Chapter Eight

Ever

“W e actually got distracted,” Luc states, and Elena interrupts him.

“What, you didn’t call me just to catch up?” she teases.

Luc frowns, “Hey, I call you just to catch up all the time.”

Elena chuckles, “I know I'm teasing you. What’s up?”

Unlike when we told the parents, Luc doesn’t bother keeping anything from her and tells her honestly, “Mom’s back in the country. The organization has no idea how, as they have got no record of her entering. It is looking like she is involved with Hunt, who we have been going after for a while now.”

“Fucking hell,” Elena replies, all joviality leaving her. “She always was a stupid bitch.”

I would be shocked at the way she talks about her mother but honestly, knowing what I do I think she is actually being far too kind in her words.

“Yeah, I know,” Luc replies. “I just needed to give you a heads up in case she’s stupid enough to try and contact you.”

“She wouldn’t dare,” Elena mutters, her voice icy.

“I love it when you use your sexy, I will kill you voice,” I hear Blaze yell in the background.

The guys and I laugh as she growls and then fills her guys in on what Luc just told her.

Dom comes on the phone, “We will let you know if we hear anything from her. Do you want us to keep an ear on anything to do with Hunt? I am assuming you mean Hunt as in the one that runs a good portion of the crime world and had ties with Atlas’s brother?”

I raise my eyebrow, of course they know who he is. We only go after the worst criminals and there is only one Hunt that is worth knowing about in the criminal world.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Luc replies. “And actually, yeah, that would be a great help. Whatever you do though do not get involved, do not follow, do not investigate, and don’t actively search for anything to do with Hunt. He is really dangerous, and I don’t want you guys mixed up in it.”

“I promise, Luc, don’t worry,” Elena replies.

“Seriously,” I add, because the thought of something happening to any of them is absolutely terrifying.

“Ever, I promise that neither the guys nor I will do anything that will put us in danger. We know about Hunt; we know what he is capable of. All we are going to do is listen, just in case we hear something that could be helpful, since bikers love to gossip as much as old ladies.” Elena reassures me.

I chuckle, “Yeah, they really do.”

“Thanks guys,” Luc says, “we will let you know if any more information comes to light about Sandy.”

“Thanks. Stay safe, okay,” Elena replies; this time, it is her sounding extremely worried, “I know you guys are good at what you do, but he’s got connections, crazy fucking connections.”

“We know.” Luc replies and then adds, “Don’t worry, we have got this. We are just coming up to Headquarters, so we need to go. Love ya.”

“Love ya too,” she replies, and we all say goodbye.

“You didn’t tell her about the poisoning,” Peter says.

Luc shakes his head, “There’s no point. I'm fine now, and she is already worried about what could happen with us going after Hunt. I don’t want to add to it unnecessarily.”

“Good point,” Peter replies. Changing the subject, he then adds, “Could one of you text the guys back home and let them know that we should be back by morning at the latest so we can handle all of the animals tomorrow?”

“Oh, shit yeah,” I reply, as I pull out my phone and start messaging Levi to let him know we will be home soon and check in on Lyric.

He quickly replies that Lyric is fine and that he will see us all tomorrow.

The car falls silent as we get to headquarters and go through all of the security measures before we park the car and get out. I grab the evidence bag out of the cooler and then meet the guys around the front of the cars.

“We filled Elena in and got her to let us know if she hears anything about Hunt,” Luc is telling the others.

Trick frowns, “They know not to engage in any way, right?”

“Yeah, we made them promise,” I say. Adding with a frown, “It has only just occurred to me that we didn’t all have to come here to drop the evidence off. The other car could have gone home.”

The guys all share a look like it hadn’t actually occurred to any of them either and chuckle.

“Good point,” Atlas answers me and then adds, “well we’re here now.”

“Why don’t you guys get coffee and snacks for the drive back to our house and I’ll go and drop this down to the lab,” I suggest.

“Sounds good to me; I’m starving,” Jensen immediately replies, with Rage nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

“Can I come with you?” Peter asks, “I’d like to check in on Emmerson, I haven’t seen her since before Mr R told her about her mother dying.”

“Of course,” I reply, “I was hoping to run into her anyway.”

“See you guys in a bit then,” Cash says, as we split up, the guys going to the café and Peter and I heading to the labs.

“Is Emmerson even here still?” I ask Peter.

He got pretty close with her while they were developing the detection systems for the chips that Hunt was putting in everyone and going over the list of inventions that she helped to create. Peter actually needs to get back into the lab as soon as he can so that they can carry on working on the counter weapons for the inventions that Hunt has that can be countered and protection against those that can’t.

