Lost in Silence (The Lost Series Book 1)(71)

“He had babysitting duty the other night,” my voice is soft but Dizzy flinches at the word. He hates when I refer to them as babysitters, in fact none of the guys like it but it’s how I feel. “He pulled up and Zero took off on his bike. I waited for him to come in but he didn’t. I walked out to his truck, invited him, offered to warm up some dinner but all he did was grunt and order me back into the house. I went back inside because quite frankly, he scares me. He sat in his truck all night as far as I know. I never heard him come in.”

“Did you know anything about this?” Missy turns to Dizzy. “You guys are supposed to stay in the house, those are your orders.”

“I didn’t know about this,” Dizzy holds his hands up defensively. “I wasn’t his relief. I would’ve said something if I had known though.”

“It’s not a big deal really,” I say, trying to diffuse the situation. Nothing bad happened and after I came inside, I set the alarm knowing if Bear needed to get in, he knew the code.

“It is a big deal,” Missy turns on me, her eyes burn intensely. I brace for the full impact of her words, knowing they weren’t going to be pretty. “I know you don’t like being babysat, as you put it, but it’s for your own good. There’s a psychopath out there looking for you Alice. A man you escaped not once but twice and barely. My brother, who by the way has fallen in love with you, had to finish this job. He didn’t want to, he had to. He wanted to risk two years of hard work because he didn’t want to leave you unprotected. Your babysitters were the only way we could get him to go. The guarantee you would always have someone with you, watching, protecting and caring for you was the only way to get him to go. So don’t tell me it isn’t a big deal, because it is a big deal.”

I’m stunned, speechless and completely embarrassed. I hadn’t put any of what she said into thought. I never imagined Hudson would have a hard time leaving me behind, especially since I hadn’t heard from him in over a week. Her words also remind me of the danger I’d easily forgotten. The comfort I’d grown accustomed to here in this sleepy town, surrounded by people who care about me, I stopped looking over my shoulder. I hadn’t thought about Erik for some time now and while that fact was freeing, Missy had reminded me of how much I’ve let my guard down.

“You’re right,” I whisper looking into her eyes. I finally understand the love and care in everyone’s actions, not just for Hudson but for me as well. She knew it finally clicked for me too because she stepped back and offered me a small smile.

“Who do you plan on feeding with all this food and drink?” I laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

“We’re going to be hosting your first girl’s night,” she turns away from me but not before I see her glassy eyes. She pulls out a cutting board and knife from the drawer next to her. “Dizzy will you cut up the veggies for me, please?”

“I don’t know anyone,” I watch her move around the kitchen, pulling out various bowls and plates. She was a woman on a mission.

“Yes, you do,” she says over her shoulder. “Bobbi, Marge, Kelly, Pinkie and Annabelle. You haven’t met Annabelle yet but she’s family. You’ll love her. She works for King, answering the phones, filing shit, keeping his and the boy’s asses in check. You’ll love her, we all do.”

“Be careful Alice, Annabelle is a real badass,” Dizzy teases from his station at the cutting board.

“If she keeps your ass in check, I’d say so,” Missy laughs loudly. Dizzy shakes his head and goes back to the veggies. I swallow hard, feeling a little nervous.

“I’ve never had a drink before,” I tell them and my mind spins. This was uncharted territory for me. Both Dizzy and Missy stop what they’re doing and turn to look at me. Their eyes are wide, shock written all over their faces.

“Missy, can I stay?” Dizzy smiles, his eyes alight. “Please say I can stay. I don’t want to miss this.”

“Not going to happen, Diz,” she winks and turns back to her task, dumping a cake mix into a large bowl. “Girls only.”

“Come on, just one drink,” Dizzy pleads, his vegetables forgotten.

“Can’t do it,” she laughs again, cracking eggs into the bowl. “Besides, we’ll probably be talking about things too delicate for your ears.”

“Hey, you forget I grew up with four sisters. I don’t think there’s anything anyone can say that would faze me.”

“Unless you want to hear about Hudson’s well-endowed member, you might want to rethink what you just said,” she chuckles, shooting me another wink. They weren’t really going to want to know that, were they?