Chapter Five
Kade
I’m the only one home today for once, although I've spent the majority of it held up in the computer room.
Most of my time is spent like this, staring at the screens and searching through countless video feeds and image stills, watching for her.
The man power they must possess to be able to take her without a trace.
To wipe her off the grid and keep her hidden all these years…
I’ve always had a knack for computers, starting way back in middle school when learning them became part of the curriculum.
It just wasn’t until after she had been taken, that I threw myself into the technology.
Addy always did encourage me to pursue it as a profession, knowing how much I loved learning the inner workings of coding and hacking.
“Follow your heart, Kade. We’ll always be right behind you,” she would say whenever the conflict would arise in my head.
I never honestly thought I would be able to take this route, to turn what I enjoyed doing into a way of earning money.
Computer technology was so new and unknown, and my parents were trying to guide me into something they deemed to be more stable.
I figured I’d end up in some I.T. department, stuck in a cubicle asking if they tried turning it off and then on again.
That morning when we saw her empty house, saw the state of the main floor and felt the stillness in the air.
That’s when my future was solidified. I knew right then that I would do whatever it took to find her, to bring her back.
I would search through every state, every country, every continent until I knew where she had gone.
I would follow my dreams for her, expanding my knowledge and skills for her. Everything would always be for her.
Addison Grant was—no is—a true angel, sent down from whatever holy plane to keep us all moving forward.
Never in the years I’ve known her had I ever heard her be cruel just for the sake of entertainment.
And even when she was angry or feeling vindictive, it was always with a valid reason behind it.
Addy and her family cared for everyone. Always trying to lift people’s spirits and making sure the community was taken care of. She’s truly one of a kind.
From the very first moment I figured out how to work my dick, I knew it was because of her.
Even back then I knew the only thing I wanted was Addison in my arms. After being around her all the time for so many years, no one would ever come close to comparing.
All these years later, all this time that has passed, she’s still the only one for me.
Something deep inside has been telling me that she’s not gone.
She’s out there, alive, waiting to be found and brought home.
I’m in love with that girl, and I vowed to never stop looking for her.
Not until there is a death certificate on my lap and a body in front of me, will any other female cross my mind.
Ugh, the thought of that notion still gives me unpleasant shivers.
I’ve totally lost track of the day, and when my phone chimes alerting me, it’s three in the afternoon. It’s my night to figure out dinner and so reluctantly, I close out all of my programs and make my way upstairs.
Just like the last… however many days, I’ve made no progress on the Bear front.
No new leads, no new sightings, not even a whisper as to where she could be.
The last real piece of information we followed was nearly three years ago, when a gas station camera caught what could have been her in the back of an SUV in Idaho.
The image was too blurry to confirm or deny that it was indeed her, but we still tried.
I followed the route of the vehicle the best I could, but after thirty miles it turned onto a backroad and I lost sight.
Satellite images showed there was nothing down the road they went.
No houses, no buildings, just a dead end and just like that, she was gone again.
All these years of no progress has combined and I’m in a downer mood.
Not to mention, I have a headache that could put Superman on his ass for a day.
I didn’t sleep last night, running a new algorithm I created in hopes to filter out facial recognition by specific features instead of a whole face.
By seven this morning, I’d gone through 85% of our video footage with no luck, and by that time there was no point in going to bed.
I simply switched over to my business files and got straight to work for the day.
I work for a company called Fyresafe as their lead hacker.
My job is to break into the confidential computer systems of companies that hire us and figure out how to make their protection software better.
Today I had four divisions of a company to try and get into, and sadly it didn’t take long.
I won’t deny I’m really good at my job, but seriously, the cyber security on these big businesses is dreadful.
Hitting the kitchen, my lack of enthusiasm could inevitably be seen from China, and I opt for not cooking.
Various take out menus line the fridge with a vibrant colored pizza place catching my eye.
Sounds good to me. With a quick call, dinner will be delivered in a couple of hours, right around the time the rest of my brothers get home.
Just as I hang up, shoving my cell phone into my pocket, the door lock clicks and the front door swings open.
In walks a dejected Max, his shoulders slumped, and a frown painted across his face.
He’s staring at the floor, looking even sadder than I feel.
“Hey Bro, you okay?” I ask, catching him by surprise when he stops short and gasps.
“Oh sweet Jesus! Warn a brother!” His hand flies to his chest, covering his rapidly beating heart while breathing deep to control it. “I’m too young for a damn heart attack, Kade! Stop trying to make it happen.”
“Oh, give it a rest. As if that was my intention. Now, are you going to answer me?”
“Fuck, no, I’m not okay,” he huffs out, heading to the living room couch and planting himself on it.
“Not only is it well… that time of year…” he trails off, leaving the sentence hanging.
I nod in understanding, though I don’t say anything else.
“But my mind is all messed up, or some shit,” he finishes with a grunt.
His head falls back, lying against the top of the couch as his arm moves to cover his eyes.
“What are you talking about?!”
“I had a meeting with a client today at that little cafe just off of Atlantic. He had a customization request, which by the way, the guys a fricken lunatic! Like, go figure I find the one guy who expects me to put a damn hot—”
Seriously, again? What’s with him and the nonsense.
“Max! Get to the point,” I cut him off. My arms cross over my chest as I lean against the armchair to his right.
“Right, okay so… After my meeting, I was leaving and a huge crowd had gathered outside the main door. I was trying to get back to my car, but I was shoved and my papers went flying everywhere. People were stepping on them and they were getting covered in sand, I had to chase one and it brought me to the front of the group. There was two dudes, big, burly guys beati—”
“Max!” I shout, my eyes closing and my hand pinches the bridge of my nose. Fuck, remind me never to ask him for a recap. This is not helping my headache.
