CHAPTER 21
ADDY
“You feeling okay, honey? You’ve been quiet all morning?” Adam fussed as we got out of Kane’s Escalade outside the house the next morning. I’d just been to my latest session with my counsellor, Laura, then Kane and Adam had taken me to a little Italian restaurant for lunch, but I’d been a misery and ruined the whole thing. I hadn’t meant to but I just didn’t feel great. I felt nauseous and my head was pounding hard. Headaches were kind of my thing since that car hit me, since I’d had so many since then, but they were never usually as bad as the one I was currently experiencing. My head was throbbing rhythmically, and there were strange spots of light dancing in my vision.
“Not really. I think maybe I have a migraine,” I groaned as Adam helped me down from the car.
“What’s wrong?” Kane asked as he appeared at my side. Adam wrapped his arm around me and I very happily nestled into his side, hiding my face from the bright sun reflecting off of the snow.
“She has a migraine. I’ll take her to her room so she can lie down. Will you grab her pain meds and some water, then meet us up there?” Adam asked, and I didn’t miss the way he lowered his voice for my benefit.
“On it,” Kane agreed, and I heard him jog away from me and up the steps into the house, while we followed more slowly. The disturbances in my vision were making it hard to stay upright, and I was grateful for the support Adam was giving me.
“Addy! We got it! It’s really ours!” Jordan yelled loudly, and I flinched in pain as I forced myself to look up. I could just make him out as he jumped down the stairs towards me.
I groaned as pain shot through my skull at the loud noise and the act of looking up, then pressed my face into Adam’s side again, praying the nausea bubbling up would calm back down and not make me puke.
“Easy, bro. She has a migraine. Lower your voice,” Adam warned.
“A migraine? Why? What happened?” Jordan worried instantly. I knew he was beside me because I could feel his hand rubbing up and down my arm over my coat.
“I’m okay,” I tried to reassure him. “I just want to lie down. What were you talking about?” I wanted to look round at Jordan, but it just wasn’t worth the pain.
“ The Light . We got the building. Asher’s attorney just called to confirm it’s all done. He was able to hurry the purchase through.”
“That’s great,” I told him, but the enthusiasm wasn’t there.
“Asher and I need to head over to finalize the paperwork. I was hoping we could all go,” he continued.
“I can’t. I’m sorry, Jordan,” I said genuinely as I forced myself to turn to him, and ended up pressed against his chest and curled in his arms.
“Don’t be crazy. The only place you’re going is to bed,” he told me as he kissed the top of my head very gently. “Ash and I can go and handle things, then we can all head over there when you’re feeling better.”
“Okay,” I agreed, not daring to nod. “Will you go with them Kane, please?” I asked as Kane appeared in my peripheral vision.
“Go where?” Kane asked as he handed Adam my pain meds and a bottle of water.
“Asher and Jord need to go and sign paperwork for the new building. Please go with them and keep them safe,” I begged, worried sick about Asher after the nightmare the night before. If Zara was involved in whatever Joseph had been up to, it would mean she could know some very unsavory people, and if she wanted Asher as bad as I believed she did, she was capable of anything.
“Go. I’ll take care of her,” Adam promised.
“Eli’s in his studio if you need him too. He wanted to get the space cleaned up before he started a new series he has planned,” Jordan explained.
“Are we ready to head out?” I heard Asher ask as the sound of footsteps approached. I had once again hidden my eyes from the bright light against Jordan.
“It’s just us and Kane. Addy’s not feeling so good right now,” Jordan explained.
“Sweetheart?” I felt a large hand run over my back and knew it had to be Asher, since his voice had sounded so close. “What’s going on?”
“Just a headache. I’m okay,” I said, but it wasn’t exactly convincing when I didn’t even lift my head to look at him.
“I have her pain meds. I’m gonna get her into bed so she can rest while they take effect,” Adam added.
“We could deal with the purchase later if you need us here, Addy?” Ash offered.
“No. You should go. Quiet will be better anyway, and I want the building to be ours officially. I’ll be good with Adam,” I replied.
“I’ll be as fast as I can, so we can snuggle, okay?” Jordan told me as he held me a little tighter.
“That sounds good. Go get our center,” I told him as I squeezed my arms around him too.
I closed my eyes and tried not to vomit as I was passed into another set of arms.
“Get some rest and call me if it gets worse or you need anything. Understand?” Kane said.
“I will,” I agreed as I pushed against him and enjoyed being in his arms. “Keep them safe, won’t you?” I whispered in a quieter voice.
