“This Trent asshole is a known user and a dealer. Likes to gamble as well. Managed to find out he owes some bad people a lot of money.”
I shoved my fingers through my hair and cursed again. “Willa went to Tomas for money, and not chump change. He’s blackmailing her.” I paced the room.
“That’d be my guess,” Neco said.
Red rage pounded though me. “I’m going to find that asshole. Whatever he has over Willa, he will tell me.”
Willa
I stood in the middle of the house we’d called a home for almost a year, and told myself I wasn’t going to cry. After what happened with Jude the night before, I was struggling to keep it together, to pretend everything was okay, for Tilly’s sake.
But I had to. I had to do what I always had. Bottle it, shove it down deep, and keep moving.
Tilly was pissed at me, angry that I was taking her away from her friends, from Fay, from Jude, and I didn’t blame her. I couldn’t tell her the real reasons we were going, so for now, I was the meanie who was tearing her world apart. Between her and Jude, I felt like the worst kind of villain.
Fay walked in from the kitchen, where she’d been helping me pack. She was frowning down at her phone.
“What’s up?”
She shook her head. “Jennifer’s no good, piece of shit son, that’s what’s wrong. She’s pissed at me because I told her what her son’s been up to. Raul knows for a fact he’s mixed up with some shady characters. You know he looks after his girls, and Jen falls under that category. She won’t hear a word of it, though. Donny always was an idiot, but it sounds like he’s in well over his head.”
“Donny? What’s Jennifer’s last name?”
“Morgan. Why?”
Jethro’s pasty sidekick with the creepy eyes. “He’s come into the club a few times is all. I didn’t realize he was your friend’s son.”
I checked the time. The bus would be here any minute. “I need to go pick up Tils.”
“I need to go see Jen and try smooth things over. See you later?”
“Sure thing.” Grabbing my keys, I headed out, waving Fay off when she climbed in a cab.
I’d heard Jude leave in the middle of the night. I knew he wasn’t there, but I glanced back several times as I headed down the street.
I was replying to a text from Steph when the bus came to a stop in front of me a short time later. Kids swarmed off. I waited for Tilly, waited for the sight of her dark hair and bright green eyes.
The last kid climbed off and the door started to close.
What the hell?
I ran for it and banged on the doors, but it was already driving away. I stood there frozen, stunned as it disappeared, merging with the traffic.
She hadn’t been on the bus.
I yanked my phone from my pocket and hit the number for the school. I fired questions at the woman in the office and got stuck on hold while she checked.
I waited, sick to my stomach.
Blood pounded through my ears as I headed back toward the house. Maybe she’d run away. Maybe she was so upset about the move that she’d run off.
“Miss Hartley?”
I gripped the phone tighter. “Yes? Have you found her. Is she there?”
“There’s obviously been some kind of communication breakdown between you and Tilly’s father. He picked her up after school.”
The oxygen was punched from my lungs. “What?”
“Her father, he picked her up…”
“He’s not to have any contact with her!” I screamed down the line. “Did you talk to him? Did anyone talk to him? Did he say where he was going, anything?”
I was met with stunned silence. “I’m sorry, I…”
I hung up, not interested in what she had to say.
Trent. He had her.
The roaring in my ears got louder, deafening, as I reached the steps to my house. I realized then it wasn’t my ears, but the rumble of Jude’s bike.
It shut off and then he was there, his hands on my shoulders, real fear on his face as he looked down at me.
“Willa? What’s going on? Talk to me,” he said.
My blood pressure shot skyward, and I fisted his shirt. “He’s taken her!” I screamed, my voice sounding muffled, like I was underwater. “Oh God, he’s taken her.”
Jude held me tighter. “Who? Took who?”
“Tilly, he took Tilly.” I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t breathe.
Suddenly, I was being lifted and we were moving, going through Jude’s front door.
