Secrets Worth Keeping (Finding my Home #2)- Nikita Parmenter Page 0,144

wear it on our finger. Over the years it’s adjusted to fit, but other than that it stays on. The only time we ever take it off is when we find the woman we plan to spend the rest of our lives with. The woman who owns our hearts.

My family are extremely powerful and not only is it the ultimate honour to give our rings to a woman, it also gives the woman a certain amount of power and status as well as protection in the circles that my family run in.

My mother doesn’t wear my fathers ring despite them being together for twenty plus years and all of the shit he’s put her through. It’s not really surprising though my father is a selfish, calculated and abusive bastard. Unfortunately that’s something my asshole of a brother fucking inherited. Except that because of what my father put us through, he’s even fucking worse, there’s no moral compass at all. He’ll kill someone just because he fucking feels like it and even in our circles he is feared as a lose cannon.

I push thoughts of my deranged family away as my mind once again focuses back on Ever.

I really hope that she heard the warning in my tone when I told her to keep the ring hidden, maybe I should have explained but I can’t without giving too much away. I’ve watched her closely since she caught me off guard that first night, needing to know whether she can handle it if I bring her and the guys in. Thankfully she’s proven that she can more than handle it and I actually think she’s going to shock the shit out of not only the guys but Quinn and Rage too. She really would have cut off that guys dick off for what he’d done to those girls and I was sorely tempted to hand her my knife but like Quinn said we have to be careful right now, any unnecessary attention on us and every fucking thing we’ve worked so fucking hard for falls apart and so many more innocent lives will be ruined or worse lost.

The ring will offer her protection from certain people that run in my father’s circles but there are others who would see it, instantly know it was mine and what it means that I’ve given it to her. They would use it as an opportunity to get to me. I only felt safe giving it to her because I regularly have guys do a sweep of Serendipity and none of those men are there. Serendipity is as safe as I can make it without bringing in more men and therefore risking a mole.

If I want to bring the guys and Ever in as soon as possible then I need to get going. I’ve got a lot of shit to sort out before I can and I want to bring them in. I have a feeling shit is about to hit the fucking fan and I’m going to need them. My heart pangs at the thought of being separated for so long from Ever. I have no idea how she managed to capture me so completely but she has my heart.

I didn’t give her that ring on just a whim.

I need to drop this food down to Quinn at the bar for him to hand out to the people who need it in town and I need to get an update from him. After that though I have one last stop to make before I go back. I’ve been gone for far too long already and I’m going to catch hell when I get back. Thankfully it’s nothing I can’t handle and if Rage has done his fucking job properly then it will only be the minimum amount of hassle. Although I imagine there are still a few fires I’m going to have to fucking put out myself. As scary a motherfucker as Rage is, he just doesn’t carry the same weight as I do when it comes to threats.

Before I can go back though, I need to call in a favour with a contact I have and see where that Jeremy fucker is being transferred too. I pull out my phone and send a quick text.

Me: I know you know about Everleigh and the guys. Look into her case and tell me where Jeremy is.

Unknown: Fuck, Atlas. He’s being moved into a low security place about an hour away from your location.

Me: good.

I start to