Page 15 of Lost In The Dark

“Wait until you get to know us, Addy. You’ll find we’re far from perfect,” Eli told me, and Asher nodded in agreement. But no matter what flaws they may have, or what I found out in the future, I would never forget how much they had been there for me through that nightmare. I would never forget their kindness or how safe they had made me feel. They were good men and nothing would convince me otherwise. Call me naive, but I just felt it deep inside. I could trust them.

***

“Thank fuck we’re out of there,” Eli sighed as we stepped out of the police station, and into the warm evening air, a couple of hours later. Max had done as he promised and had the charges against me dropped. I had been free to leave, but then the detective who had been an ass to me had insisted he needed to interview me about everything they had found in the senator’s house. Thankfully, Max had managed to hold him off, arrangingfor the interview to be done the next day, with Max at my side. After a ton of paperwork, I was finally free.

“I need to go. I’ll call you about the interview tomorrow,” Max said as he turned to us. Asher and Eli each had an arm wrapped around my back, holding me up between them. I’d liked to have said it was overkill, but it wasn’t. I was completely exhausted, my body feeling weak and so damned shaky. My legs would barely hold me up. I knew it was because I was so thin, not to mention the Hell I’d been through over the last days, with very little sleep or food. I was just grateful they were there to help me.

“They w-won’t arrest me again, will they?” I asked with fear as I looked to Max. “I…I don’t think I can g-go through that again.”

“No. You’re being interviewed as a witness now, Addy. No one will be arresting you, and I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Max assured me as he placed a hand gently on my forearm. I tensed, not as comfortable with his touch as I was with Asher and Eli, but I refrained from shaking him away.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“No problem. Get some rest, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks for everything, Max,” Eli added. Asher just gave a stiff nod, then Max hurried off down the street towards a parking lot.

“What do you want to do, Addy?” Asher asked as he bent down enough to meet my eyes. “I planned to take you to the hotel with us, but now I’ve seen how shaky and pale you look, I wonder if the hospital might be better?”

“No!” I cried as my heart started to thud hard in my chest. “Please…I want to come with you…please. I c-can’t go back there. I’m okay, really.”

“Sshh,” Eli soothed as he took one of my hands in his and squeezed it. “We’re not going to make you do anything. You choose what you want, okay?”

“I w-want to stay with both of you,” I hurried to reply. I knew it was stupid. I hardly knew them, but they made me feel safe and they were all that I had. I didn’t want to leave them, and I definitely did not want to go back to the hospital where I’d been cuffed to the bed for days while police came in and interrogated me constantly.

“Then let’s get to the hotel so you can rest,” Asher said as we started down the stone steps again. A car was parked at the foot of them, a big shiny, black Escalade that looked very fancy. As we approached a man got out of the driver’s side and opened the back door, looking to Asher with a nod.

“Th-this is your car?” I gasped.

“No. I just hired it while we’re here. We have our own driver’s at home,” Asher replied.

“Driver’s?”

“We’re kind of rich, if you hadn’t realized, sweetie,” Eli chuckled. I looked to him, shocked. I knew they were wealthy. It was obvious in the way they carried themselves and the clothes they wore. They were connected too, it seemed, but I didn’t imagine they were ‘having a hired driver’ rich. They seemed too down to earth for that.

“Sir, we should get moving,” A deep voice spoke from behind us, and I turned with a start, then pushed even closer against Eli and Asher when I found two hulking guys right behind us. They were dressed in dark colors and had in ear pieces. Were they cops?

“It’s okay, Addy. They’re just some security I hired to keep us all safe while we’re here. We have our own security back home,” Asher explained.

“What? S-security?” I stuttered. “Are w-we in danger? Am I?” Were the sex traffickers going to come for me again? My breaths got shorter as the familiar tingling started in my fingers and toes. I started to drop to the ground, desperate to curl into myself – something I used to do as a kid when I started to freak out – but Eli stopped me, grabbing me under my legs and scooping me up into his arms.

“Jesus, breathe for us, Addy. You’re not in danger. You’re safe, I promise you,” Asher panicked as he stood over me with worry.

“We’re never going to let anything happen to you. We’re safe,” Eli added as he pressed me closer to his front, then climbed into the car.

“But th-the security? Is that normal?” I sniffled as I tried to move from his lap and into the seat beside him. He held me tighter and I didn’t even fight. Fear had a grip on me and the fact Eli was holding me was the only thing stopping me from completely freaking out.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Asher answered as he slid into the car too and closed the door. “We have security with us at all times, even at home. Our family is very wealthy, and last year some scum bags tried to kidnap Eli for ransom to get their piece of that wealth.”

“Oh my God!” I gasped as I looked to Eli with concern. “Were you okay?”

“I was lucky. Asher had forgotten to tell me something and came running into the parking lot after me. He managed to fightthem off long enough for us to get in my car and drive off,” Eli explained.

“It’s an unfortunate necessity, but one you’ll need to get used to now you’re one of us. Even if you choose not to stay in New York, you will always need security with you. You’ll be at risk once people know who you are,” Asher added.

“How will anyone know who I am?”

“The press follow our family closely. They’re going to discover your real identity pretty quickly once they see you with us.”

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