by Emelia Blair
Jace stiffens at my words. “She’s a friendly person.”
I snort. “No, she’s not. She’s as friendly as a rattlesnake. You only managed to befriend her through a lot of effort. What I want to know is why. What do you want from her?”
“Nothing. She and I just get along.”
His words ring false and I can see the way he’s trying his best not to fidget. I stalk towards him, my presence menacing, and I can feel his eyes following me as I round my desk and sit behind it facing him, careful to keep my tone soft, “Let me explain something to you, Jace.” I call him by his first name, deliberately, and from the sharpening of his eyes, he also realizes it.
I lean back in my chair and pin him to his seat with my eyes. “There is nothing I won’t do to protect Kendall. Now, she thinks you’re just her friend, but I’ve been around long enough to know that you want something from her. I see you watching her sometimes when she doesn’t know. If I have to get rid of you to protect her, don’t think I won’t.”
Jace’s jaw tightens. “Are you threatening to fire me?”
I smile now, my eyes malicious. “Oh, I wouldn’t do that. I’ll simply transfer you somewhere else. Your skills are invaluable, after all.”
Sitting mute, he pales.
I continue, “You’ll have a better salary, more perks. You just won’t have access to Kendall.”
My words have the desired effect on Jace who stands up. “You can’t do that!”
I widen my eyes, mockingly. “I can’t? I’m offering you a better salary, even a better position. What about that seems unfair to you?”
He’s at a loss for words.
I watch him with cold satisfaction. I was right. It was Kendall he was after.
Jace struggles, a conflicted look on his face. “I’m content with my job here.”
“And I think you’d be better suited there,” I retort.
“Damn it!” Jace finally breaks. “It’s not what you think!”
“Then explain it to me,” I snarl. “Why have you been sneaking around Kendall, looking up personal records, her birth certificates? Why did you contact the orphanage where she grew up?”
“Y-You know about that?” Jace stills.
I bare my teeth as I reply, “Kendall is mine. I know everything there is to know about her and anything concerning her. So, start talking, Hunter. Or I’ll send your ass to Germany, permanently.”
Jace glowers at me. “She’s – Kendall is my half-sister.”
A tense pause follows this declaration as I reel from this sudden information. Somehow, I manage to find my voice, “That’s not possible. She’s an only child.”
Jace sinks into the chair and looks defeated. “Her father – Our father had an affair while Kendall’s mother was expecting. He knocked my mother up. He always came to see me, and he was a good father, as good as he could be, but I never knew about Kendall until my mother passed away last year, and she told me just before she died. I didn’t know jack squat about her but technically, she is my family, my only family, now. When I met her in your office, and she introduced herself, I was suspicious when she told me her name and then I befriended her.” He sighs now, meeting my gaze with a tired one of his own. “I was sure I was wrong. And then she would tell me these things and it was all starting to add up. I went to her orphanage requesting details, but nobody would divulge anything. I went to her house, hoping to get a DNA test done by getting something of hers. I took some strands from her hairbrush but while the results were close, I needed more DNA, so I arranged for that. I’ve been trying to tell her for two weeks, but you’ve been determined to keep us apart.” He scowls at me.
I frown. “You had a shifty look about you. Are the DNA results conclusive?”
“Yes,” Jace replies. “I also checked her birth certificate and we have the same father. I came today to maybe sit her down and tell her.”
“Well, she’s not here,” I tell him. “She’s gone to the hospital with Elise. She left an hour ago.”
Jace blinks at me. “What are you talking about? I saw Lucas helping Elise into his car as I was coming up.”
My hand is reaching for my phone before he’s finished his sentence, and I’m dialing Kendall’s phone. Her phone goes straight to voicemail.
I try Duke and after the third ring, he answers.
“Where’s—?”
“Boss, we got a problem,” Duke sounds weak on the phone. “I’ve been stabbed. Some guy took Kendall. Back alley, three streets over….” He’s whispering out an address hoarsely.
I’m on my feet. “Somebody took Kendall.” I reach under my desk and open the false bottom, retrieving a revolver.
“What the fuck’s that?” Jace stares at the gun in stunned horror.
“Protection,” I tell him, grimly. I move towards the door. “Call an ambulance.” I bark out the address Duke gave me.
“I’m coming with you,” Jace growls as he follows me towards the fire escape. “That’s my sister out there!”
I’m not inclined to argue with him, fear festering inside of me like a cold blade piercing my innards. Duke’s a huge man. Taking him down shouldn’t be easy and yet, someone managed to do so and take Kendall. Behind me, I hear Jace cursing into the phone as he gives them an address. I know we will reach Duke before the ambulance does.
Why didn’t he call me?
My question is answered when I reach his location, five minutes by foot from the building.
His hulking form is leaning against the wall, his breath short. “It was that guy,” he strains out, the pool of blood beneath him growing even as I try to stem the blood flow with my coat. “Her landlord. And there was this ugly brute with him. H-he kept asking about T-Tracy.” His voice is stuttering.
Jace is shouting into the phone, explaining their location to the emergency services.
“The little miss knew them, Caleb. And she put up one hell of a fight. They took me out first, outside and then texted her from my phone to meet her here. I don’t know where they’re taking her, but she has her phone on her. You can track it.”
