Page 23 of Lost In The Dark
I found myself in the back of the car, nestled between Eli and Asher. Kane jumped into the driver’s seat and another guy sat in the passenger seat, then we were moving. I glanced behind meand saw a black SUV following right behind us, obviously with the other security guys inside.
“You s-said overseas?” I began as I looked to Asher. I was desperate to talk about something that wouldn’t make me think of the danger I feared I was in. Would those monsters really come looking for me again? “In the military, right? Is th-that what you meant?”
“Yes. I was a SEAL. Kane was an army ranger and we worked several missions together,” Asher explained, but each word seemed to make him more and more tense and I realized quickly it wasn’t a topic he wanted to talk about. “How are you feeling?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.
“Okay,” I shrugged.
“How’s your wrist? The doctor who saw you at the police precinct said you should see a doctor when we got home for more pain meds,” Eli said.
“That’s not necessary. I can just take some aspirin. It’s not that bad,” I lied, but I definitely didn’t want any more doctors poking at me.
“You need to tell us if the pain becomes too much. I can have our family physician come to the house. You don’t have to face the hospital again,” Asher told me, and I nodded.
“How far is your place?” I asked.
“Ourplace,” Eli corrected. “It’s your home now, sweetie, for as long as you want it to be.”
“It’s about forty minutes outside of the city. We wanted to have some land around the house when we designed it,” Asher added.
“You designed it? It’s not your family home?” I asked with surprise. I just imagined they’d inherited some old, dusty mansion.
“We moved out of our family home as soon as I turned eighteen. We still own it, but our house is much more modern and relaxed. We can show you the family home too though. We were thinking about selling it,” Eli explained.
“It doesn’t hold many happy memories for either of us,” Asher added.
“Then I don’t really care about seeing it. I just want to see your home,” I replied. I didn’t know my father, and never would now, but from everything they had both told me, the guy had been a real piece of work. I had no intention of trying to know who he was more than that. I had grown up never knowing or wanting to know who my father was, and that hadn’t changed. Having Asher and Eli was enough for me.
***
I had zoned out for a while as Kane navigated the car through the city traffic and then further and further away from all of the hustle and bustle. There was just so much swirling through my mind, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t control my thoughts. They had turned into a runaway train inside of my head, flashes of the memory and nightmare playing over and over between images of that detective yelling at me about murder. All of that, mixed with the physical pain I was in was just becoming more than I felt able to cope with and I could feel myself breaking, but I tried hard to hold it together, at least on the outside.
I had seen the way Asher and Eli were continually glancing to me, their faces filled with strain and worry. They lookedcompletely exhausted and stressed out, and that was all because of me. I didn’t want to make it any worse for them. I had put them through enough in just the two short days they’d known me.
“Here we are,” Asher spoke up, startling me from the darkness within, that I had been drowning in. I looked up and saw a well lit modern house, surrounded by tall iron fences. It was dark so I couldn’t make out the grounds around it, but it was clear the fence enclosed a huge area of land.
As we turned onto the driveway that led to the gates, Kane opened the window and pressed his hand to what looked like a box on the gate post, then the tall gates started to slide open, allowing us access.
I gasped as I took in the house we were now getting closer to, as Kane drove up the gravel driveway. House was not the right word, I realized. This place was huge! It was a modern design, and very angular looking. I could see huge windows on the ground floor and wondered how beautiful they must make the downstairs of the home on a bright, sunny day. Two other floors were visible above, the entire structure looking almost like huge boxes stacked stylishly on top of each other.
It wasn’t really my style. I tended to appreciate older buildings with pitched roofs and plenty of craft work detail, but this modern structure was so strikingly different to anything I had ever seen, it really captivated me.
It was dark out now, so I couldn’t see the grounds very much, but there was lighting in areas and I saw a few pretty flower beds, with flowers blooming even though we were coming into winter. It really did seem like the most beautiful home, and I hadn’t even been inside yet.
“The property is patrolled constantly by our security team and we have cameras and very tight security systems in place. You’re going to be safe here, Addy,” Asher assured me.
“D-do they come in the h-house?” I stuttered as the thought struck and terrified me. “The….the security? Do they live i-in the house?”
“No. Kane has a cottage on the grounds and he’s the only one who lives on the property permanently. There is a security building at the back of the property where the other guys are based and work out of, but they don’t live here,” Asher clarified.
“Kane is the only one you’ll see in the house, but you’ll soon see he’s like family,” Eli added. I glanced to the front of the car and studied Kane again. He was just so huge and imposing. I couldn’t ever imagine being comfortable with him. “Adam and Jordan live with us too. Remember we mentioned them?”
“Your friends,” I recalled the mention of them back at the police precinct. “They live here?”
“Yes. Adam is our house manager. He handles things here for us while we try to manage the business. Jordan works as a personal trainer in the city, so you won’t see him as much.”
“They’re good men, Addy. We’ve known them since we were all little kids. They’re more like our brothers than just friends. We trust them with our lives and you can too. We would never have brought you here if we didn’t know one hundred percent that you will be safe and well cared for,” Asher added, obviously sensing my nerves.
“Do they know…that I’m coming, I mean? Will they mind my being here?” I asked as I started to wring my hands together anxiously.