Psync by Zile Elliven

Chapter Thirty-Six

Haruka

Eli was still in Haruka’s arms. And quiet. So terribly, horribly quiet.

Haruka was vaguely aware of the red marks his hands were making where he clenched Eli’s hands and tried to relax, but he couldn’t bring himself to loosen his grip.

He’d gotten so used to roaming freely in Eli’s mind when they touched. The silence he found there now was terrifying. Haruka was afraid if he didn’t hold on as tightly as possible, Eli would slip away from him forever.

“Eli!” Juniper’s voice was edged with hysteria, and she reached out to strike Eli’s cheek.

Haruka caught her by the wrist before she could make contact. “Don’t.” He had no way to explain to her that striking him was pointless. The boy had retreated so far inside himself even Haruka couldn’t reach him. Hitting him would only make Haruka want to hit her back.

And once Eli had recovered, he would be mad at Haruka for doing so. It was the only reason Haruka had been able to restrain himself earlier when Juniper had manhandled Eli.

She was his sister. He knew that, but he’d gotten used to being the only one who was allowed to touch Eli. When he saw someone try to touch him now, all he wanted to do was hurt them.

And as much as Eli seemed to like Haruka’s overly possessive nature, he knew better than to unleash it on the boy’s sister.

But if it would bring Eli back from wherever he had retreated to, Haruka would slap her across the room and apologize later.

He shook his head.

If it didn’t work, it would cause too many unnecessary complications. He was going to need Juniper’s cooperation for what he was about to do next.

“When was Liam released?”

Juniper stared wordlessly at her wrist, still trapped by Haruka. He released it but kept an eye on it in case it got any ideas. When she didn’t respond, he snapped his fingers in front of her face. “I need you to focus right now. How long as it been since someone has seen Liam?”

“Two, no, three days.”

Haruka’s chest tightened, and his skin prickled as adrenaline shot through him. Three days was more than long enough to find out where Eli was. Liam could have already taken him, and Haruka would have never seen it coming.

“You should have told us.” He snapped. His fingers twinged in pain, and he realized he was slowly crushing Eli’s hand. He’d nearly broken the boy’s hand, and Eli’s mind hadn’t given him so much as a whimper.

Juniper looked at Haruka like he’d turned into an alien before her eyes. “Us? I didn’t even know there was an us until five minutes ago.”

Haruka forced himself to soften his tone. He needed her on his side. “There is. I would do anything for him. Whatever you think, I need you to believe that.”

“Every time I talk to Eli, or text with him, he always spends half the time deliberately not telling me about something. I know my brother better than anyone, so I know that whatever he was hiding from me, he was completely over the fucking moon about. It was you, wasn’t it?”

Used to. Juniper used to know Eli the best. That honor was Haruka’s now, and he was never letting it go.

He nodded.

Juniper puffed out her cheeks and blew out a breath. “I had a feeling that if Eli fell for someone, it was going to be dramatic as fuck.”

Haruka snorted. She no idea. “I need you to help me get him out of here.”

“Of course. He can’t stay here, especially like this. Where should we go? The hospital?”

“No,” Haruka said quickly. They might get separated at a hospital, and it would make Eli worse. “I’m taking him home.”

“That’s the first place Liam will look for him!”

Haruka looked at Eli’s blank face and stroked his cheek. “No,” he said softly. “My home.”

✽✽✽

It had been almost too easy to convince Juniper to give Eli to him. Whether it was from shock or not, it made Haruka know he was the best choice for keeping Eli safe. People would die before Haruka let them be separated.

They left in a matter of minutes. Eli had already packed a little, and Haruka would buy him anything he’d missed.

Haruka was busy on his phone making preparations—pulling his old assistant out of her bed to get them the quickest flight to Japan—while Juniper drove them east to their house to grab his passport.

She’d been instrumental in keeping Eli’s mother from stopping their plans. In only a few minutes, Juniper had turned her mother from a nervous, emotional wreck to someone who was fully on board with getting her son out of the country as fast as humanly possible.

It was only when they got to the airport that she gave him trouble.

“Of course, I’m coming with you two. He’s my brother! I’m not sending him to a foreign country alone.” Juniper squared off in front of them at the ticket counter. Eli was tucked against his side, as limp and compliant as a puppet.

“He won’t be alone. He has me.” He would always have Haruka. Always. He took a gamble on Juniper loving her mom as much as Eli did. “But your mother has no one. You stay with her, and I will keep him safe.”

Juniper’s lower lip trembled, and Haruka finally saw the resemblance to her brother.

“I promise.” He willed her to let him take her brother away.

When she lowered her eyes and whispered, “Take him.”

Haruka was torn between being glad she’d stopped resisting and scornful she would let her only brother go so easily.

“Is he okay?” The woman behind the ticket counter spoke up finally, looking at Eli with concern.

Juniper stepped in. “My brother is afraid of flying, so he gets tranqed before he flies.” She shook a prescription bottle in front of the woman, then tucked it into Eli’s bag.

The woman frowned sympathetically. “Poor sweetie.” She reached over the counter as if to pat Eli, and Haruka pulled him away and gave her a look. Her hand stopped like it had hit a force field. She gave an embarrassed laugh and looked back at her screen then gave it a double take. “We’ll take good care of the two of you, Mr. Yamada.”

Juniper mouthed mister at him with her eyebrows raised.

“Someone will be here shortly to escort you to the lounge.”

Juniper’s eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. “Who are you?”

“Someone who can keep Eli safe.”

Haruka tolerated it when Juniper hugged an unresisting Eli. She waved at them, looking as though she could change her mind any second as they were led to the first-class lounge.

While they waited for their plane, Haruka kept Eli tucked safely against him, glaring at anyone who paid them any attention. When it was time to board the plane, Haruka ended up carrying Eli because the boy’s knees kept buckling.

He took one look at the small, but luxuriously decked out cubicles they each had and squeezed himself and Eli into the nearest one.

There hadn’t been so much as a flutter from Eli since he’d learned about his kidnapper’s release, but when an attendant tried to force Haruka to leave Eli’s seat and go to his own, he’d sensed . . . something. It was small and fleeting, but Eli had definite feelings about sitting alone.

Haruka paused, ignoring the flight attendant as she fluttered nervously around them. “Eli?” He tilted the boy’s face so he could look into his eyes, but there was nothing there.

“Sir?”

Haruka sent the woman scurrying with a snarl. He’d buy the fucking plane if he had to, but he wasn’t budging.

Haruka wasn’t able to relax even when the plane was in the air.

No, he wouldn’t be okay until Eli was himself again and somewhere Haruka could keep him safe.