Hunting Truth (Orion the Hunter Part Four)

by J. D. Chase

  “And I think that’s why you can’t hurt women, even when it’s what they want or need, especially in a sexual capacity. I truly think it’s all linked, Lucas. And even if I’m wrong, what harm would it do to speak to someone and give it a try?” I whispered back as tears began to roll down my cheeks.

  He screwed his eyes shut and I thought he was going to tell me I had it all wrong, but then I saw his lips quiver slightly and I knew he was fighting back tears. No, he was fighting more than that. He was battling with his demons and there was nothing I could do to help. I leaned forward, keeping my arm close to my body to avoid hurting my shoulder, and rested my forehead against his. Tension radiated from him so I reached around him and stroked his back with my good arm. Immediately, I felt his body jerk as he sobbed once. Then again . . . and again, until he was sobbing inconsolably.

  I kissed his forehead and made soothing noises, my heart feeling that it might break with the frustration of not being able to help him. I rationalized that it was his personal battle and all I could do was what I’d just done, that and being there for him. And of that, there was no doubt. Fuck Joel and his poison; he’d done enough to screw up Lucas’ head and interfere with his life. I vowed that whatever it took, I would be by Lucas’ side, whatever Joel threw at him. We’d get through it together.

  Abruptly, Lucas pulled away and strode away to the window, keeping his back to me. Confusion reigned until I too heard footsteps in the hall and realized they were getting louder. I looked from Lucas to the door and back and then I remembered: Angel and Chad were coming over. I shot over to the door to intercept them, giving Clark a winning smile when he appeared in the doorway. He greeted me warmly then excused himself to return to the reception desk, admitting that he’d locked down the building in his brief absence. I could feel Angel’s excitement. It radiated from her like rays from the sun. I winked at Chad knowingly; he looked worn out. I guessed that all the stress from the last couple of days had taken its toll . . . man, I could identify with that! And then he had to deal with a hyperactive Angel who was buzzing with enthusiasm.

  She threw her arms around me to envelop me in a hug which pulled on my shoulder. I managed not to cry out but I hissed in a breath and grimaced sharply. She pounced on that, immediately demanding to know what was wrong. And from the look on Chad’s face, he’d not missed it either. Before I could explain, I heard the elevator doors sliding open and heavy footsteps moving in hasty determination. I poked my head around the doorframe and saw Carter striding towards me. I smiled but he didn’t respond. He just kept coming. Angel and Chad turned too, but still his face registered nothing. I knew it must be something big for him to come up to Lucas’ apartment—hell, I didn’t even know he had an elevator key.

  I ducked back in and looked over to Lucas, who still had his back to the room, seemingly looking out over Manhattan. “Lucas,” I called, praying that his eyes were no longer red or puffy, “Carter’s here to see you.”

  He turned and nodded but didn’t move away from the window. I ushered Angel and Chad towards the couch. Carter moved past me, still not acknowledging my presence. I began to feel very uneasy but forced myself to play hostess and offer my guests a drink. They looked distinctly uncomfortable as Lucas and Carter engaged in a hushed yet obviously urgent conversation.

  I poured their drinks and, as I was handing them over, I saw Carter stride out of the room. Lucas came over and said, “Hi guys, sorry about that. Make yourselves at home. Dinner is ordered but unfortunately something’s come up that I have to deal with so I’m unlikely to be back in time to join you.”

  His words seemed innocent enough but his body language said otherwise. The man was like a coiled spring. I knew the signs and Carter was clearly uptight about something too. “Will you be in your office?” I asked, desperate to know what was going on but wanting to avoid tackling him directly in front of our guests.

  He frowned. “Um . . . no. I have to go out for a while. I’ll have my cell with me but I may have to switch it off for a while so don’t worry if you can’t reach me.”

  I just knew this was something to do with Joel. And that it was serious. I didn’t want him to go. He’d been so upset only moments before and I worried about his emotional state. Whatever was happening, I didn’t want him to be caught up in it. “I’ll walk you to the elevator. Excuse me for a moment, guys.”

