Danger Zone

by Stacy Claflin

  “Answer it!”

  “I’m trying!” He was shaking but managed to accept the call before it went to voicemail. “Ariana?”

  Zoey clung to him, trying to listen in. Alex put it on speaker.

  Ari’s voice came through loud and clear. “Yes, Dad. It’s me. I—”

  “Are you okay?” Alex demanded. “Is he holding you against your will? Where are you?”

  “I’m fine, but Damon isn’t. We need your help.”

  “We’re here, honey,” Zoey said.

  “Your kidnapper needs my help?” Alex exclaimed.

  “Is that what you think? We ran from his dad after he beat Damon up. His dad is real dangerous. You’ve got to help us.”

  “I’ll help you,” Alex retorted. “That kid and his dad have been trying to destroy our family!”

  “Damon isn’t like his dad!”

  “Where are you?”

  Shuffling noises sounded. She didn’t respond.

  “Ari?” Zoey exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m here. We need your help, but only if you promise neither of us will get in trouble.”

  “That’s what you’re worried about?” Alex exclaimed. “Getting into trouble?”

  “Well, yeah. You guys have to be worried sick!”

  Zoey grabbed the phone. “Of course we are, but just tell us where you are so we can come get you.”

  “What about Damon?”

  Zoey threw Alex a questioning glance.

  Alex took a deep breath. “I can’t make any promises.”

  “Then I can’t tell you where we are, Dad.”

  He muttered under his breath. “Why are you so worried about him? Does he have a gun on you?”

  “Oh, my gosh. Seriously? No! He’s innocent in all this! You fight for the good guys, right?”

  “Yes.” It took all of Alex’s self-control to keep his tone even.

  “Damon hasn’t done anything wrong!”

  “That’s up for debate. Where are you?”

  “His dad is horrible! When you see what he did to him, you’ll know what I mean.”

  “Just tell us where you are,” Zoey said. “We’ll come and get you.”

  “You have to promise me Damon won’t get in trouble. Otherwise, we’ll have to keep running.”

  “I promise, honey.” Zoey put it on mute. “There’s no other choice.”

  Alex nodded. If Damon ended up in jail, they’d have to deal with trust issues later. Ari’s safety was the only thing that mattered.

  “Do you agree, Dad?” Ariana asked.

  “Yes. Where are you?”

  She told them the name of the hotel, and Alex exchanged a look with Zoey. They’d gone far considering Damon couldn’t drive his car.

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Alex leaped off the bed and grabbed some jeans. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “We won’t.”

  “Keep your ringer on,” Zoey added.

  “I will.”

  They said their goodbyes, then got ready in record time. Zoey told her parents what was going on while Alex grabbed his gun from the safe. His phone buzzed and he checked the text, expecting it to be from Ariana.

  It was from Damon’s father.

  Stalker420: Thanks for helping me find my son.

  Alex: WTH ru talking about?

  Stalker420: U think I didn’t bug your phone? Cute. Let’s c who gets there first.

  Alex stared at the last message in disbelief.

  He swore and found Zoey, telling her the latest news.

  Kenji handed him his phone and told him the password. “Take this. Hopefully, he hasn’t gotten to it. Call us on Valerie’s when you know anything.”

  “Thank you.” Alex found Ari’s number in the contact list and called.

  The call didn’t go through.

  Alex stuffed it into his pocket. “We need to hurry!”

  He and Zoey raced for his car.

  Race

  Alex clenched the steering wheel and glanced at the GPS again. They were twenty-five minutes away from the hotel.

  “Go faster!” Zoey exclaimed. “You know Hiram isn't following the speed limit!”

  “Neither am I.” Alex was speeding, but not enough to get pulled over. Each jurisdiction had their own grace limit, and he followed each one exactly.

  Alex would not let the dangerous Dark Web ringleader get to Ariana.

  Over his dead body.

  Zoey grabbed her dad’s phone. “I’m going to see if they’ve heard anything. Maybe Ariana called one of our phones. We should’ve brought one with us.”

