Capture Me (Cerberus #1)

Prologue Matteo

Prologue

Matteo

Fifteen years earlier

“Fucking hell, Teo. This is going to scar.”

The light above the sink flickers on and off, casting shadows across Luna’s scowl. This isn’t the first time we’ve been here. Me, bloodied and battered, and her, cleaning up my mess. But it is the first time I’ve been worried about needing stitches.

“It’s not–” I hiss a breath as she pours nearly half the bottle of alcohol over the cut on my temple, “–that bad.”

She clicks her tongue at me as she crosses the bathroom, slamming cabinets in her search for more supplies. “You’re lucky you didn’t lose an eye.”

I don’t bother arguing. Mainly because she’s right.

I tilt my head at the bottle of vodka on the stained countertop. “Marcus is going to notice it's missing.” Our foster “father” monitors his liquor cabinet almost as closely as he does the check he receives every month for keeping the four of us alive.

Luna shrugs, tossing her moonlight blonde hair over her shoulder. “Let him. I’ll just convince him he drank it on one of his benders again.”

There’s a sharp knock before the door to the bathroom swings open. I grab the bottle, ready to take the blame if it’s Marcus coming to check on us, but pause when the gangly figure of my foster brother fills the doorway.

Declan strolls in, his dirty blonde hair mussed and wet from walking in the rain. He leans against the wall opposite me and folds his arms across his chest. “Again?”

“Fuck off.” I wince as Luna smears some antibacterial cream across my eyebrow. “Danny Morenzo was running his mouth.”

Dec shakes his head as his gaze drops to my bruised knuckles. “You let him in your head too easily. You gonna fight everyone that pisses you off?”

“He had it coming.”

“Who had it coming?”

The three of us jump as Akio appears in the hall like a goddamn wraith, hands gripping the doorframe. He’s been doing that a lot lately, sneaking around to see what he can hear before someone catches him.

“Danny Morenzo,” I tell him. “He’s a pussy who would rather fight with a shard of broken glass than face me like a man.”

Luna snorts and sticks a butterfly bandage across my brow. “You’re sixteen, Teo. Not sure you qualify as a man yet.”

“And you would know?”

Her cheeks flush a bright red as her eyes dart away. “Maybe I do.”

My brothers and I exchange horrified looks. The state has only had us fostered together for three years, but the four of us are as close as a family can get. These boys are my brothers, and Luna is our sister in all the ways that count.

“Gross,” Declan says at the same time Akio makes a gagging noise.

My lip curls. “You better not be talking about that douche. What’s his name? Cyrus?”

“Caleb,” Akio supplies.

“Calvin,” Declan says.

Luna sighs, casting an annoyed look at each of us. “His name doesn’t matter because it’s none of your business.”

I push to my feet, gathering up the bloodied towels. “Fine. But don’t you think he’s a little…” I widen my eyes. “You know?”

She cocks a hip against the counter. “He’s what? Nice? Charming?”

“Full of himself.”

She rolls her eyes. “Look, I like him because he actually gives a flying fuck about me and doesn’t think I’m trash because I live here.

” She gestures to the peeling wallpaper and the rusted faucet.

“Not that any of you understand what that’s like.

You go through girls faster than you can flip the TV channel. ”

“We’re just trying to look out for you, Lu,” Akio says.

Her gaze softens at his gentle tone. It’s no secret Luna has a soft spot for Akio. Probably because he’s the youngest.

“I know, but I’m fine. Really.” She fiddles with the silver star charm on her bracelet, and I know I don’t need to push her on this one. Being in the foster system is newer to Luna than the rest of us, and she still misses her grandma like crazy.

“I’m actually planning on meeting him to grab some ice cream. Now, get out so I can finish getting ready.”

She shoos us out of the bathroom, and I shuffle back to the bedroom the four of us share.

Initially, Luna had her own space when she moved in, but due to Marcus’s unpredictable behavior, we decided it would be safer for her to sleep in the same room as us.

Luna isn’t wrong about this place. It’s a shithole and smells like a dirty sock most of the time, but I’ve lived in worse.

Our room barely fits the two sets of bunk beds, leaving enough room for a narrow pathway between them.

A single window, cracked and caked in a layer of dust, gives us a view of the overgrown front yard and the distant, dreary cityscape of Axton Harbor.

