Chapter Twenty-Five
Ryder
Coming in late to work was a bad idea. For most people an hour or two wouldn’t really make a difference, but for me it meant switching my route with one of the shittiest routes on the schedule. At least Quito was still here to help me pack up the truck in the loading dock. Otherwise, I think I’d be going insane right now listening to everyone talk about going home for the holidays and what presents they bought for their kids and family. I can’t fucking take it anymore. I speed up the process and pile more packages into the back of the truck, practically throwing them in.
“Hey! Take it easy.” Quito says, taking a box from my hand and places it neatly on top of the others.
“I just want to get this day over with already.”
“It will be over before you know it. Just keep busy. The time will go faster.”
“Not fast enough.” Putting my hand in my back pocket, I search for my phone to check the time. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I forgot my phone in my locker when I changed my coat.”
“We’re almost done. Get it on the way out.”
I grab another package off the conveyor belt and catch a glimpse of Phil, our supervisor, coming towards us. “Quito what did you do now?” Quito has been pulling pranks on Phil for the last three years. He even glued Phil to his office chair one day. They literally had to cut him out of his pants to get him off it. The jokes and laughter that poor man had to endure on his way to locker room to change was indescribable. The guys around here think these stunts are funny; Phil, not so much.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Hey Storm!”
“Yeah?”
“Your wife is on the phone, she said it’s an emergency.”
All the employees stop what they’re doing and observe the conversation because everyone knows I’m single. Quito cocks a brow, smirking at me. “Since when do you have a wife?”
“I don’t.” I take another box off the conveyor belt and set it down in the back of the truck before I address my boss. “Phil, you know I’m not married. I don’t have time for games today. If this is some prank you and Quito cooked up, I’m not interested in joining in the festivities.”
“I had nothing to do with this.” Quito interjects.
Phil takes a clipboard from one of the other workers and signs something, then looks down at me again from the platform he’s standing on. “Look, that’s what the woman said. She said she was your wife and there was some kind of emergency with your son Aiden.”
Phil now has my full attention. “Aiden?” My voice is a strangled whisper, it’s so low it barely reaches my own ears. I snap my head to Quito.
“Go! I’ll take care of everything here.”
Jumping up on the platform, I race toward Phil’s office, grabbing the phone off the desk and put it to my ear. “Madison?”
She breathes out a heavy sigh. “Ryder, thank God.”
Hearing her voice, even in a distressed tone, lifts a million pounds off my chest. I thought I’d never hear the sound of her voice again. “What happened to Aiden?”
Her voice cracks, trying to hold back tears as she frantically apologizes. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’m sorry for calling you at work. I would never do anything like this if I weren’t so…”
“Madison, it’s okay. Tell me what’s going on with Aiden.”
“He’s missing.” She says on a sob.
“What do you mean he’s missing?”
“Mitch dropped him off at school this morning and Aiden never came in the building. He…”
“Whoa, hold on a second. Mitch didn’t walk him inside and hand him over to his teacher?”
“No!”
I might have thought watching Aiden hurl himself through the air on the first day I met him was the scaredest I’ve ever been, but damn was I wrong. Right now my heart is in my throat. All I know is I want to respond to Madison and nothing will come out of my mouth. My head is starting to pound, my palms becoming sweaty, and I can feel all the blood being rushed out of my body as the worst case of vertigo threatens to collapse me right where I’m standing. I draw in some much-needed oxygen and the room has stopped spinning, somewhat. “Okay, don’t panic. We’ll find him. Where are you?”
“I’m at the school. Ryder I have to find my baby and they won’t let me leave.”
“Where’s Caleb? Is he okay? Do you need me to come get him?”
“No, he’s at daycare. Tyler’s picking him up and bringing him home in case Aiden goes there. Ryder, I’m so scared. What if he was…?”
I know what she’s going to say, and I can’t think of some stranger taking Aiden away from us forever. “He’s fine! Don’t think like that. We’ll find him. I’m going to go out looking for him. He couldn’t have gone far on foot. You stay put and wait for me there.”
“Ryder...I…”
“I know Peaches. We’ll talk later. I don’t want to waste any more time.”
Jumping in my car I scour the streets looking for Aiden. My panic-stricken mind is playing tricks on me because every kid I pass seems to be him. I’m frustrated and beyond furious Mitch allowed this to happen. This is all his fucking fault. If he thought about anyone but himself for a change, my little boy wouldn’t be missing.
