My Ex-Boyfriend's Dad: An Age Gap Older Man Younger Woman Romance (Silver Fox Daddies)

by K. C. Crowne

  Alistair McCloud snapped his fingers. Everyone in the restaurant stood up and vacated their seats, save for the handful of intimidating men who I now realized all had snake tattoos coiled around their throats.

  Molly was right.

  It was a trap.

  “Gentlemen,” he said to the two men nearest us. “Please take Miss Jones to the freezer. I think she needs to cool her head.”

  Chapter 32

  Jesse

  Lance was still woozy, shaking off the last of the sleep aid. The pot of tea Vivian had brewed for him sat forgotten on the coffee table, half-empty.

  “She could have killed me,” Lance grumbled. “What if I overdosed?”

  I glanced toward the kitchen, noting the scrap piece of paper hastily shoved beneath the toaster. It was covered in numbers and equations. She’d done the math, I realized, because of course she did. Vivian was too smart to just dump a bunch of medication into a man’s tea. She took the time to figure out the proper dosage, accounting for every milligram of diphenhydramine.

  If I weren’t so worried about her wellbeing, I would have been impressed.

  “How did she even get her hands on the stuff?” I asked him.

  Lance rubbed at his eyes and groaned. “She had me order her some things. Said she was having cravings. Ice cream, sliced banana peppers, chamomile tea, the damn sleep aids… I didn’t think twice because she’d been having trouble sleeping since she got here.”

  “Ice cream and banana peppers?” I echoed, curious. “Did she eat them separately, or at the same time?”

  “Does it matter?”

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek. That particular combination of foods struck me as odd. When Melissa was pregnant with Wally, she’d craved odd combinations of foods as well. I shook the thought from my head. I needed to focus.

  “You said she took your keys?” I asked him. Finding Vivian before she could get herself into trouble was my priority here, not dwelling on her strange eating habits.

  Lance nodded. “Yeah. She must have swiped them straight from my pocket.”

  “Good. All the company cars are fitted with onboard tracking in case of theft. I’ll call Devin and have him pull the vehicle up in the system. Should lead us right to her.”

  “Devin again,” Lance mumbled. “Isn’t it his day off today? He probably won’t take too kindly to being disturbed.”

  I frowned. “Again? What do you mean again?”

  “Miss Jones asked me for his phone number.”

  “Did she say what for?”

  Lance shrugged. “Something about her laptop not working. I didn’t think it was a security risk to give her the number. He’s one of ours, after all.”

  The gears inside my skull were working in overdrive. What business did Vivian have calling my brother? What kind of trouble was she up to?

  “Stay here and rest,” I ordered.

  Lance lay down on the couch, rubbing at his temples. “Trust me. I don’t think I’m going anywhere for a while.”

  I put my brother on speaker the second I got behind the wheel.

  He answered grumpily. “It’s Sunday. Even God took a day off, Jesse.”

  “I have a missing vehicle,” I said. “I need you to track it down for me.”

  “Am I being paid overtime?”

  “I’ll pay you with a swift kick in the ass, how about that?”

  “Fine, fine. Whose car got swiped? Pickerton? I bet it was Pickerton. Airhead always forgets where he put his keys.”

  “It’s Lance’s, actually. Vivian stole his keys while he was, uh… incapacitated.”

  “Vivian?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “She called me earlier. Asked me to decrypt some files for her. She’s really bossy when she wants to be.”

  “Files? What—” Everything clicked into place. When she went back to Blue Cloud Financial, she must have downloaded the files she needed to incriminate the cartel. “You should have told me,” I snapped at him. “She could be in serious danger!”

  “I didn’t realize, alright? She didn’t exactly tell me the whole story.”

  “Shit. Do you have a location yet?”

  “Still loading.”

  “I thought you said the trackers we installed were top of the line.”

  “They are. Excuse me if GPS technology needs a second to orient itself.”

