Page 43 of Restitution

I shiver at the thought and head inside. I find Kade standing in the kitchen now, leaning against the counter, watching me. He tilts his head towards the stairs, a silent request to speak to me again in private. He still has the material over his mouth, refusingto remove it.

Such a bad time to find him hot, but I do. Even if his eyes are bloodshot and he can’t stand still for more than a second.

I nod slightly, and when he realises I’m not going to go first, he sets towards the stairs and goes up them. I go to move, but I notice Jason pushing off the wall and following his little brother.

It doesn’t matter though, because as soon as Jason reaches the top, he’s yelling out for help.

When we rush upstairs, Kade is seizing on the floor. Aria tells everyone to give him space, but I reach for his hand, holding it tightly until the seizure stops. I don’t let go of it while Tobias carries him to the bedroom across from mine, or when I sit beside his bed while Ewan and Aria discuss the type of seizures Tobias used to have.

He’s sweaty, pale, and he keeps flinching in his sleep.

“Kade’s only ever had a seizure once,” Aria says, hugging herself. “He was eight, and doctors had no idea what caused it. Said it could’ve been due to his high level of anxiety. We were to monitor him and record the next time it happened.” She glances at her son. “He’ll be okay. He’s gone through a lot, so I think he’s mentally exhausted.”

“Or it’s the drugs,” Barry adds. “Bernadette forced a lot into his system over the years.”

We all stay silent.

Twelve hours I stay sitting beside his bed. He hasn’t once budged or shifted or awoken. Kade’s completely drained – out cold, asleep, resting as he should. It’ll get worse before it gets better, Aria had told everyone.

But we’ll be here for him this time. He doesn’t need to do anyof this alone.

I don’t register the cars pulling up outside until Jason walks over to the window. “Shit. They got them.”

I sigh as I stroke my thumb over Kade’s clammy hand.

My stepbrothers are here.

14

STACEY

Icringe as another splatter of Chris’s blood nearly hits my shoes.

“Stop fucking hitting me.”

Chris spits on the ground, his face stained red, his nose crooked. He’s strapped to a chair in the middle of the basement, and his eyes follow Tobias as he flexes the fingers on both hands, slowly walking around him. Stalking his prey like a starved animal.

“Tell me again why you think you own her.”

I gulp as Chris looks at me before replying, “Um,duh. Have you seen her?”

Even as a captive, he needs to be a sarcastic knob.

“Yes.” Another punch, and his head snaps to the side, a tooth rolling across the dirty floor. “Now, let’s try thisagain. You think you own her. Give me a valid reason why.”

Kyle is sitting beside me, his knees bouncing, head down. He’d tried to talk us out of this, but when Tobias told him he would tie him to a chair too, Kyle baulked and gave in. They were staying in a hotel, trying to figure out a way to rescue me, not knowing I’d already been saved.

He knows why we’re doing this, but he’s insistent that Chris is sick and should be sectioned, not tortured by none other than Tobias Mitchell. That’ll never happen though.

Tobias offered Jason a clean hit, but he’s been sitting with Kade ever since they arrived. Ewan is aware of the situation between Kade and Jason, so he’s waiting patiently for the chance to beat Chris to a pulp too.

My head snaps over to Ewan as he stands, fed up. “Why did you involve my son?” he asks, rage in his eyes. “Why?”

Chris grins. “Does it matter? It worked.”

Tobias kicks him hard in the chest, knocking the chair back. A gust of air pushes from his mouth, and he grits his teeth. We’re more than happy to let Kade’s dad mess around with him – Chris is terrified of Tobias. I can still see the look on his face when the bag was taken off his head and he spotted the older Mitchell.

His arms and fingers, tied behind his back, are crushed between the ground and chair. His shoulder pops out as Ewan slams his boot on him. “Fuck!”