Page 44 of Lost in the Light

“No. I need to be ready if they call and need us,” I argued. “Or maybe we could just…”

“No. We’re not having this argument again. We’re not going to the police station. Asher wanted you kept here, so here is where you stay,” Kane snapped, cutting off my request. To be fair I had been suggesting the same thing for several hours now, so I guessed they were all pretty sick and tired of saying no to me.

“Anything else from Harris and the others?” I asked instead.

“I already told you I’m back in charge of security now!” Kane snapped again. He was still pissed from waking to find out Asher had appointed Harris to do his job, and he had very quickly corrected that with some raging calls earlier in the day.

“I meant about the investigation? Maybe they found something that could help Asher and Eli?” I clarified as I threw him my most pissed off glare. I was sick of his foul mood. He had done nothing but snap at all of us, all day long and it was reallystarting to grate, especially mixed with my anxiety over what my brothers were going through at that moment.

“Aleks called me earlier. They’re still tracking financials to get a full list of names for party attendees. Some of them were cleverer than others with how they paid the entrance fee, hiding the money in complicated transactions to hide their identities. Those are probably the ones that pose the biggest threat to you, so we need to know who they are,” Adam explained.

“Maybe we could set up a trap? Make them think they can get to me, then catch them in the act?” I suggested. The idea of putting myself at risk again terrified me, but we needed to find some way to just end all of this chaos. I honestly didn’t know how much more I could handle. I hated what it was doing to my brothers too. They were in police custody, for heavens sakes! They had calm peaceful lives before I came along and messed it all up!

“You mean use you as bait?” Jordan questioned as he sat forward and looked at me with a hard stare. “That is never happening, Addy.”

“Damn fucking right it’s not. What the hell are you thinking?” Kane growled.

“I’m thinking that I want this over with! How can I ever find any kind of normal with all of this going on? How can any of us?” I threw back at him, my words filled with anger.

“We will end it. The last thing anyone needs is you trying to play hero, and fucking it all up!” Kane hissed.

“Kane!” Adam barked angrily.

“Well, what do you want me to say? She has these insane ideas and all she’ll end up doing is getting herself fucking kidnappedand hurt again!” Kane got to his feet mid-rant and started to pace back and forth.

“That’s enough, Kane!” Jordan snapped as I jumped to my feet and stormed towards Kane. I threw out my hands and shoved him as hard as I could. He stumbled a little, but didn’t move much.

“Get myself kidnapped? Is that what happened to me? Like I wanted to be taken? Like I was begging to be abused and raped! Is that what you mean, you asshole?” I screamed at him as I shoved him again and again. My eyes were glassy but I refused to allow the tears to form. I was too pissed off to show any weakness.

Kane grabbed my arms to stop me from shoving at him and I heard him take in a deep breath.

“Addy…” he began, but I wrenched myself free of his grip and backed up a few steps.

“Fuck you, Kane! Fuck you!” I screamed, then I turned and left the room, desperate to get to the solitude of my bedroom and behind a locked door.

I just got the door slammed shut behind me and locked before Kane reached the other side. He called my name as he tried the door handle.

“Addy, open this door, right now!”

“Get lost Kane!” I threw back knowing it made me sound like a sulking teenager.

“We said no more hiding,” Kane threw back. “What the hell do you think this is?”

“Yeah? Well, you said you’d stop being an asshole! That hasn’t worked out so well for you today has it?” I yelled back.

“Addy? Open the door for me, honey. Kane’s gonna stay out here and cool off,” Adam said more calmly.

“I’ll be out in a while. I just need to do something,” I called back to him. “I’m okay, Adam,” I added, knowing he and Jordan would be worried about me locked in this room again after my last meltdown.

“Do what? Are you sure you’re okay?” Jordan asked.

“I’m calling Max. He might be able to find out what’s going on and I need to know,” I replied. “I’m really okay, though I might throw my first ever punch if I see Kane’s face again!”

“Okay. We’ll be waiting in the living room for you,” Adam returned and I let out a sigh of relief that they were leaving me in peace.

I was just so angry. Angry with Kane for being just awful to all of us all day. Angry with all three of them for stopping me from going to my brothers when they needed me. And most angry at my sperm donor for causing all of this hell for all of us! It should be him who was sat in a police station, not my brothers who hadn’t done a single thing wrong.

I pulled my cell phone from the pocket of my jeans and looked for Max’s contact. He had contacted me a couple of times in the time I’d been in New York, just to check in and see how I was doing. He was a good man and I was grateful to him for caring about me even when he wasn’t being paid to. Now I just hoped he could help me again.

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