Peter shrugs, “She had no plans to go anywhere else. She liked that she was helping to fix the problem that she had a hand in creating when she designed and built those weapons for Hunt. But that was before her mother died. She was incredibly close to her mother, so that is going to have hit her hard, and I have no idea what kind of effect that will have on her mental health.”

I frown. “It may make her even more determined to get the list done, and go through all of her inventions and stuff, so that we can take Hunt down quicker.”

Pete pulls a face and nods, “It could. Or it could make her behave through her anger, which could be a very dangerous thing. Especially with a mind like hers and what she is capable of.”

“Shit, you’re right,” I reply, worrying about Emmerson. She has been through enough in her life, and going down the anger route may potentially destroy her future. I don’t want that to happen to her. I want her to have the future she deserves and until her mom died, she seemed like she was happy doing what she was doing here and as she put it on the good side.

Without replying to Peter, I pull out my phone.

Me: I know it has been a few days since Emmerson found out about her mom, and I know you are busy as fuck rounding up Hunt’s associates, but would you keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t go supervillain on us?

Rylie: I’m already on it. Or at least I am trying to be, I’m not at Headquarters as much as I would like to be. I am checking in as much as I can; she just seems to be really fucking sad and angry but not angry enough that I'm concerned.

Me: I thought you would be. I suddenly panicked about it. I like Emmerson.

Rylie: Me too; she reminds me of us.

Me: Slightly worrying. Haha. Are you at Headquarters now?

Rylie: No, I’m picking up more of Hunt’s associates. You would not believe some of the names on the list.

Me: I know he is well-connected.

Rylie: Oh, even more so than I thought he was. I might actually need your help with one of the targets soon, you up for it?

Me: Hell fucking yeah. I thought you worked alone though, and yes, I am doing air quotes.

Rylie: Haha, you are hilarious. I do, but you are the exception to the rule in this case. Besides, I'm not stupid; I can admit it when I need help. This one I definitely need help with.

Me: Awesome, I’m definitely in. Run it by Mr R, not that I think he will have a problem with it and then let me know when you need me. I'm pretty busy with this lead that we have but I will try and get away.

Rylie: Okay, I will let you know.

“Is everything okay?” Peter asks me.

I nod as I put my phone away again, “Yeah, I was just asking Rylie to keep an eye on Emmerson, which, in retrospect, was silly because she was already, and I should have known that she would’ve been on the ball.”

“Yeah, Rylie was looking out for Emmerson anyway, even before her mom died,” Pete replies as we finally get to the lab and knock on the door.

“Hey guys,” one of the techs say’s as we walk through the door. “What can I do for you?”

“This is from a crime scene that we were working,” I say as I hand over the evidence bag. “I’ve also sent over some pictures of some tire tracks that I was hoping you guys could work your magic on and tell me what car they come from?”

The tech smiles, “Sure, we can do that. Do you need a rush put on it?”

I think about it for a moment, we know that the blood is Luc’s moms, that is pretty obvious so the only thing we’re doing by getting analysed is confirming that is the case. The tire tracks are not really going to be any help to us unless we have something to compare it to that links it to the mystery person that was in the house.

With this in mind I shake my head, “No, I think we are good. Just get to it when you get the chance.”

“Got it,” the tech replies.

“Thanks,” Peter adds, and we turn around, heading back out of the lab.

Instead of heading back to the guys so that we can finally start heading home, Peter and I head in the other direction so that we can find Emmerson. I am assuming that she is in her lab, since that is her favourite place to be here but if not then we can find her in the dorm side of the building which is this way as well.

Pushing the door to her lab open I frown, as I look around at the mess, I haven’t known Emmerson for very long, but this seems out of character, “Is it usually like this?”

Peter frowns, looking worried, “No, she usually keeps things immaculate, she says that she has no hope of finding anything ever again if she doesn’t.”

“I think it’s to be expected when you’re grieving,” I reply.

Peter hums but doesn’t reply as he shuts the door again and we head further down the hallway. Both of us figuring that if she is not here then she must be in the dorms.

A figure moving quickly toward us with her hood up gains my attention, and just as she goes to move past us, I realize who it is.

“Emmerson?” I ask.

She comes to a halt and looks up, giving me a shaky smile. She has got dark circles under her eyes and looks like she has not been taking care of herself, but she smiled.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you guys.” She says.

“That’s okay,” Pete replies, “we had to drop some evidence off at the lab and thought we’d come and check on you.”

