Missing Link (The Finders Book 1) (9 page)

"Next time, maybe we could do it in my dream, cos it sounded pretty hot." I scoffed and turned towards the window. It was the only thing I could do to stop myself from jumping his bones right there in the car.

Or bone I should say as it hadn’t escaped my eyes that his pants were seriously straining in his zipper region. I could still feel the wetness leaking between my legs and dampening my panties. I squeezed my legs together and wiggled, the friction being almost enough to make me moan aloud.

"You need a hand this time?" Link chuckled, clearly amused at the situation. I simply glared him in warning. He held up his hands in surrender but his eyes sparkled.

"Hey, I had to sit here and listen to you moan my name while you wiggled all over and rubbed your face against me." He waved his hand over his crotch area. "At least you got something out of it."

"Stop, please stop." I moaned, completely mortified and covering my face with both hands. I peeked through my fingers, noticing for the first time that the front seats were empty and we were parked outside a little diner in the middle of who knows where.

"Where are Roman and Dominic?" I questioned.

"When I realised what was going on I told them to pull over and grab some food. They didn't hear anything but I wasn't sure if you were a screamer." He coughed loudly and I quickly glanced at him realising that he was trying to smother a laugh.

"Link!" I growled.

"Okay, sorry! I'll stop." I twisted my hands together nervously. "You wanna go in and get something to eat?" I nodded quickly, I couldn't remember when the last time I ate was and I wasn't sure how long we had been driving.

We both climbed out and Link pulled the keys from the ignition and locked the car.

The diner had seen better days, I noticed a lot of large trucks parked to the side of the building. I would bet they were its main customers. Maybe if they did the place up a little they would attract more business, but then again, it was quaint and quiet and maybe that's how they liked it.

We found Dominic and Roman sitting at a large rounded booth in the corner. Link slipped in first and I followed.

"Finally, decent food." Roman said with a wide grin.

The clock on the diner wall was something out of the 50's with a bright red rim and glass coke bottles in the background. It had probably been there since the diner opened, I mused. It read 3 o'clock. Jet had dropped me at the gym at 11 o'clock and I was only ever there for 2 hours max, so by now the guards would have noticed me missing and most likely called Charlie.

I wrung my hands together nervously, Link caught my gaze, frowning.

"He'll know by now. Jet would have told him I wasn't there when he went to pick me up..." The boys all eyed each other, they already knew.

"They trashed the place looking for you." Link confirmed. "KC, is he okay?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah he's fine. They bought the story he told them. Some guys came in and dragged you out, when he tried to stop them, they beat him up." I nodded and looked down at my lap. Food was placed in front of all of us, Link had apparently ordered for me. I was thankful, while my stomach was turning with nerves, I knew I needed it eat. I picked at the fries on my plate.

"So... How do you guys know Devon?" I enquired. They all smiled a little, showing me they were fond of my kid brother.

"I caught him trying to break into my house about a year ago." Roman said laughing. My eyes shot wide and I dropped the small fry I was about to place into my mouth.

"No way!" Roman just nodded, still chuckling quietly.

"Luckily Link was with me at the time and stopped me beating the little twerp to a pulp."

"Why?"

Roman looked at me like I was crazy.

"Um... Because he was breaking into my house?" He said like it was obvious.

"Not you." I pointed to Link. "Why did you stop him?"

Link looked up from his food and met my gaze.

"He was just looking for food. He was living on the streets, didn’t have many options left." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but I could hear my heart shattering in my chest. My little brother, homeless, with nothing to eat and nowhere to go.

"He was supposed to be safe." I whispered, guilt weighing heavy on my heart.

"Your Aunt May passed away just after he turned 18. Therefore he didn't qualify for foster care. She didn't leave him anything so he was on his own for a couple of months." Link's hand touched my thigh lightly. "He's okay now."

I shook my head, "I should have been there." I shoved my plate of food forcefully across the table, frustrated with myself. I thought I was doing what was best, leaving with Charlie. But all this time the person who matters most to me was suffering. Roman and Dominic stayed quiet.

