Lost & Found

by E B Brooks

  Maddy might not know Crusher well, but she had the feeling he was lying to her about not knowing Mike, which bothered her. But if he knew Mike, why was he lying?

  Torr came back with three plates of dessert and passed them out to the boys before she headed back to fetch hers and Maddy’s. She also brought out the bottle of wine Cody had arrived with and some glasses, which they all passed around, though Maddy didn’t drink any.

  After much debate, they picked a movie, and Maddy soon forgot about Mike and how Crusher might know him.

  By the time the movie ended, Maddy was ready to crash.

  Crusher stood and helped Torr up, and they both thanked her for dinner.

  Maddy stood, hugging Torr. “We’ll have to do this again. I had fun. Goodnight.”

  “I had a wonderful time, too. I guess I’ll see you at work on Monday.”

  Torr released her, and Crusher stepped in to give Maddy a big hug. “I’m sorry about my comment about the movies and asking about your past. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see around.”

  When he stepped back, Torr stood in front of them, eyes bouncing back and forth between them. “I didn’t notice this before, but you two look alike.” Torr’s entire face lit up. “You could be related.”

  Crusher gave a nervous chuckle. “You had a little too much wine tonight, babe? You’re seeing things. I better get you home. See you all later.”

  He ushered Torr out of the apartment while she was still arguing her point.

  Maddy frowned as she watched them leave. There was something strange going on with Crusher. He’d been acting off since she told him about Mike.

  Ryder walked up to her. “You two have similar bone structure. I noticed it right away. But a lot of people look alike.” He rubbed her arms. “We’re going to head out, too. Thanks for dinner, sweetheart. It was great.”

  She pouted. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, you can barely keep your eyes open. Give me your keys.” Jace puts his hand out. “We’ll run them down to the gym so Cody has a way to get in.”

  Maddy’s eyebrows shot up, her cheeks warming as her eyes jumped between Ryder and Jace.

  Jace laughed. “We do talk to each other, Maddy.”

  She headed to the closet by the door and grabbed her keys out of her backpack, handed them to Jace, then gave them each a kiss and hug.

  “Oh, wait! I almost forgot!” She ran to the kitchen then came back, handing Jace the plate for Skylar and some leftovers for them.

  Jace took them eagerly. “Thanks for the leftovers. I’ll make sure Skylar gets his before Ryder does.”

  She chuckled. “Goodnight, guys.”

  Locking the door behind them, she turned everything off, then switched on the light above the stove for Cody.

  Changing into the T-shirt she slept in, she fell into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

  The bed dipped, and big arms wrapped around her, the scent of leather and musk hitting her nose.

  “Hm, Cody.” She snuggled closer.

  “Go back to sleep, little one.”

  Maddy woke again in the early dawn hours and opened her eyes to find Cody’s fabulous chest without a shirt on. Unable to control herself, she ran her hand over his hard chest.

  “Hm, what time is it?” he mumbled.

  “Still early. Do you know what I instantly thought about doing when I first saw you?”

  Cracking his eyes open, he gave her a coy smile. “Hm, no, what did you want to do to me?”

  Maddy shifted closer to him and laughed. “I pictured running my tongue all over your muscles until you’re a quivering mess.”

  His large hands cupped each side of her head and slowly brought her toward him. When he licked around her lips and slid his tongue into her mouth, she sucked on it like she would his dick.

  She broke the kiss and started kissing her way down his neck to his collarbone, biting that part of his body, and he let out a growl. She nipped and licked that sensitive part of his neck until Cody moaned her name.

  Doing what she dreamt of doing that first day they met, she licked every inch of Cody’s muscles until he became a quivering mess. His eyes were blown, and he panted, just the way she wanted him to.

  Licking up his side and around his nipple, she made sure not to touch them until his back arched. Then, she leaned over him and sucked in his hard nipple while her hand wandered down to his boxers. She played with the elastic until Cody’s hips thrust up, then delved beneath to find his gigantic dick.