I clawed and clung to Jude, needing something to ground me, to stop me from spiraling. Tilly needed me, she needed me. I had to find her. I had to. Whatever Trent wanted, I’d give it to him. Anything. I needed to get the hell out of there. That’s when I started struggling harder.
Jude held me against the back of his front door, his massive frame holding me immobile. “Calm down, baby. Breathe…fuck, breathe, Willa.”
“I need to go, you need to let me go,” I gasped. “He’ll talk to me. He’ll tell what he wants and I’ll get her back. You have to let me go!” Even as I screamed the words, I didn’t know if they were true. I didn’t know anything anymore, but I had to try.
“Listen to me,” he said. “I need you to calm down and listen.”
He propped me against the door with his hips, his fingers cupping my face, thumbs under my chin, making me look at him.
“I’ve got you, you know that, you know it. Now I need you trust me, to trust your man.”
His deep, raw voice moved over me, through me, until I could focus on what he was saying.
“You need to tell me everything, okay, Willa? Everything. I’ll find her. I’ll bring her home. I promise you that. I promise,” he said.
“Why would he take her? He doesn’t care about her. He doesn’t care about her,” I said louder, starting to shake so hard my teeth rattled. “He won’t keep her safe, Jude. He won’t care if she’s hungry or thirsty, or if she’s sick with one of her migraines. He won’t care if she’s cold at night.” I gripped his shirt. “She’s scared of him. Oh God, she’s so scared of him.”
He cursed, the sound rough and vicious. “You’re talking about her father? Trent?”
I nodded.
“Do you know where he was staying?” Jude asked.
“No, I…I don’t…he never said…”
“He’s been extorting money from you?” Jude asked.
I nodded again, ready to tell him anything he needed to know; anything, if it got Tilly back. “He said if I didn’t give him money, he’d try and get Tilly back. He’d say I was a stripper, a hooker. I was pretty sure he was back on drugs, I thought he might be, but if I got the police involved and I was wrong, he’d turn it around on me. I had no proof. I gave him his money, but he always wanted more. He put Tilly through a visit with him to make sure I’d do what he wanted. After that, I couldn’t do it anymore.” I was breathing hard, feeling dizzy with fear, trying to get everything out, everything Jude needed. “The visit was too much for her. I couldn’t put her through that again. I asked how much to make him go away for good, how much to sign all rights to his daughter over to me and walk away.”
Jude’s thumb slid along my jaw. “That’s why you went to Tomas?” he asked.
“You knew?”
He dipped his chin. “Tomas and me, we go back a long way. He knew you were mine, so he came to me with it.”
Another sob burst from between my lips. “It was your money, wasn’t it?”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said.
He’d known that night, when we made love. He’d wanted me to tell him what I was hiding and I refused. I clung to him tighter, a fresh wave of tears burning a path down my cheeks. “If I’d told you, if I’d…”
“This is not your fault, you hear me?” he said.
He waited for me to nod. I did, but I didn’t believe it. I’d tried to do this on my own and because of that, Tilly was gone.
“I ne
ed you tell me the places you met with him, if he ever said anything about where he was going, where he’d been?” Jude said.
I gave him the names of the diners we met. “He didn’t say much, though, nothing useful. He just made his threats and took his money.” Where was Tilly now? Was she scared? Was she hungry, alone? Oh God.
“Focus, Willa. Eyes back on me.”
I did as he asked, needing the strength I saw in his eyes to stop me from falling to pieces.
“Did he say who he owed money to?”
I shook my head. “He was always nervous, though. And that creep, Jethro… Trent wanted me to make a good impression, wanted to impress him or something.”
Jude nodded. “Okay, I need you to check your phone, sweetheart. See if he’s contacted you, made any demands.”
He lowered me to my feet and I quickly pulled it from my pocket. The surge of hope vanished instantly. Nothing. I held it up for him to look at.
“You think you can get it together enough to call him?” he asked, tucking my hair behind my ear. “All you need to do is ask him what he wants. If he thinks you’re handling this on your own, he might agree to meet for an exchange.”
