Page 55 of On The Run

“That’s Aiden walking in, presumably directly from your house, as the timing matches up.”

I nodded, my eyes glued to the screen. “Ok, and then he goes toward the back of the house. I can’t see where, but either his room or Manny’s is logical.”

“Ok . . .”

“And then that’s it. The footage loops after that. He never leaves the back of the house according to this, which we know is false.”

“And what about before that? Did anyone else come in before Aiden?” Sage asked.

Aspen shook his head. “There was a gap on the cameras where someone deleted about an hour of footage before that. I can probably recover it, but it might take a bit.”

Kai squeezed Aspen’s shoulder, and when the younger man looked up at him, I finally got the proof that they were in a relationship. The look they shared was so full of love and trust, it made my heart hurt. Would I ever get a chance to have that with Aiden? I looked away, unable to watch any longer, and it didn’t escape my notice that Sage did the same.

“Go ahead, sunshine, and work on that.”

Aspen nodded. “Oh, and I already put in a search for any hospitals or clinics in the area to see if any John Does have been dropped off.” Aspen looked up at me. “Last time, Aiden managed to get ahold of the steering wheel when they were being transported and crashed the car. He then dragged Manny out and they walked nearly a mile completely beaten, starving, and dehydrated until someone saw them and got them to the hospital. There’s a chance one of them got away again but can’t communicate.”

I was already in love with Aiden, but every word I heard about him was causing me to fall deeper and deeper for the man. It killed me because I knew he didn’t see just how strong he was, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have the chance to show him.

I stood and started pacing the room. Sage and Kai were both on their phones, but I could tell they weren’t playing games or wasting time. They were clearly doing . . . something . . . I just really wasn’t sure what. Every once in a while, Kai would make a call, talk gruffly for a few minutes, saying a whole bunch of words that meant nothing to me, and then hang up. At the same time, Aspen was completely zoned out, typing furiously and doing whatever it was that he did.

At some point, he looked up long enough to tell us he recovered the footage, but there was nothing significant there—no signs of anyone entering besides Aiden, nothing out of the ordinary at all.

“He’s working with a hacker,” Aspen told us distractedly, his focus primarily on the computers, “The job on the security system looked amateurish at first, but looking at it now, I think it was a cover. He has someone helping him. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how he found them in the first place. I know they are careful about their online signature, but it’s virtually impossible to be completely off the grid in this day and age. A good enough hacker with solid resources could find even the most hidden person.”

“Do you know who it is, sunshine?”

Aspen shook his head. “No. The signature looks familiar, but I can’t place it.”

“Don’t focus on that right now. The priority is finding Aiden and Manny.”

“Got it.”

So while the RAM team worked their asses off, I did nothing but pace, wearing a hole in my carpet. I thought I felt useless before I discovered Sage’s number, but somehow, I felt even more so now. Why was I even here? There was nothing I could do to help Aiden. I couldn’t hack hospital records or security footage. I didn’t have contacts that could find someone out of thin air. I certainly didn’t have the physical capacity to protect Aiden. I’d never been a fighter, and while I’d do what I had to, I felt like I’d only get in the way. So, I did the only thing I was capable of doing: kept pacing.

“Can you sit, man? You’re making me dizzy.” I scowled at Sage, about to snap, when Bronx’s arms wrapped around my waist and guided me to the couch.

“C’mon, Max. Sit with me.”

I grumbled but allowed Bronx to lead me to the couch, frankly too tired to fight. I noticed that Bronx had an open laptop in front of him on my coffee table. “What’re you doing?” I was unreasonably annoyed that even Bronx seemed to find a way to make himself useful.

“I’m looking up Giovani Santino.” Aiden’s biological father.

“Ah, fuck. That’s smart.” And yet again, I did nothing.

Somehow, Bronx seemed to see I was spiraling. “Give yourself a break, Max. You’ve gotten no sleep, barely eaten, and have been running on pure adrenaline for days now. You did the hard part—found someone who could help Aiden. I know you won’t leave the room, but why don’t you sit back and close your eyes, rest a bit. I promise if anything happens, I’ll wake you up.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. Bronx was right. I was fucking exhausted, and running myself into the ground wouldn’t help Aiden at all. I grunted an agreement and sank into my couch cushions. I didn’t think I’d manage to fall asleep, but as soon as my eyes closed, I began to drift.

“Oh my god! Kai, I think I found something! I think I found Manny!”

My eyes shot open as Aspen’s words permeated my sleep-fogged brain. I scrambled over to him, same as the rest of the group crowded in my home.

“What do you mean, sunshine? Where is he?”

“You know how I said I’ve been searching local hospitals?” We all nodded. “Well, I was getting no hits there, so I expanded my search grid, including getting our L.A. guys involved. A John Doe has been admitted into a rural hospital in Wyoming. He meets Manny’s physical description, and the medical records indicate that he’s been having treatment for cancer.”

Could it really be him? In fucking Wyoming? And what did that mean for Aiden? Where was he?

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