Wren Delacroix Series Box Set

by V. J. Chambers

  Angela followed them and locked the door behind them, calling, “I hope you find Wren!”

  Reilly climbed down the steps and looked across the street at Billy’s.

  Hawk turned in a circle, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “You’re really worried about her,” said Reilly.

  Hawk looked up at the other man. “Maybe I shouldn’t be. She and I, we argued, so she’s probably just trying to stay clear of me.”

  Reilly felt cheered by the thought of Wren and Hawk arguing. But that was stupid. He shouldn’t feel that. Why didn’t he like Hawk Marner? He felt as though he’d hated the other man on sight, and Reilly wasn’t usually that way. “Sorry you had a fight.”

  “There are people around here who don’t like her very much, on account of Vivian, you know,” said Hawk. “People in Cardinal Falls can get a little biblical, and not just the members of the Fellowship. Visiting the sins of the father on the child, or the sins the mother, well…”

  Reilly stiffened. “I didn’t think about that.”

  “Well, I did.”

  “Can we put together a list of people who might have been angry with her?”

  “Be a hell of a list,” said Hawk. “Lots of people had ties to Vivian’s victims. Ten people were murdered at the Walker massacre. You have any idea what kind of ripple effect that can have?”

  “Shit,” muttered Reilly.

  “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “Wait, she’s got a friend. Uh, Kimora?”

  “Talked to her,” said Hawk. “Wren’s not there.”

  “Maybe she’s at Billy’s?”

  “She’s not,” said Hawk. “I’ve been everywhere.”

  Reilly passed a hand over the top of his head. “Okay, okay. Let’s not get out of shape here. We’re going to find her. She’s going to be fine. We’re worrying for nothing.”

  His phone rang.

  Reilly answered it. “Reilly here.”

  “Reilly, it’s Lopez,” said the voice on the other end. “I got bad news.”

  “Okay,” said Reilly, feeling his body going tense.

  “It’s about Colt Baldwin,” said Lopez.

  Reilly gripped the phone harder. The last time he’d seen Colt Baldwin, the man had been swearing to Reilly that he would get personal and lasting revenge against the detective for putting him away in prison for life. Colt had been part of an armed robbery gone wrong. Three people had died, and Colt was responsible. He wasn’t ever supposed to get out of prison. “If you tell me that bastard’s getting parole—”

  “He escaped.”

  “You’re not serious.”

  “Afraid I am, and it gets worse.”

  “How can it get worse?”

  “He’s been on the loose for a week now, and no one bothered to let us know. He was in the prison up in Cumberland, and he’s had ample time to work his way back over to this neck of the woods. I’ve already called in a protective detail on your ex-wife and son, but you may want to let her know what’s going on.”

  Reilly squeezed his eyes shut and held onto the phone for dear life.

  “Reilly?”

  “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “He could have come before this. I never would have known—”

  “I know,” said Lopez. “It’s shit. I complained. They apologized, but what’s that going to do, really?”

  “I gotta go.”

  “Yeah, I figured. You can probably beat the detail out to her place if you’re close.”

  “Thanks for whatever you did, Lopez.”

  “Of course. Hope it’s enough.”

  They hung up.

  Reilly turned on Hawk. “I got shit raining down on me out of nowhere. I have to go. My kid could be in danger.”

  “Sure,” said Hawk. “Of course.”

  * * *

  But by the time Reilly arrived at Janessa’s place, two cop cars were already parked in the driveway, and Janessa was out there, arguing with one of the uniforms. Reilly parked and hurried over to intervene.

  “What the hell, Caius?” Janessa greeted him with. “What are these guys doing here?”

  He put a hand on her shoulder and tried to guide her away from the officer.

  She shook him off. “I don’t think so. Keep your hands to yourself. I’m engaged to another man.”

  Reilly rolled his eyes.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  “You remember Colt Baldwin?” he said.

  She shook her head.

