Filed To Story: Craving The Wrong Brother Book PDF Free by Elysian Sparrow
The camera zooms in, and I see them. Hunter first-his usually perfect hair disheveled. Then Soraya. Finn’s there too, slumped forward in his chair.
And then Serena.
Her face is pale and terrified, but when she sees the camera pointing at her, she lifts her chin in that stubborn way that’s so familiar it makes my heart break.
They’re all tied up. All of them. Like animals waiting for slaughter.
“Do you believe me now?” Mateo asks.
“You son of a bitch. Let them go!”
“Not without getting what I want.”
What do you want?”
“Simple. I want to speak to your boyfriend in the next hour. On this line. I’ll call you. Don’t bother trying to track or call this number, it won’t worker.
“Let them gol” I’m shouting now, not caring if Dad and Daphne can hear me through the door. “They have nothing to do with this!”
“Are you being stubbom, Sloane?” His voice is so calm, so conversational, like we’re discussing the weather. “Your sister’s life is in my hands. I’d strongly advise you to cooperate.”
“If you touch a hair on her head-“
He cuts me off with a laugh. “Mm. I don’t think you grasp the dynamics of our relationship right now. I’m the one making threats here, not you. So, let me give you a little demonstration of how serious I am.”
Everything happens too fast after that.
A flash of movement. The dull thud of a silencer. A scream.
Serena.
She’s convulsing in the chair, her whole body shaking as she screams through gritted teeth. There’s a hole in her left thigh, dark red spreading across the pale skin like spilled wine. Mateo’s gun is still pointed at her before he casually lowers it.
I can’t breathe. The room is spinning, and I think I might throw up.
“That was a clean shot,” Mateo says. “Missed all the major blood vessels. She’s got about an hour before it becomes a real problem-blood loss, shock, you know how it goes. That’s when I’ll call again. With one simple condition: get your boyfriend on the line.”
He flips the camera back to his face. He’s closer now, close enough that I can see my own reflection in his sunglasses. I look like a ghost.
“All you need to do, Sloane,” he continues, “is cooperate. Don’t be foolish. Don’t call the police. Just do exactly what I tell you to do. Because if you don’t -if you try to be clever or heroic-the next bullet goes in your sister’s head. Do we understand each other?”
Serena’s sobs echo in the background, growing weaker by the second. Then the call ends, leaving me staring at a blank screen.
I’m already moving. My body is operating on pure instinct now, adrenaline flooding my system. I know exactly what I’m going to do to Mateo when I find him. No courts, no lawyers, no appeals. Just me, a gun, and a perfect hole right in the middle of his forehead. But that comes later. Right now, I need to focus. Right now, I need to find out where that call came from.
I throw the guest room door open so hard it slams against the wall with a bang that echoes down the hallway. The sound should be enough to stop a freight train, but Dad and Daphne are still going at it near the top of the stairs.
“Does anyone have a laptop?” I call out.
They keep barking at each other, paying me no mind.
“I said, does anyone have a fucking laptop?”
That gets their attention. Both of them freeze mid-sentence and turn to stare at me like I’ve just materialized out of thin air. Dad’s eyebrows pull together in that familiar expression of disapproval.
“Who do you think you’re talking to in that tone?” he says, taking a step toward me.
“Where is your laptop, Dad?”
He stares at me for a long moment, and I can see him trying to read my face. Whatever he sees there must tell him everything he needs to know, because his expression shifts from anger to concern in the space of a heartbeat.
“Is something wrong?” he asks, gentler now.
“I just need a laptop.”
“I’ll get it for you.” He holds up a hand like he’s trying to calm a spooked horse. “Just… just take a breath, okay? Whatever this is, we can handle it?
I don’t follow him when he disappears down the hallway toward the master bedroom. My breaths are coming fast.
When Dad comes back, he’s carrying his black Lenovo. He hands it to me, but his fingers linger
“Sloane,” he says quietly, “tell me what’s wrong.” ron mine for just a moment too font
I swipe under my eyes with the back of my hand, only then realizing that I’m crying. “What’s the password, Dad?”
He hesitates, maybe debating whether to make me answer his question first. Then he sighs. “Daphne underscore Beau.”
