Page 49 of On The Run

So many questions were running through my brain, but I wasn’t going to get any answers by staring at a piece of paper. I picked up my phone because there was only one logical thing to do: call this number and hope I wasn’t just going crazy. I considered getting Bronx first but decided against it. If this was a dead end, I didn’t want Bronx to know about it. I’d get him if this led to something valid.

I dialed the number. It rang twice before someone answered it. “Hello?”

I was taken aback by how young the voice sounded. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but this guy was probably a teenager, or maybe in his early twenties.

“Hello?” the voice asked again, this time with some edge that made me question the validity of my first assessment of his age. He may be older than I thought. “Who is calling me on this number?”

It was an odd statement, but this whole thing was fucking odd, and I realized that if I didn’t respond soon, this kid would probably hang up on me. Since he was my only lead to Aiden, I began talking. “Um, I don’t really know how to start.”

“How about you start with how you got this number.” There was no more childish edge to the man’s voice. It was fucking deadly. What did Aiden get me involved in?

“Um, I got it from Aiden. Aiden Sewell.” I hoped it was ok that I used his name, but I didn’t know what else to do. I wasn’t a fucking spy. I was so far out of my depth, it wasn’t even funny.

There was a heavy silence, one I could probably slice with a knife. I didn’t think it was possible, but I was even more nervous than I was before. Maybe I should have gotten Bronx down here.

“Where is Aiden? He’s not supposed to give out this number.”

I swallowed hard, wondering how much information I should give. Aiden gave me this number, so I should trust this man, right? But it was hard for me to when I had so little information to go on.

“I don’t know,” I finally answered. “He’s been missing for four days.”

The steel in the man’s voice broke, and I thought I heard him cursing under his breath on the other end. Then there was a rushing of air, like he was running outside. “What do you mean he’s missing? Who are you? And why the fuck didn’t you call us sooner?”

I tried to stay calm and not get irritated. The man was definitely running, but why? “I mean, he’s missing. He left my fucking house on Sunday morning to get breakfast and check on his father and he never came back. As far as why I didn’t call you sooner, well, he hid your number in a damn Spotify playlist and I just saw it and figured it out. I’m a civil engineer, not a secret agent.”

The man snorted, and I thought that may have been a laugh, though what he could possibly find funny, I didn’t know.

“You said he went to check on his father? Has anyone spoken to him?”

“He’s missing too.”

“Fuck.” This time I heard the worry in his voice.

“Hang on a second, ok? I need to talk to Aspen and Kai.”

“I don’t know who that is. Or who you are. Why did Aiden hide your number for me? What do you have to do with anything?”

The man didn’t answer, and then everything went silent. At first, I thought he hung up, but then I realized the asshole put me on mute.

Finally, I heard some noise, and then a new person was speaking to me. Whoever this was had a voice that could put the fear of God in someone without even trying. He was clearly older than the first person and spoke with an air of authority that only came with years of being in charge. Who the hell were these people?

“Hello, my name is Kai Rinaldi, and I’m the co-owner of RAM Securities.” None of that meant anything to me, but the man kept talking. “I know this is probably very confusing for you, but we need some information if we’re going to be able to help Aiden.”

I wasn’t giving this guy anything until I knew what was going on. “How am I supposed to know I can trust you? I don’t know who you are or anything about you. Aiden has told me nothing.”

“Of course, I understand. Accept the video chat.” I looked down and sure enough, I was being asked to accept a video chat. I probably shouldn’t. I wasn’t this huge technological expert, but I knew enough to know they were probably tracking me right now, right to my own home with my son sleeping down the hall. Letting them see my face as well was probably a terrible idea, but I was desperate, and I accepted.

The tanned face of a giant of a man filled the screen until he stepped back a bit. I couldn’t see much of him, except his face and neck, but as I guessed, the man radiated authority. His dark hair was short, and even his facial hair didn’t take away from his intimidating presence. I would bet my soul that this man had a history in the military under his belt.

I couldn’t make out much of his surroundings, but he seemed to have a blank wall behind him, and the original man I spoke to wasn’t in sight. I was pretty sure he was trying to limit the amount of information I got and protect the other man until he was sure who I was. That was smart, and I was suddenly very glad Bronx and Gray were asleep.

“Do you have a computer nearby?”

“Yes.”

“Look up RAM Securities and Kai Rinaldi and Jason Martinez. You’ll see my picture there. I know it’s not much, but hopefully it will be enough. If four days have really passed, we need to act now.”

I wasn’t sure why, but I trusted this man, at least enough to google what he told me. Sure enough, article after article popped up about his company and him and his partner Jason Martinez, as well as a legitimate-looking website. There were other articles underneath it regarding some major controversy and a public attack during an interview, but I didn’t click that. It was about someone else and not important right now.

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