I have a brother. A half-brother, but still, he’s my brother.
He answers the phone, his gruff voice coming through the speakers of the car, surrounding me and taking me back to the night he threatened me.
I’d hate to have to hurt you, Kalista.
“Jamieson, tell me what you know about my mother now,” he demands.
Abe answers immediately. “Her name was Gina Robinson—”
“What do you mean was?” he asks, confusion taking the edge away from his voice.
I swallow hard. He doesn’t know. My heart hurts. This is a terrible way to find out. I’ve had twelve years to get used to the notion of her being gone, and I’m still not. Abe glance at me briefly before speaking while keeping his focus on the road ahead.
“I’m sorry, Michael. She passed away twelve years ago, when your sister was sixteen,” he says.
Abe’s trying to give Michael comfort by telling him about me at the same time.
A tear slides down my cheek at the silence that greets us. It stretches on too long, and I know what must be going through his mind right now. He lost a mother that he never had to begin with and gained a sister he’s never known. It’s too much to take in at once.
Eventually, Michael speaks up. “I have a sister? Who is she?”
“Me,” I whisper, my voice not loud enough for him to hear properly. Squeezing my eyes shut, I muster the courage to speak to my brother for the first time since gaining the knowledge of his existence. “Me, Kalista,” I say again, louder, stronger.
Muttered curses fill the car. Pain leaches from his tone—regret and sorrow, too. “I’m,” he goes to say, but chokes on the word. “Sorry,” he whispers. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
The car is filled with silence again.
Abe squeezes my fingers, “I’m proud of you.”
I’m proud of myself. My mother would be proud of me. I can feel it in my soul. She would want us to find each other, Michael and I. She would want us to be at peace with one another.
Relaxing back into my seat, I release a heavy sigh. My emotions are all over the place; I’m unable to settle on one. Closing my eyes, I let myself rest, suddenly exhausted.
“Wake up, baby.” Abe’s steady voice fills my head. “Come on, honey, we’re swapping cars.”
I’m in the in-between zone, between sleep and semi-awake. “I’m up,” I mumble, not making a move to get out of the car. I’m too tired. The stress of the last few weeks has compounded and I can’t bring myself out of this haze.
I feel Abe’s strong arm come across my body, a clicking sound, then his hands are sliding under my legs and behind my back as he lifts me into a cradle hold. I snuggle into his neck, and his scent wraps around me and I drift off again.
When I wake, we’re driving down a long driveway in a heavily wooded area. “Where are we?”
Abe smiles over at me. “Hey, sleepyhead. We’re at Axel and Ash’s place.”
I blink a few times, waking properly, taking in the moonlight shining through the tall trees. I didn’t come to their house when I came for their wedding. I stayed in a hotel, and the wedding itself was at one of their friend’s houses. A double-storey timber pole home comes into view, backed up to a huge rocky mountain face. It’s beautiful.
Dogs bark from somewhere outside, but it’s too dark to see them. “Are they Axel’s dogs?” I don’t like dogs much.
“Yeah, Axel’s got two, Murtaugh and Riggs. They’ll lick you to death before they even think about biting you. They have a good sense for people,” he says, whatever that means.
He brings the SUV we’re in to a stop next to a truck that must belong to Axel. Then Zak and Ellie pull in beside us. That’s when I notice two other vehicles parked adjacent to us. “Who else is here?”
Abe looks over his shoulder. “That’ll be Gabe and Kai; they’re helping us come up with a game plan,” he says, unfastening his seatbelt. Then he’s out of the car, walking around the hood to open my door. I haven’t even taken my belt off yet. This has all become too real in this moment.
“Sweets, what’s wrong?” Abe asks, reaching across my lap to remove the belt for me. He takes my hand, guiding me down and out of the SUV. As I stand in front of him, he takes my cheeks in his warm palms. “You’re safe here with all of us. I swear it on my life.”
Nodding, I press my forehead to his shoulder. “I know, it’s just a lot, you know?”
He strokes my hair tenderly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Yeah, babe, I know.”
Sliding his hand down into mine he leads me into the house, where we’re greeted by Axel and Ash, and the two men.
The taller of the two approaches, his hand extended to Abe. “How’s it goin’ man? Your girl’s got a bit of trouble after her, I hear,” he says in greeting. Abe simply nods in response. The man extends his hand to me. “Kalista, it’s nice to meet you. I missed you at the wedding but you met my wife, Ivy. I’m Gabe.”
His handshake is firm and strangely reassuring. I nod. “I remember her. You have beautiful twin girls,” I say, thinking of them fondly. They look just like their mother, but now that I’m meeting their father, I can see they get the mischievous twinkle in their eyes from him.
The smile that takes over his face at the mention of his daughters is nothing short of breath-taking. “Yeah, that’s them. My princesses.”
“You talkin’ about my goddaughters?” the other guy says, bringing himself into the conversation.
Assuming he must be Kai, I stretch out my hand to him. “Hello Kai, I’m Kalista. Sorry for the trouble I’m putting you guys through.”
He shakes his head. “No problem at all. We’re here to help however we can. No woman deserves to go through this. And now that this big lug’s so enamoured with you, nothing and nobody can hurt you.”
It seems these guys know about Abe’s military background. Which makes me feel a little better, seeing how much faith they have in his ability to protect me. Not that I don’t believe him when he says he can keep me safe—it’s just reassuring that they believe it too.
“Thanks,” I murmur, snuggling farther into Abe’s side, a yawn slipping past my lips. Glancing back at Ellie switching from one foot to the other I wave her over, “Ellie, this is Gabe and Kai. They’re helping Abe and the boys figure all this out.”
