Chapter 40. When truths come to light

Me and the boys arrived at the dinner and went to the back to put on our uniforms.

I wasn't going to stay in kitchen this time, Uncle had called us over to serve as waiters since they had been short staffed.

Miranda, who I knew was a member of the Academy, was at the register. She didn't seem to like me very much, thought I didn't understand why.

We had never spoken to each other, really, and she wasn't rude, she just mostly ignored me, and after a while I did the same.

I was approaching a table with two older ladies when a sharp whistle nearby caught my attention and I turned to stare at a round table with five boys sitting around it.

The boy who had whistled was a scary one, really tall with dark hair and tattoos all over his body, I knew I didn't want to meet him alone at night.

He smirked at me, as if reading my thought and finding them highly amusing.

I scowled at him, trying to hide my fright.

His smirk widened.

I turned to the other guys. The one next to him, shaking his head exasperatedly, had bicolored eyes, one blue and one green and soft brown hair.

After him were the twins that I had caught sight off at the college a few times, one with sad, cerulean blue eyes and the other with happy blue eyes.

Corey was the name of the happy one, she remembered. He was in her computer class with Victor. The boy waved at me, a bright smile on his face while his brooding brother merely nodded in my direction in greeting.

After them was a man who exuded power and command.

His straight, black hair was chin length and his serious, dark almond eyes were trained on me, seeming to stare into my soul.

I felt like I was being studied under a microscope and my finger automatically raised to my lip in nervousness.

"Now, don't you be worrying about those boys, sweetie." Said an elderly voice from behind me.

I spun around to stare at the two little grandmas who I had been heading to when I got distracted.

I gave them a nervous smile, pulling my pen and noting-pad from my apron's pocked.

"What can I get for you, ma'am?" I asked politely.

The first grandma had pink colored hair, cut short to her scalp, her black rimmed glasses the same model as Kota's framed chocolate brown eyes.

The second grandma had lilac colored hair that matched her clear blue eyes, and I knew that if Gabriel met the two of them he would go crazy with the strange colors.

"A bacon and cheddar sandwich with a lemon juice for me, my dear." Said Pink Grandma.

"A plate of chocolate chip pancake's with a cappuccino smoothie for me, sweetie." Said Lilac Grandma.

"I will bring it up shortly." I said, stepping back to go to the kitchen.

Passing the drink order to Luke I leaned over to him and asked, "Hey, Luke, who are those guys at table four?"

He glanced over at the table I mentioned and frowned at it, an indecipherable look in his eyes.

It was rare seeing Luke frown and it made me worry. "Are they trouble? Should I get North?"

His eyes came back to me slowly, as if taking a while to process my words before he answered. "No need, Cupcake. Those guys are academy."

His words were soothing but his tone was still serious and so unlike Luke that I felt my spine straightening in alertness.

The hairs in the back of my neck stood on end and I knew they were staring at me again. It made me nervous and my hands started trembling as I carried the tray with the drinks back to the two grandmas.

"Here you are." I told them, proud that my voice had sounded so confident instead of the trembling mess that I was inside.

"Thank you, dear." Said one of them.

"Yes, thank you very much." Answered the other.

"Now, stop worrying." Said the first one.

I looked up from the table I had been staring at, startled.

The two grandmas watched me with shrewd looks in their eyes that somehow managed to remind me of Owen. I almost snorted at my own strange thoughts.

"They are just boys." Pink Grandma said.

"They don't bite you." Said Lilac.

"Unless you ask it of them, of course." The Pink Grandma added quickly.

Lilac frowned at her companion. "I was about to tell the girl that, Roxanne."

Roxanne frowned back at Lilac. "No, you weren't, Charlene. Your memory has been failing you recently."

I just stood there, frozen. I didn't know what embarrassed me the more, the fact that two strangers had taken notice of my discomfort, or the fact that said strangers were shouting about it for all the dinner to hear.

The grandmas clearly weren't good of hearing.

A snort and the sound of chocked laugher coming from the table filled by the boys assured me that they had definitely heard what the grandmas were saying.

God, bury me now...

North's entering the salon was both a blessing and a curse. His forbidding scowl said that he too had heard what the grandmas were saying, and his glaring eyes focused on the boys behind me told me he wasn't happy.

He marched over to their table and started whispering to their leader, obviously ignoring the taunts from the tattooed one while the others watched in silent amusement.

"Aaah, and here comes the overprotective and territorial boyfriend." Guessed Charlene, rather accurately.

I turned back to the grandmas to catch them both checking out North's butt.

My grisly boy was bent over, his face level with the leader of the other boys and his butt was turned to us, there in all it's glory for us to stare at.

I might have space out a little, staring, because suddenly I felt an arm wrapping around my waist and bringing me against a muscled chest.