“I can do that.” I hit Trent’s number, keeping my eyes on Jude’s. It rang for a while, but he didn’t answer. “Fuck!” I shoved my fingers in my hair and paced away from Jude.
“We’ll find them. This is what we do.”
My phone beeped.
I tore it back out of my pocket. Trent.
Call the cops and you’ll never see her again.
Jude cursed.
I grabbed onto his shirt, gripping tight. “Please, Jude. Please, find her. Please, bring her home.”
24
Willa
Fourteen hours had passed since Trent took Tilly from me.
The sun was starting to rise.
Where was she? Was she cold, scared? Alone?
I hadn’t slept, and my eyes were gritty and sore. I was pretty sure I was slowly going out of my mind. Jude came and went. He hugged me, tried to reassure me, but we both knew every hour that passed, meant finding her got more difficult; trails grew cold, witnesses would be harder to find.
It also meant Trent may have taken her for reasons other than money, though I couldn’t think what those reasons could be.
People came and went, tried to talk to me. But unless it was about Tilly, about bringing her home safe, I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything else.
Jude had come in and sat beside me earlier, his hand touching mine. I could feel him watching me. I knew he was trying to find the words to comfort me, but there weren’t any, they didn’t exist.
He’d leave again soon. He’d stopped in to check on me after searching for Tilly all night, with a determination that made me believe if anyone could find her and bring her home, it was him.
I turned away from the window and leaned into his side. He wrapped a strong arm around me, holding me so tight it hurt. I needed that. I was so numb, so damn numb.
He kissed the top of my head, his breath shaking from him on a rough exhale. “Beautiful…”
My phone started ringing.
We both froze for a second, as the shrill sound echoed through the living room. I pounced on my phone sitting on the coffee table.
Unknown number.
“It has to be him,” I said to Jude, who was now standing in front of me.
He dipped his chin, silently telling me to go ahead and answer. Neco had something set up, something that would trace Trent’s whereabouts if he called me, no matter where he was or what phone he was calling me from. I just had to keep him talking long enough.
I pressed the talk button and put it on speakerphone. “Hello.”
“How you doing, whore? You lonely yet?” Trent said, his voice filling the space between Jude and I.
“Let me talk to her, let me talk to Tilly,” I said, gripping the phone so tight my knuckles turned white.
He made a tutting sound. “She’s asleep right now.”
I stared up at Jude, his jaw was doing that clenching thing he did, and I knew if he got his hands on Trent, he’d make him hurt. Right then, I wanted that, I wanted him to hurt, to bleed. Jude nodded his encouragement.
“What do you want? I’ll give you anything, just give her back to me.”
He chuckled. “Oh, I know you will. Maybe you shouldn’t have kept ten grand of my money and we wouldn’t be in this situation. Blackmailing me to sign over my daughter to you, that’s not very nice, Willa, not at all.”
“I…I’m sorry for doing that. Just…just tell me what you want,” I said again, voice shaky.
“I want the money you owe me, and you can throw in another ten for the inconvenience you’ve put me through.”
“Fine, whatever you want,” I rushed out. “Please, just let me talk to her…”
“Remember what I said. If you tell the police about this call, you’ll never see Tilly again. Understand?”
“Trent, please…”
“Do you hear me?”
“I heard you. I promise, I won’t say anything, but Trent…”
“I’ll be in touch in two days with details for the exchange.”
“No! Not two days…Trent!”
The phone went dead.
Jude pulled me off the bed and into his arms. “You did so good, baby, so good. He won’t let anything happen to her, she’s his bargaining chip.”
I buried my face against his throat. “You think she’s okay?”
His hand cupped the back of my head and he pressed a kiss to my temple. “Yeah, I think she’s okay.”
I didn’t know if he was just saying that to make me feel better, but I wanted to believe it. So I chose to. If I thought she wasn’t okay… I shook my head against him. I couldn’t even let myself think it.
