Fractured Lies: Book 1 MAC Security Series Page 19

  “Won’t he be lonely on his own?” he said, his face screwed up.

  “Who’s Henry?” Ty asked.

  “Miss Maggie’s cat.”

  I turned back to Eli “Maybe we can ask Miss Maggie to bring him next time?”

  “Really?” he smiled, his whole face lit up.

  “Yes,” I smiled.

  Ty pulled into his usual spot outside the warehouse.

  “Luke!” Eli shouted.

  And there he was waiting outside the warehouse for us, Luke’s face split into a wide grin and he made a beeline for Eli’s door.

  “You did good,” he winked at me and undid Eli. “Want to go watch cartoons?”

  “Yeah!” Eli punched the air and let Luke help him down.

  “That okay mama?” Luke pouted.

  “Yeah go on,” I rolled my eyes and jumped down from my seat “Dinner will be ready at six.” I shouted across the compound to them.

  They both shouted back okay and went into Luke’s house.

  Moving my eyes to Ty’s I said “Thanks for today” and moved closer to him.

  “Which part?” he grinned.

  “Oh jeez.” I flung my hands up in the air and walked ahead of him.

  His deep throaty laughed following me into the warehouse.

  I couldn’t contain the grin on my face.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I finished work early on Friday to get a start on cooking. We’d told all the guys the day before and they all wanted to come and meet Miss Maggie so that meant cooking for six and a half. The half being Eli.

  Miss Maggie had practically squealed when she heard me on the phone and readily agreed to come to dinner. Ty had promised to pick Miss Maggie up and then they were going to go and get Eli together.

  I cooked meatballs and spaghetti, as requested by all the guys and as always Evan had a special request for cookies.

  “Need some help?” I jumped at Kitty’s voice.

  “You scared me.” I said clutching my chest.

  “Sorry” she shrugged moving closer.

  “Can you mix the sauce?”

  “This?” she pointed at the pan and frowned.

  “How do I mix?” I looked over at her, she was staring at the mixture like it was an alien.

  “Get the spoon,” she picked it up “Then just go round in circles”

  She started to mix and looked at me from under her eyelashes, I nodded to confirm that she was doing it right and got on with the meatballs.

  It was a relief to have someone helping. She set the table when she finished mixing and before I knew it they were all coming in the front door like a herd of elephants.

  “Where’s my girl?” Miss Maggie shouted.

  Butterflies took flight in my stomach, I wiped my hands on a hand towel and went into the hall.

  “I’m here.” My eyes filled with tears when I saw her, I’d missed her more than I realized. I went straight into her open arms and breathed her in.

  “How are you?” I croaked when I pulled back.

  “I’m good dear,” she held onto my hand “The question is, how are you?”

  I looked at all the people that were surrounding us, each one had welcomed me and looked after me and Eli. I couldn’t have asked for a better family, and that’s exactly what they were to us now, family.

  “I’m doing okay” I smiled at Ty and led Miss Maggie into the living room “Do you want something to drink?”

  “I’ll have some tea please dear” of course she would.

  Ty followed me into the kitchen and leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “She’s a little crazy.”

  “I know,” I chuckled

  “All she talked about with Eli were cartoons and superheroes”

  “She tends to do that.” I put the pasta in the pot of boiling water.

  “Smells great,” Ty moaned, leaning down and waving his hand over the pan and back towards his face. His eyes were closed and he had a look of absolute pleasure on his face.

  My mind immediately went back to the kiss the other day. Shaking my head I concentrated on the food.

  There was another good thing about having men in my life that liked to help out, they carried the food to the table. Now I know it isn’t an obvious thing, but have you ever tried to carry a big bowl full of spaghetti?

  Heavy. Really heavy.

  We all sat and ate, with Miss Maggie in between Eli and Evan. They had their own conversation going on and it was nice to see Miss Maggie enjoying herself and fitting right in. Most chatter stopped when they were all eating, something I found hilarious. These men talked nonstop but put food in front of them and they went completely silent.

  Once I had finished eating I sat back and watched them all, it was amazing that I had found these people. Luke and Evan were like brothers to me and uncles to Eli.

  Kitty had taken a little longer to get to know and I honestly didn’t know if I knew her fully. I had a feeling she kept a lot of secrets, but I understood that.

  I had lots of those too.

  My eyes moved to Ty. I didn’t know what he was yet. A friend?

  I knew that I didn’t look at him like a brother, and if that kiss was anything to go by then I knew he didn’t look at me like that either.

  Was I ready for something with Ty?

  I’d just got out of an abusive relationship, if I was honest I knew deep down that I hadn’t heard the last from Max. He wasn’t the type of guy to go down without a fight.

  “Dear?” I jumped when a hand touched mine.

  “I’m sorry. What did you say?” I shifted in my seat and turned to Miss Maggie.

  “Would you like to go and sit on that lovely porch swing?”

  I nodded my head, pushed back in my chair and started picking up plates.

  “I got it,” Ty answered taking the plates out my hand and nodding towards the door for me to go and join Miss Maggie.

  Opening the front door I stepped out with her onto the porch.

