The Hard Way

by Jill Sanders

  He had just fallen asleep when he heard her phone ring. She rolled over and answered it, and he knew instantly that something was wrong when she sat up.

  “What do you mean they’re missing?” she asked.

  Chapter 26

  “I mean they haven’t returned from their weekend visit to their cottage,” Brax answered her.

  Brax Miller was her parents’ long-standing butler or house manager. The older man had basically run the house when she was growing up.

  Brent reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.

  “Problems?” he asked.

  She blinked a few times to wake up. “My parents are missing.” She felt her heart jump in her chest. Then she turned back to the phone and asked Brax, “When were they due back?”

  “This morning,” the man answered.

  “Have you called them?”

  “Several times.” The man’s calm tone had never wavered in all the years she’d known him and didn’t even now. “They haven’t answered or returned any of my messages.”

  “Are you sure they were due back today?” she asked, her eyes locking with Brent’s.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Brax answered. “I hate to bother you, but your parents made it clear that if something were to go wrong, to contact you.”

  “Yes, I’ll…” She looked to Brent.

  “We’ll go there,” Brent said firmly.

  She nodded. “We’ll head there. If anything changes, give me a call. Have you called the police?” she asked, her heart skipping.

  “No ma’am. My orders…” he started.

  “Good,” she responded. “We’ll be there soon. I’ll text you with our ticket information when we have it.”

  She hung up and turned just as Brent got off the phone with his brother-in-law.

  “Trey has his pilot’s license and a plane. He’s going to fly us to Seattle,” Brent told her. “We’re going to meet him at the Haven airport in an hour.”

  She tried to hide her concern and fear, but Brent walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

  “They’re okay,” he assured her. “I’m sure they’re okay.” He kissed the top of her head.

  She held onto him for a moment before pulling away and looking up into his eyes.

  “I’m not sure what will happen when I return. Ethan still has friends in high places,” she said, feeling her stomach roll.

  Brent surprised her by smiling. “So do I. Trey is having his brother contact some friends in the Seattle area. I was thinking of giving Dale a call too and see if he has any connections up there as well.”

  She nodded, not trusting her voice. Then he nudged her.

  “Better pack some clothes.” He motioned to the bag he’d tossed on the bed.

  For the next few moments, she blindly threw clothes in the bag and stuffed her makeup kit, toothbrush, and other toiletry items in as well.

  As they drove to the small airport that she hadn’t even known Haven had on the outskirts of town, she stared out the dark window and dreaded what was to come. She watched as Brent sent TK and Jamie messages telling them that they’d be out of town for a few days and to let him know if they needed anything.

  Both women responded that they would let them know and to be safe.

  It was strange. Not once since she’d received Brax’s phone call had she worried that her parents had been involved in an accident of any kind. There was no doubt in her mind that Ethan was behind their disappearance and the crazy part was, she knew exactly where they were.

  When she’d been eight, her parents had bought a small cottage on an island in the San Juan Island chain. Well, it was small in their book with five bedrooms, four baths, and five thousand square feet. The three-plus-hour drive from her parents’ main home south of Seattle on the coast of Puget Sound was just long enough for her parents to consider it their summer getaway place.

  The five-million-dollar home sat directly on the water with its own private beach and Olympic-size swimming pool. It had practically been her second home growing up. She couldn’t remember a summer they hadn’t spent at the massive cottage built of glass, stone, and wood.

  If they went up there and hadn’t returned, she was positive it was due to Ethan. After all, her ex had sworn to her that one day he’d get his hands on the gorgeous place himself.

  Her father and Ethan had spent many summer fishing weekend trips at the place, enough that Ethan knew every inch of the home. It was the perfect place to hole up, with its full walls of windows and the single-lane road leading to the place. The fact that it was surrounded by thick trees on one side and wide-open water on the other made it almost a fortress.

  She was surprised to see Dale standing with Trey in front of a small plane, waiting for them.

  Brent shook both of their hands. “Thanks for putting everything aside for us,” Brent said.

  Trey nodded. “That’s what family does.” He turned to her. “How are you holding up?”

  “Okay, for now.” She turned to Dale. “I didn’t expect you to come along.”

  Dale smiled. “When I called my old army buddy who works for the Washington State troopers, he suggested I head his way.”

  “You called the cops?” She felt her heart skip.

  “No,” Dale assured her. “Nolan assured me he’s keeping this off the record. For now.”

  She nodded, feeling slightly better. The four of them settled in to the dual engine plane, and she held onto Brent’s hand as they took off and headed west into the darkness.

  She must have fallen asleep and woke when the sound of the engine changed.

  “Easy,” Brent said. “We’re coming into Seattle now.”

  “What time is it?” she asked.

  “Just past three in the morning,” Trey answered for her. “We made good time,” he said over his shoulder. “Good winds.”

  She was too tired and too worried to calculate how much time had passed since Brax had called her. Instead, she focused on the row of lights on the ground that they were heading towards. Was Brax already there?

