Sorry everybody for such a long wait for an update, not only on this but my others, it's still taking a while to get back into the swing of things so hopefully this chapter isn't just one big disappointment. Granted, this whole fic has just turned into one big dumpster fire and at this point I don't really care.
As always, thank you for your continued support. It truly means a lot to me, specially right now.
Enjoy and hopefully see you soon.
Ch 17- The Dark Road. Tuesday, November 3rd.
With a steady breath, hands gripping the leather handle tightly, and the simple pull of the trigger the gun let out a loud bang as the bullet flew out the barrel and tore through the silhouette's head on the paper some ten feet away from where Kai was standing. Behind him Nick stood in slight awe, every shot fired had met its target dead on and this one was no different as another hole was made in the targets head beside the ten others.
They'd been out practicing since arriving at a random secluded field, having woken up early per Kai's orders in preparation if it came down to it in defending himself and the others from Brooklyn. Though by the looks of it the boy didn't need any more training with how good of a shot he was, which begged the question in Nick's mind why Kai had even asked to take him out.
"Well done, I think that's good for right now." Nick said from behind Kai who was rechecking the magazine and how many bullets were left in the gun.
"Still have three more." Kai responded almost dryly, slamming the magazine back into place through the handle of the gun and took up his stance again as he lifted his arms and aimed.
"Don't think it's really necessary, you're an excellent shot. Who taught you?" Nick just grinned a little at the back of Kai's head, quickly learning how persistent the boy was when he set his eyes on something. It reminded him of his father.
"My brother in law." Kai answered, his finger once more pulling the trigger and watched with a smug grin as another hole appeared on the silhouettes head next to the one he'd just made.
"Took me out when I turned eighteen, just before Ray and I moved out of my parents' house, in case I needed it and he was right." He explained as he lowered his arms at his side, flipping the safety on the gun as he turned around to face Nick.
"You know this is only precaution at best, we're not expecting you or Ray to have to do anything against Brooklyn or King. That's why we're here." Nick stated in a slightly firm tone, holding Kai's eyes with his own through his sunglasses in hopes he'd get the teen to understand that it wasn't even likely he'd have to look Brooklyn in the face again.
"And I wasn't expecting him to get out of jail for another few years, yet here we are." Kai responded dryly, "But what exactly is Voltaire looking to get out of this? Aside from me taking the company."
Nick shook his head, "I don't know, not my area. I'm just a body guard." He said with a small shrug of his shoulders.
Kai arched a brow a little, unable to tell if Nick was lying or telling the truth at the moment. Even if they'd come and gotten him and the others to safety he still didn't trust them, not when they worked for his grandfather who he couldn't trust as far as he could throw him.
Since the night before he'd been restless, head plagued with questions left and right on why Voltaire would be so quick to protect him after all the abuse he used to suffer at his grandfather's hands. Taking over the company was one thing, since he could simply sell it later, and Voltaire had been pestering him about it for months before the other issue had appeared. It was the second debt he'd gone to accumulate from the old man that was still at the forefront of Kai's mind, he had nothing else to really give or get from him.
So what exactly could it be, and was it something he could easily get out of?
"Guess we're done here then." Kai stated more than questioned, holding out Nick's gun for him to take back.
"Yeah, we should head back before it gets any later." Nick nodded in confirmation as he took his gun back, holstering it behind him before walking out across the field to take down the target sheet he'd brought with them.
He let out an impressed whistle as he looked at the bullet holes that had torn through the paper, all head shots and in the black completely.
"You got a good eye." Nick praised as he came back with the paper, holding it up to show Kai and noticed him fighting back a smirk. "Least for someone who wears glasses."
Kai rolled his 'good' eyes behind his lenses, "Guess it runs in the family."
"Nah, your dad couldn't shoot for shit." Nick chuckled, leading the two off towards his car parked at the edge of the open field they'd come to.
Kai's brow rose again as he looked to the man walking beside him, "You knew him?"
Nick nodded back, still eyeing the sheet in his hands as they walked. "He and I were best friends, met in college our second year." Nick answered in a fond tone.
Kai's brow rose even higher, waiting for Nick to keep going though the man had gone quiet all the way back to the car.
"And?" He pressed as they started to get inside, Nick quickly turning the car on to get the heat going.
"And what?" Nick questioned as he looked to Kai beside him in the passenger seat.
