40. Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty Nine

Skyla

T he next morning, I wake up to the smell of bacon and something sweet. My eyes flutter open, landing on a sleeping Asher. I'm still tucked on his left while Liam is tucked on his right. Sitting up, he rouses a little before falling back asleep. Liam snuggles into him and I watch as Asher's hold on him tightens subconsciously. Seeing them like this has my heart tugging in my chest. They'd hate to hear me describe them this way, but god, they are so cute together.

Quietly slipping out of bed, I look to see Vincent asleep on the couch, his hoodie pulled over his face and boots propped up on the arm of the couch. It's as if he never truly relaxes, even when he's sleeping. Like he's one door opening or glass shattering away from jumping to attention and flipping that switch into kill mode.

Looking into the kitchen, I see Ronan at the stove, flipping what I now can tell is a piece of french toast as he pulls the bacon out of another pan. His eyes swing to me, a tired smile on his face.

"Good morning," he says.

"Morning," I smile, as I pad my way over to him.

He abandons the food in front of him, spinning to face me, as his arms wrap around my lower back. I can't help but sink into his touch, comfort washing over me as he holds me. His head leans down, pressing his lips to mine. My hand reaches up to cup his face, deepening the kiss as I do.

When we pull apart, I don't move away, instead softly whispering just over his lips.

"I missed you last night."

"Yeah? I missed you, baby."

"Why didn't you come over?" I ask.

His eyes move from me to the bed, before back to me.

"I did. Last night. You guys were…busy."

My cheeks flame, images from last night flickering in my mind. I wonder what Ronan walked in on. I wonder what he thought or what he's thinking now. Before I can ask though, he continues.

"Not going to lie, I thought Asher would have been the last person to fall for Liam's charm."

I raise a brow at him in question.

"You thought Vincent before Asher?"

He shrugs. "I could see Vincent enjoying causing Liam pain, and I think Liam would enjoy it too."

"Not a chance in fucking hell," Vincent calls out easily, clearly not asleep.

"You say that now, until you see how tight my asshole is," Liam says sleepily.

"Jesus, what a way to wake up," Asher grouches.

The sheets rustle before Asher stands on his feet, making his way into the kitchen. He doesn't meet anyone's eyes as he high-tails it for the coffee. I let him do his thing, doing my best not to stare but I'm worried about him. Worried about Liam. Maybe a little worried about myself.

Slowly, Liam gets to his feet with his crutches, smoothly making his way through the kitchen before he stops in between Asher and me. He places a quick kiss against Asher's bare shoulder, that instantly has him tensing before Liam gives me a matching one on my cheek.

My eyes watch Asher carefully, as his rigid shoulders slowly relax and he turns around to face us. His face is impassive and stoic, though I see a little bit of concern in his eyes. When I give him a warm smile, I watch as that concern begins fading and he returns it with a small one of his own.

"Did you make breakfast?" Liam asks Ronan. "Thank you, daddy."

Ronan scoffs, his face pinched up in irritation that makes me laugh.

"What's wrong? You love it when I call you daddy," I tease.

He looks down at me with a flat look as Liam cuts in, two pieces of bacon already shoved into his mouth.

"Yeah, and you're the oldest one in the group, AKA, daddy."

Ronan's hand smacks against my bare ass, the baggy t-shirt I have on barely covering me as he shakes his head.

"You're encouraging him and it's too fucking early for this."

I can't help but giggle as Vincent pushes to his feet, moving over to us like a zombie. He doesn't wait his turn or even ask anyone to move. Instead, he pushes through Liam and Asher before snatching me out of Ronan's grasp. His arms wind around me as his face buries into my neck, inhaling deeply before blowing it out and tightening his hold on me.

"Good morning," I smile, as my hand reaches up and begins scratching his head.

He makes the softest moan of approval as his lips murmur against my neck.

"Morning, Siren."

"When did you get in last night?" I ask.

"Five or six," he answers.

I frown at that, looking at the clock on the stove.

"It's seven."

He shrugs, still nuzzled into me, as my eyes come to Ronan before the others.

"Any news on Andrew? Did you guys find him?"

Vincent tenses in my arms before pushing up to his full height.

"No," they all answer, creepily in unison.

My face falls but I do my best to mask my emotions. Swallowing roughly, I nod. I'm doing my best to stay calm; for all I know, this could be a weird coincidence. Just because he's vanished doesn't mean the flower was from him, that all the notes and gifts were from him. He could be sick, really sick. Or on vacation with no cell service. I just…I can't seem to associate the sweet shy guy, with the same person that has been actively stalking me and threatening my guys.

Ronan's hand reaches out, cupping my waist gently.

"Wesley has some contacts looking into the entire family. We will track them down and get some answers, okay?"

I nod, my eyes sweeping around to see everyone watching me with pinched looks of concern.

Like a hurricane, Wesley blows through the front door from out of nowhere. I jolt in fear for a moment before my brain can process that we are safe and it's just him.

His eyes are wide, hair mussed as his eyes scan the room before landing on me. I could of sworn relief passes across his face before he makes his way to us.

"It's not Andrew."

"How do you know?" Ronan challenges him.

"Because I just spoke with him and his dad. They are at a safe house, off the coast of Italy currently."

"Why?" Asher asks.

Wesley's eyes come to his before going back to Ronan's.

"Because someone came up to Andrew in the parking lot yesterday morning. They put a gun to his head and told him he had to leave the country, immediately or he was going to be shot on site. He panicked, called his dad and the whole family ran."

