by Mara McBain
“I didn’t think it mattered at the time. You need to find my son!”
“We’re going to do everything we can to find Camden, but you need to be honest with us, Kat.”
“I’m being fucking honest! My father is an incestuous, sadistic fucking monster. How much clearer do I need to be? He has my son!” she screamed, fighting the nearly overwhelming desire to punch the sanctimonious pig. “You want honesty? You better find my son before Crux does, Marchand. You know the history between him and my father. If he hurts Cam, Crux will gut him.”
“Is that where Crux is?” Marchand asked, already reaching for his radio. “Is he out looking for your father?”
“No. The 911 lady said that she was sending an officer to pick him up at work,” Kat said, covering her face with trembling hands. “He doesn’t even know what happened yet. He doesn’t know. I should’ve known.” She felt her knees buckle but couldn’t even reach out to break her fall. She knelt on the floor rocking back and forth as grief and rage bubbled up inside of her. It escaped in a feral scream. “I’m going to kill that bastard!”
She felt a hand on her elbow, but ripped her arm away. Marchand squatted down in front of her.
“It’s going to be okay, Kat. We’re going to find Cam. I need your most recent picture of him.”
“I have a lot of them on my phone,” she said, fumbling for it.
“That’s great. If you forward a couple of the most recent to me I can send them on to the other officers and to the department so we can get the amber alert out. We will follow up on the possibility of the grandfather being involved but I want Cam’s picture out to the media in case this is something else. Do you remember what Cam was wearing?”
Kat wiped her face on her sleeve, eyes still on her phone. “He was wearing a red and black flannel one-piece with red socks,” she said, sniffing. Frustrated tears rolled down her just dried cheeks. “I have pictures in here from last night of him in the outfit if I can get my damn fingers to work.”
“Kat?”
She dropped the phone at Crux’s worried bellow and staggered to her feet. Her husband bounded up the stairs to meet her at the top, sweeping her up in a crushing hug.
“What the fuck happened?”
“I woke up and he was gone! Oh my God, Crux. I’m so sorry!” she wailed.
He set her down and cupped her face between his dirty hands, forcing her to look at him.
“Listen to me. It’s not your fault. We’ll get him back. I promise you.”
She stared into his eyes, needing with every fiber of her being, to believe him. He dropped a kiss on her lips and then crushed her in a hug.
“I checked on Cam before I left for work so this had to happen sometime between then and when you woke up. Someone knows our schedule,” he said, staring at the window.
“Is this the outfit, Kat?” Marchand interrupted, turning her phone toward her.
Kat looked at the picture, blurry through her tears. “Yes. That’s what he was wearing. I took those last night.”
“Good. Sent,” he said and handed the phone back to Kat. “Is there anything else missing?”
“No. Just my son! Isn’t that enough? Can you just get people looking for him and ask questions later?”
“I’m going to go look for him, babe,” Crux said, kissing her temple.
“You’re not going anywhere, Croston.”
“I don’t think you have the balls to make that stick, Marchand,” Crux growled, fixing a fearsome glare on the officer.
“Kat told us about the problems you’ve been having with her father. I might not know the whole story, but I know you and I don’t think you can be trusted to act rationally right now.”
“If you think I’m going to sit around here and wait for you to find my son you’re as delusional as my father-in-law. You can’t even solve a simple robbery.”
“We would’ve had a better chance if you wouldn’t have withheld information.”
“I’m not going to stand here and have a pissing contest with you while Cam’s out there somewhere with that sick fuck!” Crux bellowed.
“Your wife needs you right now. I’d hate to have to lock you up for obstruction.”
“What my wife needs right now is our son in her arms.”
“Crux, I promise you we’re doing everything we can to find Cam and put him back in Kat’s arms. There are officers on their way to Merrick’s home. All agencies are on the lookout for his registered vehicles. I sent Cam’s pictures in and we are issuing an Amber Alert.”
