by Susan Stoker
“Hey…look!” Phantom said, pointing out the front of the truck. “Is that…? Isn’t that the same kind of car that Solberg was driving?”
Ace leaned forward and squinted in the direction Phantom was pointing. Ahead of them was a dark-colored car that did resemble Solberg’s. He opened his mouth to tell Gumby to floor it, but his friend had already stepped on the gas.
Ace held on for dear life and Gumby swerved in and out of the cars around them, trying to catch up to the car headed south toward the border. If that was Solberg, and hopefully Rani, they had to catch up before he realized he was being followed and either tried to lose them by getting off the interstate and taking the chase to the side streets, or hurt his captive.
The thought of Rani being injured by Solberg made Ace’s blood boil. She’d already been through so much in her short life. She didn’t deserve to be injured on top of it all.
He kept his eyes on the vehicle as Gumby did everything he could to get through the thick traffic. “Hang on, Rani. Just hang on,” he muttered as they sped toward the car.
Paul couldn’t get his tears to stop. He’d mostly controlled himself when he’d gotten the news that Kalee had been killed by rebels in Timor-Leste, but now that he’d started to cry again, he just couldn’t stop the flow.
He dashed the tears out of his eyes so he could see the road better as he drove. The last thing he wanted was to crash with the little girl in the seat next to him.
She’d done her best to make him feel better, but seeing her, and knowing what he’d done, only made him sob harder. Kalee would be ashamed of him. So disappointed. He’d not only broken his promise to her by not taking his meds, he’d actually taken a child from her mother.
He was a kidnapper. How he’d sunk so low, he didn’t even know.
Paul may not have understood why Kalee and Piper had become such good friends when they were complete opposites, he may not have liked it, but he’d never truly wished Piper ill. And now he’d taken a little girl from his daughter’s best friend. A child who actually had known Kalee. He remembered the emails Kalee had written about the orphanage near the village where she lived.
She was employed by the Peace Corps to teach English to the villagers, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself from making weekly trips to the orphanage to see the kids and to teach them too.
And the little girl next to him knew Kalee. Had recognized her from the photo he carried around in his wallet. And he’d torn her away from Piper.
He was a horrible human being, and he needed to make things right.
Her name was Rani. The name came to him suddenly. He hadn’t thought of the small girl as anyone but Kalee for so long, but now he remembered her name. And he couldn’t believe he’d ever been able to mistake her for Kalee. They looked nothing alike.
A voice in his head tried to tell him he was wrong. That it was his daughter next to him, and he needed to take her to Mexico and disappear, but Paul fought against the voice for the first time. Hard.
Rani wasn’t Kalee, and he needed to somehow fix what he’d done.
After dreaming about Kalee and tossing and turning, Paul had left the parking lot just as other cars began to arrive for the work commute. Since then, he’d been aimlessly driving around, trying to decide what to do. He couldn’t just bring Rani back to Riverton and say “sorry.” That wasn’t going to work. Piper hated him now. She had to. He hated himself. And Paul vaguely remembered giving hell to the commander of the SEAL team who’d tried to rescue Kalee too. No, he would have no allies there.
Paul had nothing.
No Kalee.
His business could obviously run without him, as it had been for the last several weeks.
No one would mourn him if he disappeared forever.
Through his tears, Paul saw a familiar-looking building…and suddenly he knew exactly what he needed to do. He pulled into a parking lot next to the building and pulled out a piece of paper from the glove box. The front was the rental agreement for the car, but the back was blank. He scribbled a note on the back and folded the paper, then he turned to face Rani.
She was staring at him with a look so far beyond her years, Paul understood for the first time how he could’ve thought this was Kalee.
The voice in his head kept telling him to stick to the plan. To take his daughter across the border and live happily ever after, but Paul did his best to block it.
This girl wasn’t his daughter. She was Piper’s. She was Rani. And he had to get her back to her mother.
“Well,” he said softly. “This is where our adventure ends.”
Rani stared up at him.
Paul tucked the note he’d written into her hand. “I need you to do exactly as I tell you. Okay?”
She nodded.
“See that building over there?”
Rani turned her head to look where he was pointing, then looked back at him and bobbed her head again.
“Good. You need to get out of the car and walk over there. Walk through the open door and give that note to the first person you see. Understand?”
Her little brow furrowed, but she nodded.
“Good. Go on now. Do what I said.”
The little girl, who could be his if he just followed through with what the voices in his head were telling him, slowly rose up on her knees. She reached out and touched Paul’s cheek with her small palm.
She looked him in the eye, his pain almost overwhelming him as she spoke.
“Okay, Kalee father. I will do. She said stories about you. Big, strong father. She loved.”
“I l-loved her too,” Paul managed to say. “She was my world. Go on now. Piper’s got to be worried sick about you.”
“Mother,” Rani said.
“Yes, Piper’s your mom. And Ace is your father.”
“Grandfather,” Rani said…and pointed to Paul.
He shook his head. “No, you won’t see me again.”
