“Aren’t you happy to see me, baby?”
I cup his cheek. “Of course, I’m happy to see you, but I recall my brother warning you to keep your distance.” I eyeball Drew through the mirror. “What’s changed?”
“Nothing,” Drew replies, glancing briefly at me as he glides the car out into the traffic. “But we need to do something, and I figured it was safe to bring Kai. I know what it’s like to crave the person you love. I can’t do anything about Jane, but I could do this for you.”
I unbuckle my belt and lean forward, poking my head through the gap in the front seats, and kiss my brother on the cheek. “Thank you. I love you.”
“Love you too, sis.”
“Sit your fine ass back down,” Kai says, fisting a hand in my sweater and yanking me back. “And put your belt on.”
“Happy?” I arch a brow as I secure my belt and nestle into the crook of his arm.
“With you in my arms, always.”
Drew makes a gagging motion.
“Shut. Up. I’m guessing you were ten million times worse,” Kai says.
“Fact,” I say. “But the way they loved one another was beautiful.” Tears stab my eyes as emotion charges through me. I didn’t realize I’d still be this hormonal so long after the… I purposely break that thought, unable to even say it in my mind.
I grip Kai’s arm tighter, glad he’s here. When he asked what Trent had said to make me go crazy on his ass that day in the cafeteria, I refused to tell him, much to his frustration, and he took that out on my body the next day when he yanked me into a different classroom.
But I couldn’t say it.
Because he’d murder Trent without hesitation, and I’m not putting myself through this shit to protect him only to lose him over my douchey ex.
We drive for over an hour, and I’m content in Kai’s arms, clinging to him while he peppers kisses all over my face. Drew watches us through the mirror, smiling, and I’m glad he approves.
“Where does Charlie think I am?” I ask, as Drew takes the next exit off the highway.
“He knows where you are. He just doesn’t know Anderson is with us.”
I stare out the window at unfamiliar roads, asking for the umpteenth time where we’re headed. But like all the other times, the guys remain tight-lipped.
We pull into the entrance to a private hospital a few minutes later, and I guess where we are. I bolt upright, my gaze bouncing between my brother and my boyfriend. “Oscar,” I whisper, and Drew nods.
My heart is pounding behind my rib cage, and I clutch Kai’s hand in an iron grip as we walk down the hallway toward Oscar’s room.
“This is it,” Drew says, stopping in front of room four hundred and eighteen.
“You want me to come in with you, baby?” Kai asks, and it’s tempting.
“No. I need to do this alone.” They explained in the elevator he’s still in a coma. I look between them, not sure if they know this. “He took a bullet for me that night. He tried to hold Louis off so I could get away.”
“We know,” Kai says. “And we owe him.”
“He’s my hero,” D adds.
“Mine too,” I whisper.
Kai kisses me sweetly. “Take all the time you need. We’ll be right out here.” He points at a row of chairs against a side wall.
I gulp, nodding, as I curl my hand around the door handle and step into the room.
“Abigail!” Julie, Oscar’s wife, rushes toward me enveloping me in a warm hug. “Oh, my sweet girl.” She grasps my face in her small hand. “Oscar would be so happy to see you here.” She takes my hand, pulling me over to the bed. “Honey. Abigail is here to see you, and she looks as beautiful as ever.”
A messy ball of emotion clogs my throat as I stare at Oscar’s prone body in the bed. He’s got tubes coming out of both arms, and he’s hooked up to a machine. The sheets are folded over just above his waist, and he looks so thin and frail in the bed. His face is a horrid ashen color, and he looks so old.
“You can talk to him,” Julie says. “I don’t know if he hears, but I like to think he does.”
“Hey, Oscar.” My voice cracks as I move closer to the bed, taking his hand in mine. It’s warm to the touch, which is unexpected but reassuring. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to visit, but my father locked me away at Parkhurst, and I only returned to town this week.”