Crux pulled out his phone and hit speed dial.
“Who’re you calling?”
“Zeke. We had a license plate and name for Merrick’s lackey. He could’ve used the same guy to kidnap Cam. Zeke said he was some sort of mercenary in Iraq, doing personal security work.”
“It might have been nice to know someone like that was hanging around Trinity, threatening people. I don’t know if anyone has ever fully explained to you what it is that police officers do, but it is our job to protect people. I wouldn’t dream of building a custom motorcycle. How about the Lords let me do my job?” Marchand griped, sarcasm dripping from every word.
Crux waved him quiet as Zeke came on the line. Kat ran her hands up and down the outsides of her biceps. Her teeth were chattering. Leaning her forehead against Crux’s back, she closed her eyes and listened to his conversation with Zeke. As much as Crux hated to ask for help, or deal with cops, they needed everyone right now. Her stomach churned. They needed to find Cam. He had to be okay. She kept reminding herself that her father wanted Cam. He was male. Cam had value. Surely her father wouldn’t hurt him. She clung desperately to that thought. It was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment.
A gust of wind made her press tighter to her husband’s back. Their baby was out there somewhere without them. Was he cold? She clutched Cam’s blanket to her chest. Were they taking care of him? Was he hungry, afraid? His screams when they’d searched the house echoed through her head. She’d thought then that listening to him cry and not being able to go to him had been the worst thing in the world. She’d been wrong. It was a million times worse not to know where he was.
Kat’s hands shook around the coffee mug Ginny pressed into them. Moving downstairs had done nothing to ease the bone numbing chill that gripped her. Crux wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his hand rubbing the opposite arm.
“Gin, would you take her upstairs and get her dressed,” he asked softly.
“Of course. Come on, honey,” Ginny said, taking the cappuccino back away from her.
Kat flinched away from the worry in her husband’s tone. It was mirrored in her friend’s face. “I’m not an invalid. I can get dressed without assistance.”
Crux rolled his eyes and opened his mouth but Ginny beat him to it.
“Then come on little miss independence. You aren’t doing anyone any favors sitting around here freezing your ass off in your pajamas and bed head,” she snapped, an exasperated grimace twisting her expression.
A police woman walking through the kitchen stared at Ginny like she’d grown two heads. The horrified look actually made Kat smile. Slipping from the comfort of her husband’s embrace, she slugged Gin in the shoulder.
“Stop being a bully. You’re scaring people.”
“Obviously coddling you isn’t working so a kick in the ass was called for,” Ginny said with a pointed look.
Bumping her friend out of the way, Kat headed for the stairs with Ginny a step behind. She stopped at the top, staring at the closed nursery door. Cold air swirled under the door. Ginny turned her away and urged her into the master bedroom, closing the door behind them.
“I know you don’t give a shit what you look like right now, but why don’t you grab a quick shower just to warm up. I’ll lay out some clothes for you.”
Kat nodded and stumbled into the bathroom. Pride aside, their queen’s take charge attitude was what she needed right now. It had been a relief when Ginny had sho
wed up. They’d been through so much together. She still sometimes felt she needed to be the tough old lady Crux needed, but she could lean on Gin. She hugged Cam’s blanket. Lord knew she needed someone to lean on right now because her hold on sanity was a tenuous one.
She turned the water up as hot as she could stand it and still the tears that slipped down her cheeks felt scalding. Slumping to the bottom of the shower she rocked through the sobs. A million regrets and questions coursed through her numb mind. Why had she moved Cam into the nursery? Why hadn’t she gotten her ass out of bed to see Crux off like she had for years before Cam? Was a new coffee maker with a timer a replacement for a wife? What the fuck was wrong with her? Where was her baby? She’d promised to protect him just like her mother had her.
