Finally, Hunter sat with Courtney in his arms on the hood of one of the ambulances, waiting on their turn with the medics. They hadn’t found Meredith yet and that was troubling. Welch was more dangerous than Hunter had suspected. She wasn’t safe.
The urge to offload Courtney and go charging after her was strong, but Hunter couldn’t do it. As kind as all these guys were, the kid didn’t need another stranger in his life. Not on what had to be the worst day of his life.
He was calmer now, but he wasn’t talking. For the most part, he appeared uninjured but for his fat lip, reddened cheek, and obvious bruises around his neck left by a man’s hand. That bastard Welch might not have molested him, but the kid had definitely been manhandled.
Someone brought a blanket. Hunter made sure to keep Courtney snuggled and his head hooded. He didn’t need to see the guys in olive drab fatigues walking around and holding other frightened little boys, rocking them, and crying with them. One started singing Frosty the Snowman, and it was all Hunter could do to hum along. Poor old Frosty never sounded so sad.
His phone rang. Alex this time. As brusque as ever. “How’s Meredith’s son?”
Hunter brushed a hand over Courtney’s head, content to let the boy snuggle. “He’s a little roughed up, but he’s tough like his mother. He’ll be fine.”
Alex’s voice dropped a pitch. “Was he… assaulted?”
God, I hope not. “Not sure, Boss. We’re waiting on the medics right now, but I don’t think so. Welch wasn’t here long enough.” Hunter didn’t dare go into specifics. “So what’s the word?” The PG rated version of: Where the fuck is she?
“Maverick and Taylor observed Welch pulling into his place forty minutes ago. Meredith’s with him.”
“Where?”
“Woodland/Normanstone Terrace.” An upper-class neighborhood north of Georgetown.
“Then what are they waiting for?” Go get that son-of-a-bitch!
Alex growled. “Because the gawddamned FBI’s involved now. They gave me a cease and desist order until they get their agents in play. They want Welch for more than crimes against children.”
“Shit, that’s enough for me, Boss.”
“Understood, but—”
“Aww, you sweared.” Courtney peered up at Hunter, his lips pursed just like his mother’s “Mama says decent people wike us don’t hafta swear.”
A smile cracked Hunter’s heated face. “She does, huh?”
“Kin we pwease go find her and Bear now?”
“Kids.” Alex chuckled. “When will you be done there?”
“Not until we get the all clear from the medics,” Hunter answered Alex and Courtney at the same time.
“Bring him into the office when you can. Mother and Ember are waiting, and you know how they can be. He’ll get plenty of mothering.”
Wasn’t that the truth? “Will do.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Darkness. Her stomach pitched another fit. Meredith didn’t know how she’d gotten from Eddy’s vehicle into this bathroom. The tiled floor felt cool beneath her cheek, but it kept moving. Her head pounded and her tongue tasted like the floor. She would know. She’d sampled it.
A light burst into the room, blinding her, and suddenly, Eddy knelt at her side, his fingers soft and gentle on her cheek—like he cared. “Doing better?”
She turned away, never needing to see, smell, or hear him again. The liar. His feigned concern nauseated her more than the alcohol poisoning her system. Only the hole in her heart hurt worse. Nothing made sense, but she knew what she’d seen. Eddy had taken Courtney off into the grass somewhere, but he’d returned alone. Her son was lost to her. It was night and wherever he was he was scared and alone and…
God! How could she ever get him back?
“You can’t lie here all night feeling sorry for yourself. Get off the floor. Let’s get you into the shower.”
Growling at her inability to function properly, Meredith pushed Eddy’s hand away. She didn’t need his help.
It didn’t stop him. He scooped her off the floor as if she was nothing but air. The butterflies in her stomach turned cartwheels at the sudden movement, but he seemed ready for that. She found herself facedown and hugging the porcelain commode, sick at heart for all her missing son must be going through, and disgusted with her body’s continual betrayal.
When she finished hacking up her intestines, he dragged her by her armpits to the shower and turned on the shower. Cold. Why expect anything different?
Meredith sank to her hands and knees over the drain, still retching. She’d always refrained from swearing, had taught Courtney there were better words to use, and more effective ways to express one’s anger. Intelligent people didn’t need to stoop to vulgarity. Not tonight.
