LOGINKAIN’S POV…..A FEW HOURS EARLIER:I held the check tightly in my hand as I stepped out of my car.It was quite early to go to the bank, but I had no choice. If my father found out what I did. He might kill me for it. But atleast, the money will be mind anyway.The numbers on it burned in my mind; every step toward the entrance felt like I was stepping toward a promise. My pulse thudded at my throat. If this went through, everything would change….my whole generation.Inside the bank lobby the air smelled of coffee and disinfectant. A row of chairs lined the wall; a pleasant-sounding woman at the front desk typed at a computer. I moved to the counter, chest tight, and slid the check across the polished surface. Up close the writing looked even more ridiculous……t grand, too impossible.The teller took it from me with slender, careful fingers. She glanced down, then up at me, eyes widening in a flash I couldn’t read as anything but reaction. Her mouth formed a small, practiced smile that
MR ALEXANDER’S POV.I stretched my hands and feet….. yawning loudly as I slowly opened my eyes to the unfamiliar, yet familiar surrounding.Did I?……Did I sleep in my living room? I don’t remember drinking last….oh! Shit, I remember. I remember falling asleep while speaking to my son Kain. Which was kind of unusual because I could have just walked up to my room.How sleepy was I that I has to sleep here in the living room. I barely fall asleep here unless I am drunk……unless!My eyes fell on the glass cup of orange juice on the coffee table….and a cold ripple ran through me. It all slowly began to click…..What if he?….what if Kain drugged me? But why would my son do that to me?Shit!……the check. I pushed myself upright. The safe. The code. My hands went cold. I’d hidden it in the safe in the closet…..but it was impossible that Kain knew the code. I mean, surely he wouldn’t know the code because he cared less about the day his mother died….. he wouldn’t easily recollect the date. It sho
KAIN’S POV“So you’re thinking of keeping her, right? Even after I have constantly warned you?” my father asked, his voice rough as he slouched back into the couch. He folded one leg over the other and tapped the armrest with a finger.I should have answered……. I should have told him why Laurel mattered so much to me, why I wouldn’t let her go no matter how much he told me to. But Instead I watched him drink…….while I patiently waited for the pills to sink in. The thought of them working sat under my skin the whole time.I shrugged, letting a half-smile curl at the corner of my mouth and kept my hands loose in my lap. He sniffed, annoyed, and reached for his wristwatch, squinting at it like it might read him permission.“I am really disappointed in you, son, trust me,” he said, his voice flat. “Well, do not say I didn’t warn you when things finally go south. I know a snitch when I see one. And trust me when I say that woman isn’t good for you.” He yawned, that loud, admonishing yawn
NAYLA’S POV:I stepped out of the tub….staring at my reflection in the mirror for a moment. I caught myself smiling…..smiling at the fact that Roy was waiting for me in the bedroom, and that I could finally feel him again. I fucking missed how hard he used to fuck me. I missed his huge cock deep inside of me.I reached to grab a towel, but I hesitated….wouldn’t it be more sexy if I walked out the door naked?……Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the door….opening it slowly as my eyes landed on Roy who leaned back on the headboard of the bed, his eyes fixed on his phone.Suddenly, his eyes drifted from his phone to me. The moment his eyes landed on me, his phone slipped off his hand, a soft gasp escaping his lips.I bit my bottom lips while I slowly walked towards him…He sat up immediately, like a dog who had just seen it’s favorite snack. MI climbed onto the bed…..crawling until I was just inches away from him. He sat there….staring at me, stunned.“Take off your clothes,” I ord
MARCO’S POV.The boy’s surrounded me in a full circle, while I sat in the middle….in control. They all stood still…..shoulders squared, faces set in the same unreadable mask. I let them feel that presence, let it settle over them: the economy of the man they followed. My throat worked once, and then the words poured out, each one sharpened by the hunger and hunger that had been eating at me.“Tonight isn’t just a normal meetup,” I said. My voice was quieter than they expected, and that made it more dangerous. “We’re meeting because I want answers. I want people watching, listening, moving. I want my people where she walks, where she eats, where she sleeps. I want every place she could be watched and every door she could slip through closed.”A murmur ran through them……approval, a small rustle of focus. I watched it and let it feed me.“We will widen the net,” I went on. “Satellite scans where we can. Signals. Metadata. Credit-card drops. Traffic cams. We’ll trace phones, test every nu
NAYLA’S POV; (continued)I crept toward the bathroom on tiptoe, every nerve in my body screaming. The house felt wrong …… too quiet, too empty. My hand shook over the doorknob of the bathroom. For a second I wanted to run. I wanted to run and not stop until I was miles away.I pushed the door open, slowly and quietly. Then with my heart beating extremely fast, I peaked inside, scanning around but there was no one…… nothing. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, the bulbs popped on and a dozen voices shouted from behind me, “Surprise!”I jumped so hard I nearly hit the doorframe. My heart was racing. Lights, faces, color…….Roy was in the doorway, Mr. Mills beside him, the staff behind them with balloons, a small cake and gift bags. I stood there stunned, like I’d walked into a movie scene.Roy’s face went soft the second our eyes met. He took a step toward me, his eyes gleaming with joy and excitement. “Welcome home,” he said, in this low, calm voice that made my knees weak. Gosh I mused him
NAYLA’S POV.I turned to Roy with a frown, and he took a step forward, his arms spread open as he tried to reach me.I step back, raising my hand to stop him.“Nayla,” He said, his eyes pleading, but it did nothing to quench my anger. Why would he just spill it to Collin like that.With how much Co
COLLIN’S POV.I burst into my room, my heart aching far more than my wounded belly. I wiped my eyes, fighting to prevent another drop of tears from spilling. It’s just… the pain was too much, unbearable, like a knife being twisted into my chest.Why did I think that I could ever have a life with h
ROY’S POV.(continued)My phone buzzed against the counter again. I frowned, wondering who it could be. I picked up the phone and saw that it was Detective Charles. I took a deep breath before answering the call.“Roy! I just heard some news about Nayla being found. Is it true?” Charles asked, his
NAYLA’S POV.I sat at the dining table, glancing around as I tried to soak in the familiar surroundings. It felt strange, almost like I had forgotten what my own house looked like after everything that had happened.Roy was in the kitchen, busy making breakfast, and I could hear the clattering of p







