Jameson Hotel - the Dark Suite Series: Parts One, Two & Three (23 page)

DAXTON

I
lift a flap on
the box and see the legs of a young boy. Muddy jeans and the same sneakers his
brother had on last night.

It’s him.

There’s no movement.

I pat his leg, whispering his name, but he doesn’t respond.

Opening the other flap, I see his upper body wrapped securely in an
army blanket... even his head. Half of his body is exposed and the other half
looks mummified in green wool. His hands are tied behind his back, hanging out
from underneath the bottom of the blanket. His chest isn’t moving. Breathe,
Daxton
, breathe.

Never in my life have I had such a sickening feeling bind my body to
the point where I can’t catch a breath. Air won’t enter my lungs.

I step back.

Oh fuck.

Turning to Cove, he senses immediately that his worst fear is inside
the box.

“No.” He shakes his head. “No,” he says with a flood of tears. “It’s
not him, Mark! It’s not!”

He stumbles forward, only to be encased in my arms. I need to protect
him from the sight.

“
Shh
,
shh
. Don’t go
over there. Don’t. You’ll never get the image out of your head. Don’t look.”

My hand rests on the back of his head but he fights to be released then
collapses to the ground in a grief so savage, I swear I can hear his heart
fracture inside his chest.

“Bring him to me. I want my son!” he cries. “Let me see him!” His voice
echoes into the woods. “I want...” His hands cover his tear-laden face. “No!
He’s not dead!”

Careening forward, he gasps for air when he sees him inside the box.
With one knee on the ground, he whispers, “please
Dax
...
please move. God, don’t do this! Don’t take my son!” he yells, while lifting
him out.

I walk over and touch
Dax’s
ankle. Cold.
Limp.
Still no movement.

“Let me remove the blanket,” I whisper. “Give him to me, Cove. Don’t
look until I see what his face... I want to make sure you can handle this.”

“Why,” he sobs. “How could this happen!”

I open my garage door and place
Daxton
on the
concrete, eerily reminded that
Dayne
was on this very
floor not too long ago.

A suffering man weeps behind me as I unwrap his son. This is the
hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. My nephew... he’s ten for fuck’s sake.
I’m going to kill that bitch. I’ll hunt her down and gut her. Take out her
intestines and stuff ‘
em
in her mouth so she can eat
her own shit.

“Mark,” Cove whispers. “Bring him back.”

I’m unsure if that means he needs to hold him again, or if he wants me
to
breathe
the life back into him. I don’t think I can
do either.

His lifeless eyes stare into mine. Get up, kid. Laugh, cry,
crap
in my pool if you want, just...

A blink.

He blinked.

“Cove!” I set him on the concrete and check his neck, feeling a strong
pulse. “Thank fuck, you little shit, you’re alive! Cove! Get over here!”

“What?
Daxton
!” Cove rushes over. “
Dax
, talk to me. Are you okay?
Dax
!”

He pulls him up by his shoulders and witnesses his son’s eyes blinking
while his face grimaces from the light.

“Oh thank fuck.”

An exuberant smile and tearful laughter encompasses my brother-in-law
as he hugs his son.

“
Dax
?” His hands frame his son’s face, wiping
the hair from the boy’s eyes. “Talk to me.”

“Let me cut him free,” I whisper, his frozen fingers and arms flopping
down upon release.

“I think the twine cut off his circulation, his hands are purple. And
who knows how long she’s had him outside. Damn, he’s cold. Let’s get him
inside.”

Cove carries him upstairs as I lock my truck and make a quick
observation of the area. The sun’s coming up which means a team of cops will be
back on the scene. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Lowering the garage door, I run up the stairs and let Cove and
Dax
into my living room.

“Put him on the sofa,” I say, taking a fleece blanket from my hall
closet. “Here, try to get his extremities warmed while I call Soph.”

“Thanks.” He covers his son and blows warm air onto his fingers. “What
happened? Are you hurt?” Cove asks. “Please talk to me, I want to hear your
voice.”

My sister picks up her cell as I’m preparing to light a fire. “Mark?”

“We found him. We’re in my suite. He’s...” The call ends before I even
have a chance to let her know he’s okay.

“She’s on her way,” I say, placing kindling under the logs in the
fireplace. “I’ll get a bowl of warm water for his hands and feet after I get
this lit.”

“Why isn’t he talking?”

“I’m sure he’s in shock. Give him a few minutes.”

“Something’s wrong,” Cove says worriedly. “
Dax
,
look at me.”

His son stares straight ahead, in
his own
little world, expressionless, with no movement accept for blinking eyelids and
shallow breathing.

I hurry to the kitchen after getting the fire started, filling a large
serving bowl with warm water and carrying it over to the fireplace. “Bring him
here. Set him by the fire and get his sneakers off so we can warm his feet.” I
push a chair in front of the burning logs and Cove carries his son closer.

“Let me in!” My sister pounds on the door.

She rushes past me the moment it’s opened with a sleepy-eyed Xavier by
her side and Julia close behind.

“Oh, my god!” she cries, giving him a hug. Xavier’s eyes widen when he
sees his brother and he quickly joins the embrace.

“You snot brain. You have to show me your hideout. I looked everywhere
and couldn’t find you! Fuck, you win this time! That was a good one,
Dax
, but you made Mom and Dad angry.”

“We’re not angry, not at all,” my sister says. “I’m so happy you’re
safe... oh, you’re cold, sweetheart.” She kisses his cheek multiple times and
rocks him in her arms.

“Yuck, mom,” Xavier says. “Hey
Dax
, did you
find your copter?”

Still nothing from my nephew, he’s mute.

