That was all the incentive I needed.
I tore into the crimson envelope only for a tiny piece to come tumbling out of it onto the granite countertop.
Staring back at me were two words that chilled my blood.
Time’s up!
Emberlyn
To say it was a chilly late morning was one thing, but when the frost bites you from the inside—thanks to another unwelcomed package—and continues to do so from the outside, long after you’ve retracted back into your home, that’s when you know something’s wrong.
I’d sensed it the minute I’d turned the deadbolts and reactivated my alarm. It was even more potent once I’d returned to the kitchen to find Shane inspecting something with the edge of the red envelope he’d grabbed, as soon as I’d given him permission to clear my mail.
“Shane?” I asked, my voice all too shaky for my own liking.
“Time’s up,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Time’s up,” he repeated on more of a growl. “That son of a bitch!” he roared, getting to his feet and stopping abruptly as soon as he saw what I was carrying. “Fuck me! Put the fucking thing down, Em.”
He reached for his back pocket and hit a few buttons.
“Dalt, we’ve got a huge fucking problem.”
Chapter 35
Shane
The moment I heard my daughter’s blood curdling scream, I almost lost my mind.
“Rosie!” Emberlyn yelled out, the first to make a beeline for the back door leading to her little cottage.
I made one for the front door, my gut telling me that she’d be there if someone had snatched her. Sure enough, after disarming the alarm system and unlocking the bolts, I swung the door open hard; not even registering the loud bang it made as it hit the inside wall, only to see some burly, dishevelled, black-haired man shoving my daughter into the back of a black Toyota Sienna.
Gray eyes met dark ones. I would recognize them anywhere after having studied his mug shot one too many times—Trevor Sykes.
The stare off lasted merely a few seconds, but they were precious seconds; time I didn’t have and failed. In a short moment, Sykes was in the driver’s seat and speeding off with the peeling of rubber.
Making a run for my vehicle, I yelled out to Emberlyn.
“Call Dalton and tell him what’s happening. Tell him to get Will. Stay here and lock everything.”
“Shane, no!”
“Your ex has my daughter, Em! There’s no way I’m not going,” I yelled from the open passenger window as I punched the gas.
I managed to stay with the tinted-out black van for a few miles, into the industrial part of Jacksonville, before Will motored past me in his cruiser, lights flashing, siren blaring.
My phone rang and I hit the hands-free button on my steering to connect the call. “Yeah!”
“Go home, brother,” Will ordered over the line. “The cavalry is behind you.”
Just as he said it, more flashing lights appeared in my rearview mirror.
“I’m not bailing, Will. The fucker has my kid,” I growled.
My blood boiled, a cold sweat had broken out with the amount of adrenaline pumping through me.
“Peters, get your ass home,” Captain Dodge’s voice came loud and clear on the line. “That’s an order, Detective.”
“Ten-four, boss.” The last thing I needed was a wrongful dismissal or a stint being watched by internal affairs if I didn’t follow direct orders. Captain Dodge might have reassigned himself to another department but he was still my superior.
As my foot let off the gas, and everyone passed me, I hoped that I wouldn’t regret the decision to back down.
Emberlyn
You know the saying ‘when it rains, it pours’? Well, apparently it rang true today of all days.
Devolin showed up with Dalton, who brought some guy named Rex, with a really angry scar running horizontally across his neck, even though his beard covered most of it. The man was seriously scary looking; and quiet.
Next thing I knew, I’d been asked to contact Nora, who was supposed to still be helping her friend, Maggie. When her phone went straight to voicemail, Devolin put her fingers to work and called up the information for one Margaret Wood. Imagine my surprise when Maggie—as the Peters called her—stated that Nora had gone home earlier that day.
One look out the front window showed that her car was parked in the driveway across the street, where it had previously always been.
I tried Nora’s cell again, then the house phone to no avail. Then I tried a third time.
“Something’s going on,” I heard Devolin state exactly what I was thinking. I was about to agree with the woman when I heard the sound of fluid spilling right behind me, followed by a shrieked, “What the fuck?”
As I turned, I took in the scene of Devolin standing in the middle of a puddle, her shoes drenched, along with her pants. “Holy fuck!” came barreling out of my mouth at the same time Dalton rushed into the kitchen on a, “What the fuck is going on?”
Rex wasn’t too far behind, mumbling, “Oh shit!” as he grabbed his cell and began to punch in a series of numbers.
“Baby, are you okay?” Dalton was all over his wife.
“Beside feeling like I pissed myself, I’m fine, Dalt.”
“The baby’s coming.” I kept staring at the puddle on the floor.
“Ambulance is ten minutes out,” Rex announced.
“No need,” Shane came racing into the room. “I’ll drive you to the hospital. I can get you guys there faster.”
“I got this,” Dalton declared, even though the frantic look in his eyes told me that he didn’t. “Right, baby? We’ve practiced this.”
“I think I like Shane’s idea more right now, Dalton,” Devolin confessed.
