I hear the words, but I can’t move. The thoughts raging through my mind feel like they’re taking over. What if these guys work for Russo? They seemed to know so much about the device, maybe they were the ones that planted it in the first place.
“Dove,” Everett says quietly as his hands cup my cheeks.
“I can’t.” I shake my head, petrified to move a muscle despite them saying it’s safe.
“Yes you can, little dove.” The man moves from under my seat and Everett is there in a second, his thumbs moving carefully across my cheeks wiping the tears away as they fall. “Do you trust me?”
I nod quickly, because despite everything, despite all the pain he caused when he broke my heart, I trust him more than anyone else in the world.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to lift you out of that seat real slow and then as soon as you’re clear, we’re going to get out of here and go home. How does that sound?”
No one would ever expect Everett to be so gentle. Most would expect him to be rough and rowdy considering the size of him, and the muscles that protrude even through his suit. But the way he looks at me, takes care of me, it’s like I’m the most precious piece of china in the whole world, and he’s holding me in his hands, promising not to let me break.
“Okay.” The word leaves my mouth before I have time to think it through, but for some reason when he looks at me like this, I lose all ability to deny him anything. He could take me anywhere, do anything, and I would let him.
Everett smiles softly as he leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. His lips hover against my skin for a few moments as he breathes me in, reminding himself I’m still here and that I’m going to be okay. And then a moment later he’s carefully sliding one arm under my knees, and the other behind my back.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
I press my head into his shoulder and before I have a chance to rethink my answer he’s swung me out of my seat and turned his body so his is between me and the car. My mouth drops open and I hold on to him so tight my arms ache, because he just put himself between me and a bomb that could blow at any minute. A second later he’s running across the carpark so quickly I wonder how it’s possible considering his size and my extra body weight.
“Has this car been checked?” Everett barks at someone.
“Yes, I checked it myself,” Storm says as he steps toward us. I don’t open my eyes but I can feel him standing close as the silence drags out for what feels like forever. “Are you okay, Wynter?”
“Of course she’s not okay,” Everett snaps. “She was just sitting on a bomb, unable to move for two fucking hours. You find me someone that would be okay after that.”
“I’m okay,” I whisper, but I keep my eyes pressed closed and my hold on him tight. I’m alive and that’s all that matters. Their attempts to take us out have failed today, but if we’re already at bombs, I’ll hate to see what it will be when they inevitably escalate.
“Let’s get you home, little dove.” Everett holds me so tight the pressure borders pain, but I need it. I need the pain to remind me I’m alive, and that’s exactly what I’m going to need when we get home.
Everett holds me the whole drive back to the estate. He has the seatbelt wrapped around both of us, and his hold never eases as he whispers words to me that I can’t process. I’ve never felt so overwhelmed with emotion like I am right now. Fear, and relief, and a heart bursting with love. It’s all hitting me in one big tidal wave of feelings, and I don’t know how to wade my way back to the shore.
Storm speaks into his phone quietly, trying to put the pieces of how this could have happened together. It shouldn’t have been possible, and that’s the point. The cameras in the garage were disabled before we arrived in case the Russos were tracking us that way, but that also means we have no evidence of who could have planted the bomb, or how they got past the security. The only thing that makes any sense is that it was someone who works for us, and that’s a big problem.
The moment the car stops in front of the house, the door flings open and Snow and Emerson come bounding down the steps, both throwing themselves onto Everett and I before we can even get out of the car.
Tears stream down their faces while Rayne follows behind them, his eyes looking just as broken as the rest of ours. Today was a near miss, too close for comfort, and we’re all feeling it.
“Thank god you’re okay,” Snow sobs into my chest. Everett was only able to turn us in the seat before the cavalry arrived, but there’s nothing in his hold on me that indicates he’s frustrated with the situation.
“I’m okay,” I whisper as I reach for Emerson’s hand and squeeze it. It feels like she’s been a part of this family just as long as the rest of us, and I can only imagine the hell these two women have been giving Rayne since we made them leave he parking garage.
“I was so scared.” Snow pulls her head back to look me over. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “No, not hurt.” Not physically at least. I think the fear I’ve felt today will live with me for a while, but I’m not in any pain if that’s what she means.
“Let’s get you inside, little dove,” Everett whispers into the crook of my neck.
I nod. I’ve been shivering since the moment he pulled me from the car, my entire body trembling uncontrollably, but I’m not cold. Not really. It’s the adrenaline violently forcing its way from my body.
Everett carefully lifts us both from the SUV and caries me up the front steps and into the house. The moment the front door closes behind Storm the sound of the automatic lock system sounds throughout the house. I’m glad Mom and Dad decided to have that installed, otherwise we’d all be back at Rayne’s penthouse, and as lovely as that place is, it’s not big enough for the six of us not to kill each other.
I burrow into Everett’s chest, breathing him in with each step he takes. The scent of sandalwood and vanilla fills my nose and I can’t help but do it again and again. He uses the same aftershave he did when he was younger, and it calms me almost as much as his arms around me.
“Take her up to her room,” Storm says from somewhere behind us. “Then I need you and Rayne in my office.”
“No,” Everett replies simply. “I’m not leaving her like this, so you and Rayne can deal with this shit, and I’ll take care of Wynter.”
“The girls can look out for her,” Storm argues and I hold on tight as Everett stops abruptly and turns around, his entire body tense as he stares at my brother.
“I know you don’t get it, but Rayne does. I cannot leave her when I almost lost her today. We’ll be fucking lucky if I can let her out of my sight in the next goddamn year let alone the next day,” he growls.
“He’s right, Storm. If it was Emerson in that car there’s no way I’d be leaving her even for a minute.”
“Don’t you fucking get it?” Storm shouts and I immediately cower into the hard chest I’m leaning on. “We’re all sitting here while they’re plotting how to take us down. We need to get ahead of them. Wynter was right earlier. He could have taken the whole goddamn family out and we wouldn’t have seen it coming. There’s a rat somewhere in our organization, and if we don’t work out who it is, we may not be here in a year for you to allow my sister out of your fucking sight.”
Everett’s body is vibrating with anger, but his hold on me remains firm and strong. “No Storm, you’re the one that doesn’t fucking get it. Just you fucking wait until you meet the woman that destroys you, and you wait for the moment they’re in danger. Then we can discuss this.” He turns away from my brother and starts toward the stairs without another word.
It’s not until he carefully places me down on the bed that I really see just how angry he is. His face is red, and his jaw is so tight I’m worried he’s going to snap something.
“Maybe you should go strategize,” I whisper. “I’ll be alright.”
His head snaps around to face me and the fire in his eyes almost burns me on the spot. “Not you too! I couldn’t give a shit about getting back at them right now. All I care about is making sure you’re okay.”
“I am okay, Everett. I promise. Not a scratch on me. But today could have ended very differently. We need a plan,” I try to reason with him, but I should know there’s no reasoning with the men in this family.
