Page 67 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“Is she okay?” I ask, my knuckles white as I clutch the walkie tightly.

My heart might bust out of my chest as the seconds drag on endlessly.

“Yes, she’s unharmed. Should I go in?”

“Are they alone?” Mason asks.

At the same time, I say, “Is Max there?”

“I can’t see anyone else. Max isn’t here,” Ty confirms.

“Alright. Hold tight, don’t engage unless Emma’s in danger. We’ll regroup and take him on together once we’ve confirmed no one else is here,” Mason instructs.

“Find Max,” Ty grunts, no doubt frustrated to be so close to Emma and unable to rescue her.

I reach the open central point, and the urge to peer over, look down, and try to see Emma is overwhelming. The relief I feel when I see Emma is quickly overwhelmed by concern. She’s terrified. Adam is gesticulating wildly as he boasts that he killed Jessica and his own mother.

“Don’t you see Emma? We belong together, I’d do anything for you. I’ve killed for you!” he shouts, his voice echoing around the empty building.

“Don’t say that. Don’t say you did those awful things because of me,” Emma replies, shaking her head in horror.

“But I did!” he wheedles, “Do you know that lying bitch Jessica tried to make me believe that you’d shacked up with three bikers? She even made our son join in her lies—you really should be disciplining the boy more. Once we’re together again I’ll make sure the boy learns some respect, a few blows from my belt should teach him not to lie. We can’t have him believing his mother is a filthy whore, can we?”

Emma looks stricken at the thought of this monster going anywhere near Max. My fists clench just thinking of it, too. I realize then that Max wasn’t playing make-believe either. He really had been seeing his father. If only we’d listened, but the idea seemed too far-fetched.

“You wouldn’t do that, would you? Spread your legs for some of your brother’s filthy biker scum friends. You wouldn’t desecrate the memory of your beloved husband by associating with that piece of shit brother of yours,” he snarls through gritted teeth as he gets up in her face.

“Don’t talk about my brother like that. He’s in a coma. He might die,” Emma says, a sob escaping.

“He is? That’s good. I was worried he would be a problem and get in the way of our reunion,” Adam replies happily.

Emma looks at him as if he’s insane, by the sounds of it, the man has lost his marbles. I'll never know how he ever managed to trick Emma into marrying him. By the baffled look on her face, I assume she’s wondering the same.

She takes a deep breath, holding herself back from replying how she wants to. “Alright, well, if we’re going to Mexico, we need Max to come with us. Where is he?”

Smart girl.

Adam eyes her suspiciously before pulling a phone out of his pocket and making a call. “Tweaker, bring the boy down here,” he barks before hanging up.

“Kid, quit messing around, you better come out now, your daddy wants to see you,” I hear the frantic whispers of a man not too far from me.

Shit. Adam has at least one other person helping him.

Worried that this accomplice will see me, I quickly dart into an abandoned store and hide behind some old display stands where I can still see. I quickly and quietly relay theinformation to the others. “Be warned, Adam’s got at least one accomplice.”

I hold my breath and wait. With the element of surprise on my side I can jump the man and rescue Max before they go downstairs. Soon, a man with an appearance in line with his moniker Tweaker, ambles into my view. Tall and painfully skinny, the man has wild eyes and the unkempt appearance of a long-term drug user. However, there’s no sign of Max.

“Fucking little shit,” he mutters under his breath scratching his head as he looks around.

So, Max managed to get away, good for him, I think with a small smile. Although I’m still worried about where he might now be. The world’s a dangerous place for a six-year-old.

“Tweaker, hurry the fuck up!” Adam bellows.

“Aw shit,” the man mutters to himself before reluctantly heading toward the stationary escalators and trudging down them.

Again, I quickly relay the information to the others before moving closer to hear better. Ty confirms that he too is watching and listening in while Bess and Mason continue to search their floors.

“Where is the boy?” Adam asks through gritted teeth.

---