"And what else?" Kai huffed back.
"Oh… Well…" Nick sat back into his seat, letting the car run as he looked to be in thought for a moment.
"I mean, not much to tell aside from he was this scrawny ass kid from a rich elite family line that had immigrated from Japan. He was learning engineering when I met him, while I was in criminology. Met him at the campus bar and just kind of hit it off, after that we were pretty much inseparable." Nick explained. That same fond tone coming back out of him as his lips twitched into a small smile.
"Even when he met your mother we still saw a lot of each other, I looked at him like he was the brother I never had…" His voice trailed slightly.
Kai sat back and listened, hanging on every word that Nick said. He'd never heard stories about his parents before, Voltaire never spoke of them when he was a child, so everything Nick said he wanted it ingrained into his head.
"I was his best man for their wedding, and when Misaki became pregnant with you Susumu was being positioned to take over for Voltaire. Your dad didn't want anything to do with the company though, because of the shady things Voltaire sometimes did, but Su had to think about his growing family now and so he finally caved and accepted it. And then I followed."
"That's how you got employed by Voltaire?" Kai questioned.
Nick nodded back, "Su begged me not to, told me to stay out of it and far away as I possibly could but I wanted to be beside him. Wanted to help him anyway I knew how, so I offered my services to Voltaire who hired me on almost instantly as security detail. Su was pissed at me for months until he realized I wasn't going anywhere." He chuckled slightly, his voice straining some as he continued to talk.
Kai's own lips formed a small smile, though his heart ached at hearing Nick's voice on the verge of breaking down.
"I was even there when you were born, actually." Nick continued, turning to face Kai who gave him a bewildering look.
"I was actually supposed to be your godfather but Voltaire wouldn't have it, so the papers were never signed and so you went to him after your parents died…"
The smile that had been making its way along Kai's face fell quickly, his fingers digging into his jeans as his jaw quickly clenched at the new information. All the years he'd gone through and had to endure at the hands of Voltaire could have all been avoided, everything ever done to him wouldn't have happened if Nick had been able to take him in. But, then would he have met any of the people that meant the world and more to him?
Even with the ugly reminders etched into his skin and the horrible memories that surfaced when he least expected it, he wouldn't have wanted to trade the life he had for another one he had no idea where it would have landed him. He had already pushed and pulled his way through it all, this was just another minor step again to keep moving forward like he always did. The only difference was this time he wasn't alone.
"I tried." Nick's broken voice came back, filling the space of the car. "I tried to get them out when the car rolled… Su… He was barely alive and begged me to get you first so I did, your mother had died on impact."
Kai didn't even notice the tears that had started to roll down his pale cheeks, staring at Nick almost expressionless as he watched Nick's own tears steadily rolling down under the rim of his sunglasses.
"Su ended up dying on the way to the hospital, and you were in and out of surgery for hours. After they put you into recovery that was the last I had seen you, Voltaire blamed me and rightfully so for the accident. I about lost my job, was put on leave for about a year and stripped down to minor security.
"If I knew what was going on, when you were growing up, I would have intervened. I don't know exactly what I would have done but I would have gotten you out of there."
Kai just stared again, no words forming at everything Nick had said to him while his fists clenched the thick fabric of his jeans tighter. Just as he came up with something to say, Nick's mouth began moving again and cut over him.
"So, believe me when I say that I will do everything I can to keep you and your family safe. You have my word that I won't let anything happen."
Kai's mouth closed back up tightly, giving a firm nod as his tears continued to roll down his cheeks without his knowledge. Although he wanted to trust Nick, he was still apprehensive about it. The man worked for Voltaire, had clearly climbed the ranks again to be where he was. How could he trust him?
Then again, it wasn't like he was being given much of a choice now either.
Walking through the side door from the garage, Ray and Charles stepped into the lavish home around noon. The events of the past few hours having shaken Ray something fierce, though quickly had shoved it all down to get the job done.
Charles had coached him best he could, didn't help Ray from being a sloppy shot for half of their time at the gun range until right near the end. Charles had said he was too tense, but of course he had been tense! He'd never held a gun in his life, much less fire one or even thought about using one on another human being until now.
It was just in case, for self-defense purposes, plenty of people did that; was what he told himself over and over but it didn't make him feel any better about the whole thing. But, if it kept him and the others safe if worst came to shove, he knocked out the nervousness from him and had eventually managed to hit the target instead of the open space behind it.
