Page 53 of On The Run

A moment later, Bronx groaned as he stood. “Come on. We still have a few hours before they get here. Why don’t you take a shower and get changed? I’ll make us some coffee and something to eat. Unless you think you can sleep?”

I shook my head. “No. There’s no way. Coffee is good.”

Grinning, Bronx nudged me toward the direction of the bathroom. “Go on. It’s going to be a long night.”

It was most likely going to be a lot more than that, but I didn’t say anything. I squeezed Bronx’s bicep with affection and then dragged myself into the shower, trying desperately not to think of what horrors would probably come next.

Chapter23

Max

The doorbell ringingbrought Bronx and I out of the fog that we’d been in for the last four hours. We took advantage of every second of the group traveling to Colorado to research as much as possible so we weren’t going into this completely blind.

We tried to keep our focus on RAM and the public records of Rinaldi’s and Martinez’s military careers. Neither of us dug too deep into the major scandal from last year and Sage and Aspen’s history. It seemed way too personal, and it wasn’t necessary to see all their scars to determine if the group was trustworthy. All we managed to gather was that they were fucking powerful and had more resources than I could even imagine. If these guys were truly on our side, my hopes of finding Aiden had skyrocketed.

The doorbell rang again. My bones creaked as I stood. I was getting way too old for this. “I’ll get it.”

I wasn’t sure exactly who I was expecting to come, but when I opened the door, I was first greeted by the massive presence of Kai Rinaldi, who I recognized not only from the video chat but my extensive stalking. I wasn’t that small of a guy, but he had a few inches of height on me and almost double the amount of muscle mass. He absolutely dwarfed Bronx, who snuck up behind me to get his eyes on the men.

Kai’s eyes were exclusively on me though. “You must be Maxwell.”

I cringed at the use of my full name. The only person who ever used it was my mom, and only when she was annoyed at me.

“Please, call me Max.” I stepped back when he tilted his head in acknowledgement. He walked in, and I could see his eyes as he took in my home, no doubt checking for any traps or danger. Once he was clear of the doorway, I saw the other two men with him. Both were loaded down with equipment and shuffled through my door.

“Do you need help with that?” I asked the one in the front. I already knew they were Aspen and Sage Malling. I had thought they were twins when I first saw them on video chat, but after the research, I learned they were a year apart. I knew Aspen worked as a hacker for RAM, but I still had no idea how Sage got involved with Aiden, as it didn’t appear he had an official role with the company. At least not on paper.

The man looked up with a sheepish smile. I thought this was Aspen. His hair was a little longer, and like I noticed on the chat, his features were softer, less tortured looking, though from the little I read, this guy went through hell. I could only imagine he shouldered his fair share of nightmares, but there was still something optimistic about him, maybe a little innocence that his brother didn’t have at all. No, Sage’s torment showed through his eyes and for the whole world to see.

“Thank you, but I got it. I’m very picky about my equipment.”

The other brother, Sage, snorted. “Understatement of the century. Can you pick a place to put it though? It’s fucking heavy.”

I had no idea what was happening, but I was very aware that these three men were taking over my home. Even as I led the brothers to the family room for Aspen to set himself up, Kai was doing a walkthrough, checking each room for threats without so much of a “with your permission.”

I eyed Bronx, who shrugged. He was as lost as I was. Finally, Kai came back. “I’m sorry about that, but as you can understand, making sure the boys are safe is my topmost priority.”

I wondered about his use of the word boys even though I didn’t say anything. I was trying to act unaffected, but Kai was an intimidating man, and I did not want to piss him off with a personal question. Still, I was curious. Bronx somehow uncovered information that Aspen and Kai were in a relationship, and yet he called him boy? I tried to avoid any words of the kind when it came to Aiden, since I didn’t want to emphasize the age difference.

Anyway, it wasn’t important right now. “I understand. But now that you have, can we please get some fucking information?”

Instead of answering, Kai’s eyes roamed to Bronx. “You must be the man who won’t leave.”

Bronx smiled way too cheerfully for the situation. “That’s me. Bronx Vitner. I’m assuming you know that by now?”

Kai nodded in confirmation, but his lip tipped up at the corner in amusement. “I do. You have quite the career under your belt, Dr. Vitner.”

Bronx waved it off. He hated getting called doctor, even if he had multiple PhDs.

“As do you, Master Sergeant Rinaldi.”

Kai and Bronx then proceeded to have a stare down. Surprisingly, it was Kai who ended it first. He looked at me with a shake of his head. “No wonder you insisted he stays. He’s a good friend and person to have around.”

You wouldn’t get an argument from me. Bronx was the best man to have in your corner.

I didn’t answer, just dipped my chin in acknowledgement. Someone’s throat cleared from behind me, and I turned to see the brother I thought was Sage leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “If everyone is done posturing, can we get this show on the road? Aiden’s been missing for days now. We have a lot of work to do.”

I followed him back into the family room. “Can you start with telling us how you even know Aiden and what the fuck is happening right now?”

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