AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We can go to the police,” Cameron says. “They can protect your family.”
“Would you do it if you were in my situation and Parker could get hurt?”
Parker turns to his brother. “Don’t answer that.” When he looks back at me, his eyes are dark and haunted. “You should’ve told me how bad things really were. You made it sound like you didn’t answer to anyone. Like—”
“Like what?” I interrupt. “I made it sound like I was doing this for fun? Well, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you my whole life story in the few weeks we knew each other.”
“Please,” Parker whispers. “I can’t stand the thought of you being out there, at his mercy. You don’t deserve to have to live like that.”
I try to swallow around the sudden tightness in my throat. He sounds so sincere. Like it really would hurt him if I didn’t let him help me. But I take a breath and think of Jack. He’s fifteen now. Ten when I was taken away. He’s my little brother. What’s my freedom when compared to his safety?
“I can’t,” I mumble. “I’m really sorry, Parker.”
Parker opens his mouth to argue again, but Cameron cuts him off.
“Sit down, both of you,” he orders, pointing to the small circular table in the corner surrounded by four chairs. “We have some time to talk and figure things out. Rhys, I want you to tell me everything.”
Sixteen
Parker
I can’t even breathe as Rhys tells me why he showed up here looking like hell. Even though Tony’s the one who hurt him, guilt still weighs heavy on my shoulders. I was the one searching for answers about Rhys. I was the one who let Tony know that Rhys had been lying to him.
“Rhys.” I reach for his hand and squeeze it tightly. His wrist has a purple bruise from whatever Tony used to keep him chained. It looks so painful that my stomach clenches. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Rhys murmurs.
“It is. If I hadn’t—”
“Stop,” Cameron interrupts firmly. “Nothing can be done about that now. Let’s focus on what we can work with. Rhys, tell me about the guy Tony supposedly has tracking your brother. Mike, right?”
Rhys nods. “I only met him a couple of times at the cabin.”
“What cabin?” Cam asks.
Rhys’s cheeks redden. “The cabin where Tony held me when he first took me away from my family. Back then, he said he would take me back home when he was done with me. But then Tony told me that he wasn’t letting me go and that Mike was going to make sure I didn’t misbehave.”
“Okay.” Cameron waits a beat before pressing on. “Do you think if I brought an artist in here, you could describe what Mike looks like?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter. Mike didn’t do anything to Jack so it’s not like he could get in trouble.”
“He helped Tony hide you. That’s being complicit in a kidnapping,” Cam replies. “And you said Tony showed you pictures of Jack that Mike took? That’s stalking, and he’ll have loads of proof of his own crime. We can get him.”
“I-I don’t know if I should do this,” Rhys says, glancing from Cam to me and then back. “If anything at all goes wrong, Tony will tell Mike to hurt Jack. And I can’t stand the thought of that happening.”
Cameron looks at me, and I give him a nod. I can talk Rhys into doing this.
“I want you think about it,” Cam says to Rhys. “I’m going to step out and call a friend who might be able to help you. Just stay here.”
When Cam steps out into the hall and closes the door behind him, I squeeze Rhys’s hand again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about Tony finding out that I was searching for you.”
“It’s okay,” he replies. He chews on his lower lip for a second before asking, “What did you find online? Was it…bad stuff?”
“No. It was about your abduction. Mostly stuff about your parents.”
His gaze flicks up to my face. “Are they still searching for me?”
I nod. “Your mom actually posted about it on social media on your birthday last month. They haven’t forgotten you, Rhys.”