  “Devin, I swear to God—”

  “I got it, I got it. The car’s parked on the corner of Hastings and Milden. Right in front of El Ronso, a Columbian restaurant.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath through gritted teeth as I floored it, slamming on the gas and shoving my way into traffic. I earned several loud honks and a less than polite gesture from a few of the cars behind me. I didn’t care. Vivian was in danger.

  “Hastings and Milden…” I grumbled. “That’s smack in the middle of the Azure Cartel’s territory. What the fuck was she thinking?”

  “Ooh, shit,” Devin piped up.

  “What? What is it?”

  “I ran those files she gave me through a program I wrote. It just finished loading.”

  “And?”

  “Jesus. She’s got years’ worth of financial records that link the Azure Cartel directly to Blue Cloud Financial. It looks like they’ve been investing on the cartel’s behalf and Blue Cloud’s been cleaning their money. Is this the reason she was placed in your care in the first place?”

  I sped straight through a red light, nearly clipping a car through the intersection. “Devin, send the files to the police and call for backup to my location.”

  “You’re not going to charge in, are you—”

  “I’m charging in.”

  “Jesse, don’t be stupid. Wait for backup to arrive.”

  “Then you’d better call them before I get there.”

  I ended the call and whipped around a corner, tires screeching in protest. I silently cursed the congested Chicago traffic. Every second I spent trapped behind the beat-up minivan full of kids on their way to soccer practice, the greater the chance that something could happen to Vivian.

  She was the only thought that occupied my mind as I weaved in and out of traffic. What on Earth had she been thinking, venturing out all alone? Why would she drug Lance and head straight into cartel territory? Did someone contact her, give her instructions on where to meet them? If they knew she had copies of the cartel’s transactions, her life was in grave danger.

  I prayed I wasn’t too late.

  I ran another red light. This time, the sound of police sirens and the flash of red, white, and blue lights reflected off my rearview mirror. The police car gave chase. Their siren wailed twice, signaling for me to pull over, but I didn’t. This was perfect, actually. They were just going to have to follow me to the restaurant. They would serve as my backup. They just didn’t know it yet. With any luck, they’d call for reinforcements.

  I was going to roll up to this place with my own personal army. If any cartel members were in the area, they’d hopefully have the good sense to leave before things got ugly.

  Don’t worry, angel. I’m coming.

  Chapter 33

  Vivian

  They shoved me into the walk-in freezer and slammed the door. I was surrounded by blackness. Unable to make out my surroundings, I bumped into multiple plastic storage crates and produce shelves as I felt around aimlessly in an attempt to gather my bearings. It was no use. I couldn’t see anything at all.

  It wasn’t long before I started to shiver furiously. The chill bit through the thin fabric of my shirt and pants, seeping into my skin and bones. My teeth chattered. My lips chapped. The tips of my fingers and toes started to throb from the cold. I needed to find a way out of here before I froze to death.

  Or before the cartel could drag me to some undisclosed location and do much worse.

  The sound of someone sniffing reached my ears. I followed the sound forward until I bumped into something. Or rather, someone.

  “Ow!” Mo
lly cried. “Don’t s-step on m-me.”

  I crouched down, reaching out blindly. “Oh, my God, Molly! Is that you?”

  “V-Vivian?” she gasped. Her voice was faint. Exhausted. “W-what are y-you doing h-here?”

  I wrapped my arms around her as best I could. It was clear she’d been locked inside the freezer for much longer than I. Hypothermia was suddenly a very real and dangerous threat to us both. Hopefully we’d be able to generate enough body heat to keep us warm.

  “I came to rescue you,” I said, hugging her tight. “Are you hurt?”

  “N-no. They m-manhandled me, but they n-never hurt m-me. McCloud is—”

  “I know. He’s working with them.”

  “N-no. He m-made sure they d-didn’t hurt me.”

  “Save your strength,” I told her. “Don’t waste your energy. We’re going to find a way out of here, I promise.”

  “They k-kept me in a basement s-somewhere,” Molly grumbled. “I was so s-scared, Viv.”

