Chapter 14
Brynn
High or Low
When I crawled out of bed the next morning I had to shift Lane’s arm off my chest. After rolling around on the floor and then on the bed, he’d taken a shower and practically fell asleep standing up. Instead of sending him back to his own room I let him crash in my bed. I couldn’t resist checking to make sure Bauer was still tucked in safe and sound. There was a bump under the covers, so I left him alone, even though I wanted to tiptoe into the room to make sure it really was him in the bed and not a pile of pillows. Ten stumbled into the room sometime around dawn. She looked exhausted and frustrated. She waved me off when I sleepily asked her if she had any luck tracking down Mikey’s friends or someone who might know where the kid was. She told me we could talk in the morning—she was too tired to even realize it was already morning—and then gave me a wink and told me that Lane looked good in my bed. I silently agreed. It had taken long enough for him to get there that I doubted I would ever get tired of watching him sleep.
Once I was free of the heavy muscle that was caging me in, I stumbled into the bathroom and made my way through my morning ritual. I was finishing up brushing my teeth when a light tap on the door caught my attention. Not wanting to wake Lane or Ten if it wasn’t necessary I rushed to the door before whoever was on the other side could knock again. Webb had his forearm braced on the doorframe above his head, and his attractive face was set in worried lines. I knew what brought him by this early without having to ask, but I did anyway.
Pulling the toothbrush out of my mouth I sighed and muttered, “He’s gone, isn’t he?”
Webb nodded and ran a hand through the hair on the back of his neck. He had dark circles under his vibrant blue eyes, and white lines of tension were radiating out from the corners. He looked younger than he was, with an air of mischief that perpetually hung around him. It wasn’t hard to picture him getting in and finding all kinds of trouble. He reminded me a lot of Lane that way.
“Yep. My phone rang this morning. I put in a few calls seeing if anyone from back in the day knows anything about this website and who might be behind it. I got a call back, and when there wasn’t any movement, not so much as a flinch from the other bed, I got up to check it out. The bed was ice cold, and there were pillows under the sheets. I don’t know if Bauer left before or after I got in last night. I was too tired to check things out. He left this.” Webb handed me my cell phone. “Bet he was smart enough to know we could track him if he held onto it.”
I took the phone and felt my heart sink to my toes. I was right when I told Lane my heart was already broken for Bauer. What I didn’t know was that all those shattered pieces were going to throb so painfully, amplifying how badly the teenager’s disappearance hurt. The ache ricocheted through my body, leaving no place untouched.
“I can’t believe he left.” I rested my forehead on the edge of the door and held my phone in a death grip. “He isn’t going to make it out there on his own. He’s not thinking straight. His brother’s disappearance has him reacting instead of evaluating all his options.”
“That kid isn’t used to having options, Rosy.” I was never sure where the nickname came from that he’d started using once Cy hired him to help out on the ranch. I thought it was cute, and I’d never had a nickname before so I always let it slide. “All he knows is acting on his instinct, and right now they’re screaming for him to do something, to do anything. He thinks those dudes who snatched him killed his brother, and now all he wants is revenge.” He pushed off the door and gave me a knowing look. “I’ve been in his shoes.”
When Webb first came around, he was lying about who he was. His brother was missing and presumed dead in an undercover drug bust that went horribly wrong. Webb convinced his brother’s partner at the DEA to come with him to the ranch after signing both of them up for a week-long wilderness retreat. He was bound and determined to find his brother’s body and the people who he thought had killed him. Webb was going to take every bad guy on that mountain out as payback. He was living and breathing revenge; it was the only thing keeping him going when he thought Wyatt was dead. Luckily Wyatt hadn’t been harmed, and Webb’s grand revenge scheme hadn’t been necessary. Not so lucky, Webb was shot and nearly died on that mountain for his efforts. So really, he did understand where Bauer’s head was at.
“How would he even know where to find those people? They sent someone to him. They recruited him off the streets and then abducted him in broad daylight.” I thumped my fist on the door and turned my head as a rustling sound came from where the beds were. Lane was sitting up, watching us with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed over his wide chest. Ten had the covers pulled up over her head, but I could tell she was awake by the way she kept shifting under the cotton.
“Check your phone. Look at whatever website he last visited. I bet you he used the same one he filled out the application for to get in touch with them.” Lane’s voice was rough with sleep and residual sexiness.
I scrolled through my browser, and sure enough, the website that had gotten the kid into so much trouble in the first place was the last one that someone visited. I poked at the different icons and tabs until I got a page for contacting the company. The box was blank, but it would take absolutely no effort to fill it in and fire off a message to the people Bauer believed were behind his brother's demise. He wasn’t only walking into the lion’s den, he was doing it waving a big, fat juicy steak and taunting the monster to come and get him.
