Page 7 of Hacker Betrayed

"It's an operation. At no point did Brock and I discuss Mia and me as a couple."

Quinton huffed. "You wouldn't be able to separate your feelings. When you fall for someone, it's all over your face. I'm not saying that's bad, but she can break you."

I hated how easy my brother could read me. He might be the youngest of the brothers, but he tried to act like the protector. He and Cara seemed to fight over who was more protective. When the Ellison family adopted us, they both became almost unbearable. "I'm in my late thirties. I don't need you to keep telling me how to live my life. I stay the fuck out of yours."

"I would be lying if I said I planned to sit back and not say anything." Quinton uncrossed his arms and lowered his voice. "You plan to go tomorrow night?"

I'd hoped to use the operation as an excuse, but I had nothing. "Yeah. You know, this is like picking at a scab. Right when I start to block out our past, this anniversary comes around, and it's like a cold bucket of water. On Monday, I think the four of us need to sit down and discuss how to put this behind us."

"Kaeden isn't going to stop going. I'm worried if the rest of us decided to stop visiting on the anniversary of her death, he would continue alone. He blames himself for what happened."

Kaeden wasn't home the night our lives changed. If anyone was to blame, it was me. I'd gotten sick and my temp had hit one hundred and four. All my siblings except Tara were at our grandmother’s helping pack her things up before she moved to the assisted living facility. Mom took Tara with her to get my medicine. A car speeding down the road T-boned them. The car was reported stolen, and nobody could find the driver. To this day we still don't know who killed our mom and baby sister. The year prior we lost our father to a heart attack.

After that night the four of us went into foster care. Our grandmother was our last living relative, but she couldn't take care of four kids. We accepted nobody would want to adopt us because of our age and being four siblings. I shook my head to not think about foster care.

Kaeden had finished the scene and was untying his sub from her bindings. He cradled her close to his chest while he navigated toward the sitting area. It had been a long time since I'd seen my brother gaze at someone the way he was looking at Samantha, the nurse from the hospital he worked at.

"I'm heading to my office. The damn alarm went off again. We need to get that shit fixed," I grumbled. "I'll see you tomorrow night, but I'm serious, it's time we have a long talk about Mom's death."

Quinton's jaw clenched, and he shook his head. I had no time to deal with this.

The green light illuminated the card scanner outside my office as I swiped my card. A six-foot-four man stood in front of my desk, but my eyes were on the woman lying on the floor and a boy next to her. The man pulled his gun, and I held up my hands.

"Can you help my mom?" the boy asked.

"Yes, but he needs to lower his gun if anyone wants me to help Mia." I paused. "Or did you do this to her?"

The man ran his free hand through his short hair and placed his gun in his holster. "Sorry, I’m on edge. She didn't say who to ask for or who the hell this office belongs to. She told me to take her to the address in her GPS, use the key to the back door, and drop her off. My sister might think I'm an ass, but no way did I plan to let her bleed out in some office. She said no 911 and no Brock, but I don't know who Brock is."

The front of her white shirt was covered in blood, and her lower right side had a projectile sticking out of her skin. I was glad nobody had pulled the dart-looking thing out. Still, I wasn't an ER doctor and had none of the items needed in my office…but the club had doctors, a nurse, and an exam room. "It's not ideal. Let me call a couple of people, and we can see what we are working with." I paused. "What are your names?"

"Lucas," the boy said as he straightened his spine. He didn't look anything like Mia. Blood wasn't what made family. I'd lost my mother and father and the Ellison family stepped in. I called Nora my mother even though we had no blood relation.

The other gentleman who I recognized, but couldn't place, spoke. "I'm Sebastian Clark, Mia's twin brother."

The second he said his name I realized I'd seen his face splashed across CNBC and other money shows. The Clark family were businessmen, but many times their companies were under investigation for fraud or money laundering. He claimed he was Mia's brother, but she didn't resemble him at all either.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and Mia's eyes fluttered open. "No, Brock," she whispered. I typed on my phone.

Family: Meet me in room 3. EMERGENCY. Grab nurses.

Cara: On my way.

I groaned realizing I'd sent the text to the family group chat.

Family: Medical needed. No lawyer.

Cara: I'm the family's attorney. If medical is needed at the club and you do anything outside of your offices, you sure as hell bet I'm coming.

Family: Not needed Cara. I'll explain later.

Kaeden: I have Samantha with me.

I knelt next to Mia and glanced at her shirt. A portion of the blood was dried and old, but the wound in her side was fresh. Lucas had his fingers twined with Mia's. "I'm going to need you to drop her hand and stay in my office."

He dropped her hand but stood the second I scooped her into my arms.

"Fuck, no! I don't know you and I’m not letting her out of my sight."

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