“Grandfather!” she exclaimed, poking him in the chest this time. “Kalee’s father. Rani’s grandfather.”
He didn’t deserve to be anyone’s grandfather. Not after what he’d done. But looking into Rani’s dark eyes, he couldn’t deny her. Not after everything she’d been through.
He knew Piper and Ace would never let him near this precious child ever again, but he did what his heart was begging him to do. He agreed.
“I’ll be your grandfather,” he said softly. “But you need to take that paper over to that fire station and give it to the first person you see. Okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed happily. Then, without another word or a backward glance, she opened the door and climbed out of the car. She walked toward the open bay of the fire station as if she didn’t have a care in the world. As if she hadn’t been kidnapped the night before. As if she hadn’t almost been taken across the border, never to be seen again by those who loved her the most.
Crying again, Paul started the rental car. He waited until he saw a young man wearing a navy shirt and pants kneel down in front of Rani. He saw the little girl hand over the note he’d written and knew it was time.
He slowly pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the large bridge he’d crossed over not an hour earlier.
The voice in his head was berating him for letting Kalee go. Telling him he was a horrible father for giving her up, that no one in the world was left to care about him. That he should do the world a favor and make it so no one had to suffer his existence anymore.
Paul Solberg didn’t bother to argue with the voice. He knew it was right. He was a horrible person. The world would be better off without him in it.
But then Rani’s demand pushed in. Grandfather.
Sighing, Paul clenched the steering wheel tighter.
Gumby had almost caught up to the car they thought might contain Solberg and hopefully Rani when Ace’s phone rang. He was tempted to ignore it because he didn’t recognize the number that flashed on the screen. If the car they were hot on the tail of was Solbe
rg, he needed to concentrate on what was going on around him, not on talking to some fucking telemarketer on the phone.
But something made his finger move to the screen and swipe to answer it.
“Hello?” he said gruffly.
If he’d been standing, the words he heard spoken by the person on the other end of the phone would’ve made his knees give out.
“We found your daughter. She’s safe, and you can pick her up at the San Ysidro police station.”
“Get off at the next exit,” Ace barked.
Gumby looked over his shoulder at him, and whatever he saw on his face made Gumby immediately flick on his right blinker.
“Ace?” Rocco asked from next to him.
But Ace ignored his friend as he spoke into his phone. “I’m on my way. Have you called my wife?”
“She’s next on my list,” the person said.
“Call her. Now,” Ace ordered, then hung up. He didn’t even think to ask for more details. He didn’t care about Solberg at the moment. All he wanted was to get to the police station and see for himself that his baby girl was all right.
“Where am I going?” Gumby asked as he flew down the exit.
“San Ysidro PD. They found Rani. She’s there and she’s okay.”
The other three men in the truck all breathed out a sigh of relief, but Ace knew he wouldn’t feel that same sense of relief until he held Rani in his arms.
An hour later, Ace sat on a couch at the San Ysidro station with Rani on his lap, Sinta at his left side, Piper on his right, and Kemala next to her. The room was packed with his fellow SEALs, Caite, Sidney, and several detectives.
Ace had read the note Solberg had written on the back of the rental agreement and had obviously given to Rani to carry inside the fire station. Solberg hadn’t been found yet, but Rani seemed to be fine. She didn’t have a mark on her. For that, Ace had to be thankful.
As he sat there with his family, thanking his lucky stars that they were all together again and the outcome of their terrible ordeal had been positive, he couldn’t help but agonize over what could have happened.
He’d failed.
Their entire team had failed.
They hadn’t found Rani. They’d been chasing a random fucking car, for God’s sake.
Even with Tex’s expertise and what seemed like the entire state of California looking for her, they hadn’t succeeded. Despite all their strengths, their resources, their experience with hunting down bad guys, and all the weapons in the world…they’d still failed.
Solberg had had Rani in his clutches for hours. He should’ve been long gone. Should’ve been halfway through Mexico by now. Ace never would’ve stopped looking for Rani, but he knew it could’ve been like looking for a needle in a haystack.
It was incredibly humbling and scary to know it was only because of a shred of lucidity inside Paul Solberg—and a dose of humanity—that he was sitting on this couch right now, watching his wife smile and laugh and cry because she’d been reunited with her daughter, rather than holding Piper while she broke down in tears because Rani was gone, possibly for good.
He’d always thought of himself, and his fellow SEALs as indestructible. They were the best of the best. When the shit hit the fan, they were the ones called on to save the day. But in less than twenty-four hours, he was reminded in a big way that they were all just human. They made mistakes and they couldn’t save everyone. No matter how much they might want to.
Ace knew how much his team, Phantom especially, hated to fail. They wanted to save the day every single time, but luck played a much larger part in whether or not they succeeded than he’d been comfortable admitting.
He’d been so long in his musings that he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around him. It wasn’t until Rani put her little hand on his face that Ace snapped back to the present. He looked down at his daughter and asked, “Yeah, sweetie?”
“Us go home?”
Hearing her voice for the first time made tears come to Ace’s eyes. “Yeah, baby. I think it’s time we all went home.”
