Page 43 of Find Me
Keelan made his way over by going around to the front of the desk while Knox held back by the hall, texting on his phone.
“Heard you were bringing us lunch?” Keelan said.
I held out the picnic basket in front of me. “I tried out a new recipe. Want to be my guinea pig?”
Keelan smiled brightly and held out his hand to take the basket. “When it comes to your cooking, I’d happily volunteer as tribute.” He tilted his head in Knox’s direction. “We’re all going to hang in Knox’s office.”
I nodded and followed him around the front desk.
Knox looked up from his phone as we approached. “What’d you make?” he asked me.
I met Knox’s intense eyes as I hiked the strap of my gym bag further up my shoulder. “Food.”
My response made Keelan snort. Knox, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes. Yet again, I was playing with fire by messing with the eldest Stone brother. I couldn’t seem to help myself. It was too much fun.
I held his stare and the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. As soon as that tiny hint of a smile appeared, it was gone, leaving me doubting it had actually happened. His attention flicked to Stephanie. “We’re all taking our lunch, Steph.” He didn’t wait for her response before taking off back down the hall.
Knox’s office was pretty big. There was a giant wooden desk facing the door right when you walked in and off to the side as you went deeper into the room was a long conference table that had ten chairs surrounding it.
Keelan set the basket on the center of the table before opening it up and pulling everything out. “It smells really good, Shi. Thank you,” he said as he worked.
“You’re welcome,” I mumbled sheepishly as I took a seat at the table. “Where are Colt and Creed?”
“They’re finishing up a tour with some new members,” Knox answered as he sat at the head of the table.
“Are you not eating, baby girl?” Keelan asked as he set four sandwiches and four containers in front of him and Knox and two empty seats, I assumed for the twins.
I shook my head. “I already ate at home. I figured I’d head upstairs for a run after I dropped off the food.”
Keelan pulled out the chair next to me and took a seat. “How’s your hip? You’re not pushing yourself, are you?”
“It’s a lot better today. I figured I’d stop running if it begins to bother me,” I replied.
The door to the office opened and the twins came strutting in. Colt smiled when he saw me. “Sorry we’re late, babe.”
Creed glared at Colt. “If you weren’t so polite, that chick wouldn’t have assumed she had a chance with you. I swear I’ve never seen someone hint at how available they were so much in my life. The woman was so desperate it was fucking annoying.”
“Aw, is someone jealous?” I teased Creed.
Creed turned his glare on me, and Colt’s smile widened.
“I’m surprised she didn’t try for both of you,” I said to them. “Whenever Shayla and I were out and about together, pervs would ask if we were a package deal.”
They all went quiet and I caught Colt and Creed exchanging a look. I was just as surprised as they were that I’d talked about Shayla. It showed that I was beginning to feel comfortable around these guys and that I’d need to be careful with what I revealed moving forward. It was alright to share some things about my past, but the whole point of WITSEC was to protect my true identity. If anyone found out, Logan would relocate me, and I’d have to start over again somewhere new. Alone. I didn’t want to risk that. Colt and Creed were…important to me and I would miss them. I also had this fear that if they did find out, they wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore. Who could blame them? Would anyone really want to be friends with someone whose family was murdered by an obsessed, crazed stalker who was still out there looking for her? No, they wouldn’t. If the guys ever found out, I would lose them.
Colt masked the slight surprise that was showing on all of their faces. “Shayla was your twin, right?”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath.I can do this.“Would you like to see a picture of her?” I asked timidly and pulled out my cell phone from the thigh pocket of my leggings. I tapped on my album app and I scrolled through the few pictures Logan had said I could keep until I found one. It was one of the last pictures we’d taken together. We were at the beach on the last family vacation we’d ever take. Shay and I were dressed similar, wearing jean shorts, bikini tops, and flip-flops. Shay’s hair was blue and styled up in a bun, whereas my brown hair was in two long braids hanging down my chest. The two of us were posing on a pier with the ocean showing in the background. Shay had hopped on my back and was smiling with her arms in the air while I held her legs and laughed. We looked so happy. Carefree.
I offered my phone to Colt. He took it and held it out so all his brothers could see. At the same time, small smiles pulled Colt’s and Creed’s lips. “Shayla has the blue hair, right?” Creed asked.
“Can’t tell the difference?” I teased with a smile before nodding.
“Look at all that brown hair,” Keelan said as his eyes roamed over the picture. “How old were you?”
“Sixteen.”
“You looked really happy,” Creed mumbled, and his brothers all stiffened. Colt cleared his throat before handing me back my phone. The twins walked around the table. The moment their butts hit their chairs, they all began peeling back the foil around their sandwiches and dug in. The room filled with groans and I smiled.