“Always, pretty girl.”
Kane kissed me, then I was back in Adam’s arms and relieved he had simply scooped me up this time. All of the being passed around was not helping my nausea or headache.
“You just call me if you need anything, and Eli’s in his studio if you want him too. Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Asher worried as he appeared at my side and looked me over.
“I’ve got her, Ash. I’ll call you if we need you,” Adam assured him.
“Love you, little dot,” Asher told me as he kissed my temple.
“Love you,” I croaked back, loving the sound of his words even as miserable as I was feeling at that moment. He and Eli had been the first people to ever tell me they loved me, and it meant more than I thought they could know.
By the time I heard the front door close, Adam already had me halfway to my room. I was grateful when we got inside and he helped me get off my coat and boots, because I felt like I was going to throw up if I had to open my eyes again, even for a moment.
“Lie down now, baby. I’ve left the lights lowered so it’s not too bright when you open your eyes,” Adam explained as he held my hand and helped me ease into the middle of my bed under the cozy comforter. I took the pills Adam handed me, praying they would work and take away the throbbing pain that seemed never ending.
“You don’t need to stay with me. I’ll be okay,” I told Adam as I felt him climbing onto the bed beside me.
“I do need to stay with you. As if I could concentrate on anything else when I know you’re laid here in pain,” he told me firmly, then he was wrapping his arms around my waist and his body around my back. His heat seeped into my chilled form, and I sighed at the small relief. The man was always like a human furnace.
I pressed back into him and wrapped my arm around his huge bicep, clinging to him and fighting the urge to tell him I loved him. I wanted to desperately, I could feel it with everything in me – the love I had not only for him, but for Kane and Jordan too. But it wasn’t the right time. I didn’t want to tell him I loved him when my head hurt too much for me to even open my eyes and see his reaction. Instead I just clung tightly to him and relaxed in only the way my guys could allow me to – completely.
***
I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I must have, because when I opened my eyes my migraine was down to a dull headache at the back of my head. I was laid in my bed, and Adam was fast asleep wrapped around me.
Relieved to be feeling a lot better I lifted my head enough to look to the window and saw light peeking around the blinds. At least I hadn’t slept the whole day away.
I extricated myself from Adam’s hold and slid from the bed, all as silently as I could, then hurried to the bathroom, in desperate need. Once that was handled I washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror. I was pale and the mascara, which I’d applied to head out to my therapy session that morning, was a mess, making me look like a panda. I washed my face to get rid of the heavy black smudges and ran a brush through my hair, relieved it hadn’t gone as crazy as it usually did when I slept on it. I messily tied it up on top of my head, needing it out of the way, then attempted to straighten the rumpled dress I had worn with leggings that morning. I’d have changed if we were going out, but the migraine had zapped me too much to even contemplate doing anything but lying on the couch and binge watching television for the rest of the day.
When I returned to the bedroom, Adam had rolled over so he lay sprawled out on his back, taking up the entire bed. He was snoring loudly now he lay flat and I couldn’t help but quietly giggle at the strange sound he was making.
Leaving him to wake up when he was ready, I slipped out of my room, closing the door behind me, and headed downstairs in search of food. I’d barely eaten lunch, and I was actually feeling hungry. That was something else that seemed to be changing lately – my appetite. I actually felt hungry at times now, which never happened in the first few weeks, and I was able to eat more too. I guess that was a part of why I was feeling more in control of myself and had a little more energy.
It was slow going, but I knew I really was making progress at getting myself together, and that made me feel good. After all of the craziness over the last month or so, and days where I couldn’t even control my own thoughts, to know I was getting a little stronger truly felt like a victory.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I laughed as I walked around the corner into the kitchen and saw Eli cursing at the two blackened slices of toast he was pulling from the toaster. He threw the last one to the counter, then waved his hand, obviously having burned his fingers.
“Having fun?” I asked with a chuckle. Eli startled and turned to face me with surprise.
“Fuck, you scared me, shortcake,” he gasped as he slammed his hand on his chest. “I didn’t hear you coming.”
“Sorry. You trying to burn the house down?” I joked as I nodded to his black toast and the hint of smoke around us.
“I lost track of time while I was working. My stomach rumbling led me down here,” he explained with a sheepish smile. “I swear I can make toast. I just got distracted texting Ash.”
“Is he still at the new building?” I asked as I bypassed Eli, grabbing the toast and tossing it into the trash.
“Yeah. They’re finishing up now. Ash said we’re just gonna get take out for dinner. Are you feeling better? He said you had a migraine earlier?”