“We have to do something.” I pushed my hair off my face and started to pace back and forth in front of the bed where Lane was struggling to wake up. Still holding my toothbrush in my hand, I waved it around like a wand. “We can’t let him go out there and wage war on these people all by himself. He’s a baby, for Christ’s sake.”
I was tapping my phone on my hand when I noticed there was a notification on the text message icon. Pausing mid-step, I clicked it open and looked at a mile-long string of words that had been typed in the ongoing conversation thread I had with Lane. Clearly, Bauer had something to say before he bounced and left his goodbye in the one place he knew I was bound to look.
Thank you for all that you did for me.
I’m so sorry I’m leaving without telling you in person how much your help meant to me.
I told you that I didn’t deserve someone good like you or a hero like Lane.
I’ll never forget everything you did for me. You made me believe that there really ARE
decent people in the world. People who care about strangers, and about doing the right thing.
Since you’ll never see me again, I want to tell you the name of the man who bought me from the creeps running the website. I know I said you would never believe me, but I think you will, and I don’t want him to have the chance to buy or sell anyone else. I’m tired of kids like me getting used and thrown away like we’re garbage. I’m not trash. I’m just a kid who wanted to be loved by his family. I don’t want to be punished for loving who I want to love.
Look into a man named Jonathan Goddard.
He’s a big deal back where I come from. He’s rich and powerful, so be careful. Rumor has it he’s going to be the president one day. It’s a terribly kept secret that he likes little girls, but apparently, he doesn't mind a pretty boy when he’s been bought and paid for. He liked that he was bringing me back to the place I tried so hard to run away from. The guy in the RV told me his boss charged extra for finding a kid from the Point for Goddard.
You and Lane take care of each other. You both deserve to be happy.
All my best…Cameron Bauer
I was openly crying by the time I got to the end of the note. I collapsed at the end of the bed and let Lane fold me in his arms. I put my face on his shoulder and let the tears fall as he read the note out loud. By the time he got to the end, he sounded as emotional as I was and I could feel the way his big frame stiffened.
“Goddard? Why does that name sound familiar?” Lane asked the question while he was stroking a hand over my hair and doing his best to comfort me, but all I could do was picture skinny, battered Bauer back on the streets, outnumbered and seriously outgunned.
“Bigwig politician out on the West Coast. Guy has more money than God. He made the news a few weeks ago because his stepdaughter came up missing. There have been rumblings about corruption in his camp and all kinds of underhanded dealings for years, but he’s tough on crime and comes from a long-standing political family and old money, so people tend to look the other way. He’s got the job of cleaning up one of the dirtiest cities in America, so the press and media tend to give him a pass. I’m not surprised the guy is dirty, or that the kid didn’t think anyone would listen to him.” Webb’s tone was dry, but I could see that this new development bothered him quite a lot.
“How do you know so much about this Goddard guy?” Ten pushed the covers off her head and sat up as she snapped the question in Webb’s direction. Webb’s gaze immediately rolled over her naked shoulders and sleep-rumpled hair.
He gave her a flirty wink and leaned back against the door. “I passed through that part of the country a time or two in my old life. When you’re a career criminal, the place that makes or breaks you is the Point.”
Lane and I exchanged a confused look. “The Point?” We asked the question in unison which had Webb grinning at us.
“The Point is what they call the place where good goes to die. My time there is not a part of my life I like to think about. The guy I had to be when I was there is not someone any of you would want to be acquainted with. Bauer is lucky he got out of there alive, and now we gotta do something to make sure these assholes don’t drag him back there or put him in the ground.” I always thought of Webb as the kind of guy who was flirtatious and fun. He didn’t seem to take much seriously, and sort of drifted wherever the wind decided to take him. After his revelation, I was starting to see there was a lot more going on underneath his crooked grin and twinkling eyes. Again, he reminded me a lot of the youngest Warner that way.
Ten was peering at the younger man like she had never seen him before, but she quickly shoved away her bemusement and looked around the room where we were all watching her and waiting for some kind of instruction. She sighed and ran a hand over her face, trying to physically push the sleep away.
“Bauer doesn’t know his way around Denver. He’s got no one to turn to, and no place here where he’s going to feel like he has the higher ground. The kid’s been living on the streets for years, so his survival instincts have to be good. Where would he go where he feels comfortable? What kind of place does he know inside and out?”
Lane rested his cheek on the top of my head as I leaned into his touch. “He was hustling street corners and working cheap no-tell-motels in LA before they picked him up and tried to move him to Vegas.”
