Never Surrender

by Stacy Claflin

  But if she thought him capable of the abduction, they had zero future together.

  Ever again.

  She was the love of his life, but some things were unforgivable. This was one of them.

  His expression tightened as he stared her down. More than anything, he wanted to demand her to respond.

  But this was her moment.

  And she was taking too long to answer.

  The fact that she couldn’t say no immediately told him more than he wanted to know. It was a sign he shouldn’t have ignored when she left the state with their children in the middle of the night.

  That should’ve been the moment he put his foot down. Not waited until their son was missing. He shouldn’t have chased after her, dragging Ariana away from school to fly to another state to look at homes.

  A mistake he wouldn’t make again.

  He lifted his chin. “It appears I have my answer. Are you moving to Idaho or staying here so we don’t have to make toddlers fly every other weekend?”

  “Alex—”

  “You’ve made yourself clear, Zoey! You can’t say you don’t believe I would abduct one of our children. That speaks volumes.” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you moving, or should I start packing?”

  “You—”

  “Me? Okay, then.” He stormed past her, his skin on fire and his stomach lurching.

  She actually thought he could abduct one of their children. His wife thought he was a monster.

  “Alex!”

  He continued up the stairs. Once in their room—her room—he flung open his drawers and emptied them on the bed.

  Zoey hurried over to him. “Stop!”

  “Why? Are you moving out instead?”

  Her eyes shone. “No!”

  “Make up your mind! Who’s moving out—me or you? I don’t care who, but I need to know.”

  “I don’t want either of us to move.”

  “Too late. You made your feelings crystal clear.”

  She shook her head.

  “No? To what?” He dumped more clothes onto the bed.

  “I don’t think you’d do that. I don’t.”

  He stared her down. “Took you long enough to come to the conclusion. Too long. We’re done.”

  “Alex!” A single tear ran down her face.

  “What?” he shouted.

  “I know you wouldn’t do that! I know, okay?”

  “No! No, it isn’t okay! If you can’t say it without a doubt, without thinking for five minutes, then you don’t know. You don’t know me at all. Which means we have nothing worth fighting for. Nothing!”

  “You don’t get it!”

  “What don’t I get?” His throat was growing raw from yelling. “That we’ve known each other our entire lives, yet you don’t know me at all?”

  “I’m under so much stress!”

  He jolted. “You think you’re the only one under stress? Are you kidding me?”

  “I didn’t say you aren’t, too.”

  “First you leave the state with two of my kids without telling me, then one of those kids goes missing! I’m dealing with everything you’ve thrown at me, plus this! Not that you think I care, since I could obviously be behind the kidnapping. Right?”

  “No! You’re not! I know you’d never do that. Of course you wouldn’t.”

  “It took you long enough to figure that out!” He hurried past her, unable to look at her. It was unlikely he’d ever be able to again.

  “Alex, stop! Please!”

  At the bottom of the stairs, he leaned against the wall and struggled to breathe. How could this be happening? Everything had imploded so quickly.

  Zoey called him from upstairs.

  His phone alerted him of a text. He barely had the energy to look, but Nick said he’d let Alex know if there were any updates.

  The text was from his friend.

  Nick: Check your blog comments now.

  Alex closed his eyes for a moment.

  Another text came in.

  Nick: SOS!

  Alex: Checking. Thx.

  It was tempting to mention something about Zoey, but he had no energy. Didn’t want to think about it. He just wanted to find out what was so important in his comments.

  He trudged over to the laptop and typed in his password. Found the post about Zander’s abduction and refreshed the page. A bunch of new comments loaded, as well as a notification of even more waiting to be moderated.

  Alex skimmed the comments, starting from the newest and working his way up. The last few were more well wishes, followed by a few potential sightings—but those were out of the area, so unlikely. Something to pass onto the feds, but nothing more.

  He picked up his phone and texted Nick.

  Alex: Which comment?

  Nick: From Anon.

  Alex held back an annoyed sigh. Plenty of commenters called themselves “Anon.” But if Nick thought it was important, he needed to have a look.

  He finally found the one.

  It made his blood run cold.

  Anon: Zander, Zander, how your scar kneels. Who’s your daddy?

  Alex stared at the message, dizziness overtaking him. Whoever typed that message knew about Zander’s scar on his knee. He’d fallen off a park toy and scraped his skin bad enough to leave the mark.

  What was more, the person who wrote the comment insinuated that he knew the secret of Zander’s paternity.

  This kidnapper was bold, posting on Alex’s blog.

  And the abduction was personal. Hardly anyone knew about the paternity issue.

  Another text came in.

  Nick: Call me. Need to talk.

  No kidding.

  Nick: Bad news.

  Alex’s stomach lurched. He couldn’t handle any more bad news.

  He leaped up and ran to the bathroom just in time to throw up in the toilet.

  Chapter 32

  Alex stood, looking out the window, as close to the wall as he could without kissing it. By the time he called Nick, after emptying the contents of his stomach, his friend had changed his mind and wanted to talk in person. Said he’d come over to the house.

