Twisted Complications by Nikita Parmenter

Chapter Twenty-Eight

As soon as the words have left my mouth, Atlas roars as the guys all start cursing angrily, their reaction slightly tempered as the try to stop Atlas and Jensen going for the coach who has started to scoot back looking truly terrified for his life.

Rage rushes past me a look of pure savage anger on his features as he stalks towards the coach, there was no one stopping him and that was a massive oversight on our part. The muttering of the other students in the room dies down immediately. Rage drags the coach to his feet and slams him up against the wall, his head bouncing off of it making his eyes unfocused for a second as he groans in pain.

Rage pins him in place by his throat completely unaffected by the coaches grasping hands.

“You think you can lay your fucking filthy hands on her!?” He roars, the boom of his voice echoing around the room.

Now is not an appropriate time to get turned on, but holy fuck. Rage has just lost his shit because he cares about me.

Rage jabs the coach in the ribs and the snap rings out throughout the room. His hand tightens around his neck, cutting off the coach’s air supply as his eyes go wide with panic.

Rage lowers his voice, a cold darkness threading through it. “If you ever so much as look at her the wrong way again, I will fucking end you.”

The threat is clear, and the coach loses all colour, trying desperately to escape Rage’s hold. Rage doesn’t let go until he loses consciousness, falling to the floor in a heap.

“Nicely done brother.” Jensen grins approvingly.

Rage’s eye’s pierce me with intensity. He makes his way over to me ignoring everyone and everything else in the room as he gently places a large palm on my cheek.

“Are you okay?” He asks tenderly, his eyes never leaving mine.

I place my hand on his and nod, that’s all the confirmation he needs as gently removes his hand, his fingers skimming my cheek and storms out of the room, the doors slamming behind him. I stare after him unsure about whether I should follow him or not.

The feelings stirring inside me for him have me pausing.

“He’ll be okay, Princess.” Atlas says softly wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “He just needs a minute to calm down.”

I nod.

“We should probably do damage control.” Cash mutters.

“Right.” Trick replies before raising his voice and turning towards the still shocked onlookers. “Let this be a lesson to all of you no one is above the consequences if they threaten Ever. If it’s not one of us who deal with you it will be Ever. Just remember what she managed to do while injured.”

He lets that realisation sink in and then continues.

“Any snitches will also be swiftly dealt with.” His eyes are cold and there’s no doubting his seriousness.

All of the onlooker’s nod. Trick dismisses them by turning his back to them and back to face us.

“Should someone check that he’s still alive.” I say pointing to the coach.

“Nah, Rage knows how long he can squeeze someone’s throat before they die. He was fucking angry as hell, but he was in control, barely.” Atlas replies.

“We may as well get out of here. There’s no point staying.” Luc says.

I study him to make sure that he’s okay. He nods calmly and I smile.

“Sounds good to me, I was going to be bored as hell watching you guys anyway.” I think for a second. “Actually, scrap that, watching my sexy as fuck guys kick ass. That would’ve been hot as hell. I just would’ve been extremely frustrated.” I smirk.

“God, I love the things you say.” Rafe grins swooping in and kissing me.

“Thanks, Big Guy. You guys go get changed and I’ll wait out here.”

“Oh, hell fucking no.” Jensen growls. “I’m not leaving you alone again.”

“Riot, Luc, and Cash, go and get everyone’s shit. We can get dressed back at home.” Trick orders.

As soon as they’re back, we make our way to the SUV, all of us having to pile in the one car since Rage has taken his. We get back in no time and I’m relieved to see that Rage’s car is already in the driveway.

“Ever, I want to check your stitches just in case.” Cash says as soon as we get through the door and I nod.

“I’m feeling sore again, I think the painkillers from lunch are starting to wear off.” I admit.

“I’ll make us all hot chocolate and get you some more painkillers, Dragonfly.” Rafe says making his way into the kitchen.

“Thank you.” I call after him, making my way to the couch and perching on the edge, turning to the side so Cash can see better.

“I’m going to go check on Rage.” Atty says.

“Let me go.” Trick asks.

Atty nods and comes to sit down in the living room the others spreading out and turning on the TV. I lift up my top and Cash carefully peels back the large bandage covering it. He leans in his breath caressing my side and making goose bumps speckle my skin.

“It’s healing really nicely, doesn’t look like you’ve done any more damage to it, you could probably let the air get to it now and shower. Just be careful when you dry it.” He explains.

“Awesome.” I grin, relived that I haven’t done any more damage and that I don’t have to keep that bandage on, it was tugging uncomfortably on my skin. I tie my top under my boobs tucking it in underneath my bra and settling comfortably on the couch.

“Peter’s here.” Luc calls from by the door as he lets him in. I didn’t even hear the buzzer go too distracted by Cash’s gentle touch.

“Hey dude.” I call from the couch, tilting my head to look over it.

“Had an eventful combat class didn’t you.” He smirks.

“Rumour mill?” Jensen chuckles.