I drive up and down the streets that are quickly being covered by snow. It’s falling harder than it was this morning. It’s freezing out and it’s killing me inside knowing Aiden is walking around in this. Maybe he got cold and stopped in a store or the library a few blocks away from the school to warm up. When I get closer to the school I start going into stores and asking passersby if they’ve seen him as I hold up my phone to anyone who’ll look. When I get no luck, I hop back into my car and slam my hands on the steering wheel. “Damn it, where are you Aiden?”
I close my eyes and lean my head back against the seat. I can’t imagine anywhere else he might be. I have to get out of my own head and think like a seven-year-old boy. If I were him, where would I go? “Where would I go, where would I go, where would go?” I repeat softly in the small space. I have no idea where Aiden would go, but I do know where I would go. The same place I always do when I want some time to think alone. Fuck me. That’s it! I start the car and make a U-turn in the middle of the busy street and race to the park. He’s got to be there. He has to be there. It’s the only place left I can think of he’d go. The last place I may have a chance of finding him.
When I get to the park, it’s empty, all except one woman and her small child. Of course no kids would be here because they’re all in school; where Aiden is supposed to be right now. I hurry over to the woman who is kneeling on the ground, passing the baby a handful full of snow to throw. “Excuse me, have you seen this little boy?” I ask, handing her my phone with Aiden’s picture on the screen.
She gives it back to me, shaking her head. “No, I’m sorry.”
I thank her and keep walking toward the path that leads to the lake. I glance at the ground and spot a trail of small footprints in the fresh snow. I speed up my pace and breathe in nothing but freezing snow as icicles begin to form on my eyelashes, obstructing my view. I brush them away and trek on. The cold air is constricting my lungs and I can barely feel my gloveless fingers, but when I reach the bottom of the hill I stop dead in my tracks. Aiden is sitting on the same bench we sat on weeks ago when I first brought him here. I run over to him, scooping him up in my arms. “Aiden!” I squeeze him tight to my chest. “Oh, thank God.”
“Ryder.” He whispers through chattering teeth.
Placing him on the ground, I rip my coat off and wrap it around him. He’s covered in snow, he’s pale, and his lips are turning blue. I have to get him out of here and someplace warm. I pick him up and race back to my car. By some stroke of good luck a police car slowly drives by us and I flag him down.
The officer stops the car and jumps out. “What happened?”
“This is Aiden Miller. He’s been missing since this morning. I need to get him to the hospital fast.”
“Hand him over. I’ll take him.”
I clutch Aiden into a tighter embrace. “You’re not going anywhere with my son alone. I’m coming with you.”
He opens the back door of the squad car and I hop in, resting Aiden in my lap. The officer sprints to the trunk and comes back to me with a silver reflective emergency blanket and leaps into the front seat. My head jerks back from the force of him pulling away from the sidewalk as the sirens echo in my ears. I remove Aiden’s wet hat and gloves, and stick his hands under my shirt for body heat. I flinch at the icy connection, but I settle his hands against my stomach. “Aiden, what were you doing out there?” He doesn’t answer. His lids slowly begin to close and I shake him a bit to keep awake. “Aiden! Aiden! Don’t go to sleep.”
His eyes flutter open. “I’m tired Ryder.”
“I know little man, but I need you to stay awake until we get to the hospital.” I glance out the window relieved to see the blue emergency room sign guiding us to middle of the block.
When Aiden was admitted I wasn’t allowed in his room. Since I’m not immediate family I have to wait for Madison to get here. I did manage to convince the doctor to leave his door open so I can at least sit and watch him as he sleeps. There is no way I’m going to let him out of my sight ever again, I don’t care what anyone says.
The police officer who drove us here is standing at the far end of the hall filling out some paperwork as we wait for Madison and the lead detective to get here. Light tapping on the white linoleum floor has me lifting my head.
Madison runs down the hall toward me, her face streaked with dried tears. “Where is he?”
I nod my head toward Aiden’s room. “He’s in there. He’s sleeping.” I follow her in the room and watch her cover him in a blanket of kisses. I stand on the other side of the bed and brush a dark strand of his hair off his forehead. “The doctor will be back in a minute to talk you.” I say, looking over at Madison’s still panicked expression. “He’s gonna be fine.”
“Ryder I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I love him. I’m glad he’s safe.”
“I’m so sorry for everything. It was a mistake to let you go. Can you forgive me?”
Quietly padding over to her, I wrap my arms around her waist and she throws her arms around my neck, burying her face into my shoulder. I glide my hands up and down her back, trying to calm her down. “Shh, it’s okay. There’s nothing you have to feel sorry for. You were just trying to protect the boys from getting hurt again. I understand why you sent me away, but damn Madison it hurt so bad. So damn bad. I was miserable without you and the boys. Don’t ever leave me again, okay?”
