Hide and Seek

by Velvet Vaughn

  “Hey, you missed our street!” Kai yelled. The man ignored him. Grace's stomach started to hurt. She didn't like the intense look on Kai's face.

  The driver pulled the bus over, stood and turned around. Grace and Molly screamed in unison when he pointed a gun at them.

  “Girls, down,” Kai ordered, shoving their heads beneath the seat.

  “Sit down and shut up,” the man growled to Kai. “All of you, give me your cell phones and backpacks right now.”

  There were only five kids left, not counting herself. They all heaved their bags into the aisle. He dug a cell phone from each one, dropped them on the ground and stomped them to pieces. Oh no, her pretty pink Hello Kitty cover was crushed to bits. Then he gathered the bags and tossed them into a pile at the front of the bus. Kai pushed their heads back down. Grace couldn't see anything from her vantage point but she heard footsteps and then she saw his big feet appear in the aisle.

  She screamed and hugged Molly tighter.

  “Come here, darling Grace.”

  Panic froze her in place. The man knew her name! Oh God, what was she going to do?

  He reached across Molly to grab her arm.

  “Touch her and you die,” Kai growled menacingly.

  The man laughed. “Seriously? You got a death wish? You wanna die today, Kid?” Before Kai could answer, the man swung his arm and cracked him across the face with the gun. Kai's head whipped back and he crumpled into the seat.

  Everyone screamed. The man jerked her up off her feet and pulled her with him to the front of the bus. “Anyone want the same treatment or a bullet in the brain, try something like that again,” the man yelled. He wrapped some kind of plastic binder around her wrists and locked her to the post in front of the bus. Grace couldn't help it, she peed her pants. She wanted her mommy. She started to bawl.

  The man ordered the other kids to hold out their hands and he bound their wrists with the same plastic binders. Kai's cheek was red and bleeding. She cried harder.

  “Be a good girl, Grace and I won't hurt you.” The man stroked her hair and she flinched, tears flying off her face. He returned to his seat and shifted the bus in gear. Her arms jerked painfully when they pitched forward.

  “I can see all of you in the mirror,” the man informed them. “Try anything and Grace dies and you die.” From where she was sitting, she saw Kai rise in his seat. He looked hurt and she started to cry more. Then he stood and she sucked in her breath. If he tried to help her, the man would shoot him, she knew he would. She felt both relieved and sad when he moved to the back of the bus, gathering the four other kids with him.

  Grace felt truly and utterly alone.

  #

  Kai's cheek throbbed and he used his shoulder to wipe the blood. He wanted to cry at the pain, and his eyes had definitely watered, but he refused to let the man know how much he hurt him. They were all hostages now, but Grace was in the most danger. The man knew her name. That frightened him. When he started to grab her, Kai saw red. He didn't want the man touching her, hurting her. He knew he was no match for a grown man, especially one with a gun, but he couldn't just let the man take her away. She was just a little kid.

  Somehow, he had to get the other kids off the bus and then find a way to rescue Grace. He didn't know what the man's plans were, but he didn't like any of the options that came to mind.

  The other three girls were crying and the only other boy on the bus, a second-grader named Kobe, looked like he wanted to bawl, too. His bottom lip trembled uncontrollably.

  “Kobe,” Kai whispered, keeping his eyes trained on the driver. “Listen to me. We’re the only guys here so we have to save these girls.” He fastened his gaze on Kobe, who resembled a miniature version of his namesake. The kid nodded, but looked skeptical.

  Kai worked his Swiss Army Knife out of his pocket, glad he thought to remove it from his backpack before the man confiscated them. “Hold out your hands.” He fumbled with the mechanism until the blade opened. He made quick work of the binding and then he gave it to Kobe to remove his restraint. When Kai was free, he cut the bands from the girls. “When he pulls the bus over, I’ll open the emergency door,” he told Kobe. “I want you to jump out first and then I’m going to hand the other girls down to you. When the last girl is out, run like heck.”

