CHAPTER 21
Max
“W hat are you doing?” Nitro asked as he watched me walk over to his desk and turn on his computer.
“Going to check the other security cameras. I put up several. Maybe I’ll be able to see something from one of them.”
With Ryder and Nitro peering over my shoulder, I logged into the security program I’d installed at Whiskey Creek. The first camera I tried was like Harper’s, full of static and completely useless, but the one I attached at the top of the light pole was still working perfectly. I began looking through the footage starting early that morning, when Harper left to take a walk down on the beach. While she was gone, there was very little to see, a few birds here and there and a couple of fallen limbs.
Then, I saw a figure moving ever so slowly towards Harper’s cabin. I tried to zoom in, hoping to see if I could identify them, but the person was wearing an oversized parka with a fur hood that covered their face. They continued towards the back side of the cabin, ripping the security camera wires free from the house as they walked, and then meandered to the front porch, taking a large stick with them. They lifted the stick above their head and hit the camera several times, smashing it all to hell.
Nitro leaned towards me and said, “Well, that explains all the static. Between him beating the shit out of it and pulling out all the wires, there’s no wonder why the damn thing’s all fucked up.”
I watched as the stranger made his way to the cabin directly across from Harper’s. After they destroyed the cameras there, they opened the door and stepped inside. As Ryder stared at the screen, he growled, “Fuck. They’re staying next door to her.”
“Damn. That’s the way it looks.”
We kept watching and saw Harper return, only to see her walk to her car an hour or so later. She’d only been gone a few minutes, when the neighbor came back out. I watched with horror as they walked over to her cabin, and after toying with the lock for several minutes, they broke in. About an hour later, Harper returned, and with her hands filled with groceries, she started towards the cabin. Unable to control his shock, Ryder roared, “Fuck, man. That motherfucker’s still in there.”
“I know, Ryder. I know.”
I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest as I sat there staring at that fucking screen. When I couldn’t stand it a moment longer, I skimmed ahead, searching through the feed until I saw Harper come out of the cabin. The stranger followed right behind her with a gun pointed at her back, motioning her forward towards the other cabin. As soon as I saw the door close behind them, I stood up and started to leave. Nitro called out to me, “Max! Hold up!”
“I’ve got to get over there.”
“You can’t go over there half-cocked, brother. You’ll get both of you killed.” He stepped towards me as he tossed me a set of keys. “The weather’s bad out there. Take my SUV.”
Ryder started walking toward me as he said, “I’m going with you.”
“What about Derrick?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of Derrick,” Nitro assured me as he patted him on the shoulder.
When I looked over to Derrick, he said, “I’m sorry about your girl, Max. I hope she’s okay.”
Derrick was a good guy who was just trying to help his son. He didn’t know that he was going against us, but unfortunately, that didn’t change anything. I knew it was the last time I would see him alive. “Thanks, Derrick. And … I get that you were in a bind, but you should’ve come to us. Maybe, then things would’ve turned out different.”
With that, I turned and walked out the door with Ryder following close behind. When we got outside, the snow was several inches deep and still coming down. I was thankful that Nitro had lent me his four-wheel drive and wasted no time getting out on the road. I was anxious to get to Harper, but I was hopeful that she was okay. If whoever had taken her had wanted her dead, they would’ve already killed her. They wouldn’t have taken the time to move her to another cabin. It was too risky—at least that’s what I told myself as I sped towards Whiskey Creek.
We were still a few miles away when Ryder asked, “Why do you think he has her?”
“Man, I just don’t know. It could be anyone. Maybe it’s her ex. She just cut things off with him a couple of days ago. Maybe he wasn’t all that keen on the idea.”
“I guess we’ll be finding out soon enough.”
When we finally made it to her road, I killed the lights to the truck and pulled over on the side of the road so they wouldn’t see us as we approached. When I opened the door, I looked over to Ryder and said, “Wait for my signal before you go in.”
He nodded and followed me up to the cabin. I eased my way over to the side window and spotted Harper standing alone at the kitchen window. I motioned for Ryder to stay behind as I started towards the back porch, hoping I might be able to get her attention. When I got to the window, I was surprised to see that she was washing dishes at the sink. I tried to look behind her to see who was with her, but I didn’t notice anyone. Not wanting to startle her, I got out my phone and flashed the light back and forth over the snow. As I hoped, it caught her attention, and when she saw me, her head raised high and a big, goofy smile spread across her face. Like it was no big deal, like she hadn’t been kidnapped by a deranged lunatic, she lifted her hand and waved to me, then motioned towards the door, letting me know that it was okay to come inside. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I did like she said and headed for the door.
By the time I made my way around, she was standing there with the door open and she whispered, “Come on in. He’s sleeping.”
“Who’s sleeping?”
“Oliver.”
“Who the fuck is Oliver, Harper?” I asked, trying my best not to shout.
By this time, Ryder had made his way over to the door and he looked just as confused as I was. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just come in and I’ll explain everything, but try to be quiet. He’s asleep.” She ushered us both inside, and we followed her over to the corner of the kitchen. “Do you remember Claudia?”