  A look of irritation crossed Lucas’ face for a moment but then he nodded, said goodbye to Angel and Chad, and crossed to the door. I scurried after him, pausing to close the door to the living room behind me. I caught him up halfway to the elevator, ignoring the throbbing in my shoulder. “Lucas,” I hissed quietly. “What’s going on? And don’t even think of trying to keep it from me!”

  He continued to stride to the elevator, ignoring me.

  I grasped his arm but he shrugged it off. In sheer frustration, I ran to get between him and the elevator doors; every step reverberating painfully in my shoulder. “For fuck’s sake, tell me what the hell’s going on! You say you won’t keep things from me again and then, as soon as something happens, you clam up.”

  He reached past me to call the elevator, despite my attempt to block his hand with my body.

  “Lucas, you’re going nowhere unless you at least tell me where you’re going.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It was an octave higher and sounded shrill and desperate.

  His eyes stared resolutely straight ahead, just clearing my height. I heard the elevator arrive so I moved to block his access. He attempted to squeeze past, pushing into my arm and making me cry out as the movement triggered a sharp pain in my shoulder.

  He froze instantly and apologized. I sobbed, more in frustration than pain but he didn’t know that. His tough-guy persona vanished. He seemed to shrink as he apologized again and tried to insist that I got my shoulder checked out.

  “Only if you come with me.” I knew it was a cheap shot but I really didn’t want him to go.

  “Issy, I can’t. I’m sure Angel and Chad will take you to the emergency room.”

  Damn! “It’s getting worse. What’s so important that you can’t take me?”

  “Ordinarily I would. You know that. But something’s come up that I really must deal with. I haven’t time to explain but I will when I return.”

  “It’s Joel, isn’t it? Lucas, whatever it is, I don’t think it’s safe for you to go. Let Carter and his team deal with it.”

  “I’ve had all this from Carter. But I can’t. Issy, he’s holding two people hostage and I stand to lose everything in a matter of hours—including you. I have to do this.”

  My eyes widened in fear and my stomach turned over. “Carter doesn’t want you to go either? For God’s sake, Lucas. There’s a good reason for him not wanting you to go. Listen to him! Listen to me! You’re not a fucking superhero. You’re just a stubborn control freak!”

  He scowled but I held his gaze, tilting my chin in defiance. “Issy, I’m going and that’s the end of it. Go ask Angel and Chad to accompany you to the ER. I’ll see you later.”

  He stalked into the waiting elevator car and, as the doors began to close, I stuck out my foot so they reopened. “No you won’t, not if you go. You promised not to keep things from me and you’re being pigheaded. If you go, don’t expect me to be here when you get back.” I hated myself for resorting to bribery but I didn’t feel I had any other choice.

  He sighed in exasperation. “I’ll tell you where we’re going. Then I’m not keeping secrets from you. Okay? But I’m still going. Is that enough to keep you from leaving?”

  I nodded sullenly.

  “Carter’s crew picked up a signal from Ava’s cellphone and they’ve tracked its general location. We’re going to investigate. Joel could be on the move with them so the longer I delay, the less likely it is that they’ll still be in the area when we arrive.”

  “What’s the location?” The butterflies in my stomach were replaced by a lump of lead.

  “Orange County. Now, I�
��ve told you what’s going on and why it’s so important that I don’t delay, please remove your foot so I can meet Carter in the garage.”

  Without hesitation, I stepped into the elevator. “I shan’t delay you any further, Lucas.”

  He frowned and hit the button to hold the doors. “I don’t understand. Please, Issy. This is not the time for playing games.”

  “I’m not. Close the doors; I’m coming with you.”

  “What? Oh no you’re not! Even if you were fit I wouldn’t allow you to go, but with your shoulder injury . . . there’s no way in hell that you’re coming along. You’d be a liability!”

  Damn it! “Tell me where in Orange County and I’ll get out.”

  “Walton Park. The signal looked to be in between the two lakes but we don’t know how reliable that is, or whether it was stationary or not. Now, please will you let me go? It could help to keep Scott and Ava safe.”

