Chapter Thirty-Six
Addison
The kidnapping is really starting to piss me off. I was minding my business, letting the secrets that unfolded flip over and over again in my head until all hell broke loose.
While I was kicking a rock with my shoe, contemplating picking it up and chucking it at my uncle’s office window out of pure spite, Logan gave a signal that I missed.
There were boots scuffling across the porch, and before I could peer behind me to get a good look at whatever was going on, Logan snatched me up and dragged me, flailing limbs and all, back to his house with a hand slapped over my mouth so I couldn't scream.
I bit him so hard that I drew blood, but it wasn't enough as he roughly bound my wrists and then buckled me into the back seat of his truck.
Now we’re barreling down some undisclosed back road with heavy, dense forest surrounding us. As I lean back in my seat, I slam my feet into the back of his, causing his head to slightly bob with the motion as he drives.
“Kicking my seat isn't doing you any good.” Logan deadpans.
“Yeah, I'm imagining it’s your head.” Sarcasm drips from my words as I kick again.
“This is for your own good, A.”
I grit my teeth, slamming my shoes harder against his back. “This family is a fucking prison!”
His lips thin as he stares at me in the rearview. “Really? A little dramatic, don't you think?”
“Oh!” My eyes widen as my voice turns sickly sweet. “I thought it was forbidden for me to think. Fuck you!”
Slam.
Slam.
Slam.
“You’re acting like a child!” Logan shouts, swatting a hand back at me.
“And you’re an incomparable ass!” I return.
Oh, god.
Is this what having a brother is like?
Take me back to being an only child, I beg of you!
“Stop driving!” I scream. “Take me back!”
“No!” He barks.
His eyes do a double-take at the rearview mirror, any ounce of civility draining from his face. I stop kicking and peer over my shoulder. Out the back glass, Rowan’s truck speeds towards us.
Reassurance eases into me as I try to move my bound wrists.
“Sit back,” Logan commands. “Before Kingsley does something reckless.”
“He’s going to kick your ass,” I gloat as Rowan’s truck inches to the right side of us. The driver takes the shoulder, and I see Theo giving a cocky smirk from the driver’s side as he tries to get even with us.
“Sit back, Addison!” Logan shouts as Theo picks up speed, and I can see into the truck bed.
What the fuck is he doing?
Rowan’s truck leaves us in the dust, only making my confusion deepen as dirt is kicked up from the shoulder. It doesn’t take long before I see for myself exactly what he’s doing.
The truck drifts, never changing speed as the tail end spins until the headlights face us and we’re staring down the hood of the black truck.
“Fuck!” Logan shouts, slamming on the brakes as the other vehicle heads straight for us.
I brace myself for the impact, my back slamming into the seat as I see someone hang out of the passenger side window. Rowan rolls onto the hood, his eyes hard with concentration as the vehicles collide and he sends his boots through the windshield of Logan’s truck.
The glass shatters, sending fragments dancing across the console as a heavy boot plants in the center of my half-brother’s chest. Logan’s arm is lifted as he blocks his eyes and grunts in agony at the kick.
He’s quick to recover as he grabs a fistful of Rowan’s jeans and uses his other hand to keep the wheel steady.
He’s distracted enough that his foot is easing down on the gas, causing the vehicles to strain against one another.
“Get off!” Logan hisses in a shout.
Rowan ignores him, grabbing a fistful of Logan’s hair and slamming his head into the steering wheel repeatedly in an attempt to get him to relent.
Rowan’s legs shift over the console, probing into the backseat as I try to stay out of their range. I’m crammed against the door, wincing at each sickening smack of Logan’s head against the wheel.
My brother must have had enough of it, because in his haste to pull away, he veers the truck hard into the other lane. The motion takes us, and my ass is airborne for a split second before the weight of the truck teeters and we’re flipping across the blacktop and right into the trees.
Rowan makes a last-second call and slides into the backseat with me. He braces his hands on either side of my head clumsily as we roll. With the first impact of the truck flipping onto its roof, his head is knocked forward, and panic grips me at the hard hit.
Luckily, I’m belted in, but that doesn’t stop me from being thrown around as the vehicle finally stops roughly, and we’re upside down.
My head spins, and I can hear my frantic panting filling the cab as I take in Rowan’s curled form over mine. His back is pressed to the hood, and he wastes no time reaching for me as blood drips from his temple.
“You’re okay, Sunshine.” He rasps, groaning as he sits up, and his hands work to pry the seatbelt off of me. “I’ve got you. I’m not going to let you fall.”