"I need to see him, Link." I pleaded quietly.

"You will when we get there, he lives with Rome and we gave him a part time job, nothing fancy, just picking up stuff and dropping stuff off to clients." Link said, smiling.

"Really?" I was surprised, maybe Roman had some sweetness under his sarcastic exterior. He rolled his eyes at me when our gazes met but I just smiled in return showing him I saw through his tough guy facade.

"We gave him a job? So you guys all work together?” Link nodded now having finished his food and sipping at a hot cup of coffee.

"We have a private missing persons firm. Sort of like private investigators, but we don't do all the following around cheating spouses and stuff. We specialise in finding people, whether it’s someone from the past or a family member who has disappeared without notice."

"So, that first night when Charlie said you were snooping around his business, were you looking for me?" Link shook his head.

"Not entirely. We have reason to believe he had a part in another girl’s disappearance. But when you walked down those stairs I recognised you instantly." His eyes stared away, like he was reliving that moment.

"Devon has a picture of you, he used to carry it in his wallet, but now it's sitting on his dresser. We had all seen it but Dev is pretty private, told us it was his sister but simply said you weren't around anymore. After I saw you I went straight to Rome’s house and found the picture. I had to check while the image of you was fresh in my mind."

I felt the tears burn my eyes. The reflection of light off a car outside caught my eye. A large black SUV pulled up, one I recognised, one I knew so well. I gasped and pushed myself out of the booth, landing flat on my ass on the dirty diner floor. Dominic just stares at me with his brows furrowed. Whereas Roman and Link look like they are about to crack into laughter until they both see my face. I was scared. Actually scratch that, I was petrified.

"They found me." Was all I was able to force out before the three of them jump into action.

"Dom, Rome act natural, grab the car and meet us out the back." Link throws orders before he picks me up off the floor and points me to the back of the building, hiding me by placing himself behind me so anyone looking through the large front windows wouldn't see me because of his large frame. He places his fingers at my waist and guides me towards two large swinging doors that led to the diner’s kitchen.

I let him manoeuvre me through the maze of staff, benches, trolleys and ovens until he finds the rear exit. He pushes the door open slowly and pokes his head out. When he concludes its safe he pulls me out with him.

There are a few large dumpsters against the wall so we push ourselves in between giving us cover from anyone who might come through the back door after us, and anyone who may look around the corner of the building. Link rubs his hands up and down my arms soothingly as I now realise I'm shaking, a lot, and my breath is ragged. I'm so scared that I don't even have time to appreciate Link's touch on my skin.

Charlie's men will surely kill Link, Dom and Roman if they discover they are the ones helping me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened and now that I've had a taste of freedom, I'm pretty sure I would rather kill myself than go back knowing what Charlie has in store for me.

I hear a car pull around the corner and push myself further into the space between the dumpsters.

There are nails sticking out of the woodwork of the diner wall but I don't care. Maybe if I push hard enough I will just melt into the wall. Suddenly I'm jerked forwards and Link is pulling me out into the open and towards Dominic's hummer. He practically throws me in first before diving in on top of me.

"Stay down, and don't move." He whispers sternly in my ear. I don't think I could move if I tried. My body is frozen in fear that any moment we will be found out.

"Think they've got a tracker on her." I hear Dom say from the front seat. A tracker?

"Sam, you got anything on you that he's given you? A present maybe?" Roman asks urgently. I rack my brain. I don't wear jewellery, all my clothes I've bought myself. Then the light goes on,

"My gym bag! It’s the only place I'm ever left alone. Charlie hated the idea of me going to the gym, but one day he bought that for me and it was like he didn't care anymore." Roman quickly reaches around the seats and grabs my bag, emptying the contents onto the car floor before opening his door and throwing it from the car. I hear a large clang, assuming it’s landed in one of the large rubbish dumpsters.

Dominic floors it, spinning up the gravel as we take off down a small road that runs down the back of the diner and into the countryside.

