Chapter 2
2
“Monty!” Nina shrieked. She rushed down the stairs and tried to get between the two men she loved more than anything or anyone else. Ever. “Stop!”
Montgomery took a step back, his gaze flipping from her to Zeke. “Why are you here? How are you here? Why the fuck is she here?”
Zeke looked at her, but Nina didn’t speak. She wasn’t sure how to explain anything to either of them.
Zeke wiped his lip, blood appearing on his hand. Nina hadn’t noticed the split lip, but once she saw the blood, her head spun.
She was gathered up in the next moment, her feet swept out from under her. She floated to the couch, the fresh and masculine scent of Zeke waking her up and nearly making her weep. She smelled like him, choosing the same shampoo in his shower that she’d inhaled in his SUV.
She landed on the couch softly. Zeke was right there, his face a mask of concern, before a growl permeated the air.
Zeke looked up and nodded, stepping away.
Montgomery replaced Zeke in front of her. “Did he do this?” Monty tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers drifting over the bruises around her neck.
“No,” Nina said sharply. “No. Never. You know he’d never hurt me.”
Montgomery inhaled a shaky breath and closed his eyes. “I thought you were dead.”
Nina nodded. “I know.”
“Where the hell have you been?”
His tone was biting, but the care beneath the fear reminded Nina that she didn’t need to be afraid of her brother. “I… It’s a long story.”
“One you’re not ready to share. Are you safe?”
Nina looked at Zeke and smiled. “Yes. I am now.”
“With him.” Montgomery’s words were punctuated with a glare at the man who’d spent as much time at their house as Nina and Montgomery when they were young.
“I didn’t think you’d be here. You were supposed to go into the military,” Nina said.
“I did. But I didn’t stay. I came back to look for you. I searched. Twelve years, Nina. Twelve years. Where the hell have you been?” His face crumpled, the fear and pain he felt erupting from him.
“I’ve been in Niagara Falls,” she whispered.
“What?” Monty barked. His gaze snapped to Zeke’s, then slammed against Nina again. “You’ve been right here. Someone had you. Wouldn’t let you out.”
She nodded, hoping it was enough for now. There were good times with Gwendolyn. Fewer and fewer over the years, but at first, Nina almost felt like she was lucky. She had someone who cared about her. Someone who didn’t have to give up anything for her.
A dozen years brought clarity and clarity brought pain and pain brought acceptance. Nina couldn’t let it continue.
“I can’t…” Monty jumped to his feet and stalked away from her.
Nina stood, watching the lines of tension cross his features. His back bunched up so tight his shoulders rounded. His face looked a decade older than when he’d walked in the door. Everything about him read regret and anger.
“I have to go. I can’t… I’m so happy you’re here. You’re home. I… Please don’t leave again. Never again.” Monty rushed to her and pulled her in tight for a hug. “Promise me you won’t ever leave me again, Nina. I love you.”
Nina smiled and nodded, her throat tight with emotion she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in a very long time. “I love you, big brother.”
Montgomery nodded and held her back from him. He cupped her jaw and stared into her eyes. He closed his, then he turned away from her and walked straight out the door.
Nina waited, wondering if she should go after him. A few seconds later, an engine started up and tires squealed as Montgomery left.
Nina stared after him, lost in her memories until a soft meow and an even softer touch broke through her haze.
She dropped onto the couch, smiling when Franklin jumped up next to her and crawled onto her lap. She rubbed his head, and he nuzzled against her chest.
The snick of a lock met her ears and made her jump. She knew that sound well.
Franklin jumped down as Nina bolted to her feet, panic flooding her system as she looked at Zeke walking back from the front door.
Zeke held up his hands. “I don’t want anyone walking in without an invitation. Montgomery has a key. He can come back any time he wants.”
Nina struggled to ease her panic. She called Zeke because she trusted him. She knew he would never hurt her. He was one of the few reasons she survived as long as she did. The hope she would see him again. Him and her brother. Seeing both of them healed a broken piece of her, but the other broken pieces were much more damaged and would take a lot more to heal.
“This is your show, Nina. Do you want me to unlock the door?”
“No,” she blurted. “No. It’s just…”
“You’re safe here, Nina. Always safe with me. I will never hurt you.”
She nodded, knowing they weren’t just words. It was a promise. And Zeke Donovan didn’t make promises he didn’t keep.
So many of Zeke’s fears were confirmed by the look on her face when he locked the door. He didn’t think anything of it until she stared at him, eyes wide and panicked, waiting for the inevitable attack.