  I held her close to my chest, alarmed by how frigid her skin was. There was no telling how long she’d been held captive in here. The cold metal floor was doing a good job of sapping what little heat we could generate. I needed to figure out a way to keep warm and fast.

  I reached to my right and bumped against what felt like a cardboard box. Perfect. I ripped it apart, dumping its contents onto the floor.

  “W-what are y-you doing?” Molly asked, shivering.

  “H-here,” I said, placing the material beside her. “Sit on this. We need to minimize contact with m-metal to stay as warm as possible. The heat will s-sap right out of us otherwise.” I was starting to shiver badly.

  “Oh, s-so smart,” she replied, sounding loopy.

  I found more boxes and dumped their contents as well. I fashioned a makeshift tent of sorts, covering Molly’s body as best I could. It wasn’t ideal, but at least her body heat wouldn’t escape as quickly.

  “Where d-did you learn how to d-do this?” she asked.

  “I’ve been w-watching a lot of nature documentaries lately.”

  Molly curled her nose like it was the most preposterous thing she’d ever heard. I took this as a good sign. If she still had the energy to be her usual sassy self, then she was fairing a great deal better than I first thought.

  Once I was sure Molly was covered, I stood up and aimlessly felt around for… anything. Possible items I could use as a weapon if someone came to drag us away. Maybe a light. Some sort of emergency lock release. Surely these things weren’t built without some kind of failsafe, right? What if some poor chef found themselves stuck in here like us? There had to be a way out of here.

  I found a light switch on one of the furthest walls. Flicking it on turned out to be a mistake because now I knew there was no escaping this place.

  The walk-in freezer must have been modified and had no emergency release. The door looked reinforced, only operational from the outside. Worse still were the traces of old blood on the floor from whatever poor victim was here before us.

  My stomach lurched. I almost threw up.

  “Okay,” I mumbled to myself. “Okay, okay, okay. This is fine.”

  Molly frowned. “F-fine? How is any of this f-fine?”

  “Jesse. He’ll c-come find us.”

  “Who the hell is J-Jesse?”

  “It’s a l-long story,” I said through chattering teeth. “My bodyguard. And my… boyfriend, I guess? Except not really. And I’m, uh… I’m pregnant.”

  Molly’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Like I said. Long story.”

  “Well, hot damn. Mazel tov, I g-guess?”

  “You have surprisingly few questions.”

  “Too c-cold. Tell me l-later.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough.”

  I inspected the nearest shelf. It was portable, set on four wheels for easy maneuvering. I yanked hard on one of its support poles, hoping to pull it loose and use it to knock a few heads if the cartel was stupid enough to try me a second time.

  I was filled with a renewed protectiveness. Knowing both Molly and the baby were in my care, I was basically ready to throw hands with the next person who walked through the freezer door.

  Outside, I heard a ruckus. The sound was muffled but undeniable. Sirens. A whole squad, if I had to venture a guess. I could hear movement, the shuffling of feet and frantic shouting. Were the police coming for us? Did they know I was here?

  Lance was likely awake by now, which meant that he’d definitely know I was missing. He’d have no choice but to report my disappearance to Jesse. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach flipped. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. I was certain he was coming for me.

  I managed to break the support pole free from the shelf. I wielded it like a bat, prepared to swing. I took a deep breath and waited, ready to pounce at the slightest hint of movement. My heart was pounding harder and harder as the chaos outside devolved into outright havoc. I didn’t know what was going on.

  All I knew was that I was going to get all three of us the fuck out of here.

  Chapter 34

  Jesse

  Rule number one about combat: never go in with guns blazing.

  Rule number two about combat: never go in alone.

  I broke both rules in the span of thirty seconds and honestly didn’t give a shit. There was too much on the line. Vivian needed me. I pitied any man foolish enough to stand in my way.

  The restaurant in question was deeper than it was wide, accommodating four columns of tables with approximately ten rows. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the cartel was likely keeping Vivian somewhere in the back, provided they hadn’t already moved her to a secondary location, of course.

