Never Surrender

by Stacy Claflin

  “Do you want to leave?” He put his arm around her.

  “Yes.” She put the lid on the chocolate box and finished her coffee.

  But what would stop the man from following them after they left? She couldn’t tell Dad about this—he already had too much on his plate. And besides, Damon was with her. She was safe.

  Chapter 10

  Alex finished off his plate of brunch foods. He’d barely tasted any of it, but at least his stomach felt better. Not that he did.

  The house was so empty and quiet, he could hear the hum of the fridge and the heater kick on. Both were sounds he never noticed.

  Zoey hadn’t contacted him since their conversation. She was probably enjoying a Japanese dinner right now with the twins and Brenda. Ariana was at a Mexican place with Damon. He’d been able to hear the background noise of conversation when talking to her on the phone, so he had been rested assured they weren’t alone at his house.

  Alex was alone with his thoughts—a place he didn't want to be.

  What he needed was a distraction. His parents, Nick, and Macy had all invited him over to their respective homes, but he didn’t want to be around anyone. Yet at the same time, being alone wasn’t such a great idea. Every time he thought about Zoey his stomach knotted and anger built in his chest.

  After cleaning the kitchen, he grew restless. Everything in the house reminded him of Zoey and the twins—a stray toy, a picture she’d picked out, even marks on the wall. They’d spent their lives in this house. He and Macy had come over all the time during their childhood and teen years.

  He was going to lose his cool if he continued this line of thinking. Either he needed to find something to occupy his thoughts or he needed to take someone up on their offer and go visit them. And the second option wasn’t even a choice. He was in no state to be around anyone.

  His mind wandered to the string of abductions along the coast. That might be what he needed to clear his head. And if he found that the kidnappings didn’t have anything to do with the area, all the better. He could give the facts to Zoey to convince her their town was safe.

  He went upstairs to grab his laptop and settled on the couch with it, perusing online and listening to the evening news to get a feel for what the general public knew. Each of the children taken—all girls, except one—had been snatched from a mall or shopping center. It was definitely a pattern.

  Next, he checked some resources available only to the authorities for information intentionally kept from the masses. None of the security cameras had gotten the perpetrators’ faces. They each wore long coats of varying styles and either sunglasses or a hat. In other words, there was nothing distinguishable about any of the perpetrators.

  He did some digging on the children taken, looking into any similarities between them and their families. It was nothing the feds weren’t sure to be doing, as well. But it never hurt to have extra eyes looking at the details.

  If Alex had been in the mood to talk with anyone, he could have gotten more information from someone at the precinct since they were also looking into the kidnappings. He only wanted enough to put on his blog because some people went straight to his site for abduction updates.

  Speaking of updates, he looked for news on any of the other cases he’d covered. It was next to impossible to follow every missing person he’d featured. There were hundreds, if not thousands, by now. And some of them had barely gotten coverage anywhere else. Often, desperate parents or other loved ones contacted Alex, begging him to feature their case because nobody else would.

  After writing as much as he could and proofreading the post, he called Nick.

  “Did you change your mind about coming over?” Nick answered.

  “No. I’m calling to see how things went at the station today. I’m working on a blog post.”

  “Gotcha. It was as you’d imagine—Crawford was there, hovering. There were fewer feds than usual, but that isn’t surprising given we aren’t actually missing anyone locally.”

  “There aren’t any new cases since we talked this morning?”

  “Not that I’m aware of, but I left a few hours ago.”

  Alex glanced outside and realized it was dark. Hours had passed since he sat down to write the post. He set aside the laptop and walked around. “Anything I should add to my post before I push it to the world?”

  “I assume you looked into our resources?”

  “Yeah, and I obviously won’t add anything being kept from the public.”

  “Can I hear it?” Nick asked.

  Alex read him the post, and they discussed the details for a few minutes.

  “Is there anything you see?” Nick asked. “Similarities between the cases that have been overlooked anywhere else? You have a sharper eye for these. I think blogging has helped you to look at things from other angles. You’ve spent so much time working them, not to mention personal experience.”

  “You have personal experience too, and a lot more police experience than me. And I’m hardly at the top of my game right now, so I’m not sure I could be much help. Just trying to pull together enough information to post for my followers.”

  “You sure about not coming over?” Nick asked. “We’re going to have a family game night with plenty of snacks and desserts.”

  “You convinced Ava and Parker to stay home on a Saturday night?”

  Nick sighed. “Not exactly. They’re both going to hang out with friends afterward, but Tinsley and Hanna are staying in. Do you want to bring Ariana?”

  “She’s out to dinner with Damon. They’re going to meet friends for a movie later.”

  “So, come over without her. Have some fun with us. You don’t want to be alone all evening.”

  “Maybe I do.”

  “I’m going to put you on speaker,” Nick said before Alex could object. “Hey, everyone! Do you want Alex to come over for our game night?”

  A chorus of yeses and cheers sounded over the phone.

  “See?” Nick said. “You’re wanted desperately. Are you going to drive, or do I have to come and get you personally?”