Getting into the kitchen right by the side door they'd just entered, the large house was dead quiet, neither knowing where anyone currently was and much less knowing if Kai had ever come home.
He had asked Charles several times when they had been out if he'd heard anything from Nick, the man having checked his phone enough times Ray figured he would have heard something from his partner and Ray his. Yet, the entire time it was silent on both ends and even more now with the house being so huge.
"Want anything?" Ray asked as he shed his jacket, leaving it on the top of the island in the center of the kitchen as he headed for the fridge.
"Water." Came the monotone response.
Ray about snorted, nodding back all the same as he rooted through the many cabinets along the wall till he found the one that held the glasses, eyes near enough falling out of his head at how many were stocked inside.
"Just how many cups does one person need?" He asked, not expecting an answer as he plucked one out and ran it under the tap.
"Heard anything?" He asked for what seemed the hundredth time that day, passing Charles his drink along the island where they stood across from each other.
Charles simply shook his head back, sipping at his water while Ray went to the fridge for something else to drink instead of water as the kitchen fell to silence around them again. At the moment Ray couldn't tell if he really liked how big the house was, seeing as how he couldn't hear anyone and wasn't even sure if they were still in the house at all; or if there was someone else who wasn't supposed to be in the house with them.
Just as a cold shiver ran down his spine the side door clicked open and Kai and Nick's voices carried from down the hall through the archway. Ray snapping up to attention as he went to fiddling with his hair, like it would have given him away to where he had been earlier, while Kai and Nick's footsteps echoed down the marble flooring and got closer only for the two of them to stop by the archway and start up a minor staring contest between them and Ray and Charles.
For whatever reason a huge wash of relief rushed through Ray's veins, offering Kai a smile who finally snapped out of his staring and smiled back at him, until he watched Ray's smile quickly change and his hands going to his hips. He was in trouble.
"Where have you been all day?!" Ray all but yelled at him.
Nick and Charles exchanged glances between each other, Charles taking his glass of water and making a hasty exit with Nick close behind him as they went across the hall into a different room and closed the door behind them.
"Just went out." Kai answered with a small shrug, stepping into the kitchen to get himself a glass from the cabinet. Picking the right one off the bat and running it under the tap quietly, well aware of Ray watching his every move.
"Well a text or a note or… Something! Would have been greatly appreciated. Do you know how scared I was waking up without you there this morning?" Ray went off, "You can't just do that right now, nobody knew where you went."
"I'm sorry, I just needed to do some things to make sure we're going to be alright here." Kai apologized, at least telling him a half truth.
It was better for everyone now involved that they didn't know what he was up to, even with Nick's promise of him possibly not ever seeing Brooklyn's face again, he was intent on taking matters into his own hands. He never liked the idea of being a sitting duck and just waiting for something to happen, if he moved first than that bettered their chances on nothing happening; he had at least reasoned to himself.
"Could have still said something." Ray whined a little at him, that wash of relief still running through him as he finally came away from the opened fridge door and stepped up to him.
"I'm sorry." Kai apologized again, turning and setting his glass down before he pulled Ray into his chest.
"How's your day been?" He asked into his hair, kissing the top of it as he held him.
"It's been here…" Ray answered, his voice a little muffled with his face being pressed into Kai's jacket. "Don't know where anyone is though."
"Lost them already?" Kai chuckled back, releasing his hold on Ray and letting him step back from him.
"Well, Charles decided to inform them all about what you have here. So they could be in the billiard room, the living room, the theater, the library, or the indoor pool." Ray listed off in almost a bored tone.
"Damn, he told them about the pool?" Kai put on a fake frown, somehow finding Ray's expression on his face funny that their little private oasis might be overrun now.
Ray nodded back, "And the gym, and the sauna. But, I think someone should go in there and give it a good rub down with bleach seeing as how your brothers got in there last night."
Kai made a face, a genuine laugh coming out of him. "I didn't need to know."
A wiry grin came along Ray's face, he couldn't remember the last time he'd heard him laugh. "Actually you did, since I had to know. Only fair since you missed breakfast this morning."
Kai just nodded back, that did seem fair even if he'd have lived a fine life without knowing his brothers had gone and defiled his sauna.
