Distracted: An Everyday Heroes Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Michelle Fernandez

  “Type in this code . . . seven-one-nine-six-two-nine,” Booker instructs. “That should unlock her phone.”

  I do as he says. “I’m in.”

  “Go through her recent notifications and functions she used,” Booker suggests.

  “She used the recorder.”

  “Just like I trained her,” he says. “Listen to it. There may be something that will lead us to her. My team and I should be there in an hour.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  Spencer

  It’s been thirty-two hours. A fucking day and a half and not a trace. I haven’t eaten nor had any sleep since Sabrina went missing. And nothing is going to stop me. I’m going to find her if it’s the last thing I do.

  It’s like Sabrina vanished and the motherfucker who took her has not called me back. The creepy voice said, he or she wants me to suffer, which leads me to believe it has nothing to do with Sabrina and everything to do with me.

  Leaning against the door frame, I watch Lily’s chest rise and fall as she sleeps. She’s my refuge. It’s the only way I can gain some perspective. Once we finished surveying the park, Grant brought Lily home. I needed my daughter by my side under the same roof as me.

  As if Lily can sense me, her eyes slowly open. I walk over to her and sit on the edge of the bed.

  “Hey, Lily-pop.” I smooth her hair away from her face.

  “Did you find Mommy yet?” A tear falls as she tightens her arms around her unicorn.

  It breaks my heart to see her red-rimmed eyes. Lily hasn’t stopped crying and I don’t blame her. I’ve failed her as a father, not having any solid leads in finding Sabrina.

  “I’m sorry, baby girl.” I take her tiny hand in mine and kiss it. “I promise you I will not stop looking for her until Mommy is back with us, you understand?”

  She nods. “Why did the bad man take her?”

  “What makes you think it’s a man?”

  “The man at the park. I told Mommy he had a gun and maybe he took her,” she says as her lip quivers.

  “Sh.” I scoop her up and wrap my arms around her.

  I forgot all about the man in the park with a gun. I wonder if he’s connected with Sabrina’s kidnapping. A vision of Sabrina’s beautiful face flashes before me. My imagination is getting the best of me and being a detective, seeing the horrible things in my line of work doesn’t help me a damn bit.

  “What if the bad man hurt her?” Lily adds.

  “We will find this bad man and he will tell me where Mommy is,” I cut her off, pulling her back as I look into my daughter’s eyes. “And we will be a family again.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise, Lily.”

  A moment of silence fills the room, as if we are both praying in our own way. My fingers comb the tangles in Lily’s hair as I hear her softly breathing against my chest.

  I thought she might have fallen asleep until she says, “I love you, Daddy.”

  My heart swells and breaks all in one beat. She called me Daddy. My arms tighten around her and give her a soft squeeze, so she doesn’t see the tears welling in my eyes. I look at the space around us.

  This room is Sabrina’s old room, but now there are new photos of us three. The one at the carnival. Sabrina is holding the gigantic unicorn and Lily is on my shoulders with a lollipop in one hand and sporting a peace sign with her other.

  I need to stay strong for her and Sabrina. I can’t let either of them down.

  I close my eyes, pushing the worst thoughts out of my head. I can’t lose Sabrina. She’s my future, and I refuse to see it without her. Without us.

  “I love you so much, Lily-pop.” This little girl is my strength. I hold her a little while longer, breathing in her sweet-scented shampoo. “Listen, I came up here to check on you, but I need to head back downstairs to help Booker and Tyco.” I tuck her brown hair behind her ear and look into her blue eyes that mirror mine. “We will find her. You believe me, right?”

  She nods. “I do.”

  “Do you need anything before I leave?” I ask.

  “Can you ask Nana Rose to read me a story? I like how she reads to me. Please don’t tell Papa.”

  I laugh. “Of course.” I kiss the top of her head. “I’ll be right back.”

  My parents have been a huge help with Lily while I work with Booker and his team. Mom cooked and fed Lily, and after Dad would watch TV, he’d play with Lily and tuck her into bed. I don’t know what I would do without them.

