Page 55 of Raze
“He was kidnapped by men in black in a van and taken to a butcher shop. He’d been tied up in the cooler when he heard a lot of screaming. When it stopped, someone came for him. A man, all in black, but not like the others. His face was covered except for his blue eyes. He unlocked his chains and then brought him through the back of a bar and told him to keep walking until he reached the doors. He was told the people there would help him.”
“Jackson.” He’s been gone since that night I found Raegan in his room a month ago. His threat still lingers in the back of my mind like a bad smell I can’t get rid of, and it sours my mood at the reminder. I’d wondered what he’d been up to since disappearing, but I hadn’t gone so far as to try tracking him down.
He disappeared a lot in the last couple of years since we’d come back together, but he always came back. I’d thought Raegan being here would have stopped that habit, but apparently not.
I wonder idly what Raegan thinks of him disappearing on her after that night and then flick that thought away. I don’t have time to wonder or care about it. It’ll just bring up other thoughts andannoying feelings that I don’t have control over or time for.
“I wanted to confirm with you, but yes, I believe it’s him as well. Why would he be sending the kids here? We can’t take them all into the Guild, especially if their families are still alive.”
“Let’s find out if they are first and go from there. If they are alive, we can’t just send them home either and hope that GE doesn’t try again and murder the family the second time.”
“We can’t just kidnap kids either, even if it is for their protection.”
“Of course not.” I tap my fingers against the dining table in thought. I know what I’ll have to do, but I don’t like it. I run through every other possibility and come right back to this one. “I’ll take care of it if it comes to that. If their families are dead, we’ll need to sort out how to safely get them into the foster care system under new identities.”
“The system can’t take care of them like we can,” Cibrina states.
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose at what she’s asking, but not asking. “I know that, but the Guild isn’t equipped for minors long-term. We help those who were brainwashed if we can. We don’t just take any gifted child on who still needs to go to school and can’t work or live on their own.”
“I’ll draft up a proposal and submit it to you by the end of this week for your review,” she says in a clipped tone, and I shake my head and fight back a small smile. This woman has a heart of fucking gold. Far better than mine.
“As you wish. Just find out about their families first. It may not even come to that.” We hang up, and I set my phone down. The chances of their families being alive are slim. It’s more likely thatCibrina’s plan may be the one we’re forced to go with, even if it’s not what I want for the Guild. We’ve saved kids from GE before, but it was one here or there that we were able to get back into society. Now we have five kids in two days, and we have no idea how many more may be coming.
To say we are unprepared is an understatement.
Fucking Jackson.
“What’s going on?” Dane asks from the couch. I look up, and he’s got the television muted while his arm is resting over the back of the couch, and he rests his chin on it. His computer sits on his lap with two more screens pulled out to either side to give him three monitors. He’s been beefing up the security here and the bunker for me, but I’ve also caught him researching topics like brainwashing when he thinks I’m not looking.
“I’ll fill you in after one more call,” I tell him.
If there was any other way to do this, I wouldn’t be calling this person. But my pride won’t impede helping children, so I swallow it like a lump in my throat and lift the phone to my ear.
“Adams,” the voice on the other end calmly answers.
“Thorton,” I mimic him by addressing the other by last names.
“To what do I owe this unexpected call?” the bastard says with fake politeness and unmasked curiosity.
I never ask this man for favors. Elias Thorton is a pain in my ass. His holier-than-thou attitude of doing “clean” business and the way he helps others is the complete opposite of ours. It usually means we’re never on the same page on how to go about helping the gifted community, even if we’re both against GE.
It also doesn’t help that this man refuses to sell the Tower to me. He thinks he’s clever and that I haven’t noticed he’s using it as an excuse to keep tabs on me and the Guild.
He also owns a private jet and yacht and has staff like a chauffeur for himself. He may use his money to help others, but not without helping himself first.
“Do you have any contacts in the FBI?” I cut straight to the point. I don’t have the patience or fortitude to bother with niceties that this man wastes his time with. But then, he also rubs elbows with politicians, so I’m not surprised he knows how to blow hot air and charm others with no substance in the conversation.
Another way we differ.
“The FBI?” he repeats with surprise. I don’t waste my breath repeating myself. “What sort of trouble are you in?”
He’s lucky that I’m the person he deals with rather than the other three. I’m sure a loaded question like that wouldn’t be allowed to slide by without comment, but I at least have a better perspective and can keep myself in check so long as I keep the Guild and my brothers at the forefront of my mind.
“I have gifted children in danger who need to return to their families, but it won’t be safe for them to go right back to life as it was. Not until GE has been handled. I need them in witness protection.”
“And you think I have access to the strings to pull to make that happen?”
My eyes narrow at him, even though he can’t see it. “That’s what I’m asking, Thorton. Can you help them or not?”