“Much better. The pain meds helped and I got some solid sleep,” I assured him. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make us both a sandwich. I’m pretty hungry too.”
“Sounds good. I’ll make some coffee and grab you one of your beloved sodas.”
We both set to work, and I almost had the sandwiches ready when the bell at the front door went off. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard it before. Everyone who came to the house, since I moved in, lived there, except Zara, but she’d let herself in that day.
Just thinking about Zara had me remembering the nightmare I’d had the night before, and I wondered if Kane had done anything to look deeper into her yet. I didn’t want to give Asher anything else to stress about, especially when things had calmed down so much in the last week, but he needed to know if the crazy chick who was obsessed with him, was part of some criminal group.
“It’s Leo, from the security team,” Eli said as he showed me the image from the camera over the front door, on his phone. “He’s probably looking for Kane. I’ll get it.”
While I didn’t know the security staff well enough to speak to, I had taken the time to learn their names, and I was always polite when I saw them in the garden. They seemed like decent guys, as Asher and Kane had assured me they were, but I was still too nervous around guys I didn’t know to strike up conversations with them, so I was glad Eli was there to deal with Leo.
I’d just set the plates with our lunch at the places at the counter, and gotten my butt into the stool below me when I heard Eli cry out, followed by a loud thud.
My instinct was to call out to him, but when complete silence descended, something stopped me. I grabbed my cell from where I had dropped it on the counter when I walked in, and ran to the wall, plastering myself against it and creeping to the corner to peer around it. I already had my finger hovering over Kane’s contact on my cell.
When I glanced around the corner I gasped at the sight of Eli laid on the floor just inside the living area, blood pouring from the back of his head onto the floor. Leo was stood over him with a baseball bat in his hand, and two other men were moving into the room too, all of them dressed like our security guards.
I wanted to go to Eli, but I knew I stood no chance against three trained men, so instead I hit Kane’s contact and ran to the pantry in the corner of the kitchen, shutting myself in as quietly as I could.
My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding so hard I feared the men outside would hear it. I slammed my hand over my mouth to muffle my panting breaths and prayed for Kane to pick up the call.
“Hey, Angel,” Kane answered after what felt like an eternity. I removed my hand from my mouth and pushed back as far into the corner as I could get.
“Kane,” I whispered so quietly I wasn’t sure he’d hear me. “There’s three men in the house. They hurt Eli.” My whispered words were fast and panicked. I couldn’t hear anything outside the door of the pantry, but that didn’t mean the men weren’t out there.
“Addy, where are you?” Kane demanded and I could tell he was running.
“Pantry,” I whimpered as tears threatened. “I hid. It was Leo. He…he was at the door and Eli went to…to get it. He’s bleeding so much, Kane,” I gasped.
“Mother fucker!” he hissed. “Are the other guys our security?”
“I d-don’t know. They have the uniform on, but I didn’t see their faces.”
“Listen to me, Addy. I can’t risk calling my team I left there, in case they’re all part of this. We’re on our way home, but we’re ten minutes out even as fast as Ash is driving. I need you to stay hidden, do you hear me? Get low and cover yourself with something. Where’s Adam?”
“Upstairs. He w-was asleep. What if they hurt him too?” I panicked.
“Addy, take a breath and listen to me. You have to….” Whatever Kane was about to say I missed when the door of the pantry was ripped open. A cry ripped from my throat as terror and even more adrenaline flooded me. My panic only got worse when I saw his face as he sneered at me. I knew that face.
Without thinking too much about it I lifted my phone to my ear as fast as I could and screamed, “BULL! IT’S BULL!”
That was all I managed to get out before the beast of a man grabbed my arm and knocked the cell flying. He ripped me from the pantry and into the kitchen, slamming me down against the counter face first with so much force, everything around me blurred away for a moment.
By the time I came back to, Bull had my hands tied behind my back with some kind of rope. I quickly gathered my wits and started fighting to push myself up. When that proved useless I kicked out hard behind me and caught what I guessed was his shin.
“Fucking bitch!” he hissed, but the slight step back he took was enough for me to get out from under the hand he was pressing me down with, and I kicked out again the second I turned to face him, catching him exactly where I planned to, in his balls. When he gasped for air and doubled over slightly I started running, the whole time screaming the house down praying either Adam would hear me, or there were some of our loyal security guys outside who would hear me.
I stuttered to a stop when I got to the place, just inside the living room, where Eli had been laid bleeding, and found him gone. There was a pool of blood on the floor big enough to terrify me, and I started yelling his name as I continued to run. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I had no idea where I was running to. All I knew was I needed to know where my brother was, and I needed to get us both the hell away from Bull.
