Caged

35

Lucas stepped inside.

I could feel the rage simmering off of Kaiden, but he didn't have a choice because the gun was pointed at him. He had to let him in.

The grin never left Lucas's face as he entered, and Kaiden moved to stand in front of us. My heart was pounding inside my chest as Ethan grabbed my arm and pulled me next to him, Caleb not too far behind.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought friends," Lucas drawled and not even a second later, another figure stepped in through the door.

It was Will. The man who'd taken me out of the car, the man who'd said that awful thing about Sophia which I still couldn't wrap my mind around.

Will winked at me as he propped himself back against the door, but didn't say a word. My mouth ran dry as I spotted the weapon tucked into his waistband and I inched closer to Ethan.

"How's my favorite family doing?" Lucas asked, but he only looked at me as he said the words and I swallowed hard.

Kaiden didn't respond, and Lucas clicked his tongue. "Alright, fine. Be like that."

"What the fuck do you want?" Kaiden snapped, moving so he was closer to Ethan, Caleb and I.

Lucas frowned and I watched as he gestured to Will for a cigarette. "If you continue to be rude, Kai, I just might have to shoot you."

Kaiden bristled, and Lucas continued. "Also, before you try anything, I have men surrounding the entire house. So, if I were you, I wouldn't do anything stupid. Your neighbors won't do shit either, we've scared them off."

"What do you want?" Kaiden asked again, his voice calm.

Lucas smirked and I watched as he took another drag, leaning back against the wall. He handed his gun over to Will who took it without a word.

"If you were wondering, Elijah's dead."

My heart stopped.

I heard Caleb's sharp inhale of breath next to me, and Ethan's hand fell away from my arm. Kaiden's rage slipped away, and I stumbled back a step in shock, wondering if I had heard him correctly.

Lucas started again, his lips twitching mockingly. "The son of a bitch killed all of my best men until I finally got to him. Don't worry, it was a pretty clean shot though, in my opinion. Straight through his heart. It was quick, so I doubt he suffered."

Black spots crowded the edge of my vision as I stumbled back another step. Bile rose to the back of my throat and I started trembling so hard, I was afraid something would break.

Everyone was speechless. Or maybe they weren't, and I just couldn't hear what they were saying.

Lucas's chuckle cut through the silence of the air. "Just kidding."

In the blink of an eye, all the air returned back to my lungs and my throat opened up. My pulse was pounding so hard, I could feel it at different points.

Will spoke up for the first time. "We almost got him. Unfortunately, he did kill all of our best, but don't worry, he's alive. Don't know where he went, but he's out there somewhere."

Elijah was alive. He was okay. He was out there somewhere. He wasn't home, but he was alright.

For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe.

I didn't realize Lucas was talking to me, until he called my name and I startled, looking back at him.

He smiled and I knew I wasn't going to like what he said next.