  She checked her cell phone for messages, hoping for word from her parents. Instead, she had a message from Brax assuring her that he would be there at the airport to pick them up.

  The landing was as smooth as the takeoff had been. They taxied into a private hanger, and Trey cut the engine. She looked out the window and saw Brax standing beside her silver BMW and her parents’ larger black Porsche sedan.

  The man hadn’t aged a day since the last time she’d seen him over a year ago.

  She knew better than to rush to him and wrap her arms around him. How many times in her youth had he berated her that one simply doesn’t manhandle the help? Still, she had to fight the urge to reach out to him as the four of them stopped in front of the car.

  “Thank you for meeting us,” she said in a calm voice. Brax nodded. “Brax, this is Trey McGowan, Dale Alaqua, and Brent McCaw.” She motioned to each of them. “Brax Miller, my parents’ house manager.”

  “I’ve arranged a car for you.” He motioned to the BMW behind him. “If you wish, I’ll take your things back to the main house.” He motioned to the larger sedan.

  “Trey, you should head back with Brax,” Mel said, turning towards him. “Thank you for flying, but I can’t ask you…” She shook her head. “I won’t let you get involved in what is going to take place next. Not when you have a newborn at home.”

  Trey opened his mouth to argue, but Brent stepped forward. “I agree.”

  “Me too,” Dale added. “We’ve got this.” Dale laid a hand on Trey’s shoulders. “You can rest up and fly us all back when this is over,” he said with a smile.

  “Brax, please make sure that Trey is comfortable until we return,” Mel said. Brax nodded slightly, then motioned for Trey to follow him. He took Trey’s bag from him and put it in the trunk of the Porsche.

  Mel walked towards the BMW, tossed her own bag in the trunk, and waited for Brent and Dale to do the same.

&nb
sp; “I’ll drive,” she said when Brent reached for the driver’s door. When his eyebrows arched, she smiled. “It is my car, after all.”

  “This is yours?” he asked her.

  She chuckled. “Given to me on my twenty-second birthday.” She slid behind the wheel. She’d missed the power of the car.

  “This sure beats your beat-up truck,” Brent said as she pulled out of the airport, her tires squealing as she gassed it and headed towards Orcas Island.

  “How long before we get there?” Dale asked from the back seat.

  She added the destination into the car’s GPS, which calculated that they would be there in just over two and a half hours. “At this time, with no traffic, I bet I can cut half a half hour off that time.” She punched the gas pedal when she hit the open road of Highway 5.

  “Don’t let me see the speedometer,” Dale said from the back seat. “Just keep it under a hundred. And drive safe.”

  “I’m always safe,” she said, glancing over at Brent.

  “Where’s your friend?” Brent asked Dale.

  “He’s going to meet us up at the ferry to the island. I’m sending him a text now telling him when we’ll be there,” Dale said.

  For the next two hours, she was completely focused on driving and getting to the ferry that would lead them to the secluded island.

  “That’s Nolan,” Dale said, leaning forward.

  Mel saw a tall man leaning against a pickup truck. The man was built like the Mountain from Game of Thrones, and she thought that there might actually be a chance they could beat Ethan. He had dark skin and pitch-black hair like Dale’s, assuring her that he too had some American Indian blood.

  They pulled the two vehicles onto the ferry less than fifteen minutes later, and they all hung out below deck and talked about what was about to go down.

  “What can you tell us about the situation?” Nolan asked Dale. Dale turned to her.

  “Give us a brief layout of the place,” Dale asked her.

  She pulled out her cell phone and showed them pictures of the place. “It’s made of glass. It’s secluded. There is a dock and a boat house, but my parents sold the boat when I graduated, as they decided they didn’t use it as often as they used to when I was younger. There are three bedrooms in the walk-out basement, with a wall of windows facing the water, the boathouse, and the pool. The hallway connecting the rooms runs along the back side, with the bathrooms between each room. There’s a theater room at the end.” She thought about the place. “Two bedrooms and the main living area are all upstairs. The setup is pretty much the same upstairs—a long hallway along the front of the house leads to each bedroom. The house is shaped like a bent L. The main living space, kitchen, and family rooms and my father’s study are on the shorter side. The moment we drive up the driveway, he’ll know it. My parents have a state-of-the-art security system. How are we going to sneak all of us onto the property?”

  “Leave that to me,” Nolan said, holding up his hand. Then he cracked his knuckles and smiled at them.

  “Nolan was our tech guy,” Dale added.

  “I can usually remote into the system and disable it.” Nolan said easily.

  “Okay,” Mel said slowly. She glanced around him. “Ethan is a cop. Which means he will most likely have several guns.” She glanced to Brent. “I can’t ask you to—”

  “You don’t have to,” he said, taking her hand.

  “We’re all in this,” Dale agreed. “Family first,” he added. “We’ll get your family back safely. Besides, we’re not technically breaking any laws. We’re just… checking on some family members. Until either of us”—he motioned between him and Nolan—“technically see anything illegal, we’re just concerned friends coming along for the ride.”

  Just then she felt the ferry start to slow down.