  “Such a lovely house,” she remarked as she sat down on the swing.

  “Yeah,” I blew out a big breath and looked over at the woods.

  It was so nice to sit out here at night, there was nothing like the sounds of the woods when it was dark or the soft breeze that whistled through the trees bringing the scent with it.

  “How are you?”

  “Fi-”

  “Don’t fill me with that bullshit,” she said softly. Such a contradiction from the words that she had spoken.

  “Have you seen him?” I asked instead.

  “No,” she shook her head “Not since that day.”

  I nodded and looked up at the stars, the clear sky letting them shine bright.

  “I tried to get help,” she whispered “I tried to phone the police but I was shaking so much that I couldn’t seem to dial the right numbers.”

  “That’s okay,” I said gently.

  “No, no it’s not” I turned to her again and watched as her eyes filled with tears “I saw you getting away”

  She reached out and held my hand squeezing gently.

  “You did?”

  “Yeah” she blew out a breath and continued “I was so glad when I saw you drive away.”

  “Me too.” I chuckled.

  “Then I saw that man,” she pointed back to the house “Ty?”

  “Yes.”

  “He told me that he’d look after you. Looks like he kept his word,” she smiled.

  “He has. They all have.”

  “You look happy.”

  I breathed deep.

  “I am. For the first time I feel free. I don’t have to worry about-” I pinched my lips together. I didn’t want to start that train of thought.

  “So,” she raised her brows “Tell me all about him.”

  *~*~*

  I was sleeping soundly when something shook me awake. Rolling over I mumbled something and clutched onto my pillow. I didn’t want to wake up, I was having a dream which made a change b
ecause normally it would be a nightmare.

  “Kay.”

  “Go away.” I groaned.

  “Kay, I need you to come with me.”

  “I’m sleeping,” I whined, he answered me with a chuckle.

  Ty had slept in here every night since my nightmares began, he only ever came in when he heard me shout. But tonight I hadn’t shouted out at all. This was a good thing right?

  So why did I feel sad that Ty hadn’t gotten into bed with me?

  The bed dipped with his weight, his hand cupped the side of my face and turned it towards him.

  “It’s for a job.” I cracked my eyes open.

  “Now?”

  “Yeah,” his hand moved from my face as he stood. It was then that I noticed he was still dressed in his work gear, he held his hand out. I frowned at what he held.

  “Your clothes,” he placed them on the bed and walked to the door.

  “Be ready in five” he rapped his knuckles on the door frame twice and left the room.

  I stared at the dark empty space he left behind, I couldn’t believe he was dragging me out of bed just when I was having some undisturbed sleep.

  If Eli hadn’t of been staying with Luke for the night then I would have had the perfect excuse to not be able to go. He’d stayed over a couple of times now and I knew that he would be looked after there so I didn’t need to worry.

  Didn’t mean that I didn’t worry, just that I had no reason to.

  “Kay!”

  “Jeez! Okay!” I shouted back and rolled out of bed.

  I pulled on the jeans and shirt I took off a few hours ago and shuffled down the stairs to throw on my chucks, Ty was waiting at the open front door for me.

  “What’s going on?” I mumbled.

  “Need to do some surveillance,” he pulled the door closed behind us.

  “Where?”

  “Daley.” he said jogging down the steps.

  It was only then that I noticed the car sat outside the house, I frowned at the shadow in the back.

  “Who-”

  “Hey Kay!”

  “Ugh Evan.” I held my hand over my ear “too loud”

  He leaned forward in his seat as soon as I sat down.

  “Ready for an adventure?”

  I yawned and leaned back in the seat, turning the heater to full. “Yay.” I grumbled.

  We drove for about half an hour, I was just dozing off when Ty pulled up and turned the engine off. I peeked around him and saw that it was one of the houses that Hugo had been to the other day when we were following him.

  “What are we doing here?” I whispered.

  The house was dark, the only sign of life was a light in the security booth.

  “You’ll see,” Ty whispered back.

  I turned to Evan, he had his laptop open on his lap and was tapping away at the keyboard. A frown marred across his brow with his tongue sticking out just slightly.

  I wished that I had grabbed a jacket or even a blanket, now that the heating was turned off I could feel the chill in the air. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms for warmth looking out the window in the same direction as Ty.

  His eyes kept moving from the security booth to his phone. The house wasn’t just a house, it was a mansion. Gated all the way round complete with those fancy balconies. A giant fountain sat in the middle of the circular driveway. I was awed when I saw it in daylight, but somehow it looked so much grander in the dark.

  “Why do they have a security guard anyway? It’s not like they’re in a bad area-”

  “Now.” Ty said and opened his door.

  I looked back at Evan confused but he just held his hand out.

  “What’s-”

  “Put it in your ear.” He didn’t look up from the screen, just kept on typing.

  “Come on.” Ty waved.

  I took the small ear piece and put it in my ear as I opened up the door.

  “I need someone small to get over the fence without being noticed,” Ty said and pulled something out of his pocket. I followed him to the edge of the fence and dipped low when he did.