  I head downstairs and straight to the kitchen. My mom sits at the breakfast nook holding my dad’s hand. Worry and concern is written all over their faces.

  Mom stands and faces me. “Any news yet?”

  I shake my head. “No. But I was just upstairs with Lily and she’s asking for you. Will you read her a bedtime story?”

  “Of course.” Mom nods, kisses my cheek, and without another second passing, she’s out of the kitchen.

  “How’s Lily doing, son?” Dad asks.

  “Worried. Like all of us are.” I drag my hand through my hair.

  “And you?”

  I sit across from him. “I feel like a failure. I told her nothing was going to tear us apart.”

  “Son, how were you to know this was going to happen?” he asks.

  “I’m a cop. I should have seen this coming.”

  “Don’t lose faith,” he reassures me.

  “I just need to be strong for Lily.”

  Dad stands and rests his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t lose faith. I don’t know anything about Sabrina’s job and the company she works for, but from the looks of it, I’m sure you will find her.”

  I look toward the dining room where Booker and Tyco have set up their equipment. The four laptop screens light up with access to every street camera in Sunnyville.

  I stifle a chuckle. “I remember I told Sabs that she works for mall security. Clearly, I was wrong.”

  “When you finally get her back, you will need to apologize to her.” My dad’s demeanor completely changes when he locks his eyes on mine. “You will get her back.”

  I nod. “And when I do, I’m going to marry her, Dad. I want what you and Mom have.”

  “And you’ll have it. Like I said, have faith.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I stand and hug him, needing the support from my old man. “I need to see what mall security found so far,” I say as we pull apart.

  “Go do what you do best,” he says, clasping my arm.

  I head to the dining room. Booker is talking on the phone and Tyco is rapping away on the keyboard. Tyco tapped into Sabrina’s and my phones to get a trace on the call from the creepy-voice-kidnapper. But it ended up being a burner phone.

  There is one upside. Sabrina recorded her conversation, leaving me to wonder what other training she’s gone through.

  After listening to the recording, we followed the path she took through the trees after she discarded her phone in the trash. But her tracks end at the slope. There was no sign of a struggle, leading me to believe she must have been drugged and carried to the waiting car. Or the perp had a weapon forcing Sabrina to listen to the commands.

  The only thing we did find was one of the charms that most likely fell off the bracelet I gave her.

  What the hell does this motherfucker want with her?

  I pray she’s not hurt or worse. I need to know if Sabrina is okay. I’ve been waiting anxiously, and I am through waiting. I need to be out there, not stuck here where I feel useless.

  I take my phone out of my back pocket and stare at it, willing for it to ring. “Call me, goddamn it!” I yell and want to throw it across the room. “What the hell am I doing here? I need to be out there looking for her. Not stuck in here staring at computer screens.”

  “Is that what you think I do?” Tyco snaps. “Prick!”

  “Well, it doesn’t appear we are any closer to getting Sabrina back, does it?” I bark back. I may be impressed and in awe of their fancy toys, but not one of their high
-tech devices is getting us closer to finding Sabrina.

  “I know what you’re going through,” Booker says after he slips his phone into his back pocket.

  “How could you possibly know what I am going through? At least you know exactly where your wife is,” I say with no emotion.

  Tyco’s hand makes a loud smack on the wooden table as he stands, pushing the chair back as it falls to the floor. “You self-centered asshole. Who do you think you are talking to us like that? Sabrina is like family to us, the sister I wish I had. We take care of our own and I will not stop until I find her.” He steps closer, glare for glare. “I have no idea what she sees in you.”

  “You know nothing about us,” I yell and see my dad through the kitchen door watching us.

  “I know enough. I know your kind,” Tyco responds. “You broke her heart, and I was the shoulder she cried on for months. Months! I told her to come straight home after the funeral. I told her not to fall for your pathetic charms. But she refused to listen. And now that you know Lily is your daughter? What are you going to do? Break that little girl’s heart too?”

