Chapter 39
The Logistics
Harper
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” Eli asks for the fifth time as he pulls into my driveway.
I smile softly and shake my head. “It’ll be easier to explain if Mom sees my legs. Your guilty face will give it all away.”
The guys were gentle with me, acting like I’d shatter like glass if they weren’t.
We discussed what we heard while I sat between Luke and Eli.
Each of them held my hand. As terrifying as tonight was, I knew Eli would do anything to keep me safe.
But I would have done anything to keep him from getting hurt too.
“You and Luke are okay?” I turn in my seat to search his eyes.
Luke came after Eli hard. When Luke held me, I felt his fear. I wish I could hold him tonight. It’s getting harder to be without all of them.
“Yes, kitten. He was just frustrated and scared.” Eli tucks my hair behind my ear. His fingers linger on my jawline, sending sparks through me. “None of us wants you to get hurt.”
I swallow. Zach and Tanner’s words will haunt me tonight. To them, I’m something to be conquered and used. Not a person. Just a vessel.
Sleep will be impossible until I’m in someone’s arms. Until I’m in Eli’s arms.
“We won’t let him hurt you. No matter what it takes.” Eli leans in and presses a kiss to my lips. “I’ll be back later.”
I take his hand and squeeze it. He searches my eyes.
“I don’t think I’m ready to push limits tonight,” I admit even though earlier I wanted that. Now, I just long to be held and kept safe.
“We’ll sleep, kitten.” He touches his forehead to mine and smirks. “After I get you off.”
I smile as warmth buzzes in my stomach. “I’ll see you later.”
We kiss once more before I push out of his car. His gaze follows me as I get to the door and unlock it. I wave to him before stepping inside. He doesn’t immediately pull away though.
“Good date?” Mom stands on the other side of the island.
“Yeah, but I lost the battle with a thorn bush.”
I hold out my leg. There are angry red scratches and a few Band-Aids covering the worst of it.
“Before or after the movie?” Mom’s eyebrow arches.
“After.” I sit on the stool and put my elbows on the island. “What are you still doing up?”
“Got an interesting email.” She takes a sip of whatever hot stuff she has in her mug. Smells like tea, maybe.
“I’m intrigued.” I cover my yawn with my hand.
“Your teacher wants me to come in to discuss something.”
My brow furrows. “Which teacher?”
“Mr. Wick.” She looks at me like she expects me to know what he’s going to say. English Literature with Luke first period.
“Well, it’s not because I’m failing his class.” I shrug. “I honestly don’t know what he wants to talk about.”
He’s seen Luke manhandle me, but other than that, I’ve been paying attention and getting good grades. Most teachers don’t want to rock the boat where the horsemen are concerned.
“I don’t know either. But he went to high school with me, if it’s the same David Wick.” Mom puts her cup down and stretches.
My mouth opens in surprise, but I close it. “Did you go to school with everyone in this town?”
Smiling, Mom shakes her head. “Not everyone. People don’t generally leave this area. Family ties are strong. We may not have ties here anymore, but most people do.”
My grandparents died a long time ago. My father’s parents weren’t around so I don’t know what happened to them. I might have asked when I was younger. But somehow I thought they were off limits so I didn’t bring them up again.
“I don’t have to work tomorrow, so I told Mr. Wick we’d come in before school.” Mom’s gaze locks on mine. “You want to tell whoever is picking you up tomorrow that I’ll drop you off?”
I nod. “I can do that.”
“Still determined to date all five of them?” She arches her eyebrow.
I smile, thinking about the guys. “Yeah.”
She shakes her head. “As long as it works for you guys, I guess I can’t say much.”
Her eyes drop to my legs. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about, but there’s also some things she’s the only adult that knows and is mostly okay with.
“When can we look at my dad’s laptop?”
“I work this weekend.” Mom sighs. “I have a few days off next weekend.”
“There’s the Homecoming dance next weekend.” My face gets warm. “It’s Saturday. It’ll be my first dance.”
Mom’s smile softens. “Then you should definitely go. It can wait until Sunday. We don’t even know if Jack can fix it yet.”
“Or if there’s anything worthwhile on it.” I shrug.
“Pictures when you were little. Sean kept everything on that computer.” She turns to the sink and pours out the rest of her drink. I didn’t miss the catch in her throat.