  Based on comments he’d made, she wasn’t surprised when her hand couldn’t reach all the way around it. She gripped it the best she could and stroked him up and down. When she felt him about to come, she bit his nipple as she twisted and pulled the head of his dick.

  Cody screamed her name as he arched off the bed, cum shooting all over her hand. Maddy kept jacking him off until his body stopped shaking.

  Rising above him, she admired the way he laid there, all sweaty and breathing erratically, with a smile on his face.

  In the blink of an eye, he flipped them and loomed over her. “Damn, Maddy, now it’s my turn.” He licked his lips and bent to whisper what he wanted into her ear.

  “Really?” she asked in shock.

  “Oh, hell yeah.” He laid back down on his back, removing the pillow from behind his head.

  Maddy straddled his body, then moved up until her parted legs rested on either side of his head. His hands kept gripping and releasing on her legs.

  “Cody, are you sure? Can you even brea—”

  Her breath caught in her throat as Cody pulled her down on to his face, alternating between licking and sucking her clit. Her body shifted into overdrive; she had never felt anything like this before. No one had ever done this to her. Her entire body tingled from being so aroused from her head to her toes.

  Maddy grabbed her headboard and started grinding against Cody’s face.

  Cody moaned against her as he slipped two fingers inside her, and Maddy’s body arched. “Cody… argh… fffuuuuccckkk.”

  Maddy came so hard she saw white.

  The next time they woke up, she sucked Cody off. They spent most of the day in bed, talking some, but mostly it was sex. They seemed unable to keep their hands off of each other, and Maddy never wanted the day to end.

  29

  Maddy

  The weeks flew by for Maddy.

  With Cody’s fight looming closer, she saw less of him as he spent most of his time at the gym. She missed him, but even though she didn’t fully understand, she knew how important this fight was to him.

  As Maddy and Jace finished class and headed toward the Jeep, they spotted Skylar sitting on a bench all by himself.

  “Go talk to him,” Jace urged.

  “Alone?” she asked.

  Jace grimaced. “The last time I talked to him, it didn’t go so well. Maybe he’ll open up to you.”

  Nodding, Maddy left Jace to walk over to Skylar.

  He didn’t see her coming. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his head down.

  When she stopped in front of him, his head rose.

  He lounged back on the bench, one arm across the top. As his blue eyes roamed her body, he relaxed, and his mouth started to curve into a smile before, suddenly, his wall slammed back up.

  A moment later, Amber slid in beside him on the bench, kissing him on his cheek. She cuddled into Skylar, turning her beady eyes on Maddy. “What do you want, trash?”

  Maddy ignored Amber as she stared at Skylar. Everything about his body language screamed with a giant Do Not Cross sign except for his blue eyes, which expressed how sad and lonely he was. She saw the bruising Jace talked about, the skin around his left eye still yellowish from a bruise that now looked a couple of weeks old.

  “Skylar, can I talk to you alone?” She pleaded with him with her eyes.

  “I…”

  “No, he can’t. He’s busy. N
ow, go bother someone else who cares, slut.” Amber pulled him down into a kiss.

  Skylar didn’t pull away or act turned off by the kiss.

  Maddy couldn’t stand to stay and watch, so she walked back to Jace, her heart heavy.

  After that encounter, they could never get Skylar alone. He was always with someone, and every time Maddy got a glimpse at him, he had new bruises on his face.

  On one of the rare nights they were all together, they got on the topic of Skylar.

  Cody looked completely dejected. “I ran into Skylar and confronted him about the bruises. We almost got into a fistfight. Skylar accused me of being jealous that, now that he was out from under me, people were recognizing him. Then he told me to stay out of his life.”

  Maddy and Jace exchanged troubled looks. It was the same thing Skylar told Jace.

  Ryder’s expression hardened. “Once Cody’s fight and mid-terms are over, we will make Skylar talk to us, even if we have to tie him down.”

