"Nova, what the hell happened?" he asks me. "We've been in the diner a few times and you've not been there. We asked Riley where you were but all she kept saying was that she hadn't heard from you. And then we see on the news that your uncle is claiming that you've both been kidnapped and he thinks it's something to do with someone he's arrested."
I turn to Max. "Shit, Ice." He smiles at my use of his road name in front of Wolf.
"What is it, baby?" he asks.
"Riley. I didn't even think about letting her know I was okay. She'll be worried," I rush out.
"It's okay," he tries to reassure me.
"No, please. She always made me promise that if we ever ran that we would run to her. Please, she'll be so worried," I tell him in a panic.
"Hey," Wolf says, getting my attention. "I can tell her you're okay."
"No," Ice snaps. "It's not that simple, brother. We can't just tell people where they are." His voice is laced with tension as he tells him not to say anything.
"I know you're worried about people finding out where we are. I am too. But I can't not tell Riley where I am, I can't let her think the worst. She's been there for me when I've had no-one. She's the only person we've had in our corner." I can feel my stress rising.
"Baby. Breathe. I'm not saying we won't tell her, I'm just saying that we need to be careful. I'll make sure that she knows that you're both safe. I'll make sure that we get word to her, but we need to make sure that nobody else finds out," Max tells me, his hand rubbing up and down my back soothing the rising panic.
"Can we bring Riley here?" Mason chimes in, and I turn to look at him.
"We can ask her, buddy, if that’s what you guys want?" Max states.
I look up at him. "Really?" I ask, shocked that this is even an option.
"Baby, if you want her here, I'll arrange for her to be brought here today. All you have to do is say the word," he tells me with a smile.
"But do you trust her? Would it be okay?" I ask.
"Of course. You trust her, Dragonfly, you just said it yourself, she's been in your corner when you’ve had no-one. You trust her, therefore, we trust her. The guys and I have already had the conversation about her," he tells me, glancing behind me at Mason, and I turn to see my little brother with a guilty look on his face.
I furrow my brows at him and then turn back to Max. "Mase told us how close you and Riley were when you first arrived. It was after you had that panic attack and you were out of it. He was pretty upset, and we were trying to distract him, trying to keep him occupied. We asked him about your friends, and he told us that you only had Riley. He told us how she was always there for you guys." He brushes the hair away from my face. "We wanted to make sure that you guys were comfortable here, so we actually talked about telling her right away, but we weren't sure how you would take us approaching her without your consent, so we agreed that we would wait until you mentioned it."
I rub my temples, a headache looming. Max places a kiss on the top of my head, then gets up and walks away without saying anything. My eyes track him across the room as he heads into the kitchen. A few seconds later, he emerges and makes his way back over to my table. "I need to go do a couple of things. Take these for the headache, I won't be long." He kisses my forehead and then turns to Wolf.
"Go easy on her, and don't push her. If her headache gets any worse, make her go lie down for a while, please," he tells him. Wolf gives him a nod, which Max returns, and then he walks toward Nitro and Wrath.
I take one tablet with my bottle of water and face Wolf. He raises his eyebrows at me and then indicates to the painkillers. "Take another, sweetheart, you look like you need it. And I have a feeling our conversation is about to get pretty heavy."
He waits for me to take the other tablet, his eyes only leaving my face briefly to glance at Mason. I follow his gaze, knowing what he's thinking, but Mason is more than happy ignoring us while he colours. Besides, I won't be sharing anything with Wolf that Mason doesn't already know.
"So, how did you end up here?" he asks me.
I blow out a breath and lean back on the seat. "You know things weren’t great at home, don't you?" I ask. He's never really seen anything, nor have we told him, but given he was always asking about home and checking up on us at the diner, I think he knows something.
"I have an idea of what might be going on, but why don't you clear it up for me, so I fully understand?" he states.
I look around the room and remind myself that I'm safe here, that we are safe. Then I look at Wolf and realise that I'm safe with him. He and Acid, they took note from the beginning, they checked up on us from the day they met Mason.
"Okay," I breathe out. "Short version. Our parents died six years ago." I glance down at Mason. I don't want to trigger anything for him, but I think he's stronger than I am. "We stayed with a family friend for a few weeks, but then ended up with my aunt and uncle, my mum’s brother."
I take a drink from the almost empty bottle of water and then continue. "My aunt and uncle, they were,arecruel. Not long after we got there, my aunt hit Mason. I put myself between them and made sure that she knew they could do what they wanted to me as long as they left Mason alone..."
"Shit, Nova," he bites out. "I wish we’d known, I wish you'd told us."
"Why? What would have been the point? There was nothing anyone could have done—”
"Of course there are things people could have done," he cuts me off.
