Kylie Bray (Love, Hate and Billions)

Chapter 18 (Michael Stone)

The speed of light travels approximately six hundred and seventy one million miles per hour. It takes

the average Toyota sedan fifty miles per hour without alerting cops AND an average brain thirteen

milliseconds to see an image. In that time I have memorized the entire room with every detail in it.

My brother, Jace has been gone for thirty three hours. My siblings and father are still thinking small

thoughts.

I already know what happened, he was kidnapped. By who, for what or why are things I don't need to

know just yet. Right now I just need to find him.

After, I will worry about the latter and destroy whoever it is. Nobody harms my family and still walks

away.

I have always been different from my family, but I am not Kevin. I feel emotion, more than other people

do. Understanding the concept of it and where feelings come from is something I knew as early as five.

But I can also choose to not let my emotions overcloud my judgment, over shadow my focus.

I am worried sick about my brother, he is young and I know someone took him. And once that thought

made logical sense, I have been searching.

“I narrowed the possible locations to thirty one places, that is including if they had time to get to an

aircraft. Now I'm canceling out the negatives and keeping everything with a forty eight point two percent

probability.” I say this as my fingers dance across my keyboards. The one on my lap is an extra I keep

in my Jet in case one of the other two fail.

My eyes remain concentrated to the seventy two inch projector screen, also something I keep in case I

need to work.

The lounge area I am currently sitting in at my dad’s house is not my ideal conditions, but with time

running out and my brother missing this was made adequate for getting the task completed.

“Any word from Kevin?”

I look up at my stepmother for a second out of respect as I ask the question.

Her physical form is breathtakingly beautiful and though she has hardened with years she is a kind

woman. Not an insensitive bitch like my mother.

My older brother David has always begrudged Hunter for something that happened years before she

married my father.

“Yes, they are on their way to the pub, then heading straight here.” She says from the wall she is

currently holding up with her tall form. She is still in her work clothes she put on this morning- a loose

chino pants and white blouse, barefoot and no make up. Which tells me that my stepmother isn't

handling this well. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Which surprises me as she disappeared years ago, left all her kids for three years, with no goodbye, no

hello. It messed Kylie up the worst as she won't even greet a person or say goodbye.

Only my dad knew where she went and why. Well he thought he was the only one. I knew she was in

Prague, why, I haven't had a chance to figure that out as yet. I have been busy building my empire and

finding a way to slow down the effects of global warming on a more permanent and larger scale.

“Call Kevin tell him I am sending location points around the area, he should check those out while he's

there.”

“Kevin just called, They in Colorado.” My brother David barges into the lounge, his slight graying hair

and wide shouldered, posture just like our grandfather- broad, including his ego too.

I don't look at him as he enters. There is nothing wrong with my hearing.

“Diamond's father’s people are meeting them at the pub, something about the locals not snitching.”

“Let's pretend for a second that you CAN take a message properly and try that again,” I suggest as my

eyes and fingers remain occupied.

He ignores my suggestion, instead of crowding my space,

“While they waiting, give me a few of the locations to check out.”

“I'm coming with you, we will take the Rover,” I insist, while my eyes and fingers remain on my laptops.

“Then let's move, I DON'T like this Michael, the pentagon has been having shitty threats recently. The

device Diamond's building seems to be turning heads, I don't like this one bit.”

I should reply to that statement, but I don't. Diamond is one of us, she is family, I see her as an adopted

daughter of sorts, maybe I will adopt her one day.