I was just out of the front door when I saw Leo charging towards me. I turned to run the other way, away from him, but I was too slow. He grabbed my hair, ripping me backwards until he had his arm wrapped around me tightly. I screamed and fought as he carried me back into the house, but my fights were useless, especially with my arms still restrained behind me.
“ADDY!” Adam was leaping down the stairs at speed as I was dragged back into the living room. He jumped the two sections of stairs in four huge strides, then he was before me.
I didn’t even have time to say his name in relief before he had Leo on the floor. I stumbled backwards at being released, but managed to remain on my feet.
“There’s three of them!” I cried in warning to Adam. “They t-took Eli!”
Adam was bent over Leo, who was trying to fight the grip Adam had on him, but he stood no chance against Adam’s sheer size and strength. One punch to Leo’s face and he was out cold, blood pouring from his nose, which was definitely broken, judging by the angle it sat at.
“Where’s Eli?” Adam asked me as he stood with bloodied knuckles and looked me over for injury.
“I don’t know. They hit him. He was bleeding, but now he’s gone!” I cried desperately. “Bull…he was in the kitchen. I don’t know….we have t-to find Eli!”
“The van!” Adam started running, grabbing my arm as he passed me and bringing me with him, both of us determined to get to Eli.
We stepped out of the front door and instantly I heard a deafening pop. I screamed and ducked down, having no idea where the bullet came from or who it was aimed at, pulling Adam with me, but Adam didn’t just crouch down with me. He dropped fast, landing on his back beside me and releasing the hand he was holding onto me with.
“ADAM!” I screamed as I leaned over him and saw his eyes fluttering, his face contorted in pain. I looked down his body and saw the blood pooling at his stomach then running down his sides and into the stone floor below him. “ADAM! NO!” I screamed as I fought to get my hands free of the ropes. I needed to stop the bleeding. I had to do something! I couldn’t lose him!
“Run,” he gasped as he fought to breathe. “Run, baby.”
“No!” I would not leave him. I was fighting so hard to get my hands free of the rope that I could feel my skin tearing and blood flooding over my hands, but the blood was making it slippery, and I finally managed to get one hand free. I slammed both hands over the wound in his stomach as soon as they were free, and glared hard at Adam. “You are not leaving me!” I told him angrily. I wouldn’t allow it.
“Love you…s-so much.” A slight smile spread over his face then his eyes closed and his face relaxed.
“ADAM!” I screamed at him, refusing to move my hands from the bleeding. “ADAM, WAKE THE FUCK….”
My yelled demand was cut off when hands grabbed my hips and lifted me clean away from Adam. I watched in horror as blood started to pour from his body again.
I fought to get free, yelling and screaming and doing all I could to hit, kick, scratch, and even bite whoever was ripping me from the man I loved and leaving him to die.
“Fuck! Do something!” The voice behind me raged as he fought to contain me, but I was like a rabid animal. Adam was bleeding out and all I could think of was getting to him before it was too late.
“Told you this one was gonna be fun!” I barely registered Bull’s voice in my panic, and by the time I turned to look at him, he’d already stuck a syringe in my neck. “You’re not getting away this time,” he sneered. The syringe hadn’t even left my neck before all of my fight died and my body fell limp beneath me. The edges of my vision started to darken and I just got one last look at Adam, his skin almost gray in color and his body completely lifeless. The pool of blood around him had grown and I was sure he was already gone. My last thought was that I never even told him I loved him too.
***
Consciousness returned to me all at once, and I sat up with a gasp, searching for Adam. My stomach rolled and I had to lean over to the side and vomit violently. When I was done I swiped my hand over my mouth and grimaced at the pain in my wrists, caused by the movement. When I lowered my hand I saw my wrists and hands were covered in blood. My wrists were a mess of ripped and rubbed skin from escaping the ropes, and that just brought Adam back to my mind again.
I looked around me and realized I was laid on a carpeted floor. There was blood stained areas where I had been laid, a mix of my own, and Adam’s, which I was covered in. I was in a small room with two doors and Adam wasn’t anywhere in sight. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of him laid on the step of our home, bleeding out. A sob burst from me and I pulled my knees to my chest as I tried to muffle my heart break. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself he couldn’t be dead, I couldn’t get the image of his body, laid so perfectly still, and the gray color of his skin from my mind. Even though I refused to believe it, my mind was so sure he’d already been gone that last time I saw him.
