19. Chapter 19

Beck wrapped himself around me at some point during the night, as though I might somehow disappear on him again while we slept. Trying to extract myself from his arms in order to use the bathroom ended with me jabbing him in the ribs to let me go.

Once I finish in the bathroom, I sit down on the edge of the bed. Beck is frowning at me, his eyes squinting against the morning light, and I can"t help but smile softly at him. Besides on my birthday when he got out of bed to make me breakfast, he always hated the mornings, mainly because he was always up late on his computer.

"Get back in here," he says, his voice raspy from sleep. He looks deliciously sleep rumpled, his hair untidy and his beard is in desperate need of a trim or he might start to look more like Nix. His tattooed arms are stark against the sheets.

My smile gets wider as I shake my head. "I need to find some clothes and some coffee," I respond.

His eyes flick down to my naked body, and he grins. "But I like you exactly like that."

Laughing, I say, "I already almost gave Kacey a heart attack last night." He lets out a bark of laughter, and I look at him curiously.

"Trust me, a heart attack was not what you gave him, and Rick should be thanking you from what I heard," he says, but I"m still so lost on what he means. He just shakes his head at my confusion.

I lean down and brush my lips against his before standing. "I also want to check in on Elsa and maybe make sure she hasn"t murdered Kallen or his team," I reason, and he scoffs. I"m not sure if it"s at the thought of the tiny woman doing those big men harm or that he thinks she wouldn"t want to.

Turning, I leave him slowly rising from the bed, making sure I don"t catch an eyeful of what I"m still a little too sensitive to take advantage of. I"m thankful that no one thought I was going to be in any particular room and left the bag of clothes for me on the dining table. However, I"m not so thankful that I am not the first out of bed.

Nix watches me with a half-smile from where he is sitting at the table, within arms reach of the clothes. His eyes scan me quickly, I"m assuming looking for injuries. I guess being naked helps with that at least.

His lips stretch into a full smirk and I give him a droll look. "Not a word," I say as I pull the bag toward me. He chuckles while holding his hands up defensively.

As I pick through the clothes, Nix silently gets up and moves to the kitchen, making a cup of coffee that I side-eye and wonder how much of it I can steal. I"ve already pulled on a fresh pair of leggings and a loose-fitting top by the time he comes back, holding out the cup of gold toward me. He can remain injury-free for the moment. I sigh at the first sip.

"Morning," I murmur as I steal a kiss from him and then sit down at the table. My phone is already on the table, one of the guys must have kept it safe the night before because I hadn"t even thought about it beyond the thought of checking in with Elsa this morning.

"Morning," he responds, sitting back down. There is no mention of the fact that I slept with Beck last night or about the clearly fucked look I had walking in. It"s just accepted, and I wish I had known when I was eighteen that they would be comfortable simply sharing me as it would have taken care of half my stress at the time.

I"ve just unlocked the phone and started scrolling to Elsa"s contact when it starts ringing in my hand, and I groan quietly to myself. "Hey beautiful," his honeyed voice comes through the phone.

"Jason," I reply briefly.

"Just wanted to make sure you all settled into the property okay and if you needed anything that I can help with?" he continues, unfazed. I almost roll my eyes, but then I pause as I think about it. The thoughts go over in my mind on whether I want to ask him and be even more in his debt. But with the contract on Elsa's life and Kallen's team occupied with protecting her, I should probably just accept the extra assistance.

Something had been made obvious the day before when we rescued the guys from the FBI. We left their phones behind, and the only person I could contact would have been Kacey. And I didn't even have his number.

"Actually yes, is there any chance of you getting us a few burner phones, please?" I ask, and he scoffs.

"Of course, that"s easy. I can have them to you within the hour," he says, his voice as eager as a puppy. "Anything else?" he asks.

I roll my lips and frown while Nix looks at me curiously, concern crossing his face at whatever is showing on mine. But finally, I resolve that the extra help would only be helpful, not harmful.

"Actually yes, there is..." I briefly explain to him about the letters, times, and dates etc., and ask if he can work on finding some sort of lead that could tell us who sent them or who could have possibly been responsible, with one provision: "Just let me know how much money I owe you for your time," I finish.

He laughs. "Come on Ash, you know I"m not going to make you pay me for something like this. I"m sure I"ll need your help someday, just owe me a favor and it"ll be all good," he says, his voice filled with humor.

"No, Jason, I would prefer to pay you for your time, seriously. Just bill me like usual," I say firmly, and he hums, obviously not liking that I"m making him charge me.

"Okay, beautiful, fine. I"ll get those phones to you, and I"ll let you know if I find anything," he says finally and after saying my thanks I hang up.

Nix continues to look at me curiously. "You really kept it to yourself this whole time," he says, and it"s not a question.

I look at him, wondering what he is thinking about. "I have spent the last twelve years afraid that if I say something then you would end up dead. No matter how much distance I put between us, you, Beck and Rick are all I have ever cared about," I say softly, and his eyes soften.

