by Jill Shannon
"Four." Willow heard the hopelessness in her voice. "That's why I say she could have relapsed. She's been known to be gone for a week and then comes home. But she was doing so well."
"I'm assuming you've called her phone and checked with other friends? Have you called her sponsor?"
Yankee was piecing together what the conversation was about. The mother of one of Willow's friends was calling her, seeking any information she could get on her missing daughter.
"We've called anyone and everyone who might have been in touch with her. Her sponsor hasn't heard from her in as many days as well. That's what made us start calling around. If she had relapsed, Irene is the first one she would have tried to reach out to. But I feel it in my bones; something is wrong. Maybe she is hurt somewhere and can't tell us?"
"Have you contacted the police?" Willow asked.
"Frank contacted one of his old buddies in the department, but once he heard that she was a previous drug addict and alcoholic—" Willow could hear the despair in Sophie Spenser's voice and finished her statement for her.
"They aren't really putting much effort into finding her. Is that what you were going to say?"
Just then, Hunter came climbing up the stairs to the landing. He had set his alarm to relieve Yankee. When Hunter woke, he immediately noticed Willow was missing from his bed. Throwing on clothes, he had left the room in search of her. Finding her pacing and speaking on the phone to someone, he could tell from the tenseness in her shoulders, something wasn't right. He looked to Yankee. "Any clue what that's all about?"
"From what I've surmised, a woman named Mrs. Spenser is calling to see if Willow has seen her daughter."
"That's Willow's friend. She was hoping to catch up with her at her birthday party, but she never showed." Just then, Hunter put two and two together. "Is she talking about Hailey Spenser?"
Yankee shook his head yes. "You know her?"
"She works for me at the gym, the best manager I have there." Hunter's face filled with concern.
"Well, from what I could hear, apparently, Hailey has been missing for four days. Her parents say there is a chance she could have relapsed, but they don't believe that."
"I don't, either. I knew when I hired Hailey, she had a past with drugs and alcohol, but she was clean and wanted to stay that way."
Willow was getting off the phone with Mrs. Spenser when she saw Hunter had joined them. She told Sophie that she would keep in touch with her for updates. Plus, Willow would reach out to anyone she could think of who might have seen or heard from her. She walked over to the men, putting her phone away.
"What did Mrs. Spenser have to say?" Hunter asked.
"How did you know?" Her voice faded away as she looked at Yankee. "Were you listening to my conversation?"
Yankee's cheeks blushed. "Guilty as charged." Shrugging his shoulders and holding his hand's palms up then putting them down and standing from the captain's chair, he asked, "What's going on?"
"My friend Hailey Spenser is apparently missing, according to her parents. She left for work the other night and never came home. I even went to the gym when I got to town so we could reconnect, but she wasn't there. Apparently, it's the same night she didn't come home." She heard Hunter whisper, "Shit," under his breath. "Do you know anything about her?" She directed her question to Hunter.
He knew she would find out eventually that he owned the gym. He had been hoping he could have waited a little longer to tell her. "Yes, I know who Hailey Spenser is. She manages the gym I own." He let what he had said sink in.
On that note, Yankee knew it was time for him to say his goodbyes. "Well, I'm going to head downstairs to get a couple of hours of shut-eye." He turned to Hunter. "Judge doesn't think they will be going anywhere until the morning. He left his phone, in case the prospects call; it's on the shelf by the wheel. Wake me if anything changes, and Saint," Yankee moved to stand on the side of Hunter, putting his hand on his shoulder, "remember, she just found out her friend is missing. You have a card you can play." Hunter gave him a sideways look. "Liam and his crew. See what they can find out. Your mom sent them to help you; does it matter that it has nothing to do with what we are doing here?"
Hunter gave a head nod of agreement, and Yankee was gone. "Shall we?" He motioned her to the captains' chairs. "Would you like another beer?" he asked, knowing he was going to need one.
