^^ Lee ^^

Previously on Tempting Crystal...
Harv and Crystal do the dirty ;) ;) before showering together and going to bed nude.

Crys' POV

My phone lights up just before my eyes fully close, the little voice in my head wanting me to read it, just in case it's the twins. Hopefully they didn't come home while we were at it, that is one thing I'd never live down.

Looking at the message from a number I don't recognise, I feel my breathing hitch as I read the words that set my anxiety through the roof.

Unknown Number:
I'll c u soon.
We will b reunited again.
******************

Now, on Tempting Crystal...

Trying to ignore the fear that has been bubbling inside of me after getting that text message last night, I somehow manage to keep myself calm around Harv and my brothers this morning.

I didn't want the morning after our first time to be spent with me lost in my own head. So I focused solely on Harv when we both woke up this morning, which was easier to do than I expected. His handsome face had the sweetest smile grow on it once he woke up, making everything seem to disappear from my mind.

I was a bit quiet at breakfast, but thankfully my brothers were so wrapped up in their own debate that they didn't notice. Or if they did, they didn't say anything.

The boys were going to hang out today thankfully, so I decided to spend a bit longer in the gym and work out some of this anxiety and confusion. Music and exercise always seems to calm my thoughts, and I desperately need them to slow down. They are becoming very toxic and irrational, at least, I hope they're irrational.

As I walk into the the familiar venue, but I can't see Lee anywhere around the place. So instead of greeting him like I normally would, I go straight for the boxing bags and start warming up. After thirty minutes of working out and having sweat drip of my face, Lee walks out off his office looking irritated.

"You okay?" I yell out, taking out one of my headphones to hear him.

"I will be. How long have you been here for?" He questions, walking closer to me so we aren't shouting across the gym.

"Half hour, I think." Looking over his normally relaxed form, I start to become curious about what could possibly be bothering him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." He smiles at me.

After he tells me he has a few new things he wants to teach me, we walk over to the training mat that we always spar on. He seems distracted but still determined to show me what I need to learn, so I give him all of my attention. There's no need for me to make matters worse for him, what if he's having trouble keeping his business going?

After we finish and are thoroughly covered in sweat, we take a seat behind the counter up front and catch up a bit. I tell him about going with Harv for Christmas, and he tells me about seeing some of his old friends for new years.

"Oh, I spoke with my ex at new year's too." I tell him, almost having forgotten.

"What? The bastard that you ran away from?" He grits out.

"Yeah, he seems to have gotten himself together." I start off, before deciding to continue with the whole situation that I had found myself in that night.

I explained about Harv being by my side through most of it, how Travis seems to have taken his therapist very seriously, and that I feel like a weight has been lifted since that night.

"Well it's nice to see a punk like him take shit seriously for once. I'm happy you've gotten some form of peace from all of that too, but something is still clearly bothering you." He states, after taking a moment to let it all sink in.

"Just like something is bothering you, hmm Lee?" I giggle at him, nudging his side.

As he rolls his eyes playfully at me, my phone rings from inside my gym bag. Taking it out to see my lawyer's name on the screen, I excuse myself and go out to the staff room before I answer it.

"Hello?" I try to greet calmly, the anxiety from earlier coming back.

As great as Mr Smith is, he tends to come with less than pleasant news most of the time. The few times he had good news, were when he told us about our parents leaving us a large inheritance. Apparently they wanted us to be taken care of if the worse were to happen, it just breaks my heart that it ended up happening.

"Hello Miss Rossi, how are you today?" His pleasant voice filled the phone.

"Good, sir. What can I do for you?"

"Ah, right to business. I have just received a call from the prison that holds Mr Phillips. They are currently coordinating with local authorities, as they need assistance to apprehend him as soon as possible." He starts off.

Apprehend him?

But wouldn't that mean that...

"He escaped?!" I shout into the phone.

