Page 105 of Lucky Boys
I helped him get them on then took his hand to leave the room.
“Things might look a little scary downstairs, but you’re safe, okay? I got you.”
Sawyer nodded putting his big-boy, brave face on.
“You guys got Larsen out?” I asked.
“Yup, he’s clear.”
“Brooks, ask Sawyer about Matthew. I don’t think he’s here.” Luca spoke up.
Fuck. “Hey, Sawyer?” He looked at me. “Was there another kid here? An older one, like a teenager?”
He cocked his head to the side. “You mean Matty?”
Holy shit! “Yeah, Matty. Is he here?”
Sawyer shook his head, looking really sad. Oh God . . . A lump formed in my throat.
“No, I don’t think so. Matty was my friend. He’d make me food from home, like mac and cheese, not the gross stuff Dad makes me eat, and he’d read me stories at night after Dad went down to work. He’d give me big hugs and make me laugh if Dad yelled at me. But then one day, he wasn’t here no more. I asked Dad, but he got mad. Do you know where Matty is?”
I squeezed Sawyer close and gave him a big hug. “No, little man, but we’re trying to find him.”
“Good. I miss Matty like I miss Mama.”
I managed not to break down crying at this sweet kid. Then, I finally led him out of his room. When we got downstairs, there was a door in splinters and remnants of the fight everywhere, soI ended up picking him up and telling him to close his eyes as we walked out. He held me tight.
I just got him to the van, where Skye and Mav were waiting, when Luca cursed on the line.
“I found something.”
“What is that?” Diego asked. “It’s too dark to tell.”
“It’s a fucking cage. But it’s empty.”
CHAPTER 40
SKYE
I grinnedat Brooks’s expression as I finished my banana.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“How the hell do you make eating so suggestive?”
“It’s a banana,” I scoffed. “It’s always suggestive.”
Brooks rolled his eyes. He was cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the wall. I was sitting on the metal table next to him. We were in the small “holding room” that Kai and Martinez had built into the basement of this place. Actually, it was the only thing in the basement, since most houses around here didn’t have them and it had to be specially built.
“Yeah, but you take it to the next level. And you’re doing it beside a body.” He gestured to the figure tied to the chair, blindfolded and gagged.
“He’s alive, not a body. Just unconscious.”
Brooks wrinkled his nose, peering at Damian Larsen’s limp form. “Are you sure about that? He looks really fucking dead.”
“‘Cept he’s breathing. Trust, sunshine. This ain’t our first rodeo.”
He grunted but didn’t say anything else, just shifted, straightening his legs.