"Yes, I think I do." Willow sat again and waited for Hunter to join her. After realizing what he had meant with his statement, the memory of their first meeting flashed through her mind. "I can't believe I basically told you to go fuck yourself that night at the gym. You could have forced the issue that you owned the joint, but you didn't. Why?"
"I was so impressed by your courage that it never dawned on me to say anything. I did enjoy watching you run." He tried to lighten the mood. Seeing his humor wasn't helping, he said, "Anyway, that's not what's important here. What did Sophie say, exactly?" bringing the subject back to Hailey.
"Sophie?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, Sophie. She came and introduced herself to me one day to see if I had any job openings. After she explained Hailey's situation, I hired her. She was so grateful, she cooked me dinner for a week. Hailey's been working for me ever since. She's a good employee and a decent person. She was planning to go away with her parents. She'd asked for a few days off. I figured when she didn't show that night for work that they had left earlier then she thought."
"But you knew I was hoping to see my friend Hailey at my birthday party. Didn't you realize they were the same person?"
"How was I supposed to know that? You never mentioned Hailey's last name, and there are a lot of Haileys out there."
Willow knew he was right; he wasn't a mind reader. "You're right. I'm just really worried about her. The last time I spoke with Mrs. Spenser was when I left for college. So, for her to hunt down my number and call, she must really be out of her mind with worry."
"Do you have a picture of her?"
"Yeah, the last time we talked, she sent one to show me how well she was doing."
"Good, send it to me."
They each pulled out their phones. Willow searched her texts to find the one from Hailey. Opening it, she searched for the picture and forwarded it to Hunter. She also took the time to send Hailey a text. Hey, Hailey, you need to call me as soon as you can. Your mother called looking for you. She's worried to death. Please, as soon as you get this, call me. I'm worried too."
Hitting the send button, she waited a few seconds to see if she'd get a reply. Instead, what she received was a failure to send message. "Either her battery died, or she was out of a service area. I just tried to text her, and it wouldn't go through." She put her phone in her sweatpants pocket.
They heard the ping of the phone indicating he had received a message. He opened the text and sent it to Liam. He waited a few moments and then called him on the phone. A groggy voiced man picked up the other line. "Liam, it's Hunter. Sorry to call so late. I just sent you a photo of a missing woman. I want you and your team to find out everything you can on her and what might have happened to her. She was last seen heading to work at my gym on Main Street. Check all the surveillance cameras in the area. Do some investigating and get back to me as soon as possible." Liam responded to Hunter's request, and he hung up the phone.
"Who is Liam?" Willow asked.
"My mom sent a team to watch my back. Liam is the commander of their squad. He and his men will do a thorough job and report back to me." He drank some of his beer, hoping he had set her mind at ease. "Now, tell me why you left our bed and didn't wake me?"
Knowing he had done everything he could do to help find Hailey, she replied, "I was restless and didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful."
Hunter realized she hadn't slept at all. "You've been up all night. Willow, you need to rest. You won't do anyone any good if you're run down. Now," he grabbed Judge's phone off the shelf it was resting on. "Come with me." He hel
ped her down from the chair and guided her to the lounge bed. He climbed onto the bed and propped himself up with the pillows. "Lie here with me and get some rest, princess. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day." Willow climbed onto the bed and snuggled into his waiting arms. When she was settled, he told her, "Now, get some rest. We'll talk about you leaving our bed in the middle of the night when all this is settled."
By the time she laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes were beginning to close. She really didn't want to think about that conversation. She knew he must have been worried about her. "I didn't mean to make you worry," she told him then covered her mouth as she yawned.
"Go to sleep," was all he said, pulling her in tight next to him. He held her as she fell asleep. Thinking of the terror Sophie must be feeling with not knowing what happened to Hailey, he knew if anything happened to Willow, it would be his breaking point. He pulled her in tighter to his body, keeping watch over her as she slept.
Judge was the first one to join Hunter and Willow as the sun began to push its way up along the water. He looked at a sleeping Willow and cocked his head toward Hunter. He extracted himself from Willow and met Judge at the bar. "Must be nice to have such lovely company on a stakeout," Judge teased. "You might want to wake her, though. Yankee's in the galley, making coffee, and I heard Viking and Luca stirring in their cabins." He nodded his head in Willow's direction. "How did she end up sleeping here instead of down below?"
