Page 16

Chapter sixteen

Flyn

“ E arth to Flyn?”

I blink and find myself pinned by my sister’s ferocious glare. Oh crap, I’m in trouble.

“Have you been listening to a word I’ve been saying?” she snaps.

Yep. I’m definitely in trouble. Frantically, I look around. We are standing in my tiny kitchen. There is a giant laundry bag on the floor, and the door to the washing machine is open. The machine looks stuffed full of Sorcha’s things.

I swallow. “Your washing machine broke again.”

The power of deduction is great, because my recollection has vanished. I only vaguely remember Cara waltzing into my apartment after letting herself in with her key.

Cara rolls her eyes. “And the other stuff I’ve been talking about for the last ten minutes?”

I stare at her helplessly while frantically hoping my brain will give me something. Anything. But it’s crickets and tumble weed in my head.

“Sorry,” I wince, admitting defeat.

Cara sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. “So, what’s up?”

“Jade hasn’t answered any of my texts for fifty-two hours!” I blurt frantically.

Her eyes narrow. “Ghosting people is childish. ”

My entire body recoils. The very idea of Jade wanting to ghost me, makes me feel physically sick. I don’t think he’d do that. But I don’t know how to explain that, and I know damn well that ghosting is exactly what it looks like.

“Normally I would agree, Sis. But Jade has been through some serious shit. He’s got a thousand reasons not to behave like an undamaged person.”

Cara’s expression turns thoughtful. “What kind of shit?”

I sigh and run my hand through my hair. “Not my place to say.”

Cara nods in acceptance, but I can tell she isn’t getting it. She’s going all big sister and blaming Jade for hurting my feelings. And I can’t stand that. I don’t want her thinking badly of Jade.

“But it’s really dark shit!” I add.

Her eyes widen.

“Darker than that,” I say as I watch her mind whirl. “Darker than you can imagine.”

Her nose wrinkles up. “Flyn, you know my imagination is pretty fucked up, right? You’ve seen the books I read?”

I nod solemnly.

Cara’s eyebrows rise, and then her face pales. “Damn,” she says softly.

Tension leaves my shoulders. This is more like it.

My favorite person in the world is no longer harboring ill will against my second favorite person.

Or is Jade my third favorite? Because Sorcha has to be pretty high on the list. And then there are my parents.

But then again, I have a strong feeling that Jade has the potential to fly up to the very top of that list. Although, I’m not sure ranking that includes potential is fair.

I take a deep breath. Okay. Cara, Sorcha and my parents are joint first. Jade is second, at the moment, with the very real likelihood he could join the joint first-placers.

Cara snaps her fingers in front of my nose. I startle and focus on her.

“Do you think he is okay?” she asks .

My stomach rolls over. “I don’t know.”

He had to disappear before. Maybe he has had to run again? The billionaire who kept him locked up is dead, but other assholes could be after him.

Cara nods decisively. “Alright, give me his number. I know a guy.”

“A guy?” I repeat dumbly.

“A guy that can track the location of phones.”

My eyes widen. “I’m not even going to ask.”

“Good boy,” Cara says with a grin as she pats me on the top of my head.

She really is the worst sister. And the very best.

T his is a nice street, in a nice neighborhood. I can’t really get a good view of the house through the trees, especially in the dark, but it looks very nice. Huge and set back from the road, with a long driveway sweeping up to it.

This is the location Cara’s guy said Jade’s phone was, and its most frequent location. Is the mysterious tech guy right? Is this Jade’s home?

My stomach does another queasy thing. What if Jade is being held here against his will?

I take a deep breath. Tech guy didn’t say it was a new location. So, it probably is simply Jade’s home. I can’t know for sure, but that’s why I’m here. To check on Jade. Make sure he is okay. That’s all I am doing. I’m not a stalker, I’m a concerned… friend.

Friend. The word feels strange. Is that what we are, friends? We’ve kissed a couple of times. Exchanged blow jobs, and spent one night cuddling in my bed. That’s more than friends, in my opinion, but is it enough to be anything else?