Ellie steps around from behind me, and all eyes, except for Abe’s fall to her small stature. “Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise anyone else was here, I’m Gabe.”
Her eyes narrow, “It’s fine, I’m used to it.”
Kai extends his hand to her and she takes it, “Kai,” he says.
Ellie nods, “I figured,” she mutters then crosses her arms over her chest. Zak steps up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she relaxes.
My eyes widen, but another yawn stretches my mouth wide.
Brushing his lips against my temple, Abe says, “Why don’t you go with Ash and find out what room we’re in? Get settled and I’ll be up soon.”
I nod sleepily. “Okay,” I agree, but turn back to Kai and Gabe. “Thank you both for being here. I really appreciate it, more than you could know.”
Abe squeezes my side, dropping a kiss to the top of my head, then I leave the men to discuss whatever it is a bunch of badarse dudes talk about when someone’s life is in danger.
Ashlynn hugs me her baby bump pressing into me. “It’s so good to see you, but I wish it wasn’t like this,” she says, then turns to Ellie, “And it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Ellie glances at her feet, “Yeah, you too.”
I frown at my friend as Ash leads us up the stairs. This is the quietest Ellie has ever been. I told her to go home, that she didn’t need to come with me, but that was met with her rolling her eyes before she left to pack.
“You alright?” I ask her as we ascend the staircase behind Ash.
Her expression is serious, something Ellie never is. “I’m just. I don’t know, this is all so real. You know? I feel like we’re in a movie, not your life. And I guess I don’t know how to process that.”
Reaching the top of the stairs, I turn to my best friend. “I hear ya, and I feel the same way. But Abe is doing everything to keep me safe. I trust that he can do that.”
Heaving a great sigh, she rolls her eyes, giving me a little bit of the Ellie I’m used to. “If you trust the douchecannoe to do this, then I guess I do too.”
“Here’s your room, Kal. Axel said you’d be sharing with Abe?” Ash says drawing my attention, a curious gleam in her green eyes.
“Umm,” I hedge. “Yeah, that works.”
Ash crosses her arms atop her pregnant belly. “That works? Really? That’s all you’re going to give me?” One perfect brow arches in amusement.
“Ugh, fine. Yes, Abe is kinda, sorta my boyfriend,” I say awkwardly. I’ve never had anyone come close to officially being my boyfriend, and it feels weird calling him that. He feels like so much more than that.
“I’m so happy for you,” she gushes, pulling me into her arms. Her smile is contagious. “He’s a good man,” she tells me, as if I don’t already know that. But when she releases me her eyes are glassy. “He saved me, you know? When Zane took me, Abe happened to be driving past and saw me slumped against the window of a strange car. He went with his gut, followed us, and called Axel on the way. If he hadn’t of seen me…” She shudders, her arms prickling.
I pull her back into my arms. “I didn’t know. Oh, honey. I’m so sorry you went through that. Especially after you’d already been through so much.”
She nods against my shoulder. Once again, she’s the one to end the hug, wiping under her nose as she sniffles. “These pregnancy hormones are playing havoc on my emotions. Sorry. Let’s get you settled in.”
Ten minutes later I’m alone in one of the guest rooms, freshly showered in a clean pair of jammies. I slide between the crisp cotton sheets and relish the feel as they cocoon my body in warmth. You can’t beat a fresh set of sheets; it’s one of the best feelings in the world.
Ellie knocks on my doorframe. Leaning against it, she too is showered and dressed for bed. “Comfy?”
I nod. “So comfy. Have you tried yours out yet?”
Chewing on her fingernail, she avoids my gaze. “Not yet. I’m, ah sharing a room with Zak. They only have two guest rooms, and since you and Abe are, you know, that leaves Zak and I to bunk together.”
Scrunching my face, I push up onto an elbow. “I thought you were into Zak? What’s the problem?”
Throwing her head back, she sighs. “Ugh, I am into him. But that’s the problem. I don’t want to rush into anything with him and have it end no sooner than it starts. That’s what all my relationships are like and I’m tired of it. For once, I’d like a guy that sticks around, and I really like him. Like…” Her eyes meet mine. “I really like him, Kallie.”
My grin is huge, until another yawn stretches my mouth wide open. Ellie follows suit a second later.
“Yawns are contagious. Didn’t you know?” I say, and she rolls her eyes. “Okay, so what are you worried about happening if you share a room? That you’ll sleep together and you won’t stick to the taking-it-slow plan?”
She nods, then her eyes go wide as if she just thought of another problem. “What if he sleeps naked? I’ll never survive that!” She pouts. Fake tears well in her eyes. I know they’re fake because this is classic Ellie in made-up-crisis-mode.
Snatching one of the decorative pillows that I dropped on the ground beside the bed, I toss it at her head. “So have a little self-control, or I don’t know, take turns sleeping in the bed? Is there a couch in your room like that one?” I ask, pointing to the large comfy-looking couch facing the mountain view out my bedroom window.
“Yes! Good plan. Thanks, Kallie. I knew you’d have a solution. You’re like the queen of keeping your pants on. Well, until it came to Abe.” She pulls a sour face and points a finger into her mouth, mock vomiting.
Shaking my head but glad she’s getting back to her normal sassy self, I tell her, “Get out. I’m tired. You should probably get some sleep too. I’m betting you’ll be awake all night trying to restrain yourself from groping Zak while he sleeps.” I waggle my brows.
She glares, and I blow her a kiss. “Night, El. Thanks for being here.”
Her glare fades. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
She blows a kiss in return, then walks back down the hallway to her own room.