Hunter glanced over his shoulder at her. "Well, at first, she couldn't sleep. Then she got a call from her friend's mother as I was coming to relieve Yankee. You know the chick Hailey I hired to manage the gym? Turns out, she's Willow's best friend. Her mom thinks she's missing. Yankee suggested I contact Liam and put his investigating skills to use. So, that's what I did. Once I did that, she was finally ready to sleep. I didn't want her to be alone."
"Any news from Liam?"
"It's still early. I'm sure he hasn't even started canvassing yet."
"Could she have relapsed?" Judge inquired, knowing about Hailey's past.
"Her mom doesn't seem to think so, but there is always that shadow of a doubt. I don't think she did. She was excited to be going on a real vacation with her parents for the first time in a long time. That's not the attitude of someone who is going to dive right back to their demons."
"I agree with you. The last time I saw Hailey at the gym, she was genuinely happy. I want to know what Liam finds out. Something doesn't feel right to me, and a missing woman in our territory doesn't sit well with me."
"As soon as I know, you'll know."
"Know what?" Yankee asked them as he placed a pot of coffee on the bar.
"I called Liam. I was filling Judge in."
"Yeah, something seems fishy about that whole thing," Yankee voiced his opinion. "You might want to wake sleeping beauty over there. It's not going to be so peaceful up here in a few minutes." Grabbing some mugs from under the bar, he began pouring coffee for the three of them.
Hunter left them at the bar to go and wake Willow. Shaking her gently, he watched as her sleepy eyes meet his. "Good morning, princess. Time to move back to the cabin or start waking up."
Willow wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up on the lounge. Looking around her surroundings, she saw Judge and Yankee at the bar, sipping coffee. "Can I get one of those?"
"Coming right up," Yankee said, filling another cup for her.
Willow reached for the phone in her pocket as her feet hit the deck. At the same time, Hunter retrieved Judge's phone from the power cord. When she saw that she had no messages, she shoved it back in her pocket and joined the men at the bar. Thanking Yankee for the cup, she added some sugar and milk. When Hunter returned, she asked him, "Have you heard anything from Liam?"
Hunter handed Judge's phone to him. "Nothing from the prospect." Then he turned his attention to Willow. "Nothing from Liam."
"Who's Liam?" Viking asked as he and Luca arrived at the bar.
"Well, this is where I take my leave. I know who Liam is." She turned to Hunter, saying, "I'm going to take a shower and get dressed. I'll be back. Hopefully, you'll have news by then." She kissed him on the cheek and headed for the stairs. She yelled over her shoulder to Yankee, "Thanks for the coffee, and by the way, your Black Rose is truly a magnificent boat." Then she disappeared down the stairs.
After she left, Viking asked again, "Who's Liam?"
"He's Saint's personal bodyguard. His mother wants to make sure her little boy is safe," Yankee kidded with Hunter.
"I'd like you to say that to my mother's face when she gets here," Hunter threw back at him then grinned.
Yankee conceded defeat to Hunter, "You win. I love your mother, but I know what she's like when it comes to your safety." Yankee held his hands out in front of him.
"All kidding aside, could you explain why you need Liam if you're here?" Viking was still confused.
Hunter went on to explain to Viking and Luca the new situation with Hailey disappearing. He told them how he was using Liam on the ground while they handled Alex and Jax. When he had finished, Viking said, "Well, damn. What the hell is gone wrong with this world, when an innocent woman can be snatched right off the street?"
"Under our protection," Judge finished Viking's statement. Finishing his coffee, he looked at Luca and Viking, saying. "I don't know about anybody else, but I need some food. You two go scramble up some eggs and fry some bacon, while we wait to hear from the prospects."
"I can eat too," Yankee agreed. "You should find everything you need in the galley. Could you add some toast to that as well?"
