Page 32 of Stay With Me
“Better me than her,” I nod in Rory’s direction as she clings to Breaker’s back.
“Well, ain’t that so sweet,” the man says with a dark chuckle.
“Stay here,” Breaker says, pushing Rory back into the house. She makes a choked whimpering sound when he releases her, but doesn’t argue. We make our way down the driveway towards the iron security gates at the end.
“Open it,” he says to Breaker, and he walks to the panel and places his palm flat on the scanner. The gate slides open and the man shoves me back ways towards the others waiting at the SUV.
The last thing I see before I’m thrown in the trunk is the furious, tense faces of my best friends, knowing it may be the last time.
twenty-five
We wait in tense silence,fear permeating the air surrounding us. I don’t even want to think about what could be happening out there. I just want to be in Everett’s arms again. I want all of this pain and confusion behind us.
“Ember!” A deep voice shouts from the other side of the heavy steel door.
Ember takes a few steps closer, holding the gun Everett gave her up at eye level. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, sunshine. I’m coming in,” Eli says. I see Ember’s shoulders sag in relief, but she doesn’t drop the gun. No one knows who could be waiting on the other side of the door. The security panel beeps, the door clicking and swinging open.
“Don't fucking shoot me, babe,” Eli walks in with his hands outstretched towards Ember. She sobs, droppingthe pistol and running into his arms. I hear him whisper soothing words of reassurance as he strokes her hair. Peeking around his enormous frame, I don’t see anyone else following him.
“Where is everyone? Is Rory okay?” My voice is strained, unsure if I truly want to hear the answer to my question.
“Rory’s okay. Pretty shaken up, but physically she’ll be okay. She’s with Breaker now,” I nod softly, unable to fathom what she endured in the past half hour we spent locked down here.
“Thank god,” I breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m gonna go find Ev.” I move to walk up the stairs, but Eli grabs my elbow as I pass by.
“Kels, wait. He’s not up there,” he says, his voice quiet but full of pain.
“What do you mean he not up there?” I ask, but he only looks back at me. The expression in his eyes tells me everything, but I don’t believe it. I won’t. “Don’t fuck with me, Elijah. I know he’s here.”
I race up the stairs, the others following. I run through the kitchen, the living room, straight to the room we’ve been staying in. I’m practically screaming his name, the sound of my voice echoing off the walls around me.
“Everett Wayne, I swear to god, answer me right now! Everett! EVERETT!” I scream, the reality that he’s gone shooting through me like a searing hot pokerstraight to my chest. I collapse against the side of the bed, sliding to the floor and clawing at the surface of my skin above my heart, willing the pain to stop. Where is he? Why would he leave me like this? He promised me it was going to be us against the world.
“Shhhh, it’s okay. We’re gonna get him back.” I feel Ember’s arms wrap around me, her own sorrow mixing with mine.
“Why would he do this?! How could they let him go?!” I scream at no one in particular. I’m rapidly firing through the stages of grief faster than I can process. Denial and anger reverberate through my bones. I think for a moment if bargaining with my parents would make a difference but quickly dismiss that idea. They’ve made it clear what they think of him, and I doubt they would use any of their connections to help us. I feel the deep depression of accepting his absence lingering in the corners of my mind, but I push that feeling out. I can’t wallow in this, I don’t have time.
I take a few deep, calming breaths. Everett’s words from last night replay over and over in my head.
Anything and anyone else is just static.
Wiping my eyes and gathering my thoughts, I turn to press my back against the side of the bed. Ember’s stance mirrors my own and she squeezes my hand tightly. I can’t imagine the agony she must be feeling. While I consider Everett my other half, he actuallyisEmbers.
“What do we do now?” She asks Eli, who stands in the doorway.
“Break’s already trying to pinpoint a location for this MC and for the congressman. The guy who took him said the congressman offered more to bring Everett back alive, which benefits us. Best-case scenario, we can make it to their complex before the congressman does and execute a clean recovery,” he says.
“Don’t. Don’t talk about him like he’s some mission you’ve been assigned, Elijah. This is Everett we’re talking about,” I say, not meaning to sound so bitchy.
“I know, Kels. I love him, too. We won’t let anything happen to him if we can help it. Breaker already called Helo. He has a private helicopter we should be able to use. He’s getting in touch with Iris now to call in some backup. We’re not sure what we’re dealing with yet, so we want to be prepared.” Eli says.
I nod my head in understanding, not quite sure I really absorbed everything he just told me. I don’t care how it happens, I don’t care how many men it takes. I just want mine back.
“We should check on Rory. She’s not in a good place right now,” Ember says quietly, snapping me out of my own thoughts. I nod, climbing to my feet and pushing my anxiety down as far as I possibly can. I want to be able to help Rory in any way she needs.
Ember and I walk hand in hand out of my room and down the hall to Breaker’s. The door is open,so we step inside to see Rory sitting in the center of his enormous bed, her knees tucked under her chin and arms wrapped tightly around her legs. At this moment, she looks so much like a little girl, innocent and easily broken. Breaker sits on a bench at the end of the bed. He’s just close enough to reach out to her, should she need it, but far enough that she isn’t uncomfortable in his presence.