“Wait.” I could see that she was okay, I could hear it in her voice, but I needed to feel her in my arms. I charged forward, wrapping my arms around her, and hugged her tightly. “Are you really okay?”
“Yes, Max. I’m fine.”
I could feel her heart beating against my chest, her warmth in my arms, and I knew she was okay, but I couldn’t let her go—not just yet. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I’d be back home before you even realized I was gone.”
As I released her, I asked, “Now, who were you talking about?”
“Claudia. The woman who sent all the gifts?”
“Oh, yeah. The woman who reads for you. What about her?”
She motioned to a figure covered with blankets on the sofa. “Well, that’s Oliver, her husband.”
From there, she went on to explain everything that had happened, and while I understood why she felt compassion for the man, I wasn’t as understanding as she had been. “Harper, we need to call the police.”
“Max, he’s just a sweet, lonely, old man,” she pleaded. “He didn’t mean anything by it.”
“He came to your house with a gun! Damn, Harper, he could’ve killed you!”
“No, Max. Once you talk to him, you’ll see what I’m talking about. He needs help, not the police,” she explained.
“So, what do you suggest we do about it? Just let the guy go?” I asked sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. “No. I just told you he needs help. Maybe we can find his daughter and tell her what happened. Maybe she can come to get him or something.”
“Any idea how we find her?” Ryder asked.
“I wish I did. All I know is her name is Sabrina, and his name is Oliver Tolbert.”
“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll see what I can come up with,” Ryder told us as he headed to the bedroom to make a phone call.
Once he was gone, Harper placed her hands on my chest and said, “I know you’re upset, Max, but there’s something going on with Oliver that we just don’t understand. It’s not all his fault.”
“I get that, sweetheart. I do. But he put the one thing I care about most in the world in jeopardy. That’s not something I’m going to get over. I might find a way to forgive the guy, but I certainly won’t forget. We’ll do what we can to get his daughter here, and hopefully, she can get him sorted. But Harper … you gotta know, when it comes to you, I’m gonna do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Everything and everyone else comes second.”
“So, what exactly does that mean?”
“That means as soon as we get this thing settled with Oliver, you’re moving in with me.” I placed my hands on her hips and pulled her towards me. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, I’m good with that.” She smiled as she lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against mine, kissing me briefly before she asked, “Does that mean I’m moving into the condo with you?”
After everything that had happened over the past few days I’d been thinking about making some big changes in my life, which included where I would be living. I hadn’t told Harper about my job and what it entailed, but I knew it was something I would have to discuss with her. I wanted to be open and honest with her, like she’d been with me. Knowing that, I told her, “We’ll talk about it.”
“I found her,” Ryder called out from the bedroom. As he walked back into the kitchen, he said, “She lives in Hope, Canada. It’s about four and half hours away from here.”
“You got a number for her?”
“Yeah.” He handed me a slip of paper with her number on it and added, “This is the most recent one I could find.”
As I reached for my phone, Harper placed her hand on my arm. “It’s kind of late. Maybe you should wait to call her until tomorrow.”
“It’s not that late, babe,” I told her as I dialed the number. When a lady answered, I asked, “Is this Sabrina?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“My name’s Max Lanheart. I’m calling about your father, Oliver Tolbert.”
After I explained everything that had happened with her father, she told me that they’ve been trying to find him for several days. His caregiver had gone to check on him and contacted her when he wasn’t at home. She also informed me that he’s been battling depression since he’d lost his wife, and the medication that his doctor prescribed didn’t seem to be helping like she’d hoped. We arranged for Ryder to meet her husband the following morning. Considering everything that had happened, he would be staying with them until other arrangements could be made.
When I got off the phone, Harper asked, “What about tonight? We can’t leave him here alone.”
“I’ll stay here with him,” Ryder volunteered. “You can come back tomorrow and tell him goodbye before we leave.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Ryder shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “It’s not like I’ve got anywhere else I’ve gotta be.”
“Thanks, man. We’d appreciate that.”
“No problem, and I’ll call Nitro to let him know everything’s okay.”
I nodded as I reached for Harper’s coat. Once she had it on, I led her towards the door. Just before we walked out, she went over to the kitchen counter and picked up her red notebook and flash drive and snuggled it close to her chest. With a smile on her face, she followed me back over to her cabin. The snow was finally starting to ease up, but the temperature was still dropping. Inside the cabin, it was freezing cold, so while she turned up the heat, I started another fire. Once I had it going, I looked around at all the mess and asked, “Did he do all this?”
“No. That would’ve been me.”
“Why?”
“I went a little nuts when I was looking for my journal,” she admitted. “But I found it at Oliver’s, so it’s all good now.”
“Except now we have to clean up this mess.” I snickered.
“I’ll clean it up tomorrow.” She sauntered over to me with a devilish look in her eye. “Right now, I’m cold … and I need you to warm me up.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.” She wound her arms around my neck. “Do you think you’re up to the task?”
“Oh, baby. I’m definitely up to the task.” I lifted her into my arms and as I carried her into the bedroom, I waggled my eyebrows and added, “I’ll warm you up in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.”