"You want jam on the side?" Viking asked sarcastically. "When did we become the chefs around here?" He looked at Luca for support.
Luca bowed his head in shame for not agreeing with Viking. "I'm sorry, my friend. I am but a guest amongst you. I feel honored to be part of this operation." He looked at Viking. "It's okay. I know my way around a kitchen. I can take care of breakfast."
"The job is yours, Luca," Judge announced. "There, I settled the cooking problem. Now, can we get back to the issue at hand? Saint, you're sure the tracking devices the prospects installed are working?"
"Yes, Judge. As soon as the boat starts, they will kick on. I had them install three trackers and one listening device near the helm. I figured it couldn't hurt to have an edge," Hunter told him.
"Always a step ahead, that's why I love you, brother." Judge slapped him on the back. "The only thing left to do is sit and wait now." He picked up the empty pot of coffee and asked Luca. "Any good at making coffee? We could use another one."
"I'm on it," Luca expressed, taking the pot from his hand.
"You need a hand?" Viking asked, feeling bad about throwing him under the bus earlier.
"Sure, you can make the toast. You can at least sit while you do that, instead of leaning over," Luca teased with him then laughed. "How you don't hit your head every time you walk into a room is beyond me." Luca headed for the stairs with Viking following him.
Hunter, Judge, and Yankee all heard Viking's reply and laughed. "I learned at a young age to duck. It just comes naturally now, I guess."
By the time Willow had showered, dressed, and retraced her steps back to the upper deck, the men were sitting, enjoying the buffet breakfast Luca had laid out. "I see they let you into the galley," she said, addressing Luca as she picked up a plate and began loading eggs, bacon, and some fruit on to it. "How you ever became a salvage diver and not a chef amazes me." Wrapping her free hand around a glass of orange juice, she joined the men at the table. She wanted to know so badly if Hunter had heard from Liam, but at the same time, she didn't want to ask. She opted to eat the food on her plate.
Willow listened to the talk around the table that was light and humorous. Not the kind of emotion she would have expected facing the unknown. Yet, it was nice to hear, the laughter that rang out after a tale was told, each trying to top the other. She smiled to herself at how men could be so competiti
ve yet so childish. She was just about finished with her breakfast when Hunter's phone made an engine starting sound. Then, not two seconds later, the prospects called Judge to let him know they were leaving the dock. Gone was the childishness, and what replaced it was a group of warriors. Yankee left the table immediately and began to raise the anchor on the Black Rose. The other men started tossing their plates and such onto the tray Luca had brought up, leaving Luca and Willow to clean up.
Seeing her expression change, Luca told her, "No worries, Chica." He slapped her hands away from the plates. "I got this. You go see if you can help."
"Thank you, Luca." She kissed him on the cheek and added her plate to the pile.
Yankee started the powerful engines. Hunter walked over to him and gave Yankee his phone. "Keep listening. I'll be right back." He grabbed the tray from the table. "Come on, Luca, I can at least help you bring these to the galley. I need to get my computer below." He and Luca disappeared down the stairs, and when Hunter returned, he was carrying his laptop. Setting it up on the bar, he pulled up the tracking program, watching the three red flashing lights as the boat idled out of the canal. He retrieved his phone from Yankee, connecting it to the computer and recording every noise it picked up from the boat. The Dark Horse made its way out of the canal then out into open water. As they were easing away from the Black Rose, they started to talk.
Jax's voice came through loud and clear. "So, we make the pickup, drive the boat to the coordinates in international water, transfer whatever it is they give us, and we head back. How many deliveries are we going to have to make to be clear of our debt to Carlos?"
"I don't care how many deliveries it takes. I want to be free of that fucking nut case," Alex growled at her.
"It sounds too easy," Jax stressed. "Just too fucking easy. Don't you think this is too easy? Don't you want to know what we are transporting?"
"I don't really give a shit as long as it gets us out from under Zapatero's thumb."
"The DEA and the U.S. Coast Guard are not stupid. You don't think they are going to think it's strange if they see a speeding luxury boat headed toward international water?" she questioned.