Sorry for the delay sweet readers!
Elaina ~
Staring down the corrupt and evil men who had spent their lives trying to manipulate and control her family without success was a level of satisfaction that Lainey hadn't realized she needed. She stared into their souls and locked eyes with each and every malicious monster that had threatened to harm her family, saving Manny for last. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. She wanted to cry and collapse and give in to every ounce of despair that she felt, but she didn't - she wouldn't let him win that way.
I know what you did Manny.
Repeating the phrase over and over in her mind as she held Manny's gaze, she watched a hint of fear flash behind his eyes and loved the satisfaction that it brought her.
Feeling her emotions seize her lungs and inch their way up her neck, Lainey reclaimed her place against Caleb's side and whispered up into his ear.
"Get me out of here please." she begged against his neck.
"Yes ma'am." Caleb replied, raising his pointer finger in the air in a circular motion that prompted every man around Lainey to surround her and ready themselves to leave.
Lainey felt completely safe and secure surrounded by some of the fiercest men she'd ever laid eyes on. Every step they took was purposeful and calculated as they stared down each person they passed. It was robotic and machine-like the way they took in their surroundings, assessing everyone and everything for possible threats.
Caleb had a firm grip on Lainey's waist with his face hardened and serious. His brows were drawn into a hard line, scowling at everyone that looked in her direction and Lainey had never felt so protected. She knew, without a doubt, that even if the team wouldn't have come, Caleb was ready and willing to fight the entire world if Lainey needed him to.
Once they reached the cars at the top of the hill, Lainey tried to tamp down her emotions breathing and swallowing against the tears that were starting to come toward the surface.
"It's okay to cry Lainey girl." Caleb whispered as they reached the top of the hill.
Shaking her head in disagreement, Lainey refused to let herself cry or show any kind of weakness in front of the cruel men that had attended her father's funeral.
"I can't cry in front of them. They're monsters." Lainey said, looking down at the crowd of people who were still seated in front of the caskets.
"Don't look at them...look at us." Marcus said in a soft tone that Lainey wasn't accustomed to.
"We're your family, Bug" James said, taking hold of Lainey's hand.
"You were a fucking warrior down there baby, but you don't have to have your guard up to protect yourself right now." Caleb soothed.
Lainey felt the tears start to sting her eyes and her throat ached as the iron clad control she had maintained started to slip. Each one of Caleb's team members was giving her permission to break down. They didn't want to split up and climb into the cars. They wanted to surround Lainey with support all at once to show her that they would protect her if she needed to break down - that it was okay to be vulnerable around them.
"Let it out sweetheart." Declan said.
"You've been strong this entire time Lainey, let us be strong for you now." Pierce said.
Hunter and Axel moved and widened their stance, blocking Lainey from the view of the people at the gravesite.
"No one can see you, Honey." Hunter said.
"Take off that armor and let us protect you." Axel added.
Unsure if it was the precious words of affirmation and encouragement or the overwhelming emotions from her father's funeral, but Lainey could barely contain the tears that had started to well in her eyes as her chest heaved with heavy breaths.
"I love you Lainey...you don't have to be brave right now...I've got you." Caleb whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a place to find refuge beneath his muscular arms.
And with those little words, Lainey came apart in Caleb's arms.
She sobbed into his chest and took in fistfuls of the back of his suit jacket, clinging to him like he was the only thing holding her up. She slowly started to feel hands on her head and shoulders as each one of Caleb's teammates gave her a physical show of support, comforting her and allowing her to draw off of their strength.
I have lost family and gained family so quickly that I don't know how to feel. I'm equal parts devastated and ecstatic all wrapped into one and the only way my body knows how to handle this level of emotional high is to cry.
Lainey had never cried like that in front of other people or in public, but Caleb and his team had made her feel safe enough to be that vulnerable and it felt good to get the poison out and to let go of the toxic emotions she'd been holding for so long. She felt like she was leaving all of the resentment and hatred there at the gravesite. Like she was ridding herself of the hardened heartless version of herself that she had been forced to become in order to survive in her father's corrupt world.