“Your head…” I mumble weakly as my limbs begin to shake.
Gentle hands help me as gravity pulls my body forward. I land on top of him and quickly try to pick myself up so I don’t hurt him further.
“Don’t move,” Rowan commands softly. “I’m gonna get us out of here.”
I nod, burying my face in his chest as he uses a foot to kick out the back window. My eyes stray to the front seat, and I make out Logan’s hanging form. He’s dangling, but as he begins to stir, I know he’s okay. Beat up, but okay nonetheless.
Rowan wraps an arm around my back, inching us out of the truck until we roll into the grass.
The cool air hits me instantly, and I feel like I can finally breathe.
I register tires slowly crunching across gravel behind us, and as the headlights of Rowan’s truck flood the shoulder, the passenger and driver side doors swing open before Theo and Dom stalk towards us.
“Sit up slowly,” Rowan mumbles as he situates me on his lap.
My fist curls into his shirt as his scent washes over me. I lift a quivering hand to his temple, my fingers numb as I collect some of the blood. My face drains of color before he takes my appendage and covers it with his, so I don’t see the red trail left behind.
“I’m okay. It’s just a cut.” He coos.
“You hit your head.” My voice is quiet and tremulous between us.
He gives me a small smile. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve been through worse.”
I snake my arms around his neck, burying my face as I pull him to me. This feeling is so intense that it shakes me to my very core.
He’s okay.
That’s all that matters.
“You okay, Boss?” Theo asks as he saddles up beside us. He’s holding a pocket knife in his hand, a brow lifted as his eyes rake over us.
“We’re fine,” Rowan calls. “Hughes is still in there.”
“On it,” Dom says as the two men trudge past us.
I watch as Theo uses a boot to kick in the driver’s side window. The glass shatters before he reaches in and begins to saw the seatbelt off of Logan. There’s a muffled thud before both men drag my brother out of the truck and toss him into the grass hard.
Logan groans, rolling onto his side as the two assassins tower over him. Blood trickles from his nose, and his right eye is swollen shut.
Dom and Theo exchange a glance before the blonde holds up his knife, and my eyes widen.
“Wait! Don’t hurt him!” I shout.
Theo chuckles. “Oh, I’m not gonna hurt him. I’m going to kill him.”
Anxiety grips me, and I try to stand, but the man holding me won’t allow it.
Rowan shifts to get a good look at his men. “You heard her. Leave him alone.”
The blonde scoffs. “You’re all soft.”
“They aren’t going to do anything, Sunshine,” Rowan says as he brushes my hair away from my face.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask as the adrenaline begins to ebb. My system is left reeling, but it isn’t enough to take away from my fretting as I lift my hands to his face. I cup his cheeks, smiling softly when he kisses my palm in return.
“I’m fine, Sunshine Girl.” He reassures. “How are you feeling?”
I purse my lips, slowly returning to normal. “Shaken up, sore, and exhausted.”
Not only am I physically drained, but my mental state isn’t doing so hot. I don’t even want to think about today's revelations.
He nods. “Let’s get you to a hotel so you can rest.”
I want to go home, but we’re a solid twenty-four hours away from the Midwestern compound. I miss our house and bed.
“Okay,” I mumble.
As if reading my thoughts, Rowan gives me a knowing look. “As soon as you’re rested, we’ll head back.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“She can’t go anywhere,” Logan interjects into our moment. He’s sitting up now, his forearms resting over his bent knees as he stares at us beyond Theo’s legs. “She’s a part of our branch now.”
The blonde assassin groans, resting his head back on his shoulders. “Do you ever shut the fuck up? Maybe you should try it.”
My cousin doesn’t acknowledge the assassin’s goading as he levels me with a knowing look. “Our parents are shitty for what they kept from us, but the rules are unbreakable. You’ll be safer with your family.”
It seems that my brother has the wrong idea of what’s going on.
It’s something I have yet to voice, but I found family in the Kingsley siblings and the Midwestern branch.
Rowan never hid anything from me, and he knows I’m capable of handling the hard stuff.
He never once tried to shield me from the harsh realities of this lifestyle.
My own blood did. My mom lied to me for years about something so profound that it could have shaped my future differently if I had known.
She was trying to protect me, but I’m not a child anymore.
I don’t need protection. I need honesty.
I need trust and confidence in my abilities—something that the people in my life didn’t give me the chance to explore.