Chapter Ten

My stomach turned for the rest of the drive, while Dom and Rome sat quiet, staring at the road ahead, I wriggled nervously in the backseat. Every noise caught me by surprise, and every time I caught movement out of the corner of my eye I would spin around expecting to see Charlie's men on our tail. I nearly jumped through the window when a hand squeezed my thigh firmly. I covered my racing heart with the palm of my hand.

A toned and tattooed arm led to Links' concerned face.

"We're okay. They didn't see you, or us." He reassured me, squeezing my leg again. The twisting and turning in my stomach was quickly replaced by fluttering butterflies. He tilted his head to the side, looking at me with curious eyes, like he was using some sort of mind control to decipher my thoughts. I gently placed my hand over his, my fingers slipping into the gaps between his. I felt my body start to relax, Link had that effect on my body. While he made my skin tingle and my heart skip a beat, I felt safe and protected simply by being in his presence. I couldn't even explain why, maybe it was the strength his body portrayed, or maybe it was his confidence. I just knew that I had never felt so at peace than with him beside me.

"What do you wanna do, Link?" Dom's deep voice broke through my thoughts. Link's eyes lingered on me before he turned his attention toward Dom.

"I think we'll just head to my place. Sam needs to rest before we throw anything else at her." I shook my head profusely.

"No, I need to see Devon." I squeezed at his hand, willing his attention to me. Rome turned slightly in his seat, and although I couldn't see him I could tell there was a silent conversation going on between him and Link. I squeezed his hand tighter. "Link, I wanna see Devon." Rome turned forward again before Link finally looked over at me, sadness in his eyes.

"I know you do, Sam. But let's just leave it for the day. It's been pretty intense, emotions are running high. Seeing him will be better when you've rested and have your mind in a better place." I frowned, confused.

"He doesn't want to see me?" I questioned.

"Three years is a long time. People change. You've changed, he's changed. I just think you both need a fresh head to be ready for it." He tried to explain delicately.

"He doesn't want to see me." I said again, this time it was a statement, I knew that’s what he was trying to say. Link reached out and cupped my jaw between his thumb and forefinger.

"Devon doesn't completely understand the depth of what is going on. We've told him a little but not everything. You both have a story to tell. He needs to hear yours and you need to hear his. But tonight isn't the time. You need to rest." Our eyes stayed connected for a long time. He was right, I needed to share my story with my little brother, but it was a painful and sad story to tell. How would I explain to him the hell I had been through over the last few years? A hell I'd endured in large just to keep him safe.

Or so I thought. Devon had been through his own hell. The guilt of knowing what he went through while I was gone weighed heavy on my heart. I could have run. I could have fought harder. I could have kept him safe. But I had failed. It was these men who had come to the rescue of not only me, but also a young boy they didn't know from a bar of soap.

"Drop me off and I'll let the kid know what's going on." Rome said from the front as Dom weaved his way through streets and neighbourhoods. We pulled up outside a new brick home in a reasonably new subdivision. The houses all looked similar but had certain quirks that made them stand out, some with square or round hedges, large terracotta pots, curvy paths. And then there was Rome's house. His quirk was life sized statues of naked women. Several littered his front yard in varying positions.

"How are you even allowed to have those on display?" I asked curiously as we pulled to a stop at the curb in front of his house.

"My girls? The neighbours love them!" He exclaimed. "I've even caught a couple of the local geezers coming by at night for a little touchy touchy." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down dramatically. Link burst out laughing while both Dom and I just shook his head in disgust.

"That's gross!" I told him, screwing up my face.

"You think that's gross? This one time I came out to go to work and found... "

"Ew, stop!" I squealed, stifling a laugh, not even wanting to know in the slightest how that sentence was going to end. He climbed out of the car, still laughing. Two large bay windows faced the curb, and for a moment I saw a shadowed figure standing there, arms folded tightly across his chest, watching our car pull away from the house. I couldn't make out any details other than the shadowy outline but I had no doubts the broad shouldered, strong stanced figure was my now not so little brother, Devon. I wanted to yell at Dom to stop, to just run in for a minute just to check he's okay.  But I knew Link was right, we both needed to share our story, and right now, I feel like I'd probably just break down.