“Oh yeah, Ever’s gone up in everyone’s estimations not many will mess with her when you guys aren’t around now.” Peter grins, coming around the couch. When his eyes land on my side they widen comically. “You said you were wounded but shit sugar, how’re you functioning? I’d still be in fucking bed if I did that.”

“It’s not too bad.” I grin.

“It is and I’d argue that point, but I want to know what you guys have found out about Phoenix.” Peter grins.

“Hot chocolates are ready.” Rafe says bringing in a tray with them and then handing them out.

Trick and Rage come back in the room and my heart leaps at the sight of the both of them. I don’t know what Trick said to him, but Rage seems relaxed and there seems to be a new camaraderie between them. Relief floods me as he smiles my way and doesn’t ignore me like I thought he would. There are only so many times my heart can take it when he does that after we have a moment.

Luc and Cash bring over the large pile of blueprints and the notebook and we start to explain what we’re planning to do.

“We hit a dead end after we found the notebook with all of the names in it.” I add in.

“You found a list of members?” Peter asks incredulously.

“Unfortunately not, we think that it’s a list of initiates. It contains the names of the five kids that went missing. We did some digging and it turns out that they all died under mysterious circumstances, bar the five who went missing. All apart from one who we found in an asylum not too far away.” Trick continues to explain what we learned from Clint and about Amelia, the only female name on the list.

“That is absolutely crazy. I can’t believe you’ve found so much information in such a short amount of time. My dad never mentioned a girl and he definitely would’ve, especially after I told him that they’d let a girl in.” Peter says, frowning. “Someone is definitely killing them off, but what’s the reason for it? And why after all this time?”

“That’s just one of the many questions we need answers to.” Jensen chuckles.

“Alright what can I do to help?”

“Are you any good at research? We’ve got a fuck load of blueprints to go through, organise and then try to find a link through them all. Which should be easy but so far, we’ve only managed to look at six and they were incredibly hard to find any details on, which is suspicious just from that. So, I think we’re on the right track. I have minimal hacking skills.” Cash runs his hand over his beard sounding exasperated.

“I can help with that.” Peter grins, his eyes mischievous. “I’ve been known to get into a few places on the internet that you should need top level clearance for.”

“Thank fuck.” Luc huffs with relief.

“I’ve got my laptop with me; do you want to start now?” Peter asks, unable to hide his excitement.

“Yeah, we can set up at the table.” Luc says.

While they work, we just chill out. I really want to offer to help them, but I’m more likely to get in the way and accidentally delete everything, than I am to actually help them. I try to distract my impatient ass by watching the Tv and playing with Atty’s hair as he sits in front of me on the floor. Rage moves from sitting on the armchair, which has been his seat of choice whenever we sit in here. I think he’s been trying to keep some separation between him and us.

I think the idea of family scares him but what truly terrifies him is that it could be taken away from him, he could be given the small slither of hope that he could belong to a family and it could be snatched away from him.

It has made him a lot more cautious, which from the small amount of information that he’s told us about his past is completely understandable. One day he will understand that we’re not going anywhere, he’s a part of this family. He must be starting to get it though, because he gets up out of his chair and comes to sit down next to me, pressing his entire side against mine as we watch TV and I pretend like it’s not a big deal that he’s voluntarily sitting next to me and isn’t avoiding me like the plague after what happened in the gym.

“How’s your side, Puddin’?” He asks me softly.

“It’s sore,” I say sipping my hot chocolate and swallowing down the painkillers that Rafe brought me. “I didn’t pull the stitches or anything when I dislocated the coach’s shoulder. Cash said it’s healing quite well.”

I move shifting Atty and turning the other way to show Rage my side.

“You are fucking tougher than most men I know who have been in this business for decades.” Rage compliments, his fingers gently caressing my side. “Maybe just stop getting injured though? I don’t think any of us handle it well.”

“We’ve told her that from the very beginning.” Jensen grumbles.

“Hey, you got injured too!” I point out.

“Yeah, but that’s different.” He shrugs.

“Not to me.” I retort.

“Fair enough. How about everyone just stops getting injured?” Riot tries to pacify.

“I don’t think that’s possible in our line of work.” Rafe mutters.

“Then this is the rule, come back to me, come back to us. No matter what, come home.” I say fiercely the fun conversation taking an unexpected turn.

“I promise, if it is possible, I will always come home, Sweetheart.” Trick vows.

“I promise the same thing, Puddin’.” Rage comments sounding a little bit hesitant like he’s not sure it’s place.

Unsure if I was talking to him as well.

I smile gently at him and rest my head on his shoulder.

One by one all the guys make the same modified promise and I echo it back to them.

“If you guys decide to let me in fully and trust me, which I know is going to take time, then I promise to work behind the scenes to make sure you all always come home no matter what.” Peter vows, seriously and my trust in him grows more from that vow than anything else he could’ve said or done.

He’s closer than he thinks to being completely in, we just need to make sure that he’s up for it and is in for the long haul. This isn’t an, until the end of school kind of thing.

“Thanks man, we definitely appreciate that.” Trick replies.