  It was definitely going to be bad.

  He could hardly remember to breathe. The automatic response was forced at the moment.

  The news had to be his worst fear. He couldn’t even bring himself to think the words. He would hold onto the idea of his son being alive as long as he could.

  Zoey said something from where she stood near the couch. Or maybe she was sitting by now. Alex didn’t know because he hadn’t looked her way. What was the point?

  Nick’s Mustang turned down the road. Soon he pulled up to the curb in front of the house.

  Alex’s heart thundered, making his whole body shake. It wouldn’t surprise him if his friend could hear the beats from outside.

  Nick got out of the car with a stoic expression and made his way to the house at a snail’s pace. Or at least that was how it felt to Alex.

  Was his life going to change forever, in a horrible way, for the second time that afternoon?

  The heavy air pressing on him sure made it feel that way.

  As Nick neared the door, Alex flung it open. Their gazes met, and his stomach lurched. It was already hurting after already puking. He might need the bathroom again.

  Alex tried to ignore the increasing pain and gestured for Nick to enter.

  He came in without a word, nodded to Zoey, then sat on a recliner facing the couch. Through it all, he said nothing to either of them.

  Zoey sat on one end of the sofa.

  Alex stood next to the other end.

  If Nick noticed their distance, he didn’t say anything.

  “What’s the news?” Alex blurted out. “Is it Zander?”

  His friend drew in a deep breath. “No.”

  Alex’s legs turned to jelly. He dropped onto the couch. “He’s not dead?”

  “We don’t have any information on him.”

  “Then why are you her
e?” Zoey asked. “What’s so important it couldn’t be said over the phone?”

  Nick leaned forward. “At first, that was what I was going to do, but then I thought better of it.” A beat of silence passed before he continued. “Two of the missing kids” —he cleared his throat— “they were found deceased.”

  Zoey gasped.

  “But not Zander?” Alex squeezed a throw pillow.

  Nick shook his head. “Like I said, we don’t have any news on him. But we do believe the abductions to be related, and that’s why I felt the need to tell you in person.”

  Alex’s mind swam. “The ring doesn’t usually kill kids. Why the change in MO?”

  “That’s what we need to try and figure out. And I know this is the worst time to ask, but is there anything in this case you can see that would potentially cause this change?”

  Alex tried to ignore his wife’s muffled sobs, resisting the urge to comfort her. “No.”

  Nick nodded. “What do you make of the blog comment I pointed out?”

  The words had been burned into his mind.

  Zander, Zander, how your scar kneels. Who’s your daddy?

  “What comment?” Zoey asked.

  Alex remained looking straight ahead. “On my blog. The writer wants me to think he has Zander and knows our secrets.”

  “Do you think Dave is involved?”

  “He knows nothing about Zander!” His blood boiled at the thought. “Even if he suspected, there’s no way he could know which twin …” He let his voice trail off, refusing to say the rest of the sentence.

  Alex never thought he’d have to face the twins’ different paternity so soon. Sure, Zander would need to know when he got older for medical reasons. But it shouldn’t matter now.

  But it might. What if they needed DNA?

  Word could get out. They’d have to tell their friends and family about Zoey’s assault and the resulting pregnancy. Two babies, two dads.

  Nick waved his hand in front of Alex’s face. “Did you hear me?”

  “What?”

  “We may have to question Dave.”

  Alex shook his head. “No.”

  “He might know something.”

  “He doesn't.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  The last thing Alex wanted to do was face the man who had caused so much damage to his family.

  “I know the pain,” Nick said. “Remember?”

  Alex gave a slight nod. Dave had soiled both of their families in the same way, inserting his DNA where it didn’t belong.

  “The first part of the comment was referring to a scar on Zander’s knee?”

  “Right. And the second part was obvious. The writer knows.”

  “Who are all the people who know?” Nick asked.

  “Anyone with access to Zoey’s hospital records. I haven’t told anyone other than you.” He turned to Zoey and threw her a questioning glance that probably came across more accusatory than necessary.

  “Neither have I! Why would I?”

  He shrugged. “I wouldn’t dare to guess, but I had to ask.”

  “You know I wouldn’t.”

  “I don’t know anything at this point.”

  Nick squirmed. “I would imagine if we do have a mole, he could get access.”

  “How?” Alex demanded.

  “If Dave is involved with the ring, he might have put two and two together. He could have told the mole, who used his badge to look at the records—or even found a way to sneak a peek.”

  “How could Dave put two and two together?” Alex exclaimed. “He doesn’t know about the twins.”

  Nick frowned. “My kids have spoken with Corrine from time to time at the prison. One of them might’ve mentioned Zoey’s pregnancy, and Corrine could’ve told Dave.”

  “That’s a stretch.”

  “But not impossible.” Nick threw him an apologetic glance.

  Alex’s blood boiled at the thought of Crawford digging around Zoey’s medical records. “If you decide to talk to Dave, let me know first.”

  “Of course. It’ll be uncomfortable, but we don’t want to leave any stone unturned.”

