Submerged (Bound Together #1)

by Lacey Black

  Before I can glance back up, the man wraps his strong hand around my upper arm and pulls me into his side. “Scream and I’ll kill your daughter.”

  I have no time to think. No time to react. No time to speak.

  It happens so fast I have no time to summon the man I love for help. I’m led very quickly towards a waiting van at the back of the café. All I can think about is protecting Natalia. I don’t know if this man is serious about hurting my daughter, but I can’t risk it. I will never put her in jeopardy or risk her life.

  I just hope that Blake can figure out what in the hell is going on here before it’s too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight – Hell On

  Earth

  Blake

  Something is wrong. I know it instantly. Besides the fact that Carly and Natalia have been inside the café restroom for nearly ten minutes, but I can feel it deep down in my bones. Something bad has happened.

  I search the café for any sign of the girls before heading down the hallway towards the restroom. When I reach the doorway for the ladies room, something in the corner catches my eye. A little pink teddy bear. Grabbing the little stuffed animal off the floor, I throw open the bathroom door. A feminine scream from the woman washing her hands fills the room. Even though both stall doors are open, I search the room.

  “Did you see a woman with a baby in here?” I yell at her. My emotions are all over the place as I do everything in my power to tamp down the threatening panic. Carly and Nat need me to keep a clear head right now. Losing my shit isn’t an option.

  “N-no,” she stutters before I turn and stomp out of the room. After a quick check of the men’s restroom, I head towards the fire exit door at the end of the hallway. Pushing through the door, I notice instantly that the alarm doesn’t sound. Fresh black tire tracks catch my eye on the pavement next to the door.

  Quickly grabbing my phone from my pocket, I dial the first person I call for help. “I thought you were busy today,” Luke starts before I cut him off.

  “They’re gone.” Saying the words rips my guts out. I’m left bleeding to death all over the concrete outside of the place my child and the love of my life were taken from.

  “What do you mean?” he asks.

  “They went inside a café to use the restroom and now they’re gone. And before you ask, we didn’t have a fight. She didn’t just leave, Luke. The stroller is sitting on the sidewalk out front where I was standing. There are fresh tire marks on the concrete behind the back exit.”

  “I’m on my way. Where are you?”

  “Corner Café.”

  “Go out there and shut the place down. No one leaves or gets inside. I’m calling it in right now.”

  “I’m on it,” I tell my little brother.

  “Blake,” he starts and pauses. “We’ll get them back.”

  “I can’t do this without them, Luke. I need them.”

  “And we’ll get them back before night sets in. I’ll be there in seven minutes,” Luke says before signing off.

  I take a few seconds to collect myself and will my rapidly beating heart to slow down. After a few deep breaths, I walk out into the café and make the announcement that I am FBI. I produce my identification that I never leave home without, and ask to see the manager. A young, petite girl comes out, fear and apprehension written all over her face.

  “We have a situation, and no one is able to leave this café. I need you to man the door, right now. No one leaves or enters this establishment unless they have a badge, do you understand?” I tell her. She nods a shaky little acknowledgement, her blue eyes wide with uncertainty.

  Agency issued vehicles start arriving moments later. The café fills up with suits and badges of all kinds as I recount the details that led to Carly and Natalia’s disappearance. Luke rushes inside the building, his matching green eyes filled with worry.

  “Find them,” I order my brother.

  “We’re on it, Blake. We have reports of an unmarked white van sitting behind the café for a few minutes before you called me. We’re securing streetlight camera footage as we speak, as well as security camera footage from the restaurant behind the café. We’ll get them.”

  “Anything on who’s done this?” I ask Luke, already knowing deep down in my bones who the man is behind their disappearance.

  Luke flips a few pages on the small notebook in his hand before saying, “We have an eyewitness report from a waiter that a man wearing a white t-shirt and jeans was seen speaking with a woman holding a baby in the hallway just before you called me. He said it caught his attention because the woman appeared tense. When he looked back over there a few moments later, they were gone.”

  “Does he have a better description of the male speaking to her?” I ask, placing my slightly trembling hands on my hips.

  “Yeah.” His look is direct and says everything I need it to say.

  “Are you sure?” I ask.

  “He described him right down to the tattoos.”

  Fucking hell. Styx.

  I close my eyes and picture my baby girl and her mother. When I received the text message yesterday from Carly, I was ecstatic at the prospect of spending the afternoon with both of my girls, even if I wasn’t exactly sure I could call them both mine anymore. I also took that phone call as a sign of hope that Carly wouldn’t stay mad at me forever and was maybe ready to talk. I was entirely prepared to spend today groveling and begging on my hands and knees if necessary to get through to her. That phone call felt like an olive branch signifying that whatever had come between us could be worked through.

  Now, what if I never get the chance to make it right? What if I never get to apologize for my deception, even if it was necessary to protect us all? What if I never get to tell her how much I really do love her? That I’ve loved her since the moment I met her that night in the bar? That I can’t live without her or Natalia?

  “Give me something to do,” I order my brother while running my hand through my hair.

  “No. You are to stay put and keep your phone on you. I’m guessing there won’t be a ransom demand though,” Luke says. God, it pisses me off that he is probably right.

