Chapter Twenty-Five

Caspian

"I've lost her, haven't I?" Johnathan said, suddenly looking older than his fifty-six years.

Jude came to his feet, walking over to where Jonathan sat, and knelt in front of him. He laid one hand over Jonathan's. "You haven't lost her. She is still in there somewhere. We've seen it. Just brief glimpses for now, but it will get better."

He looked up with tears swimming in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

I handed Jonathan the drink I'd fixed, then sat in the chair across from him. "Yes, we're positive. We've all seen it. She's questioning everything that man did to her. Bringing the photo album was a brilliant idea."

Ezra downed his drink in one gulp. "And we will find him. Then we'll destroy him. I can promise you that."

Jonathan's hands trembled as he brought the glass to his lips and took a drink. "Is he still around? Oh fuck, he is, isn't he? You told me he beat up one of your maids, and there was the note he gave her. Dammit, my mind is all jumbled up, and I can't think straight."

"We'll catch him because he's getting desperate. Rissa was supposed to kill us one at a time, and if she failed, kill herself. None of that happened," Ezra said. "Our father did something to his family, and he's out for revenge. He has to be a raving lunatic to do what he did."

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the arms of my chair. "But that's the problem with lunatics. They always fuck up somewhere. I have no doubt that he will as well. That's when we'll catch him and put an end to his very existence," I promised him.

Jude returned to his chair, hesitated a moment, then began to speak. "I think it's better if she stays here for now. Not that we don't think you can protect her. She's getting more comfortable around us day by day."

Jonathan took another drink, hand shaking as he thought over Jude's words. "Damn, I want to take her home. I want to hold her close and never let her go." He sighed deeply. "I know that's not the best thing for her, though. You three have always been there for Larissa, always protecting her, and even if I added extra men, they wouldn't care about her as much as you do. She'll stay here for now."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was hoping he would see that Jude was right. We were making progress with Rissa, and I want to maintain the momentum we'd gained.

A smile suddenly broke through, and Jonathan seemed to relax. "I haven't had time to think about it until now—until I saw her for myself, I didn't want to believe you, even though I knew you wouldn't lie. I didn't want to take the chance of being hurt again. My God, Larissa is alive. My baby girl is alive."

My smile was slow as his words sunk in. I looked at my brothers, and they smiled. "I don't think any of us have thought about it. For so long, we thought she was dead. We went through life as if we were in a dark fog. Something was always missing. But you're right. She has returned to us, and we'll find the old Larissa. Maybe she won't be exactly the same, but it'll still be Larissa."

We talked for a long time, sharing our memories, and finally, Jonathan left in our car with one of our men. David, a former Navy seal, would stay with him until more men could be added for Jonathan's protection.

As soon as the car pulled away, Jude turned to me. "It's been a long day. I'm glad he knows, though."

"But do you think it helped or hurt Rissa?" Ezra said as he looked at the two of us.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Something clicked inside her, but it wasn't good. From the way she acted and what she said, I think this man told her Johnathan had abused her."

"That is so far from the truth," Jude said. "Jonathan worshiped his daughter."

"If anything, he spoiled her," Ezra added.

"Maybe the album will help." I wasn't sure if anything would help besides just giving her time, but we had to try.

"Maybe." Jude glanced at his watch. "I'm going to hit the sack. Ezra and I went through so many of Father's files today that my eyes are crossing."

As soon as he left the room, I turned to Ezra. "How's that going?"

"Slow. Too damn slow. We've gone through about half of them. Thank God he kept good files. So far, we've eliminated all but about three that have potential. Our father destroyed their businesses." He paused for a moment. "There's one I keep coming back to. The man was deep into human trafficking and drugs. The really bad kind."

"Like what?"

"Reading father's notes, he was cutting meth with drain cleaner so it would go farther. Dad blew up his warehouses, and hijacked his cargo ships as they were coming into port. Only problem was, he was in one of the warehouses that blew up. Not only did it wipe out all of his businesses, but he died in one of the explosions."

"Any children left behind?"

"A son and a daughter."

"Where are they now."

"That's the problem. They disappeared off the face of the planet."

"Jude can keep looking through the files. Stay with this one, though. You're right when you said it sounds promising." I downed the rest of my drink and then took my glass to the counter. "I think I'll head for bed as well."