She borrowed Hunter’s choicest expletive. Eddy is fucking going to die.
Just. Not. Now.
When the water streaming over her back turned colder, an involuntary whimper escaped, but only one. She stifled another and swore she’d live long enough to see her son again.
Eddy turned the water off and tossed a towel over her. “Dry off. I need you coherent and gorgeous. We have plans to make.”
She stayed where she’d landed, still facing the shower drain, still on her hands and knees. Trust me. I’ve already got one.
“Do I need to dress you, too?” he snapped.
“No,” she rasped, fighting for control. Don’t touch me. “I’m getting up.” Slowly, she made it to her feet and faced the tiled wall. At least, it didn’t move.
“You’ve got five minutes. Get dressed.”
“I’m sick. I need to sleep.” So I can plan exactly how to torture you.
“Yeah, well...” He slapped her wet backside with one hard smack. “Not tonight you don’t. You need to understand the rules first. Then you can sleep if we’ve got time.”
Meredith jumped at the rude contact, grimacing more from disgust than pain. “I’m coming,” she murmured more to the wall than to him. “Stop hitting me.”
“Then do what you’re told.” He snapped his fingers. “Step on it.”
When the bathroom door closed behind him, she let the tears fall. The hole where her heart used to be hurt with a pain so deep, it took her breath. What was Courtney doing out there alone in the dark? This had to be killing him. She ran her fingers through her wet hair, tangling it into a knot.
Only anger kept her moving—only the thinnest shred of hope that Courtney was still alive. He had to be. A mother would feel a break in the maternal link with her child. She’d know if her son had been murdered, wouldn’t she? The gruesome possibility pierced her soul. Despair dropped her to her knees. Courtney!
A sharp rap at the door startled her. “I don’t have all night!” he bellowed.
“I’m… I’m coming!” she said to shut him up.
Standing there and utterly alone, Meredith lifted her gaze to her reflection in the mirror. It had been years since she’d seen that other woman staring back at her, that wretched one who used to cower and make excuses for the predator she’d married. Dark, wet blonde hair straggled over her shoulders and down her back, still dripping. No longer bright and bouncy blonde, the light had gone from every strand. Just like her soul.
Sunken, lifeless eyes glowered, unsmiling. No inner sparkle. No dreams. Meredith lost the thread of control she’d been clinging to. She slapped a hand to that pathetic reflection and…
Out of the blue, Mean Girl stepped forward with all of her beautiful attitude. Finally! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something, Meredith. You won’t get him back if you give up. Plan now. Kill the bastard next. Find Courtney and cry later. You can do this.
Meredith nodded at her reflection as it—she—morphed into Mean Girl. The day she’d taken that last slap from Eddy over three years ago was the day her alter ego had first shown up. Without her incredible strength and conviction, the sweet woman Meredith used to be would still be Eddy’s favorite whipping girl. Never. Again.
She steel
ed her spine. “I’m not giving up,” she told herself with whispered determination.
Peeling out of her wet clothes, she dried herself and dressed in the silky baby-doll get-up Eddy had left on the vanity. No robe. Just that red piece of slutty degradation.
She dried her hair. Trembling from booze and anger, she clenched her fingers to make them stop shaking while Mean Girl chanted, You can do it. Plan now. Kill the bastard. Find Courtney. Cry later.
Meredith took hold of the crystal glass on the counter, filled it to the brim, and swallowed every last drop. She did it a second time. A third. Wiping the water on her chin with the back of her hand, she faced her future. This wasn’t the end of her or Courtney. Not by a long shot. He was out there. He was!
The alcohol in her system wouldn’t rule her much longer, and she would find him!
Her chin lifted. Her fingers curled to fists. Okay then. She’d do what it took to get Courtney back, but the second he was safe and sound, Eddy would die.
With her head down, she crept from the security of the bathroom. The light from his expansive living room beckoned her. Meredith made her way, one palm to the wall to steady her. “I’m here,” she announced at the doorway.
