He patted my leg before he got up and followed Jesse outside onto the deck, closing the door behind him. Unease crawled up my spine and settled in my gut as every possible bad thought played out in my head.
I put the plate holding the remaining pie on the coffee table as Cole came to sit beside me.
“What’s wrong? You look like you’re gonna be sick.”
I looked up into his blue eyes and saw the concern there. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Jesse needed to talk to Phantom, and my gut is telling me it has to do with me.”
“Maybe that’s just all the pie talking. Did you leave any for anyone else?” he quipped as he dropped onto the sofa beside me. He held his own plate full of dessert.
I raised a brow at him and his overflowing plate, but he cut me off before I could call him an asshole.
“You don’t know it has anything to do with you, Adam. It could be the tour, or some other thing they’re working on.”
He was right. I didn’t know.
“I know, but—”
I paused when I caught sight of Michael walking back to me. My eyes never failed to find him when he entered a room, but something was different. The expression on his face was serious, and I knew my intuition was spot on.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as he rounded the sofa and retook his seat next to me.
“I’ll leave you guys alone,” Cole replied, but Michael shook his head no.
“Stay, Cole. It’s okay.”
Bile rose in my throat as Jesse and Aidan walked over, and Patrick wasted no time joining the group.
They all wore looks of concern, and I knew something was wrong. I rubbed at the spot over my heart and waited. If he didn’t tell me soon, I was going to lose it.
“What the fuck is going on, Michael? Stop this bullshit and tell me.”
He nodded and took my hand. I looked down at where he held it tightly. “Jesse got a call from the detective. They caught the blackmailer.”
I rolled the words around in my head, trying to make sense of them. My brows drew together at my confusion.
“You mean my mom, right?” A bead of sweat trailed down my spine.
Michael looked at me somberly. “No, not your mom, babe. It’s a man. They want to know if we want to come down to the station. You don’t have to go.”
Nausea began to overtake me, because if it wasn’t her, then I knew who it was. My hands shook and my breathing sped up, almost ready to go into panic mode.
“Where is she? Did they find her?”
Without answering, Michael pulled me into his arms. He held me tightly as I breathed in his cologne to soothe me. I held on to him as the memories of the beatings and burns resurfaced from the depths of my soul where I’d buried them.
A sob broke from me, as the little boy in me relived the terror.
“I’ve got you, babe.” He tightened his hold and ran his hands over my back. “Your brothers are here. Your parents are here. The motherfucking SEALS are here, and no one will ever hurt you again.”
I shuddered, a chill running down my spine as the tears cascaded down my face. I couldn’t stop them, not a single one. I felt his gaze on me and knew who it was that held me in their arms as I wept uncontrollably. I hated he could still get this reaction from me, even all these years later.
“Is it Vincent?” I whispered to him. “Vincent Harper?”
Michael tightened his hold before answering. “Yeah, baby. It’s him. But they got him. And he’s going to prison for the rest of his life.”
I processed his words as best I could. But something didn’t make sense. When the shaking had all but stopped, I pulled back and wiped at my face. I looked around until I found Aidan. He’d know.
“Can they put him away for this? Like forever?”
