Unbroken (The Protectors 12)

The sight of those silent tears streaking down Aleks’s cheeks was a brutal reminder that I deserved anything his brother chose to do to me.

“Dante?” Aleks finally managed to get out on a strangled sob.

“It’s me, irmãozinho.”

I didn’t know what the Portuguese word meant, but it had a profound effect on Aleks because he covered his mouth with one hand.

“I’m coming, Aleks. I’m coming to get you. Just tell me where you are.”

“Dante,” Aleks whispered brokenly. I could tell he was on the verge of losing it and I could feel my own eyes stinging.

“It’s okay, Aleks. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you and take you home and it’ll all be over. I won’t let anyone hurt you, do you hear me? I’m coming right now… just… just tell me where you are.” Dante’s voice broke and I heard him suck in a breath. “Look around the room. Tell me what you see. Can you see a window? Do you hear anything? Are they in the room with you?”

The rapid-fire questions were hard to follow and I could picture a desperate Dante clinging to the phone as he tried to stave off his panic. When Aleks didn’t do anything but whisper his brother’s name again, I started to reach for the phone so I could tell Dante myself where we were.

But Aleks suddenly pulled the phone closer to his mouth and with surprising strength said, “Dante?”

“I’m here, little brother. I’m here,” Dante said.

“Dante, I…”

Aleks suddenly looked up at me and held my eyes. I could see the terror in them. But there was something else too. Some emotion I couldn’t name. When he spoke again, Aleks kept his eyes on me.

“Dante, I can’t come home right now.”

“You can, Aleks. Just… just stay on the line as long as you can, okay? Magnus is having Daisy trace your call. We’ll know where you are in a minute.”

“Dante,” Aleks repeated. “I can’t come home… it’s not… it’s not safe.”

There was a beat of complete silence that was almost deafening as Dante finally seemed to understand what his brother was saying. I held my breath as I stared at Aleks in surprise.

Was he… was he…?

God, he was. He was choosing me. He was choosing to stay with me.

“Why isn’t it safe, Aleks?” Dante asked carefully.

Aleks finally dropped his eyes. “They found me. Don’t be mad at Mama and Papa, Dante. They didn’t know…”

“Aleks,” Magnus’s voice cut in. I heard some background noise, so I figured Magnus had put the phone on speaker as well. “Aleks, talk to us,” the older man said, his voice calm but carrying an edge of something to it.

“I’m okay, Magnus,” Aleks said. “Tell Dante I’m all right. They didn’t hurt me.”

“He’s here,” Magnus said. “He can hear you, Aleks.”

“Dante,” Aleks whispered, his own voice cracking a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, irmãozinho,” Dante said softly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Dante, you have to get out of the house. You and Magnus… and you have to watch out for Matty and Hawke and Tate and everybody because they might come to the house looking for me.”

“Who?” Magnus asked gently.

“He doesn’t know,” Aleks said as he looked up at me. “I… I believe him, Magnus.” There was a tremor in Aleks’s voice as he spoke. “He says he took me to keep me safe and I believe him.”

I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was still holding.

“Is it Vaughn?” Magnus asked. “Is that who you’re with?”

Aleks didn’t answer. He held my gaze and chewed on his lower lip nervously. I gave him a nod.

“Yes,” he breathed into the phone.

“Is he there in the room with you?” Magnus asked carefully.

“Yes,” Aleks repeated. “He can hear you.”

“Aleks,” Dante said calmly, his voice now holding a cold edge to it. “Take the phone off speaker and give it to Vaughn,” the man said.

“Dante—” Aleks began.

“Aleks,” I interrupted as I held out my hand. “It’s okay,” I said. Aleks hesitated, then handed me the phone. I took it off speaker. By the time I had it to my ear, Dante was talking.

“Tell me where you are,” was all he said.

“The second I figure out how to keep him safe, that’s exactly what I’ll do,” I said.

“Vaughn,” Magnus said. “You need to bring him back. If what you say is true, he’s going to need as many eyes on him as possible.”

I wanted to laugh at the man’s attempt at pragmatism. Not surprisingly, I didn’t get a chance to respond.

“If you even touch him—” Dante began, but then stopped and I could practically feel his fury vibrating through the phone. “I’m going to kill you for this,” he finally whispered, his voice deadly.

“I know,” was all I said. “I’ll keep him safe. Watch out for your family, Dante. These people will use whatever means it takes to get what they want.” I was about to hang up when I saw the starkness in Aleks’s eyes. “Talk to your brother, Dante,” I said gently, then handed the phone back to Aleks, who put it to his ear.