Jake
T hree days ago, I sent Flash to help with the search for Wreck. It was certainly a fucking shock when he got the text message telling him what had happened. I feel so fucking useless, stuck here in my family home under my brother’s watchful eyes instead of out there helping search for the missing member of my MC.
Recovering from the gut shot that almost killed me fucking stinks. I’m so much fucking stronger than I was months ago when it happened, but I’m not at 100% yet, which means my overprotective brothers won’t let me fucking leave and return to my life. I get it; they almost lost me, but this is getting fucking ridiculous now. I have a life I’d very much like to return to sooner rather than later.
Rolling out of bed, I check my phone, seeing a message from Flash. It’s not good news though; they’ve still got nothing on Wreck, and Shadow has gone from an emotional wreck to a careless ball of anger in his search for answers. It’s taking everyone to keep him from doing something downright stupid that will either land him in jail or dead. I can’t even imagine what Shadow is going through; his friendship with Wreck is fucking goals. Everyone deserves a friendship like theirs. The one person who will always be there, who will never judge and just makes life so much better.
Shuffling out of my room, after pulling on a pair of black sweatpants, a loose-fitting blue t-shirt, and my trusty sneakers, I start to make my way downstairs to see what my brothers are doing, wondering if I can finally convince them to let me go back to my life, but I come to a halt when I hear Seth and Austin talking.
“What the fuck is Rex thinking?” Seth hisses at Austin quietly, obviously not wanting to be overheard.
“How the fuck am I meant to know what’s going on in the morons mind?” Austin gripes back just as quietly.
God, what’s going on with my brothers this time? I swear they’re always butting heads for one reason or another. They drive me insane. They wonder why I chose to not go into the family business and join Devil’s Inferno instead. This right here is why. I can still help people by being a part of Devil’s Inferno, but I’m far away from my brother’s squabbles, which nine times out of ten are over the most ridiculous things you can imagine. The way they act, it’s very easy to forget I’m the youngest out of the four of us.
“I don’t know, but we need to fucking do something before he gets back from this job. Not only has he gone off book, but if Jake finds out what he’s done. Yeah, I’m not even going to speculate. We both know it’ll be bad.”
Now I’m fucking intrigued. What the fuck has my oldest brother done that has my other brother’s in such a fucking tizzy? And why would I even care? So many questions, and unless they carry on talking, I’m not going to get any answers. Unless I confront them.
“You think I don’t know that? Rex has had the poor guy for three fucking days and we’ve only just found out. Fucking hell, us even finding out was pure fucking luck on our part. I don’t even want to think about the state that man is going to be in now after Rex has had him this long.”
Three. Days. Three fucking days. Please be fucking wrong. Please. Please. Please. I don’t stick around to hear anything else they have to say. I need to go and see with my own eyes that it’s him. It’s the only fucking thing that makes sense with what I just overheard. It would also answer why the fuck everyone in Devil’s Inferno has had zero luck finding him.
I take off full speed down the rest of the stairs and towards the back door, which leads to the building out back, which is used as a holding space for The Khaos Group. There’s many buildings like this located all around the world, but we have one here in our backyard because of who our family is. The Knightlye family is, after all, one of the founding families of the organization. So it does sort of make sense that one’s located in our backyard.
I can hear both Seth and Austin shouting my name, no doubt my descent down the stairs and out the house, causing them to realize I overheard them talking, but I don’t give a shit what they have to say right now. If I’m right and the person Rex has been holding is Wreck, shit is about to get fucking messy. Really fucking messy. Don’t get me wrong, I love each and every one of my brother’s, but I know for a fact that Wreck has done nothing to deserve whatever Rex has done to him. Wreck is a great fucking person with a moral code that should, in theory, make him a potential friend to my brother, not a fucking victim.
Slamming my palm down on the scanner on the outside of the building. I wait until I hear the click of the door locks releasing and yank it open fast. I may not have become a member of The Khaos Group, but that was my choice. It’s not one I regret in the slightest, but I can’t say I’m not fucking happy I still have access to this fucking building. It makes this so much easier. Thank you, Mom, for ensuring I’d still have access even though I’m not a part of The Khaos Group.
