Safer This Way

Chapter 25

Nathan, Kota, Victor, and North in this one...hope you enjoy :) Felt like it took forever to complete this but I like how it turned out, and it's on time! Only one single week has past since last chapter so yay! Happy reading :)

*Kota*

Someone save me, anyone, please.

"You're such a tall, strong young man."

Heaven help me. "Uh...yes ma'am, I suppose I am above average height."

The cafeteria lady's sharp fingernails trace up my bicep and I fight not to cringe away like I want to, my southern gentleman status forcing me to continue suffering. "You know, my husband was really a very short man, but I've always preferred my men tall and smart. Are you a smart man, Dakota?"

Apparently not as smart as I thought since I'm stuck in a conversation with a super-cougar. "I have an IQ of 140, so some might say that I am intelligent."

"Oh I thought so, those glasses and those sharp green eyes, you know green is my favorite color..."

Oh goodie.

"Kota!" Thank you, god.

I turn away from Ms. Peterson to see Nathan and Victor waving at me from the part of the lobby visible from where I stand.

Blowing out a relieved breath, I carefully extricate myself from her cougar claws with a polite excuse before practically running to my brothers.

"What took you so long?" What was so important that you couldn't save me sooner?

Victor grimaces and Nathan looks ready to kill someone. "When we went to my house so I could use the computer room to look for Shaw, George was home."

I wince in sympathy. "How was he?"

Nathan snorts. "Drunk off his ass and came at us swinging, thankfully we got Sean's red-line and managed to escape in time." He pauses before meeting my eyes. "What's going on?

"No idea, Owen and I split up to find Sean. He took the offices and I took downstairs but I was...detained. He's been up there too long to have not found anything, but I haven't heard anything."

Just as I'm about to suggest we head to the offices to see what's keeping him, I get another red-line from Sean, this time with two words attached to it that have us sprinting up the stairs.

Red-Line Notification-Sean Green:

Found something.

The message can only be referring to Shaw, hopefully that they've somehow figured out his location or a way to find him, her. I cycle through the possibilities, counting as I try to calm myself despite how fast we just took the stairs, but the scenarios are multiple and none of them are good. Especially not after seeing his stepmother carted off in handcuffs so soon after we found out about how much he'd had to hide.

Not pausing to catch our breath, the three of us head towards the sound of voices from one of the private rooms, already shouting when we throw open the door.

"Owen, Sean said that–"

"Where is Sha–"

"This hospital is too big, we need to find–"

The moment my eyes settle on familiar green ones, everything stops. Every thought, every scenario, every possibility. Nothing and no one else matters because we've already found the only one that does.

The three of us stand frozen like idiots in the doorway until Shaw, or Sang, whichever, raises a shaking hand that I absently notice is heavily bandaged and greets us on a hesitant whisper.