  “There’s a computer in there,” he whispered pointing at the security box “You’ll have three minutes to put this in and download whatever files are on there.” He held his hand out, I took what he held and realized that it was a USB stick.

  “You want me to climb that fence?” I squeaked. He raised his brows in answer, I took that as a yes.

  “Kay?” Evan’s voice rang through the ear piece.

  “Dammit Evan, you scared me.” I whispered and rested my hand on my chest catching my breath.

  “Sorry,” he chuckled.

  Ty made a come here motion with his hand and I went to him, he gripped my hand and together we went up to a part of the fence that was covered with trees.

  Movement in the booth grabbed my attention, I watched as a man dressed in a black suit came out and spoke over a radio.

  Ty started to make loads of different gestures with his hands, tilting my head to the side I wondered for a second what he was trying to say. The more he moved his hands in the air the funnier he looked.

  I grinned and stifled a giggle “I don’t know what that means” he rolled his eyes and widened his stance.

  “I’ll help you jump over” He hoisted me up and literally threw me in the air, I grabbed hold of the breaks in the fence and shuffled my way up.

  “You could have warned me,” I whisper shouted, then I heard a beep. I froze.

  “Setting the time.” Ty whispered.

  Right, that made sense.

  I was better at climbing than I thought and was at the top in no time.

  “Soft landing and roll.” What the hell did that mean? I took a leap and landed square on my feet, pins and needles shooting up my legs. Crouching low as a bright light shone I waited for it to pass by me.

  “Go” Ty urged me. I made a run for it, straight to the booth.

  “Put the USB in the side of the computer.” Damn, I forgot that Evan was in my head.

  I did as he said and waited, constantly checking over my shoulder. I was sure that someone would come back and I’d be caught and kidnapped or maybe worse.

  The laptop pinged and a box popped up with a password to enter.

  “It wants a password.”

  “Shit. Okay wait a minute let me try and figure this out.” My hands started to shake as I watched.

  Why would Evan assume that we wouldn’t need a password? This whole thing didn’t feel so organized, the longer I stood here the more I was sure I would get caught.

  My hands were numb from the cold, I shook my hands out and tried to get some feeling back in them.

  “Okay type. 6nefj78bdg65.” I did and then the box disappeared, replaced by a line with a loading bar.

  “It worked.” I jumped up and did a little dance nearly knocking over the lamp. I scrambled to save it before it crashed to the floor, straightening it and scanning outside the booth.

  “Kay? You good?”

  “Yeah, sorry” I cleared my throat and watched the bar load.

  “Sixty seconds” Ty’s voice said in my head.

  It said fifty percent loaded and then slowed right down.

  “Forty five seconds,” oh god, it wasn’t going to load in time.

  “Thirty seconds,” it was up to ninety five percent now.

  “Ten seconds,” the laptop pinged and I pulled the USB out. I scanned the area and saw nothing so made a mad dash for the fence, where I thought Ty was.

  The only problem was that Ty had given me a hand up.

  How was I meant to get back over the fence?

  “Ty?” I croaked.

  “I got you,” his hands came through the fence and interlocked making a step for me to haul myself up from.

  I placed my foot on it then hoisted myself up. I scaled the fence again jumping straight into Ty’s arms, he caught me with ease and didn’t bother to put me down instead he ran back to the car.

  He let me
down by his door and I scooted over as soon as I was in the car. He climbed in after me and started the engine but left the lights off. I could see two security guards sat in the booth as we drove past.

  “You did good.” Ty said, I turned my head and saw the smile on his face. What I would do to see that smile.

  “I love your smile,” I sighed, then grimaced when I realized what I had said and who I’d said it in front of.

  Ty’s hand wandered onto my leg and gave a gentle squeeze before pulling back.

  Ty switched the lights on, the only sound all the way back to the compound was the clicking of the keys coming from Evans laptop.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Evan had gone straight back to his cabin as soon as we got back to the compound, he spent the rest of the weekend cooped up in there going through all of the information that we had found.

  I was so full of adrenaline that there was no way that I was going to get back to sleep anytime soon so I curled up on the couch and watched a film. Expecting Ty to go to bed or to his upstairs office but instead he sat on the couch with me.

  That’s how I woke up the next morning, me laying down with my feet in Ty’s lap and his head leaning against the back of the couch.

  Monday morning came around and in walked Evan with a face full of stubble and bloodshot eyes. He sat down, his eyes still glued to his laptop and his fingers flying across the keyboard.

  “Coffee.” I placed my cup down and went back to pour another.

  “Thanks,” he said when I sat down.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I closed my eyes breathing in deeply while we waited for the rest of the guys. It was a rare moment, one where I felt completely at peace. My life had been turned upside down, only now was it feeling like everything was settling.

  I’d come to the realization that I couldn’t change anything that had happened but what I could do was not let it control my life. This was my life and I had to deal with what had been handed to me, my way.

  “Mornin’.” I cracked one eye open and watched Kitty slump down in the chair opposite me.

  Her hair was tied on the top of her head in a messy bun and she wore her glasses. I hated to say it but she looked a hot mess.

  “Morning,” I lifted my cup, about to take a sip of coffee when she reached over and snatched it out of my hand.