Maya (Book #3)

Chapter 59

A couple of minutes later, I was dressed in my black Adidas sweats and a black hoodie. I had an army green tank top underneath, which was really the best I could do with no instructions on how to dress. I wasn't even fully sure what our plan was for this evening. I twisted my hair quickly into braids as I walked downstairs and entered the living room without notice. Brooks and Dominic were passing the computer back and forth and Charlotte was watching them, in deep thought. Caleb and Damon could be heard in the kitchen walking back and forth between the garage and kitchen.

"Did it work?" Dominic demanded as Brooks typed with a look of concentration on his face.

"Just have to recover the deleted text from the computer back up and see if the number is blocked or encrypted..." he muttered, including a bunch of technical jargon that I couldn't understand. Dominic leaned over him, pointing when there was a problem or helping him fill in my passwords.

"Yep, we got the number!" Brooks said, flipping the laptop so Dominic could see it.

"Yes!" Dominic shouted, jumping up and ruffling his younger brother's hair. Brooks ducked with a look of annoyance but also subtle happiness. He was satisfied with himself and proud to have his brother impressed with him. When he saw me, he dropped his face to the laptop and snapped a picture of the computer screen with his phone. Dominic ran over to me and lifted me into the air, spinning.

"We did it!" he shouted, far too close to my ear. He orbited us a couple more times until I started to get dizzy.

"Put me down, monster!" I shouted back, stretching to try to reach his ear and failing miserably. He set me on the floor, and I grabbed his arm to steady myself.

"Monster?" he asked innocently, rubbing a hand on his chin and pretending to remember something. "And here I thought I was so... awesome?" He covered his mouth with a fist and turned his laugh into a cough so the others wouldn't know. My jaw dropped and I shoved him as Damon walked into the room, overhearing the end of our conversation.

"You're not awesome," he commented unemotionally to Dominic, making his smile drop immediately. "It's time to go."

His face was blank and smooth, but his arm muscles were taut. He looked dangerous, as if he were ready to kill someone, and wouldn't regret it for a second. Without thinking, I walked over to him and kissed his shoulder, the tallest part of him I could reach.

He looked slightly mollified but mostly stunned. He pressed a hand to his shoulder like I had shot it, and looked down at me, pale eyes wide.

"What was that for?" he asked, visibly thawing out from his anger. His arms dropped to his side, and he looked suspicious but pleased. Caleb, who was watching from the doorway, smiled and gave me a thumbs up. He mouthed "he's crazy" and I tried not to laugh as I faced Damon again.

"I love you. Thank you for working so hard to help me," I said honestly, smiling up at him.

He nodded stiffly with the hint of a smile on his face and called the others over into the center of the living room. They each looked determined, and we huddled up in a circle as Damon told us the game plan.

"Mom, we need you to stay here at the house and make sure Maya's uncle doesn't show up. If he does, you can call the police but don't engage with him, obviously." He began, and she nodded grimly and perused the house. It looked like she was thinking of what she had to do and how best to protect the doorways from entry.

"Brooks, Caleb, and I will take this evidence to the police station including your laptop and phone to see what they can do with it," Damon announced, looking at me to confirm that this was okay. I nodded quickly, not minding at all.

"Dom and Maya, we need you to be looking for more evidence. This probably isn't enough to stop him and if the officer you saw is aware of where you're currently living, time is of the essence. Look in your bedroom, Maya, or head back to your old house if you need to. Be. Safe." He emphasized each word carefully, and I realized he was truly worried about me. I gave him an encouraging smile to show that I wasn't afraid. While it was possible that Officer Walker had told my uncle where I was, I didn't think he would just show up here after all this time. There were many more of us than there was of him, and he was the one who couldn't be discovered.

"What if we find something?" I asked, thinking of the picture I had snagged weeks ago. There could easily be something else in my old house that I or my brothers had missed.

"Take a picture and text it to us, and then meet us at the police station. If you don't find anything, then come to us anyway. We need you to be safe." Damon said seriously. Brooks nodded and wrapped an arm around me, kissing me on the top of the head.

"I have a picture that's sort of my uncle and I together, only you can barely tell..." I admit, thinking of the grainy image.

"Bring it. Grab everything and anything you think might benefit the police." Damon replied earnestly. I nodded and a calm spread over my body as I realized it was time for action. My body seemed to exist in a perpetual state of tenseness until there was something I had to do. My muscles practically stretched and woke up for the challenge, refreshed and eager to go.

"Will you all be safe?" Charlotte asked, looking at the boys with despair prevalent in her eyes. She turned to me last, and her face seemed to wilt with abject worry.

"We're just going to the police station, Mom," Damon said gently, as Caleb placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It should be pretty safe there," Caleb reassured her in a kind voice. We all chuckled at the sarcasm.

She nodded and hugged each of them as they left for their respective mission. Dominic went to his room to prepare a bag for us to carry in case of emergencies. He told me to go to my room to see if there was anything that might be helpful.

"Meet downstairs when you're done!" he said, pointing his finger at me with a straight face.

"Deal!" I said, holding my hand up for a high-five. He rolled his eyes but he couldn't help releasing a little chuckle as he held up his hand and I jumped for it. We split up and I ran to my room.