Once her sobs softened into light whimpers and sniffles, Caleb lifted her head toward his and wiped the trail of tears that had streaked her cheeks with his thumbs.
"You Lainey, are a fucking warrior...you're my fucking warrior and we are damn proud of you." Caleb said with a smile, reminding her that vulnerability wasn't weakness.
*****
A few hours later Caleb, Lainey, James and the rest of Caleb's teammates were on a plane to California. She was sitting in between Caleb and Marcus, drifting in and out of sleep on Caleb's shoulder, letting his scent wrap around her as she snuggled against him. Lainey had curled herself into a little ball in the seat, leaning most of her body against Caleb while Marcus draped an arm over her legs as if she were a human armrest.
Her tired eyes fought against her as sleep came and went throughout the long flight, but James' voice slowly pulled her from her sleepy state, making her more alert with every word he spoke as she eavesdropped.
He was talking in a low voice with Declan and Hunter in the seats directly behind her.
"Exactly that could be my in and once they view me as one of their own I could hand them over to you one by one." James said.
"It's fucking risky and you'd be putting a huge target on your back. I'm not crazy about it, but we can keep it on the table for discussion." Hunter replied.
Keep what on the table for discussion? What exactly were they discussing?
Caleb cleared his throat loudly, indicating to James and his teammates that Lainey was eavesdropping.
How did he even know I was awake?
The row of seats behind her quickly went silent, causing every part of Lainey's curiosity to want to speak up and demand to know what they had been talking about, but the bottom line was, she was exhausted. Unable to make the head space to process James' conversation with Declan and Hunter, Lainey resigned to the fact that Declan and Hunter were highly trained and would be the last ones to put James in danger or make irresponsible decisions.
Giving in to sleep once more, Lainey slept through most of the flight, only waking to take her medication and eat a small snack that Caleb had packed.
Once the plane had landed, the entire group of men unfolded themselves from the uncomfortably small seats and groaned as they stretched and stood. Filing out in a straight line, Lainey stood in between Marcus and Caleb who had assumed their protective roles as they all moved through the terminal and out toward the baggage claim.
Declan quickly picked up his pace and led the team toward the baggage claim area, which wasn't out of character for him at all. It was normal for Lainey to see Declan take charge and lead the group, but his pace was so fast he was leaving the group behind.
Lainey watched as he shrugged out of his large duffle bag, letting it drop to the floor as a small brunette launched herself into his chest.
Lexi.
Declan lifted Lexi off the ground with a smile that Lainey had never seen him wear before and it made her insides warm to watch the two of them together. His dominant, controlling demeanor melted into pure affection as he allowed Lexi to pepper his entire face and neck with light kisses. She clutched his face by the scruff along his jaw to manipulate his head, turning it from side to side as she made sure that she had covered every inch of his skin with kisses, giving the scar beneath his neck tattoo a few extra kisses for good measure.
"Jesus get a room" Axel scoffed as she passed them.
"Jealousy isn't a good look on you, brother." Declan teased, planting Lexi on her feet.
"Oh I'm jealous alright, but those right there aren't easy to find." Axel said, motioning to Lexi and Lainey.
"Where's Nat?" Pierce said, looking around nervously.
"Haven't seen her." Lexi said with a suspicious shrug.
"Seriously Lex, where is she?" Pierce said with his tone losing all of the playful energy that Lainey was so used to hearing.
"She's in the gift shop with Nate and Claire calm your ass down." Kincaid scoffed, giving Pierce a playful eye roll.
As soon as Caleb stepped to the side, putting Lainey in Lexi's direct line of sight, Lexi's face stretch into a smile so wide that it made her nose wrinkle and her eyes squint.
"Lainey!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around her in a big hug.
"Oh my God sweet girl, I am so glad you're home. We have been thinking about you non-stop and counting down the hours until you'd get here!"
Home? Did Lexi just say home?
"Fella's this is James." Marcus said, taking James around and introducing him to the other members of the team as they exchanged handshakes.
Two more high pitched squeals sounded from behind Lainey and broke her concentration as Claire and Natalie joined in, creating a gigantic group hug.