She implied before that he might not have left of his own free will. I don’t want to think that the father I thought abandoned us might have died instead. How would I even grieve that?
Mom turns and her eyes widen at whatever look is on my face. “I know I don’t talk about your father much.”
“Why would you? He left us.” It’s part of our story, even if that story is unraveling.
She leans back against the counter. “I came to terms with your father’s absence a long time ago.
I don’t know if he left us to protect us or he left to protect himself.
I may never know the answer to that. And I’m okay with it.
But I did love him. And he loved both of us.
I know that deep in my heart. And if he is still out there, he must have a damned good reason to stay away. ”
Tears choke the back of my throat at the pain in her voice. I may not feel a connection to him, but Mom does. She hasn’t dated. She hasn’t so much as mentioned another man in all this time.
I try to imagine what it would be like to lose any of my guys.
To go without Jack’s smiles and teasing.
Eli’s smirks and commanding presence. Nico’s gentleness and friendship.
Caden’s protectiveness and honesty. And Luke, fuck, the way he holds me like he never wants to let me go.
Those soft moments with all of them that grab at my heart.
“Do you miss him?” My words break. If she had with my father what I have with the guys, I don’t think I’d ever recover if they left me. Even if it was because they were done with me.
“He broke my heart when he left.” Tears glisten in her eyes, but then she smiles. “But I still had you and you helped heal me.”
I walk around the island and step into my mom’s arms, hugging her. Tonight was exhilarating and terrifying in the same breath. There’s nowhere safer than my mother’s arms and I need this hug. And I know she needs it too.
I sit at my desk, working on my laptop.
We have the webcams on, but none of us speak.
We still can’t trust that someone isn’t grabbing the feed.
But I love that I can see them as we do our homework or work on the files Jack was able to access that weren’t locked.
It’s an odd moment because we can’t talk about the things that stress us, but each of us is working on a piece of the puzzle.
Jack sent me the email William Foster sent my mother. He thinks it’s a code of some sort, but it seems fairly straightforward. It’s from over a decade ago. If Mom responded, the response is long gone. But apparently, Mr. Foster didn’t think about deleting his sent folder.
Ms. Davidson,
We need to discuss what you did last night. Please meet me Tuesday at three. Before your shift. We need to clarify some things. Your daughter is about the same age as my son. Bring her with and the children can play while we talk.
—William Foster
I glance up at Luke’s screen. I don’t remember playing with Luke ever. But we would have been four or five when this was sent. It’s cryptic. What she did last night? Was it something at work? Maybe she talked to Luke when he came in after Mr. Foster abused him?
I pick up my phone. Jack made us all download an app that deletes messages after they’re read.
Me:
Did you read this letter from your dad to my mom?
Luke glances at his phone screen then up at me.
Death (Luke):
Yes
Me:
Do you remember playing as kids?
Death (Luke):
No
Me:
Could this have been about something your dad did to you?
I rub my hand on my leg. My pajama set isn’t as skimpy as some, but it’s still warm at night, especially when I sleep with one of them.
Luke looks on his computer, maybe pulling up the same file I have open. His brows furrow as he reads it over. He blows out a breath.
Death (Luke):
Possibly. Honestly, the only people that know what this is about is my dad and your mom
I’m not going to ask my dad
His eyes meet mine. Fuck. What would Mom think if I showed her this email? I’d have to explain how Jack got it. It’s not something that should send her into a panic, but what if this is something more?
I don’t want to think about my mom and Mr. Foster, but it could have been an affair. She seemed cagey when I brought up Mr. Foster before. It’s obvious he’s at least had one woman since his wife died.
But I can’t see my mom having an affair with him. Not with the way she’s talked about my father. Fuck, I can’t ask her about this if she’s going to tell me she had an affair with Luke’s father. That’s not something I want to know.
Death (Luke):
Wait and see what else we find
I glance up at him and he smiles.
Death (Luke):
It could have been anything, princess
He’s right. It could have been anything. I blow out a breath.
“Fuck!” Jack startles everyone. “I’ve got the fucker. That’s right, asshole. I’m coming for you.”
“What the hell, Jack?” Caden looks at Jack like he’s lost his mind.
Jack’s fingers move over his keyboard so fast the keys clack over my speaker. “I’ve got them. They tried to tailgate into my system.”
“Oh-kay.” I’m still worried about Jack. He’s not sleeping enough.
