Enjoying Trouble (Trouble #3) (19 page)

“I hear you’re quite the fighter, now.”

“I will seriously hurt the next one you touch,” I warned him before suddenly realising what he had said. My shoulders slumped as I stated, “Harry told you.”

He shook his head and said, “He didn’t tell me, I found out myself. Your secret is safe with me, though. Can you promise me one thing though?”

“What?”

“Train with me sometimes, when you’re better. I don’t imagine anything would be hotter,” he said with a grin.

“You’ll have me training naked.”

He closed his eyes.

“What’s the matter?” I asked with a frown.

“Just picturing the perfectness of that situation.”

I laughed and nestled down on the bed, feeling elated but exhausted.

He pulled the covers over me and murmured, “Get some sleep.”

I closed my eyes and then asked sleepily, “Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Yes,” he said kissing me softly before the heavy drag of sleep claimed me.

I awoke hours later, still feeling like I had been beaten as my head pounded. True to his word, I found Will sleeping beside me and smiled to myself. He was here, for good and the feeling of that was absolutely wonderful. I looked at his hand on my stomach and noticed the bruising of his knuckles. I wondered who he had punched the night I was in hospital.

There was a knock at the door and he stirred from his sleep, his eyes opening on to me.

“It’s just me,” Ava called out from the other side of the door. “We got burgers for everyone. Come down and eat them while they’re hot.”

              “Okay,” I called out, my voice breaking slightly. I needed a drink badly. Will sat up and rubbed his face with both hands, trying to wake up, knowing there were burgers downstairs waiting for him. I got out of bed and headed over to the bathroom to freshen up a little and find my painkillers. I washed my face and tried to smooth my hair down. He was soon behind me, holding up the pill bottle for me. I smiled gratefully and took two, hoping they would work quickly.

“You need me to help you down the stairs? Or do you want me to bring the burgers up?” he asked.

“I’ll be down in a sec, I just need to freshen up and take a quick shower or something, I feel yuck,” I said.

“Need help?”

I smiled and pushed him away playfully. “Go and have your burgers. I’ll be five minutes.”

He kissed me and then left me in the bathroom to comprehend the mess I was looking at in the mirror. I was obviously longer than five minutes because I found Zac at the bedroom door as I came out of the bathroom, refreshed with new clothes on. I had deliberately put on my tight black singlet and black yoga pants, which was one of Will’s favourite looks. I smiled as I looked over to Zac.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, leaning against the door frame.

“Okay - a little battered - but okay,” I said with a smile.

“You’re smiling,” he said with a smile. “I’ve missed that.”

I moistened my lips together and continued to smile. Will had always had that effect on me.

“He’s going to look after you and I’m comfortable with that,” he said folding his arms.

“But?” I asked, knowing it was coming.

“But if you ever withhold important information from me again, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Hey, I was in a serious car accident yesterday. You need to be nice to me,” I said.

“Next time, I don’t care what is at stake, you tell me what’s going on,” he stated.

“Aren’t you just a little tired of saving your sister over and over again?” I asked.

“No.”

I smiled and then blinked the forming tears away.

“Come here,” he said stepping over to me and hugging me to him. “Stay out of trouble from now on okay?”

“Never; life would be too boring,” I said into his shoulder.

“Those bruises look terrible by the way.”

“They hurt like a bitch,” I said.

Will

“How is she?” asked Noah, biting into a burger.

“Bruised,” I said, putting Janey’s favourite burger aside for her. I grabbed some fries too, knowing she would be hankering for them.

“Are you back together?” asked Ivy.

I bit into my burger, feeling ravenous and nodded. “She’s all mine.”

Ava and Ivy high fived each other and then laughed. Noah went to take a bite and then stopped midway, looking past me. I turned, knowing he was looking at Janey. I could smell her perfume or whatever she used in the shower that I loved.

“That’s some hardcore bruising, there,” said Noah.

My eyes gazed over her, taking in her body under the tight outfit I loved so much. Gorgeous. Even with the bruises, she was my perfection.

“The ones on my legs are even better,” she said with a quick smile, taking the last step and coming over to the kitchen counter next to me. Seeing all the kitchen stools had been taken, I placed my hands around her waist and gently lifted her up onto the counter in front of me. Her eyes connected with mine and I gave a smile of affection, passion and possessiveness.

“I’m glad to see you’re home and safe,” said Ivy.

“Thanks,” said Janey with her mouth full of fries.

“You look like a brawler with that black eye,” said Noah, scrunching up his burger wrapper.

“I’d kick your ass any day,” she replied, holding at least five fries to her mouth.

Noah laughed and shook his head. “I think you hit that head pretty hard.”

I grinned and said, “She’d give you a run for your money now.”

“Be careful, I can give you both matching stitches if you like,” she said grabbing more fries. The banter continued as everyone hungrily scoffed the burgers together. Everyone was happy to see Janey back in the group, where she belonged, with me. As we finished and moved to the living room, I picked her up off the counter and carried her over to the couch.

Her arms went around my neck as she whispered, “I can walk you know.”

“I know,” I said, hearing the girls making aww noises over the fact I was carrying her. I placed her down on the couch and then sat down beside her as the guys started to rib me for being a schmuck. I stuck my middle finger up at them as my arm went around her.

“You can’t keep this up,” whispered Janey as she snuggled against me.

“I know,” I said, kissing the side of her head. “Just give me the next twenty-four hours before you turn on your girl power and demand to do everything yourself again.”