“Let’s go,” Shane called out, turning to head out the door. Before I knew it, Dalton was hurrying Devolin out of the room, barely giving me a chance to give her a hug and wish her luck.
Turning to tackle some dishes in the sink, I was abruptly turned around to face Shane who smashed his lips to mine. “Cap sent me home,” he growled, his features displaying his ire with that fact. “I’ll tell you more about it when I’m done helping those two have a baby.”
“Be safe,” I whispered to the air where Shane had been.
Chapter 36
Emberlyn
Sitting at home, not knowing what was going on with anyone, was slowly driving me mad. Rex had gone over to Shane’s mother’s house, only to find the place locked tight and nothing seeming as though it was out of order.
Maybe she’d gone for one of her long walks. After all, she’d been cooped up indoors, looking after her friend for three weeks. That woman was normally hard to keep at home unless Lana Rose was there.
Lana Rose.
My beautiful girl. Yes, by now I’d mentally adopted the nine-year-old as my own. I could only imagine what was going through that child’s head. Rage filled me the more I thought about Trevor. If I had one single moment alone with him, he was going to regret not staying away. As it was, I was sure that Shane would most likely be meting his own payback when he got his turn alone with him too.
Trevor
For the life of me, I had no idea why anyone wanted kids. The brat in the back hadn’t stopped screaming and crying. The pitiful whimper only showed how weak the female species was.
“I thought I told you to shut up!” I hollered from my driver’s seat.
I’d managed to get to my destination for a rendezvous with Dodge, but it had been a close call. Escaping one cruiser was one thing, getting away from three of them…miraculous is what I’d call it.
“What in the fuck does Casen want with you anyhow?” I questioned aloud.
“I-I need to p-pee,” she stuttered.
“No can do.”
A moment later, the pungent smell of urine filled my nostrils.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I punched the steering wheel, careful to avo
id the horn. Since we were inside some old car garage, I got out and slammed my door shut. Maybe if her father had slapped her around, she’d know how to listen. Storming to the side door of the van, I yanked the thing sideways on its glider and grabbed the kid by the front of her shirt. “You just couldn’t hold it in, could you?” My eyes perused the old place, settling on what I’d been looking for. Throwing the runt onto the floor, I pointed in the direction of what I’d scoped out. “Bathroom’s over there. Make it quick. You come right back, kid, or you won’t like what I do next.”
“Y-yes, sir,” she whispered, then skittered off like the little cockroaches kids are, making her way to the john.
That’s when I decided it was time to make a phone call. After all, why should Dodge have all the fun with this?
Shane
If I’d had the time to see the humor in things, I’d have laughed my fool head off at Dalton’s conduct, both prior and after arriving at the hospital. I’ve never seen a man come so undone at the sight of his wife like that. For anyone to have seen the sure and steady Dalton Kippers losing his cool, over the impending birth of his first child; it was definitely something to razz him about later.
I’d been pacing the waiting room for news on Devolin’s labor progression—not to mention, more news on what was going on with the search of my daughter—when I heard a crackle over the radio Dalton had left with me.
Finally.
I’d been checking in with the guys repeatedly every fifteen minutes for news and had been met with absolutely nothing other than their ‘I’m working on its’. My patience was running thin to the point I was about to snap.
“We have movement,” Cade announced. “Looks like Sykes is looking for something. Seems a little unhinged and panicked to be honest.”
“Got a bead on Rosie?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
Fuck! Was it that hard to have proof of life?
Earlier, I was informed that JPD failed to stay on Sykes’ van. Thanks to Brycen and Cade who were out there, they’d managed, barely, to keep up. Of course, it helped having an unmarked car over a police cruiser at times. The fucker had no idea he’d gained a tail.
“Got incoming,” Brycen called out. “Silver F-150 just pulled up.”
Just then my cell went off in my back pocket. My eyebrows scrunched up when I saw Emberlyn’s number showing up.
“Em?” I answered.
“She escaped them, Shane!”
“What!” How could the guys have missed that?
“Rosie just called. She said they’re in an old place that stinks of gas and other stinky stuff. She told me that there was one bad man and that there were a bunch of cars and car parts all over,” Emberlyn explained. “On her way to the bathroom, she saw the phone on the floor of the office.”
One hand ran through my hair, grabbing the strands tightly. “Thank fuck. Is she okay?”
“I’m not sure, Shane.”
“Is she still where he took her? You’ve got to tell me everything you got out of her, so I can tell the guys. Dalton’s men managed to stay on Sykes. They’ve got a visual on him, but none of my baby.”
“She’s hiding inside. She mentioned a big pile of tires.”
“Okay,” I took a relieved breath. “Sweetheart, I’m going to hang up now. I have to relay everything you just told me to the guys.”
“I’m going to find our girl, Shane,” she announced.
“You stay put, Em, that’s an order!”
“I can’t.”
“Em–”
“No, Shane! Trevor’s got her because of me,” she argued. “I’m ending this right now.”
Before I could argue with her more, she hung up.
Fuck!
