Page 31 of Fighting Shadows

“You’ve seen how bad it’s been, and not even forgetting how upset Autumn was the day before she was taken after going to see him. She didn’t tell us what happened, but the only suspects are Kelvin or Brenn, and Brenn wouldn’t do that,” Atlas says, his eyes still shut as he talks.

“So, do I get to kill Kelvin?” Dominic asks.

Glancing back at him through the rearview mirror, I still see no sign of humanity in his eyes, but he seems less psychotic than before. The closer we get to Autumn, the more human he is.

“Do you all forget that he’s our boss?” I reprimand.

“No, Brenn is my boss, but Autumn comes before everyone else. I have no respect for the man she calls dad,” Atlas says, and I can’t disagree with them.

Silence falls over the car from Atlas’s words, and we drive the rest of the way without saying another word.

Breckenridge, Colorado, comes into view. We all breathe out a sigh of relief when the sign welcomes us to the small town. We made it here in ten hours, and I may have let Dominic drive for a while when the roads were quieter.

“Do you think he’s still at the diner?” Zander asks, his voice gruff from the nap he just woke up from.

“Knowing Tobias, he wouldn’t have moved while he waits for us,” I say, pulling up to the diner in question. Sure enough, Tobias’s car is sitting there waiting for us.

He’s changed in the last fourteen days; his hair is longer, no longer shaved at the sides, and now has a more rugged look.

“Hey man,” Zander greets him, pulling him in for a man hug.

We all greet our brother once again and settle into the booth with him, ordering coffee so we can plan how to get to the cabin without alerting Charlie that we are coming.

We plan for an hour before restlessness sets in, desperation clawing at all of us to get her. Unable to handle the idea of her being in his clutches for a moment longer.

“Did you bring the gear?” Tobias asks.

“Yeah. We have the ballistic vests and guns in bags in the trunk. How far is she?” Atlas asks.

“A few miles into the treeline north of here. There’s a dirt road leading up to the cabin, and we’ll have the benefit of the trees covering us…” he opens his mouth to continue when the door to the diner crashes against the wall.

“Thank god you fuckers waited. I thought I was going to have to kick your asses for going ahead without me,” Brenn’s voice booms over the thankfully empty diner; he strides over to where we are, pulling over a chair since the booth seats are taken, “so what’s the plan?”

“She’s four miles north of here at a cabin he owns under the name Noah. I didn’t want to try to get too close in case I tipped him off, but I know there’s a dense treeline around the property, so we’ll be able to take cover there and then approach,” Tobias informs us as we all nod along.

I have my laptop out on the table, searching overhead satellite images for potential footpaths in the woods that we can take.

“Is this the place?” I ask, turning my laptop around to face him.

“Yup, that’s the place. He hasn’t been seen in the stores around here since he arrived, so I can only assume that he’s stocked up on food.”

“Were there ever any sightings of Autumn?” Brenn asks, his thumb tapping restlessly on the table as we approach nightfall.

“Not from anyone I asked, but I think he kept her drugged the entire journey. More chance to throw her off if she tried to escape.”

“Sick fuck. Do you think she tried? To escape, I mean,” I say, not caring when Zander cuts me a sharp glare.

“Of course she did. We trained her too well for her not to try,” Dominic says.

“But at what cost? Charlie isn’t exactly stable, so what was the consequence of her trying to escape?” Atlas says, voicing our biggest fear that he’s hurt her in any way.

“I can’t even think about it right now, I can’t,” Zander says before he gets up, leaves the booth, and walks out of the diner.

“I’ve got him,” I say before anyone else tries to follow and make my way out after him.

I hear his ragged breathing before I see him; he’s hunched over his hands on his knees as he takes big, gasping gulps of breath.

“Hey, breathe,” I coach him through another panic attack, hating seeing my friend like this. Zander thrives on control, and all of this is so beyond our control that it’s nerve-wracking. Anything can go wrong, and we have no idea what Autumn we’re going to be bringing home.

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