  I turned to face him and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. “I wish you weren’t going but, since you insist, please be safe. No heroics, Lucas. I need you back safe and sound.”

  Then I stepped out of the elevator and turned to see him nod before the doors closed and he was taken away from me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Emergency Room my ass! “Chad! Angel! Come here quickly!” I yelled as loudly as I could down the hallway, my finger reaching for the call button.

  I saw them emerge from the living room, looking confused and somewhat anxious.

  “Did you come over in the van?”

  “Yes,” replied Chad as Angel nodded.

  “Good. Where’s it parked?” I demanded, knowing what a nightmare it was to get parked nearby and wondering how much time we’d have to waste getting to it.

  “We couldn’t get parked so we asked the doorman who let us park in the underground garage,” answered Chad.

  “Why?” asked Angel, looking very worried.

  “I’ll explain as we drive,” I said as the elevator arrived.

  We got in and I pushed the button for the garage, grateful that Lucas had given me a key. We descended quickly but I asked them to remain still when the doors opened. I cautiously peeked out to check that Lucas and Carter had gone. My heart started to hammer when I saw Lucas’ Lexus parked in its usual space, but then I caught sight of him climbing into the passenger side of a gray van that was nondescript looking except, if you looked closely, then you’d notice it had several antennae mounted on the roof. There was only one other van in the garage so I assumed that was the one Chad had hired. I whispered for Chad and Angel to wait a second then, as soon as the gray van moved off, I started for the large white van, shouting for them to follow me as I cradled my arm to help alleviate the dull throbbing in my shoulder.

  As soon as we were all inside, Chad pulled off slowly. “Get your foot on the gas, Chad,” I instructed, wishing that I was insured to drive it instead. “We’re heading to Walton Park in Orange County. I’ll explain as we drive but, for now, drive it like you stole it. If you see a gray van, similar to that one, that has several antennae, follow it but not closely enough to make it obvious.”

  “Ooh this sounds exciting!” cried Angel, clapping her hands.

  “It sounds like trouble,” corrected Chad. “Start explaining . . . and it had better be good.”

  By the time we’d crossed the George Washington Bridge and left the Hudson behind, I’d briefly explained about Lucas’ tormented past, his ownership of Odyssey and Joel’s blackmail threats. When I told them that Joel had hinted that he had Ava and Scott, Angel demanded that we call the cops. I was forced to explain about the caliber of some of the members of Odyssey and the potential fallout from that.

  “But that’s crazy,” she shrieked. “Lucas is putting Ava and Scott in a potentially dangerous situation because he wants to protect his reputation.”

  “Lucas has been instructed specifically not to go to the police. If he does, and Joel finds out before the police do anything, he feels that they’d be in much greater danger. He also has a team, led by Carter, with at least the same level of expertise as the police department, but who aren’t bound by red tape so can act faster. If he went to the police, God only knows how long it would take them to do anything. The deadline for Lucas to hand over all of his assets is tomorrow, after all.”

  She turned to me and gripped my upper arms, saying, “Issy, you’ve got to—”

  I cried out when pain flared in my shoulder. She abruptly let go, looking shocked.

  “I barely touched you,” she accused.

  “I know. I hurt my shoulder when I fell awkwardly earlier. It hurts whenever I move my arm.”

  “What?” Chad shrieked. “You can’t move your shoulder? Some use you’re going to be to us on tour.”

  “Chad!” scolded Angel. “Issy’s hurt and she didn’t do it on purpose!” She turned to me. “Have you had it looked at?”

  “No, there hasn’t been time. I only did it shortly before you arrived. It might be fine in the morning.”

  “Yeah, and it might not,” muttered Chad.

  Angel rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him. “I think we should turn back. If Lucas’ team are on it, what use will we be if they find Joel? Especially if you’re already hurt?”

  I attempted to shrug but instantly regretted it. I took a deep breath and replied, “I just want to be close by if they do. If we can observe from a distance and it all goes wrong, I can call the cops if I need to.”

  “So we stay in the van?” Angel asked, although it sounded more like a statement of fact.