Julie looks at me aghast. I probably should’ve been more circumspect. Knowing Oscar, he hasn’t told her much about the fucked-up goings-on at Chez Manning.
“He tried to save me that night,” I tell her. “And I hate that he’s here because of me.”
“Oh no, honey.” She rises, wrapping her arm around my waist. “Oscar loves you, and even if he doesn’t survive this, I know he wouldn’t have any regrets dying to protect you.”
“What have the doctors said?”
“Not a lot. His body has healed, but his mind hasn’t. They don’t know how long he’ll stay like this, and the longer it goes on, the more there is a possibility of brain damage.”
I clutch her hand, hating to think of Oscar suffering like that. “Can I do anything? Maybe get a second opinion? And let me take care of his medical bills.”
“You have already done so much for us, and I can’t thank you enough.”
I stare, perplexed at her, because I’ve done jack shit. There hasn’t been time.
“I don’t know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t sent your young man and his friends to help. Drew, too, of course.”
“I don’t understand.” My brows knit together.
“Oh. Oh.” A light bulb appears to go off in her mind. “I just assumed you sent them.”
“I would have if I’d been here. Oscar is more of a father to me than my father has ever been.”
“He adores you.” She squeezes my waist. “And given how you’ve all rallied round to help us, I can see why.”
“What exactly did my friends do?”
“Drew transferred Oscar here after your father ended his employment and we lost our medical coverage. Then your boyfriend turned up at my doorstep with Sawyer and Jackson. Kaiden rented us a house two miles from here so we could be closer to Oscar. He even arranged for the girls to go to a new school temporarily, and he put far too much money into my bank account.” Tears pool in her eyes. “Sawyer installed a new security system at the house, and Jackson came with me to purchase a new car because Oscar’s car has gone missing.”
“It looks like my brother and my friends have taken care of everything,” I say, hardly able to talk over the lump in my throat.
“They have, and I’m so grateful.” She glances at her husband with fresh tears in her eyes. “To spend every day here with him, knowing I have no other worries or concerns, is more than I could have hoped for. And it’s all thanks to you.”
I shake my head. “I did nothing.”
“Don’t you see that you did?” She presses a kiss to my cheek. “Those boys don’t have an allegiance to my husband. Most of them don’t even know him.” She looks me directly in the eye. “Their loyalty is to you. They did this for you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
I leave Julie with her husband and slip out into the hallway. Drew and Kai have their heads bent together, and they’re conversing in low tones. I hate to break up the renewal of their bromance, but my heart is fit to burst, and I can’t contain it. Plonking myself down on Kai’s lap, I wrap one arm around his neck and drape my other arm around my brother, pulling them both into me. “Thank you for what you did for him.”
“You okay?” Kai asks, peering into my eyes.
“I’m okay. Sad, because I hate seeing him like that and I hate the thought he might not come out of his coma, or come out of it intact, but at least he’s still alive.”
“I called Rick while you were in there. One of his professors at Harvard is a neurologist. He’ll talk to him and see if he can recommend someone to come and give us a second opinion.”
I let go o
f my brother, wrapping both arms around Kai’s neck. “I fucking love you.” I dot kisses all over his face. “And you are so getting laid for this.”
“Ugh.” Drew scrubs his hands down his face. “I did not need to hear that.”
“Suck it up, D. At least you don’t have to listen to us doing the deed.” I shudder, remembering the nights I heard Jane’s screams all the way from my bedroom.
“Unless we get it on in the back seat.” Kai waggles his brows, and I snicker at the look of abject horror on my twin’s face.
“He’s joking.”
“Am I?”
“Gross.” Drew stands, clamping a hard hand down on Kai’s shoulder. “And just when I was starting to like you again, man.” He shakes his head.
“My cock makes your sister happy,” Kai unhelpfully supplies. “You should do a happy dance, dude.”
“If you mention your cock and my sister in the same sentence again, I will pound your ass into dust.”