“Fifteen more minutes,” Luke says and taps his screen. “That’s all, including you, Jack. We need sleep if we’re going to have a good practice tomorrow and keep our girl safe.”
The other guys nod, but Jack is focused on his second screen. I can’t even offer him incentive to look at me. Until we can be one hundred percent certain no one is watching, no nudity. And we won’t leave them on overnight either.
It’s too much of a risk for someone who might be watching us. They don’t need to know who I’m sleeping with.
“It’s okay. I’ll have this fucker in a few more minutes.” Jack doesn’t glance our way.
I open my mouth to ask what the plan with the hacker is, but instead, pick up my phone and type it into the group chat.
Apocalypse (Nico):
Use them to help Jack
Me:
They helped Sidney
Pestilence (Eli):
Meaning they can be bought
Me:
What if they don’t want money?
War (Caden):
Everyone has a price, little nympho
Maybe they do. But not everyone wants money. What will this cost us?
Mom knocks on my door.
“Good night, guys.” I shut my computer and turn to the door as it opens.
“Everything good?” Mom leans against the doorjamb and looks at my closed computer.
Part of me wants to break down and tell her everything that happened tonight. But she’s already threatened we’ll have to run if things get too much. Guys trying to rape me seems like something to run away from.
“Just doing homework.” I spin my chair to face her. “You said Dad worked for William Foster, but did you have any interactions with him?”
Her eyes widen slightly before she shakes her head. “Not any more so than anyone else in this town.”
Asking her if she ever let me and Luke have a playdate seems like a really weird thing to ask out of the blue. I don’t want to accuse her of anything nefarious, but I also don’t want to give away that we broke into William Foster’s computer.
Somehow that seems like a run-away type of problem, too.
“How is Penny adjusting to her new home?” Mom leans her head against the trim.
I shrug. “I should really text her to see how that’s working for her.”
“Maybe you should.” Mom yawns and covers her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sleep well. Remember, we need to be up early to get in to see your teacher.”
I forgot to mention that to the guys. Fuck. “Yup, I’ll be up bright and early.”
Mom glances around my room and gives me a doubtful look. “Night.”
I give her a small finger wave. “Night.”
She shuts the door and I type to the guys about the meeting with Mr. Wick. I slide off my chair and get ready for bed in the bathroom. The alarm is set and Mom made sure everything is locked, but my nerves get the best of me.
I don’t want to lock my door because Eli is coming, but I also know how futile it is to lock it, since you just need a thumbnail on the other side to unlock it.
My phone buzzes as I sit on my bed and stare at the door. My lamp is still on.
Pestilence (Eli):
You okay, kitten?
Me:
Mostly
Pestilence (Eli):
Be there soon
I sigh and pick up a book I’ve been meaning to read. The house is quiet. Almost too quiet. Instead of reading, I find myself listening for any out of place noise.
Sleeping isn’t an option. That night Zach broke in, Luke picked me up and carried me to the guest bedroom without me even waking up. Obviously, I’m not a light sleeper. Anyone could break in and have me bound before I even twitch in my sleep.
I reach beside my bed and pick up my pinata stick. It’s time to invest in a baseball bat or at least something that can do a little more damage with a longer reach. The guys have access to the video feed for the security system.
They’ll know if someone tampers with them again.
Fuck.
I’m tempted to open the computer and see if they’re still on webcam. If I knew I was sleeping alone tonight, I might go in and ask Mom if I could sleep with her. It’s been years since I’ve done that and that would definitely trip her mom senses.
I stare at the pages of my book, not really reading anything. Shutting it, I set it on my nightstand. I sit on the edge of my bed and stare at my door. If I go downstairs, that could wake Mom. If Eli is on his way, then her being up would make it impossible for him to come in.
I’m being ridiculous. Zach or Tanner aren’t going to try to get to me tonight. They have a plan. Besides, the rape plan was to get to me before the horsemen did. That didn’t work.
I lay down and pull the covers over me. The ceiling is my new focal point. I definitely don’t want to think about that email. It could really be about a million things. It’s not really that special except it’s from Luke’s dad to my mom.
My eyes blink open and I stare at the ceiling. Something shifts in my room and I open my mouth to scream. My breath catches. A hand closes over my mouth and Eli hovers over me.
“Screaming would be a bad idea, kitten.”