  “I know I told you about this guy. He robbed a store, armed robbery. He got spooked. He shot a bunch of people. He’s… unstable.”

  “You arrested him?”

  “He escaped from jail,” said Reilly. “And he’s got a little grudge against me.”

  Janessa’s lips parted.

  “I’m sorry,” said Reilly. “Lopez sent over the detail. I’m going to stay outside the house all night—”

  “Like fuck you are.”

  He stepped back, surprised by the force of her response, by her use of the word fuck. She didn’t swear like that unless she was really pissed off.

  “I’m taking Timmy and we’re going to Garth’s,” she said.

  “How is that a good idea?” said Reilly. “No offense to Garth, but I don’t see him fighting off—”

  “This Colt guy? He knows where you used to live?” She pointed at her house. “But he doesn’t about Garth. He doesn’t know where Garth lives. It’ll be safer. And I don’t want you around. If I think you’re skulking around while I sleep, I won’t be able to sleep, and I need my rest right now.” She put her hand to her belly.

  Reilly winced involuntarily. He didn’t mean to be viscerally affected by his ex-wife’s pregnancy. It was nothing to do with him. But it was all his failures shoved in his face. When he’d knocked her up, they’d made Timmy, and trying to raise Timmy had destroyed their love for each other.

  He loved his son. He didn’t resent him at all.

  It was himself that he didn’t much like. He wished he’d been better at all of it. A better father. A better husband. A better man, capable of dealing with life’s curve balls. Instead, he’d turned his life into a mess. When the going got hard, he ran into another woman’s arms.

  “You stay away.” Janessa put her finger in his face. “Promise me.”

  “I promise,” he whispered, his mouth dry.

  She hurried back into the house.

  Reilly turned and went back to the uniform. “Hey, sorry about that. It’s not you she’s angry with.”

  “It’s okay, we’re used to it,” said the uniform.

  “She’s going to leave here, and she’s going to go to another address,” said Reilly. “I’ll give it to you. You need to follow her there and keep watch, but don’t be really obvious about it. That possible? You think you can do that?”

  “Sure, stealthy,” said the uniform. “Not a problem.”

  Reilly felt around his pockets. “You got a pen? Paper?”

  The uniform got his phone out. “I’ll put the address in my phone, all right?”

  “Yeah, good.” Reilly rattled off the address.

  The uniform punched it into his phone. “Got it. So, should we clear out now?”

  “Sure,” said Reilly. “You don’t want her to think you’re following her.”

  The uniform gave him a mock salute and got into his car. Both of the cop cars pulled out of the driveway.

  Reilly waited.

  Eventually, the thin sounds of Timmy’s crying came out of the house. He went to the front door and gently knocked. “Hey, Jannie?”

  Several minutes later, she flung the door open. “He doesn’t like it when his routine changes.”

  “I know,” said Reilly. “I can help you get him into the car.”

  Her nostrils flared. “I don’t need you, Caius.”

  “I know that, too,” he said. “I’m sure you could get him out there on your own if you neede
d to. But you’re not safe in this house, so let me do this?”

  She glared at him. But she moved away from the door, letting him by her.

  He made his way into the house, up the stairs, and into Timmy’s room, where the boy was on the floor, crying and rocking. “Hey buddy,” he said in a soothing voice.

  Timmy was surprised to hear him. He looked up, hiccuping.

  Reilly knelt down so he was eye level with this son. “Here’s what’s going to happen, little man. I’m going to pick you up and take you out to the car. Then you and Mommy are going to go somewhere else for the night.”

  “No,” said Timmy.

  “Yes,” said Reilly. “Sorry, but yes.”

  “No, no, no!” Timmy began to wail again.

  Reilly bundled the boy into his arms. He wasn’t easy to carry anymore, but Timmy was a still a kid. He could do it. In only a few short years, though, Timmy was going to have the body of an adolescent, and he would still be trapped here, with the mind and spirit of a toddler. Reilly didn’t know what they were going to do then. But one thing at a time.