I already am but I can’t leave Duke here till the ambulance arrives. I glance at Jace, aware that the blinking dot on my phone is moving further and further away and that I need to catch up to it. “Stay with him. I’m going after Kendall.”
Jace tosses a ring of keys at me. “Take my bike. It’ll be faster. I’ll be right behind you.”
“You’re going to be okay,” I tell Duke whose usually tan complexion is pale right now with the amount of blood he’s lost.
“Go,” he whispers faintly.
After exchanging a grim look with Jace, I dart back towards the office building, aiming for the underground garage. I know what Jace’s bike looks like and firing it up, I fly out of the building.
Kendall is out there with people who didn’t hesitate to stab Duke. She’s out there with people who want nothing more than to hurt her. And they have a head start.
My hands tighten on the handles, and when I see that the red spot has stopped, I feel something unfurl in my chest, something dark and dangerous.
I don’t care about the cold wind biting my face, whipping it, mercilessly. The sounds of traffic fade in the background as I whiz through back alleys, taking short cut after short cut, willing Kendall to be alive, willing her to be unharmed.
Hope burns in my blood and it is such a fragile thing and I’m unwilling to abandon it until I am forced to. My mind is racing with lethal precision, as my destination draws closer. The damned motorbike is too loud, and I’ll have to abandon it, if it’s a quiet place they’ve taken her to. I can’t afford to let them know I’m there.
I remember Kendall’s words from the night she was moving, the fear in her voice when she had told me that Arthur wouldn’t let this go.
My fucking fault for being so arrogant, thinking Duke scaring the other man into submission would make him back off.
My fucking arrogance.
I should have gone wit
h her when she panicked about Elise going into labor. I should have put my work aside and gone with her.
Instead, I let her go by herself.
In the back of my mind, I know that this is a stupid thing to bemoan, that Kendall has fought for her independence and has let me know numerous times that she won’t tolerate being coddled. She’d smack me in the face if I even suggested so. My woman is fiercely independent.
She’s also smart and quick on her feet.
“Survive, Kendall,” I beg into the wind. “Survive.”
The building is an abandoned warehouse. I ditch the bike nearby and see a dirty car parked outside by the entrance.
Not very subtle, are they?
I scale alongside the building, the evening sun casting long shadows as I slip in through one of the shattered windows, undetected.
The sting of pain when edged glass cuts into my skin makes me wince. I ignore it and straighten up, keeping to the shadows. There is a murmur of voices from the far end of the warehouse. I start walking towards the sounds, aware of how my leg is bleeding and there’s probably something sticking out from it.
The revolver is in my hands and I edge towards a door from where the voices are getting louder and louder.
A sharp cry as the sound of skin slapping skin fills the air, and then a loud ‘fuck you’ is heard and I recognize Kendall’s voice.
“I’m not telling you anything!”
Something heavy clattering on the ground and a man’s voice, threatening, “There are other ways to make you talk, Kendall. Ways that I’ll enjoy.”
Fury is building up like a storm inside of me and I would like nothing more than to barge in there. But I’m only assuming there are two men. There could be more, so I need to be careful. I’ve shared the tracking data with Jace so hopefully, he’s got the police informed and he’s bringing them here.
I’m about to move when the next words that reach my ears have my blood burning to feverish heights and red swarming in my vision.
“I skinned you once, you little bitch. I can do it again.”
A tremor in Kendall’s voice, along with muted defeat and acceptance, as my brave girl spits out, “You think I’m scared of you? Screw you, Gerald.”
Gerald.
Kendall has always refused to share the story of how she got those scars on her back but while I may not know the details, I now know who the person who inflicted them on her body is. My hand tightens on the gun.
Murder might not be an option, but I know there are other ways of torturing ‘Gerald.’
I look for a way in aside from the entrance. I first need to see how many people are in there with Kendall and how many weapons.
I circle around the room, looking for a staircase that would give me a visual inside, considering there is no roof in this four walled room.
Hearing a scrape of a shoe, I immediately whirl around, my gun pointed in the direction of the noise.
“It’s just me,” Jace whispers out, his hands in the air, alarmed. He steps out of the darkness.
“Where are the police?” I hiss.
“They’re on their way. Kendall?”
I gesture towards the room with my chin. “I need a good vantage point. Can’t go in blind.”
“There’s two of us.” Jace looks disgruntled, his usually slicked hair, windblown and scattered over his face, framing his brows.
“We can’t risk Kendall being used as a hostage,” I bite out. “Now, I have the weapon. You find something to fight with and see how many people are inside.”
Jace doesn’t agree with me but he obeys me nonetheless, picking up a wooden plank as he hurries towards the staircase. I circle the walls and find a bit of broken plaster in it and this gives me a view of part of the room.
I can see a thick male jean clad thigh and my fingers itch to put a bullet in it.
I can’t see Kendall though, although I can’t hear the conversation quite clearly.
A resounding slap, a whimper, and a loud demand, “Where the fuck is she?”
“Go to hell, Gerald!” I hear Kendall’s voice.
I can hear the thick fear coating it.
