25. Deck’s Point Of View
Deck’s Point Of View
It had all turned to shit, and because of that, PalMerc Security’s office building had become an absolute fortress.
The conference room and every spare space had transformed into a command center that would make our Commanding Officers proud.
Maps covered every wall. Satellite images rotated across half a dozen monitors.
Phones rang without stopping. Whiteboards overflowed with names, dates, and timelines.
Former military contacts, private investigators, security specialists…
everyone was feeding information into their systems because we were going to find this fucker.
This was something I knew how to do.
I knew how to hunt.
And Adrian Blackwell had just become the man I was hunting.
* * *
I stand in front of one of the wall-mounted TVs, coffee in hand. I hadn’t slept much, not since seeing those photos of Eli. Those images don’t fade. They have carved themselves deep into me.
If I’m honest, I hadn’t slept properly since the night at the nightclub when he’d come home barely able to stand and locked himself away.
I knew what Eli believed. He believed Adrian would find him. No matter what CJ and I said, no matter how many times we told him he was safe, he still believed Adrian would somehow get to him.
It made me fucking furious.
After everything Adrian had done, Eli still believed he wasn’t worth saving.
I take another drink of coffee, my jaw tightening as a message flashes across the screen next to the TV. My attention snaps to it.
Vehicle registration. Doctor Adrian Blackwell. Confirmation coming.
I grab my phone just as Finn walks in, carrying a paper bag and two coffees. Thank fuck. Proper coffee.
I look at him. He looks exhausted.
“You haven’t eaten,” he says.
I turn back to the screen. “I’m busy.”
Finn snorts. “Yeah, CJ said you’d say that.”
He crosses the room and drops the bag on the table beside me. The smell of burgers hits instantly, and only then do I realize how hungry I actually am.
I glance at him. He’s standing there with his arms crossed, hip slightly popped, watching me through tired eyes.
“Eat.”
“Finn…” I growl.
“Deck,” he says, mimicking my tone.
That gets a small smirk out of me. He always does that, always pushing.
I watch as he moves through the room, taking in the photos, reports, maps, and timelines we’ve built. Every detail. Then he stops at Adrian’s photo in the center of the wall.
“That’s him,” he whispers.
I nod.
Finn stares at it a little too long. I see it then: the anger, sharp and personal. Finn and Eli had become brothers the same way CJ and I had. And the man in that photo had hurt someone Finn loved.
“He’s ugly.”
A surprised laugh slips out of me. His anger hits me harder than I expect. He doesn’t get angry often, but when he does, it means something.
Finn doesn’t smile. “Seriously. I expected more.”
I study him. Beneath the anger, there is something else: hurt.
Finn turns back to me, his expression softening. “Eli’s asleep upstairs. CJ’s with him.”
CJ hasn’t left Eli’s side since those photos came in. Something has shifted between them, something I can only describe as love.
“He’s finally starting to eat again,” Finn says quietly. “I took him chicken soup. He ate half of it before I left.”
Relief eases through my chest, slow and heavy.
“He asked where you were.”
That hits harder than it should. Eli worries about everyone except himself. I rub a hand over my jaw. “He has enough to worry about.”
“Yes,” Finn glances toward the staircase leading to the apartment above the office. “But I think knowing you’re down here fighting for him helps more than you realize.”
My eyes drift from Adrian’s photo to the apartment above, to Eli: the reason this place has become a war room.
Finn pushes the burger toward me. “Eat your burger, old man.”
I shoot him a look, but he doesn’t even blink.
“Enough with the old man bullshit, little one,” I mutter, finally biting into the burger.
* * *
Finn leaves not long after, and a few minutes later, CJ appears in the office. I look past him, half expecting Eli.
“Finn’s with him,” CJ says.
CJ nods and comes over, stopping beside me. We stand shoulder to shoulder, staring at the chaos on the walls, talking about him, about Eli. The silence between us sits heavy. We’ve stood like this before in worse places, but this feels personal.
I know my brother is terrified of losing him, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.
I bring him up to speed on what we’ve uncovered, and we’re discussing next steps when my phone rings.
The news that comes through makes my blood go cold.
“Tell me,” CJ says.
I look back at the screen. “We’ve got another vehicle registration. Same car spotted entering Campbell River four months ago.”
CJ goes completely still beside me. He doesn’t move, just stares at Adrian’s photo.
“CJ,” I say quietly. “Adrian took years from Eli. We can’t give those back.” My gaze shifts to the man who has become Eli’s safe place. “But we can make damn sure he never takes another one.”
CJ turns to me and nods once. “Tell me everything.”
So I do.
And then we start.
The hunt is on.