  “You ladies will, but if it kicks off, I’m going to get Scott out of there,” Chad muttered.

  “Oh honey, I know he’s your friend but you could end up putting both of you in danger. Joel sounds unhinged. Hell bent on making Lucas suffer. For all you know, he may be plotting to ensure Denial’s downfall as well, since Lucas is partly responsible for your success,” she cautioned.

  “That’s why I need to get Scott out of there unharmed. No Scott, no tour. Especially since our backup drummer is now out of the picture.”

  I gritted my teeth at his selfish attitude. “Chad, you can’t go blundering in there. Leave it to Lucas and his team—they know what they’re doing. Some of the team are former FBI, some former marines . . . you could compromise everyone’s safety. That’s assuming we actually track Joel’s location down.”

  I felt the van accelerate. I looked across at Chad. “For now, all we can do is try to spot the gray van that Lucas and Carter are using. We need to follow it at a safe distance, that’s our only hope of finding Scott. And remember, Carter’s an expert. He’ll soon know if he’s being followed. Hopefully, he won’t be expecting anyone to follow them but all the same, if we see it, stay back.”

  We sped along Route 17, each of us attempting to spot Carter’s van. We were just north of Paramus when Chad cried out that he could see it. I again cautioned him against getting too close but Angel pointed out that we needed to get close enough to check it was the right van and that we could pull back once we’d confirmed it. Silence descended as we crept closer. I could feel my adrenaline beginning to pump.

  “That’s it,” shouted Angel, making me jump.

  “How do you know?” I asked, squinting my eyes to attempt to check the roof.

  “It’s got an antenna on the top,” she replied, sounding very pleased with herself.

  Her eyesight must have been better than mine because I couldn’t yet see it clearly.

  “Is there just one? Carter’s has several.”

  “Oh yeah . . . I forgot about that. No that one just has a single antenna.” She sounded bitterly disappointed.

  “Crap,” muttered Chad. “I can see it now too. Definitely just one.”

  “Pass it when you can,” I instructed. “Let’s make sure it’s not the one and get it behind us so it doesn’t distract us again. There can’t be many gray vans, surely.”

  It wasn’t Carter’s. It was driven by a young guy
with a female passenger. The air of disappointment was almost palpable, and not helped by the aftereffects of the adrenaline surge. I found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on our goal and not get distracted. I saw Angel relax and yawn a few times too. Thankfully, Chad appeared to suffer less; perhaps driving helped him to remain alert. On the approach to Ramapo, he quietly announced that he could see a gray van with multiple antennae on the roof. Angel and I sat up instantly and sure enough, there was the van a few hundred meters ahead. Angel confirmed that it had several roof-mounted antennae.

  “Should I get a little closer?” asked Chad.

  “No. I think it’s best if we stay well back and keep an eye on it,” I replied, thinking there was a real chance that Carter would realize he was being followed. We kept our distance until the gray van turned on to County Road 19. Angel whooped, knowing that it was indeed heading towards Walton Park, until Chad pointed out that there was much less traffic and it was much more likely that we’d be spotted.

  He backed off a little more but began to worry about how we’d be able to follow them without being detected once we got to Walton Park; especially since, as far as we knew, Lucas and Carter didn’t have an exact location to head for. By the time we neared Walton Park, he was visibly uptight. The task of not getting close enough to be detected but not falling behind far enough to lose contact with the gray van was a difficult one. He cursed loudly when we headed into the outskirts and there was virtually no traffic to hide behind. Once we skirted Walton Lake, there were too many junctions so Chad had to get closer to the van to avoid losing it.

  Abruptly, the gray van slammed on its brakes causing Chad to curse violently. He ordered me and Angel to get down before he overtook it. The pain in my shoulder when I ducked down made me feel nauseous. Thankfully dusk was falling so I doubted he’d be highly visible to the occupants of the van as he drove past. He took the next turn on the left and I forced myself back upright, gritting my teeth against the pain.

  “Why the hell did you do that? Now we’ve lost it,” cried Angel as she climbed back on to the seat and smoothed down her hair.