The second man, Arthur, spits out, “Let me have a go at her. I promise she’ll be screaming out details before I’m done.”
I’m going to rip his throat out.
Gerald says something which is lost because my attention is grabbed by Jace who is gesturing towards me from above. He makes a sign of two and waves towards his plank. As he does this, the piece of wood slips from his fingers and takes the thirty-foot plunge to the cement ground.
I watch in horror.
The sound echoes and is magnified, making the two men inside shout out.
“What the fuck is that?!” The idiots are out the door, leaving Kendall unattended.
Without a second thought, I rush inside.
Kendall looks up at me from where she’s struggling with her bonds. “C-Caleb?!” The shock and disbelief in her voice are obvious.
Now, I see the shimmer of tears in her eyes.
“You came for me?” There are bruises on her face and her shirt is torn.
I’m moving towards her, my body on automatic. “I told you: no matter where you go, I will always find you.” My hands are untying her knots, clumsy as they are.
She chokes out, “I didn’t take it seriously.”
I’m seconds away from freeing her, acutely aware that we’re running out of time. “Well, now you do.”
“Look out!” she cries out then and I dodge out of the way as something heavy smashes on the ground.
My gun is raised and pointed towards Arthur.
He gives me a murderous look. “You? How the hell did you get in here?” He raises a metal club he has in his hands.
I don’t even bother responding, I just aim, taking the shot.
The bullet pierces his knee and he howls out in pain, crumpling onto the floor.
I hear Kendall’s gasp as I turn to her, ripping her bonds apart now, and helping her stand. Hearing footsteps, I turn my head, barely seeing an enraged man rushing towards me, a knife in his hand. Without thinking, I shove Kendall behind me, mentally prepared to feel the sharp pain of metal sliding into my flesh.
But the man freezes mid-step and his eyes roll to the back of his head as he collapses with a grunt.
Behind him Jace stands, his hands clenched around a piece of wood, his face pinched, breathing rapidly. “Did I kill him?”
Kendall gapes at him. “Jace?”
I kneel down and take Gerald’s pulse, shaking my head. “He’s just passed out.” I glance over to where Arthur is sprawled out, unconscious. The sound of sirens has me looking out and from the murky windows in the distance, I see the reflection of blue and red lights. “Well, the police are here.”
I turn to Kendall.
She’s staring down at her two captors, her face white. She glances at me and Jace. “H-how did you find me?”
“Your phone. The tracker.” I run my hands over her hair, gently eying the bruises on her face, touching them. “Come on. Let’s get you home.” I kiss her on the forehead.
Jace looks away, uncomfortably.
“What’s Jace doing here?” She mumbles.
I look towards him. “He has something to tell you.”
Jace stiffens and opens his mouth to speak.
“Later though,” I add lightly. “First you need to get to a hospital. I want these looked at.”
As we pass the two men on the ground, I contemplate shooting them in the groins, once, and relent to just kicking them when they’re within reach.
Kendall watches me but makes no comment. She offers her hand and I take it, planting a kiss on her knuckles as we walk out.
Jace just looks incredulous, but he’s a little shaken, making me assume that he leads a very neat and tidy lifestyle.
Darkness has no place in his life.
“My brother?” Kendall looks bewildered from where she’s sitting on the edge of the hosp
ital bed.
Jace is leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. “We have the same eyes.”
“Lots of people have brown eyes, Jace. I hardly go around thinking I’m related to all of them!” Kendall glowers, trying to wrap her head around this new information.
When Jace looks disgruntled, she asks, “Are you sure about this?”
“No,” he drawls, sarcastically. “It came to me in a dream.”
“Hit him,” Kendall orders me. “He’s being an asshole.”
I look on amused, playing with the edges of her hair. “I took a look at the DNA test. He’s telling the truth.”
Kendall has a bandage on her face and her right eye is swollen but treated. She has a befuddled expression on her pale face. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Jace looks annoyed. “I tried but your boyfriend wouldn’t let me anywhere near you!”
“Maybe I will hit you,” I ponder aloud.
The man scowls at me.
Kendall tugs her hair out of my grip. “You’re a dick as well.”
“Sorry,” I apologize, insincerely.
She pinches my arm in retaliation. “Stop interfering in my life.”
I snatch my arm away from her. “You knew what you were walking into, Kendall,” I tell her with relish, and I can see that she’s contemplating hitting me with something, so I distance myself from her.
“Fine.” Kendall turns her attention to Jace. “You’re my brother.”
“Half-brother,” Jace corrects her.
She gives him a disbelieving look. “What does that matter?” She stares at him. “Doesn’t make you any less of family.”
Something flashes across his face and he swallows heavily as he says, “No. It doesn’t.”
Now even Kendall looks uncomfortable. “So, what do I do with you?”
Jace studies her face, equally out of place. “I don’t know. We could get to know each other.”
“I know you tell boring stories,” Kendall tells him snidely.
He scowls. “It’s not my fault your brain is too slow to catch up.”
“Hey!” she exclaims, offended.
When he sneers at her, I have a feeling they’ve already found a rhythm that suits them. There is a softness to her eyes, a slight warmth to her.