Rage and Ruin | 2

2 | 8

R I L E Y

      As soon as we walked into the compound after talking with the investigators, I knew something wasn't right. Jake, Delphinium and Jaxon sat at the dining room table, looking like they were in the middle of a significant discussion.

     "Hi guys," Finn drew out uncertainly. "What's going on?"

     I frowned at the sight of only three of them. "Where's Kane?"

    "That's actually what we were just talking about," Jaxon said, for once not wearing his careless grin. "When we were out interrogating Johnson, something happened."

     Panic rose in my chest. "What happened? Is Kane okay?"

     "He's not injured." He seemed like he was choosing his words carefully and it made me nervous. "But we made kind of a major discovery."

      "Of course it was when I was out at the most boring interview ever," Arlo griped, not sounding worried in the slightest.

      "Isn't that a good thing? What was it" Gigi asked confusedly.

      "Well..." Jaxon glanced over to the other two. "Delphinium informed us of the masked assassin's name, Benny."

     I narrowed my eyes. "Is that it?"

     "No. Apparently...Benny is Kane's older brother who went missing a few years back."

     "I'm sorry, what?" I asked, making sure I heard him correctly.

     "Kane's brother is now an Imperium agent."

      The weight of this new information set in. My head felt like it was spinning. "That must have hit him hard. Where is he now?"

      "That's the thing," Jaxon said, looking uncomfortable. "He's, uh..." Why was he hesitating?

      Jake cut in impatiently. "He and Delphinium had a brawl on the street outside Johnson's house. Kane's tied up in the storage closet."

      "He's what?" I demanded. "What did you do to him?"

      Jake waved a dismissal hand. "He's alive. We just had to keep him downstairs while he calms down."

      I put both hands on my hips. "I'm going to go see him and try to figure out what's happening here. All of you stay here before matters are made worse."

      "Be careful he doesn't try to beat you too," Jake called as I retreated down the stairs. He was trying to get me upset too, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Not right now, at least.

      I placed my hand on the cold metal door handle of the storage room, unsure of what exactly I'd find inside. Jake, Delphinium and Jaxon were a trio that could certainly cause a lot of damage.

     The door creaked open, revealing Kane under a murky triangle of light coming down from the ceiling. His body was tied with such a comically large amount of ropes that, under any other circumstances, would have made me laugh at him.

     "Hi," I said softly to him, closing the door behind me. His head was down, shoulders hunched; I couldn't see his face.

      "Do you want to tell me what happened?" I questioned the still boy. He didn't say anything.

      Taking a few steps closer, I informed him, "I already know about your brother. The others filled me in upstairs. But I want to hear from you."

      When he still failed to speak, I stood in front of him and gently pulled up his chin with my fingers. He met my gaze with bloodshot amber eyes. My heart skipped a beat when I saw his tortured face looking up at me; I could practically see the pain in his stare and my heart ached for him.