Everyone in the room cringed at the bleak description of Bauer’s life on the streets.
I cleared my throat and lifted my hands to wipe the wetness on my face. Crying wasn’t going to do anyone any good. I needed to get it together. There would be plenty of time to be sad that Bauer didn’t trust me enough to take care of him after we got him somewhere safe and had the men responsible for luring him into this situation dealt with. I wanted them all behind bars, and I wanted Jonathan Goddard to suffer. The man didn’t deserve to see another sunrise as far as I was concerned. As soon as Wyatt made an appearance I was going to demand that he have his friend in the Bureau do something about the crooked politician.
“He also knows his way around a truck stop. He told us that was how he got out of his town when his parents first kicked him out for being gay.” I plucked at the comforter and stared at the ceiling. “He seemed really uneasy whenever we stopped at one when we were driving here from Vegas.”
Ten made a noise of disgust as she pushed the covers off her long legs and swung them around to the floor. Webb let out a sound that he quickly covered with a cough when he caught sight of the fact that the blonde Ranger was wearing nothing more than a tank top and panties. I could have sworn I saw Ten smirk, but the expression was gone before she rose lightly to her feet.
“Well, my guess is he wouldn’t go too far. I say we split up. Lane and I can check the closest truck stop. Brynn, you and Webb hit up the closest hotels and motels that rent rooms by the hour.” She lifted her arms above her head in a stretch that exposed the bottom part of her stomach. This time Webb didn’t bother to hold back his groan of appreciation. Ten just rolled her eyes and made her way to the bathroom. “Call your brother and leave a message. Tell him the kid is missing and that he’s trying to use himself as bait. Get Wyatt moving on this thing before he touches down.”
Lane yawned and slowly started to crawl out of bed. His voice was raspy when he mumbled, “I met a cop yesterday when she came to check out the brother’s apartment. She seemed nice and like she genuinely cared about what was going on. I think she could tell it was more than a ransacked apartment. I think I should give her a call. We’re past the point of letting Bauer call all the shots. I walked the line to keep him from running, and he ran anyway.”
“Considering we have no idea where we should even be looking I think reporting him missing or calling him in as a runaway might be a good idea. We need as many eyes as we can find on the streets looking for him.” Ten yawned and turned her back to the room. “I need a shower and about one hundred cups of coffee. Let’s wrestle up some grub before we get going. Who knows how long we’ll be pounding the pavement or what we’ll turn up.”
“I’m a little sad you don’t want to spend the day with me, Ten.” Webb lifted his eyebrows at her as he headed to the door. “I thought you couldn’t get enough of me.”
Lane chuckled as Ten whipped around, eyes blazing with furious green fire. I didn’t think it was funny at all. I knew the younger man liked to needle her and poke at her thick skin, trying to find a weak spot, but now was not the time or the place for those games.
“I don’t want Lane and Brynn distracted by one another when they’re out there walking into Lord knows what. They’ll be too busy trying to keep each other safe; they’ll forget to watch their own backs. I told you yesterday on the drive down, you aren’t nearly as cute or as charming as you think you are, Webb. I used to put guys like you behind bars for a living. You don’t fool me in the slightest. The guy you were back then is still part of the guy standing right here in front of me now, and I don’t want anything to do with either of them.” She enunciated her point with a dramatic flip of her long blonde hair and the slamming of the bathroom door. I could hear a long stream of swear words coming through the wood.
Sighing I got to my feet and gave him a reproachful look. “You shouldn’t antagonize Ten like that. One day she’s going to shoot you, and she never misses.”
Webb stuck his hands in his back pockets and rocked back on his heels. “She can hate me all she wants. As long as she’s feeling some kind of way about me, I’ll take it. It means I’m on her mind. Anything is better than the freeze-out she’s so good at.” He headed for the door saying he saw a Starbucks a couple blocks over so he would handle rounding up a quick breakfast for everyone.
When he was gone, Lane made his way over to me and wrapped me up in a rib-cracking hug. I squeezed him back, so grateful I had his unwavering strength to pull from and lean against. “All I wanted to do was get you to come home. How did we end up here?” I sounded as lost as I felt.
He kissed my forehead which had me shivering all the way to my toes and told me, “Our journey has never been a straight shot. We’re always taking the wrong turn or running out of gas along the way. This is just another bump in the road, but we’ll make it home, and we’ll make sure the kid finds his way. Home isn’t going anywhere, and it doesn’t mean anything without us there.”
“He’s never had a home, Lane.” And I knew how lonely and horrible that felt.
“We’ll find him one, Brynn.”
I hoped he was right because my heart couldn’t take him being wrong.