  The attack came as a rush. Cartel members shouted profanities, drawing their weapons just as the police behind me charged in. They were there for me, but their intended targets quickly changed when they clocked the bigger, more immediate threat.

  Mayhem broke out. Officers and cartel members alike opened fire. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. I ducked out of the way, quickly overturning the nearest table to hide behind as a shield. This was going to get messy, but I had to push forward no matter what. I drew my own gun, a standard issue Beretta, waiting for the opportune moment to fire.

  I was outnumbered and outgunned. I only had fifteen rounds, so I needed to make them count. There was no time to come up with a plan. No time to think. I was running on instinct alone.

  This was nothing compared to my time at war. This was a simple gunfight, yet I was terrified. Not because I was afraid for my life, but for hers. She was all I could think about as I popped up from behind my barrier and shot a man in the gut. Her voice was the only thing I could hear as I hopped to the next table, slowly but surely pressing forward.

  I didn’t know what I’d do if anything happened to Vivian. She was everything bright and sweet and good in my life. If they dared to lay a hand on her, if they’d harmed her in any way…

  Nothing on Earth would be able to save them from my wrath.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a cartel member cowering behind a nearby table. They were out of bullets, pinned down by the hellfire the police were raining down on them. I waited for an opening and vaulted over the table, snatching him up by the collar and pinning him on his back.

  “Where is she?” I shouted. “Where’s the girl?”

  He was too stunned to speak, but I didn’t have the time nor patience to wait for an answer. I punched his jaw, hoping to jolt an answer out of him.

  “¡No hablo ingles!” he sputtered, blood staining his teeth.

  My nostrils flared. “¿Dónde la mujer?” I shook him hard.

  The man put his hands up in surrender, fear clear in his eyes. He was too afraid to speak, so he merely pointed with a shaky finger toward the kitchen in the back. I threw one more punch to knock him out cold in thanks.

  I ran for it, practically throwing myself at a cartel member who was foolish enough to
try and block me. I lunged, knocking him to the ground. He was quick to get up on his feet, though, dashing at me with his fists swinging. There wasn’t enough room to dodge, so I had no choice but to absorb the hit, taking it straight to the gut, which was enough to knock the air from my lungs and make my eyes water.

  But I wasn’t down for the count yet. Not by a long shot.

  I fought until my knuckles were numb and my muscles were burning, and my bones vibrated with the impact of every blow, both given and received. The rest of the world faded, the need to get to Vivian my own personal pair of blinders. The gunshots were nothing but background music, the men in my way mere obstacles.

  They were waiting for me in the kitchen, a whole swarm of them buzzing around me like vultures, waiting for the moment to strike. I counted five of them, though it very well could have been six. It was hard to tell past the adrenaline blinding me to my surroundings.

  They surrounded me. Some of them had knives. Others were frantically reloading their guns. The last few ran at me with nothing but their clenched fists.

  I sprang into action, but not with as much speed as I hoped. I wasn’t as young as I used to be. Back in my heyday, a fight like this would have been over in less than a minute. I needed to fight smart, not hard. I knew I couldn’t waste energy on needless haymakers and pointless defensive moves.

  What I needed was to be accurate and consistent. What the cartel had in numbers I made up for in experience and skill.

  A punch to the throat to paralyze vocal cords. A kick to the groin to send a man crying for his mother. A swift dislocation of his arm to render his trigger finger useless. A forceful chokehold to leave the last assailant unconscious.

  When the dust settled, I was the only one standing.

  I silently promised myself that when this was all over, I was taking a vacation. A nice and long one. I was clearly well overdue.

  I looked around in dismay. Vivian was nowhere in sight.

  Crash.

  I heard movement coming from the walk-in freezer. I swiped a fresh gun from the belt of one of the unconscious men on the floor and approached slowly, silent like the night. I needed to get the drop on whoever was inside. It was them or me.