Page 113 of Kade

Before we left, Mason took me aside and told me what had been happening before we got there. My blood boiled.

He stayed behind after that, and I pointedly did not ask what he was going to do. I would ask when he got home, but for now, he’d handle what he needed to handle and I’d handle thekids. The first order of business was the hospital. Beltraine was getting checked out while we were in the waiting lounge.

Channing was outside on his phone, and Heather and I were in our investigator roles. I was going to get all the information about all of these boys and I was going to do it so thoroughly I’d be convinced I could become an FBI profiler by the time I was done.

First boy up: Axel Johannson.

His parents were Briar and Emily Johannson. Briar was another prominent businessman in the area and a shareholder with Kade Enterprises. I made a note to ask Mason about him. Based on this guy’s social media, he was smarmy. His hands were too low when he posed with women who were not his wife.

When I told Axel that I was going to contact her, he sneered. “Don’t bother. I’m eighteen. Turned adult last month, but I’m already more adult than she is.”

My heart broke at the bitterness in his tone and the dead look in his eyes. I wanted to take that from him, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t take all that away in one night. “What about your dad?”

He shook his head, his eyes going bleak. “I don’t want him to know. Please.” Fear flashed in his eyes. “I—you don’t get it. My parents don’t care. You’ve got no idea what that’s like—”

All he had were his friends. A crack tore through my middle.

I said, quietly, “I do, actually.”

His eyebrows pinched together, and whatever he read in me, some of the bitterness faded. He blinked a few times before looking away. “Yeah. Okay. Whatever. Just… I’m eighteen. I’m asking you not to contact them. Trust me. I’ve been living at Bell’s for a reason. Phillip’s an abusive fuckface, but it’s still better than dealing with my parents.”

Okay. Noted.We’d be looking into his parents.

I turned to the last one, Steele Manning.

He’d been skittish around me, but Maddy had snorted, calling him out. “Dude, stop gawking at my mom. You’re totally fanboying.”

He’d gotten red in the face and jerked his eyes away. He paled now as he saw me heading his way. He shoved out of his chair, indicating behind me. “They’re done.”

He was right.

Brett had returned with Beltraine. A nurse had come with him and she looked around the room.

“I need to talk to Samantha Kade?” she said.

I started her way. Beltraine stood with her, an arm wrapped tight around his middle. He held a bag in his other hand.

“He requested for your name to be put on his medical file,” the nurse told me. “He also removed his parents’s names.”

He raised his chin. “I’m eighteen. I can do that shit.”

Her eyes flared. “Either way, he’s insistent this was all just an extra physical training session after their football game. For the most part, he’s severely dehydrated. He needs rest. A lot of rest. We hooked him up to an IV to start replenishing some of his nutrients, but going forward I’d recommend a service where they bring an IV to your home.” She paused, studying the other boys. Her eyes narrowed on Maddy, who beamed at her, then returned to me. She gestured to Axel. “That one looks like he could see a doctor.”

Axel shook his head, faking a yawn while somehow smirking at the same time. “I’m all good. Nothing a few bags of frozen peas can’t fix.”

His eyes moved to me. He had a mask in place. How many times had he shown that to an adult? How many times had no one looked past it?

I saw through it, and his eyes narrowed, staying on me.

The nurse sighed. “He has a right to refuse medical care, but it would be a good idea to get him checked out.” As she spoke,the hospital’s doors slid open and Channing walked in. The nurse’s eyes widened, and comprehension clicked.

“It’s like you know who my husband is,” Heather said dryly.

The nurse’s mouth lifted in a slight grin. “Maybe. Or I might know the wife of one of his employees.” The two shared a look before the nurse got back to business. “Beltraine instructed me that if I needed to talk to an adult besides him, you were that person.”

Axel held up a hand. “I’d like to make that change too.”

She let out a soft sigh. “Why am I not surprised?” She eyed Steele. “And you?”

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