Kai laughs, lifting me off him and placing my feet on the ground. He stands, circling his arm around my shoulder. “I’d love to see you try.”
“Kai’s a legend in the ring,” I admit. “And he has quite the rep on the underground scene, or so I’ve been told.”
“Who said that?” Kai asks as we walk toward the elevator.
“Xavier told me the night we went to the Grid.” A pang of sorrow jumps up and bites me in the ass at thoughts of my bestie. Former bestie? I don’t know.
Drew slams to a halt. “He took you to the Grid?” His jaw snaps, and his eyes scream murderous intent.
“He didn’t tell you?”
“It seems, with you, Xavier kept most of it to himself.”
That helps.
But I need to have a conversation with Xavier to find out for myself.
I’ve been avoiding him, sending all his calls to voicemail, because I’m trying to build myself up to it.
I’m terrified his confession could be the last straw.
The last string to snap.
The final break which destroys me completely.
“How do you know Sylvia will even speak to you?” Sawyer asks Sunday night, when we’re convened in the warehouse for a catch up.
“I’ll blackmail her into it if I have to,” I calmly reply.
“How?” Kai asks.
“She was screwing her personal trainer last year behind Christian’s back. I’ll threaten to tell her husband if she doesn’t cooperate.”
Jackson chuckles, shoving his feet up on the table. “I’ve missed your devious nature.”
“Only because you weren’t on the receiving end of it,” Kai says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Do you mind?” Xavier eyes Jackson’s feet like they are poisonous. “I eat off this table.”
“Do I look like I care?” Jackson makes a drama of crossing his feet at the ankles.
“No problem, man,” Xavier says, backpedaling as a slow grin spreads across his mouth. “I’ve also fucked on this table. Many times. Right about where your feet are.”
Jackson slides his legs down so fast he loses his balance and the chair wobbles precariously, throwing him back. Sawyer grabs the chair before it crashes to the ground, rolling his eyes. “Children. Grow up. Or leave the room and let the adults talk.”
Xavier flips him the bird. “You’re just cranky because now you’re picturing me naked being topped by some hot stud with a monster cock.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Kai buries his head in his hands.
“TMI, dude,” I say, attempting to smother a snort of laughter. It’s almost impossible to hold on to my anger when Xavier is genuinely one of my favorite people in the universe.
“I have no words,” Sawyer mutters.
“That’s because I’m right,” Xavier teases, rubbing his crotch and jerking his hips forward. “But you won’t confirm it.”
“All right. Comedy hour is over,” Drew cuts in. “We’ve got assholes to take down and plans to make.”
Everyone sobers up, but I’m glad for the light-hearted banter because it helps remind me who these guys are. “I need to bring something up,” I say, clearing my throat and preparing to eat crow. Because Drew will go postal times a thousand when I admit this. “Because we agreed no secrets.” I wet my lips and look my brother in the eye. “Don’t get mad, but IfollowedyouintothesexdungeonlastweekandIsaweverythingIshouldn’t.” I rush the words out fast before I chicken out of my confession.
“You what?!” Drew roars, slamming his palms down on the table.
“Back the fuck up there,” Xavier says. “You snuck into the sex dungeon?”
“How many other sex dungeons do you know?” I raise my hand as he opens his mouth to speak. “Nope. Don’t answer that. And, yes, I’m talking about the bastard sperm donor’s depraved sex club in the basement of my house.”
Xavier grins this massive grin, delighted I’m speaking to him again. But it’s surface level. Because we still have shit to discuss.
“Why the hell would you go in there?” Kai asks, and the face he wears is almost identical to my brothers.
“Because I wanted to know why my twin was dressed up as if he was going out at midnight on a school night.”
“Did nothing we discussed the last time we were here sink into that obstinate skull of yours?” Drew shouts, and I’ve never seen him so enraged. “Fucking hell, A!” He grabs fistfuls of his dark hair and starts pacing. “If they’d caught you in there…” He shivers uncontrollably.