She was abused. Likely assaulted. Beaten and tortured and used for whatever the bastard who held her wanted.
Zeke struggled to keep his anger at bay, wanting to go out and find the man who had her for twelve years and beat him until he couldn’t breathe and would know the pain he caused.
But first, Zeke needed to know who he was going after. And make sure Nina was safe.
“Are you hungry?” Zeke asked instead of probing into the past.
Nina nodded, the motion jerky and unsure.
“If my memory is any good, your favorite food was always mac-and-cheese.”
Nina’s eyes welled up, her smile small and sad. “I haven’t had mac-and-cheese in forever.”
“Is that a yes?” Zeke asked.
Nina nodded, moving closer to him. He stood still, not wanting to scare her and not wanting to stop whatever she was doing. He needed her to trust him.
Nina didn’t stop when she got close to him, just wrapped her arms around his middle and held on tight.
Zeke released the breath he’d been holding since he heard her voice on the phone and gave in to the need to hold her tight and bury his face in her hair. He inhaled deep, drawing the scent of his shampoo into his lungs and knowing he’d never want to wash with anything else ever again. The scent would forever remind him of Nina.
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
“Thank you for calling me.”
Nina let out a shaky breath, then eased her arms from his middle. She took a step back and smiled up at him.
“I’ll start on food and you can relax and watch something if you want.”
She shook her head and followed him. “I’d rather… I’d rather stay close to you if that’s okay.”
Zeke nodded, unable to find the words he needed to express his relief.
His kitchen was a good size for one person, but with a second, it quickly became tight. Zeke moved around the space with the comfort he’d always had in the kitchen, but the awareness that Nina was in his space. He kept his house stocked with more than enough food at all times, and had water boiling for the fusilli pasta within ten minutes.
He went through the motions automatically, shredding three cheeses by hand and stirring the pasta until it was half-cooked. He drained the pasta, then added it to the cheese, egg, and milk mixture. With seasoning added, he scooped all of it into the glass pan and slid it into the oven.
“Thirty minutes and I’ll take it out,” he said, as though Nina didn’t know.
She nodded, but didn’t move out of his way.
“Drink? Water? Shit, wine or beer? I guess you’re old enough for alcohol now.”
“I don’t like it. Not… I like to have a clear head.”
Zeke nodded, another thing that angered him. Another clue to what she’d been through. Fuck, he was going to murder someone. How the hell could someone do those things to a person like Nina? Any person, but especially her? She was sweet and innocent. She was a kid when she disappeared.
She wasn’t anymore, but she hadn’t had a chance to be an adult either. She was captive. A prisoner in some sick bastard’s house.
But she was out. She was safe. She was there with him. And he would never let her out of his sight again.
He led the way to the couch and grabbed the remote. Zeke turned on a comedy he remembered Nina enjoying, a show that had been off the air for a decade, but he gambled she wouldn’t know that.
“I love this show. Do they ever get together in the end?” She lifted her eyes to Zeke, and he struggled to breathe.
A nod was all he could manage.
She returned her focus to the TV, unaware of the effect she had on him. Gage and Franklin jumped up next to her, making themselves comfortable with their new human. She absently rubbed both their heads at the same time.
A million questions ran through his mind as she laughed at the antics of the group of friends on the show.
Where was she all this time?
Who had her?
How did she get away?
Were they going to come after her?
What would he do if someone did?
Zeke knew the answer to the last one without thinking about it. He would kill anyone who tried to hurt Nina ever again. She was back. She was home. She was safe. And he’d never let her walk away again.
The show ended, and Zeke went back to the kitchen to check on dinner. It was almost done, so he grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables and tossed it into the microwave. He turned back to the living room and his breath stopped at the picture before him.
Nina on his couch, laughing at the TV, his cats curled up with her like she belonged to them.
Zeke had to look away before he lost it. When she was with Montgomery, he could break down. Until then, he had to keep his shit together. Take care of her, keep her safe.
The microwave beeped, and Zeke retrieved the bag of broccoli. He dumped it into a bowl and added butter, salt, and pepper, stirring it up as though it was something special.
He pushed it to the side and opened the oven. The cheese was golden brown. The smell of the food was almost as intoxicating as the woman he made it for.
Zeke couldn’t remember the last time he had mac-and-cheese. Once, after she left, he cooked it, and he threw the whole thing away. It reminded him too much of her, and his guilt and pain were too heavy to let him enjoy the meal.