  For now, he went down the steps, holding tightly onto Timmy, who was screaming and struggling against him. He deposited Timmy into the back seat of the car and buckled him in.

  Timmy was losing. “No!” he was screaming. “No!”

  Reilly shut the back door.

  Janessa hurried out, two big duffle bags thrown over her arm, dwarfing her form. She locked the front door and headed for the car. “If you think I’m going to thank you for doing that, you’re crazy. This whole situation is your fault.”

  Reilly didn’t think that was exactly fair. He had done his job, arresting a bad guy and putting him in jail. It was hardly his fault the guy had escaped. It was hardly his fault the guy was a head case. But it didn’t matter. If Janessa wanted to blame him, fine.

  She got into her car and spoke in soothing words to Timmy. She started the car and put on some music he liked.

  Reilly watched as they pulled out of the driveway.

  He got in his car and drove to Garth’s place. He stayed back, but he watched to make sure that Janessa was inside, and that Timmy was okay. The other police cars were there, not conspicuous, but close.

  He was going to stay anyway. He needed to make sure that Timmy was okay. Janessa might not want him there, but that was only because she hated him for being unfaithful to her. If there was any reason—

  Maliah.

  Two nights ago, he and Maliah had left Billy’s at the same time. She’d come over to his car. She’d wanted to tell him something, but then decided against it or something. He didn’t know. He had decided he didn’t want to push. Anything with Maliah was drama he didn’t need right now, and honestly, if she could keep going back to her husband after what she did, then he should let her.

  But, if Baldwin had been out for a week, and he’d been tailing Reilly, he could have seen that exchange. And according to Wren, it was common knowledge that he and Maliah had an affair, so everyone knew, so how hard would it be for Baldwin to figure it out?

  There was no goddamned protective detail on Maliah’s place.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  One thing that Reilly had not thought about before knocking on Maliah’s door was her husband, Jax.

  How the hell was he going to explain this to Jax?

  His second knock faltered, and he tried to think it through. Okay, okay, I’ll say I need to talk to Maliah about work, and I’ll pull her out here in front of the house and lay it out for her, and if she wants to try to think of some kind of lie—

  Maliah opened the door. She was surprised to see him. “Reilly.”

  “Hey,” he said.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Tell Jax it’s a work thing, come talk to me.” He bounced on the balls of his feet, feeling nervous. Something about being so close to the man whose wife he’d been sleeping with was making him feel nervous. His heart was picking up speed.

  God, how had he managed to never think about this?

  He knew how the thing with Garth had landed for him, and he wasn’t even married to Janessa anymore, and this was Jax’s wife, and he had fucked her. Like, lots of times. Reilly felt a little sick to his stomach. I am such a piece of shit.

  “Jax isn’t here,” said Maliah. “Come in.” She stepped aside.

  He entered the house, thinking that it was the second time a woman had let him into her house that night, and that he’d screwed up both of their lives just by being part of them. “Where is he?”

  “He’s, um, I think he went to his parents’ house,” she said. “He was at a hotel, but he couldn’t keep that up. I told him he could stay at the house, that I would go, but…” She shook her head.

  “Wait. I’m confused.”

  “We’re separated,” she said.

  “Did he find out?” said Reilly.

  “I came clean,” she said. “I figured it was time. I wouldn’t be fooling around behind his back like this if I was still in love with him. It was fear that was keeping me from making a break, and I had to face it. I had to tell him what I did. I had to end it all.”

  “When did you do this?”

  “Uh, five days ago, I think.”

  “You didn’t tell me.”

  “Wasn’t about you, Cai.” She squared her shoulders. “You’re a symptom, not the disease, you know?”

  He grimaced.

  “I thought about it the other night at Billy’s. I thought about taking comfort, but… I don’t know, you and me, it’s not like we’re madly in love or something. Maybe if we were, this wouldn’t feel like such a shitty thing we did.”

  He looked away.