  Grimly, they all agreed.

  After a particularly long week, with still two more grueling days before the weekend, Maddy felt ready to collapse.

  Jace had offered to come back to school to pick Maddy up after work, but she had felt like it was too much back and forth, and he already drove her to school in the mornings. Torr also offered to drive her home, but Maddy declined, knowing she lived in the opposite direction.

  Maddy didn’t mind the walking home, it gave her time to clear her head, but about halfway there, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she caught movement from the corner of her eye.

  She was used to seeing cats dart in and out of the shadows, but this was bigger than a cat.

  Gravel crunched under someone’s foot as they moved closer. Whoever they were, they weren’t trying to hide, and fear pricked her scalp. They’d planned this. This area was the perfect spot to get jumped; there was nothing but empty buildings for miles. No one to call the cops or hear someone scream.

  Spinning around, Maddy grabbed her knife and dropped her backpack so it sat on her foot. Six figures, all dressed in black, headed toward her. Her heart pounded hard as Maddy sized them up. They were about the same size as her, and the odds weren’t in her favor.

  Shit, this wasn’t going to go her way. She dropped into a fighting stance, reminding herself she didn’t have to kill anyone to survive, she just had to make it home.

  “What do you want?” Fear made her voice higher than usual.

  No one answered.

  The hooded figure in the middle nodded, and the group tried to surround her, but Maddy wasn’t that dumb.

  She kicked up her foot with her bag on it, sending it toward two of the black figures, then took off in a dead run, pushing one figure away as she did.

  Zigzagging her way through alleys, she pushed overflowing rotten garbage cans over as she ran past them. She ran into a chain-link fence, the clang of it alerting them where she was. Footsteps pounded behind her.

  Her legs burned, and she struggled to breathe past the tightness in her chest.

  Running down a few more alleys, she stumbled to a stop and leaned against a graffiti wall, trying to catch her breath.

  But the hooded figures weren’t giving up. Glass broke too close for her comfort, and she took off again, running around the corner of a burned-out building.

  A hooded body came flying out of the building and body-slammed her to the ground.

  They slid across the gravel. Maddy only owned two nice pairs of jeans, and today she picked the ones she wore to the party. The designer holes down the sides and knees now let the gravel tear her skin.

  Damn, why didn’t she pick the other pair?

  In the distance, feet pounded the pavement.

  As they fell, Maddy felt breasts against her, and shoved the girl off. She jumped to her feet, her knife encased firmly in her fist. Ryan had taught that clenching the knife in her fist put more weight into her punches. She swung at the figure’s hood, her fist connecting with a face, and the girl stumbled back, falling into a heap.

  The person lifted a hand to her face, her fingers coming back bloody, and scrambled back to her feet. “You bitch! You’re going to pay for that!”

  In the fall, the girl’s hood had slipped back, and all Maddy saw was more darkness. She’d painted her face black to make it harder to identify her.

  Two more figures arrived and advanced on Maddy.

  She flicked open her knife, swinging it wide to catch one of them in the arm.

  The figure screamed, grabbing their arm, then backed off, turned around, and ran.

  One down, but the others had caught up, and none of them followed their scared partner.

  Before she knew it, Maddy was defending herself against all five. She’d fought two or three people at a time, but never five.

  It wasn’t easy keeping track of five people and, soon, Maddy was overwhelmed.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a fist heading right for her, but she wasn’t quick enough to dodge it. Pain exploded across her face, making her stumble, and a boot kicked her in the stomach.

  She lost her balance, falling backward, and her head slammed onto the concrete. Pain ricochet down her shoulder where her clavicle was still weak.

  Her knife skidded across the pavement out of reach, and kicks landed on her from every direction.

  Get up… She needed to get up.

  She got her arm under herself and pushed up. Pain tore through her body, and she fell right back down.

  She curled into a ball, using one arm to protect her head and the other her ribs as her vision went fuzzy around the edges. She needed to fight the fog that wanted to pull her under.

