Page 3 of Forever Found

“Fuck. How did we let this happen, Ash? We told her again and again that she was safe,” I sighed.

“Leo fucked us over. We never expected that. Kane knew him from the military. They worked together several times. Kane never thought for one minute that any of his guys would betray him. Nor did I. She should have been safe at home. They all should have been.”

“We have to get them back. Addy, she can’t go through anything else. Not after everything. And Eli…”

“I know, We are going to get them back. I’ve called my guy at the FBI. Everyone is working on this. I’ll tear the whole fucking world apart if that’s what it takes. We’re getting them back,” Asher vowed.

“You should get back to the apartment. Maybe Kane got a lead by now,” I suggested.

“I don’t want you here alone,” Asher worried.

“Ash, I’m good. Adam’s hanging on. I’ll stay with him, but I can only do that if I know you’re out there getting my girl and my best bud back home safe. Find them.”

“I will.” Asher rose to his feet and pulled at his wrinkled shirt to straighten it up, not that there was much point. “Call me if there’s any update and I’ll do the same, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. Asher looked me over, then nodded once. I watched him walk away until he exited the hospital then I lowered my head into my hands again.

Everything was so fucked up and we had barely any leads to go on to un-fuck it. I wanted to be out there looking for Addy and Eli, but there was no way I could leave Adam. Asher and Kane would find them, and when they did, Addy was going to need to know Adam was alive and recovering. She would need him. She would need all of us and I was determined we would all be there.

CHAPTER 2

ADDY

“Addy? Addy, wake up for me. Please.”

My eyes shot open and I sat up abruptly, looking all around me for Bull. My vision swam and there was a relentless thudding in my head, each dull thump accompanied by pain. I groaned as I dropped my head and slammed my eyes closed before I threw up.

“Easy, shortcake. You have a huge egg on the side of your head.” I felt soft hands wrap around mine and instantly turned to my side and forced my eyes open.

“Eli?” I gasped as I found him perched on the edge of the bed I lay on. “Oh God! Eli! Are you alright? Your head…”

“Yeah. I’ve definitely been better. Do you know where we are?” he asked with a wince.

I looked around, moving my head much slower this time. We were in a bedroom. There was a window off to my right through which bright sunlight shone in, and I was laid on a twin bed, another to my left. The walls were cream and there was no other furniture. There were two doors side by side though, opposite me.

“Did you try the doors?” I asked as I looked to Eli.

“One’s a bathroom. The other is locked. The window too, and I don’t think it’s a glass we’re going to be able to break. It has a weird tint to it, like the windows in an armored car.”

“You have an armored car?” I asked from nowhere.

“No, but Asher hired one after that kidnap attempt on me. He made me ride everywhere in it for months until I put my foot down,” Eli explained.

“Sounds like Ash,” I shrugged with a small smile.

“Addy, we need to focus. What’s going on?”

“Max,” I told him as I shimmied to the side of the bed and swung my legs from the edge so I was sat beside Eli.

“Max? You mean that attorney from Vegas?”

“Yeah. He was our father’s business partner in the trafficking ring, or the parties…o-or both, I guess? I didn’t ask him that,” I shrugged.

“Is he the one who did this to you?” Eli poked at the side of my head and I gasped in pain.

“Yeah,” I replied as I moved away from his touch. “We were on a plane when I woke up. Max told me he had me kidnapped before. He wanted to mess with Joseph because Joseph was screwing him over with business. He thought Joseph would freak out when he found out I was mixed up in it all. That didn’t work, obviously, then Joseph died. Now Max wants to use us to get what he’s owed and millions more, I’m guessing.”

“So he’s going to ransom us?” Eli questioned and I nodded, then realized that was a bad move when the world started to spin again. “Okay, that’s good. Ash will pay the ransom. He won’t care about the money. He’ll get us back.”