  “She has this number, too.” Alex turned down the volume on the scanner to let her talk.

  “But she doesn’t know we have the phone!” She spoke into the phone to her mom.

  Alex wasn’t going to argue. The only thing that mattered was getting to their daughter. He glanced in the mirrors, taking note of every car he saw. None appeared to be following them. If a vehicle stayed too close for too long, he would veer off route and make the GPS take him another way.

  Anyone could be Damon’s dad, and if Alex saw him, he’d likely shoot to kill given the way he was feeling. The man was trying to destroy his life on purpose.

  And he thought he could get away with it.

  He’d chosen the wrong guy to mess with. How dare he grope his wife and turn his daughter against him?

  The man would pay. And he’d better hope the authorities got to him before Alex.

  Alex sure hoped that would be the case. He’d end up in jail for life if he was given the chance to give that man what he had coming.

  “They haven’t heard from her—not on any of the phones.” Zoey’s voice broke through Alex’s thoughts.

  “That means nothing is wrong. She’s just waiting. Call the hotel, if it’ll make you feel better.”

  Zoey slid her finger around the phone’s screen. “Do you really think Damon is okay?”

  Alex snorted. “With a father like that? The kid turned our sweet Ari against us. Well, me at least. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  “I hope he really is keeping her safe.”

  “If he was worried about that, he’d have dropped her off at home and not taken her to a hotel almost an hour away.”

  “I have to believe she’s safe. I just have to.”

  Alex squeezed the steering wheel again. “She did sound a lot more worried about Damon’s dad than the kid himself. Not that I’m trusting her judgment of character at the moment.”

  “Found the hotel number. I’m calling.” Silence rested between them. “They aren’t answering, either!”

  “Try again in a few minutes.” Alex turned the scanner back up and punched the gas when he was certain no officers were in the area. They were in an area without traffic cameras or radars.

  “Uh, Alex …” Zoey’s tone sent a cold fear through him.

  “What? Do you see Cal?” He looked around.

  “No.” She swallowed. “But I think he just texted you on my dad’s phone.”

  Alex swore. “You never should’ve called your mom from that phone!”

  “Don’t blame me! I didn’t hear you objecting.”

  He took a deep breath. “You’re right. What does the text say?”

  “It says, I’m twelve minutes out. How about you?”

  Alex glanced at his GPS. Thirteen minutes.

  “What should I do?” Zoey asked. “Block him?”

  “No. Ignore him.”

  “He’s closer to Ari than we are!”

  “It’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

  “How do you know that?” she exclaimed.

  “Because he’s up against me, and I’m not letting him lay a hand on my daughter!” Alex put the pedal to the metal and cut down an alleyway.

  Twelve minutes.

  Zoey gasped. “He says ten minutes!”

  “Could be lying. It’d have taken him longer to get to the main road than it took us to get to the ca
r. I don’t see how he’s ahead of us. Unless he didn’t leave from his house.”

  “I can’t take this.” Zoey pressed her face into her palms. “I hate that someone’s life is always on the line. We need to move, Alex. Seriously. As soon as we get Ariana back, I’m going to start looking at houses away from towns. Places near the pass have a lot of land for next to nothing.”

  Alex drew in a deep breath. “Let’s just focus on getting to Ariana first. We can’t just move her away from your parents, remember? They’re her legal parents.”

  “And we’re her biological parents! The courts will side with us, especially since we’ve been living with her!”

  He rested his hand on her knee. “We don’t want animosity with your parents. Let’s talk about this later.”

  “Fine, but you’re not changing my mind.”

  “Okay.” Alex looked at the map on the navigation system then cut down another alleyway.

  “Hiram says eight minutes.”

  Alex glanced at their time.

  Eight minutes.

  “We’ll get there first at this rate.” Alex studied the map, looking for another shortcut that the GPS wouldn’t recommend.

  “I’m moving to the mountains whether you like it or not,” Zoey said.

