Page 38 of Evolve

“What? What happened? Is she okay? Where-”

“She’s fine! She was asleep in her room, she’s up now. It’s not her, it’s Stone. The guards are gone so call Quan or Raptor and get them back on the house and get your asses here, Gage, now, I’m fucking serious.”

“Okay, Nyx. Calm down brother, and tell me what the hell is going on,” Gage says in that parental, authoritative tone he takes with us. Usually, it pisses me off but right now it actually helps and I’m finally able to take a deep breath.

Fuck, what the fuck. It can’t be her, can it?

It has to be. If he really said that and flipped out, he has to be sure.

“Gage,” I sigh, yanking on my hair. “Fuck, man. It’s her,” I choke out. He’s silent for a minute and I hear the sound of murmured voices in the background before a door closes.

“What do you mean, Nyx? Of course, it’s her. The girl from the bridge? We already knew that man, you already told us,” he says, sounding confused. And I understand why. I know I’m not making much sense.

“No, nother.Fuck, I mean yes her. Gage, he called her ‘Mi Cielo’.”

“Are you sure?” he whispers, sounding just as shocked as I am.

“Yeah, I’m sure. He said it when he saw her face for the first time, then he froze up, and then he ran.” I hit my blinker as I change lanes, speeding down a residential street way faster than I should be but I don’t fucking care. I have a feeling in my gut that is screaming at me that I need to find my best friend as soon as possible. “He’s not answering his phone, Gage.”

“Fuck! Fuck!” he shouts and I can picture him pacing and clenching his fists the way he always does when he’s freaking out. “Are you headed toThe Den? You know where he probably is,” he mumbles.

I choke out a ‘yeah’ and I can hear rushed footsteps clicking on tile before a door slams and I hear him shout for Maddox. “We’re on our way. Let me know when you get to him. Stay calm but be ready for anything, brother.” Gage disconnects just as I’m pulling up into the parking lot at the gym.

I swing my car into my spot right up front and I almost fucking cry when I see his bike here. Wasting no time, I take off at a full run, throwing the front door open and bypassing an excited-looking Daria. She starts to move toward me but I don’t even take a second to acknowledge her before I’m running past her. I slow my pace, trying not to look like a psychopath and drawing attention to myself as I speed walk to where our offices are.

I get to his door and I don’t even fucking knock. I’m surprised to find it open and thankful that I won’t have to kick it down. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s not the room I’m looking for. I lock the entry door to the office and move to the back of the room.

All of our offices are the same. One large open space with our desks, seating for clients, and a lounge area for us when we have meetings or have to crash here like I did this week. At the back end of the office is a short hallway with two doors. They are all the same. Except Stones has three doors.

I walk past the bathroom, and the closet, and finally stop at the last door. From the outside, it looks like the other two. It’s a normal black door with a silver handle. No one would ever know what the fuck is on the other side of this door unless they were invited to know. And even then, they are sworn to secrecy. Signed to it is more like it.

I turn the door handle and once again, it’s unlocked. That right there tells me everything I need to know. No way, under any circumstance, would he leave this unlocked if he was inside. It tells me that he ran in here so fucking quickly, he didn’t even think to take safety measures. I inhale deeply, preparing myself for whatever state I might find him in.

Fuck.

Nyxon

Iopenthedoorand step inside, blinking to adjust to the sudden shift in light.

The room is shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the red LEDs that line the bottom of the walls, pointing upward. The glow bounces off the polished concrete floor. The black padded leather walls soundproof the entire space which prevented me from hearing the booming sounds of metal blasting from the sound system from outside.Just Pretendby Bad Omensfills the room at a deafening volume that momentarily distracts me. I shake my head, looking around the room in search of him.

The custom room is larger than the office itself and the walls are lined with objects that make it difficult for me to see what’s what. One wall is completely lined with restraints, floggers, whips, chains, paddles, bondage, and various impact implements. The wall across from it is where the padded gray Triangle Cross is kept. Wrist cuffs hang from the various hooks, waiting for their next victim. In the middle of the room is a crude leather bench that looks like something from a horror film.

“Stone!” I call out as I step further into the room. There’s no response and I assume he can’t hear me. I walk over to the wall with the cross, blindly batting around for the panel that controls the music. When I find it, I slap the pause button and am met with immediate silence. It lasts all of five seconds before I hear heavy panting. Spinning around, I rush towards the back wall where a sofa sits next to a spanking bench. In the space between the two, I find my best friend sitting on the floor, hidden from sight.

“God damnit, Stone!” I hiss as I close in on him. The room is scarcely lit so I can just barely make out his figure. He doesn’t hear me nor is he looking in my direction. The closer I get, the more I take in the scene before me. He has no idea I’m even here, he’s so distracted by what he’s doing.

X-Amount of Words-Blue October

“Fuck! Alec, stop!” He doesn’t respond whatsoever. I drop down to my knees in front of him and choke down the ball of emotion clawing up my throat. My heart is slamming against my chest, my hands are shaking. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him do this, but it’s the worst. “Please, Alec, look at me.”

He finally pauses, his hands stilling in the methodical movements. He slowly looks up at me and the emotion I was holding in comes out in a low, choked sob. I don’t give a fuck if I’m an enforcer, a killer, a fighter who’s supposed to be tough. This is my best friend of 24 years, my brother, one of the only three family members I have left and he’s breaking in front of me.

As his blue gaze locks on mine, I’m almost knocked on my ass at how lifeless his eyes look. Red-rimmed, puffy, and swollen as he continues to cry silently. He’s breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He’s looking at me, but it’s like I’m invisible. And if that wasn’t enough to break me, glancing down at his blood-filled lap does.

“Fuck, Alec. What and the fuck did you do, brother?” The question comes out as a rasp, my voice breaking with every word. He blinks once, and then again a few more times like he’s coming out of a trance. Recognition takes place and he slowly drops his gaze as he takes in the knife he’s holding and his tourniqueted arm. He stares but makes no move to either drop the weapon or continue his mutilation.

Slowly, I reach my hand over, letting him know my intent, as I cover his fist that’s holding the knife. I wrap my hand around his, so we’re holding it together, as I wait for him to acknowledge me. His head jerks back up and he begins to shake it back and forth rapidly.

---