Destructive (Combative Trilogy Book 3) by Jay McLean

Author:Jay McLean [McLean, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-05T16:00:00+00:00

35

BAILEY

It had been silent. There were no closing of car doors, no footsteps, no whispers. The first sign that anyone was there was the busting open of a door followed by their shouting. When they found me, their flashlights were blinding. Still, for a moment, I fought to keep my eyes open. Searching. I was looking for Nate. Because at some point during the years I was held there, I’d convince myself that he would be the one to rescue me.

That he’d never stop searching for me.

There were times when desolate nights turned to days, and I’d wake up wishing, praying, that today would be the day. That I’d never have to go another night without his arms wrapped around me. That I’d wake up and he’d be beside me. And he wouldn’t fill my mind with bullshit lies or try to convince me that it was all a bad dream, a nightmare. He’d say, so simply, that this is life, and that was the past, and this is now.

Our future.

Our forever.

Two nights ago, I’d fallen asleep thinking my prayers had finally been answered. But when I woke up, he was gone… And that future? That forever? That was the bad dream. The nightmare.

“That’s him,” Ky says, pulling me from my thoughts as he leads me toward a corner booth of a bar with his hand on my back.

I recognize Detective Jackson Davis from the photograph the agents had shown me and force a smile. Inside, my heart is hammering while nervous energy flows through my bloodline.

Asking to meet the man Ky considers a brother was a risk, but when I’d pressed him about it, there was an emotion in his eyes I’d recognized: a longing.

Spending time with Ky the past few days made me realize that he, like me, was just another pawn in someone else’s game. And even though I didn’t have control of much of my life, I had control of the decisions I made when it came to him. If, somehow, I make it through all of this, I wanted to do something right. And Ky—he was the right in this world. I wanted to do what I could to take away that ache inside him, that need for someone to guide him in the right direction. Because I knew—more than anyone—what it felt like to be lost.

And I’ve realized, since getting to know him, that loneliness isn’t the act of being alone. Loneliness is the feeling that no one cares. I’ve been both lonely and alone, and I wouldn’t wish them upon anyone. Ky—he’s lucky. He has people in his world who love him, who care about him. People who would never abandon him. And if this is my purpose, my right, then I’d take the risk a thousand times over.

“Jackson,” Ky says, stopping beside the table.

His brother looks up, smiles when he sees Ky, but the smile widens when he sees me, and I exhale, relieved, noticing the lack of recognition when he looks at me.

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