  “What about Grace?” Kobe asked, wide-eyed.

  “I'll stay and try to get her. When you get someplace safe, call the police and then call my dad and tell him where I am and what I'm doing, okay? He doesn't know I rode the bus today and he'll be worried.” Kobe nodded and repeated the number Kai recited.

  A cell phone rang and Kai looked around, startled. He’d watched the man stomp all of theirs to tiny pieces. It was the driver’s and he answered. “Hang on,” the man barked, “I’m going to pull over to write this down.”

  The man eased the bus to the side of the road…right in front of a gas station. Perfect. “Okay, this is our chance,” he told Kobe. “Can you do it?” The little boy nodded fiercely.

  The man was scribbling on a piece of paper. While his attention was diverted, Kai jerked the handle on the emergency exit and whipped around to check on the driver when a sharp beep sounded. The man looked at the mirror and cursed but kept writing. Kobe hurdled out and Kai handed the other girls down to him. Molly tried to fight him, crying for Grace, but he lifted her down anyway. When the last girl was gone, he pulled the door shut, careful to stay out of sight. He sighed a huge breath of relief as he watched the kids flee to the safety of the convenience store.

  Chapter Three

  Dante Costa glanced at his watch and padded to the window. His son should’ve been here by now. The COBRA Securities offices included an area for the employees’ kids to do homework until their parents could take them home. The building wasn't far from Kai's school, but they wouldn’t be here much longer. They were in the midst of transferring everything to the new compound close to the lake. The expansive facilities were state-of-the-art, with a separate office space, a computer facility and gym/training center. A small cluster of apartments would house new agents until they found housing or clients they needed to protect. They even had a small runway at the edge of the property for the corporate jet and helicopter.

  Business had exploded in the past year. His bosses Luke Colton and Logan Bradley had even secured a contract with the government to do a little black ops. Most of the current employees had a military background. Several, like Logan and himself, were former SEALs. Luke and Logan had built the reputation quickly and now business took them all over the country. They were slammed with work and were hiring new employees all the time to keep up with the constant demand.

  Since he was a single father to Kai, he didn’t take any case that would send him out of the area. His main job was training all of the new hires, as well as keeping the current ones sharp and in top fighting condition. He was proficient in hand-to-hand combat and several martial arts, as well as some moves that wouldn’t be found in any textbooks. If a new recruit couldn’t pass his tests, they wouldn’t be hired…simple as that. He’d learned quite a bit from his sadistic SEAL instructors.

  When he wasn’t training, he consulted with several cases and had even helped out a few months ago when his buddy Dorian needed assistance in Chicago, otherwise, he stayed in Bloomington.

  He couldn’t wait to get to the new facility. He’d had major input into the construction and design. In fact, Luke and Logan pretty much handed him free reign to design it to his exact specifications. Not only did it sport a weight room, pool, boxing ring, workout rooms, a running track and climbing wall, but it also contained a large warehouse-type space that he could use to create dangerous training scenarios with laser capabilities.

  Before the center was constructed, they used a local gym owned by Jacqueline Dianetti, one of COBRA Securities’ first clients. It was also state-of-the-art, but geared more for fitness rather than fighting. Jac had been a huge help to him in figuring out the details and construction needs
of the new facility.

  The sun glinted off a brand-spanking new, shiny black Cadillac Escalade parked in front of the building…another perk of his job. Luke negotiated a contract with a local dealership to provide a fleet of SUV’s to the company. Each vehicle had been modified to include bullet-proof glass and hi-tech security systems. Agents used the SUV’s for cases but top level employees were provided one to use as a personal vehicle, Dante included.