  “Are you going to send someone else to question him, or are you going personally? I want to have words with him.”

  Nick frowned. “Probably best I go. If Dave suspects anything, he’ll spout it off to whoever is questioning him.”

  Alex leaped to his feet. “You’re right. In that case, take me. I want to face him.”

  “He could get under your skin.”

  “And he could get under yours.”

  Nick sighed.

  “What are the feds doing?” Alex asked. “Do they know about the blog comment?”

  “They’ve probably seen it, though I don't know if they know the meaning behind it.”

  “I don’t see how they could. They probably just think it’s a reference to me. Which technically it is, but not like anyone would suspect.”

  “Wait!” Zoey interjected. “If it comes out about the paternity, that won’t affect Dave’s sentencing, will it? When I testified, I never mentioned being pregnant, much less that one of the babies was his.”

  “I really don’t think so, but I’m hardly a criminal law attorney. Right now, all that matters is getting Zander back safely.”

  She buried her face into her hands and shook.

  Nick glanced at Alex and lifted a brow.

  “What’s the next step?” Alex asked. “If you talk to Dave, so do I.”

  “You’re on leave.”

  “So, I can’t talk to him? Or you can’t change my work status?”

  “I can’t do anything about you being off this case. Let me handle this.”

  “Are you going to talk to him alone?”

  Nick chewed on his lip. “Given my history with him, I shouldn’t.”

  Alex’s stomach lurched.

  “I’ll bring Anderson and do my best to keep him in the dark about the paternity. But if it does come up, he’s trustworthy.”

  “He is, but that doesn’t mean I like the plan.”

  Nick frowned. “You’re going to have to accept that this might come to light. If it will help save Zander, feelings are going to have to be put on the back burner.”

  Alex nodded. He was tempted to glance at Zoey but resisted.

  Nick rose and turned to Alex. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to moderate my blog comments to see if there are any more, then I’m going to start packing.”

  His friend jolted. “Packing?”

  “Yes.” Alex stood. “I appreciate you coming over. You’ll let me know as soon as you know anything?”

  Nick nodded, his brows drawing together in confusion. “Will do. If you need anything, you know my number.” He turned to Zoey. “And you can call Genevieve any time, day or night.”

  “Thanks.” Her voice sounded strained.

  Alex walked Nick to the door.

  His friend gestured for him to follow him outside. “What’s going on? The tension in there is thick enough to cut with a knife.”

  “My marriage is over.”

  Nick gave him a double-take. “Is she buying a house in Boise?”

  “I don’t know what she’s doing, but it’s done.”

  “I’m so sorry, Alex.”

  A lump formed in his throat. “Me too.”

  “Do you need anything?”

  “Just find my boy. That’s all I ask.”

  Nick put a hand on his shoulder. “You know I’ll do everything I can.”

  “And I appreciate it.”

  “I’m serious about calling anytime.”

  He nodded, not trusting his voice.

  Nick frowned before turning around and hurrying to his car.

  Alex had never felt more alone than at that moment.

  Chapter 33

  Ariana started to say something about wishing Damon didn’t have to drop her off but stopped short as they neared the house.

 
“Is that your mom’s car?” he asked.

  She stared, hardly able to believe it. Her heart thudded with excitement. “Yes. She’s home!”

  Damon parked next to the sidewalk and smiled. “They must be working things out.”

  Ariana could hardly take her attention from the driveway. Both of her parents’ cars were there. “Maybe they found Zander!”

  He squeezed her knee. “Do you want me to come in with you?”

  Of course she wanted him there, but it might be a family moment. She turned to him, beaming. “Probably better if I go in alone. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I can.”

  Damon brushed his lips across hers. “Don’t worry about me. I’m happy for you.”

  Her breath hitched as she grabbed her bag. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  She hurried out of the car, barely taking the time to close the door, and raced to the house. It took three tries to get the key to work, but as soon as it did, she flung open the door.

  The living room was empty. Maybe they were in the kitchen. There were no aromas from a cooking meal, but they could be talking. Mom might be looking at homes in the area that very moment.

  Ari’s pulse drummed in her ears as she made her way to the kitchen.

  The empty kitchen.

  Her heart sank a little, but she hurried upstairs, her footsteps loud. Mom usually got on her case about that, but today it didn’t matter.

  The door to their bedroom was closed. She hurried past to check the twins’ room. It looked exactly as it had since Mom took them to Idaho.

  “Mom? Dad?” she called.

  That was when she heard the shower running. It was muffled from being behind the closed bedroom door.

  Knock, knock!

  Nobody answered.

  She was tempted to peek in but didn’t dare. Instead, she knocked one more time and waited, but there was still no answer. Ari walked to her room to drop her bag inside, then she went downstairs, glad she’d eaten dinner with Damon since her parents were obviously too busy making up to bother feeding her.

  Something sounded from the garage apartment. Could one of them be in there?

  Out of habit, she knocked, even though nobody lived there anymore.

  “Come in,” Dad called from the other side.