Ronan frowns while Vincent speaks.

"Bullshit, he's just lying to cover his ass."

"Is he?" Wesley asks. "Or did someone think he would make the perfect fall guy? If they could conveniently get him out of here just as the stalker makes a bold move, all the attention goes to someone else?"

Liam and Asher shake their heads like they don't believe it when Wesley lifts his hand, dropping a black envelope onto the kitchen island.

"I was skeptical, too, until I got here and found this resting on the front doorstep."

Vincent is the closest and he makes quick work of grabbing it, his eyes scanning over it before he blinks and shakes his head. Liam and I are the next to read it, pulling it out of his hands as I read it out loud.

My Dearest Giselle,

You've hurt me again and again. It's always going to be them, isn't it?

I thought what we had was special, was real. They've clearly poisoned you, like a sickness seeping into your veins.

You need to be purged of their evil and cleansed by my hands. I'll fix it all and we can be together again.

Hold on, my love. I'm coming.

"What the fuck?" Liam guffaws when I finish.

My hands are shaking, stomach twisted into knots. This letter is so different than the others. It's not the same style, the same words. He's calling me Giselle. Why would he do that?

"Giselle, like your mom?" Asher asks.

I shake my head as I try to make sense of this.

"Does that mean the stalker thinks I'm my mom? Or that he knew her?"

"Maybe," Wesley answers. "Does anyone come to mind?"

How am I supposed to know? She died when I was three. If not for pictures, I wouldn't even know what she looked like.

My eyes come to Asher's, helplessly shaking my head. We continue to stare at each other for several seconds before we both seem to share the same thought at once.

"The man from the party," I gasp.

"Clark Lewis," Asher says, his jaw clenching tightly.

"Lewis? Dane's dad?" Liam asks.

"Yeah," Ronan answers. "What about him?"

"At the engagement party, Asher and I were leaving and this man stopped me. He called me Giselle and told me how I looked just like my mother. It was clear he knew her and….it couldn't be him, right?" I ask, turning to face Asher.

He stares at me before shaking his head and stepping up to me. He presses a lingering kiss to my forehead before pulling away.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

Vincent's fingers are flying across his phone before he nods.

"Got the Lewis address."

"I'm driving," Ronan says, as he presses a kiss to the top of my head and grabs his keys.

Vincent leans in, placing a quick peck against my lips before he follows after Ronan and Asher.

"We'll stay here," Wesley says as he looks from Liam to me.

"Wait, where are you guys going?" I ask, though I'm met with the sound of the front door opening and shutting.

"To get him, babygirl," Liam says as he winds his arm around my waist.

"And do what?" I ask.

He gives me a heavy look as Wesley speaks.

"To get answers."

"But what if he hurts them? He's clearly dangerous! We have to help them. We have to—"

"Babygirl, breathe. They are more than capable of taking care of him."

"Are you sure you understand who you're dating, little one?" Wesley asks. "Vincent is one of the most cold-hearted Eliminators that the Brethren has ever seen. A task no one thought he'd be able to achieve, seeing as his parents were full-blown psychopaths."

"And Ronan," Liam adds on. "He's all responsible and in control now, but he wasn't always like that."

"He wasn't?" I ask.

"Fuck, no," Wesley laughs solemnly. "Ronan has had a tough life. You see how fucked Christopher is, can you imagine what Luther was like? Ronan had a lot of anger growing up, a lot of skills. He might be just as dangerous as Vincent, at least when it comes to protecting you."

"And you should have seen Asher when we were sent on a job a while ago," Liam says hollowly, a shiver running through him as he does. "I've never seen him so…empty. Like he tucked the real Asher away and became this dehumanized killer."

Liam shuts his eyes and shakes his head as Wesley reaches out for my hand, gripping it in his own as he squeezes.

"Trust me, they will be just fine. It's Lewis you should worry about."

I do my best to ignore the way my stomach flips when he squeezes my hand and how my heart begins to race, when he shows no sign of letting go.

"Why is that?" I ask softly.

Wesley gives me a sad smile and shakes his head.

"Because if he is behind everything and they can prove it, they will shred him to pieces before he can breathe out a single excuse."

Fear pangs through me, not exactly sure why. They just made excellent points as to why the guys will be fine. Maybe I'm anxious about everything finally coming to an end, getting answers. Or maybe I'm terrified to get those answers. Regardless, I don't think I'll like the outcome of this scenario.

I feel Liam's eyes on me and when I look away from Wesley, I see Liam staring at our joined hands before his eyes come to Wesley. Dropping his hand quickly, I don't miss the flash of sadness on Wesley's face before he stands at attention, shrugging away any emotions that could potentially be read on his face.

"I'm gonna do a perimeter sweep. You two stay in here."

I nod, watching as he goes, his long legs closing the distance to the back door before he slips outside. His toned back strains against his black henley, his dark jeans hugging his ass in a way that leaves nothing to the imagination. Which is kind of incredible because, my god, I don't think I could have imagined an ass like that on a man, let alone this man. I don't realize that my eyes are still tracking him until Liam lets out a low chuckle.

"You got a little bit of drool, babygirl," he teases as he wipes at my chin.

I look over to Liam, rolling my eyes as he continues laughing.

"It's okay, I don't blame you. Maybe we can talk him into a threesome while we wait for the others?"

I scoff, though now that the mental image has entered my head I know it's there to stay.

Fuck.