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I thought about the past Brooklyn had, what she had already overcome caused by not only Lyle, but her shitty mother. She had fought a hard battle, through therapy and sheer determination, to be the woman she was when we met her. Even then, she had insecurities that we had to work with her on. But once we showed her that her scars, her past, were not going to push us away, she took on a breathtaking shine. Seeing Brooklyn in her confidence was like watching the first rose bloom after winter, beauty and grace.
“We can bring her back from it,”I said. My voice held more conviction than I was feeling.
Gideon’s eyes met mine and I could see how torn up my brother was. Could we bring her back? Was our bond strong enough, our caring for her enough, to save her from whatever Lyle would inflict on her? He could break her body and doctors could cure that. But her mind could be a much different story. I had to believe we could help her survive anything he did to her.
“This changes everything. I’ll need to call Cain and let him know to look for Missy as well as Lyle,”Jaxon said.
Though it was the early hours of the morning, Jaxon pulled out his cellphone and walked out of the kitchen to make his call. He had confirmed that Cain had agreed to help them. I, for one, was thankful we had Cain to turn to, instead of Jaxon’s father. I would do anything to find Brooklyn, but the longer we could avoid calling Randy, the better for us all. I had no doubt that he would demand something more than we would be willing to give.
“We have to assume Missy doesn’t know we know,”Aiden said. He stared off into space, the wheels turning in his head.
“What are you getting at?”I asked.
Aiden turned to focus on me.“We set our own trap for her. Open the door for her to walk through. We know she wants us. Let’s make ourselves available and see if she shows.”
I couldn’t disagree with Aiden’s plan. Gideon and I headed back to our bedrooms in silence. I couldn’t think of anything to say to him after my outburst. Alone in my room, I felt suffocated by the quiet. I didn’t want to sit alone and think about how my room didn’t have the same smell with Brooklyn gone. For a few days, her lavender scent had clung to my bed, but it had long since faded and it made everything seem too real.
Instead of sitting alone, I changed my clothes and went to the gym in our basement. I jumped on the treadmill and did a quick warm up before turning to a fast paced run. Too late, I realized that being alone in the gym wasn’t the best idea to get my mind off Brooklyn. As I ran, all I could picture was her toned body on the same machine, sweat drenching her sports bra and tiny running shorts.
After almost tripping, I slowed my pace and did a cool down. I was no good to Brooklyn if I couldn’t get my mind straight. I had a part to play for Aiden’s plan, and I needed to pull down a mask to draw Missy in if she showed. We couldn’t be too easy for her, or she’d know something was up. However, we couldn’t show our cards and risk her realizing we knew she had a hand in Brooklyn’s kidnapping.
In the shower, I replayed memories of Missy from our time together. A lot of those moments were fueled by drugs and fuzzy in my recollection. I tried to figure out if there was ever a sign of her being this unhinged. It was hard to guess if it was our success or the relationship with Brooklyn that caused her to come out of the woodwork. Or did Lyle search her out and pull her into the fray and she played a willing participant? Their partnership was just as confusing to me. I knew what Lyle was likely getting fromthe agreement, help to scare Brooklyn and getting close to her. But what was Missy getting?
The day passed at a glacial pace, my brothers and I pacing the different rooms of the house. In the afternoon, a dark Dodge Charger pulled up to our gate and Jaxon opened it from inside the house. I waited behind Jaxon as he let Cain into the house. The man’s eyes immediately ate up the large entry way and when his gaze landed on me, his mouth split in a huge smile.
“Oli!”He exclaimed, coming toward me.
We shook hands and Cain pulled me in for a one-armed hug.
“Cain. No one calls me that anymore,”I said with a snort.
I couldn’t believe how the boy we had known had grown into a man. Jaxon had given us a rundown of his meeting, but he hadn’t explained Cain’s appearance in detail. He did mention Cain had a mohawk, though today it was down and his hair was slicked back fashionably. His tattoos were all on display and I was instantly curious what brought all the marks on, but Jaxon walked down the hall, immediately reminding me we had work to do. Cain and I followed my brother toward Aiden’s office.
“I can’t believe this is where you all live,”Cain said with an appreciative whistle.
“Life has treated us well,”I replied.
“Until now,”Cain said, his hazel eyes darkening as he looked over his shoulder at me.
“Until now,”I nodded.
Gideon and Aiden both waited in the office. Cain couldn’t hide his excitement at seeing them, hugging them both and making a crack at how huge Gideon had gotten since they were kids. The reunion was short lived, and I knew we’d all have a lot to talk about later. Now was the time to talk about the updates we had for him and to hear if he had any leads on our girl.
Cain sat, his legs casually spread as Gideon handed him a tumbler of whiskey. Aiden sat behind the desk, with his fingerssteepled and pressed against his mouth. Jaxon and I took the couch to the side of the office, with Gideon sitting next to Cain in a chair.
“Well, boys, though seeing you all again like this is awesome, I guess we should get down to business,”Cain started.
“Like I said last night, there seems to be much more to this kidnapping than just Lyle,”Jaxon replied.
“Missy. I remember her. She was glued to you guys like white on rice. I was never sure what you all saw in her, but I was too busy trying to get my head right after my mom, ya know?”
“Looking back now, none of us are really sure about that either. We were young, and dumb, of course,”Aiden replied.
“Ain’t that the truth. Well look, I haven’t had much time to look into Missy since Jaxon called last night, so I have nothing on her. But this Lyle guy, man, I don’t know how, but the man seems connected,”Cain said.
“With who?”Gideon asked.
“He might be on Randy’s payroll,”Cain said.