  They were yelling something, but she couldn’t hear. Her ears were ringing too loud.

  Her mind drifted to the four men she cared about so much, and she hoped she’d see them again. She resisted for as long as she could, but soon, she lost consciousness.

  30

  Jace

  Jace couldn’t concentrate. He needed to study for a test tomorrow, but his mind kept wandering to Maddy and Skylar. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he peered at the clock that sat on the corner of his desk. She should be on her way home or already there by now.

  He didn’t like her walking home in the pitch black by herself. He didn’t mind driving her home, but she kept telling him she needed the time to clear her mind.

  Shaking his head, he tried to go back to studying.

  “Jace, are you in your room?” Cody yelled from the hall.

  Why was Cody seeking him out? His heart thumped hard. Did something happen to Skylar?

  He jumped up and headed out of his room. “What wrong?”

  Cody had obviously just gotten out of the shower and only wore boxers. He lifted his cellphone. “It’s your dad. He said he was trying to get ahold of you, but your phone goes right to voicemail.”

  Jace relaxed. “Shit, it died, and I forgot to charge it.”

  Cody handed him his phone. “He’s still on. It sounded important.”

  Reluctant, Jace took the phone. The last thing he felt like doing was heading to the construction site at this hour. “Sorry, Da…”

  His dad’s urgent voice cut him off. “Son, there’s been a problem.”

  The blood drained from his face as he listened to the rest of what his dad had to say.

  After a moment, he ran to his bedroom, grabbed a pen and paper. “Go ahead...” He wrote down the number his dad rattled off. “Got it. Thanks, Dad.”

  After he hung up, Jace took a second to process what his dad just told him.

  Cody, who’d followed him into his room, put a hand on his shoulder. “Jace, is everything okay?”

  “No, it’s not. We need to get to Blueridge Medical right now.” Jace tossed Cody back his phone.

  He caught it with one hand. “Is it your mom?”

  Midway through tying his shoes, Jace looked up at Cody. his vision blurry with tears. “No, it’s Maddy. She’s hu
rt.”

  “What?” Cody roared.

  “Go get dressed. Is Ryder in his room? I’ll tell you what I know on the way.” Jace pushed a frozen Cody out of his doorway.

  Cody got himself somewhat under control and ran to get dressed while Jace pounded on Ryder’s door before opening it.

  “Dude, I was sleeping,” Ryder mumbled in a half-asleep voice, rubbing his eyes.

  “Get dressed. Something happened to Maddy. We need to get to Blueridge Medical right away.”

  Ryder jumped up, asking a bunch of questions.

  Jace put his hand up to stop him. “I’ll answer all your questions in the Jeep. Meet me outside!”

  It didn’t take them long before they were peeling out of their driveway and speeding toward the hospital.

  Jace couldn’t stop shaking, his heart pounding a mile a minute, and he focused out the windshield as he drove. “Dad said the police found an unconsciousness woman who resembles Maddy’s description on Billcrest Road. They found my business card in her back pocket and tried to call me. When they weren’t able to get ahold of me, they called my dad. That’s all I know.”

  “Billcrest. That’s on her way home.” Ryder pounded the back of his seat in anger. “Thank God that card was in her pocket, or we wouldn’t have known.”

  Cody hadn’t said a word since leaving the house, and Jace cast him a worried look. It was never good when an Anderson stewed.

  When they arrived at the hospital, they ran into another problem. No one would tell them anything.

  Cody was seconds away from losing his shit, and Ryder was trying to keep him under control.

  Jace was pacing the waiting room when a nurse came in. “Is there a Jace Shields in the room?”

  “That’s me,” he told her.

  “You have a phone call. Follow me.” She turned and strode for the door.

  His eyebrows shot up, and he gave a one-shoulder shrug to Cody and Ryder who appeared as confused as he was.

  The nurse led him to the nurse’s station and handed him a phone.