Peter opens his arms, and Emmerson practically melts into him, her back shaking as she begins to cry. I grab onto them both and hug them tightly. We stand in the middle of the hallway, hugging her for as long as she needs us to.

Eventually, she moves back and wipes her eyes, looking slightly embarrassed, “Sorry, it’s been a rough few days.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine. Is there anything that we can do?” I ask.

She shakes her head, “No, but I really appreciate you guys coming to check on me. It seriously means a lot.”

“Of course, we’d check on you,” Peter replies.

We talk for a little bit longer before she starts to seem like she is getting a bit twitchy.

“Where are you headed?” Peter asks, seeing the same thing I am.

She hesitates, and then replies, “To my lab.”

“We’ll walk you; we need to head back that way anyway,” I reply with a smile, she nods but doesn’t reply and I wonder if it’s because of the condition her lab is in, I would’ve hoped that she would realize that we’d never judge her, especially not in this situation.

The walk back toward her lab is weirdly tense and the vibes are definitely coming from her, as I give Pete a questioning look and he just shrugs in reply, seemingly at as much of a loss as I am about the sudden change in her behaviour.

The closer we get to her lab, the more agitated and twitchier she seems to become, and I am convinced it is because of the messy lab, although it seems a little bit extreme. When we get to it, she stops outside the door and doesn’t open it like she usually would, as she looks at us awkwardly.

“Need a hand with anything?” Peter asks, “If I can help I will.”

Emmerson quickly shakes her head back and forth, “No, I'm good. Like I said before, thank you for checking in on me.”

She is obviously trying to get rid of us, but I really can’t see why.

Pete frowns but quickly switches it for a smile and pulls her into a hug again, “Okay. Well, we should probably get going. We haven’t been home for far too long. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you have my number. Message me day or night, and I will be there. Got it?”

Emmerson’s weird demeanour disappears for a second as she smiles softly, and it actually reaches her eyes, “I’ve got it.”

“Good,” I reply and hug her as well.

As we walk down the hall I glance back and see that she is still standing in front of the door, one hand wrapped tightly on the handle and a look of determination in her eyes that she quickly wipes as she sees me looking. She pastes on the fakest smile I have ever seen and waves before she quickly rushes through her door, slamming it closed behind her.

“That was weird right?” Peter asks.

I nod, “I thought so. She kept switching from normal and really fucking sad, which is understandable, to twitchy and like she couldn’t wait for us to leave.”

“Maybe she was just embarrassed about her lab being so messy?” he suggests, sounding unsure and like he doesn’t believe the suggestion himself.

“I don’t know, it seemed like more than that, but I have never grieved for a parent that I was close to, and everyone grieves differently. Maybe this is just how she is?” I ask.

“Just how who is?” Trick asks as we meet them just outside the café, their hands full of food and drinks; he hands me my own large coffee.

“Thanks,” I reply gratefully, taking a sip before I answer, “Emmerson was acting strange.”

“Isn’t that sort of expected?” Rage asks with a frown, “I mean she did just lose her mom.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re putting it down to, it was just weird,” Peter replies, and then quickly explains as we head out of Headquarters.

I was kind of hoping that we would see Zemi, but like us she’s not in headquarters all the time and often is out on jobs. I have been meaning to talk to her about going over to her place; of course, that is assuming that we are still invited; there is a good chance that she has changed her mind, and I wouldn’t blame her. It shows a tremendous amount of trust to even invite us to her home. Our lives are so dangerous, and the mole proved that we needed to be extremely careful because even an organization like ours isn’t safe. That is why I will still be extremely honored that she invited us even if she has changed her mind.

I mean, we haven’t invited her to our place, and we probably won’t, not for a long time. That is more to do with the fact that we have got a lot of criminals after us who are personally linked to us in some way. We need to remain hidden for more reasons than most of the agents here. I am hoping that at some point, we will have dealt with all the people after us, and we will be safe enough that I can invite Lyric and her guys up.

It's not because I don’t trust her, we have fought alongside her, and both her and the guys have saved our lives as we have saved theirs. They are well and truly our friends, but our home and our safety is not something that I can risk. Fortunately, because they are our friends, they understand this completely and they would never expect us to invite them to ours just because they have invited us to their home.

To be honest, that’s what makes them such great friends and why, eventually, we will have them over to our place.

“Are you okay, Ever?” Jensen asks me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I’ve been waving food in front of your face for age.”

I was so deep in thought that I completely missed getting in the car and leaving the organization. I fully spaced out thinking about Zemi and her men. That is something else, I need an update on her and her men.