Chapter Twenty-Two
Dragon
I ’m antsy as fuck.
I can’t sit in the Tahoe and do nothing. Not when Mitch is missing and Cove is talking to my mother. A sharp pain sears through my chest at the brief glimpse I’d gotten of her standing in the doorway of the house.
Still the same.
Over a decade since I’ve seen her up close and she’s the same. Somehow the same fierce, beautiful woman who’s well-respected and confident in every aspect of her life.
Filter keeps texting with someone while wearing a stupid grin, so I’m assuming it’s Cove’s twin, Calla. Maybe he actually likes her. There’s no telling with Filter. This could all be some scheme to get back at Stormy for fucking with his heart. But you also can’t fake a goofy smile. Filter, normally a bitch-ass punk, looks happy.
It makes me wonder if I look like that when I’m near Cove…
My phone buzzes with a text from Katana.
K: Me and Prez just drove by the old warehouse. Nothing.
A shudder trembles through me, earning a confused glance from Filter. Just the mention of that place makes bile churn in my stomach and the memories from the night of my escape burn like acid in my mind.
He screwed up.
Night Giant screwed up and didn’t snap the lock on the chain all the way. I knew if I complied and distracted him, eventually he’d slip up. Puke threatens to spew out at how well I complied to earn his attention, but I can’t think about that now. Not when escape is closer than it ever has been.
As quietly as I can possibly move, I unlatch the lock and slip my ankle free. I take a second to move it around before gaining my bearings. My whole body aches from the continuous strain Night Giant puts it through. I find my boxers and a shirt in the corner of the place he keeps me. Sometimes he rewards me by letting me wear clothes. Most times, I’m not worthy enough.
Fear claws through me, weighing my feet in place.
Go, idiot.
I jerk out of my frozen stupor and shakily throw on the clothes. It’s chilly tonight, but this is better than nothing.
My bare feet are soundless as I creep to the edge of the shipping container and peer around the side. I’ve been dragged all over this warehouse and made to do things I cannot even begin to think about, so I at least am familiar with the layout. I know where Night Giant’s men hang out and where they fuck the captives. I’ll be avoiding both at all costs.
Since it’s dark, I’m able to shift from shadow to shadow without being seen. When I make it to the door that leads outside, my heart is hammering in my throat. I’ve never been outside this door, so I have no idea where it goes.
I pray to God it doesn’t sound an alarm if I open it.
Holding my breath, I push against the door. It opens with no resistance, but it makes a loud creaking sound that echoes through the whole warehouse. The voices I’d heard go silent.
Fuck.
I shove out the door and take off in a sprint, straight toward a fence. When I played basketball, I was the fastest on my team. But that was years ago.
Don’t think about it.
Don’t think about how long you’ve been here.
Two years, two years, two years.
Despite my best efforts to ignore it, I can’t. Not when Night Giant reminds me all the time. That no one is looking for me. That no one wants me but him. I’m his.
“Hey!” a voice bellows from behind me.
I recognize it as one of his asshole henchmen. I don’t even turn around to see who it is. Jumping as high as I can when I reach the fence, I climb over it like my ass is on fire. It will be if I get caught.
Chase got Caught.
Night Giant’s taunts in my head are maddening me.
Focus, man.
I fling myself over the fence and land on the gravel hard, nearly twisting my ankle in the process. The shouts get louder behind me, but I’m past the biggest hurdle. Now, I just have to put distance between me and them. Lots and lots of distance.
Running as fast as my legs will carry me, I dart down a narrow alleyway between two buildings. I cut right and run all the way to the end of the block. Quickly, I rush across the street and run until I come across another alley. In the distance, I can hear tires squealing, which means they’ll find me soon.
Hide.
I run down the alleyway and dive into the first shadowed area I find. There are boxes and other trash stacked up, so I drag them over my shaking body.
Fear swallows me whole and the tears begin. Once they start, it’s hard to get them to stop. I suck in air, trying to calm myself, but it’s too hard. I’ll die if they found me because I was crying too loudly.
A sound nearby has me choking down my sobs. Footsteps come closer and then the boxes move. A boy with a filthy face, close to my eighteen years of age and messy black hair peers down at me, a frown tugging at his lips.
“Are you okay?”
“Hide,” I hiss. “You have to hide.”
“Me?”
“Yes. T-They’re coming for me and they’ll t-take you t-too.”
Shouts can be heard nearby. He snaps his head toward the direction of the road and then glances down the alley. “They’ll find us here. Come on. I know a spot.”
He helps me to my feet and we run toward a giant dumpster. With quick, efficient movements, he helps me into the dumpster before also climbing inside. As quietly as we can, we bury ourselves under the trash.
The sounds of men speaking grow louder. I start to tremble so hard, all the trash around me rustles. The kid draws me to him, locking me in a warm embrace. For the first time in two years, I feel safe and protected and cared for. Tears silently stream down my face while I bask in the closeness of another human being who isn’t out to hurt me.
Now, if we can only make it out of here unscathed, I can finally be free.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I swivel my head to see who’s tapping on the glass of the Tahoe. When green, familiar eyes mirror my own, I freeze.
Kai Thomas.
My brother.
Seeing him on social media is one thing, but seeing him on the other side of my window is something else entirely.
“Step out of the car,” Kai growls. Always had balls of steel. I guess some things never change.
“Nah, we’re just passing through,” I say through the glass, unable to stop looking at him.
