by Susan Stoker
Ryder nodded and headed for Logan, who was standing at his dining room table. They’d made it their headquarters for the moment. The table was piled high with papers, empty coffee cups, and three laptops.
Grace was standing next to the table with Ace in her arms. As if the baby knew something was wrong, his eyes constantly scanned his surroundings. Felicity didn’t know much about babies, nonetheless twins, but she imagined the little guy was searching for his brother. They’d been together in the womb and every day of their lives. It had to be a bit weird for Nate not to be by his side now.
Felicity’s best friend looked exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes, and it didn’t look like she had showered that morning either. Her brown hair hung lank and dull around her face, and her eyes had lost the sparkle they’d had since her parents had been put in jail.
Logan didn’t look much better. He had stress lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there a couple of days ago. His body was tense, and he startled at the smallest sound. He also couldn’t seem to be more than a body length away from his wife and child, as if keeping them in his line of sight would somehow keep them disappearing in a puff of smoke, like his son had.
Nathan went straight to Bailey’s side. Felicity wasn’t sure where Joel was, probably upstairs playing a video game.
Logan handed his phone over to Ryder without a word.
Ryder turned to Felicity and put the phone against his chest so Joseph wouldn’t hear his words.
“You remember what we talked about, right?” he asked in a soft voice.
Felicity nodded and dutifully recited the plan. “Don’t antagonize him. Listen and agree to whatever he wants. Try to get him to prove that he’s got Nate.”
“Good,” Ryder nodded. Then he pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. He turned her so her back was to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, keeping the phone in his hands so it was in front of both of them.
The position was intimate, and she felt surrounded by Ryder. It gave her the courage she didn’t exactly have at the moment. She felt Ryder take a deep breath against her back, and she did the same. She couldn’t screw this up. Nate’s life was at stake.
Ryder clicked on the speaker button, and Felicity immediately said, “Hello?”
“Megan. It’s so good to hear your voice after all this time,” Joseph drawled.
Felicity closed her eyes. She couldn’t stop the trembles that moved through her. It had been a decade since she’d heard Joseph’s voice, but she knew she’d never forget it. “Where’s Nathan?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Joseph scolded. “Not even a few social niceties?”
“Where is he? I want to hear him.”
“You’re not in charge here,” Joseph bit out, all amusement in his tone gone. “I am. And if you ever want to see that brat again, you’ll temper your tone, be a bit more polite, and do exactly what I say. It’s the least you can do since I’ve got something you want. You, and only you, will meet me at Clear Creek Canyon Park.” He chuckled then, an evil sound that made Felicity’s skin crawl. “I think the Andersons know exactly the spot I’m talking about, as it’s where little Alexis spent a bit of time buried up to her neck. But I mean it, Megan, only you. You meet me there and I’ll take you to the brat.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Felicity asked. “That Nate is even alive?”
“You’re just going to have to trust me now, aren’t you?”
“Trust you?” Felicity asked, the disbelief easy to hear in her tone. She struggled to hold back her words, remembering that she wasn’t supposed to antagonize Joseph, but she couldn’t hold back anymore. “You’ve done nothing but make my life hell for the last ten years. Why would I trust you now?”
“Because!” Joseph yelled. “I’m a man! Bitches lie, not real men. All women know how to do is fucking lie. You open your mouth and lies come spewing out. You have no integrity, and you’re all fucking weak. You’ll show up in three hours, or that precious baby will never know his parents. He’ll grow up never knowing his real name or that he’s got a twin out there somewhere.”
Obviously hearing Felicity’s gasp, he said, “That’s right, Megan. I’ve got him stashed somewhere safe, and you’ll never see him again if you don’t follow my directions to the letter. Show up by yourself, bitch, or poor little Grace will never see her baby again.”
And with that, Joseph hung up.
There was silence in the room for a second before Grace sobbed.
Logan took his wife in his arms, doing what he could to console her, but kept his eyes on Ryder and Felicity.
