Page 60 of On The Run

Kai nodded his thanks, and the three of us followed the doctor down the hallway and to their ICU section. It wasn’t even on a separate floor, just had a security door blocking it from the rest of the hospital. There were only three rooms in the ICU. We were all given masks and required to sanitize our hands before she let us into Manny’s room.

I knew immediately which one it was based on the two guards who were positioned on either side of the door. They both straightened up when they saw Kai. He took a moment to talk to both of them. I wasn’t really listening, but it sounded like they were from the L.A. office so Kai hadn’t met them in person. It didn’t matter to me though, as my focus was on the small window in the door and the man lying in the bed.

“Can I go in?” I asked Dr. Lawrence. She nodded once. “Yes, but his injuries are extensive. I don’t care who you are. If you do anything to risk his healing process, I’ll kick the lot of you out.” I liked this woman. After agreeing to her terms, I pushed the door open.

Manny, who had been staring straight ahead, lolled his head to the side when he heard the door, and his eyes got wide when he saw me, and then even wider when Kai stepped in behind me.

“How?” he whispered; his voice gratingly harsh. The breath was nearly knocked out of me when I got a closer look, and I really hoped I was managing to keep the horror out of my face. Luckily, Kai was a lot more accustomed to this and responded while I was still trying to compose myself.

"Your son is very smart, Manny, and very resourceful. He found a way to get our number to Max and here we are.”

I could see Manny had so many questions, but hopefully Kai could answer them. Dr. Lawrence said his injuries were extensive, but she did not prepare me for what I was going to see. Manny was hooked up to more machines than I thought possible. He had oxygen up his nose and wires crossing the rest of his body. The whole left side of his face was black and purple from bruises, his left eye was swollen shut, and his nose was definitely broken. The skin I could see was a sickly yellow color, and bruises and cuts littered his arms. I also had to imagine there were injuries I couldn’t see.

Was this what was happening to Aiden right now? What was that bastard doing to him? I wasn’t a violent person by nature, but I wanted to find that fucker and fucking destroy him. I’d never felt anger like this before, but I was boiling. All of the feelings I’d been keeping bottled up over the last few days were spilling over into a pit of rage, and I wasn’t sure how to tame it. I didn’t do rage. I didn’t do overemotional. But I wasn’t sure if I ever laid eyes on Giovani Santino that I’d be able to control myself.

A presence came up next to me, and I looked over to see Bronx standing at my side, his arm lightly brushing against mine. He wasn’t looking at me, but I knew that touch was intentional. He was letting me know he was here for me and had my back. I leaned into the touch, needing that cornerstone of support.

My temper finally cooled enough to turn back to Manny. Kai was speaking quietly to him and catching up on the last few days. By the time he was done, Manny had tears streaming down his face from his good eye. I was concerned the doctors would come and kick us out, but his monitors weren’t beeping.

Kai took the seat next to the bed, probably to look less intimidating. It didn’t really work, but I was sure Manny appreciated the gesture. I couldn’t even imagine what he was feeling right now. If Gray were the one missing, in the hands of a psychopath, I would be losing my damn mind probably worse than I was now.

I stood next to Kai. “Can you tell us anything?” I asked Manny gently. “Anything about where Aiden may be?”

Manny choked on a sob. One of the machines beeped, but he seemed to regulate himself before we were interrupted. “I think you guys know more than me. I’m still not sure how Gio got in the house in the first place.” Guilt washed over his face. “I tried to get Aiden to run and leave me with Gio, but he refused. And then h-he was choking A and I managed to get out of bed and hit him with a lamp. But I’m so fucking weak right now, it was pointless.”

“You did the best you could. Aiden knows that.” I also knew there was no way he was leaving his pops to fend for himself while he ran. That wasn’t who Aiden was as a person.

Manny shrugged, clearly not believing me. There was no use saying anything else on the subject. He was not going to believe me and wouldn’t forgive himself until Aiden was back here and safe, if even then.

“What about where he could possibly be going? Do you know why he picked Wyoming?”