  “No, I bet there won’t. This is personal.” Just saying those words makes my stomach turn. The urge to hurl my guts up is so damn strong, and the only thing keeping me from losing it right now is the thought that my daughter and Carly need me. They need me to keep my shit together no matter how bad I want to fucking throw a wooden chair through the front glass window.

  “So tell me what you know about Styx,” Luke instructs as he leads me towards the back hallway.

  “I don’t know, man. I knew all the basics. Everything you’ve already read in the file. He was from LA, has a long rap sheet from boosting cars, and is a career scumbag. He never talked about any wife or girlfriend, never about his family or friends. He was quiet. Always silently watching and taking it all in. He reminds me of the criminal version of me.”

  “I know all of that shit, Blake. Talk to me. Where would he go if he needed to hide or get away?”

  I’m silent for several minutes. I replay every conversation, every moment, every observation I’ve had with and about Styx over the course of the last two years. He never gave anything away. He’s what I would consider a loner. Standoffish. Our phone conversations were always brief and usually had more grunting than actual words.

  “Most of the time we talked, it was usually via text. But when we did actually talk on the phone, there was always background noise,” I say out loud to no one in particular. “There was always something noisy running in the background. Tools and machines. He worked on cars during his off time. He smoked like a chimney. I could hear his inhales as he puffed on his cigarette. Trains. There were always trains. Not super close but close enough that he’d have to speak up so I could hear him over the noise.”

  “That’s good, Blake. What else can you tell me about the trains?”

  “They sound close and slow; like they’re either slowin
g down or starting to speed up. It’s not a train passing on the tracks going fifty miles per hour.”

  “Where would we find trains slowing down or taking off? Inside of Vegas or on the outskirts of town?” Luke asks very monotone, as if trying not to break the spell I’m suddenly under.

  “Outside of town. I didn’t hear anything else. No traffic or people. It’s always fairly quiet with the exception of whatever he’s working on.”

  “Rail yards. How many rail yards are in Vegas?” Luke asks, pulling out his phone as he asks the question. Before I can even answer, he’s typing away on the Internet.

  “Union Pacific has a big one on the edge of town. Is that too much traffic though?” I ask my little brother.

  “Maybe he’s not right there in the rail yard. Maybe he’s close by,” he adds before dialing a number. “Yeah, this is Agent Luke Thomas. I need a property check with owner and/or renter names adjacent to the Union Pacific rail yard. And I need it yesterday,” he says before listening to the person on the other end. I watch, not liking this feeling of helplessness that has settled in my chest. If it weren’t for the close eye my brother has on me at this moment, I would already be in my car and heading towards the rail yard.

  “We’re on it, Blake. Why don’t you go back to my place and try to get some rest?” Luke offers which instantly pisses me off.

  “I’m going to pretend you did not just suggest I go home and sit on my ass while the woman I love and our baby are out there, God knows where, all because of me.” Luke gives me a look and starts to open his mouth. “Don’t fucking say it. It’s true. They would never be in this predicament if it wasn’t for me and my association to the Bureau.”

  “It isn’t your association to the Bureau that’s the problem, Blake. It’s the fact that you did your job–and an outstanding job, I might add–and that led to bringing down a major criminal ring that has been working Las Vegas for decades.”

  “I brought them to her doorstep,” I say, defeated all over again. My heart aches so bad that in and of itself scares the shit out of me. I’ve never felt this deep down ache before, with the exception of when I watched Carly walk away a few days ago.

  “Not directly or intentionally. Styx is the one to blame here, not you. You didn’t tell him to kidnap your girlfriend and child. So quit wallowing in self-pity and help me get them back. I’ve about had enough of your whining bullshit,” Luke says with a straight face. The sudden desire to punch him is strong, but I hold back. The last thing I need is for the Bureau to write me up for assaulting a fellow agent, even if that agent is my brother. That would be the cherry on top of this shit-sundae I’ve been served today.

  “If we weren’t in public I would punch your lights out,” I growl at my brother, which causes him to laugh loudly.

  “Please. You’re too old to catch me anymore,” he says with that cocky smirk.

  “Arrogant bastard,” I mumble, doing everything I can to suppress the smile trying to break out.

  “You know it,” Luke says with a laugh as he answers his ringing phone. I listen to the one-sided conversation while Luke stares at me. As much as I try to make out the details of the conversation, I know that the only way to know all of the specifics is to wait until he’s off the phone.

  “On our way,” Luke says as he waves me to follow him. He’s hanging up the phone and we’re jumping into his Chevy Tahoe before I even have the chance to ask him what is going on.

  When we’re on the road and heading South, Luke turns to me. “There are two properties that butt up against the U.P. yard. Both are registered to a single occupant male in his mid-thirties. One has multiple garages while the other has a single large, industrial equipment shed. They’re still working on getting owner identification on both properties. There’s no point in waiting back at the Café.”

  “When did you become so smart?” I ask my brother. Ever since he joined the Bureau, I’ve been steadily impressed with his knowledge, ability to keep a level head, and aptitude for working a case. My brother is a damn good agent, and I can see him progressing through the ranks someday.