Ace turned to Piper and saw her crying as well. He put his hand on the back of his wife’s neck and pulled her to him. He kissed her then, trying to show her without words how happy he was. How much he loved her.
He must’ve been successful because when he pulled back, Piper smiled at him and whispered, “I love you too.”
Taking a big breath, Ace looked at his other two daughters before saying, “Come on. Let’s go home and have a big breakfast. What does everyone say?”
“Yes!” Sinta said loudly.
“Okay,” Kemala agreed.
“Pancake!” Rani exclaimed, making everyone in the room laugh.
As they stood, and Ace shook the hands of the detectives, thanking them for taking care of Rani until he and the others could get there, he once more reflected on how grateful he was that Solberg had managed to come out of his fugue long enough to release his daughter.
Chapter Seventeen
“For the record, I’m not happy about this,” Ace said.
Piper looked up at her husband and nodded. “I know. But this is something I have to do.”
They were standing outside Riverton Mental Hospital, about to go inside so Piper could talk to Paul Solberg. Tex had called as soon as his programs had alerted him to the fact the man had checked himself into the facility.
It had been a long two months since Paul had kidnapped Rani. He’d admitted everything to the police and had expressed how sorry and wrong he’d been. The doctors who had examined him said he was suicidal, depressed, and in the midst of a mental episode related to his schizophrenia.
Piper had decided not to press charges, something Ace disagreed with. Strongly. He’d said he was grateful Solberg had released Rani, but that didn’t mean he’d forgiven him for kidnapping her in the first place. Although he had admitted he believed Paul hadn’t been in his right mind, that losing Kalee had made him snap, it wasn’t an excuse. But at least Piper felt that Ace understood a little of what Paul was going through. After thinking they might’ve lost their own daughter, and suddenly understanding a little of what Paul had felt, what he’d done out of desperation had almost made sense.
Almost.
Piper wished she could explain what she was feeling more adequately, so Ace would understand where her mind was. Mr. Solberg had been in her life for as long as she could remember. She’d never been close to him, but Kalee had loved him more than anyone in her entire life. Piper remembered her saying that she’d do anything for her dad.
Yes, he’d kidnapped Rani, but he hadn’t hurt her. The car he’d used had been found in the parking lot of the mental hospital full of snacks and clothes for Rani. Even the note Rani had carried with her and given to the firefighters that fateful day had expressed remorse.
* * *
This is Rani Morgan. She was taken from her parents’ home in Riverton. Please call the police and let them know she’s safe and sound. I’m sorry. I was so wrong. All I wanted was to have a small piece of my daughter back.
* * *
Afterward, Paul Solberg had been on the verge of suicide. He was going to drive his car off the side of the bridge, but ultimately he’d checked himself into the hospital.
Piper couldn’t hate him. She knew her husband had no problem hating Kalee’s father, and that was okay. She loved how protective Ace was of her and their daughters.
Smiling to herself, she resisted the urge to put her hand over her belly. He’d be just as protective of the small life growing inside her, as well…but she was saving that news until later tonight. Ace would need something to take his mind off Paul Solberg.
“Thank you for coming with me,” she said softly.
“As if I would let you come by yourself,” he scoffed.
Piper leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Ace immediately returned the kiss, not holding back one iota. Pulling away, Piper ran the backs of her fingers over his face, loving the feel of his
beard under her hand. She was married to one hell of a sexy man.
It had taken a while for them to feel comfortable letting their girls sleep in Kemala’s room again, after Rani came home, but now, alone in their bed once more, they were voracious for each other. They made love every night, sometimes slow and easy, other times hard and rough. Piper loved every second. Loved Ace with all her heart. She couldn’t wait to live the rest of her life with him and to expand their family.
But in order to finally move on from what had happened, both in Timor-Leste and with Rani, she needed to talk to Mr. Solberg.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get this over with,” Ace said.
They walked inside the facility and checked in. They waited for about half an hour before they were led down a white hallway, and the attendant stopped at a door halfway down.
“This is Mr. Solberg’s room. You have twenty minutes to visit. A staff member will be present in the room. Patients are not to be given any gifts, and you are not allowed to take anything from him. Please try to keep calm at all times. Excitement in any form is not good for him at this point.”
“Is he a threat to my wife?” Ace asked in a cold voice.
“No,” the attendant said immediately. “He’s a broken man, Mr. Morgan. I know what happened, and I know you both went through hell. But so did he. There are two sides to every story, and working here, I’ve learned to both appreciate and loathe that. All I’m asking is that you tread carefully.”
“We will,” Piper said, laying her hand on Ace’s arm. His muscles were tight as a bow and she knew he wanted to be anywhere but here. He wanted nothing to do with the man who’d kidnapped his daughter and caused his wife harm, but he was there because she’d asked him to come. God, she loved him.
Easing the door open, Piper stepped through, feeling Ace right behind her. His hand rested on her lower back and she loved having the close contact with him. She was nervous, but knew this was what she needed to do.