His eyes narrow as though he recognizes me. I’d stolen Bermuda’s hat earlier and exchanged my Arkansas Razorbacks shirt I’d picked up at a gas station for a black T-shirt from my bag the guys brought with them this morning. My tattoos are on full display and I’m wearing sunglasses, so I’m not even close to looking like the brother Kai saw last. Still, he seems to pick up on the fact he knows me.
“Should we drive off?” Filter asks low enough for only me to hear.
I glance over at the house where a shiny silver Maserati sits in the driveway now. I’d been remembering my past and not paying attention to the fact someone arrived. And Filter’s dumb ass was probably sexting with Calla.
“Two guys went into the house and this one came this way,” Filter grunts, answering my unanswered question.
“Walk away,” I tell Kai, not looking at him. “Now.”
The car door opens, much to my surprise, and Kai grabs my arm. Before I can react, he twists my wrist and runs his finger over a scar—one he gave to me when we were kids.
“I fucking knew it,” Kai growls. “Chase? What the fuck, man? What the actual fuck?”
Flinging off my sunglasses, I shake off his hold and pin him with a fiery glare. “Chase is dead.”
His nostrils flare. “Always were dramatic as fuck. I told Mom and Dad a thousand times you ran away—”
I jump out of the Tahoe, shoving him so hard, he lands on his ass in the grass. “I did not run away.”
Always the quicker of us two, he’s back on his feet in a flash, shoving me back. He takes a swing at me, but I pull a knife and press it beneath his chin seconds after I duck.
“Look what you’ve done now,” I spit out, pressing the point of the blade into his flesh but not piercing him. “You’ve pissed me off.”
“Dragon,” Kai snarls. “I had a feeling and I was right. Benjamin owes me a hundred bucks.”
“How do you know my name?” I demand.
“You friended me on Facebook. All it said was Dragon and the pictures are of stupid shit like motorcycles and boats rather than people. Despite our no mutual friends, I accepted the friend request and have been watching you for a while now. Looking to see if you’d post anything that gave me a clue that it was you, Chase.” He huffs. “You’re my brother, asswipe. It’s called brotherly intuition.”
A smile tugs at my lips until I remember we’re not brothers. Not like we used to be. I’m Dragon now—vicious, violent, evil. Our worlds can’t intersect. They just can’t.
“Pretend you never saw me,” I spit. “Go away.”
He smacks away my arm, the blade scraping his flesh as he does it. His glare is furious as he rubs at the cut under his chin. “You’re fucking stupid if you think I’m going to pretend like the brother I’ve been searching for for over a decade didn’t just suddenly appear in front of our childhood home coincidentally at the same time our younger brother goes off the grid.”
“Coincidences happen.” I shrug.
“Not like this. You’re here because of Mitch. Is he with you? Are you bringing him back?”
Filter rounds the side of the vehicle and comes to stand beside me. The dude is built like a goddamn linebacker. Kai is taller than me now, but I’m a helluva lot more cut. Filter, though, is like a beast bedside me.
“So what? You ‘didn’t run away,’ but now hang with some biker gang?” Kai demands, gesturing toward the Royal Bastards emblem on Filter’s leather cut. “Recruiting our baby brother?”
I crack my neck and then shake my head. “I’m trying to find our brother, dipshit.”
“Mom thinks he’s just avoiding her,” Kai mutters, though he doesn’t seem to believe it.
I shove my knife back in its sheath before looking at Kai again. “I think the same thing that happened to me is happening to Mitch.”
“You think? And what exactly happened to you?” His voice grows hoarse. “Chase, tell me what happened.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying like hell not to think about what happened. “He stole me. Night Giant kidnapped me and…”
“A lot of fucked up shit,” Filter supplies. “Fucked up shit that will happen to Mitch if you don’t tell us everything you know.”
Strong arms wrap around me and I stiffen at the sudden embrace. Kai, who only moments before was being a cunt, is hugging me, his entire body shaking. I try to remain stoic, but having my past envelop me is too much to ward off. All I can do is sink into his hug, blinking back emotion that threatens.
“I can’t be here,” I mumble. “Kai, I can’t. Seeing you is one thing, but Mom?”
My brother pulls away, gripping my shoulders, a fierce glare on his face. “Too late, big bro. You fucked up by staking out so close to the house. Something’s going on with our family and we need answers. Mom thinks you’re dead, for fuck’s sake. You can’t let her continue on thinking that way.”
“You know Mom,” I grind out. “She won’t like this.”
This being me.
What I’ve become.
A monster.
“You’re wrong and a dumbass for even thinking that way. Mom can be a real bitch sometimes, but she loves us. Even when we fuck up.”
“This is more than getting a bad grade or getting kicked off the basketball team,” I hiss. “I’ve hurt people, Kai. A lot of them. I like it. I like to hear them scream.”
My attempt to scare him away falls on deaf ears. He doesn’t cower or shy away. Simply shrugs. Always such a dumb asshole.
“Kai…”
“Dad’s Maserati can outrun this SUV. No more running and hiding. Time to face Mom and Dad or I’ll chase after you and drag you back.” He squares his shoulders, daring me to argue. “It’s time to come home.”
Home.
This can never be home.
But maybe he’s right. Maybe I need to do this so we can find Mitch.
Every sane thought inside my head is screaming at me that this is a bad idea. For some crazy reason, though, I nod.
Looks like I’m going home for the first time in over a decade.
Fuck.