Page 50 of On The Run

Sure enough, Kai’s picture was right there on the website, along with a brief history of his experience. He was in the military and had been specializing in search and rescue with his private security company since then.

I looked back up at Kai, who was watching me with an intensity that could make a grown man squirm. I was glad I wasn’t easily intimidated.

I’d need to do more research, but it was enough for now. “How do you guys know Aiden? Are you able to help him?”

“First, I need to know more about on you. Aiden was one of my clients, and I’m not giving out his information without knowing who I’m giving it to.”

It was a fair question, and I quickly provided my name and how I knew Aiden and what happened. I was honest, except I left Gray completely out of it. I knew that these guys could discover his existence fairly quickly, but I needed to protect him in some way in case this was a big trap.

Kai nodded his thanks at me. “Give me just a minute, Max. I need to verify this.”

I knew that whatever he was doing was much more in-depth than the Google search I just did, and I wished I knew what the hell I was doing right now. I hoped I wasn’t making things worse for Aiden or myself. I had to trust that Aiden gave me the number of someone who could help, but I had so little to work with, I couldn’t even say that for sure. How much did I know about Aiden anyway? This could be one elaborate trap, and would I really know?

Even as I thought it, I dismissed it. No, I may be out of my depth now, but I knew how to read people, and Aiden was genuine. Whatever secrets he was keeping were to protect himself, not hurt or scam me. The feelings he had for me and the brotherly affection he had for Gray was real. I was sure about it.

I was brought out of my thoughts when a throat cleared and the picture changed. I was no longer staring at a little window of space that was mostly covered by Kai’s face. They must have transferred the call somewhere larger, and while the background was still blank, I was now staring at two men sitting at a conference table. Behind them was Kai and a man that I recognized from the pictures on the website as Jason Martinez, the other owner of RAM.

My attention went back to the men sitting down. At first glance, I thought they were twins, but they might just be brothers. Either way, their resemblance was uncanny. They were both in their early twenties and looked a little out of place in this setting. They had sandy-brown hair that was shaggy in style. The one on the left had it pulled back in one of those tiny ponytails on the top of his head men sometimes wore. The other one was letting the slightly too long hair fall into his face. Even sitting down, I could tell that they were both fairly thin with narrow and sharp features. The one on the right, with his hair loose, was looking down at the laptop in front of him, but the other one was staring directly at me. I was captivated by his gray eyes. Even through video chat, I could see a world of secrets behind that intense gaze. This young man had seen some things, things most kids his age would have never experienced, and it reminded me so much of Aiden I was nearly sick. I had to look away.

“Alright, Max, thank you for being patient with us.” This came from the man on the right. I wondered if either of these guys was the one who answered the phone. If they were, it wasn’t this one. The tone of voice was similar, but there was something softer about it, less angry. He looked up and despite a little more softness to his features and his gaze, he had the same haunted expression as his brother. They both looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it, and I didn’t have the headspace to even worry about it right now.

“We just needed to make sure you could be trusted. For both our and Aiden’s safety, we have to be cautious.”

I swallowed hard and met the gaze of the two older men. There was just something about the young guys that was making it hard for me to look at them. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“How much do you know about Aiden’s past, Mr. Campbell?”

I sighed and scrubbed my face. I needed answers, not an interrogation. “Not much,” I told them honestly.

“Well, Aiden became one of our clients quite accidentally about two years ago. I won’t go into many details over the phone, but I will tell you that he and his father were in danger and they nearly died. Sage here found Aiden in the hospital and got us involved. We were able to get Aiden and his father to safety and give them new identities to help them get away and start a new life. I was hoping it would be enough, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that way. But don’t worry, we’ll find them.” He gestured to the guy sitting that had been silent before as he spoke. So that was Sage. That must have been who answered the phone.

My head was spinning. I had both information overload and not enough information all at once. I had so many questions but couldn’t find the words to ask them.

Luckily, Kai seemed to understand. “Just hang tight, Mr. Campbell. If you have someone who can watch your son, I suggest asking them to take him for a bit.” I couldn’t even dredge up surprise that they knew about Gray. Honestly, I couldn’t dredge up emotions on just about anything right now. “We’re coming to you. We’ll be there in a few hours. Don’t shut off your phone.”

And just like that, the phone went black, and any proof that I just had that conversation was gone, once again leaving me to wonder what was real and what wasn’t.

Chapter22

Max

Basedoff the text message I received from someone named Aspen, the group would arrive here in approximately 4 ½ hours. That gave me time to prepare so I wasn’t at a massive disadvantage like I was right now. I couldn’t help but worry I just made a massive mistake. Did I make things worse for Aiden?

There was nothing I could do to change that now. There was no way those men would listen if I tried to call them off, so I just had to be careful and proceed with caution from here on out.

Once I could focus enough to make a plan, I finally left my family room and went to wake up Bronx. Not for the first time, I was happy he was here. My initial thought was to have him leave and take Gray with him, but after hearing all the details on what happened, Bronx refused to budge.

“Call Laura to take Gray, Max. I’m not leaving you alone to deal with what amounts to highly skilled mercenaries. No offense, but you are in way over your head.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I still scoffed. “Yeah, and you aren’t? I didn’t realize they teach you to be a super spy during those rocket scientist conventions you always go to.”

Bronx rolled his eyes, but I knew he wasn’t relenting. He’d gotten up by now and was currently getting dressed in jeans and a sweater—at 1 am. He meant business.

“They don’t. But I am better with the computer than you. I may not be a hacker, but I have some skills. I’m going to do some research while you get Gray settled.”

I met Bronx’s eyes, his bright-blue ones shining with determination and brotherly love. I was choked up with emotion, but I knew he could tell how grateful I was for him. The moment broke eventually, and Bronx headed toward the door of my bedroom. “Go talk to Gray. I got this part.”

“Thank you, Bronx. I can’t—just thank you.”

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