Thick as Thieves (The Greystone Family: Stolen Hearts #3)

Chapter 34

34

Evie

I’m laid on the back seat of the car. I can hear my phone pinging. It’s constant. Then it starts to ring. I look at the screen. Jonno. I can’t talk to him. He helped them. He supported their cause. Probably egged them on. Security first, every other consideration second.

But there was no need for security. Who was going to say anything? And why? The twins carry no title, it was all pointless. Needless lies and deceit. Obviously Kell didn’t truly trust me.

The thought hits me like a thunderbolt. Did he really not believe the children were his? Had his mother, or those bitches Lauren and Grace, or all of them, managed the poison the well so deep that he just had to have an extra bit of insurance.

My rage rises like a phoenix from the ashes. My determination to keep my children and myself safe blasting into the night sky.

Jonno

Where are you going?

Jonno

Who are you with?

Jonno

What are you doing?

And the texts keep coming. He knows something is wrong.

Me

leave me alone Jonno.

Jonno

Never.

I switch the phone onto silent and put it in my bag. I can’t deal with him on top of everything else.

Because I don’t know what is the best thing to do. Where to go.

If I stay here, they’ll try and explain everything away. Talk me around. Seduce me back into their ways. Tell me it’s nothing, security. But I know it’s not. I’m not sure how to come back from this. I told them no. I expressly said no. No paternity test.

And as for the vasectomy, I know he’s petrified. But a discussion should have been had. I would have agreed if he was so scared. But he didn’t even afford me the luxury of putting my side over. Just went ahead with it. And never told me, even after it was done. And I’m supposed to suck it up? Shrug and move on? The same with the paternity test? Accept that he doesn’t trust me, that they don’t trust me, and move on? If they’re prepared to lie by omission about this, what else would they lie about? A relationship not built on trust is as flimsy as a house of cards. And are our circumstances not problematic enough? We need to be solid. Together. Open communication. Not going off on tangents and everyone keeping schtum.

I’m rational enough now that I know Tommy was right about those women. They were hoping things would go back to how it was before. I could tell by how they spoke with excitement about past events. They wanted more, they wanted it again. He’s like a drug, and they wanted another hit. But I know there’s no way. However I feel about them at the minute, I know in my heart Xander wanted love, and he wanted Kell and I only. He told us, and I believe him. He showed me everyday, his actions, his words. How could he do that and still go behind my back with that damn test?

We land back at the house and Valentina is at the door, beckoning us in. Maria, her sister, is with her. Clearly Roza has been on the phone, as the whole house looks pristine and neatly packed away. I flop onto a comfy sofa and am hit with images of our lives here these past four months. Kell, Xan, the kids. I can’t stay here. I need to leave.

Valentina heads to the kitchen to make me a cup of tea and Tommy sits next to me on the sofa. “Evie, you’re going to have to make a decision. I’ve got a plane sorted via Jackson. He wants you to call him. He did know about the test, but had no hand in doing it or the decision to do it. I know that for sure.” Tommy is showing all the cards now. “For what it’s worth, I think you should get some time away from everyone. We’ve taken a battering every day for the last month. It won’t hurt you to step away from that for a little while. Give yourself a chance to process and see where you’re at.” His words make a lot of sense.

“This is about you, chica.” Valentina comes with the tea. “You need to live for you. Not your boys, not your husbands. You give too much of yourself. Everyone drinks it down. You need to replenish.” Valentina speaks in English to me, patting me on my shoulder and pulling me in for a hug. “It’s not weak to walk away. It’s harder to do than stay.”

I look from one to another. My friends, my confidants, they show me love and care, but I also need Marshall. “I want to go home to Devon and Marshall. But we’ll need to get to London first. Marshall’s still in Ireland. He’ll come through London to come home. We can meet him and then travel.” I look at Valentina and Maria. “We’ve sorted the visas for you both. Are you sure you want to come with me? You can come back anytime, and we can fly anyone out.” I’m rambling a bit now. So desperate am I for her—them—to be with me. They’re calm and considerate. And Valentina has become a real friend as well as a help with the boys.

“Yes, we are coming.” She points to the four suitcases in the hallway. I missed them when I came in.

I stand and hug her and then Maria. “Let’s get the kids packed up. Leave my stuff. I have lots at home. I just want a few really personal items. The rest I’ll leave.”

Action feels good. I concentrate my mind on getting everything together. We’re all set to go within three quarters of an hour.

Tommy loads the car, the babies are strapped into their car seats, and I nearly cave in when I see the bears Xander bought them wrapped up with them in their blankets. Their baby scent calming us all down.

I’m hemming and hawing over a note. Do I wait and tell them? I know that if I wait, it’ll be chaos. I need to get away, let things settle. Or I could end up making catastrophic decisions.

“We need to leave your phones here. Mick will be able to track them. Jackson has new ones arranged for us. We’ll pick them up in London.” He places my phone and Valentina’s, including her work phone, on the counter top.

“I need to leave a note.” I shake my head. This is so hard, even now, trying to figure out the right thing to do. But I know I have to make a stand. This is not right. They have not been right by me.

He nods. I can see he’s agitated and wants to go. We both know the carnage if they turn up.

I pick up a pen, and the words start to flow along with my tears. It’s weirdly the weakest I have ever felt, but also the strongest.

Kell, Xan,

Please don’t follow me. I’ve taken the boys, I can’t stay. You’ve broken my trust and my heart. I can’t breathe, I’m suffocating, and I need time away from you both.

Please don’t follow me. I love you both but you’ve broken my heart today.

Evie.

Tommy comes over and holds my shoulders, his silent, calming support keeping me from completely crumbling to dust. The tears are falling onto the paper. The ink smudges some of the words. He sighs as he pulls me close. “Come, we need to go. If you need to say anything else, you can text from the plane. I have Mick's number. Let’s go to Marshall. You can breathe there, Kiddo. Let’s go home.”