  A warmth spread through Alex and he almost smiled. Almost. “I’ll head over,” he relented. “Only because you’re impossible to say no to.”

  “Glad to hear it. See you soon.”

  “Yep.” Alex ended the call. He returned to his laptop and gave his post one last read-over before publishing it.

  After he closed the computer, the silence of the house rang in his ears.

  Thank goodness for good friends, because as it turned out, he didn’t want to spend the next few hours by himself.

  Chapter 11

  Ariana scooped up the last of the salsa with her chip and laughed at Damon’s joke. She loved being with him because he could get her to laugh even on her worst day. Though this wasn’t her worst day, it made the top ten list.

  Damon glanced at his phone. “Looks like we have about an hour and half before the movie starts. Should we ask for another dessert or find something else to do for a while?”

  “I can find out what Emily’s doing. Maybe we can join her and Rook.”

  “Is that who she’s seeing this week?”

  Ariana shoved him. “Be nice. They’re actually getting serious. She said—”

  A man in a trench coat rose from a table across the restaurant.

  “She said what?” Damon asked.

  Ari couldn’t find her voice. She leaned forward and strained to see the guy. He had a narrow face, big nose, and bushy eyebrows.

  It was the same man from the candy store and the coffee shop.

  There was no way it was a coincidence.

  A chill ran down her back.

  “What’s the matter?” Damon asked.

  “It’s him.” She pointed, not caring if the guy saw her.

  “Who? The restaurant is packed.”

  Ari turned to Damon. “The man in the trench coat. He’s following us.”

  His brows drew together. “You said you saw him
in the chocolate store and the coffee house?”

  “Yes, and that’s him. The same guy. I swear it.”

  Damon leaned forward. “The dude who needs his brows trimmed?”

  “Yes.”

  He whipped out his phone and snapped some pictures, zooming in on the man.

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” she asked.

  “Doesn’t matter because I got pictures. I’m going to text these to your dad.”

  Ari grabbed his phone. “No, don’t.”

  “Why not? He needs to know that dude is following us.” He grabbed it back.

  “He’s got enough on his plate! The last thing he needs to worry about is me when he has to deal with my mom’s drama.”

  “You’re the first thing he should be worried about, especially now.”

  “No,” she pleaded. “My mom left because she’s freaked out about kidnappers around here. If my parents find out about this guy, there’s no way she’ll consider staying. This is only going to make things worse. I can’t deal with worse!”

  Damon’s forehead wrinkled. “But this guy’s following you, and your dad’s a cop. Not telling him is insanity.”

  “No, it’s saving my family. We can’t let my mom think there’s anything to worry about. Please, Damon.”

  He frowned. “He’s clearly following you.”

  “Maybe it’s a coincidence. Isn’t that what you said earlier? Or maybe it’s you he’s after. Who said it’s me? You were kidnapped more recently than I was.”

  Damon’s brows furrowed.

  “Too soon?” she asked.

  “No.” He looked conflicted, glancing back and forth between the man and her. “I’d rather have you safe, even if it risks your mom being worried or mad at your dad.”

  “My parents could get a divorce. They haven’t even been married very long! My whole life, all I’ve wanted was for them to get together. Now you’re going to rip that away from me?”

  “I’m not doing anything other than looking out for you. And to be honest, I can see your mom’s point of view.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “The thought of anything happening to you kills me.” He put his hand on hers. “Both my parents are dead, and now I’m raising myself—unless you count checking in with my foster parents every other day.”

  She relaxed, and the usual guilt stung when he reminded her of his parents. It wasn’t like he was trying to make her feel guilty—he was only giving his perspective. While her mom and dad drove her crazy, she still had both of them. Damon would give anything to have the chance of dealing with drama from his. Instead, they were both in the grave, and he was living in the family house alone. As long as his foster parents got their checks, they didn’t care where he stayed.

  He squeezed her hand. “You’ll let me text your dad?”

  “He’ll freak out. I’ll bet he would even make me come home before we go to the movie.”

  “Even though I’m with you?”

  “Well, yeah. Crazy Pants over there has been following us. He isn’t going to want me wandering around the Bermuda Triangle of kidnappings under these circumstances. You may as well kiss me goodnight now and say hello to only being able to see me at school and with my dad present.”

  Damon twisted his glass on the table as he looked deep in thought. “How about a compromise? I’ll text him after the movie.”

  “That sounds great.” Ariana relaxed. If she was lucky, she would get Damon to forget all about this by the time he dropped her off at home. Then they wouldn’t have to tell Dad at all.

  Best plan ever.

  Damon looked around. “Do you see that guy anywhere?”

  “No. He must’ve gone back to his table.”

  After paying the bill, Damon didn't move to get up.

  “Are we staying here until the movie starts?” Ari asked.

  “I’m trying to figure out what we’re going to do until then. Did you ask Emily what she and Rook are doing?”

  “I forgot after seeing that guy.” She pulled out her phone and texted her best friend, who was just sitting down for dinner. “They’re eating, too.”