I toss the towels into the hamper before slipping into the bottom bunk and burrowing into the pillow. The exhaustion from the fight today settles into my bones, and I let my eyes drift closed. I distantly hear the bathroom door open and Luna shout her goodbye, but I’m already dozing off.

I jerk upright, blinking away the fog of sleep as I sense someone standing over me.

The streetlamp outside our window filters into the dark bedroom, providing enough light for me to see Marcus’s furious face and the almost empty bottle of vodka Luna had used to clean me up earlier in his loose grip.

“Where is she?” he slurs.

“Who?” I rub my hand over my face and sit at the edge of the bed. If Marcus is drunk enough to slur his words, then it won’t be long until he starts swinging his fists.

“Don’t play dumb, boy,” he says loud enough that both Dec and Akio stir awake and sit up in their beds. “It’s three o’clock in the morning. Where is she?” He points the bottle at the top bunk.

“Luna?” I frown and stand, turning to face her bed. “She’s right…” I trail off when I see the empty bed, the tattered covers still neatly made.

I spin back to the guys. “Did she come back after her date?”

Akio shakes his head. “I don’t know. I-I fell asleep.”

Dec jumps down from his bunk, his brows pinched with concern. “Did she call anyone?”

We all pull out our phones, but there’s nothing. No text. No call.

“Maybe she lost track of time,” I say, but I’m just placating everyone. Luna isn’t someone who messes around with curfew and we all know it.

I slip on my shoes and hit the call button. “Straight to voicemail.” I grit my teeth, already headed for the front door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Marcus’s hand clamps down on my shoulder, but I shrug him off with a glare.

“Going to look for our sister. Why don’t you do your job and help?”

He grumbles something about not being paid enough for this shit, but I ignore him.

My brothers and I hit the streets, calling her name and searching her usual hideouts.

We find nothing. Each time we call, Luna’s phone goes straight to voicemail.

Every text goes unanswered. We check the ice cream shop in town, knowing it’s closed, but needing to look somewhere, needing to do something. It’s a dead end, too.

We’re walking the route she usually takes from the ice cream shop back home when Akio shouts to us in the darkness. “Found something!”

I run across the road to where he’s bent over the crumbling sidewalk, picking up something shiny off the ground. A sense of dread settles in my gut when I recognize the dainty silver bracelet in his hand.

I shake my head, feeling the blood drain from my face. “She wouldn’t take this off. You know how much it means to her.”

Dec catches up to us, going stiff when he sees Luna’s bracelet. “The chain is broken like it was ripped off of her.”

We all share a look. Something is very wrong.

As each hour passes and we don’t hear from Luna, the panic in my chest winds tighter until I can hardly breathe. By noon the next day, there’s no sign of Luna anywhere and her phone is still off, so Marcus finally calls the police.

“We’ll keep an eye out,” the portly officer says to us on the front porch as he scrawls something in his notebook. Beads of sweat drip down his bald head and over the red birthmark that spans from his temple to his ear. “But with this type of kid, there’s not much else we can do.”

“This type of kid?” Dec says evenly, though I don’t miss the manic spark dancing in his eyes.

“We see this happen all the time with foster kids. No offense,” he adds after a beat. “They get it into their heads that they would be better off on their own and so they pack their stuff and leave. Not much to be done.”

Akio scowls at the officer. “Luna wouldn’t do that.”

“And she didn’t take any of her stuff,” I add. “Did you talk to the guy she had a date with or the workers at the ice cream shop they went to?”

“We interviewed the appropriate parties and all signs point to your friend skipping town.” He flips the notebook closed and stuffs it into his shirt pocket. “Sorry, kid. Like I said, we’ll keep an eye out, but don’t get your hopes up.”

With a nod to Marcus, the useless shitbag trudges off the porch and heads to his squad car.

“Luna wouldn’t leave without telling us.” Akio says when Marcus steps back inside. “The cop didn’t even care that we found her broken bracelet.”

“Fucking scum,” Dec spits out. “Did you see the way he looked at us? He doesn’t give a shit about Luna.”

A beat of silence passes. I glance at my brothers, seeing my rage reflected in their eyes.

“What are we going to do?” Akio asks quietly.

“I don’t know,” I say, fixing my gaze on the distant buildings of Axton Harbor. “But we’re going to find her.”

Whatever it takes, I vow. We’ll find her.