Ryder clicked on the icon on the phone to shut it off and dropped his arms. Felicity shivered with the loss of his body heat, but he immediately turned her to face him.
“You aren’t going up there by yourself,” he said.
“Damn straight I’m not,” Felicity returned.
He blinked, and Felicity knew she’d surprised him. “I don’t want to be anywhere near Joseph Waters,” she told him. “He’s batshit crazy, killed my mom, doesn’t give a shit about any woman, and wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. So yeah, I’m not going to go up to the middle of the Colorado wilderness and meet with the man who I’ve been running from for the last decade by myself. I know he said I should come alone, but he seriously can’t really think I’ll actually do it.”
“But, he said he wouldn’t tell you where Nate was if you weren’t alone,” Grace gasped from next to them.
Ryder answered her before Felicity could. “He’s not going to tell her where your son is even if she does show up by herself. He’s going to need to be convinced.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Bailey asked. She’d been quiet up until now, but the question was a good one.
Felicity looked up at the man she loved with all her heart. She hated that she’d brought Joseph Waters into her best friend’s life, but if anyone could help end the reign of terror he’d held over her for all her adult life, and get her godson back in the process, it was Ryder.
“My friend Black is one hell of an interrogator. He won’t have any problem getting info from a coward like Joseph Waters. That asshole has had everything handed to him on a silver platter. It’s one of the reasons why he’s acting like a spoiled little kid when it comes to Felicity. The stunts he’s pulled over the last week have been more annoying than truly threatening. But he’s stepped over the line by taking Nate. Rex is pissed. And the head of the Mountain Mercenaries isn’t a man you want on your bad side.”
Ryder turned to Grace then. “We’re going to find Nate,” he told her with absolute conviction.
“I’m going with you guys,” Logan said.
“Me too,” Nathan piped up.
Ryder nodded. “We’ll pick Blake up on our way north as well.”
Felicity looked from Ryder to the Anderson brothers. The vibe in the room was intense, but she had no doubt that with the four men at her back, Joseph Waters would soon not be a problem anymore.
“We’ll talk about strategy on the way up there,” Logan said. “We only have three hours. We need to get going.”
Ryder nodded. Then he walked over to Grace, stopped in front of her, and brought a hand up to the infant in her arms. He leaned over to speak into Ace’s ear. “I’ll find your brother, Ace. I swear on it.”
As if the infant could understand his uncle’s words, he waved his little arms in the air and cooed.
Felicity let the tears fall then. Ryder had so many facets to his personality, and she was in love with every single one. The considerate side that always treated her with respect. The romantic side that could make love to her for hours without a thought to his own satisfaction. The lusty side that took her how he wanted in whatever position he wanted. The hard side that she knew wouldn’t hesitate to use deadly force if it meant keeping her safe. And finally, the tender side that took the time to reassure a little baby that he’d bring his twin back s
afe and sound. He’d make a wonderful father. An amazing husband. She wanted him. All of him.
Her tears dried as her resolve strengthened. Joseph wouldn’t take Ryder away from her. No way. “Come on,” she said, her voice husky. “Let’s go end this once and for all.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ryder’s 370Z bounced on the dirt road. They’d turned off Route 6 onto the sad semblance of a road. He could feel the rocks scraping the underside of his sports car, but he didn’t even flinch. He could replace the car. All his focus was on the upcoming confrontation.
His brothers were following right behind him in Logan’s truck. He didn’t know how Blake felt about being back where Alexis had almost died, but he honestly couldn’t even think about that right now.
Obviously Joseph had done his research on the Andersons and had picked the location on purpose, to try to throw them off emotionally, but it wouldn’t work. Ryder knew his brothers well enough by now to know all their thoughts were on what might happen in the next few minutes.
Nate’s life depended on them doing everything right.
