Page 60 of Fractured Hope
“We’ll go after lunch. Or has he or Seb stopped by today?” Turning to Atticus, I asked, “Why don’t we take them lunch and visit now?”
“That’s perfect!” Kay exclaimed. “They haven’t come by, so why don’t I prepare the usual and you can go check in.”
“Sounds good to me.” I beamed at Kay. I had loved being holed up with Atticus, but I’d missed Kay and Lyric.
“Thanks, Kay,” Atticus said with a nod.
We moved off to the side to wait for our food. The lunch rush hadn’t started yet, so Kay was able to get everything out quickly, and then we were off to the garage.
As we walked through the open roller door, Seb spotted us.
“Hey! What are you guys doing here? Is everything okay?” It was clear everyone was still on edge because I could feel the anxiety in Seb’s voice.
“We brought you and Lyric lunch.” I held up the bag. “You free to take a break?”
“Sure.” Seb came over to hug his brother, then me. “Lyric’s in the office. Go on through and I’ll meet you there once I wash up.”
We headed back to the break room, and I knocked on the office doorway since the door was open. Lyric’s head popped up from where he’d been hard at work on the computer, and as soon as he saw us a smile of relief crossed his face.
“Boy, is it good to see you! You scared us, bro.” He was up and brushing past me to embrace Atticus in a bear hug before I could blink.
Atticus seemed a little taken aback at the force of Lyric’s hug, but he quickly returned it. “I’m fine now, I promise. You know what it’s like to have a concussion.”
I thought I’d save a slightly uncomfortable Atticus. “What about me? Don’t I get a hug?” I asked and nudged Lyric to let go of Atticus. Handing Atticus the food, I pulled Lyric into a hug, too. “He really is fine now. I’m sorry about all of this,” I whispered into his ear.
He pulled back, looking at me stoically. “Not your fault, but thanks.” He offered a soft, genuine smile before turning on the charm, which I now realized was more of a mask.
“So, what goodies did you bring me?” he asked, with his signature smirk in place as he turned toward the food Atticus was laying out on the table.
“The usual.” Atticus chuckled as we all moved to collect plates and dish out the food.
I caught a commotion over Atticus’s shoulder. Seb was heading toward the break room, but something wasn’t right. He was walking backward, and his hands were raised, shoulders tense.
What the fuck!?
“Shit!” I ducked down behind the chair I was about to sit in.
Cold dread settled over me.This couldn’t be happening.
Peering around the chair, I watched as Seb shifted. The man who’d become my nightmare came into view. His large build nearly matched Seb in width and muscle mass, and his icy blond hair was greasy and unkempt.
“This isn’t happening.” My brain was having a hard time computing what I was seeing.
Derek is here.
He has a gun.
Derek had a gun pointed at Seb, trying to get him to move in here with us.
Atticus had picked up on my panic and was about to move to come over to me when my brain came back online.
“No! Nobody move,” I whispered as loud as I could without drawing attention to us. “Lyric, I need you to go into the office and lock the door. Call 9-1-1, then call Max. Tell him Derek is here and holding us at gunpoint.”
“What!?” They each spoke in unison.
We didn’t have time to argue. Derek would see me and Atticus at any moment. Lyric was the only one out of sight.
“Lyric!” I whisper hissed again. “Please go. We need help.” I made sure he was looking at me. “Stay out of sight!”