  “That’s out. I’m stuffed.”

  “Same here. What now?”

  “There’s always that arcade a few doors down from the theater.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They headed out. Ariana kept a lookout for the trench coat guy but didn’t see him. She relaxed a little when they entered the busy arcade. If the man had any bad intentions, he couldn’t get away with anything in such a crowded place.

  Some of Damon’s friends were there, so they joined them.

  Ariana loved showing them up at the games. Boys almost never expected girls to be better than them at video games.

  Time flew until they had to leave to get to the theater. The cold night air felt good after the too-warm, slightly smelly arcade.

  “There’s Emily!” Ariana waved and called out to her friend across the parking lot.

  She and Rook hurried over. Together, the foursome discussed their movie theories. It was a third-in-series with a lot of hype leading up to it. And it was opening weekend, so they’d been doing everything they could to avoid spoilers since some people had watched it at midnight on Friday morning.

  As they were in line for overpriced snacks, something caught Ari’s attention. Across the room someone wore a trench coat.

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  The guy turned around. It wasn’t Bushy Eyebrows. Just some kid from school who was obsessed with role playing games.

  Her knees turned to rubber.

  “Do you want anything besides popcorn?” Damon asked.

  She turned back to him, trying to hide her relief. “Root beer.”

  Their group waited until everyone had their snacks before heading to the theater. Ariana sipped her drink as Emily and Damon heatedly debated an aspect of the movie plot.

  “Are they always like this?” Rook asked her.

  She shrugged. “I think they do it to get under my skin. They—”

  The man in the trench coat rounded a corner. Stopped. Stared at Ariana.

  It was him. He looked right at her and didn’t make any effort to hide it.

  “Go away, creeper!” Emily glared at the trench coat guy.

  Much to Ariana’s relief, he did. The man bolted down the hall.

  Damon ran after him, not bothering to put down the popcorn or his drink.

  “Damon!” she called.

  Emily turned to her. “Why’s he going after him?”

  “It’s the fourth time we’ve run into him today.”

  “Fourth?” Rook exclaimed. “Seriously?”

  Ariana nodded. “The chocolate shop, the coffee house, the restaurant, and now here.”

  “What does he want?” Emily asked.

  “No idea.”

  Damon returned, his face red but still carrying the snacks. “He got away.”

  Now there was no way she’d get him to forget about showing her dad the pictures of the guy.

  Chapter 12

  Five Fingers slunk into his chair and logged onto the new chatroom. It would be so much easier if he didn’t have to keep setting up new ones all the time, but nothing was ever easy in this business. Financially beneficial, sure. Easy, no.

  The federal agents and at least a dozen police departments were hot on their tail. Several teams were set up just to trace the ring’s digital footprint. Five Fingers knew plenty, and it helped that he had friends in high places. Without those two things going for him, they wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long as they had. It paid to know people.

  But he had to stay on his toes, keeping eyes in the back of his head. He could never sleep deeply. Any moment could be the one he had to flee. He was ready, but he wasn’t looking forward to that day. Especially not when he had such a good gig going.

  The chatroom was busy. It looked like nearly everyone was logged in, just like he’d asked.

  Five Fi
ngers: Good work, everyone. Six in one day. The feds are going crazy.

  Chops: How long do we keep them?

  Five Fingers: Hold tight. Still in negotiations with the buyers.

  Pit Bull: I got a screamer. Had to knock her out, but she hollers every time she wakes up.

  Five Fingers: Deal with it.

  Pit Bull: I am! But I want to be rid of her.

  One Eye: When do we move to the next stage?

  Five Fingers: I said, hold tight. You’ve seen what impatience leads to.

  Chops: You can’t give us an idea? A day? A week?

  Five Fingers: We’re going to take more kids soon. Things are falling into place.

  Eagle Wings: What about that blogger?

  Five Fingers: He took the bait. Juicy post went live already.

  Pit Bull: He’s going to be the death of our operation!

  Five Fingers: No. Got someone on it. He’s trolling his comments right now.

  Chops: Going after his family yet?

  Five Fingers: Watching them.

  Eagle Wings: That’s not enough!

  Five Fingers: I’ll decide when it’s not enough.

  One Eye: You need to go after him. Take one of HIS kids.

  Pit Bull: Yeah, exactly.

  Eagle Wings: And soon.

  Chops: I agree. When are you going to make your move?

  Five Fingers closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He called the shots, not the other way around. It wasn’t their place to make demands.

  They were getting antsy, and he couldn’t blame them.

  But he needed to keep them in line. He was the one who had to keep the buyers happy. And they needed to remember he provided the money from the buyers.

  The Dentist: I agree with them. When?

  Five Fingers: It will happen. Give me time! Unless you want to deal with the buyers, but I guarantee they won’t talk to you. You need to do what I say, or the operation WILL get blown.

  Chops: We’re cutting it close. This plan could get us all found out.

  Five Fingers: The feds aren’t close. I’d know if they were.

  Eagle Wings: It won’t be long. You need to take one of the blogger’s kids.