"Well, he didn't just walk out-"

"But he isn't behind bars anymore, is he?!" I ask, pacing back and forth as my head starts spinning. The room gradually starts to feel smaller, as my heart starts to pound in my chest.

Then the text I got last night comes to mind.

"When?" I ask, panic clear in my voice.

"It has been roughly 21 hours. They believed that he had help on the inside, a few guards who had not covered their tracks very well aided him, they were caught on camera during his escape. One of them has spoken with police, explaining that Mr Phillips had someone on the outside threatening their families." Mr Smith continues to explain.

He's out of jail...

Fuck, he is out in the real world.

"The guards are being detained, but their families are getting round the clock protection until we get Mr Phillips back into custody. The authorities are concerned, due to his previous connections prior to his arrest."

As he continues, I feel like my whole world is crumbling down around me. My legs starts to shake beneath me before I slide down the wall behind me, pulling my knees up to my chest and hugging them with my free hand, I continue to listen to Mr Smith as my world shatters.

"I would like to highly recommend you use some of the money from Mr and Mrs Rossi, to hire yourself some protection. I would also like to say it is unlikely that he will come after you, but we both know that is unrealistic. Please at least purchase some items to aid yourself, things to protect yourself with, if you were to ever be in need of help." He pleads, the worry evident in his voice no matter how much practice he's had.

He is someone that our parents was friends with, he knows the situation completely, and has already informed us that it's his intention to help us as much as possible. Mom and dad were well respected people in their fields, so when they were killed, Mr smith made sure Michael had no chance of getting away with it.

"Have they gotten any leads on where he is, or any old contacts of his that they can talk to?" I whisper, my body is starting to feel like it's shutting down.

"They are contacting a few people from his old life that might be able to help, but they doubt he will go to any old hideouts."

He's going to find me.

"He seems to have your number already, so I recommend getting a new one. They found it written in his cell on a scrap of paper, also check that your phone as no location settings active."

After all these years, is he going to finish what he started?

"I would also like you to up your home security, such as deadbolts, peephole, locks on all the other rooms."

Are my brothers going to get hurt, if he can't get to me this time?

"Miss Rossi, are you there?"

Will Harv get hurt because of me?

"Shit. Crystal, darling, breath for me."

Why can't he just leave me alone?

I never tried to annoy him as a child, we were always friendly and close to each other for a lot of my childhood. Why did things have to suddenly change between us? What did I do to become someone he couldn't stand?

Have I really been so tempted by a happy life, that I forgot I can't seem to hold onto one for all that long?

"Crys!"

I can't breath, why can't I breath?

"Crystal! Look at me, darling! You're okay." A familiar voice breaks through the haze.

I vaguely feel large hands shake me lightly, before they tilt my face upwards. The image of who it is blurs from the silent tears I didn't know were spilling over my cheeks.

"Harv? You and the twins need to get here, right now!" A panicked voice yells nearby.

Black spots start to invade my vision, just as this nauseous feeling I have begins to grow stronger and stronger. My chest is feeling extremely tight, like someone is holding me in a bone crushing hug but not letting go.

Lee's concerned face comes into view as the black spots start to take over my vision, within moments I start to feel like I'm falling and my world goes black.

*********** One hour later ***********

"What the fuck happened?!" A deep, panicked voice breaks through the haze of sleep.

I don't remember going to bed though.

"I don't know! She took a call in the break room when we were catching up. After she it had been in there a while, I came back here to check on her. She was on the floor looking panicked, and hyperventilating." Another familiar voice argues back.

"Well, did she say who was on the phone?"

"Mmm." I groan, rubbing my eyes.

Sleep is officially lost on me after all this yelling, so I try to crack open my eyes and put their worries at ease. I notice straight away that I'm on what looks like Lee's bed, the slightly familiar walls being my only clue.

"Crys, babe, are you okay?" Harv's smooth voice grabs my attention first.

