Chapter Thirty-Five
Isla
W hen we arrived in Adrian’s garage, he insisted on carrying me again, ignoring my protests that I could walk.
I had to endure the drive home panty-less because someone had a habit of shredding all of my underwear.
He strode through with me in his arms, both of us disheveled, and me missing a cardigan.
He pressed a gentle kiss to my temple. "I'm ordering food. What do you want?"
"Anything," I answered, suddenly realizing I was famished from the disaster of the day. "I'm starving."
His smile was soft, a far cry from the feral predator I'd witnessed in the park. "Good girl."
His mansion welcomed us with familiar warmth—the piranhas circling in their tank, the massive windows letting in the late evening sunlight.
Adrian carried me straight to the bathroom, where he set me on the marble counter and began filling the enormous walk-in shower with steam.
"Jax is bringing Crew over in an hour," he said quietly, helping me out of my rumpled sundress with careful hands.
"I know you need to see him, make sure he's okay. He can stay the night if you want."
I blinked in surprise. "Here? With us?"
Adrian nodded, his fingers deftly untying the ribbon at my throat before setting it carefully aside.
"Family takes care of family. And I have..." he paused, his eyes darkening briefly, "something I need to handle later."
I knew what that "something" was.
Connor “handling” Noah likely wasn't the end of it. But I couldn't bring myself to ask for details, frankly, because I didn’t really care.
Crew was safe, I was safe, and no one was better at… whatever they were going to do, than Adrian.
“Okay,” I replied instead, letting him guide me into the shower.
The hot water felt heavenly on my aching muscles, washing away the grime and stress of earlier.
Adrian joined me, his massive frame taking up most of the space even in the oversized shower.
He took his time washing me, his hands gentle as they soaped every inch of my body.
There was nothing—well, mostly nothing—sexual in his touch, just care, protection, and a need to erase every trace of what had happened.
That’s if I ignored his massively hard cock the entire time.
"I almost lost you today," he murmured, his voice just audible over the rush of water. "When I saw him touching you..."
His hands traced over my shoulders, his green eyes intense. "I've never felt fear like that before."
He was erasing every trace of Noah's hands on me, replacing them with his own loving touch .
I leaned into him, resting my cheek against his chest. "I'm okay. We're both okay."
Adrian wrapped his arms around me, holding me under the spray. We stayed like that for a long time, letting the water wash away the last of the day's horrors.
His hard, chiseled body was pressed against mine, and in this moment, it was softer than it’s ever been.
By the time we emerged, I felt like a warm pool of honey.
Adrian wrapped me in a fluffy towel, then disappeared into his closet, returning with one of his extra-long t-shirts and a pair of panties from the haul we did together.
As I dressed, he ordered an insane amount of food and set up the living room with pillows and blankets.
The care he was taking, the attention to every detail of my comfort, made everything all warm inside.
"They're here," Adrian announced suddenly, though I hadn't heard anything.
Then the garage door opened to reveal Jax, immaculate as always despite the day's chaos, with my little brother beside him.
Crew looked rumpled but whole, his dark hair sticking up in every direction, wearing clothes that were clearly borrowed from someone larger.
"Isla!"
Crew broke away from Jax and launched himself at me, his arms wrapping around my waist so tightly it almost hurt.
He was much taller than me, but right now he felt like the little boy who used to crawl into my bed during thunderstorms.
"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling back to examine my face with worried blue eyes so similar to my own. "Did that fu—psycho—hurt you?"
I couldn’t resist a smile.
Crew knew better than to curse around me; he was perpetually my baby, but now it just proved this was indeed my baby brother .
"I'm fine," I assured him, my hands automatically moving to check him over like I had since he was small.
I found a small bruise on his shoulder and another on his wrist, but otherwise he appeared unharmed.
My big sister instincts kicked in anyway. "What about you? Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"Just bruises," he said dismissively, but he rolled his left shoulder gingerly. "Nothing I can't handle."
Jax approached, placing a gentle hand on Crew's shoulder.
"Kid's tougher than he looks," he said with genuine admiration. "Gave those assholes hell even when they had him outnumbered."
"Language," I scolded automatically, then caught myself.
After everything that had happened, worrying about Jax swearing, of all people, seemed ridiculous.
Crew grinned at my reflexive response. "Seriously, Isla? After the day we've had, you're worried about bad words? I’m literally graduating this year.”
I ruffled his hair, which made him duck and swat at my hand. "Some things never change, dummy.”
Crew glanced at Jax, who nodded, and his expression darkened from the laughter we just shared.
“I should have seen it coming.”
He looked between Adrian and me, frustration clear in his voice.
"I got a text from some random number claiming to be Adrian. Said he needed help planning a surprise for you."
I frowned. "A surprise for me?"
"That's what I thought was weird," Crew continued, running a hand through his messy hair.
"The message was so... boring. Like, formal and stuff. None of Adrian's energy.”
Adrian's lips twitched in amusement.
"But I figured maybe you were being serious about planning something special," Crew went on, his voice growing angry .
"So I went to the park like the message said. I should have trusted my gut when something felt off about the whole thing."
"Don't blame yourself," I said firmly, reaching out to squeeze him closer. "Noah planned this. He used you to get to me."
Crew nodded, but I could see the guilt still eating at him.
"When I got there, those two guys grabbed me before I even knew what was happening. Noah was already there, ranting about fixing you or something.”
His hands clenched into fists. "I tried to warn you when he made me call, but he kept the phone away from me."
"You did everything right," Adrian said quietly, his voice carrying that dangerous edge that meant he was thinking about Noah again.
"You protected her the best way you could."
“I still felt helpless," Crew muttered, then looked up at Adrian with worship.