I felt her smile against my chest as she whispered, “Okay.”

Fighting over the remote ensued and channels were flicked over from sport to music channels, but I didn’t care what was on the television; I had the girl of my dreams in my arms again and nothing else mattered. As we all talked and laughed together over the next hour, I felt her body truly relax against me and soon realised she had fallen asleep again. I looked down at her arm that was across my stomach and over her tattoo sleeve that started at her wrist and went all the way up to her shoulder. I had been with her for most of them, each one with a meaning that she hadn’t told anyone other than me. They all entwined together and made a story of her life; symbols of strength and courage, along with the pain and terror she had suffered. I knew she looked at them to remind herself of what had been and what could be. My personal favourite was the W that was on her wrist, entwined with the rest of her story. I was there, forever.

There was a thin, detailed snake that wrapped around her arm and I knew that stood for her step-brother. The one person who had damaged her with one unspeakable act that had set off a chain of events she would never be able to forget. The drug abuse, her craziness and her bad decisions, all stemmed from one fateful night where he took all of her confidence and ruined her. I still planned to hurt him; one day I would find him and unleash my anger on him. I would make him pay for his actions. When he was a younger, Zac had already sent him to hospital once for his actions and got locked up because of it. I wanted him to be in hospital again.

Her last addition to her sleeve was a detailed rose; that represented Ava and her friendship with her. We all knew that Ava had changed Zac for the better but we knew she had the same affect on Janey. For the first time ever she had a sister, and she loved her.

“So, I got an independent assessor out to look over the car. Brake lines were cut,” said Zac quietly.

I let out a deep breath and nodded. I felt terrible, even more so that it was now confirmed. This had happened because of me.

“You really think your mother organised that?” asked Noah. “I mean it’s just so freaking extreme.”

“She denied the tyres and brake situation, but I guess we all know what she’s capable of,” I said quietly.

“I haven’t been able to get any footage of the street and her car from that night. Security cameras stop at a certain time and then come back on in the morning. It’s like they’ve been tampered with,” frowned Zac.

“Could it be anyone else we know?” asked Noah.

“I don’t know of any enemies, do you?” asked Zac.

I shook my head.

“So, we keep looking and concentrate on keeping her safe. I haven’t found anything too incriminating on your mother’s laptop but I can keep searching her networks to try and prove it was her.”

I nodded and said, “Okay.”

“So, someone has to be with her at all times,” said Ava. “Because if it turns out that your mother hadn’t ordered the tampering of her car, there is someone still out there trying to hurt her.”

I let out a sigh of frustration and shook my head. “I can’t even comprehend what I will do to the person who is doing this, if it’s not my mother.”

“It might mean there is more to come,” said Noah.

“So, as Ava said; someone has to be with her all the time,” said Ivy.

“She’s going to hate that,” I said, shaking my head.

“Then you need to be with her the most, at least she’ll enjoy that part,” said Ava.

“Hey, if it was up to me, I’d handcuff her to me,” I said.

“Leave your sexual fantasies out of this,” said Noah.

Janey

I heard their voices in the distance and enjoyed listening to them in my dreams. I liked Will’s the most; the deepest and closest as my ear was against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat and the vibration of his voice and I wanted to lose myself in him. I liked their laughter, feeling it embrace me with warmth and love. This was my family and I was suddenly in the right place for once. No questions asked, it felt right. I wasn’t pulling back, I wasn’t running. I was here where I was meant to be.

I could do this life from now on; I could make good decisions, do things well and make Will happy.

I
could be happy.

Imagine that.

I felt Will move slightly and I slowly started to come back from my dream state. I kept my eyes closed as I heard the others getting up and leaving. The guys did their hand shake thing with Will as they headed out. As the front door closed, I moved my hand over Will’s taut stomach.

“Where are they all going?” I asked sleepily.

“A gig - some friend from college who is in a band,” he said. “I didn’t think the girls were going but I think Ava wanted to give us time alone.”

I opened my eyes and turned my face up to look at him. “She would do anything to give us time together,” I said with a soft laugh.

“She also said she was going to drink copious amounts of alcohol to cope with nearly losing her sister last night.”

I looked back down at his chest as my fingers travelled across it, tracing the design on his t-shirt. “What about you?”

“I’m still not coping at the thought actually; I’ve never felt a fear like it.”

I couldn’t help but smile, before I asked, “I meant were you supposed to go, to see the band?”

“Nothing could take me away from here and you, right now,” he said, his fingers moving up and down my shoulder. “It’s the only place I want to be.”

I kissed his chest and said, “You need to tell me about your father.”

He looked at me with narrowed eyes and then asked, “Ava?”

I gave a slight shrug and said, “We’re sisters, remember?”

He shook his head and let out a sigh, “That’s a story for another night.”

“But it’s important. What’s he like? Is he nice?”

His fingers continued to smooth my shoulder and he concentrated on them for the moment. “He’s a cool guy. All these years I’ve worked for him and he’s known that I was his. He was basically gagged through a shady contract with my darling mother and couldn’t tell me but he’s nice. Fair. An upstanding citizen and all that. He has another son, Ryan.”

“Another brother,” I groaned into his chest with a laugh.

He chuckled and started to play with my hair, “I know.”

“Is he hotter than you?” I asked playfully.

“No-one is hotter than me, you know that.”

“I do,” I said kissing his chest again and then making my way up to his neck. “Can I meet him?”