An anguished wail tore from her throat at the thought and she bounced her head off the tiled wall. There was no protection from the Merrick curse. Her mother had died trying. What had she done? She’d slept snug in her bed while her mother was murdered and her son kidnapped. The shower door swung open and she curled away from the critical gaze. Everyone knew that she had done nothing to protect her child. How could they even look at her?
The water stopped and a thick bath sheet covered her. She tried to pull away from Ginny’s soft words and helping hands. She didn’t deserve their pity. Gin’s least of all.
“Come on, little sister. It’s going to be okay. They’re going to bring Cam home to you. Trust me,” Ginny whispered. “I know you don’t want Crux to see you like this. Come on. Buck up. Let’s get you dressed.”
Knowing that Ginny would call Crux up there to haul her out of the shower if she didn’t comply, Kat sighed and pushed up the wall. The queen fussed over her, wrapping another towel around her sopping hair before briskly drying her off.
“I’ll grab your clothes and you can get dressed in here where it’s warm,” she said pulling Kat forward with the towel so they were nose-to-nose. “It’s going to be okay. The police are pulling out all the stops. The Amber Alert is out. Zeke told work he had a family emergency and he’s doing what he can. The rest of the guys are out there. They’re going to bring our boy home safe and sound, Kat.”
Kat crumpled into her arms. Ginny held her tight. They stood like that for what seemed forever before Kat finally stepped back.
“You know the guys would pay good money to see this right?” she asked with a shaky smile.
“It’d be better if I was wet and naked too, but they’re easy,” Ginny said, kissing her on the lips and winking. Cupping Kat’s face, she whispered, “They’re going to bring him home. I know it.”
“If it can happen on pure will power alone we have the people for the job,” Kat said with a sniff.
Twenty-One
John hurried through the stark halls the sound of his dress shoes loud on the industrial tile. He caught an occasional glimpse of faces behind the doors he passed, but recognition caused all but a few to duck away from the small windows. One lost soul being pushed in a wheel chair recoiled as they passed. He blew her a kiss and she whimpered. Reaching the medical ward, he paused and drew a deep breath before stepping through the doors into the dim room.
His gaze riveted on the good doctor. The body before him on the exam table looked so small. Not a sound or a movement came from the infant. Eyes locked on the prize, John forced his hands behind his back in a tight clasp as he strolled forward. Stopping beside the table, he searched doctor’s face. His expression gave nothing away.
A shudder ran through him as he looked down into his grandson’s wide blue-green eyes. The child stared back at him, serious and unafraid. An intelligence beyond his limited age shown from those eyes. John couldn’t force his gaze from the perfect face.
“So?” he asked the doctor.
“Of course I’m running blood tests, but from everything I can tell in an examination, he is in perfect health.”
“It’s unthinkable that a freak like Croston had any part in creating something so perfect,” John murmured, stroking the back of his finger over the little boy’s chubby cheek.
“I haven’t seen the man but from what you’ve said I would hazard to say his disfigurement is the result of an accident, nothing transmissible.”
“I don’t care what accident befell Croston. I’m just disappointed it didn’t finish the job.”
John trailed a finger over the boy’s ribs and round belly. He looked healthy and well cared for.
“The heat lamp is doing its job keeping our little guest warm, but it would be best to get him dressed before he decides to initiate your suit jacket,” the doctor said with a wry smile.
Catching his drift, John stepped back and smoothed a hand down the front of his tailored suit. He watched as the doctor easily put a disposable diaper on the infant and slipped him back into flannel pajamas. John grimaced at the cheap attire, but he hadn’t risked stopping to purchase anything more appropriate. There was plenty of time for that later.
He fingered his phone in his pocket. He would’ve thought Katrina would’ve called by now. Had she contacted the police? He would be so disappointed if she had. This was a family matter and should be handled as such. Involving the authorities was just going to make things messy. Pulling an envelope out of his pocket, he placed it on the table.
“You understand the importance of discretion?”
The doctor eyed the thick envelope with a gleam in his eye and nodded.