“Okay, so I’ve gotten through ten of these so far.” Peter replies changing the subject.

“Seriously, you’ve only been at it for an hour!” Luc, grumbles. “I’m still on my first one.”

“Thank god, we’ve got you.” I grin.

“Thanks, got to give you a reason to keep me.” He grins.

None of us can really give the reassurance that he wants right now, like I said we need to make sure that he’s really invested in this.

Atlas chuckles as he gets up and walks over to where they’ve set up. “Show us what you’ve found so far then.”

“Right, this pile is the businesses that got shut down because of some sort of scandal. I’ve still got to find out if there’s a link between the scandals or who caused them. I’ve made a list of the men that all owned them. Yes, they were all owned by men.” He says raising his eyebrow in a knowing way. “This pile is the ones shut down by bankruptcy except, right up until a few months before they went bankrupt, they were very lucrative.” He explains. “This final pile is the most interesting so far, they just disappeared. One minute they were booming businesses and the next the buildings were abandoned and brought up. I’ve left a list of names for each pile so far.”

“Wow, well done. That’s great work.” I say getting up and grabbing the notebook with the list of names and taking a seat opposite Peter and Cash, with Luc sitting next to me. I rest my head on his shoulder as I flip through the notebook to find the names.

“I’m going to start on dinner.” Rafe says, stretching as he walks into the kitchen. “Peter are you staying? I’m doing spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread.”

“Yes please. I haven’t had a home cooked meal since I left home.” He says wistfully. Before stage whispering across the table to me. “He can cook right?”

“He’s the best cook, seriously. I’d pay good fucking money for his food.” I reply.

Rafe, clears his throat awkwardly and even from here I can see pink darken his cheeks in a blush. I grin at Peter and he mouths adorable back at me.

“Most of the names that you guys have found so far are on the list but, not all of them are, there are three that aren’t.” I say saving Rafe from further misplaced embarrassment.

“Do we assume that they were official members of Phoenix, not the initiates?”  Jensen asks.

“Or they could’ve been people that crossed Phoenix and they took them down?”

“Is Phoenix only present in this academy or are they in others as well?” I ask the thought just occurring to me.

“As far as I could understand from my father, Phoenix is exclusively a part of the academy. This has always been the place where the rich, famous, and influential send their kids. Kids make lifelong connections and enemies here.” Peter tries to explain.

“Well, at least there’s that I guess.” I grumble.

We seem to have so many more questions than answers when it comes to Phoenix, the bunker and the missing kids. I think I’m going to have to resign myself to the fact that this is a marathon not a sprint.

“I can give the names of the business to my guy and see if he can find out anything?” Atlas suggests.

“Yeah, it’s worth a shot.” Trick shrugs.

It’s become an unspoken agreement between all of us that we keep Alaric’s involvement and who he is, a secret from Peter. While we all like him and he is being a big help as far as Phoenix is concerned. We need to build the right level of trust in order to bring him in fully. He understands that and doesn’t ask. Just carries on typing away on his laptop. I am worried about how well he knows how to protect himself; I know we have combat and weapons classes here but in order to survive in our life he needs to be really good at both of those things. It’s something that we can keep an eye on.

“Do you want a hand?” I ask Rafe giving up on Phoenix for now it’s just frustrating.

“Yeah sure, can you make the garlic bread? I’ve nearly finished making the sauce.” He replies grinning at me over his shoulder as he stirs.

“Don’t forget, we’ve got the parents day thing at the beginning of the week after next. It’s mandatory, even if you haven’t got parents coming.” Atlas reminds us rolling his eyes.

“I fucking hate parents’ day.” Rage growls, his eyes shadowed.

“Fair warning, if your mother shows up, I’m going to play my favourite game of stab the bitch.” I shrug, completely unrepentant as his mouth drops in shock.

“Why?” He asks, sounding completely baffled and the guys chuckle softly.

“Oh dude. Ever clearly considers you one of her own now, that means that if anyone hurts you or any of us, she gets stabby and/or destroys them.” Trick explains.

“Yours?” Rage asks his eyes guarded.

I shrug, it’s been said, I’m not denying it but I’m also not letting him freak out and run if I voice it out loud. My eyes don’t leave his though and his blaze with heat the longer he holds my gaze. I break eye contact first, getting up to help Rafe and run my hand gently over Rage’s shoulder. I catch Trick’s eye as I do it and he winks at me. Not upset that I’m clearly developing feeling’s for Rage I have a feeling that they all realised before I fucking did.

I help Rafe finish the dinner and he orders the guys to clear the table of all work related stuff. Peter is suitably impressed by Rafe’s cooking and after his first bite tells him that he expects an invite every time that Rafe cooks. Peter has fit in with us incredibly easily after a shaky start and I’m glad. Not to sound too much like the kids here but we need to build the connections while we’re here, we’re going to need all the help we can get. We may be making the world a better place by getting rid of scum, mainly to do with Liam, but we are also creating enemies along the way and we need as many trusted people in our corner as we can fucking get.