  “Fuck you!” Before I can think, I lunge toward the fuckface.

  “Hold on, Flash!” Booker grabs me and pulls me back. “Tyco, that is enough! We are all on edge and want the same thing. To get Sabrina back.”

  I pull out of Booker’s grip and walk to the other side of the room to calm down. I look out the window, sending a silent prayer. I want her back so bad it’s literally killing me. I’m slowly dying knowing she’s out there, alone and scared.

  Her beautiful face comes into focus. I see her chocolate eyes, the faint freckles on her nose, and her dark brown hair. My Buttercup. She owned my heart the moment I carried her home after I dared her to jump from that damn tree when we were kids. She’s the air I breathe and the reason my heart beats.

  I failed Sabrina. I should have kept my guard up, and now Lily will hate me if I don’t bring her mom home.

  Booker stands next to me. “I know exactly what you are going through.”

  “Oh yeah,” I reply cynically. “How?”

  “My wife was kidnapped a couple of years ago by a maniac out for revenge. When I finally got to her, she was in bad shape, almost unrecognizable. Chloe had lost a lot of blood from when she was shot.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” A heavy breath releases through my nose.

  Booker points his chin toward Tyco, whose eyes are back on the screen. “That man over there tracked Chloe and is the reason she is alive today. Tyco is the best at looking for breadcrumbs. He wants her back just as much as you do. So, trust me when I say we will find her.” Booker grabs a tablet from the table. “I didn’t want to show you this, only because I wanted to make sure this lead was going to stick.”

  Booker presses his finger on the power button as it reads his fingerprint. It’s a satellite map of Sunnyville.

  “I’ve seen this already, Booker.” I point to the laptops on the dining table in front of Tyco. “No different from what he’s been looking at.”

  “I just got off the phone with an old friend from the Pentagon who owes me a few favors. He was able to send me the last forty-eight hours of footage from one of their military satellites. Take a closer look.”

  I take the tablet from his hand and watch as the image zooms in.

  “The footage captures where Sabrina was taken, about a quarter-mile from the park. The vehicle drove southbound, made a stop at this location, and has not moved since,” Booker adds.

  “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get down there.”

  “I already have one of my operatives in the vicinity. My agent checked out the area and found this inside the vehicle.” Booker brings up the image, and a unicorn charm fills the screen.

  “It’s Sabrina’s,” I say.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. It’s one of the charms from the bracelet I bought her. I also found one near where she was originally taken.”

  “Did you say one of the charms?” Tyco asks, interrupting us.

  Booker and I turn to face him, and I know where Tyco is going with this. “Do you think Sabrina is leaving breadcrumbs for us?” I ask Tyco.

  “The Hansel and Gretel effect,” Tyco says. “That is exactly what she is doing.”

  “That’s fucking brilliant,” I say.

  “While Tyco works with local law enforcement and first responders to have them ready, we will meet Hawk and two more of my operatives down there,” Booker adds.

  I walk over to Tyco and stretch out my hand. “I’m sorry I doubted you. Sabrina adores you. All of you. She’s bragged about how you’re her family. The family she’s always wanted.”

  Tyco stands, takes my hand in his, and shakes it. “Just bring her back. You’re one of us now.”

  Spencer

  “Clear!” Hawk yells from one room.

  “Clear!” Stone, another operative, does the same from another.

  There is another call out from Jasper, letting us know Sabrina is not in the room. I move down the hall, checking the next room. But so far, no Sabrina. Where the fuck is she?

  Working with Booker and his men isn’t like anything I’ve ever done before. While another agent stands guard outside, these men move together like a well-oiled machine throughout the house. Every step is synchronizing, calculating, and precise.

  “Hayes! Get in here!” Booker calls out from the furthest room.

  Fear consumes me. I’m anticipating the worst as I pick up my pace. I just pray Sabrina is alive when I see her.

  When I round the corner, Booker has his pistol aimed at a target. I slow my steps, gun drawn, predicting the perp may have Sabrina hostage. My heart beats in my chest and thunders in my ears.