"Until you guys showed up. That was the most bada— cool —thing I've ever seen in real life."
I couldn't help but smile at my brother's resilience, the way he could bounce back and find something to be excited about.
It was so perfectly Crew—finding the silver lining even in getting held hostage.
Adrian watched our interaction with soft eyes, and I saw Jax exchange a meaningful look with him before heading toward the door.
"I'll leave you three to catch up," Jax smiled, keys jingling. "Take care of your sister, Crew.”
"Always do," Crew replied seriously, straightening up immediately.
After Jax left, we settled on the sectional, Crew immediately sprawling across one end like he owned the place.
I curled up next to him, and he automatically shifted to make room, letting me lean against his shoulder.
Ignoring the whole Noah incident, today was probably the best day of Crew’s life. He got to meet the three champion boxers he was probably obsessed with .
"So," he said, eyeing Adrian with barely contained excitement, "that was the most insane thing I've ever seen in my life."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Which part?"
"All of it!" Crew gestured wildly. "When you, Connor, and Jax showed up, it was like watching the Avengers or something. Those guys holding me went down so fast I barely saw what happened."
"Connor's efficient," Adrian agreed with dark amusement.
"And then you..." Crew's eyes went wide, his voice dropping to an awed whisper.
"Dude, you stabbed that guy with like, zero hesitation. It was terrifying and awesome, and I'm pretty sure I wet myself a little."
"Crew!" I protested, embarrassed by his graphic enthusiasm.
"What? It's the truth!" He turned to Adrian with the kind of hero worship that made me simultaneously proud and worried.
"I've been following your career since middle school. You guys are legends. But seeing you fight for real, protecting Isla..."
He shook his head in amazement. "That wasn't sport."
Adrian's expression grew serious. "Your sister means everything to me. What I did today was completely necessary."
"Good," Crew said with fierce satisfaction. "Noah deserved worse. I hope you get to finish what you started."
The bloodthirsty comment from my baby brother was slightly alarming, but I also found it oddly endearing.
Seeing him channel that same intensity Adrian carried was both amusing and touching.
“A little bloodthirsty, huh?” I teased, poking his ribs. "Save some righteous fury for the rest of us."
He squirmed away from my fingers, laughing. "I'm serious! That guy tried to hurt you. He used me to get to you. If I ever see him again?—"
"You won't," Adrian interrupted with a manic smile, his voice carrying dark promise. "I'll make sure of that."
Crew studied Adrian's face for a moment, then nodded with grim satisfaction. “Just... make it hurt, okay? For what he put Isla through. "
I couldn't help but laugh at the casual way my little brother was discussing torture. "God, you really do have Adrian's bloodthirsty streak, don't you?"
"Must be genetic," Crew said with a cheeky grin, then yelped when I grabbed him in a headlock and ruffled his hair aggressively.
“It doesn’t work that way,” I scoffed, wrestling with him on the couch. "You get that from too many video games."
"Get off!" he protested, trying to escape while laughing. "Adrian, help! Your girlfriend's gone feral!"
Instead of helping, Adrian just watched us with obvious amusement, his expression soft.
When Crew finally broke free and immediately retaliated by trying to push me off the couch, Adrian's quiet laughter filled the room.
“So this is being bonded by blood,” he observed fondly.
"She started it," Crew accused, pointing at me while trying to fix his demolished hair.
"I always start it," I agreed cheerfully, settling back against the cushions. "That's what big sisters are for."
When the food arrived, we spread out across the coffee table like the world's most dysfunctional family dinner.
Adrian apparently ordered an extra spicy dish and secretly served it to Crew, which had him reaching for water within seconds.
"How do you eat this without dying?" Crew gasped, his eyes watering.
"Practice," Adrian said with a grin. "Builds character."
"It builds heartburn," I corrected, but I was laughing too.
Adrian finally handed Crew his actual non-spicy dish.
As we ate, he regaled us with increasingly dramatic retellings of the day's events, complete with sound effects and gestures that made Adrian snort with laughter.
"And then Connor just," Crew made a swift cutting motion with his hand, "boom. Down they went. I swear to God, it was like something out of a movie."
"Connor doesn't mess around," Adrian agreed. "None of us do when it comes to family."
The word 'family' was warm and significant. Crew caught it too, his expression growing serious for a moment.
"Speaking of family," he said quietly, "we're not telling Mom and Dad about any of this, right?"
I shook my head immediately. "God, no. They'd freak out."
“And lock you in your room until you're thirty," Crew added with a grimace.
"They still think the biggest danger in my life is staying up too late playing video games."
I laughed, “They're good people, but they live in a different world. A safer world.”
I loved my parents, but this really wasn’t something we could just… share.
"A boring world," Crew muttered, then looked up at Adrian with curiosity. "Do Connor and Jax's families know?"
"Connor doesn't have family outside of us," Adrian answered. "And Jax's dad… He knows everything.”
He ended the line with a wink.
"Good thing we're good at keeping secrets," Crew grinned conspiratorially, giving me a meaningful look.
As the evening wore on, we settled in to watch a movie, some mindless comedy that let us decompress without having to think too hard.
Crew claimed the entire sectional, sprawling across it like a starfish, while I curled up against Adrian's side.
"Thank you," I whispered to Adrian during a particularly loud scene. "For everything. For saving him. For bringing him here. For... all of it."
His arm tightened around me, lips pressing against my hair. "Thank you for trusting me, angel.”
I looked over at Crew, who was completely absorbed in the movie, occasionally making appreciative comments about the fight choreography.
My little brother, safe and whole, and already planning to ask Adrian to teach him some boxing moves tomorrow.
"I love you," I murmured, the words still new but never more true.
"I love you too, angel," Adrian replied, meaning it just as much.