"So, have you been able to look around yet?" He asked, taking up his water he'd left sitting beside him and took a sip.
Ray shook his head, "Went back to sleep after breakfast." He lied, feeling horrible for doing so but didn't need Kai to worry. Or worse, put up a fight about what he was doing.
"Alright." Kai said after downing his glass, setting it back on the counter and took up Ray's hand. "Then let me show you around our new summer home."
Ray just smiled, for whatever reason wanting to just melt right there at the look Kai had given him but forced himself to nod and follow as Kai tugged him out of the kitchen.
"So, this is the main living room." Kai informed, even though he really didn't need to seeing as how the room was decorated.
It stood across from the kitchen, an open archway leading into the large room that overlooked the front of the house with large floor to ceiling windows. The standard couches and chairs placed around a large screen TV with a fireplace on the left wall from the archway, a white grand piano sat near the back in a small alcove with a loveseat pushed up against the window behind it.
"Do you play?" He questioned, gesturing at the piano.
Kai shook his head, "Long time ago I did, haven't touched one since I went into the system." He explained, pulling Ray along the hallway to the closed door Nick and Charles had slipped behind earlier.
"This is the billiards room." He announced, shoving the door open.
Ray's eyes about fell out of his head again, the room the same size of the living room beside it with another large floor to ceiling window facing the front yard and driveway.
Along the left wall was an entire shelving unit that looked like it had been taken out of a bar, filled with bottles of alcohol and a bar tap sat in front of it with four stools lined up along the edge. On the right was another fireplace and TV hung above it, two arm chairs sitting in front of them with a pool table fitted in front of the window.
Nick and Charles just waved at the two from the armchairs, the TV turned on but it didn't really look like they were watching what was one as the volume was turned down low.
"So, not much in there really, but it's there." Kai said as he closed the door back up, hauling Ray down the hall a little ways and to stop at the open archway for the dining room on their left.
"Dining room." He pointed out, not that he needed to.
"You're going to give me a heart attack." Ray joked as Kai continued down the hall till they reached the foyer and front door with the back door that led to the outside deck and pool on their left.
"Outside or go upstairs?" Kai asked as he looked beside him, hand still clutched in Ray's.
"Upstairs."
Smiling, Kai pulled Ray along into the foyer and up the staircase on their right. Getting to the landing where they could overlook into the foyer, a hallway leading to the right and left of them, Kai taking them to the right of the staircase first.
"There's a whole side balcony out here, and if we take those stairs it'll lead us to the game room." Kai said as he pointed out the white French doors at the end of the hall, then to the left of them where another set of stairs sat in the corner.
"Okay." Ray nodded, hoping he'd be able to remember all of this for when he wanted to go anywhere. Already it seemed like a damn maze to him though.
"And then you can get to the second floor of the library through these doors." Kai pointed out to their right.
Ray just continued to nod along, Kai turning them back around to take them to the other side of the house where they passed the stairs again and came up to the side landing where another fire place and couches were placed around it.
"Just a sitting area, nothing special. That door leads to an in-law-suite, pretty sure that's where mom and dad are staying for right now." Kai continued in his tour guide voice, feet going to move him onward when Ray pulled him back to stop.
"We need to talk about that." He said to Kai's questioning look.
Kai swallowed, the happy and excited look he'd been wearing through their tour getting smacked off his face. It had been on his mind, like everything else had been, and he'd already had a plan to help his parents get back on their feet after what Brooklyn had done to their home and livelihoods.
"We'll figure it out." He offered, "They had insurance and that'll have to be processed first before we can do anything for them, otherwise the insurance might not do anything or cover the damages."
"Okay, as long as we do something for them."
"We will." Kai affirmed, pulling Ray back along and down the hallway, bypassing a smaller hall to their right as they got to two large white doors at the end of the hall.
"Theater." He listed off, "And I think that's it. The sauna is outside in the pool house, you saw the indoor pool last night."
"Where's the gym?" Ray grinned.
"Oh! That's outside in the garage." Kai grinned back, "I think that's it, you lost yet?"
"Just a bit, can you take me to our room now?" Ray chuckled as he squeezed Kai's hand a little.
A little glint came to Kai's eyes, tugging Ray back into his chest and leaned close to his ear. "Missed me that much?" He whispered seductively.