  The moment I enter the room, the floor bottoms out. The scene in front of me was nothing I expected.

  “Tanya . . . what the . . .” There are no words I can say. My ex-wife’s face is dusty, and her dirty hands hold a gun, aiming it under her chin.

  I withdraw my gun and holster it. My mind is running a million miles a minute.

  What does Tanya have to do with Sabrina going missing?

  Is she being forced to aim a gun at her head?

  Or is she part of this plan?

  “What are you doing? Please put the gun down,” I demand.

  “I can’t.” Tears stream down Tanya’s face.

  “Listen to him, Tanya,” Booker says confidently without losing focus on her.

  “You . . . you wouldn’t understand, Spencer,” she grumbles.

  Wouldn’t understand what?

  The moment the divorce papers were signed was the end of us. It’s been two fucking years since I’ve talked to or seen her.

  I step closer with my hands up in the air. She pushes the gun against her chin, making her face rear up. “Don’t come any closer.”

  “Please. Lower the gun, Tanya,” I say.

  “If I lower this gun, I’m as good as dead anyway.”

  What the hell is going on? My ex-wife has a gun to her head and my girlfriend is still missing. Nothing is making sense.

  “Talk to me,” I plead.

  “Talk?” Tanya’s lips quiver.

  “Yes, let’s talk.” I take a step.

  “I bet you want to talk about your precious Sabrina. Well, she’s gone. She had to go. She ruined everything. It’s her fault . . . and yours.”

  Suddenly things start making sense. It was Tanya who took Sabrina. She was the creepy voice. But why?

  “What did you do?” I ask, and Tanya smiles evilly. “Please tell me, Tanya. Is Sabrina still alive?”

  Every part of me wants to take the gun from Tanya and point it at her fucking head. But being that Tanya wants to pull the trigger herself, I can’t risk never finding Sabrina. Tanya is the only one who knows what happened to her.

  “It’s always been about her. Even after we got together, after you knocked me up and married me . . . it was always about that bitch!” T
anya narrows her eyes as wetness seeps from them and down her dirty face.

  There’s a faint crackling in my earpiece. “Boss, I got a clear shot.” It sounds like Stone. I hear shifting behind me and Stone comes into view, pointing his gun, with no emotion or rage behind his eyes.

  Booker presses the button and speaks into his mic soft and low. “Stand down. I repeat, stand down.”

  “Yes. Stand down, boys.” Her eyes shift back and forth between us. “Did you think I didn’t see you outside crawling around and hiding behind the bushes? I’m not stupid, you know?”

  This isn’t Tanya. This woman in front of us has lost her ever-fucking-mind and is strung out on something. I need to be careful with my words.

  “We don’t want to hurt you,” I say to Tanya.

  “I’m already hurt, Spencer. You broke me.” She begins to pace the room like a deranged lunatic. “I’m the one who nursed you back to health. Me! And all the thanks I get is you wished you had your precious Sabrina . . . well, fuck you!” Her grip on the gun tightens, showing her white knuckles as she aims it at me. “Fuck. You. Spencer!”

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “Please, Tanya. Let me help you this time.”

  “Help me? I’m beyond help.” She snickers as her hand shakes. “Do you want to know where I’ve been the last couple of years?”

  I really don’t give a flying fuck where she’s been. All I want to do is get that gun away from her and force her to tell me what she did with Sabrina.

  “Where have you been the last couple of years?” I cajole her. This is the only way to get her to let her guard down. “I want to know. Please, tell me.”

  I catch Booker take a step to the right, signaling me with his eyes to go to my left. We slowly synchronize our moves.

  “I-I was admitted into a psych ward. The looney bin. With crazy people,” she gasps as the tears stream down her face. “I just wanted to die after you left me. I took all the pills I could get my hands on and the razor had already split my wrists. But Melinda wouldn’t let me die. Why did she have to check on me that day?”

  There are welts and marks on Tanya’s arm. She tried to commit suicide. Why didn’t Melinda tell me?