I shut the laptop and throw it across the room.
"And?" I look at Rafe, waiting for him to give me so much fucking more than this. "Where are they?"
"I don't know, we don't know who he is," Rafe looks away from me and focuses on Rhys and Aiden, he knows very well that I'm ready to kill someone.
I walk away before I hit someone, the flashbacks run through me, the way they took me, the fear of something like that happening to Brooklyn, the thought makes my body tremble.
"Dean, he was a member of the club, Atlas kicked him out," Aiden tells Rafe, I walk over to the window. Calming myself down, as I listen to the voices behind me, needing to listen to anything but the history playing in my ears.
"I can get you his file," Beth tells him, and I turn back around to face them.
"I want to know everything, and I mean every little thing you are doing, and if anything happens to her before you find her, I promise-"
"Atlas," Rhys stops me and stands in front of me. "He might be a guest, but he's a detective right now," he whispers to me, and I push him out the way, and walk over to Rafe.
"I know about your job, but I don't care. You find my girl, and she better be okay when you find her." Rafe’s eyes lock with mine, and I stand my ground, not scared of him or his job.
Aiden stands between us and pushes me away.
"Rafe, let's work together. Atlas is-"
"Atlas is fucking pissed off that you're still standing here," I shout, my throat drying up as the rage takes over. He’s wasting precious time. She could be anywhere. What will that fucker do to her?
"I will go to the house, and see what I-"
"Before you go, you might want to stay," Beth walks through the door and waves a parcel. "Atlas this has come for you." Beth hands me the parcel, and I cut the tape open and look up at Rafe.
"I want everyone's fingerprints so I can take you out when we run it through the system." I give him a nod and pull out the laptop.
Aiden opens it up, as my hands begin to tremble at what might be in there. They made videos of me, they made me beg for my life, they stripped me naked and filmed while they laughed. The images of the torture run through, as my hands still tremble. I’m reliving my nightmare all over again.
"We will find her before anything happens to her," Rhys whispers to me. He knows, he knows my body is shutting down on me.
"Atlas Kane," I sit down as I see Dean on the screen. "I've been watching you since you kicked me out. The club was the only place I felt I could be me. I never hurt the girl, and I never would have, but you didn't want to listen to what I had to say. So I watched you, then I hit the jackpot when I saw you with the girl. You took what I loved, I'm taking away what you love." I swallow the lump in my throat, what is he going to do to Brooklyn? "I will be honest I have no idea what I have planned, I didn't even think I could get close to her, you kept her prisoner for a long time." Dean goes quiet and leans back in his chair. "You want her, I want money. I will be in touch." The screen goes blank, and I get up and let out my rage by punching the wall. This is not fucking happening.
"How much money can we get together, I don't care if I have nothing left!" I shout loud enough for them all to look at me. "You need to get the fuck out my office and find him," I point to Rafe, and this time he doesn't stand his ground, he gives me a nod and leaves.
"Atlas-"
"Get me my fucking money now, I'm not asking, I'm demanding," I tell Beth, as I walk off into my bedroom.
I won't ask them for a cent of their money, I know how much money I have in the bank, and I will give every fucking dollar of it.
I walk to the window, my hands rest on the cold glass as I focus on my breathing, the panic of something happening to her.
My body hurts, they've beaten me more in the last hour than they have in a day. I don't even know if it was an hour, it might have been a day. The room is always pitch black, I don't know when the sun comes out. The only time there is light in the room is when they come to torture me, and even then they put on blinding lights, so that I still can’t see anything. My feet are in searing pain from the broken glass under them, and the smell of dead rats lingers in the room along with the sound of water dripping behind me. A sound that makes any thirsty man go crazy. I’m dying of thirst and they are teasing me with the water dripping behind me. It’s there, but I can’t have it.
They wanted me to beg for my life, but I didn’t give a fuck about it. I wasn’t going to break for these scums. They put me on camera and stripped me. Stripped me of everything, not just my clothes, but power. I had nothing for them.
They've whipped me, they've beaten me with a pole, blunted out their cigarettes on me, after a while I was out cold. I woke up in the same dark room with my hands above my head and glass under my feet.
"Atlas!" I hear someone shout my name, but I couldn’t pull myself out of the nightmare. "Atlas!" I hear it again, but it’s like I’m paralyzed, I’m in a place deeper inside the hell.
A sudden coldness hits me, making me jolt hitting the wall behind me. How did I get here?
"You're safe," Rhys kneels in front of me, as I sit in the corner of my room. "You're home."
I look at him, as the sweat drips from my forehead, letting the surrounding sink in as I bring myself back home. I can’t breathe, trying to focus on what Rhys is saying to me, focusing on him to bring me back.
"You're having flashbacks, you're home." I hear Rhys’ voice through the screams around me, my screams. "Have this," he hands me a whiskey glass, and I down it.
They tell you your country needs you, but they aren't there for you once you get back.
I've had these two, they've been through it all with me. I might shut them off most of the time, but they’re always here for me when it gets bad.
"You need to push through, if not for you, for Brooklyn. I get that you're reliving it, I get that it's bringing up stuff. It's a lot to ask, but Brooklyn needs you to fight," Rhys refills my glass, and I look behind him, but I don't see Aiden or Beth. "You know Aiden can't handle seeing you like this." I rest my hands on the dresser, as I calm myself now. Rhys is right, I need to focus, I need to be there for Brooklyn.
Aiden is there for me when I come back to normal, but when I fall, it's Rhys- he has a way with words that always eases me in a way.
"I don't know what to do?" I ask, fighting to breathe again.
"Aiden is calling the number he left on file, Rafe is going to the house.” I follow Rhys back to the office, at a slow pace as I get my legs to move. They feel like I've been stuck in fucking cement.
As I get in the office, one of my hands is on the desk as the other wipes the sweat off my face.
"We're here," I hear Beth behind me as she rubs my back, but I flick, and I hear Aiden telling her not to touch me. "I'm sorry," Beth whispers.
"I want Brooklyn back soon as we can, tell me what I need to do?" I say as my eyes are still on my desk, not able to look at anyone yet.
"Rafe said to let him go to the house first, I don't think it's a good idea you going anywhere, just in case." Aiden replies, and at the moment I agree. My mind and body are not back from war to help anyone, but I don't want to put Brooklyn in more danger.