“No!” I told myself in a firm whisper. I knew how strong Adam was. Kane and the others had been on their way to the house. They had to have gotten to him in time. He still had to be alive. I couldn’t lose him. He’ll fight , I told myself. He’ll fight for his family.
That belief was the only reason I was able to gather myself enough to get to my feet. I needed to escape and I needed to get back to my family too. I needed to get out of the room I was in and look for Eli. If they took him too, then I had to find him and I had to get us out of there.
I was a little shaky on my feet as I started moving, and I quickly realized the two reasons why. One - those monsters had drugged me with something that wasn’t out of my system yet, and two – we were moving, and it felt very much like the time I went on Asher and Eli’s jet. One glance around the room for a window confirmed my fear, when I saw the three small port hole style windows, and nothing but blue sky and fluffy clouds for miles.
I fought not to let the despair of that realization break me, but there was no way I could escape when I was miles up in the damned sky.
“Eli,” I reminded myself. I had to find Eli. Even if we were trapped in the metal box in the sky, I needed to get to him and check he was alright. I couldn’t decide what would be better – finding him here, held prisoner with me, but alive, or knowing he hadn’t been taken, but worrying he’d been injured so badly I would lose him too.
“Stop!” I hissed at myself when tears burned my eyes and my face scrunched with the threat of floods more. I needed to keep it together. Adam and Eli were both strong. They’d get through this, and I had to too. I had to get back to the people I loved. I might have had nothing to fight for the last time I was taken, but now I did and I would not go down with out the fight of my life.
I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, then I pulled back my shoulders and tried the first door handle. I was taken aback when it actually turned and the door released. I peeked through the slight crack, and saw a jet very much like the one Asher and Eli had taken me on. Lots of white leather and polished, shiny wood walls. There were two men sat near the front of the plane with their backs to me, and I instantly knew one was Bull just by his sheer size.
The other seats were empty, and at the back, closest to me, were two wide, luxurious sofa type seats that faced one another across the aisle.
“Eli!” I whispered as I saw him laid out on one of them. His eyes were closed and there was dried blood on his face. I dropped to my knees and crawled from the room, closing the door silently behind me, then I was beside the sofa, grabbing Eli’s hand and placing my fingers over his pulse. I had to fight not to cry out in relief when I found it there, steady, and strong.
“Eli?” I whispered again, hoping the sounds of the engines would mask the noise I made. I leaned over him and smoothed his wild hair from his forehead. I could just see a part of the nasty wound at the back of his head, but he was laid on most of it. I was just relieved it seemed to have stopped bleeding. “Eli?” I shook him just slightly as I leaned even closer to his face, “Can you hear me?”
I pressed my face to his chest, soothed by the beating of his heart as I tried not to have a full meltdown. He was alive. I could hear his heart beating and his skin felt warm, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t bleeding into his brain, or damaged from the hit he took. I had no idea what to do, but I had to do something.
“Eli, please just wake up,” I pleaded as I looked up into his eyes and prayed for them to open for me. I had no idea what we’d do when he did come around, but in that moment all I cared about was him waking up and knowing who I was.
“He’ll be out for some time yet, my dear,” A loud voice boomed from behind me. I froze and looked to Eli again. I knew I was screwed. I had no chance of escape until we landed, and the fact Bull was there meant I had once again been caught by sick, depraved monsters. The thought of going back to that hell I had barely survived terrified me, but it wasn’t about me in that moment. It was about Eli. I needed to do whatever it took to ensure he stayed safe and got away from these evil bastards. He was all that mattered to me, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep him from seeing the nightmare existence I had already fought my way through.
I kissed Eli on the cheek. Then rose to my feet. I tried to stay calm as I pushed the little strength I had through my body. I wasn’t going to be weak this time. They’d hurt me. I knew that, but they were going to get one hell of a fight from me in the process this time.
I took a deep breath and spun around, a glare on my face as I planted myself before my brother protectively.
“What do you want with us?” I demanded as I looked up. The man who had spoken was stood in the middle of the aisle, his arms holding onto the seats at either side casually. He was in a fancy navy suit with a white shirt beneath. Something about him felt familiar, and my eyes shot up to his face as it hit me why.
“Just what everyone wants, Addy. Money. Millions and millions of dollars - and you, my dear, along with that brother of yours, are going to get it for me,” the voice was calm, and cool. They were traits I had needed so desperately weeks before, when he had walked in like my own knight in shining armor to save me in that police station. Now they made my blood run cold.
“Max?” I gasped.