Ryder stopped at the end of the road and motioned for Felicity to climb over the console and get out on his side. He wasn’t going to chance that Joseph would change his mind and decide to immediately shoot his woman. He didn’t think that was his plan, but he wasn’t willing to risk her life on it either.
He and Felicity figured that Joseph wanted to take her away somewhere private where he could torture her at his leisure. That was never going to happen.
Ryder knew his brothers were just as well armed as he was. He had a handgun in a holster at his back, one strapped to the holster at his side, and three knives hidden on his person as well. Felicity had wanted to carry a pistol, but he’d talked her out of it. He had the utmost confidence in himself, and his brothers, to be able to protect her. The last thing he wanted was for Joseph to somehow get ahold of any weapon Felicity might have. Besides, Ryder was the killer, not her. He’d do whatever it took to keep that from her conscience, no matter how confident she was that she could handle killing Joseph if it came down to it.
He gripped Felicity’s hand tightly as he helped her climb out of the driver’s side of his car. Ryder looked around for Joseph, but didn’t see him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end again, letting him know the man was there, simply not showing himself yet.
Pulling Felicity into his side, making her less of a target, Ryder waited for his brothers to approach.
“He here?” Logan asked softly.
Ryder nodded. “Yeah, I can feel him lurking somewhere.”
“Me too,” Blake agreed.
Just then Joseph walked out of a break in the trees about twenty-five yards away.
“Women never could follow directions,” he drawled as if he hadn’t blackmailed the group into meeting him.
“Where’s Nathan?” Felicity called out.
“Step away from them,” Joseph ordered, walking closer.
Felicity went to do as ordered, but Ryder held on to her hand for a long moment. “Don’t be a hero,” he warned. “Don’t believe anything he says.”
She looked at him impatiently. “I won’t. And trust me,” she returned, “I’m not going to be stupid.”
Ryder did the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. He let go of Felicity’s hand.
Felicity could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. Letting go of Ryder’s hand had been like hanging off a four-hundred-foot ledge and letting go of the only thing that was keeping her from plunging to her death.
She took four steps away from Ryder and his brothers, looking back to see them spread out in a line behind her. Tears threatened at seeing how thoroughly they had her back, but she blinked them back. She needed to be clearheaded and clear-eyed for whatever Joseph had up his sleeve. And she had no doubt he had something planned. The man was a sore loser and wouldn’t have wanted them up here in the middle of nowhere without some sort of plan.
Felicity looked at the man who had been stalking and terrorizing her since she was twenty years old. In many ways he looked the same as he had back in college. He had the same air of superiority that he’d always worn like a cloak. His dark-brown, almost black, hair was cut close to his head. He had a bit more of a paunch than when he’d been younger, and there were more lines on his face.
His bright-blue eyes were just as piercing in intensity as they’d been back then, but she could also see a hint of uneasiness in the blue orbs. He’d probably expected Ryder to show up, maybe Logan too, but having all four Anderson brothers arrive, and looking as pissed off as they were, had rattled him.
“Well?” she asked. “I’m here. Now what?”
“You were supposed to be alone.”
“Yeah, well, sorry, but I’m not that stupid. There’s no way I was going to come and meet you by myself. I don’t trust you, just as you don’t trust me.”
Joseph crossed his arms over his chest, as if settling in for a long conversation. “So, Megan, how does it feel to have someone butt into your life? Sucks, doesn’t it?”
She grit her teeth. She hated how he said her old name. “My name is Felicity now.”
He ignored her. “It took me a long time to find you, but I must say, the last six months have been quite entertaining. If I knew what lengths you’d go to stay under the radar, I might’ve let this little game continue a bit longer.”
“What does that mean?” Felicity asked, hating that she was probably asking him exactly what he wanted her to, but, dammit, she had the right to know.
“It means if I’d known how desperate you were, how often you moved around, how you didn’t make any friends, didn’t use credit, didn’t even have a real driver’s license . . . I might’ve backed off and let you continue to live on the run. But, on the other hand, it was extremely gratifying to do the one thing I knew would make you come back to Chicago.”
