Page 65 of On The Run

Aspen’s eyes widened, and I saw the questions on his lips. But he was a professional and managed to keep them inside. He nodded sharply, said, “Yes, sir,” and immediately got back to work.

I wasn’t Kai’s employee, though, or his boyfriend, and had no problem interrogating him.

“Kai, what the fuck is going on?”

“We need to go now. I’ll tell you on the way to the hospital.” He flicked his eyes to Sage. “Sage, stay here with Aspen.”

Sage opened his mouth to argue, but one look at his brother shut him up. I didn’t know what he saw, and I didn’t really care. I needed to get to the hospital, and I needed fucking information.

“If you two are coming with me, then we’re leaving now. Let’s go,” Kai snapped as he headed for the door. I didn’t even look at Bronx, just ran to the door of the hotel room, attempting to keep up with Kai and glad I kept my shoes on. A second later, Bronx caught up to us, and I was relieved he didn’t choose to stay behind.

We followed Kai to the parking lot and into the black SUV. Bronx automatically climbed in the back seat, and I clamored in the front.

Kai’s jaw was clenched the whole time, and his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel and pulled out. My patience was a sliver of a thread right now, and if I wasn’t sure Kai would snap at me, I’d be demanding answers already.

Finally, he began talking. “I have a buddy from the Marines who’s a sheriff up here now.” Did Kai have a buddy in every layer of law enforcement throughout the entire country? The answer was probably yes. “I gave him a heads-up and asked him to keep an eye out for anything unusual, especially over by the old doomsday preppers’ hideout. His shift was over and as a favor to me, he decided to drive the long way home through the county road that cuts through the base. He said he nearly hit Aiden with his patrol car.” I didn’t think it was possible, but Kai looked even tenser than he did earlier. He was holding the steering wheel so fucking tight, I was sure he was going to rip it off the car.

“Aiden, he came darting out of one of the clearings. He was wearing nothing but underwear, his hands were cuffed in front of him, and he was frozen and soaked to the fucking bone.”

My nails were biting into my palms as I listened to Kai talk.It could be worse.That was what I kept repeating in my head. He was alive and apparently stable enough to get away and run. I wanted all of the answers, but we didn’t have them now. Honestly, they were worthless until I saw Aiden with my own two eyes and could confirm he was ok.

“I’m glad I thought to send his fucking picture to Ted when I called in the favor, or who knows what would have happened. Ted, my buddy, said he thinks Aiden might be in shock. He’s not really talking, and he was so fucking cold. Ted was worried about hypothermia. That’s why I told him to get him to the hospital. Oh, fuck. I gotta call Dr. Lawrence and warn her.”

“I’ll do it,” Bronx said from behind us. “I got her number just in case last time. You concentrate on getting us there safely.

Fuck, just another reason to be so fucking grateful to Bronx. “Anything else? Any other injuries your friend saw? He sent you a picture. Can I see it?”

Kai shrugged with one shoulder. His eyes were locked on the road, and he had to be going at least 100 mph. Good thing Kai knew every cop in the entire country, otherwise we’d for sure be pulled over by now.

“He wasn’t sure. He had some dried blood on him, and there was something about his nose, I wasn’t really following. He said he was in bad shape, but the biggest concern was the hypothermia. And I deleted the picture.” At first, I felt nothing, and then the anger started to rise.

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Because Aiden deserves more dignity than that picture being shown without his consent. He will have enough people prodding and poking at him and taking fucking pictures of every little injury over the next few weeks. He doesn’t need that from me. And you don’t need to see that either. Just trust me.”

My chest deflated and the anger seeped away. Kai was right. I’d see Aiden at the hospital in a little bit. Whatever that picture showed, I had no right to see it without Aiden’s permission.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. Thank you for thinking of him.” Kai didn’t acknowledge me, but his shoulders relaxed slightly. I took that as a good sign and continued. “Why was he so cold? I know it’s not exactly warm up in the mountains, but it’s not freezing.”

“I don’t know,” Kai answered sharply. Ok, he hadn’t relaxed completely. I didn’t ask any other questions. He clearly wasn’t in the headspace to answer, and I knew what I needed to know. I didn’t even ask why Kai mentioned me on the phone. I’d find out eventually. Aiden was alive, he was free from the psychopath, and he was conscious. Everything else could wait.

I looked out the window as the world zipped past us. Bronx was speaking in a low voice, presumably to the doctor, but I tuned him out. He’d take care of it. My focus needed to be on preparing to see Aiden with my own fucking eyes and making sure that he was ok. None of this was going to feel real until that moment.

“Ted said Aiden was repeating the same two things. First, he kept saying Pops. Ted had no idea what he was talking about, of course, but I’m pretty sure he was trying to find out what happened to him. And when he wasn’t panicking over Manny, he asked about you.”

Well, if that wasn’t enough to shatter a man into a million fucking pieces, I wasn’t sure what would. Everything that Aiden must be going through, and he asked about me. The pressure I felt was massive. I needed to be there for him. I needed to be the man worthy of being the second thing on his mind after his father that for all he knew could have been dead. And I wanted to be that man for him. I wanted it so fucking desperately. I just hoped I could actually deliver.

Chapter29

Aiden

Earlier That Day

“It’stime to wake up, boy.”

Everything felt sluggish, and it took way more effort than it should have to finally open my eyes all the way. And then, immediately, I slammed them shut, the bright light fucking blinding. A sharp slap jerked my head to the side, and reluctantly, I opened my eyes again.

Giovani was standing in front of me, a placid expression on his face like none of this meant anything to him. And that was almost worse. If the sick fuck showed any kind of emotion, even excitement, it would have been better than this. I couldn’t explain it, but having the man torturing you treat it like a job and nothing more fucking stung. He’d spent 17 years hunting me down, and 21 years making my life a living hell, even when he wasn’t there. He won. He got what he wanted, but he was treating it more like an obligation than anything else.

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