“Yeah, Big Bro?” Freddie just grinned.
“You did good.”
“I know, I’m awesome.” He was still grinning when he hung up.
Sitting back against the tree, I stared up at the blue sky. Puffs of black smoke streaked across it. There were still sirens in the distance. The sun was shining, the air was warm but the breeze was cool. Freddie sank down to sit in the grass right next to me.
“We’re going home, Boo-Boo.”
Home.
CHAPTER 30
EMERSYN
An eternity passed between the phone call and when the sound of a motor approaching had Freddie waving me back behind the tree. Granted, we were near the road, but not on it. The heavily wooded area afforded us shelter from sight. Freddie didn’t duck back with me, though, he stood up.
Exhaustion swarmed me the longer we sat still. The trembling came back to my hands and despite the sunshine peeking through the trees, it seemed to get colder. The stapler still firmly in my grip, I stared at it for a moment before putting it down next to me. Knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around my legs.
A car door slammed, but only one. The motor continued to idle. It all seemed so loud. Freddie whistled, two short, sharp notes.
“She’s back here,” Freddie said, but even before the words were out of his mouth, Rome crouched in front of me. The blue of his eyes was so intense. That was the color I’d been seeing everywhere, the color I’d wanted to see. It wasn’t the sky or the sea, it was his eyes.
Movement pulled my gaze up and Liam stood a couple of feet behind his brother, wearing a near matching expression. Only the hum of the engine broke up the silence. So many words died unspoken as I locked eyes with Liam.
He’d been there—at the airport. He’d tried to stop me and I couldn’t let him. Now…
The lightest brush of fingers against my jaw. A whisper of contact. “Your blood?” Two words. The only sounds Rome had made since he got there.
“No,” Freddie said as I tried to get my erratic pulse and breathing under control.
“It’s the doctor’s,” I said slowly. My voice cracked, it sounded horrible.
“The doctor’s?” Liam did a sweep and when he turned, I caught sight of the gun holstered at the back of his jeans.
“He’s dead,” I said in case he was looking for them. A shiver stole over me and I rubbed at my arms. “I killed him.”
That got me Liam’s attention and he jerked his gaze from me to Freddie then back. “It’s handled,” Freddie said. “I’m starving and she’s exhausted. Can we go and tell you all about it in the car?”
Rome held out his hands. No judgment lived in his expression at all, but he waited for me to decide. Guilt hardened like a rock in the center of my chest, forcing the air out of my lungs. “I’m sorry,” I said as I grasped one of his hands but grabbed for the stapler with my other. I didn’t want to just leave it there.
“For what?” Rising to his feet, Rome tugged me to mine. When he scooped me up though, I nearly dropped the stapler.
“I left,” I said. “I—”
“Protected us.” Rome nodded. “We know. Now we’ll protect you.”
“What he said,” Liam told me as he plucked the stapler out of my hands. Freddie had the bags and we were heading down the hill to the car.
“You don’t know…”
“I also don’t care,” Liam retorted then he opened the back door to the car they were driving. “Just—get in the car.”
Rome shoulder checked him as we passed, but Liam just grunted. I half-expected Rome to put me down, but he climbed into the backseat still holding me. With a shake of his head, Liam closed the door and Freddie climbed into the passenger seat.
“I want the biggest fucking burger we can find, a chocolate milkshake, a beer, and chili fries,” Freddie announced as he slouched into the seat. “Real food. What do you want, Boo-Boo?“
Sleep was the first word that came to mind. Rome had buckled the two of us into place, but I was still in his lap. This close, there was no way to miss how he studied me. I still couldn’t believe they came for me.
The vehicle gave a little jolt as Liam put it in gear and I flattened a hand against Rome’s chest to keep from bouncing off of him. He was so warm. Rome flicked a look ahead then at me before he covered my hand with his.
Liam and Freddie were talking in low murmurs, but I barely registered it. When I tipped my forehead toward Rome and pressed against the side of his head, he slid a hand up to my hair.
“I smell,” I warned him.
“I don’t care,” he echoed his brother’s earlier statement. “You’re here.”
I was.
Right here.
Another shudder went through me, then another.
I was out of there.
No more white static.
No more floating place.
My uncle…
Rome tightened his arms, locking me against him as I shivered. It didn’t seem all that long before we were stopping again. Lifting my head, I tried to figure out where we were. The outside was so strange. Even when Rome opened the door and shoved it back before he slid out of the car, still carrying me.
“I can walk,” I offered.
“No.”
That was all he said and honestly, I didn’t want to let go of him, so I held on. Over his shoulder, I met Liam’s gaze and the shivers intensified. I swore he could see right through me and I didn’t want him to look. Freddie was a half-step behind them. Exhaustion seemed to hover in the air around him.
Rome paused only to let Liam open the door. Then all four of us were in a—hotel room. It wasn’t anything exclusive or upscale. Just a standard hotel room, like so many others I’d stayed in over the years.
“Starling is going to shower,” Rome said as he carried me all the way to the bathroom. “Order food.”
“Yes, sir,” Liam called, the corners of his mouth quirking into a half-smile. “I’ll get right on that.”
Rome set me on my feet carefully, then flashed his middle finger at Liam. The tile was cold against my feet and all at once they ached. When I glanced down, I stared at the mess of mud and grass sticking to them. There were cuts too. I had no recollection of hurting my feet.
While my skin didn’t hum and the white static had quieted, I didn’t feel all the way connected to me. Even the shivers seemed to be happening at a distance and I only noticed when my hands kept jumping or twitching. So weird.
“Yeah, I want three large pizzas,” Liam said into a phone and Freddie all but fell onto one of the beds and just lay there. I should say something to him. Anything. He’d risked so much to come for me, when he begged me not to go. Now, everything I’d tried to protect them from could happen anyway.
I didn’t even make it a half-step though before Rome caught my hand, then lifted it. His gaze wasn’t on me or the shirt, or even my feet. Instead, his gaze fixed on my arm. I tugged my hand away and turned, but Rome followed.
“Show me.” The quiet words washed over me. Rome’s gaze locked on mine in the mirror. He seemed so much bigger than me, but no trace of fear swam in my system. The sense of him wrapped around me rather than towered over. With his chest at my back, he was so close and he could see over my shoulders clearly. At the slide of his fingers down my forearm, I lifted my hands so he could see the scars now decorating me from my wrists halfway to my elbows. The jagged cut had healed to a line of thickened, angry pink.