In an effort to not let tears overwhelm me, I go back to looking up Elsa, clicking her contact.

"I'm going to fucking kill them."

A shocked laugh escapes my lips as my eyes widen on Nix's.

"Seriously, you need to get someone else to babysit me, or I may poison them or some shit," she hisses at me through the phone and I wince.

I hear a male voice in the background before she growls. "Of course I stopped threatening to stab you, you moved the knives out of reach, asshole."

Oh my fucking god, it takes everything in me not to laugh out loud again at that moment and tears come to my eyes with the effort. "Focus, Frostie," I finally say, trying to get the call back on track, but if anything, that sets her off even more.

"That's it, I'm changing my name! Call me Elizabeth from now on, or Danielle, actually no, fuck, no, I'd rather die, ummm call me Mary,"

This time I do clearly hear the joke from one of the guys in the background asking if she means the virgin Mary or Mary Magdalene.

"Fucking Typhoid Mary, now. Fuck. Off," she growls.

I can't contain my laughter anymore, it echoes around the apartment and tears start streaming down my face. At this point Beck, Rick and Kacey have all taken seats at the table and are eyeing me warily as I cackle at the poor girl.

Once my laughter has settled down and she is no longer talking about midnight mutilation, I wipe a hand across my face and clear my throat. "Sorry, Elsa, are you okay?" I finally ask.

She makes a scoffing sound. "I'm still alive, so I guess that's what matters right," she responds softly, almost reluctantly.

Humming, I almost nod before I realize she won't be able to see. "Exactly, that"s what matters. I know a lot has happened in twenty four hours, if looking into my thing is too much then I completely understand."

"No! Seriously, boss, it's not too much at all. It's what I enjoy and honestly it's a good distraction right now," she protests and I don't know if she means from the situation or from Kallen and his team.

It brings another brief smile to my lips. "Okay, so long as you're sure. Have you had a chance to do any digging?"

Elsa"s voice picks up the pace as she starts to ramble about looking into the security footage of the most recent letters. "But guess what? The footage had been erased by someone," she says, frustration evident in her tone.

My eyebrows knit together in concern. "Erased? By who?"

"Well, obviously I don"t know, otherwise I would have just said, such and such deleted the footage," she replies, annoyance lacing her words. "But I"m going to find out. Nothing is ever truly deleted, it's always floating somewhere on the internet and I'll find it for you."

"Thank you, Elsa, I appreciate it," I say before I tell her I will check back in on her tonight and hang up.

Nix raises an eyebrow at me in question before asking, "Should we be concerned for Kallen and his team?"

That starts me laughing all over again. "Maybe," I reply with a shrug, draining my now lukewarm coffee and standing from the table. Beck stands and motions for me to hand the cup over, motioning for me to sit back down. I roll my eyes but I obey nonetheless.

"Has there been any updates?" Rick asks as he relaxes in his chair.

"Jason is sending some burner phones to us just in case we need them, and he is going to help look into the letters, too," I respond and I already know what he is about to ask before the words even leave his lips.

"Can we trust him?" he asks, concerned.

I smile at the concern and I want to kiss away the frown lines on his forehead. "Yes, besides everyone here, plus Elsa and of course Kallen's team, he's probably the only other person I trust completely. He has been helping me since I first asked him to create me a new identity so I could keep you safe."

Beck places a fresh coffee in front of me and I grin at him, inhaling the scent of it, since it"s too hot to drink. "Don't you mean, helping you run away, little rabbit," he says and sits back in his seat.

My grin turns to a scowl but he flashes his own smirk at me, settling my worry. Glancing at each of them, I'm happy to not see any hostility or hard feelings.

"So we just have to lie low here, until we have some information we can do something with?" Kacey asks and I shrug and nod in response. "How ever shall we pass the time?"

I snort, ducking my face when I feel a blush creep across my skin. Dammit, I never blush, but these men seem to have that effect on me.

"Actually, I have the computer that Elsa left me, so I'm going to try to see if I can help look into the letters too," Beck says, his fingers tapping against the table top as though mentally he is already on the computer.

I frown for a moment as a thought occurs to me, "Can you maybe have those searches in the background or something? Are you able to look into who has the contract out on Elsa?"

He raises an eyebrow but acknowledges the request with a nod.

I look at Kacey. "Is there any way you can reach out to any contacts to find out any rumors on the FBI investigation? Not what"s in the reports, just what's being said around the water fountains so to speak."

He grins and I take that as a yes. Getting up, I carry my coffee toward the kitchen before I start looking through the supplies.

"What are you doing, pretty girl?" Rick asks, coming to lean against the counter near me.

Grabbing out a frying pan along with the eggs and other items, giving him a look before I start getting to work. "Making us all breakfast. After all, out of you, me and Beck, it was only you that got to eat last night."