doesn't that show them they've won?"
"Kyle these are demons—pure evil. They don't give a damn about playing by the rules; all they care about is how they can get me to do what they want.
They can't win this war without me being on their side.
The biggest weakness I have is you guys and they know that.
If I'm going to be of any use to anyone, I need to know you are here safe so I can do everything in my power to end this while keeping you all alive. "
"Why is this all on you? Why don't the others help?" Mom demanded as she frowned at the guys behind me.
Looking over my shoulder at them, I gave them a soft smile. "Don't worry, they will be right by my side the whole time, keeping me safe." Turning back to Mom I took her hand. "The five of us are a team and we are our best when we all work together to get this done."
"What about Parker?"
"That's hard to explain Mom, but Parker made me a promise that was witnessed by the angels, and he broke that promise, along with my heart," I answered, trying my best to keep my voice steady as the words were like a dagger into my heart.
"Time will tell what will happen with that, but right now I can't rely on him. "
"Alright so we stay here, but for how long?" Dad questioned. "How do we keep in contact with you through this, because I'm not just going to let my baby girl put herself in danger and not be able to reach you."
"I'll stay here to guard you guys and keep in contact with the Elementi base of operations.
As Lala's bodyguard, it's my honor to keep her family safe while she can't." Cami announced.
"That way, you don't have to worry about a human servant coming to get them or manipulate them into leaving the safe zone. "
"Thank you Cami, that will lift a huge burden off my shoulders," I agreed.
Dad snorted as he looked Cami up and down. "I don't mean any offence, but what can a small thing like you do to protect us?"
"I'm so glad you asked," Cami answered with a grin.
"I've been trained since I was a small child for this type of job.
You could say that I'm the equivalent of a Navy Seal special ops soldier in our organization.
I might not be able to kill a demon if one showed up, but other than that, I've got you covered. "
My parents looked at her with shock and amazement.
"If you think this is what's best, then we'll trust your judgement in this, Ladybug," Mom said, leaning into Dad as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"What your mother said. We don't want to make this harder for you, but watching one of your children put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe is just hard to swallow," Dad explained.
Mom patted Dad's leg, giving him an understanding smile before she turned back to me. "When are you heading to Chicago?"
"In the next hour or so, there are too many moving parts and not enough information for us to make the moves we need. Dylan, what is the name of the lawyer that Phoebe was working under?"
"That would be Mr. Lewis, he's one of the founding partners. Why do you need to know that?" Dylan inquired, brows scrunched in a frown.
"Nothing you need to worry about," I assured him, not wanting to even hint at our plan, no matter how rough it was.
"If you need anything from the house, two of the guys can go with you while I get cleaned up after my run.
I would plan for a few days just to be safe, hopefully we can get this cleared up quickly, but I honestly don't have a clue what we are walking into yet. "
"Brayden and I will take them over," Micah volunteered.
I reached out to him to pull me to my feet, then gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you, I'll see you guys when you get back and we'll head out, alright?"
"You’re the boss," Micah teased, trying to get a smile out of me, which worked.
"I'll clear out a few of the bedrooms and move everything into the master so that you guys have rooms," Hudson offered, heading off to do as he said.
This is when Mom started to fret. "Oh, I don't want to put you out or make more work for you to have us here."
"Mom, two or more of them stay in my room most nights as it is.
Believe me when I say, this is not an inconvenience to them.
" The blush that appeared on my mother's cheeks upon hearing that made me realize what she assumed.
I mean, she wasn't wrong but shared activities were a new concept in our relationship but I wasn't going to explain that part of our lives now, if ever.
Some things a mother just doesn't need to know.