Glittering gray eyes roved over her in one quick assessing glance. Eddy patted the cushion next to him. “Come here. I have a proposition, and you look like you need a cup of coffee.”
No. I need a gun, and this time, Hunter, I won’t lose it.
“I want Mama!” Courtney nearly fell off the examination table when he lurched for Hunter. “I want Bear!”
Hunter soothed one hand over the boy’s shoulder to steady him. “It’s okay, I’m right here. We’ll go find Bear and Mama as soon as this is over, remember?”
The little boy hiccupped, and damn. Hunter turned into peanut butter and jelly. The MPs had insisted Courtney be given a physical examination before they’d let him leave Aberdeen. Hunter complied, even though it meant another agent on The TEAM would probably contact Welch first.
It couldn’t be helped. Meredith’s son needed someone he trusted in his corner, and for now, it was Hunter. But everything went from bad to worse when Hunter admitted he wasn’t Courtney’s legal guardian. The best he could offer up was Meredith’s parents’ names, and that they lived in Richmond.
He got the surprise of his life when the Army’s contracted physician, Dr. Jeffs, called the Flynns for permission to examine their grandson. Meredith’s mother vouched for Hunter sight unseen—after all these years. This whole day had been nothing but humbling.
For now, Courtney was dressed in bright blue flannel pajamas covered with cartoon cars and trucks. Fuzzy red socks kept his feet warm. A preliminary physical had been done, but the more Dr. Jeffs examined him, the more frightened he became until Hunter couldn’t take any more. He lifted Courtney off the table and wrapped his arms around the kid to steady. “Don’t be scared,” Hunter whispered while the doctor sneakily placed a stethoscope to his back. “You’re brave. Just like your mama.”
Dr. Jeffs gave a listen, one brow raised as he met the challenge in Hunter’s eye. “I don’t want to do an invasive exam if I don’t have to. Take a seat while I ask him a few questions.”
Hunter settled into the nearest chair with his little boy buddy planted on his lap and hiding his face between Hunter’s arms.
“Courtney, I’m Dr. Jeffs, but you can call me Randy,” he said quietly. “What do you like best, chocolate or peppermint?”
Courtney twisted around, going for invisible, his face still buried in Hunter’s shirt.
“Most kids like chocolate, but I’ve got candy canes and suckers, too. You can take them home with you if you’ll answer a couple questions. Would you like that?” Dr. Jeffs asked.
Hunter kept rocking and Randy kept trying. He didn’t touch the boy, just maintained a respectable distance, his arms folded over his chest while he took in every detail. “Did your mean daddy hurt you today?”
Stupid question. Courtney’s head bobbed, but his face stayed tucked where he didn’t have to look at the doctor.
“Your mama’s afraid of snakes,” Hunter whispered. “Did you know that?”
When the boy lifted a trembling chin and peered up at him, Hunter blinked. He’d seen the same sad expressions in Afghanistan and Iraq, on children without parents or hope. Splaying a palm over Courtney’s back, he promised, “No one’s ever going to hurt you again. I’ll make sure of that.”
Courtney glanced sideways as if he didn’t want Randy to hear. “But I scared.”
Hunter gave the boy what he needed. “I don’t blame you. That was a deep hole you were in, but you’re here with me now. Talk to Dr. Jeffs so nothing like that happens to anyone else.”
Randy leaned forward, cupping his palms to his knees. “Can you do that for me, Courtney? Can you help me stop that mean guy from hurting other kids?”
The little guy swallowed hard. Still not acknowledging the doctor’s presence, he cupped one hand to his mouth and whispered to Hunter. “He hit Mama, and he hurt her, and he made her cry, and he put me in a dark place, and it was noisy, and...” A big shudder shook his little body. “And he ripped my pants off, and he made me cry, too.”
Randy pressed for more. “What’d he do then? Did he… touch you?”
Tears brimmed and the questioning needed to end. “He’s had enough?” Hunter bit out.
“You’re right, he has,” Randy said softly, “but I think he’s brave enough to tell me the rest of the story. Do you know what inappropriate means, Courtney?”
The boy peeked around the barricade of Hunter’s big arms and nodded. “Ah-huh. It means nobody should never touch my private parts.”
