My mind is shifting between believing her and wanting to knock her out. Actually, I just want to knock her out. So many things were kept from me and now my fists want so badly to sink into flesh and watch it bleed.
“I can’t believe that Tommy would want to harm me. He tried to save me from my own father, he put my life before his! He told me to kill him to save my own life, that's not someone that would kill me.”
“Em,” Vin cuts in. “Maybe the injury to the head changed him somehow. We can’t be sure of anything.”
“I agree, E.” Travis cuts in. “I’m not risking your life like that. Head injuries are very unpredictable.”
“He saved me from a burning building. My number was up that night and if not for him, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t know you, any of you.” I look at each of them, willing them to understand. “He tried to get to me when he found out my psycho father was coming. They captured him, tortured him, and then killed him because of it. He accepted it knowing he was protecting me.”
“I’m with Ember.” Adri stands up. “Us girls have an intuition that boys don’t. If he’s pissed then only she can fix it. He’s her family, she needs to go to him.”
“I love you.” I tell her as tears cloud my vision.
“I love you.” Her response is immediate. “I’m staying here to help Sharla with the restaurant, one of you needs to stay to keep an eye on Moore.” She looks at the boys. “And then the rest of you get to New York and find out what you can about Tommy. He’s family and he deserves to be with us.”
I rush to her and wrap my arms around her. Adri sees what I do in the importance of family and trusts me wholeheartedly.
“Just please be careful.” She whispers in my ear.
“I will.” I whisper back.
“I will stay here with my men and keep a close watch on William. I will also make sure your family is safe. I can assume you received the intel I sent for where William is being kept?” Talia cuts in.
“Yes, I received it.” It’s hard to trust someone you’ve hated for so long.
“I will stay too.” Travis stands and I am instantly relieved. I wanted him to but I didn’t want to have to ask. He is someone I can trust to look after everyone and make the most logical decisions in my absence.
"Thank you." I nod to him.
"Looks like we're taking a road trip, Bro." Emmett says as he slaps Vin's shoulder.
Vin looks at me and raises a brow. I know he's wondering if any of this is true and now with Trent firmly under Talia's thumb, we have no idea what we could be walking into at the compound.
"I know you doubt me and it's the smart thing to do. I can only tell you I am being honest. If I wanted you dead at any point in the last few years, I could have done it easily." Her words ring true but I still can't completely get rid of my doubts. Like she said, I have to see it for myself.
The thought of Tommy being alive leaves me excited and scared at the same time. If he is alive, I can understand why he'd hate me. Because of me his life was completely upended.
"I need to get there quickly." I say as I start out of the kitchen and pass by Talia. I look her in the eye and say, "if at any point I learn this is all a grand lie, I will completely enjoy gutting you open and playing with your intestines... while you're still alive."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." She answers with a nod.
One of her men growls at my words and I turn to look at him, "I'll tie you down to watch. Remember whose house you're in."
Emmett snorts as he lifts his arms, "why don't I show you three out?" Then he looks at Talia with a smirk, "if you need anything while we are gone, you can call Travis and Adri. Okay Grandma?"
I watch as she visibly shudders and I smirk. "We'll have to work on a better title." She says as she follows Emmett to the front door.
"Bye Grandma!" He waves exaggeratedly as he watches her leave.
"If all of this is true, how much do you think she'll regret having us as grandkids?" I ask him with a chuckle.
"We should take bets on when she'll stage her own death again just to get away from us." He snorts.
"With you constantly hounding her... two weeks." I mutter.
"With you coming home every other day coated in someone's blood... one week." He retorts.
"With how annoying you both are... this is the last you will see of her." Vin interjects and I laugh.
"Do you believe her?" I turn and ask him.
"For some reason, I do." He smiles. "I see a lot of Debra in her."
"Yeah, me too." I agree.
"Let's get ready and on the road. We have a long drive ahead of us." Emmett says as he starts up the stairs.
"It's going to be weird going to the compound without seeing Carm." I say sadly.
"I know." Vin nods.
"Trent says he's waiting for us." Emmett holds up his phone. "Looks like Talia called him."
"I figured she would." I reply.
I'm anxious to get there, nervous to discover everything, and scared to face the first person I ever trusted. When my family only consisted of my mother, Tommy was the first to break the walls and I trusted him with everything, even my life.
The same can be