Since then, he hadn’t considered cooking it. The memories of Nina were too strong, too painful.
He set the dish on his stovetop and closed the oven, letting the sharpness of the cheese and the memories fill him.
She was home.
“Is it done?” she asked from right behind him.
“Yeah,” Zeke said, his voice cracking on the word. He cleared his throat and busied himself with searching for a serving spoon and plates for them. He dished her out a sizable portion, then gave himself an even bigger one.
She didn’t move.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, his gaze going from her plate to her face.
She set her plate down and reached up for him. Her hands pressed against his cheeks softly, tentative like she thought he’d stop her.
He nuzzled against her hands, his greedy body unable to hold back any longer.
“I never thought I’d see you again, but I hoped I would. It kept me going.”
Zeke closed his eyes and swallowed roughly. “I never stopped looking for you.”
“I’m sorry I asked you to let me go that night. That I argued and told you I could take care of myself.”
Zeke shook his head. “All that matters is you’re here now. We’ll get you whatever help you need. Therapy, rehab, anything. I don’t care what it costs or anything. You’re home.”
Nina’s eyes welled up. She nodded. “I’m home. With you.”
Zeke couldn’t take it anymore. He hauled her into his arms, holding her so tight he could feel every inch of her body against his. He struggled to keep his emotions at bay, but let them out when she sniffled against his neck.
Tears fell freely from his eyes, relief and joy blending together. “I missed you so fucking much.”
“I missed you, too.”
He held her until her body relaxed against his and his reaction to holding her couldn’t be withheld. He pushed her away from his body, not wanting to scare her with the erection he couldn’t stop. She was still Montgomery’s little sister. And he was supposed to be protecting her, not imagining what was beneath the clothes he gave her to borrow.
“We’ll get you some new clothes tomorrow. Whatever you want. And anything else. Food, a car? A new place? You can stay here, of course. Or with Mont. Whatever you want. Money is no object. We’ll take care of you, Nina. Always.”
She nodded. “I know you will. For tonight, I just want to enjoy being here with you.”
Zeke drew a breath and nodded. There was nothing that sounded better than that.
Gwendolyn Lennox glared at the man who interrupted her sleep. She didn’t like being woken up, but it was even worse when the man shared his news.
“What the fuck do you mean, she’s gone? Where the hell is she?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. She went into the convenience store, and she never came back out.”
“Did you go in and look for her?”
“Yeah. Of course. But she wasn’t there.”
The fucking idiot acted like Gwendolyn was asking stupid questions. He needed to learn a lesson.
Gwendolyn grabbed the gun from Fernando’s holster and pointed it at the fucking driver who lost Nina.
The man’s face changed then. “I asked the clerk. I looked for her. She must have snuck out the back door.”
“Then fucking find her. She couldn’t have gone far.”
“Unless she had someone pick her up,” the asshole dared to say.
“And how would she have arranged that? Did she call someone?”
“No. Not that I know of.”
“Then who would have picked her up? Was there another car there?”
The driver shook his head, then stopped. “Someone drove by. Slow, like they were looking for something. Went past, so I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Well, maybe you should have. I let Nina go there because they don’t have cameras. It was supposed to keep her safe. Keep anyone from seeing her who wasn’t supposed to.”
“Who would be looking for her?” the driver asked, turning up his nose.
Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow. “Right now, I am. My sister is gone, and you’re the one who let her get away.”
“I didn’t realize she was your sister. I’ll go?—”
Gwendolyn pulled the trigger before the man could finish his sentence. She smiled at the moment of awareness on his face before he collapsed into a puddle of his own brains.
“Huh, so he did have a fucking brain,” Gwendolyn snarled, glaring at the corpse. “Get someone to clean this up. Then find Nina.”
“What if she went back?” Fernando asked.
Gwendolyn glared at him. She couldn’t think about Nina going back to her family. She spent years training her, raising her, caring for her. Gwendolyn was Nina’s family, not the brother who let her walk away.
“She wouldn’t. But check just in case.”
Fernando nodded, then left the room.
Gwendolyn looked down at the mess of a man who let her favorite pet get away. Nina didn’t run. She knew better.
But she was making noise lately.
Could she have run? Gotten away?
Panic clawed at Gwendolyn’s throat. Nina knew too much. She knew everything. If she left, or if she was taken by one of their enemies, everything Gwendolyn worked for would be gone.
She couldn’t let that happen. No one had ever stood in her way before. She would not let anyone now.