A gentle smile brightened Randy’s face. “Good for you. Your mama taught you that, didn’t she?”
His head bobbed. “She yost.”
“But Hunter’s going to find her, and you trust him, don’t you?”
Another nod. “Ah-huh. He my friend.”
Way to turn a jarhead to mush.
Randy continued the gentle interrogation. “What did your mean daddy do after he ripped your pants?”
Courtney rubbed his face against Hunter’s bicep. “He screamed at me, and he said it was my fault cuz I go’d potty.”
“And then what?”
Another heart-rending whine, but Courtney soldiered on. “And then he grabbed my neck, and he put me in a hole, and he left me all alone, and I was scared.”
Hunter swallowed hard.
“Did he throw you in that hole or did he drop you?”
“Uh-huh. He had a wadder.” Courtney seemed to have trouble with L-words when he was upset.
“Just one more question. Did your mean daddy give you anything today? Any candy? A drink? Anything?”
Hunter slanted an eye at Randy. Was he thinking Welch drugged the kid?
That lip again. “He gived me a gold dowwar, but I yost it, and I yost Bear and…” A big tear dripped out of Courtney’s eye. “I yost Mama!”
Stop torturing him. Hunter barricaded the boy in his arms. “Courtney’s a good boy. None of this is his fault.”
Randy’s eyes narrowed. “You’re absolutely right. We’re done here. I’ve heard enough. No more questions, Courtney. You did real good. Would you like a new friend bear to hang onto?”
The little guy gulped, his fingers in his mouth. “He yost, too?”
“He might be,” Randy coaxed.
“Okay,” Courtney murmured, his heart rate calmer. “I yike bears. Mama does too.”
Hunter scrubbed a hand over his face. He had to. A different kind of pain in his chest kept twisting and pinching. This had to be how Meredith felt in the middle of the river that day when she was missing her little boy.
Randy’s nurse must’ve been waiting nearby. She peeked around the curtain, her lips curved with a genuine smile. “Does someone in here like fuzzy bears?”
Courtney nodded. “Ah-huh, I do.”
“Well, there’s a hungry bear sitting
at my desk right now. His name’s Black Jack and he likes peppermint and chocolate,” she teased. “Which do you like?”
“Choc-wat,” Courtney said around his fingers. “Mama yikes choc-wat, too.”
“Would you sit with Ellie while I finish talking with Mr. Christian, Courtney?” Randy asked.
The little guy looked up at Hunter. “He hurted you, too?”
Hunter could only whisper, “No, tough guy. He’s scared of me.” Welch had damned well better be.
Courtney mashed his face into Hunter’s chest, his arms opened wide in a little boy hug. “I not ascared of you, Hunner. Not no more.”
Hunter bowed his cheek to the top of the boy’s head. “Go with Nurse Ellie. And don’t eat all the chocolate.” He didn’t know how much more he could take.
Nurse Ellie extended a hand. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go rescue Black Jack.”
“Don’t leave without me, ’kay?” Courtney whispered as he slid to the floor.
Hunter winked. “Go meet your new friend, kid. I’ll be waiting.”
That seemed to help. Nurse Ellie distracted him as they walked down the hall, but with every step, Courtney glanced back at Hunter. He didn’t look away until the notorious, chocolate-eating, Black Jack, was pressed into his arms. Cutest damned sight ever, that poor little kid hugging a bear like he’d found a long lost friend.
Hunter dragged a hand over his bleary eyes and got back to business. “You think Welch drugged him?”
Randy shook his head. “Child predators often do. It keeps their victim quiet, but I’m not seeing any signs he was. His blood work came back normal. I just needed to hear it from him. To be frank, there’s no indication this boy has been sexually assaulted, but he still needs counseling after what he’s gone through today. Will you make sure he gets it?”
“You bet,” Hunter promised. “Meredith will do what needs to be done, and I’ll help her.”
“You weren’t really planning to take him with you when you locate her, were you?”
“No, but he’s a smart kid. He needed to know what was happening next. I have a couple lady friends back at my office who are dying to meet him. He’ll be in good hands until I can call his grandparents.”
Hunter (In the Company of Snipers Book 14) Page 35