Of course it is. Any other day, I might laugh at the ridiculousness of it. But right now, I have things to do. I move, clutching the laptop against my chest as ! race down the stairs two at a time.
“Is she leaving?” I hear Daphne ask behind me.
“I don’t know,” Dad answers, worry thick in his voice. “But something’s definitely wrong.”
I don’t stop to explain. Don’t even slow down at the bottom of the stairs. I grab the front door handle and yank it open, then turn back to face them one last time.
“It’s best if you all stay in the house tonight,” I say. “Lock the doors. Don’t let anyone in.”
Then I’m outside. I rush down to my car. Most of my guards are leaning against the car’s body, but they straighten when they see me coming.
I have to make at least two of them stay behind and watch the house.
Before getting in, I grab my phone and dial Knox’s number. It rings once, twice, three times before he picks up.
“Bunny-“
I don’t let him go further. In a voice I barely recognize, I say, “Meet me at your club right now, Knox. That psycho has my sister.”
~~KNOX~~
I can hear Jade in the backseat of my car, loading up the guns we pulled from the hidden storage in my home basement.
Mateo thought way outside the box with this one. Sloane’s sister. Of all hostages to choose from. I’ll admit-if it were under another circumstance, I might’ve been impressed. But as it stands, I am not. The minute I heard Sloane’s voice shake on the phone, the minute I heard her sound that small and that furious at the same time, my sympathy for clever strategy went out the damn window.
“You sure we should be carrying this level of firearm around?” Jade asks. “What if we get pulled over and have to explain the assault rifles and all this illegal shit we have back here? My kid-or kids, if they all survive incubation in their mother’s womb-will not see me for a very long time. I bet Margot won’t even tell them I’m alive. Or visit me in prison. All because your girlfriend said Mateo kidnapped that bitch, Serena. Honestly? Just let her die. You’ll be doing the world a favor.”
I was wondering when he’d bring this up. From the moment he walked in after I sent for him and told him what was going on, I could see it, the way all the blood drained from his face as Serena’s name popped up. People love to talk about how dangerous a woman scorned can be, but they clearly haven’t met Jade holding a grudge.
“Left to me, Jade,” I say, “I don’t care what happens to her. But Sloane loves her sister. So we’re saving her.”
“She’ll get over her death. Give it time.”
“I don’t want her to end up spending months grieving. She’s the only thing that makes me happy.”
“You’re just selfish, Knox. Think about it. Sloane’s better off without her sister. I’ll get my revenge. Maybe Margot will grieve, and I’ll get to swoop in and comfort her and get my wife back. It’s a happy ending for everyone. Only sacrifice is a few weeks of your girlfriend crying into your very available shoulders. I doubt she’ll cry that long with you love-bombing her. This is a win-win for everybody.”
I don’t respond immediately. My hand tightens on the wheel.
“The only thing I care about is Sloane,” I say. “The rest of you can honestly go fuck yourselves.”
I press down on the gas a little harder, just enough to make the cap surge forward without drawing attention. We need to get to the club. Fast.
“Then you better hope I’m not among those who break into Mateo’s apartment, Knox-or wherever the hell he’s keeping Serena. Because I would ‘accidentally’ leave a bullet in her chest while saving her.”
“Great,” I mutter. “Then I will kill you.”
“You’ve not once shown sympathy since that girl ruined my life. She practically molested me. I saved her ass by keeping shut about it to her mother, And she decides to blow it all up instead of just saying no to her ex-fianc?’s proposal. If you were half the friend you claim to be, you’d be on my side.”
I can feel him glaring at the back of my head.
“You keep saying these things like I care, Jade.”
“You should care. We’re practically brothers.”
“Sometimes, yeah,” I say. “But not when you’re talking shit like this. First of all, I am your boss. And if I say you’re saving Osama bin Laden, you are. No questions. I am going to hold you responsible if anything goes wrong when we locate Mateo and retrieve Serena. So keep your grievances aside and get Aaron on the line to give us a status report on Mateo’s family in Idaho.”
That shuts him up. The sound of bullets clicking into place stops too. I glance at the mirror again. He’s staring out the window now, one of the assault rifles resting on his lap. His mouth is pressed into a thin line, and I can see him working his jaw like he’s chewing on all the things he wants to say but can’t.