Chapter 18
Cade
I met with the guys in the garden to see if they’d found anything. This shit had gone on long enough. Even though I told a lie to get us in here, there was obviously a threat directed at Harper. And that shit wasn’t gonna fly.
“She’s fucking pregnant, you guys. This is serious,” I said.
“I agree. Fucking around with pregnant chicks isn’t good,” Blade said.
“I didn’t find a damn thing on the casing of the neighborhood,” Doc said.
“Nothing in the garden,” Vex said.
“And with the hole where it in the glass of the window, that brick had to come from from the street. Which means we’re dealing with a dude,” Ink said.
“Or a very strong fucking woman. But my bet’s on a guy,” Blade said.
“We gotta figure out what’s going on and who this person could possibly be. Which means we need to speak with Ryan,” I said.
“I’ll go get him,” Doc said.
I looked back up at the guest bedroom window that Harper was now in. She wasn’t at the window, but I knew he was scared. She had to be, with everything going on. We were stomping around her house and flooding her neighborhood with the loud sound of motorcycles. She was already on edge from our talk, and then a damn brick came through her fucking window.
I honestly wanted to get her a doctor, but I knew I had to keep my distance for now.
“What is it?” Ryan asked.
“We gotta know everyone you’ve pissed off,” I said.
“You mean besides people who aren’t voting for me?” he asked.
“This is serious. Someone is after your daughter because of something you’ve said or done. Now be straight with us. Who have you pissed off?” Doc asked.
“Do you know how many death threats I get a day?” he asked. “I’m not trying to be difficult. It’s just that I’d literally be handing you over three hundred emails. And that’s just over the past four months. They pour in. People who think they can threaten my family and I and get me to stop with this election.”
“Well, it’s getting personal,” Ink said. “We gotta have a place to start. Can you get us those emails?”
“I’ve deleted them,” Ryan said.
“Then go into your trash bin in your email, pull them out, and forward them,” I said.
Ryan’s eyes pierced mine, but I wasn’t backing down on this. He was acting like this was just some fucking charade. We were going to go at this the same way the police did. Except we weren’t gonna fucking talk to the media.
“Help us save your daughter, Mr. Thomas,” Vex said. “Otherwise, her blood’s on your hands.”
“Her and that grandson of yours,” Blade said.
My anger rose to high precipices hearing them talk like that. I balled my fists up at my sides as I loomed over Ryan. He wasn’t such a fucking hot-shot when he wasn’t behind his damn podium. He was a coward. An abusive, bullshit coward.
“Where do you want the emails forwarded?” Ryan asked.
“Print them out and hand them off to Cade,” Doc said. “He’ll get them to us.”
“Print them off?” Ryan asked.
“Is he serious with this shit?” Vex asked.
“Fine, fine. I’ll print them off and get them to Cade tomorrow. Will you be around tomorrow? To protect Harper?” Ryan asked.
“If you want me to be the one doing it, someone else needs to stay here and watch the house so I can get some rest. If you want me here, I can sleep on the couch,” I said.
“I’ll stay behind,” Blade said. “I can perch on the roof and keep an eye out.”
“The roof?” Ryan asked.
“Just let us do what we do,” Doc asked.
“Whatever, I’m going inside.”
“That man’s a real piece of work,” Ink said.
“He’s a dick,” I said.
“We don’t have much to go on until we can get those emails. A brick and a letter, and none of it helps us. We don’t have handwriting or anything of that bullshit to go on. The only thing we can do right now is guard them with the family in the house,” Doc said.
“You thinking of cooping them up?” Vex asked.
“That won’t work with a pregnant woman. She’ll have doctor’s appointments and shit,” Blade said.
“That’s what Cade’s for. Blade, you’ll do night shifts with Cade. Vex, Ink, you guys’ll be with me during the day,” Doc said.
“Sounds good to me,” I said. “I’m gonna go check on Harper.”
“Who?” Blade asked.
“The fucking pregnant daughter, man. Learn some names,” I said.
“Sensitive Susan over here,” Ink said, grinning.
“Going inside now,” I said.
The guys began to drive off, and I heard Blade scrambling for the roof. I walked up the stairs and heard Ryan talking with his wife, but it wasn’t long before I heard a mighty crack. I rushed up the stairs and stood at the end of the hallway, my eyes taking in the scene before me.
Ryan was hovering over his wife as she held her cheek.
“There a problem?” I asked.
They both turned and looked at me before Ryan stalked off to his room.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
I watched as his wife followed closely on his heels, not bothering to answer my question. That told me this wasn’t the first time he had hit his wife. I started wondering if he had ever laid his hands on Harper. I was shaking with anger. The thought of anyone laying their hands on her made me see all kinds of shades of red. They had been standing right outside the room Harper was in, and I could only hope she was asleep. So she didn’t have to hear her father crack his hand against her mother’s fucking cheek.
I walked over to her door and stood there, listening to see if I could hear anything. But when all I could catch was silence, I decided to head back downstairs.
Blade had his perch, and it gave me some comfort knowing he was there. I sat down on the couch, allowing myself to relax. I wasn’t ready to tell any of the guys about Harper and I. It was obvious they didn’t recognize her, and I had enough I was trying to field. Harper didn’t need any more stress, and I was worried that Doc might pull me from her detail if he knew how personally involved I was in all this.
After about an hour, Harper’s parents were filling the house with their snores. It was insane what the two of them could crank out. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to sleep with that racket, so I decided to go check in on Harper. Make sure she was sleeping soundly so I could settle my fears.
But just as I got off the couch, I heard Blade padding around on the roof.
I knew that was a bad sign. I ran for the stairs and leaped up them, skipping as many as I could to get to her room. Blade was running along the roof now, which meant there was something he saw. I could hear the spit of his silencer going off, and it filled my chest cavity with fear. Something was going down. We had missed something, and it was about to cost us.
I ripped Harper’s bedroom door open and saw her bed empty. The bedroom window was open, and I felt the blood drain to my toes. I went over to the closet and ripped it open, hoping this was just some terrible prank. That maybe Harper had tried to throw whoever the hell it was off her trail by making it look like she wasn’t in the room.
“Cade! Cade!”
I heard Blade’s voice trickle in through the window. I heard him running across the roof, making his way to Harper’s room. I watched him crash through the broken window and tumble onto her floor, shards of glass digging into his leather coat.
“Where the fuck is Harper?” I asked.
“Just one person. A man. Tall. Broad. Tanned skin and a thick beard. Very light blue eyes, scar wrapping around his throat. I couldn’t figure out if it wrapped all the way around his throat.,” Blade said.
“Where the fuck is Harper?” I asked again.
“With him,” Blade said. “Whoever the fuck that man is… he’s got her.”
“Who’s got who?”
I turned on my heels to see Ryan standing at the door with Harper’s mother in his arms. I dug out my phone as my eyes locked with Ryan, my gaze settling hard onto his as Doc picked up the phone.
“Get your asses back here,” I said. “Harper’s been taken.”