Vanilla and sugar filled my nose as Luke leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Enjoying the sight, Cupcake? If you want I can bend over for you, too."

I blushed a deep red.

"Aaaa, and here comes the lover." Said Roxanne.

"And what a lover..." Added Charlene while fanning herself.

Good god, bury me now...

Luke just chuckled at my ear, the moron.

......

Pulling his phone out of his pocket Sean dialed Sang's number.

Phil looked at him confusedly for a moment before asking, "What are you doing?"

"Checking that our Pookie is alright and making sure that none of us end ups in the dog house, I like my place in the bed." I said.

"Good idea." Owen agreed from behind me.

Phil's eyes sharpened at the mention of Sang and I heard him questioning Owen as to what was going on when Pookie answered my call.

"Hello, Dr. Sean!" She said, a smile clear in her voice. I hated to make it disappear, but I needed her to stay alert.

"Sang," I began "Is North and Luke with you?" I asked.

"Yes." She answered, her tone now puzzled and worried.

"Good," I said "Go to the office with them and put the phone on speaker mode."

I heard her talking with the other boys in the other end of the line and the sounds of footsteps and a door closing before her voice came back to me, sounding far away.

"We are ready, Sean. What's up?" She asked.

North just grunted in the background and Luke stayed silent.

"The stalker came to the house," I started telling them.

Someone sucked in a sharp breath of air and North started cursing roughly.

"If that son of a bitch come anywhere near my Sang baby I am going to fucking..." he growled only to be interrupted by Luke of all people.

"Shut up, North." Luke commanded, his voice completely serious.

"Thanks, Luke." I said, "As I was saying, the stalker came to the house after you all went away. Me and Owen were about to depart too when we came face to face with Phil in the doorstep, holding something in his hands."

"Phil? What was the doc doing there?" asked North sharply.

Glancing over to where my mentor was standing with my best friend I answered "He was just passing by on the way to his home from work when he saw something strange and decided to check." I turned back to watching the road, my eyes searching the shadows on the street. "You know how he cares about Sang." I reminded them.

"We never doubted him, Sean." Sang's sweet voice assured over phone, with a slightly scolding tone to it.

I smirked, someone was going to get in trouble.

North grunted again before murmuring a "Sorry, baby."

Smart boy, apologize quickly before she loses her temper.

"Back to business, what is it that Doc had in his hands?" Luke interrupted, taking us back to the matter at hand.

The boy was shockingly focused when it came to his "Cupcake" safety.

"He had a white mask in his hands." I told them before there was the sound of a gasp and the phone dropping to the floor.

"Sang?!" Luke exclaimed over the line and I started running over to the dinner, not even looking back to see if Owen or Phil were following me.

......

When my always calm and composed apprentice cursed and started running in the direction I knew my adopted daughter was, I almost had a heart attack.

Owen's news about a stalker was worrying and I felt compelled to call the academy for help but I knew that her new family and the Toma's team would take good care of her.

Owen started running after Sean as soon as my boy went off in the direction of the dinner.

Being an old dog I ran over to my car, made a sharp turn and fish-tailed it to the dinner, arriving first than they and running inside, the boys almost on my heels.

Once inside I looked around with wide eyes, trying to determine where sang was and what was going on.

Sean came in with Owen following him and the two of them went straight to the office, Owen still clutching that dratted mask in his hands.

I followed after them; entering the office I saw a clearly distraught Sang sitting in the couch, the Taylor' brothers on either side of her and Sean kneeling at her feet, checking her vitals.

I wanted to do the same, but stopped myself knowing that one crazy doctor was more than enough at the moment.

"Darling, what's wrong?" Owen asked her, his usually expressionless voice sounding incredibly gentle and soothing.

That is when I noticed Sang's eyes were fixed in the mask, recognition shining in them.

I cocked my head to the side.

Did she know?

......

I never expected to see that mask again.

I had thought that part of my life was over and buried. Left in the past where it belonged.

That is what we had agreed on, none of us wanting to remember what we had been through together.

But I had obviously underestimated her need for constancy.

I sighed, a headache brewing behind my eyes. I raised a hand to run through my hair and massage my temples, my thoughts everywhere.

The movement wasn't lost to the doctors in the room.

Sean jumped up and walked over to a cabinet from where he retrieved a bottle of pills.

Phil appeared in front of me with a glass of water which he offered to me when Sean handed me two of the white, little pills.

Downing the pills with a little o water and sighed again before focusing my eyes in Owen.

He stared at me worriedly, his gray eyes showing the emotions that were lacking on his face.

"Alice." Her name was all that I could manage, but it was enough.

He frowned in concentration for a moment before his eyes widened in recognition.

"Shit."He cursed.