Page 66 of Unraveling Connections

She nods but looks worried, “Yes, please, I think my whole side has gone numb. I didn’t want to wake him since he is sleeping so peacefully, and I doubt that happens very often. Try not to wake him?”

Trick nods and smiles at Ever, “I will try my best; it’s probably a good idea that you are in his line of sight just in case he does wake up; we don’t want him freaking out.”

“Good idea,” she agrees.

They very carefully move Joe away from Ever and he only stirs for a moment as Trick manages to lift him as seamlessly as possible, Ever makes sure that she stays in his line of sight should he wake up. Her eyes never leave him, and I have to admit that I am worried about her. The way that she was talking about when she’s been imprisoned, and the fact that it was a child is really going to affect her, and I know that I'm not the only one who is going to be keeping an eye on her and making sure that she is okay.

What should have been just quickly coming to grab Emmerson and then heading back to headquarters, has now turned into a massive operation and a disturbing one at that. Ihave to say though, I am really fucking glad that Emmerson took off, if she hadn’t we may not have checked this place out for a long time since Pete said it wasn’t at the top of our priorities list when it came to Hunt. Who knows whether Hunt would have come back for the boy or left him to die here? Neither of those options is a good one.

So that is at least the silver lining that we can take away from this. We have uncovered a massive operation here, not just with the people, who we have to identify and hopefully get back to loved ones, but also because of the guns and drugs which were stored here as well. It’s not a massive amount as far as Hunt is concerned, but it is enough to put a dent into his operation for a little while, at least.

When we finally make our way to where Emmerson is, I am actually kind of relieved to see that she is still here and hasn’t taken off again. All of the guys are with her as well, and I actually think we are all going to need some serious TLC after this. All of them have a haunted look in their eyes, and I am sure it matches the one in mine.

“Are we heading out?” Rage asks, sounding as tired as we all feel.

Trick nods, “Yeah, Mr R wants us to take Emmerson and Joe back to Headquarters.”

“Joe?” Emmerson asks, a weird look on her face.

Ever nods, watching her closely, and I'm guessing that she has noticed the strange look on Emmerson’s face, too, as she replies, “Yeah, he’s the first one we found.”

Before Emmerson can reply, someone drops something that sounds like metal on the floor somewhere nearby, and the sound startles Joe awake. He frantically looks around, and Trick quickly crouches down with him, so Joe doesn’t hurt himself if he flings himself out of Trick’s arms in a panic.

Suddenly, the boy freezes, his eyes locked on Emmerson, as he says in a voice that sounds so incredibly young, “Emmy?”

Emmerson’s eyes widen as she rushes forward, tears already streaming down her face as Trick quickly stands Joe on his feet; just in time for Emmerson to embrace him, they crumble to the floor, both of them sobbing and gripping onto each other tightly.

The rest of us stare at each other, entirely unsure about what is happening.

“You don’t think . . .” Peter starts to ask, looking at Ever.

She looks just as confused until her eyes widen suddenly, “There’s no way.”

“No way, what?” I ask impatiently.

“Joe told us that Hunt killed his mom and his sister and was training him for something,” Ever explains.

My eyes widen as they go back to the two hugging on the floor, “Fucking hell, no way.”

“What are the fucking chances of that happening?” Rafe asks incredulously.

“About a million to one,” Riot replies.

“He told Mom and me that he had killed Joe,” Emmerson suddenly says.

Looking down at her, since she is still on the floor, she is cuddling her little brother tightly as he buries his face in her shoulder and clings to her like his life depends on it.

“So, he is your brother then?” Ever asks.

Emmerson nods, “Yeah, he’s my little brother.”

“Why didn’t you mention him before?” Peter asks gently, something that I am curious about as well now that he is mentioned it.

Emmerson shrugs, “It didn’t come up; as far as I was concerned, he died years ago; Hunt killed him.”

“I actually get that,” I say, understanding where she is coming from even though I was curious a moment ago. “I don’t talkabout my mom and sister, and I wouldn’t bring it up unless someone asked me directly about it.”

“Exactly,” Emmerson nods, agreeing with me.

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