Sighing, I get out of my car. It’s ten p.m. If I linger any longer, it will be too late to knock on this door without seeming like a real creep. And there is no way I could survive another night not knowing if Jade is okay.

My car beeps softly as I lock it. Here goes nothing.

I stroll up the driveway, trying to look nonchalant. There are a lot of cars crammed in here. Jade did say he lived with a lot of other people, so I guess that makes sense.

Suddenly, a weird tingling sensation races across my chest. What the fuck was that? The sensation is startling enough to stop me in my tracks.

Then I yelp and stagger back a step. There is someone standing right in front of me. Where the hell did they come from?

The stranger is a good head shorter than me, and very slender. They are wearing a white bathrobe that has seen better days. The person’s hair is dark. Long enough to curl around their jaw. Their eyes are dark too. Very, very dark.

I shudder. I think this stranger is a guy, but we haven’t been introduced and I don’t like to assume. Especially since they are so very extraordinarily pretty in a very androgynous way.

I swallow. This person standing in front of me is tiny and pretty, yet I’m feeling incredibly uneasy and I’m acutely aware that I’m all alone in a shadowy driveway at nighttime.

“I… um… I’m looking for Jade?” I stutter.

The scary person tilts their head to the side. I’ve seen dogs do this, but never a human. It’s giving me the creeps.

“Flyn?” rasps a surprisingly deep voice.

Oh my god! Jade has talked about me? This is amazing! I feel a grin stretching across my face.

“Yep! That’s me! I’m Flyn!”

The front door opens, and three more people walk out. They glide down the driveway and stand next to Creepy Person, effectively blocking off the drive.

My gaze flicks over them apprehensively. One of them has red hair, another bright blond. The third is more brunette, and his dark eyes are glaring at me something wicked .

“Hi,” I say weakly.

All four of these people are spectacularly gorgeous. If I didn’t know Jade, I’d easily say they were the most beautiful people I have ever seen.

“Gray, who is this?” asks the blond.

“Flyn. Mundane,” answers Creepy Person, who is apparently called Gray.

Wait a minute? Did they just call me mundane? I know I’m not the most exciting person in the world, but that’s a bit harsh.

“Jade’s Flyn?” exclaims the blond.

My heart does a little flutter. Being called Jade’s is something I could really get used to.

Gray nods.

The blond beams and reaches his hand out towards me.

“Wait!” snaps the brunette. “We don’t know how he found the house.”

Blond Guy pouts, but his hand falls back down. He gives me an expectant look, which is far more friendly than the looks his friends are giving me.

“It’s, um… complicated. I just really wanted to check if Jade is okay?”

The expressions on all four faces harden. Crap. I’ve clearly said the wrong thing. And upon reflection, I can see my mistake. I’ve more or less confessed that Jade isn’t talking to me. Which means I have very little right to be here.

And… oh shitting hell. I can’t believe I’ve been such an idiot!

These four people are clearly people who were sex slaves with Jade.

He frigging told me who he lives with. So this is basically like a domestic violence shelter.

Nobody is supposed to know where it is. For everyone’s safety and security.

No wonder they are less than impressed with me turning up out of the blue.

“I’m sorry!” I blurt. “I’m just worried about Jade. If he is okay, I’ll leave. ”

Brunette scowls at me. “Jade would have asked us before giving you this address. So, I repeat. How did you find it?”

My shoulders slump. “I know a guy who can track phone locations.”

Oh lord. Saying it out loud is awful. It makes me sound so dodgy. Fuck, I think I am actually a stalker. I was merely in denial before.

I watch as surprise, alarm and fear flow across the faces of the guys standing in front of me and my heart sinks. What have I done? I’ve made them feel unsafe in their own home. After everything they have been through.

I’m great at messing things up. But this is spectacular, even for me.

The redhead stands up taller. He has clearly decided something. “Lello, go get the others, but not Jade. Tell them to gather in the dining room.” The blond scampers off.

Redhead turns to me. “You better come inside.”

My guts twist. Yeah, I don’t think that’s an invitation. It’s very clearly a, ‘you’re coming with us whether you like it or not.’

I’m in so much shit.