Ray's face warmed instantly, his legs going weak again. "Of course I did, but that's not why I want to go there." He laughed, gently pushing Kai away from him. Though that would help in possibly getting him to agree to let Mariah come and stay with them for the holidays, like he had promised Wyatt he'd try to do, but really his feet were hurting him and he just wanted to lay down for a little while.
"Sure I can change your mind." Kai near enough purred as he stole a quick kiss, before Ray could respond to either his words or the kiss Kai was going for, pulling him along towards the stairs again.
Wednesday, November 4th.
"You're late." Teal eyes narrowed at the man dressed in a dark suit as he approached.
"Do you want to do this right, or not?" The man asked, his eyes hidden by the dark sunglasses he wore over his face despite it being dark outside.
The street lamps that lined the sidewalks throughout the park the only light, the moon covered by dark clouds, and the night time air had a harsh chill to it which kept the park devoid of any other beings for the moment; it being close to two in the morning also being one of the reason there wasn't anyone else around currently.
Brooklyn shrugged his shoulders, "You stiffs are all the same, but humor me. What're the orders?"
"It seems as though Charles will be taking Kon out again tomorrow, this is the address to the range he's taking him to. Do what you want with it, or wait a little longer." The man said as he passed a small folded up paper towards Brooklyn from his pants pocket.
Upon taking the paper, Brooklyn unfolded it and read over the address as a smile curved up his lips. "Well now, this can be useful." He said as his teal eyes gleamed, stuffing the paper into his own pocket.
"But, would your boss really be okay with me taking out one of his own?"
The man with the sunglasses nodded back to him, "Don't expect him to go down without a fight though."
Brooklyn's smile only got more twisted, his head tilting to the side at King sitting behind him on the park bench. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."
"I'll keep in touch." The man voiced as he turned away from the two.
"As always, it's been a real pleasure." Brooklyn smiled after the man as he walked away into the cover of the night.
With the light pouring in through the windows at the back of the bedroom, coming across Ray's face and almost directly into his closed eyes, he let out a small groan and rolled away from it and snuggled into the sheets to try and get a bit more sleep. Only to get jolted awake as the sheets were thrown off the top of him, Kai's weight lifting from the other side of the bed almost in a huff as his feet stomped across the carpet towards the bathroom door behind the bed.
Ray let out another groan, his eyes barely opening as he watched Kai make his way into the bathroom, his head flopping back down on the pillow as he blew at the hair in his face.
Was not the morning wake up call he was wanting, but understood why after last night.
Giving Kai a bit of space before he followed, Ray finally rolled off the bed and trotted into the bathroom after him. Not having to go that far as Kai was already in the large walk-in glass shower, fumbling with the knobs in his slight morning anger.
"Are you going to be mad at me all day?" Ray asked as he slipped into the shower that was almost as big as their bathroom alone with him.
Kai kept his back to him, the water finally shooting out of the faucet overhead in a freezing cold spray that made him bite his lip from yelping out but didn't dare utter a word right now.
"Take that as a yes…" Ray sighed as he stepped up under the second shower head, turning the knob over and quickly jumped back as the cold water rushed down.
"You won't even probably have to see her, this place is big enough and Wyatt really wants to see her." He reasoned, again, using the same line he had used the night before, again, when they had talked about it.
Well, he had talked about it while Kai just scowled at him for even asking and then the two went to sleep in silence after Kai had blown his top off about all the shitty things she'd done to Ray two years ago.
It wasn't like Ray didn't understand where Kai was coming from, hell he still had his reservations about having her under the same roof as them for the holidays, but as he kept saying it was a big place and the only times they may ever see each other would be at the dining table.
"I'm not asking this for me, I'm asking this for Wyatt." Ray pleaded as he watched Kai angrily scrubbing shampoo into his matted down hair, another sigh coming out of him at his stubbornness to be silent.
"It's not like I want to see her either, I get it I really do, but after upheaving everyone's lives this is the least we can do for Wyatt." He kept trying, letting Kai just sit and be silent under the stream of hot water as the shampoo suds ran down his angry face.
"We have enough bullshit to deal with, we really don't need her and a baby in here where it puts them at danger too." Kai finally snapped back, keeping his eyes on the tiled wall of the shower ahead of him.