  He turned away from the window and surveyed the room. He was the last holdout at the old office. It was pretty much an open, empty space except for his laptop and a few files. Everyone else had already made the transition in the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow was the last day of school but today was his last here. He spent the mornings at the new facility and then drove over in the afternoons to wait for Kai. It was closer for Carson or David’s mom to drop him off here than drive to their house. The bus would deposit Kai on the sidewalk in front of their home, but Kai refused to ride, insisting he was too old. He’d have to get used to it, though. When school started back in the fall, he’d be riding one that would pick him up and drop him off at the COBRA Securities compound. It wouldn’t be a public bus…Luke and Logan were very family-oriented. They hired a private coach to shuttle the kids back and forth to school and outfitted the new day-care center with activities and entertainment for newborns up to high-school age kids. Kai would be able to do his homework when he arrived. He couldn’t imagine working for a better company.

  He turned back to the window just in time to see Kai's friend’s car pass by without slowing. He frowned. Where was his son? He reached for his cell just as it rang.

  “Costa.”

  “Mr. Costa,” a shy young voice said. “My name is Kobe and I'm calling about Kai.”

  Dante's heart skipped a beat. “Okay, Kobe, what about Kai?”

  The kid burst into a story, his voice animated and so fast, Dante almost missed the message. Something about a driver and how he was crazy and he took one of the girls on the bus hostage. “Wait a second, Kobe, slow down. Kai doesn't ride the bus.”

  “He did today,” Kobe insisted. “I think he knew the driver was up to something. He jumped on at the last minute, right before the doors closed. When the man pulled over and started to grab Grace, Kai tried to stop him and the man hit him with his gun.”

  Dante's legs gave out and he collapsed to his chair. A man with a gun hit his son. He couldn't breathe. He tugged at the collar of his shirt to loosen it. Before he could ask how Kai was, Kobe continued in a great rush.

  “Kai's cheek was bleeding but he was okay and he got all of us together and took us to the back of the bus. He used his knife to cut us free…the man had put these plastic thingies on our wrists. Anyway, Kai came up with the idea that him and me, we were gonna save the girls. I was afraid but Kai said I could do it. When the bus stopped, Kai opened the emergency exit and I jumped out and he handed the other girls to me. We ran to the gas station and the bus pulled away.”

  Dante exhaled in a rush. Thank God, they were safe. He sucked in a deep breath, able to breathe again. He powered off his computer and the light on his desk as he stood. “So is Kai at the hospital getting checked out?”

  There was a pause and suddenly Dante couldn't breathe again.

  “Uh, no, Mr. Costa. Kai isn’t at the hospital.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He stayed on the bus to save Grace.”

  #

  Dante broke the speed limit driving to Grace Hudson's house. He'd never met the girl or her mother, but Kai talked about them often. He knew the mom’s name was Taylor and she was a single parent to Grace. Kai described her as very pretty, with long, blonde hair and blue eyes. Dante had the feeling Kai wanted them to meet so they would fall in love. Kai talked a lot about him finding someone to love. He cautiously steered him away from the subject. He had loved once, deeply. Leilani was his soul-mate. They met when she was a grad student in Marine Biology at San Diego State University and he was stationed at Coronado Island. The connection was instant. Not only was she beautiful, but she was intelligent and friendly and loved sports as much as he did. They married after two months, but if he’d had his way, they would have married the same day they met. When they found out she was pregnant and expecting a boy, they picked a name for their son in honor of her heritage and his love for the water. Kai meant “the sea” in Hawaiian. It was the perfect symbol of their love.

  His heart had been ripped clean out of his chest when Leilani was killed by a drunk driver. It wasn’t fair. He was the one who faced enemy hostiles for a living. He entered every mission with the knowledge that he might not make it home. He sacrificed his life for his fellow Americans so that they were free to chase life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That didn’t mean they could down a bottle of Jack Daniels and then get behind the wheel at three o’clock in the afternoon on a Tuesday.