Rounding the corner to the holding rooms, I see a young man, whose name I don’t know, standing outside the room that’s assigned to Rex. As soon as I’m in front of him, I say one word. “Move.” I’m not exactly in the mood for polite conversation. I need to know if my hunch is right and that Wreck is inside that room.
“Sorry, I can’t do that. I’m under strict instructions not to let anyone inside.” He says, staring me dead in the eye. Trying to look intimidating.
Yeah, that’s not going to work for me. Without a second thought, I strike out, jabbing the guy in the throat, following it up with a punch to his stomach. He immediately drops to his knees, his hands going to his throat as he struggles. I don’t even feel bad for him; he should have fucking moved out of my way like I asked instead of trying to be the big man. With him now no longer in my way, I release the locks on the door and push my way inside.
The first thing that catches my attention as I enter is the smell. Urine, blood, and sweat. God, I want to gag; it’s that bad. I push down my reactions though and scan the room. Immediately, I notice a body curled up on the mattress on the right side of the room. As I get closer, my fears become a reality because I recognize not only his long black hair, which is currently greasy as fuck, and the distinctive caramel skin tone, but also his tattoos, which are fucking unique.
Dropping next to him, I feel my anger start to rise up from his horrendous state. He’s a fucking mess. Covered in blood and other bodily fluids that I don’t even want to think about, his body is a road map of cuts, and his face is hardly recognizable under all the dried blood and bruising. At least I can see his chest rising and falling, meaning he’s still alive despite the trauma his body has endured at the hands of Rex.
“Wreck.” I say gently while shaking his shoulder. I know it probably isn’t the smartest move, but I need him to wake up and at least tell me where he’s hurting most. I don’t want to move him and cause more injuries to his already heavily abused body.
He opens his eyes slowly; it takes far longer than it should, but I can see the relief when he finally has them open and recognizes me. It fucking breaks my heart. He’s clearly been through hell. I can only imagine what he’s been through at the hands of Rex. I know just how vicious and brutal my brother can be.
“P-P-Prospect.” He manages to get out even though it takes a few attempts. I can tell how much effort it took just to speak through the pain he’s no doubt in right now.
“Yeah, it’s me. I need to know what’s hurting so I don’t do more damage.”
“Ribs. Head. Worst.”
God even talking is a struggle for him, but he’s fucking trying, and I can’t help but admire that; he’s a fucking fighter. That’s for sure.
“Okay, I’m going to get you out of here.” I promise him.
He nods and starts to speak, but only manages to say one word, “Shadow,” before he passes back out. It’s probably for the best because this is going to fucking hurt him no matter how gentle I am. I’m not even surprised he started to mention Shadow either; as soon as I have him out of here and at the hospital getting Shadow, there is my next port of call. Right now, my first priority has to be getting him the help he needs.
Looking towards the doorway, instead of finding the guy I attacked to get in here, I see both Seth and Austin standing there, looking horrified and worried. Yeah, they should fucking feel that way; this should never have fucking happened.
“I need to get him to the hospital.”
“We figured you would. Ambulance is already on the way, and our doctor at the hospital has been notified, so there won’t be any unwanted questions to answer.” Seth informs me.
I let out a humorless laugh at my brothers. I couldn’t give a fuck about questions being asked; all I fucking care about is getting Wreck the help he needs. Nothing else matters except that.
“Good. Once I know he’s going to be okay, I’ll be back, and I want fucking answers.” I say angrily. There’s no point in hiding how I really feel about all of this; they both know me well enough to know how angry I am. Hell, they were on about how I’d react when I overheard them.
“Sure.” Austin replies, keeping his voice level.
I know he can see how fucking serious I am about wanting answers upon my return. I might be the youngest and quietest out of us all, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to get answers when I need them. My family is about to see a different side of me.