  “So, anyway, I don’t know why you’re here. If you really thought you could entice me to some sort of tryst under Jax’s nose—”

  “You might be in danger.”

  “What?”

  “A man that I arrested has escaped from jail, and he could have been here, following me around, figuring out my life. Maybe he saw us talking to each other in the parking lot, or maybe he heard some rumors, but he could be coming for you.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Well… well, hell, Cai.”

  Reilly rubbed the top of his head. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m not exactly proud of the mess I’ve made in your life.”

  “Hey, I made my own mess,” said Maliah.

  “I can call in a protective detail on you too,” said Reilly. “It’ll mean that whatever’s between us probably gets kind of public. But you won’t be dead.”

  She sighed. “I guess you can’t just stay and protect me yourself because you’ve got to go try to find Delacroix.”

  “What?” He furrowed his brow.

  “Well, that guy came looking for her.”

  “Her boyfriend,” said Reilly. “She has a boyfriend. I’m not… there’s nothing going on with her and me. You’re not saying…” And then it all became clear. “Baldwin took Wren.” His stomach dropped. But why… “Why would Baldwin take her?”

  “Well, maybe you guys looked awfully chummy,” said Maliah, and her voice was acidic.

  “I gotta get back to the compound, find Hawk Marner,” said Reilly.

  “You going to stay with me until the protective detail gets here?” Maliah cocked her head to one side.

  Reilly’s lips parted.

  “You know what? It’s fine, Cai. Don’t call anything in. I’m going to go stay with Yolanda. Her husband has a safe next to his bed with one of those fingerprint locks. I’ll be fine there. No public declaration of our indiscretions necessary.”

  “Hey, that’s not what I—”

  “It’s how I want it,” she said.

  “No,” he said. “You should have the police. You can’t rely on your friend’s husband. And besides, it’s okay if things are public if you’re separated. If you and Jax are over, then there’s nothing stopping you and me from…” For some reason, he couldn’t find the words to end the sentence.

 
“That what you want?” She raised her eyebrows. “You want me?”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “Really?” she said.

  He nodded. But he didn’t have the words to elaborate. He had to admit that his mind was reeling. Where the hell would Baldwin have taken Wren?

  “Drive me to Yolanda’s,” said Maliah. “Then go and save her.”

  * * *

  Reilly fumed in front of Hawk Marner’s place.

  Hawk wasn’t there.

  He should have figured the guy wasn’t there. He would be off looking for Wren. The only problem was that he was looking in all the wrong places. Hawk thought this had something to do with Wren’s past, with her mother and the cult. But this was all about Reilly.

  Reilly should have gotten Hawk’s number instead of giving him his.

  But whatever. He didn’t need Hawk, anyway. He had just wanted to give the man a heads up as to what was going on with his girlfriend. Reilly could tell that Hawk cared about Wren. He was genuinely worried. It made him hate the other man less, for whatever reason.

  Reilly dialed Lopez, but he didn’t get an answer. Lopez was famous for avoiding his phone when he was off duty. It was the way he survived. Otherwise, he’d be at the station twenty-four/seven. There was someone else in charge if Lopez was off duty, but Reilly didn’t feel like figuring out who it was. He could handle this on his own. He hung up without leaving a message and got back into his car.

  His phone rang.

  He didn’t recognize the number, but he answered it anyway, thinking it might be news on Baldwin. “Reilly.”

  “It’s Hawk,” said the person on the other end. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I just want to know what’s going with you. Are you sure what’s threatening your family doesn’t also pose a threat to Wren? Maybe she—”

  “You’re exactly right,” said Reilly. “There’s a man on the loose, and I think he’s captured Wren.”

  “A man? Someone you put in jail?”

  “How do you know that?”

  “You said something about parole when you were on the phone. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that, mulling it over. I started thinking it was related. I know you’re busy with your family—”

  “They’ve got protection,” said Reilly. “Wren’s got nothing. I’m going to find her.”