Felicity’s hands clenched into fists. She refused to ask what he meant this time.
“Yeah, sweet little Megan. Your mom. I should’ve killed her years earlier. All this could’ve been done with way before now, but I was busy. It’s not easy being the son of Garrick Watson. My dad kept me busy, but I was still able to build my own empire right under his nose.”
Joseph laughed then, and Felicity’s skin crawled.
“You might be interested to know that I did my best to get your mom to tell me where you were. She held on pretty well. Didn’t beg for her life until near the end.” He shrugged. “I would’ve played longer, but she jerked under my knife at the wrong moment, and I slipped. Cut her throat long before I was ready.”
“You fucking bastard,” Felicity ground out, and actually took a step toward Joseph before realizing what she was doing and halting herself. “She never did anything to you.”
“On the contrary,” he spit out. “She’s a fucking woman. I have no use for any of you. If I had my way, you’d all be kept on your backs in the house. Not working. Not spouting your ‘I’m as good as a man’ shit. Because, news flash, you’re not. No woman will ever be as good as a man.”
“Cut the shit,” Ryder barked out, obviously having reached the end of his rope. “Where’s Nathan?”
At his words, Joseph suddenly moved, pulling out a handgun and pointing it at Ryder. “Shut the fuck up. I’m in charge here. I’m holding all the cards.”
As if choreographed, all four brothers pulled their own guns and pointed them at Joseph at the same time.
“Back up, Felicity,” Ryder ordered.
“No, don’t, Megan,” Joseph retorted. “Stay right where you are or you might end up with a bullet in your kneecap . . . to start with.” Her stalker pulled out another handgun and pointed it at her this time.
Felicity froze. Her hands went up in capitulation. Her mind spun. She felt as though she was in the middle of the Wild West. She didn’t particularly like having four guns pointed at her from behind . . . well, they weren’t pointed at her, but she also wasn�
�t convinced she was completely out of the line of fire either.
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face, but she ignored it. “I’m not moving,” she said softly. “All I want is to make sure Nate is safe.”
“Walk toward me,” Joseph ordered, ignoring her words. “You come with me and I’ll take you to the baby.”
She didn’t believe him for a second.
“Don’t move, Felicity,” Ryder growled from behind her, closer now. She didn’t take her eyes off Joseph to check, but he sounded as if he’d moved a little to her left and closer.
“Stop moving,” Joseph barked, obviously seeing Ryder’s movements as well.
His gun swung from her right to her left. “You too, asshole. If you think I don’t see you moving, you’re just as stupid as Megan here.”
Then he pointed both his guns right at her. Felicity looked down the barrels of the pistols into Joseph’s blue eyes. He was furious.
“This didn’t have to be so hard,” he ground out. “All you had to do was follow one simple instruction. Come by yourself. But no, of course not. No bitch does what she’s told. Not even your fucking roommate all those years ago. All I wanted was for her to do what I told her to, but she couldn’t do it. She nagged, day in and day out. I couldn’t fucking stand it. It’s my right as the man to maintain discipline in my home. All I did was smack her around a little, and she wouldn’t fucking stop crying. All night. Begging that she needed to see a doctor. Crying that her arm was broken. Fucking crybaby. I told her to shut up time and time again and warned her she’d regret it if she didn’t. Finally, I had no choice but to shut her up myself. Fuck, the blessed sound of silence when she took that last breath and stopped sniveling was almost orgasmic.”
Felicity listened with horror to Joseph describing Colleen’s last moments.
“Joseph, can I—”
“No! You. Fucking. Can. Not!” he roared, then shot off a round.
The ground in front of her exploded in a cloud of dust, and Felicity felt debris hitting her legs. Luckily her jeans kept most of the damage to a minimum, but something hit her hard. She forced herself to stay upright, instinctively knowing if she crumpled to the ground, Ryder would shoot the man dead. And they’d lose the chance to find Nate.