"Brooklyn and King don't even know about them, and they don't know about this place either. We can have Nick or Charles or Shamus go and pick them up and bring them here. It'll only be for two days." Ray bargained, "And by Thanksgiving we shouldn't have to worry about Brooklyn and King anymore anyways, right?"
Kai's tense shoulders relaxed slightly. If he had anything to say about it then they wouldn't have to worry about Brooklyn and King any longer than another few days, but he still hadn't gone through his entire plan with Nick yet seeing as how the man was almost intent on keeping him on the sidelines through everything. He'd thought of going to Charles and even Shamus but he hadn't gotten a chance to last night, Charles had gone to bed early and Shamus had never returned to the house after he had gone off to run his own errands the day before when he and Nick had left the house.
Not to mention, Kai still really didn't have that much of a plan of attack yet. He wasn't a murderer, would be better if he did just stand on the sidelines, but doing that was slowly driving him insane with worry. He knew they were safe where they were for the time being, was the better option at the moment than having everyone scattered where he didn't know where they were, but he couldn't very well keep them all there to live out their days till Brooklyn and King croaked of old age either.
"Alright… If you're sure you'll be okay with her around." He finally caved in a small breath.
"I'll just avoid her, big enough place to anyways."
"You shouldn't have to hide away in your own home, though." Kai countered, "But if this is what you want then fine."
"Like I said, it's for Wyatt not me. But thank you." Ray just smiled at him, lathering his hair up with the shampoo now that the battle had seemed to be won for now.
"Oh… Charles and I are leaving for a little bit."
Kai's head snapped towards him, "What for?"
"He said he'd take me home to get my truck, don't feel like leaving it at the apartment is a good idea right now."
"I can come with you." Kai offered quickly, his stomach twisting a little at the idea of Ray stepping a single toe off the property.
"No, it's fine. We'll be fine, plus you should really spend time with mom and dad right now." Ray said as he dunked his head under the water, rinsing the shampoo from his hair. "We won't be gone long."
Kai shifted where he stood under the spray of his own shower head, watching Ray carefully as something felt off about this but wasn't sure what. He really did need to sit and spend time with them though, but part of him felt like he couldn't face them right now. Not after Brooklyn had gone off and set their home on fire because of him, especially after all the times they'd told him not to go around the other male when he was dating and not dating him. They'd warned him, countlessly, he never listened and this was what happened because of it.
How could they ever forgive him?
"Just be careful…" He figured was all he could really say to him.
"We will." Ray gave him a small smile, rubbing in conditioner in his hair while the shower went silent on them.
He wasn't sure if he currently felt bad for having to lie to him right now, they would have to go and get the truck now so it wasn't a full lie, but he couldn't tell him that he and Charles were actually going back to the gun range so he had a better chance at standing up against Brooklyn if things went bad to worse. This was to protect Kai, not worry him, and as scary and terrible the whole thing was, he felt he had to do this.
"Get back and we can check out the theater room, yeah?" He asked, just because he knew his plans on leaving weren't settling in well with Kai at the moment.
Of course, all he got back was a slow nod of the head before the shower beside him was turned off and Kai was leaving with a towel getting thrown and wrapped around his hips.
Ray watched him till he left the bathroom completely, turning back to the shower and stared at the suds and water mixing between his feet as the water slowly got colder the longer he stood there while his stomach twisted in knots from nowhere.
Maybe he should just stay with him and the others, not worry about the whole ordeal and let Voltaire take care of it like he said he would, but then again he wasn't sure if he could trust Voltaire any more than he could Brooklyn.
By the time he made it back into the room, his hair trailing water along the carpet, it was empty but he wasn't all that surprised. Somehow he'd gone and managed to piss Kai off twice in the span of several hours, almost a new record, but also nothing new given the past few months.
Quietly he went about getting himself dressed and ready to go, grabbing his phone off the side table by the bed and paused in pocketing it when he noticed a new text message on the screen.
The knots that had formed in his stomach got tighter, unlocking his phone and going to the message he'd received from the unknown number he knew to be Brooklyn's as his hands began to shake from rage more than nerves.
What greeted him on the screen was a picture of an address and then a photo of what looked to be an abandoned building, below the pictures was a simple message that read 'you know where to find me, if you're man enough'.
Ray bit into his lip, his rage and anger at boiling as he read the message again and again for a third time before he closed out of the text message. Was he really that stupid? The best option was to just let Charles look at it and then make a plan, but how many more people needed to get involved in his mess?