“I have no idea. I know he drugged us. He hit me over the head with the gun and then crushed his combat boot into my chest. It broke multiple ribs. I wasn’t unconscious though. I saw him crush Aiden’s head with his boot. I thought he killed him.” Manny sobbed again, and much to my surprise, I reached for his hand. Manny squeezed it lightly, but I knew it was only because he didn’t have the strength to manage more. “I realized he must still be alive when I saw Gio jab a needle in his neck. He must have done the same to me because the next thing I remember is waking up here.”

“We saw the security footage of him dumping you in front of a ranch. You were unconscious then as well,” Kai informed him.

“Does Santino have any connections to Wyoming?” I asked, desperate for some type of lead.

“Not that I know of. Of course, he hid a lot about himself, but he told me he grew up on the East Coast, and I’ve never seen any evidence of anything else. I have no idea where he’d go.” Fuck. I felt bad but I let go of Manny and walked away, scrubbing my face with my hands.

“He’s gone somewhere dark. A place with a basement or something underground that has no light coming in. It’s possible he’d use a closet in a pinch, but I know Gio enough to know he’s escalated over the years and he feels like Aiden betrayed him. He’s going to want to take his time.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. I was dreading asking the next question, but I had to. Meanwhile, Manny seemed to have dissociated. All the worry, the guilt, even the pain had disappeared as he listed the details of where this fucker was no doubt torturing his son. It was factual with no hint of emotion. He was protecting himself, and I didn’t blame him at all.

“Why do you think that?” It was actually Bronx that asked the question, which surprised me.

Manny blinked, and tears rolled down his face, the only indication of the pain he must be feeling. “He calls it reconditioning. Whenever I did something back then that pissed him off, he went through the same routine. He’d lock me in a dark room where I couldn’t see a damn thing. It would be freezing, and I’d have no blankets or any way to keep myself warm. I wouldn’t be able to hear or see anything. There would be no food and I’d have to crawl, feeling my way along the walls to a corner so I could piss. And every time I fell asleep, he’d find a way to wake me up without actually coming in contact with me. I’d get so desperate, I’d beg him to let me go, willing to do anything he wanted me to just to get out of the darkness.” Manny paused, and this time emotion did overtake him. “H-He did it to Aiden when he was four fucking years old. He kept me locked out of the room and I had no way to get to him, no way to comfort him. It was the final straw.” That was why he ran with Aiden despite it technically being kidnapping—to protect Aiden from that. Jesus Christ.

Manny wasn’t done. “He tried it last time, but Aiden intervened before he had the chance. This time, he’ll make sure there’s no chance for Aiden to fight back. That’s why he was drugged. One thing about Gio is he never makes the same mistake twice. He’s going to make it impossible for Aiden to get the best of him a second time.” Manny’s eyes floated from Kai to me, and the anguish in his plea was obvious. “If he has any chance, it’s you. Please find my son.”

I blinked back tears, so overcome with the enormity of this moment. I didn’t know what would make Manny think I would be capable of this, especially when there was a former special ops machine sitting in the chair next to his bed. That appeal should be to Kai. He was the one with the resources and the skills to find Aiden, not me. I’d been fucking useless.

I should tell Manny all of this, but I found myself nodding, promising I’d do anything in my power to find his son, to find the man I loved. The man had become so important to not only me, but Gray and my entire family. I had no idea how, but I would find him.

Manny’s eyes started to drift closed, and it wasn’t long before we were getting kicked out of his room so he could get pain meds and rest. We were barely out in the hallway before Kai was calling Aspen to tell him to look for places within a few hours of the ranch with basements or underground storage spaces or doomsday shelters. Suddenly, I couldn’t stand on my own two feet anymore and collapsed against the wall. Bronx was there in a second.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I told him weakly. Bronx’s blue eyes were piercing into me, and I swore it was the only thing holding me together.

“You can do this, Max. You can do this for Aiden.” There was so much certainty in his tone that I kind of believed him. There was still a small part of me that was pretty sure I’d fuck it all up, that I wasn’t cut out for this or to be the kind of man Aiden needed, but every second I stood there with Bronx erased more and more of the doubt. Aiden couldn’t afford me doubting myself now. The self-pity party had to wait. And for Aiden, I thought I would do anything.

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