  “I’ve always been this smart. I learned it all from you,” Luke says with a grin as he glances over at me. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of his big black utility vehicle, all the while he’s practically running the show, ordering me around and making sure I keep my shit together.

  “I am pretty fucking smart,” I tell him, trying not to crack a smile. Luke laughs heartily as he keeps his eyes on the road.

  “That’s one of the other characteristics I learned from you. Modesty.”

  A few minutes later, we’re pulling into the rail yard. It’s full of Sunday afternoon activity as we do our best to blend in with our surroundings. We sit in the cab of the truck and scout out the two properties Luke noted earlier. The one with the large building is a newer home with a large piece of road equipment sitting in front of the shed. After a two second glance, I disregard that property as someone who has a small construction company. Focusing my attention on the smaller, older farmhouse with several small outbuildings, I gasp when I see it.

  A white van parked in front of the small garage at the furthest point at the back of the property. Before I can even say anything, Luke is on the phone and the cavalry is in motion. “ETA six minutes. They were already en route. Warren said the property belongs to Mr. Samuel Jones, AKA Styx. They’re meeting us here with the plan,” he says.

  “How did we miss this one, Luke?”

  “It’s an alias we didn’t have listed. We’re not sure when this Samuel Jones came into play.” Luke studies the land and buildings with a critical eye. It has only been thirty seconds since his phone call, but I can’t take this wait.

  “I’m going in,” I tell my brother with force before he can even argue. “If something happens to them, Luke, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “You’re too involved in this case, Blake. You know that. If you were sitting in my shoes, you would do the exact same thing.”

  “You’re probably right, but we’re not talking about what I would do. We’re talking about what I’m going to do and that is go inside that building. I have to go, Luke. Even if I’m not in the first group to sweep, I’m going in after them. I won’t let you stop me,” I tell him, my green eyes meeting his equally determined ones. It feels like a lifetime before he responds.

  “After the first squad sweeps, you can go in with me.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “I know, but I don’t need you going in there and killing the suspect because of whatever you see in there.” The mental images are cruel, that’s for sure. All of the different things that could have happened to Carly and to Natalia are playing through my mind. I’ve seen plenty of shit in my time within the Bureau, and the thought of one single thing happening to either of them, well…it’s enough to make me sick. I just pray that Styx hasn’t harmed Carly or Natalia, because if I find just one hair out of place on either of their dark heads, a wrath from Hell like I’ve never experienced before will come down on the man responsible for taking them.

  A few minutes later, three black vans pull up. We assemble ourselves in full tactical gear, which I find in the back of Luke’s truck. Thank God for well-prepared little brothers. I’m wearing Luke’s backup bulletproof vest, helmet, and headset as I listen to the orders that come down straight from the Deputy Director. I follow Luke towards the tree line that separates the Union Pacific property from the property owned by Styx. With my badge on display and a Glock in my hands, I take position and prepare for the order. Breathing becomes difficult as I get ready to engage with the enemy and retrieve the people I love most in this world.

  The first thing I’m going to do after I make sure Carly and Natalia are all right is tell them exactly what’s in my heart. I started to tell her that day in my car. My timing sucked, I’ll admit, but there’s no stopping it now. I will tell her everything I feel for her and everything I want to share with her and our daughter.<
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  They’re my life.

  And living without them at this point isn’t a fucking option.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Go Down

  Swinging

  Carly

  It only took me a few minutes to recognize the man who had a hold of me. I remember him as one of the two men sitting in my father’s office that day I barged in. One of the men was the man I was linked to for the rest of my life, Blake, and the other was this guy. He has a face you never forget, even if it took me a few minutes to connect the dots. There’s just something disturbing about the way he stares; like he’s plotting something sinister, something you don’t want to know anything about.

  I went willingly into the white van parked behind the café, but only because he had threatened my daughter. Not knowing what this man was capable of, I wouldn’t risk her life by doing something stupid like screaming for Blake or trying to make a run for it. The man never brandished a weapon, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t carrying something. And I’m not in the mood to find out the hard way.

  Natalia has been fussy ever since we got into the van. It is well past her afternoon naptime, and it has been a long day for her. Top it off with hours of fresh air, and I’m dealing with a cranky baby girl on top of a kidnapping psycho. Awesome.

  “Shh,” I whisper as I bounce my daughter on my hip again. We’ve been inside a small garage for a little bit now. Since I left my cell phone in the diaper bag under the stroller, I have no way of knowing what time it is or how to summon Blake to come rescue us. There’s rusty car parts and dirt as far as the eye can see, and no way in hell I’ll let Nat down to explore. She’ll wind up slicing her hand on a piece of sheet metal and needing a tetanus shot.

  “Shut her up,” he says harshly while glancing out the side window one more time. I have no clue who or what he’s looking for, but I have an idea. A very pissed off six foot four ex-football player turned FBI agent. I can’t imagine this is going to end well for the man in front of me when Blake finally catches up with him. Throw in his brother, who is an agent as well, and I imagine two raging Thomas brothers are hunting us like a pack of rabid dogs as we speak.