Pocketing his phone, weighing his options, he finally stepped out of the room to grab Charles and leave which was a lot easier to do than the morning before as he met the man coming down the stairs in the foyer. The two slipping out the front doors instead of the side door in an attempt to avoid the others, who they could hear talking in the kitchen, and left without anyone even noticing their departure.
An hour down the road he finally pulled his phone back out of his pocket, going to the text message he'd received.
"He sent me this, before we left." He said as he held up the phone so Charles could look at it briefly before turning back to the road.
"I'm not taking you there." Charles said quickly.
"I'm not asking you to, but why would he send this? Does he really think I'd willingly go and confront him?"
"You said you had before, right? When he put a gun to your head?"
Ray sunk in his seat a little, a cold chill running down his spine at the memory. "Yeah… But that was different, I didn't think he'd actually try and kill me. Whereas now, he will."
Charles nodded back a little at that, "We stick to the plan, we don't engage. This, what we're doing, is just precaution." He reminded.
"I know." Ray nodded back, looking down at his phone resting over his lap and frowned at the message again.
"When?" He asked as he kept his focus on his phone, Charles still looking forward at the road ahead of them.
"When Voltaire gives the orders."
"And when is that?!" Ray snapped, "Another day, a week, a month? Until Brooklyn makes a move first?!"
Charles could only shrug his shoulders at him, "I'm not sure, just when he has all the information he needs. It's not like in the movies, these things take time and careful preparation."
Ray's mouth snapped shut, sinking back into his chair with a small defeated nod. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you…"
"Tensions are high, it's alright. I know this isn't easy."
"Can say that again." Ray snorted as his attention went out the window beside him, leaning up against the door as he watched the familiar buildings he saw the day before start rolling by.
With a few stops and turns they finally arrived back to the gun range, Ray's nerves not as bad as the day before as he got himself out of the car and followed Charles back inside the small building.
Quickly going through the process of getting checked in and sent to the back, Ray fitted his earplugs in quickly while Charles set up the target in their lane. Like yesterday they were the only two there, aside from the man behind the counter, which was fine with the two of them and Ray actually preferred there be nobody else around to see what a poor shot he was.
With the paper target getting sent to the back of the lane some twenty feet away from the small shelf that acted as a barrier, Charles stepped back as he motioned for Ray to come up and load the gun like he showed him the day before.
For a moment Ray could only stare at it like it were some foreign object again, the magazine sitting beside the small handgun waiting for him to do something with it for what seemed forever before he picked it up and jammed it up into the handle of the gun. Cocking back the top of the barrel and turned to Charles to make sure he had done that right, getting a small nod back as the man stepped away to stand behind him.
Flipping the safety off, holding the gun tightly in his hand, Ray steadied his breathing before he pulled the trigger. The gunshot barely ringing in his ears, the echo of it still resounding off the walls, as the bullet tore through the bottom of the paper in the white.
Charles held in a small chuckle, stepping up and moving Ray's arms up a little from where he had them before going back to his spot behind him. The second bullet grazing past the black silhouette, though still in the white above the shoulder.
Ray audibly sighed, not that he heard it, gripping the handle tighter as he shifted his feet for another try. His entire focus on the target ahead of him, taunting him almost as it hung there, his finger pulling the trigger again and although he had his earplugs still in the gunfire this time sounded louder than the other two times.
That really didn't matter though when he noticed the small yet noticeable hole through the black of the paper, a wide smile cracking over his face as he flipped the safety back on and spun around to face Charles like an excited child at Christmas. Only for all the color of his face to drain as gold met teal eyes smirking at him, his once calm and steady hands began shaking as he seemed to freeze on the spot with the gun held tightly at his side that felt heavier than it actually was. Unable to do anything as Brooklyn stood toe-to-toe with him where his back was near enough pressed into the shelf behind him.
Kai paced the length of the foyer in front of the doors, checking his phone again for the time and cursed under his breath as barely a minute had passed since the last time he'd checked it and again it showed no new messages or calls.
Outside it had already grown dark, dinner was about to be served and yet he hadn't heard anything from Ray since he left the house that morning. Nick hadn't heard back from Charles either, nor Shamus and he too had been trying for the past few hours to contact one of them to no avail.