“I won’t. You were right. We should’ve figured it out together. I love you Ryder and I don’t want to lose you again.”
I take her face in my hands and kiss her forehead. “I promise I’m not going anywhere.”
“Mommy?”
Madison whirls around and hugs poor Aiden so tight I’m sure his head will explode any second. “Aiden why did you run away? You know better than that.”
The tiniest bit of color has returned to his skin, but he still looks really weak. He winces when he tries to get comfortable on the bed and his voice is hoarse when he speaks. “I’m sorry Mom.”
“It’s okay, you’re safe now. Just don’t ever do that again.”
A woman in a white lab coat enters the room and walks over to the opposite side of the bed. “Well, it looks like someone is awake now. I’m Dr. Lewis. How are you feeling Aiden? Warmer?” He nods. She glances at the machine taking his vital signs, makes a few notes on a chart and peers up at Madison. “We’ve given him some warm I.V. fluid to get his temperature back to normal and get him hydrated. He’s suffering from hypothermia, but is recovering nicely. No sign of nerve damage to his fingers or toes. It’s a miracle he’s alive. Being as small as he is and out in these severe weather conditions with sub-zero temperatures for that period of time could have been fatal. Another few minutes and he wouldn’t be here with us right now.” She peers down at Aiden. “Why did you run away?”
Aiden looks around sheepishly before making eye contact with the doctor. “I was looking for my dad.”
“Your father dropped you off this morning. Why were you looking for him?” Madison says.
“Mitch is not my dad!”
The doctor settles a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s okay Aiden. Tell us who your dad is.”
He directs his gaze my way. “Ryder is.”
The pride swelling in my heart is overflowing and I have to fight back the sting in my eyes. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t physically conceive him or wasn’t present in the first seven years of his life. What matters to him, what matters to us both, is the unbreakable bond we’ve forged. A bond no one can ever break.
Madison breathes a dejected sigh. “Oh Aiden...Ryder…”
I squeeze her hand to cut her off, then hold out my fist for him to bump and smile. “That’s right little man.”
Dr. Lewis smiles at our interaction. “Aiden I’m going to talk to Ryder and your mom right outside the door, okay?”
Madison bends, placing a kiss on top of his head. “We’ll be back in a minute. Get some rest.”
He nods and closes his eyes, pulling the crisp white sheet up to his chest. I follow Madison and the doctor out of the room and into the hallway where more police officers have gathered. A few of them step into the elevator, giving me a clear line of vision of the man who started this whole mess to begin with. Rage rolls through me and all I can do is act on it.
Madison anticipates my intentions, trying to call me back to her side. “Ryder, don’t!”
I ignore her and keep going. There are only two things I’m focused on right now; the deafening sound of blood rushing in my ears and beating this asshole to a bloody pulp. I brush past the two cops standing in my way. “You fucking son of bitch.” With lightning speed my fist makes contact with Mitch’s jaw, sending him reeling backward into a metal tray propped against the wall. He hits the floor, but before he can get up, I’m on him, punching him in the face, over and over. I don’t know how many times I hit him before I’m being pulled back by at least three big men. One of the officers pushes me in the chest until my back hits the wall, while two more hold each of my arms to keep me still.
By now, everyone in the vicinity has stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the commotion I’m causing, but I don’t give a fuck. He deserved that shit and more. I couldn’t care less if I go to jail today or not. All that matters to me is that Aiden is safe now.
Mitch struggles to his feet, swiping the blood in the corner of his mouth. He points at me. “I want him arrested. I’m pressing charges.”
The detective strides over to him. “I’m sure Mr. Storm is quite distressed over the whole situation.”
“He’s distressed?! I’m the one who should be upset. It was my son who was missing.”
I fight to break free of the hands pinning me in place. “Aiden is my son! And he’s the one who suffered more than any of us. He’s just a little boy and he could have died due to your negligence and stupidity.”
Mitch addresses the detective. “Are you going to let this psychopath talk to me that way? Why are you people just standing around doing nothing? He should be in handcuffs. If it weren’t for him…”
The policeman to my left cuts Mitch off. “If it weren’t for him, your son wouldn’t be here right now.”
Madison runs over to where I’m being held. “Let him go. Please.” She asks pleadingly.
I relax my rigid muscles. “I’m good.” The officers holding me finally let me go and I pull Madison into me. Looking over her head, I give Mitch a smug grin. I know seeing her in my arms is killing him. Not because he wants her, but because he has lost this battle hands down.