  If it weren't for the two-year old son he now had to take care of by himself, he probably would’ve ended up in the grave next to his late wife. Her death devastated him. He didn’t know how he would get up and face the day. Though they weren’t on the same SEAL team, he and Dorian had crossed paths often enough that a true friendship developed. Dorian was the one who kicked his ass back into shape. He commiserated with him one night and then the next morning, he goaded Dante into picking himself up, dusting himself off and getting on with his life. He owed Dorian more than he could ever repay.

  The pain of losing Leilani was never far away, but it had lessened over time. He’d dated a few women, slept with a few more, but he had no desire to open himself to that kind of heartache again.

  The first few years after Leilani’s death, he’d stayed in the military while his parents cared for Kai when he was deployed. He’d always planned to be career Navy, but it became harder and harder to leave his growing son. When his former teammate Logan Bradley opened a security business, Dante knew it was the perfect solution. He hated moving away from his parents in Michigan, but they lived close enough that they could visit in a few short hours.

  As he left the office, he called Logan to fill him in. His boss instantly offered help and was assembling available personnel to assist. Dante promised to keep in touch as soon as he gathered more facts. He wanted to talk to Grace's mom first, find out if she knew anything. And he wanted to let her know her daughter wasn't alone.

  Before he put the key in the ignition, he called detective Frank Hurley, COBRA Securities’ liaison with the Bloomington Police Department. He quickly explained the situation and asked if he could join him at the Hudson house. A report was just coming in about the hijacked bus so Hurley took down the address and promised he'd be right over.

  Dante squealed into the driveway a little sharply, narrowly missing a mail box. He might’ve plowed over a patch of flowers but he didn't care. Shoving the SUV into park, he vaulted out. A tall woman with a mane of blonde hair came bounding out of the house holding a cell phone to her ear. “Oh my God, are you the police? Are you here about Grace? Where is my daughter?” She almost ran right into him and Dante had to reach out and grab her shoulders so they didn't collide. For a second, he forgot to breathe. Taylor Hudson wasn't just pretty, she was gorgeous. Blue eyes the color of the summer sky were wide with fear. Red bloomed in flawless alabaster cheeks and her breath was coming out in short bursts. Dante was afraid she would hyperventilate.

  “Ms. Hudson, let's sit down for a second.” She didn't protest when he led her to the porch steps.

  “Grace should’ve been home by now. I don't know where she is and I can’t reach her on her cell. She always keeps it on.” Her chest moved with her rapid breaths. “Has something happened? Are you from the police?”

  “My name is Dante Costa and I'm not a police officer.”

  “Kai's father?”

  He nodded.

  “You work for a security firm. Kai talks about you all the time. He says you were a SEAL and a true hero.”

  Dante almost choked on a l
ump that formed in his throat. It took him two tries to talk. “Ms. Hudson—”

  “Please, call me Taylor. I feel like I know you already.” She gave a nervous smile.

  “Taylor,” he repeated, bowing to her wishes, “there isn't any easy way to tell you this so I'm just going to do it.” He repeated the story Kobe told him.

  “Oh, God!” She jumped to her feet. “It's him. He has my baby.”

  Dante launched upright. “Who? Who did this? Your ex-husband?”

  She gave a quick jerk of her head. “I don't have an ex-husband.”

  “Current husband?”

  She frowned at him as if he were an idiot. “I'm not married.”

  Turning away from him, her arms wrapped around her waist. “It's him. He took her. He said he would come for me but he took Grace instead.” She started to rock and moan.

  The abject look of desolation on her face made the bottom drop out of his stomach. Whomever she thought was behind this couldn't be good. His fear for Kai multiplied. Not knowing what to do, Dante reached for her. She came into his arms as if she had a thousand times before. “We'll find them, don't worry,” he crooned, praying he was telling her the truth. He had to believe it himself…he couldn't live with the alternative.

  “I'm sorry,” she said, stepping back and wiping trembling fingers under her eyes. “I've been all wrapped up in my worries when your son is missing as well.”

  “Taylor, listen to me. I know Kai is only nine, but he’s mature for his age—”

  “He is,” she agreed with a watery smile.