“Well.” I wipe my clammy hands down my jeans, trying to prepare for the second detonation. “I was just leaving whencharliecaughtme.”
Drew storms around the room like a madman, racing to the wall and pounding his fists against it in a scary display of aggression. Xavier doesn’t call him out on the damage he’s doing because even he’s a teeny bit afraid of Drew right now.
Jackson and I trade similar tormented expressions.
Kai gets up, walking to Drew, and they converse in low tones.
“What are they whispering about?” I ask Jackson, leaning into his ear.
“Fucked if I know,” he says in a low voice.
“While they’re distracted,” I whisper again, pressing my mouth more fully to his ear. “You got any weed?”
“Is that a serious question?”
“Well, yeah, because I don’t see you smoking it much anymore.”
“I’m trying to cut back, but that doesn’t mean I’m not packing.” He slides a joint out of his back pocket, slyly passing it to me. “If you’re caught with that, I’ll deny all knowledge.”
“It will be long gone before I’m caught.” I just need something to take the edge off on nights when I’m bored and lonely in my bedroom.
“What are you two talking about?” Kai asks, dropping into his seat beside me.
I kiss him to distract him while I slip the joint into the pocket of my hoodie. “We were just wondering the same thing about you two?”
Drew is back in his seat, and while he appears under control, he still looks like he wants to throttle sense into me.
“We were comparing notes on how stubborn you are.” Kai levels me with a stern look.
“We were comparing notes on how overprotective you are,” I toss back with a fake sugary smile.
“We might as well call this meeting to a close,” Sawyer says, crossing his arms and sighing impatiently.
“I’m finding it entertaining myself.” Xavier scratches the side of his blood-red hair as he winks at Sawyer.
“You would.”
“Enough,” Drew snaps, pinning me with a frosty look. “Tell me and leave nothing out.”
So, I do, and it doesn’t take long for the jovial atmosphere to evaporate completely.
“Shit, A.” Drew cradles his head in his hands, and his breathing is labored. Kai links his fingers through mine. “I never wanted you to see any of that.”
“One part of me wishes I hadn’t, but another part is glad I did, beca
use now, I’m even more determined to take him down. And I think we need to add the order and Parkhurst to our list.”
“Are you truly that insane or that naïve?” Drew barks.
“I’m not fucking naïve,” I snap back. “Or insane. I’m fucking disgusted.” I stand, bracing my palms on the table, and leaning across at him. “How are you not absolutely sickened at what is going on down there?”
“Trust me, I’m sickened!” he yells. “You think I wanted to be there?”
I remember his stiff stature. “I know you didn’t want to be there, but how can you do nothing about it?”
“Because there is nothing that can be done, A. You don’t understand how powerful these people are. They are virtually untouchable. And we must pick our battles. Father is our priority, and we can’t lose sight of that.”
“The girls were so young, D,” I whisper, slumping back in my chair. “How can we turn a blind eye to that?”
“I’m only asking you to turn a blind eye to it for now,” he adds, his voice dropping to normal levels.
“Who are those girls? Are they part of the elite too?”
“Some are.”
“Why would the elite give their daughters over to other elite to degrade and abuse like that?” Kai asks. He’s gripping the arms of his chair in a way that implies he’s restricting his blood supply.
“Some do it for a short while as a punishment for disobedience,” Drew says. “Others hand them over when they’ve exiled them from the family for any number of stupid reasons.”
“Like?” I inquire.
“They have a medical condition, or they’re not intelligent enough, or they refuse to abide by the traditions and rules.” He drills a hole in the side of my skull. “Or they’ve tried to escape.”
“Fuck.” Kai hauls me over into his lap, and I drape myself around him.
“But most are girls they pull off the street,” Drew continues. “Runaways and orphans, kids from foster homes. Girls, and boys, not likely to be missed. When they get older, they turn them into recruitment managers, paying them to find more young girls and boys to bring into the fold.”
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