“I’m getting there! Hold your damn horses! Anyway… as I was saying, there were two guys going at it and when I looked up at the other side of the crowd, I could have sworn I saw her.”
He’s done talking, though I’m no less in the dark than I was before his explanation. His eyes lock in on mine, like he’s trying to communicate telepathically or expecting me to just know where his mind is at.
“Saw who…?”
“The Queen of fucking England, Kade,” he sasses, his face pulling into a scowl. “She was chillen’ on the beach, watching the fight and getting a tan.”
He must notice the lack of humor in my expression, because he reins himself back in, shifts on the couch to face me and starts again. “C’mon, dick for brains! You’re the smart one here! Bear, of course…”
My eyes widen in surprise as a ball forms in my throat. Bear… our bear… no it couldn’t be, could it? I would have known, I would have seen something. I have my programs running twenty-four seven within the city limits. Hunting for her face, her cards, her name. I would know if she was here…
“…very toned and tanned. Her hair is longer, which makes sense, but it’s still that jet-black color that made her look dark and mysterious.
Oh man, and her eyes, fuck I missed those eyes.
It was even the same smile. I know I must sound like I’ve lost my damn mind, but I’m telling you man, I swear it was her. ”
I have to play this right so I don’t make Max think any worse about himself while getting him to realize the likelihood of this insane notion.
It’s there in his eyes, the flutter of hope that I really don’t want to crush.
The pain he already feels from believing she was there.
His mind is telling him it was real, that she was in fact on the beach of Miami watching a fight…
but the chances of that and my systems not catching her, are very unlikely.
“Well… did you go to her, try and catch her, talk to her?” I ask, slinking down onto the couch beside him. There’s a good chance Max will get agitated when I confirm his delusion, and the last thing I need is to look intimidating by standing over him.
“Yeah, of course I tried! But, by the time I got to her, she was gone. I looked everywhere, but it’s like she disappeared into thin air.
I lost my line of sight when the meatheads fell to the sand and started rolling around.
It knocked a bunch of us over, and poof.
” His hands fly out, fingers wide as if I need the visual to know what he’s talking about.
“When I made it back to my car, I waited for a while to see if maybe I just missed her, but the crowd started to disperse and it was clear she wasn't there.”
I nod, placing my hand on his shoulder in support. He’s really taking this hard. “Well, I’ll focus my search on Miami tomorrow. See what I can come up with.”
“I swear, I’m not crazy, Kade. I really thought I saw her.”
“I believe you. Who knows, maybe you did see her and she just got away. If I don’t find anything in Miami, I’ll start on the whole of Florida.”
Giving his shoulder a couple of pats, I return my arm to my lap.
I’m trying to be positive but in the back of my head I’m almost sure it was his imagination.
My computers search day and night, twenty-four seven, three-sixty-five.
If she had stepped foot into the city, I’d know.
I’ve been monitoring Miami for years, as we all had a dream to move here together.
This is the first place I looked for her, believing she would come here eventually, but it has been eight years of algorithms and codes, and I still have nothing.
We all took it hard when she went missing, but Max has been the most open about it. He’s the one who wears his emotions on his sleeve and has never had an issue expressing them. The rest of us tend to keep ours locked up tight. A box never to be opened and see the light of day.
“Don’t worry yourself over it, man. We haven’t given up in twelve years and we aren’t about to now.
” He half grins and bobs his head. I know he’s still stuck in his mind, turning the occurrence over and over again.
Trying to see it from every angle and make sense of it.
“C’mon. Let’s go play a game or something.
I ordered pizza to be delivered in a couple of hours because I couldn’t be bothered to cook. Which means we have some time to kill.”
We settled in the game room, playing Borderlands for the last two hours.
Losing ourselves in the battles and mayhem of our characters.
I’d been so engrossed in the game, I never noticed that Zane and Ryder had returned home.
It wasn’t until the water could be heard draining through the pipes, both having a hot shower after vigorous training, that I clued in.
Questionably loud plumbing aside, the doorbell goes off right as my character gets mauled and kicks the bucket.
At least it was good timing.
Max and I head to the kitchen, Ryder having already collected the pizza and placed it on the counter.
“Hey, Max?” Ryder starts, grabbing some water bottles from the fridge and handing them out.
Max takes a sip, his mouth already full of cheese and sauce when he mumbles out a contorted “mmm” in response.
I can’t help but shake my head at the man.
Less than a few hours ago, he looked as though the world was ending and someone kicked his dog.
Now, he’s shoving pizza in his mouth like it’s a race to see who can eat more, with bright eyes and a goofy grin.
“The mustang is making that popping sound again. I know you’re supposed to have tomorrow off, but think you could take a look at it for me?”
Max swallows, clearing the lingering food particles from his mouth with a chug of water before collecting himself to answer.
“Yeah, but I dropped my ride at the shop today for the guys to use, since the shop truck is out doing a pick up. If I’m taking yours, how are you gonna get around tomorrow?
Didn’t you mention you have another agent meeting? ”
“Eh, yeah, but it’s downtown. I’ll get a ride with Z into the city and then bus it to the core.” Ryder shrugs, clearly not bothered by extra traveling.
“You will?” Zane pipes up from the side. “Was anyone going to even bother to ask me?”
“No,” all three of us reply, laughing.
Max catches the other two up on his beach hallucination, with both seemingly agreeing it was probably nothing more than his mind.
They don’t say it out loud, but their faces are like open books as they listen to his re-telling.
Sharing a look with each other and then with me, a silent agreement forming that we won’t bring Max down.
Her day is coming, and we’re already moody, so no one says anything about it, and truthfully, I don’t think we ever will.