"Me, too. I'm beat. This day has lasted forever."

As we walked up the stairs, I thought about something. "What were their names?"

"Whose names?"

"The children of the man our father ruined and inadvertently killed."

"Oh, their names are Amon and Nadine."

I nodded. "His name starts with an a."

"I thought about that as well."

"Well, stay with it. This might be the man we're looking for." I opened my door, unbuttoning my shirt as I went inside and shutting the door behind me. It had been a long, trying day. I stripped, then went to the shower and stepped inside after adjusting the water temperature. I sighed deeply, leaning my hands against the shower wall.

It wasn't just the emotional toll this was taking on me. I'd wanted Larissa for so long, and I still couldn't touch her. I wanted to hold her close, strip off her clothes, and pull her naked body against mine. I wanted to kiss her full lips, her breasts. I wanted to nuzzle my face between her legs and taste all of her.

Fuck, I ached so bad. I slid my hand over my cock and imagined her sweet lips around the tip, then sucking me deep inside her throat. I wanted to love her, and her to let me. I wanted to have wild, fucking sex with her.

I gripped my cock and began to move as I thought about everything I wanted to do to her. To her body. I wanted to taste every inch of her. To imprint her on my brain. I wanted to plunge my cock inside her.

When I came, it was an explosion that painted the shower wall in front of me. I groaned, finally relaxing somewhat after weeks of frustration. She would come back to us. She had come back to us, and not just for sex. We fucking needed her.

I dried off, then crawled beneath the cover. Fuck, I was exhausted. My eyes closed, and I began to dream about what used to be, and what could've been.

It was early morning, still dark outside, when the alarm busted. I immediately jumped to my feet, grabbed my jeans off the floor, and then slipped into my shoes. Before leaving the room, I grabbed my gun from the bedside table.

I jerked the door open. It slammed against the wall. I immediately went to Rissa's room. Without even knocking, I opened the door. She was gone. I went to the bathroom, but she wasn't there either.

As I came out of the room, Ezra and Jude were coming into the hallway. They had their guns in their hands. They both looked at me.

"She's gone."

"Fuck," Ezra muttered. "Let's go get her. She can't have gotten far."

We rushed down the stairs. Jason was coming in through the open patio door and shutting off the alarm.

"We have to spread out and see if we can find her. Do you have the men on alert?" I asked Jason.

"Everyone is looking for her, but we didn't see which way she went."

As we stepped out onto the patio, I motioned for Ezra to go to the right, Jude toward the woods, and I went to the left. I knew it would do no good to call out her name. She would only try harder to get away.

Please, God, I silently prayed, you brought her back to us once, now, we need you to do it again. I don't know what we would do without her. And if this psycho got her back, I didn't know what he would do with her. I suspected he would want to kill her. He would know that had to be the worst thing that could happen to us.

I looked behind every bush and tree, but I came up blank when I realized I wasn't far from the clubhouse. Had she gone there? Did she even remember where it was? Maybe. We'd spent most of our time there. I turned and headed in that direction.

As soon as I stepped inside, I knew she was here, even though it was dark. I flipped on the light, and my blood ran cold. I very slowly put the gun in my waistband at my back.

She looked terrified, and she was gripping a knife close to her body. "Rissa, drop the knife."

She frantically shook her head. "I don't know who I am anymore," she whimpered.

My heart nearly stopped as she waved the knife around. I knew exactly how sharp that knife was. I'd cut myself with it once. I was afraid she might accidentally cut herself or worse. It was the, or worse , that took my breath away.

"You're still the same Rissa we've always known. You just got lost inside your mind because of the man who took you. He tried to brainwash you, and he almost succeeded, but somewhere deep inside you, the old Rissa would not die. We don't want her to die now. We'll help you every step of the way."

"No, he said I couldn't trust you. None of you. He said you would do awful things to me."

"But have we?"

"I don't know what to think anymore."

I could rush her, but I was afraid she might harm herself before I could get to her. Before I could make any decision, she brought the knife to her neck.

"He said it would be better if I took my own life. Then I would be free. I was a coward and couldn't do it. I know that now."

"Please, Rissa, don't do this. For God's sake, drop the knife." My words broke. I held up my hands, then silently began to pray.