Looking over the group of men, they all share a look of concern over their faces, as they surround the bed. Harv sitting next to me with my hand in his own, his eyes seeming to roam up and down my body for injury.

In a moment the memories of why I passed out come flooding back to me, my lip instantly trembling at the thought of it all. Tears fill my eyes in mere seconds, spilling over as the fear from earlier comes back to me with the blunt force of truck hitting me.

"Crys, what's wrong? What happened?" Harv questions me panicked, pulling me onto his lap to hold me close.

As soon as his arms are wrapped around my body, I lose any chance I had of holding it all in. Sobbing helplessly into his chest as I grip his shirt in a white knuckle grip, the only thing slowing my panic down is his warm hand rubbing up and down my back.

"H-He g-got out." I stutter out, between my slowed sobs.

"Who?" Harv questions.

"How do you know?" James says, seconds after.

"Michael. M-Mr Smith called."

Everyone falls silent at the news, Harv holding me to him a little bit tighter as they process it all. With everyone around me, I feel myself calming down a little bit more as each minute passes. I need to be able to explain it enough without crying, but this absolutely terrifies me.

More than Travis ever could.

"What happened?" Harv whispers when he notices my calmed state.

"Sei sicuro di voler parlare di questo qui?" James quickly butts in, earning a glare from Harv. (Are you sure you want to talk about this here?)

"I can understand Italian, so perhaps it would be best for me to leave?" Lee cuts in, a cheeky grin on his face.

We all just stare at him stunned, even I didn't know he spoke Italian. That cheeky bastard has heard me curse him out, when he pushes me extra hard in our training sessions.

"Great, I'm the only one who doesn't." Harv mumbles.

"I'll teach you." I whisper, kissing his cheek. "Lee, I'd like to tell you about this too, but I want to tell my brothers first please." I say quietly,

"That's okay darling." He smiles down at me, heading towards the door.

"Bye Lee~" Jeremy sings at him as he passes, a ear to ear smile on his face.

"Vaffanculo." He grins at Jeremy, shutting the door behind him. (Fuck off.)

"That doesn't count, even I know that one!" Harv yells after him.

"Non spingerlo, bel ragazzo!" He yells back.

All of us except Harv, burst into laughter at the banter. (don't push it, pretty boy!)

When we all calm down, I tell him what Lee said, to which he simply scowls at the door. Taking a moment to figure out where to start, I feel a tinge of guilt about not telling anyone about the text sooner as well. Would it have made this easier to digest, if they had a heads up about hearing from him?

"Last night... when I was about to fall asleep," I start, a light blush on my cheeks at the earlier memory. "I got a message from an unknown number. It said they'd see me soon and be reunited again. I thought it was Travis at first, but his number from the other night was different. I tried to put it out of my mind, hoping working out here would help. But then I got a call off Mr Smith about Michael escaping, he had someone on the outside help him, as well as guards on the inside." I pause, taking a shaky breath.

"The guards were apparently threatened, but now he's out and they don't know where he could be. Mr Smith told me to look into ways of protecting myself, because we all know that if he doesn't just enjoy his freedom, that'll mean he's most likely coming for me."

When I'm done they all just stare at me in surprise, clearly not expecting what they just heard. Harv had pulled me closer to him while I spoke, and the twins came to sit on the bed next to us, wrapping their arms awkwardly around me when I was finished.

"We won't let anything happen to you, I promise you." James whispers.

"We weren't able to protect you last time, but we will this time." Jeremy promises.

The warmth that flows through me at their words is enough to make me tear up again, the joy and safety I feel is more than I've felt in a long time. I really just want them to stay safe though, so I'll be taking every precaution I can to keep us all safe.

"We're all here for you." Harv whispers, holding me close and kissing my forehead.

Maybe everything will actually work out in the end.

There are more of us then him.

**********************
Oh my gawd!
Over 3.5k reads!!!

I'm thinking 35 chapters may be the rough limit for this book too, maybe a few more or less.

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