“You need to understand that the man my daughter married is an animal. He, and his biker brethren, won’t hesitate to use force to get what they want.”
“I understand. I promise you they won’t find the boy.”
John studied the doctor for a long moment. Tapping the envelope on the table he made sure he had the man’s attention.
“I don’t give a shit what you do with the lab rats in this hell hole, but this is my grandson.”
The doctor’s hand stilled on a tray of instruments and he nodded.
“I understand.”
John’s phone vibrated in his pocket, breaking the moment. He fought back a triumphant smile and nodded to the doctor. Reaching over he stroked the child’s spiky hair.
“See that you do.”
Turning on his heel, he left the infirmary and pulled his phone out. Triumph fell away as he stared at Carson’s number. He ground his teeth.
“What do you want?”
“I thought you would want to know that your grandson has been kidnapped and they’ve issued an Amber Alert.”
John pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head as Carson droned on. The twit had gone to the police. This didn’t please him, and likely wouldn’t impress her lowlife hubby either. Maybe Croston would slap some sense into her. That thought made him smile. He sighed. Things were about to get interesting and unfortunately for poor little Katrina, he played the game much better than she did.
Twenty-Two
Crux let his head fall back and pound against the walnut trim as he listened to the FBI agent’s report. They had searched Merrick’s house and property and found nothing. Worse yet, the smug bastard had consented to the search and promised to do everything he could to aide in the search, even offering a reward.
“Did you check the wine cellar?” Kat demanded. The strain in her voice tore at his heart.
“We conducted a thorough search, Mrs. Croston, including the wine cellar and all outbuildings on the premises.”
“There is a hidden room off the wine cellar. He used to lock me in there when I was a child.”
“Mr. Merrick disclosed the secret room off the cellar where he keeps his more valuable vintages,” Agent Hunter said gently. “We searched every room.”
“More valuable vintages,” Kat choked out in disbelief. “Run a black light over that room sometime. I promise you’ll want something stronger than wine afterward.”
The agent shot a look of pity at Kat and Crux’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t tell if the guy believed what his wife was saying, or if Merrick’s whi
spers had poisoned him and he thought she was off her rocker.
“I know it’s him,” Kat said, her hands closing in the front of his shirt. “He said he wanted Cam to be his heir. He made threats. Who else would take Cam?”
“She’s right. Who else would kidnap our son? No one has called with a ransom demand and we don’t have any money if they did.”
“First off I’m not saying that we’ve ruled out the possibility that Mr. Merrick is somehow involved. I’ve been married long enough that I never disregard a woman’s intuition,” he said looking at Kat with a wry smile. “We’ll continue to investigate him, but we can’t ignore the chance that it was a stranger, or someone else with a grudge. It’s not always about money. Looking over your background we have to consider that it could be in some way connected to your motorcycle club.”
“We’re clean. The Lord’s are not involved in any illegal bullshit,” Crux snapped, his patience running thin.
“Maybe not,” Hunter said with a shrug. “But it does seem that trouble likes to find the Lord’s. The last year in particular hasn’t been kind.”
“Zeke’s problem was related to his job as a cop,” Crux said pointedly. “The bullshit with the greaseball Soriano was over a girl. Mox tried to do the right thing and help an abused woman and her boyfriend turned out to be a whack job. Neither of those have anything to do with our MC.”
“No, but it shows that it’s easy to make enemies sometimes,” Hunter said. “As I said there is also the slim possibility that this was a complete stranger. It’s rare, but it does happen. Kat, have you made any new friends lately? Another expectant mother perhaps, or someone that has shown a lot of interest in Cam? It could’ve been in person or maybe even through social media.”
“I don’t made friends easy. With my background I’m not exactly the trusting sort,” Kat said, bitterness in her voice. “I stick with the other old ladies and I don’t do the social media thing. I value my privacy.”
“What about when you’ve been out with Camden? Have you taken him to the grocery store, out to eat, or running errands around town?”