Chapter 37
Emberlyn
I knew I’d suffer Shane’s wrath when all of this was said and done, but I had to do something when Trevor called my cell. I wasn’t much surprised that the man had found my number, despite my efforts to make sure he never found me. The man had connections I couldn’t begin to explain. He’d always been able to locate me, so having found my number wasn’t anything new to me. Hell, he already knew where I lived—proof positive he’d come for Lana Rose, and left all of those packages.
No one knew this, but I was offering myself up so that Lana Rose could be set free.
It had taken a bit of convincing, seeing as Casen Dodge was the puppet master of Trevor’s strings, or so it seemed. However, the lure of my ex getting his hands on me once more seemed too appealing to pass up for him, and he gave me the information I needed that Rex refused to share with me.
I was in my car, cringing as I drove through an undesirable neighborhood that had goosebumps spreading through me. I looked for the old garage Trevor had told me he was holed up in. Five minutes later, I’d found it, parking in a spot that would be easy to escape from—if I were lucky enough to get out too.
Double-checking my purse for the weapon I’d stashed there, the same one Shane had perfected my ability to use only a few days ago, I allowed my anger to fuel my determination and began to make my way to the main entrance.
Casen
Control was slipping away and scrambling to regain it seemed useless.
I’d gotten into Peters’ place, only to be interrupted by his mother coming back. I took care of the bitch with an old, cast iron frying pan that was sitting on top of her stove. The woman never saw it coming. The small pool of blood that appeared under her head didn’t leave me optimistic for a smooth recovery if she survived, should she be found, but it went a long way to quell my bloodlust, for the time being. She wasn’t the one I was after.
Scribbling a note for Shane to drive the blade home, should he end up living, I kept watch across the street at the comings and goings from Peters’ latest piece of ass’s home before making my escape.
It was time for me to put the second part of my plan in motion.
Things couldn’t have gone better. I should have known that Sykes would play into his urges to get his mitts on his old woman. What I hadn’t expected was that he’d let Peters’ brat escape.
“Find her,” I ordered him.
“What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing for the past half hour?” he groaned, like the miserable whiny dog that he was.
“Find her, or else I’ll take care of your precious Emberlyn before you have a chance to do any damage.”
That apparently worked.
As excitement riled the adrenaline in my blood, I couldn’t help but grin that all was coming to a head, despite the few hiccups.
Shane
The moment Emberlyn hung up on me, I knew I had to leave. The process of finding Dalton was eased when the man himself came my way, a big ol’ smile on his face, which fell as soon as he’d seen the rage on mine.
“Got to go,” I told him. “Em went after Rosie.”
“What the fuck? Where’s Rex?”
“Apparently she gave him the slip while he was making rounds around the house. He’s still there and he’s staying put. We’ve got Sykes’s location. Another vehicle has showed up, and my daughter is somewhere in that area.”
The man rubbed his palms down his face. “This is a massive clusterfuck.” Pausing to size me up, he asked, “You sure you’re okay to go, or do I need to go with you to keep you in check?”
“Stay with your wife, D. I’ve got this.”
The man nodded. “Keep me posted.” With that, I handed him his radio and hightailed it out of there.
Parking at the edge of the block, I chose to make the rest of my approach on foot. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I whipped it out, knowing that Cade and Brycen had made me.
“I’m going in,” I stated.
“Meet up first,” Brycen said. “There’s a storage shack behind the garage. Get there now. We’ve got two perps, your kid, and now your woman in there.”
“Why didn’t you fuckers do anything to stop her?”
“Can’t give ourselves away until we’re
sure we’ve got those men where we want them,” he returned.
“Fine,” I grunted. “But we’re doing this my way.”
“Roger that, boss.”
I shook my head at the man’s sarcasm. I’m sure one day he’d be paying for that mouth getting away from him.
Chapter 38
Emberlyn
The place was dark and dingy. Lights were still turned off; the only clarity being loaned by the outdoor sun that tried to make its way through the dust and grime on each pane of glass in the place.
Everything was eerily silent until I crept up to the only door behind the front counter; at which point I could hear footsteps coming closer.
Weapon drawn, I made it far enough around the corner to tuck myself away, sight unseen, as some man with brown hair, and all-black jogging attire came out.
That’s not Trevor.
Outnumbered.
With both men on the premises, I would surely lose any physical battle; but the need to get to Lana Rose, removing her from certain danger was driving me.
As soon as the stranger’s shadow disappeared around the corner, I made my move to the back.
If I thought the front end of the deserted shop was freaky, the back was even worse. There were various piles of tires, all in front of the bay doors that once allowed for cars to drive in and out for servicing. As Lana Rose had told me, there were a couple of cars, each in a state of disassembly, and piles of car parts strewn everywhere. The place looked as if whoever had once owned it had simply upped and left without trying to take anything with them.
Crouching low behind the pile of crap closest to my point of entry, I tried to see if I could find the hallway with the restroom Shane’s daughter had gone toward. My guess would be she wouldn’t have strayed too far from there for a hiding spot.
Night Shift (Nightshade Book 2) Page 14