Biting the bullet, Kai dialed Ray's number again, praying it wouldn't go to voicemail like the last six times it had only for his prayers to go unanswered again.
Something was wrong, he knew it, but he just wasn't sure what. His first thought was a car accident, but the news didn't have any reports on one, then the next was that Ray's phone had died but he remembered seeing it on the charger all night before they went to bed and it wouldn't ring before going to voicemail like it had been.
Every scenario he made up in his head he had an answer for, and neither of them helped calm him any as he continued to pace up and down the large space by the doors. Continuously telling himself that they'd pull up at any time, he'd hear the stupid roar of Ray's truck coming down the road in no time and that they were fine.
Yet, that nagging feeling in the back of his head and in the pit of his stomach kept telling him otherwise. Even if Ray had left with Charles that didn't mean anything to him at the moment, it wasn't safe for Ray to leave and yet he let him go.
Just as he was about to put his phone back in his pocket, it vibrated with a message and all at once his heart wanted to break free through his throat and stop all at the same time. With his pacing coming to an end he froze up, opening the message he'd received from Ray and about collapsed to the ground at what appeared on the screen of his phone as bile quickly churned in his stomach.
The picture he was given, forced to look at, was one he'd probably remember till the day he died, tears filling his eyes before he could stop them as they couldn't pull away from what he was looking at.
Most of the photo was Brooklyn's face, Ray sitting behind him pushed up against a metal pillar of sorts just around the top of Brooklyn's shoulder in the photo. Ray's ankles were tied up with a gag stuffed in his mouth, his arms held behind his back where Kai couldn't see. Blood was pouring out of his nose, his hair looked like it had been pulled and tugged to the point it was coming out of his binding, and his left eye looked like it was swelling shut.
How this had happened he didn't know, nor did he care to know at the moment when all he wanted to do was get to wherever they were and stop it. Yet with him unable to move at the moment he could only stand there and continue to stare at the photo, only coming out of his trance when his phone began to ring with Ray's number.
He didn't utter a word as he put the phone to his ear, his entire body shaking as he fought down the bile still rising in his throat while trying to breathe as his heart slammed harder and harder into his chest.
"Hello gorgeous." Brooklyn's voice seeped through the other end, making Kai's legs get weaker under him where he finally collapsed against the front doors.
"I told you, didn't I? That if he came around you I'd kill him. I tried to warn you, I really did, but of course you never want to listen to me." Brooklyn continued, his tone normal with a slight chuckle at the end.
"But now, look what you've gone and made me do." He chided, "All of this silliness could have just been avoided if you had listened to me, but of course not. Make me out to be the bad guy in this, like you always do when all I've ever done was love you."
Kai sucked in a shaky and pained breath, his heart not slowing down as Brooklyn's voice filtered through his head. This was his fault, all of this was his fault and he wasn't even sure if he could stop him now.
"P-please… I'm sorry…" He stuttered out, his voice cracking as the tears finally rolled down his face.
"Don't lie to me! You're not sorry, not for any of this!" Brooklyn yelled back at him.
"I am! I'm sorry, j-just please don't hurt him anymore." Kai begged as he pulled his knees to his chest.
Brooklyn breathed heavily through the phone, a small silence coming over between the two for a minute before he started to laugh. It sending a chill down Kai's spine where he sat, his stomach churning harder as he fought to breathe again.
"I won't gorgeous, don't cry. I'll take real good care of him till you show up, how's that sound?"
The bile only churned harder at the almost forgotten pet name coming out of Brooklyn's mouth, he always hated it but could never tell him not to use it. Brooklyn would call him that around others, but in private he'd remind him how hideous and ugly he was any chance he got for the scars on his skin that his grandfather gave him long before he met Brooklyn. All the while Brooklyn added more, reminding him constantly that nobody but him would ever find him as gorgeously hideous as he did.
"O-okay… Just tell me where…" Kai nodded back before he could stop himself, swallowing the bile that kept steadily rising into and burning his throat.
"I'll send you the location, but you're to come alone. Understand?"
"Yes." Kai answered without hesitation despite his body trying to work against him.
"I'll see you in an hour then." Brooklyn's tone hinted on that he was smiling, "You are mine, Kai. Always have been and always will be." With that being the last thing he said the line went dead, leaving Kai with the phone still pressed to his ear as he just sat there almost numb against the front doors.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?