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CHAPTER TWELVE

Noel

The next few days were pretty quiet. Aziza had contacted Agent Rose about her “discoveries,” and she’d told us that he’d been livid he hadn’t been called the moment Phoenix mentioned the name he’d been ordered to refer to his captor as.

She’d explained that it had come up in a session, and that it wasn’t her job to make the agent’s life easier.

After that, we’d all assumed Rose was going to come storming down here, but he hadn’t, and while that was a relief, I knew he was going to show up soon.

Phoenix ate with us most of the time and only once more in his room. He never talked much, but every so often I saw a curve appear at the corner of his mouth if one of my brothers did something ridiculous.

Tonight would be interesting. It was family night, and Hazel and Phoenix were going to be joining us. Normally, it was only for family but with them staying here, it was rude not to include them. Honestly, I’d thought Phoenix would refuse, but he’d shrugged when JJ mentioned it to him.

It was Mason’s turn to choose, and he went with a rom-com…I’d guessed it was to keep it light for Phoenix, and any one of us would have done the same thing.

We ordered Indian food and as if my thoughts had conjured it, I saw the driver stop at the end of the driveway.

“Food’s here,” I shouted as I walked toward the door. The police would be checking out the bags, and I was fine with that as long as they were quick about it.

I opened the front door, and the driver’s eyes were wide. “I was frisked,” he said.

“Seriously?”

He nodded. “Why, Noel?”

Vishnu had been to our house over a dozen times to deliver food. He knew all of us, and we’d never frisked him.

“Sorry, we have someone here we’re keeping safe. Cops are overprotective. I’ll double your tip.”

He beamed. “Deal. Here you go.”

With one large bag in each hand I walked to the kitchen, where everyone was waiting. I put them on the counter and Mason, Matt, and Gabe began removing everything.

We all ate, talked comfortably, and then congregated in the media room.

It was newly decorated and renovated. The amount of people living here was growing, so we’d had to expand.

We had comfortable recliners, fluffy couches, a popcorn machine, even a cotton candy machine that Matt had bought us for Christmas last year.

We were all stuffed, so we took our seats and Mason started the movie.

Surprisingly, Phoenix came and sat next to me on the couch. He usually opted for seats away from people.

“What’s the movie?” he asked me in a whisper.

“ You’ve Got Mail . One of Mason’s favorites.”

He nodded. I’d thought that would be the end of the conversation since Phoenix didn’t talk much, but I was mistaken.

“ Did you know that it was inspired by the 1940 film , The Shop Around the Corner , which was based off the 1937 play, Parfumerie ?”

I faced him, tilting my body slightly, and smirked. “I had no idea. You like movies?”

He shrugged. “I like them enough. I love plays and musicals more.”

I glanced at Gabe, who was scrolling through the list to get to the movie, and then again to Phoenix.

“Do you have a favorite play or musical?”

“I love West Side Story .”

“I’ve seen that. Nick and I went when we were little kids. We were in a foster home, and they took us all this playhouse. I loved it.”

He blinked, a tiny crease forming in the middle of his forehead. “You were in foster care?”

I nodded. “Yep. It’s how Nick and I met, Gabe, Angel, and Shep.”

His gaze swept over the room. “And Mason, JJ, Matt, and Four?”

I chuckled. “Mason is Gabe’s partner, JJ is Shep’s, Matt is Nick’s. Four, he’s with Lizzy, but we helped him out a couple of years ago.”

“And you just kept him?”

I snorted. “You learn quickly. Four doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to. He’s been through hell and back and in the end, he chose to be part of our family. We help him. When he first came here, he was in a bad headspace. Sometimes he falls into it, but we’re always there to pull him out.”

The movie began, and Angel dimmed the lights. I watched Phoenix as much as I did Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. He didn’t laugh but a few times I caught a timid smile, and I realized that when he did smile or laugh, it was probably a beautiful thing.

Afterward everyone mostly retired to their rooms, and I went to the tech room to dig a little bit.

Nothing new since I’d checked last, and no new bodies were discovered.

Earlier Nick had gone through the missing persons files to see if there was anyone new taken around the same areas some of the victims’ family and friends’ had said they were last seen, but there was nothing.

I was at it for hours, and my eyes started to feel like sandpaper. I had to stop. Thirst brought me to the kitchen for water and I was surprised to see Phoenix sitting in the dark, a glass of his own in front of him.

He hadn’t heard me—at least, I hadn’t thought so—and I took a moment to observe him. His gaze was glassy as if he were tired or sad. I suspected it was both. Not wanting to scare him, I made sure to walk a little heavy to the cabinet for a glass.

Hey,” I said as I gathered the pitcher in the refrigerator. “Can’t sleep?”

“I slept.”

I nodded, poured my water, and went to join him. “Nightmare?”

“Always.”

I remembered the nightmares that used to plague me. Not so much anymore, but every once in a while, one crept through. Maybe if I shared this with Phoenix, it would help.

“I used to get nightmares every night—hell, anytime I closed my eyes.”

He looked at me, his head tilted. “Because of the foster home?”

“No. See, my sister, Scarlett, was brutally murdered. I should say, tortured, raped, and murdered. Rich and powerful people took her and did horrific things. When we found her…” I swallowed loudly.

“I can never burn that memory from my mind. And for years, I would have this same dream where I was being held back while they hurt her. She would call my name, scream it, and I couldn’t get to her… couldn’t save her.”

Phoenix was silent for a beat. “I am so sorry, Noel. That’s terrible. Did they ever catch her killers?”

I snorted. “Nope, but we did.”

“You?” His brow furrowed.

Sure, maybe I shouldn’t tell him every family secret. All Hazel and Phoenix knew was that this house was safe and we could protect him.

“My brothers and me, we hunted each one down and didn’t rest until every one of those fuckers died horribly.”

His eyes were as wide as saucers. “You…what?” He didn’t seem afraid. Shocked, yes.

“It went deep—cops, senator, corporate moguls.” I sipped my water.

“They killed our foster parents too, the ones who adopted me and my brothers, and we later found out Mason’s parents who he thought died in a house fire, were also killed.

If we didn’t do something, more people would die. We had to stop them.”

“And you did?”

I stared into Phoenix’s hopeful eyes. He wasn’t horrified about what I’d told him; he needed to hear it. His monster was still out there, and I’d slayed all mine.

“Yes.”

“Is that when the nightmares stopped?”

“That’s when they changed.”

“How?”

“After that, I was able to save her every time.”

Phoenix nodded slowly and drank his water. Neither one of us spoke for a while, but for the short time we sat there, the haunted look wasn’t in his eyes.