Page 69 of Lost in the Light

“That’s the one self defense move I learned at the one and only class I attended. I can’t believe I actually got to use it,” she explained as she walked into Jordan’s arms and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I have to admit, I enjoyed it a whole lot,” she added with a bright smile.

“Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate you stepping in before I had to restrain her any further,” Asher sighed, clearly relieved Zara was gone.

“That woman is a psycho, and she’s obsessed with you, Ash. You need to watch your back,” Eli pointed out.

“He’s right. Who knows what she could do now she has nothing to lose?” Addy agreed, as she looked from Ash to me with concern.

“I’ll make sure Asher has security at all times, Angel. He’ll be safe. Don’t worry,” I reassured her.

“I think I can protect myself from Zara,” Asher scoffed.

“Where’s Adam? How long can it take to grab a few pizzas? I’m starving,” Jordan grumbled, making us all laugh again. The man was always starving. I had no idea how he wasn’t the size of a house with what he put away.

Jordan and Addy headed back into Eli’s office to get back to work, as Eli approached his brother with an apprehensive look that had me waiting to hear what was worrying him.

“Ash, what are we doing about that?” Eli said as he nodded to the door that had been closed for months now. Behind it was the huge corner office Joseph Lyle had ruled his empire from. Asher had refused to move into it when his father passed, and as far as I knew, no one but the FBI had been in there since.

“The FBI took everything they could use as evidence. Legal went through it too and removed any relevant documents. I’ve told the new owner he can do as he wishes with the remaining contents. We’re not even stepping foot in there, Eli,” Asher assured his brother. “Joseph Lyle is dead, his empire is gone, and the case against him is out of my hands now. We can move on and leave him cold in the ground where he belongs.”

“Okay,” Eli nodded, a slight wobble to that one single word. “That’s good.”

Asher wrapped his hand around the back of Eli’s neck and pulled him close until their foreheads touched.

“We have a fresh start now, brother. We’re going to live the lives we want, and not the ones we were dictated.”

I turned and walked away, not wanting to intrude on the moment the brothers seemed to be having – a moment they desperately needed after everything they’d been through. I just hoped Asher was right and they could finally find some peace and happiness in their lives.

CHAPTER 20

ADDY

“What do you think?” Jordan asked as he stood in the middle of the huge building and looked to me hopefully.

The newly built two story building, which had originally been planned to be used as a government funded health clinic, had lost funding, and the building was being sold off before it had ever been used, or even completed on the inside. Now it was just a huge open space with wide windows down one side and a large glass atrium at the front. It was situated perfectly for what we had planned, surrounded by areas of the city with higher crime rates and poverty. There was a high school just down the block and an elementary school two blocks away.

“I think it’s perfect,” I told him giddily. We had already viewed two other buildings in the last week, but this was the only one I saw working for us. It had the space we’d need to set up the zoned areas we had planned, and it was the perfect location for the kids to come to us. “Eli could do art classes in that glass atrium at the front. The light would be perfect I think.”

“It has a huge open area out back too. It was going to be a parking lot, but I was thinking of setting up a sports court out there, as well as one in here. There’s separate rooms in the back where we could have a kitchen, changing rooms andbathrooms.” Jordan’s excitement was palpable and I could feel it.

“I think it’s ideal, bro. We can get it finished up in here. We’ll need someone to do the lighting and electrics, but we can get it boarded out and painted,” Adam said as he walked over to where Jordan and I stood facing one another.

“I have some great ideas for murals on these walls,” Eli called across the room from where he and Asher stood near the entrance.

“We’ll need to install a good security system. This whole neighborhood is a security nightmare,” Kane grumbled. He was the only one who had reservations about me being involved in setting up and running the center. He was worried about how much risk I’d be in being there, but he wouldn’t deter me. I was not only determined, but I was excited too.

The past week, since I stood up to Zara at theLylebuilding, it had been a good one for me, for the most part. Asher was still dealing with the sale of the huge company, but since one buyer was buying everything, it had been somewhat simplified. That meant I’d not only had both of my brothers home with me almost all week. I’d also had my guys. Having them all close had helped soothe my anxiety since the nightmare that showed me just how truly evil the man who fathered me was, and my panic attacks had calmed back down, coming less frequently through the days.

The nights were a different matter, since I seemed to have no control over the nightmares that haunted me. I had been so grateful and relieved that Adam, Jordan, or Kane always slept beside me now, and they were always there to wake me when Istarted to cry out or toss and turn, and then they soothed me until I managed to come back to myself and reality.

Our days had been fun, just spending time together, and making plans for the new center we all seemed to be focused on now. We’d visited the other properties in between, and Asher had been helping Jordan work out what he would need in terms of things like insurance, criminal records checks, and so much other admin that would need to be done for us to open.

The center had given me a focus and I was so excited to get to work. It made me feel like I was truly doing something important and worthwhile. It was a future I wanted; a future helping kids like me when they needed it. It, along with the growing relationship between me and my three guys, had given me something to cling to, and during the days I’d been feeling stronger and stronger. I knew I needed to hold on to them and hope they would continue to make me feel braver.

“I had a thought on that,” Asher spoke up as he and Eli came closer. “I donated money to a vet program last year that works to find jobs and homes for retired veterans. I was wondering if maybe we could hire a few of them here. I think they’d work well with the types of kids we hope will come here, and they’d also be vigilant for trouble.”

“That’s a great idea. As long as they pass all of the checks we need to do, I don’t see why not,” Jordan agreed happily.

“I’d want to do my own background checks on any employees we take on,” Kane added firmly, like he dared anyone to argue with him.

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