  “We’re here.” She looked up and saw the lights from the docks on Orcas island.

  “How far is the house?” Brent asked her.

  “Ten minutes,” she answered as she climbed back into her car.

  “How far is it from the water?” Dale asked, looking over at the other smaller boats at the dock.

  “Five minutes,” she said with a smile.

  A few minutes later, they drove away from the docks just as the sky was starting to lighten with daylight.

  Dale and Nolan had rented a boat and after she’d given them directions on his phone, they headed out towards her parent’s property. Her first job was to make sure that the security system was disabled after walking inside so that they could sneak onto the property from the shore. They would have to figure something else out for Brent.

  As she and Brent drove towards the house, she tried to stop the nerves that were causing her hands to shake. After all, there was a slight chance that Ethan and her parents weren’t there. What would they find? Were her parents okay? She doubted Ethan would harm them. After all, he was a police officer. He knew the consequences of those actions. Didn’t he?

  “When I turn this corner, he’ll know we’re here,” she said.

  “Then pull over and stop. Let me out here,” Brent said. “I’ll sneak up to the house on foot. He will only be expecting you. Make sure to disable the alarm, like we said.”

  She pulled over and put the car in park. “I will,” she agreed. Without another word, she went into his arms. The kiss was quick yet deeper than any other she’d ever experienced.

  “Be careful,” he said to her. She nodded.

  “You, too. The house is that way.” She motioned towards the property.”

  He nodded. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” She watched him slip into the dark trees.

  Just as the sun rose fully in the sky, she parked besides her parents’ small sports car. The fact that it was sitting outside assured her that Ethan’s car was parked in the garage, out of sight.

  Her father always parked his classic cherry red Corvette in the garage. Always.

  There would be no hiding in the darkness now. The cloudless blue sky shone overhead, signaling that it would be another perfect late-summer day.

  She climbed out of the car and straightened her shoulders. She knew without a doubt that she was being watched. She’d always gotten that itch between her shoulders every single time Ethan had watched her.

  Taking her time, she walked towards the wooden double front doors, knowing he was assessing her from somewhere inside the house. She’d learned how to walk to please him and made a point to do so now—toe, heel, toe, heel—adding an extra sway to her hips, as every woman should, according to him.

  She hated the fact that she was still dressed in the clothes she’d hastily pulled on last night in Montana. She knew Ethan would assess the simple worn jeans and sweatshirt and judge her for them. She needed him in the proper mindset if she was going to pull this off. Everything had to be perfect. She had to be perfect.

  “Mom? Dad?” she called out cheerfully after unlocking the door and turning off the alarm like they’d agreed she would do. “Are you here?” She tried to keep her voice casual, as if it was the most normal thing that she would show up after being gone for months.

  She was greeted with silence and tossed her purse down on the entry table like she’d done a million times before. Thankfully, she’d tucked her 9mm in the back of her pants. Ethan didn’t know she owned one. Not even her parents did. He also didn’t know that she’d learned to shoot and fight since the last time they had sparred.

  She walked down the brightly lit entry hallway with its overhead sky lights and headed towards the living room as she called out once more.

  “Mom? Dad? Are you here?”

  “I… in here, dear,” her mother called out.

  Pasting on a smile, she passed by her father’s office, walked through the kitchen and past the formal dining room, and stepped into the large living room. She stopped, her heartbeat jumping in her chest as she held in a scream.

  Ethan stood over her parents, who were each duct-taped to their
matching expensive leather recliners. The fact that it appeared that they had been there for days made her seethe. She could see that both of her parents’ clothes were soaked with sweat and urine, as if the only way they’d been allowed to relieve themselves was to do it where they sat. She could smell them from across the room.

  Her heart skipped at the sight of Ethan smiling at her.

  “Hello, dear,” he said as he cocked the gun that he held at her father’s head. Without giving her a moment to speak, he fired.

  She watched in horror as the side of her father’s head exploded. Both she and her mother screamed at the same time.

  Before she could recover, Ethan moved towards her mother’s chair. Another shot rang out, only this time, Ethan’s neck exploded with blood as he flew face forward into the coffee table. The glass table exploded as he fell onto it, sending sharp shards of glass flying everywhere.

  Her mother was still screaming and crying out for her husband.

  Mel continued to look at her dad, as if willing him to move. To cry out to her. To yell at her. To say he was sorry once more. Instead, his eyes stared blankly towards her.

  Mel was rooted to the spot as memories of the last time she’d seen him, his last words to her, played over and over in her mind.

  She would have stayed, locked in her mind, if she hadn’t seen Ethan starting to get up out of the corner of her eye.

  Then she let her instincts kick in as she flew towards the man who had just taken away the first man she’d loved in her life.

  Chapter 27

  Brent was moving as quickly as he could towards the house and stood just outside the large glass doorway to a bedroom when he heard the first shot.

  Without thinking, he picked up the largest rock he could find and crashed through it just as a second shot sounded out.

  Pushing through the large shards, he rushed through the massive bedroom, down the hallway, and towards the sound of screaming.