Jude’s phone rang. He quickly answered it, eyes locked on mine. He listened for a few seconds, then hung up. “Neco got a location.” he said.
I collapsed against him and burst out crying.
Jude would get her, I knew he would, and I loved him for it.
Jude
I tapped my earpiece. “We’re here. You still getting a signal?”
There was a crackle. “Yeah. Nice and strong. His phone’s definitely in that building.”
I turned to Zeke and Ruby, signaling them to go in through the rear, while Van and I took the front. The apartment building was a dump, in a shitty part of the city.
It also had zero security. We walked right in, and I charged up the stairs, Van right behind me. From the signal, we guessed we’d find them on the second floor. Zeke and Ruby were coming toward us from the opposite end of the hall by the time we hit our floor.
They were here somewhere. Christ, they had to be.
A woman walked out of her apartment two doors down from us, and Ruby jogged toward her, a friendly smile on her face. I watched her hold up her phone, showing her a photo of Trent. The woman pointed to one of the apartments.
As soon as the woman left, we moved silently to surround the door, Zeke, Van, and I standing either side and out of sight, letting Ruby take point.
A lot of men underestimated her. She was petite. Unthreatening. Trent would see her through the peephole and would never think she was capable of kicking his ass up and down this hallway any day of the week.
We all dipped our chins. Ready to go. She knocked, a wide, welcoming smile on her face. Nothing. She tried again. “Yoo-hoo? Anyone home? I just moved in across the hall and wanted to introduce myself.”
Still nothing.
She tried a few more times, then turned to us, eyes narrowed. “I’m ready to take this door down.”
He either wasn’t there or not answering. Either way, I was done waiting. “Do it,” I said.
She pulled her gun from her holster, double handing it, stepped back, and kicked the door open. We all filed in, rushing every room, checking the place from top to bottom.
Fucking empty.
&nbs
p; Zeke cursed from the bedroom and walked out, holding the phone. “Wherever he’s taken her, it was without this.”
“Goddamn it.” I kicked the piece-of-shit couch in the middle of the room. “Where the fuck are they?”
Ruby touched my arm, fire blazing in her eyes. “We will find her.”
I fucking hoped so. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to Tilly. If Trent hurt her. If he decided to run.
Willa and Tilly, they’d become everything to me. Everything. I’d spent a lot of years believing I didn’t deserve happiness after what happened to Kate and Louis. But Kate had loved me, more than I’d deserved, and she would have loved Willa and Tilly as well. She’d want me to be happy. And Willa and Tilly made me happy. In a way I never thought I’d find again.
I couldn’t imagine my life without either of them in it.
“Let’s get out of here,” Zeke said, and they all filed out.
I didn’t move. Van came up beside me. “Zeke’s gonna take surveillance and Ruby’s scouring the apartment building, going door to door. If they come back, we’ll know.”
I nodded numbly, feeling fucking helpless. Hunter and Neco were out following a couple of other leads. We had informants out on the streets asking questions. We’d called in markers all over the city. Tomas was even talking to some of his “associates” to get us more intel. We were doing all we could at this point, but it wasn’t enough.
“Go home to Willa, she needs you,” Van said.
I held my friend’s gaze. “How can I go home to her and tell her we’ve got nothing. That the most important person in her world is still missing, and I can’t do shit about it?”
His expression was sympathetic. “None of this was your fault, you know that, right?”
I gritted my teeth. “Christ, Van. I don’t need a damned psych assessment. I’m not going rouge. But I shouldn’t have waited. I should have dug up every damn one of her secrets, but I didn’t. I let her go it alone. And I’ll have to live with that.”
Van said nothing, but I could see it in his eyes. I was already living with the biggest failure of my life, a bigger loss than anyone person could handle—one more, and fuck knew what would happen. What I’d do.
Ruthless Protector Page 24