“What’s wrong with him?” my sister whispers. “Where was he?”

Cove turns to me and I bite my lip. Fuck if I’m
gonna
say her son was tied, smothered, and left in a
box.

“He was in front of Mark’s garage when we returned,” Cove says, leaving
out the details. “I think he’s cold and scared.”

“Were you lost?” she asks in a gentle tone. “It’s okay. You’re safe now
and back with us.”

Cove eases him into the chair and unties his sneakers as Sophia feels
his body, looking for injuries.

“You’re just cold, right baby? You okay?” she whispers. “He’s okay.”
She turns to Cove. “Right? He’s okay?”

Cove nods and places his son’s feet into the bowl of water.

“Are the cops here?” I mumble into Jules’ ear.

“What the fuck happened to you?” she asks.

“Answer my question.”

“Two so far. They arrived about thirty minutes ago. Their captain was
pissed that they all left in the middle of the night. A few of them were
supposed to stay on the scene until morning. Mark, what the fuck happened to
your face?”

“Dog fight,” I sigh, turning to Cove. “What are we going to do about
the cops? I can’t talk to them until I clean up and
Dax
needs to be able to function when they’re around. If they see him like this,
he’ll be hospitalized.”

“You don’t need to talk to them, we will. And what’s wrong with taking
him to the hospital? He may have frostbite,” Sophia says. “He was lost in the
woods and should be examined.” She continues to feel his arms and legs, looking
for any reaction that he may be in pain, all while commenting on my face. “I
take it there was a fight and Mark lost?”

I ignore her observation. The fight was good for our relationship; a
healthy pummeling between two men to let off some steam. It’s a guy thing that
women don’t understand.

“I love you so much,” Sophia says.

Daxton
stands and pushes the blanket off his shoulders, making eye contact
with his mother and father. Thank fuck, he’s coming around.

“You lose your Cardinals cap?” Xavier asks.

He nods while unzipping his hoodie.

“Oh, leave it on until you warm up,” my sister requests. “I hope you
don’t get sick from being out all night in the cold. You must be exhausted. We
need to get you a filling breakfast then into a warm bed for the rest of the
morning.”

He drops the hoodie to the floor and takes off his shirt.

“
Fuckin
’ A.” Cove runs his hand through his
hair. “
Dax
, what are you doing?”

“No, this is good,”
Sophia
says energetically,
reassuring everyone that her son is fine while she disregards everyone’s foul
language. “He’s showing us that he’s okay. Look, no marks, scratches, broken
bones. He’s perfect. Everything’s superb, my son is home.”

I disagree in silence. Her words are calming only to herself.
Something’s definitely wrong with this kid. Cove and I have sensed it since we
first set eyes on him. Then, feeling the warmth of Julia’s hand and a firm
squeeze... I know that she can tell too... we all know... all
except
my sister who’s easily fooled. At this moment, she
seems happy just to have him home and alive.

Daxton
looks up, scanning the room, until his eyes rest on mine. He squints -
his dark brown eyes nearly disappearing under his eyelids.

“I have a message for you,” he says in a slow, icy voice. The words
ricochet throughout my suite like a bomb just went off and a pile of rubble
landed at my feet. He’s speaking directly at me.

“What?” Sophia questions, ignorant to the fact that he’s referring to
Mera
Calloway. If that bitch polluted his mind with
anything about the porn industry...

Daxton
turns around and Sophia gasps. No, it’s worse. It’s a message placed
where my nephew can’t read it, which means
Mera
probably didn’t say a word to him about our past. But he can certainly feel it.
He knows it’s there, that’s for damn sure.

“Son of a bitch!” Cove explodes, kicking over a side table in a fit of
rage. Xavier steps back by his father’s reaction and covers his eyes, but
Daxton
... he stands motionless with his head bowed and his
back exposed.

“I have a message,” he says again.

She cut him. The
fuckwench
scrawled a note
into his flesh with some sort of knife.

Murderer

“Oh fuck, fuck!” Cove’s hand flies through his wavy dark hair. He drops
down next to his son and takes his hand. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m so sorry.”

My sister’s speechless, standing with her hand over her mouth.

And Julia’s expression turns venomous - a look I haven’t seen until
now. She heads to my bedroom saying, “barbarous bitch,” along the way. I let
her be, needing to deal with my family first.

“Okay, listen. We’ve got to...”

“No. We don’t have to do anything, Mark.” Cove examines the cuts then
helps his son back into his shirt while Sophia remains a statue. He kneels
directly in front of
Dax
and offers a comforting
smile, trying to keep his cool for a child who’s just been through hell. And I
can’t believe how calm
Daxton
is after being cut,
bound, and placed in that box. I wonder what she said to him?

Cove presses his forehead to his son’s and holds the back of his neck,
keeping their bodies connected. “I’m proud of you for being so strong,” he
says. “We’re going back to our suite and then home, okay?”

Daxton
nods, never letting out a whimper or mentioning that he’s in any pain,
while his brother is quiet and appears confused.

“You’re filthy.” Cove smiles, speaking softly to let his son feel
relaxed and protected. “It’s okay though. We’ll run you a warm bath and find
something to soothe your back. Then we can talk about what happened, okay?”

He nods.

“Just tell me if you’re hurt anywhere else.”

“No, just my back. What does it say?”

“Are you in pain?”

He nods.

“I’m sorry, son.”

Cove looks at Sophia, shaking his head then smiles again at
Dax
. “Can you do something for me? A big favor?”

“Yes.”

“The police have been searching for you. If they ask where you were,
you need to tell them you were lost in the woods and nothing else.”