"Finally! We've been so ready for you to get here." Natalie said with Claire nodding in agreement.
The small group of women were hugging her so tightly that Lainey could hardly breathe. They weren't just glad she was there, they were ecstatic which gave Lainey the most unexpected sense of comfort and calm...like she belonged there.
"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Pierce said, moping over the fact that Lainey got a hug before he did.
Natalie registered Pierce's voice immediately and broke free from their hug to turn toward him only to find him standing there with his bottom lip curled out in an overexaggerated sad pout.
"Aw don't give me that face." Natalie said, walking toward him with one hand behind her back.
"She got you a present from the gift shop, Hollywood." Nate said with an sly grin on his face, that got everyone's attention.
The entire group watched as Natalie playfully pulled a small book from behind her back and held it up so Pierce could see the cover.
Caleb's big contagious laugh was the first thing that Lainey heard as he nearly doubled over at the sight of the book.
"Is that a French translation book?" Caleb asked between fits of laughter
Lainey must have missed the joke, because the entire group roared with laughter at the sight of the book, cackling and howling at Pierce's expense.
"Fuck every single one of you...except Lainey." Pierce said, pulling Natalie in for a hug and extending a middle finger out to the rest of the team.
"Even me?" Natalie said pulling her head from Pierce's chest to see if the Fuck you he had just delivered was meant for her as well.
"Oh especially you...you're the only one I really wanna fu..." Pierce stopped mid sentence with his hand laced in Natalie's hair, preparing to give her an aggressive kiss, but noticing the families that were scowling at him.
"Jesus Pierce there are kids running around here." Claire said, giving a family of four an apologetic smile that wasn't well received.
"Ah let em' watch." Pierce said against Natalie's mouth as he delivered a playfully aggressive kiss.
I've never seen such tough men turn into complete mush before.
Lexi and Natalie had single handedly melted the badass operatives into puddles and Lainey was loving the change in dynamic. She figured they'd be different around the women they loved, but she had no idea the extent of the tenderness and affection. It was definitely a different side of the men who she'd shared her home with, but she was loving this side of them.
"We'll let Declan and Lexi explain the French story to you." Caleb said to Lainey as he wrapped her up in his arms from behind.
"It's hysterical." Lexi assured her. "But one that definitely needs to be told over drinks."
"Speaking of drinks, we were planning on having a welcome home party for Lainey at our house tonight, but if you'd rather be alone, we totally understand that and can easily call the whole thing off. It's your call sweet girl. You just let me know what you're comfortable with." Lexi was asking Lainey, but kept looking at Caleb for approval as well.
"Give us a sec, Lex." Caleb said, giving Lainey the opportunity to voice her true opinions to him privately in order to make her feel more comfortable.
"That's your call sweetheart. We can do whatever you want. If you'd rather be alone there's nothing wrong with that. You've been through a lot and everyone will understand." Caleb said softly, giving her an out if she wanted it.
Lainey stood there and thought about it for a second or two, but she had already made up her mind the second that Lexi and the girls had hugged her.
"You know what? I've spent most of my life alone without genuine friends, I think it's time to change that. I'd love to go to the party tonight and I think being around a large group of people I feel comfortable around will be a good thing."
Her words caused a smile to stretch all the way across Caleb's face and she loved the way he was looking at her.
"Then party it is. Honestly I don't care where we go Darlin', I'm just so glad you're here." Caleb said, planting a soft kiss on her lips before turning back toward Lexi who was grinning ear to ear.
"Party's on." Caleb said, eliciting hoots and hollers from the entire team.
Lainey watched as the men in front of her instantly took James in as one of them and loved the way the girls had swarmed her. In the few minutes they had been in California, Lainey felt more at peace and more at home than she'd ever felt anywhere else. She knew deep down it had nothing to do with geography and everything to do with the people she was surrounded with.
This feels like home.
This feels like family.
*************
As always I love hearing your thoughts, theories and opinions!
Also, just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all of the support you guys have given me! You have no idea how happy it makes me to read your comments and messages!