  “Sure thing.” If Alex had learned one thing from his line of work, it was that people said a lot of things they didn’t mean when under stress. He’d start to worry if Zoey was still talking about it in a few days.

  He cut through a few more alleyways until the hotel finally came into sight. Lights were already flashing from the parking lot.

  Alex smiled. He knew the local police would arrive far before he or his stalker.

  “Why are you smiling?” Zoey demanded.

  “You’ll see.” He pulled into the parking lot, unable to keep the smile off his face. If his stalker thought Alex hadn’t called the force to give them a heads up, he had severely underestimated him.

  He and Zoey raced out of the car and ran over to the ambulance where Ariana sat, speaking with an officer.

  Rules

  A few months later…

  “Look at this treehouse I found!” Hanna grabbed Ariana’s hand and dragged her toward the woods.

  Ari laughed and followed the younger girl along an overgrown path to a tree house about five feet over her head. “Have you gone up?”

  “Yeah. Dad checked it out first. He kinda freaked out when I told him about it. I guess he’s still jumpy from the mummy I found.”

  “You’re not?” Ari asked.

  Hanna shrugged. “It just looked like a creepy doll. It’s not like it was bloody or gross or anything. Nothing like the movies.”

  “He lets you watch movies with dead bodies?”

  Hanna looked away, a guilty smile crossing her face.

  “Okay.” Ari laughed. “So, it’s safe to go up there?”

  “Yeah. Dad fixed some of the boards and said it was fine.”

  They climbed up. It was filled with stuffed animals, blankets, books, and art supplies.

  “Already decorated?” Ari picked up a book with a sword-wielding valkyrie on the cover and read the description on the back cover.

  “Yep!” Hanna chatted excitedly about her and Tinsley setting it up. “It’s like a second bedroom. Dad said we could have a sleepover up here. He said if you or Ava join us, we won’t have to have him or Genevieve stay with us.”

  “Now I see why you brought me here,” Ari teased.

  Hanna’s mouth dropped open dramatically. “It’s not like that! I asked you before Ava, I’ll have you know. It’d be fun if you joined me and Tinsley.”

  “I’d like to. I’ll have to ask my parents, though. They’re watching me like a hawk lately.” Ari sighed just thinking about it. After getting off at Scout’s bus stop and running off with Damon, she had less freedom than her ten-year-old friend.

  Hanna hugged Ariana and spoke quickly about her ideas for the sleepover.

  Footsteps sounded below. Ari peeked down to see Parker.

  He squinted as he looked up. “Is Hanna with you?”

  Hanna pushed next to Ariana. “I’m here. Girls only, Parker!”

  “Like I want to go up.” He rolled his eyes. “Dad says the patties are ready, and you have to come eat.”

  “Tell him we’re coming.” Hanna stuck out her tongue at her brother before climbing down. She skipped ahead of Ari down the path, singing a popular song.

  The aroma of the burgers made her mouth water before the house even came into view. Hanna broke into a run toward the food. Ariana zipped her hoodie and shivered. Though it was a clear day, it was still cold.

  A car sounded on the driveway. She turned toward the noise, and her heart sped up as the cherry-red convertible pulled in next to the other cars. She raced over to Damon. “You made it!”

  He grinned, making his dimple appear. “Yeah. I wanted to surprise you.”

  She glanced around to make sure her parents weren’t looking then threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad your foster parents let you come.”

  “Yeah. They’re cool. I just made it sound like I couldn’t come so I could see your face when I got here. Totally worth it, by the way!”

  She gave him a playful slap, and he winced. “Sorry. Your shoulder still bugging you?”

  He rubbed it and smirked. “Only when people hit it.”

  Dad appeared around the corner and arched a brow. “You two ready to eat?”

  Damon stood taller. “Yes, sir.”

  “Come on.” He waved them over and walked in between them.

  Ariana held back a sigh. At least he was giving Damon a chance. Before Cal got arrested, he’d attacked Damon right in front of her parents. That’s how his shoulder got dislocated, and when he was at the hospital, that was when they found out he was bleeding internally.

  Dad couldn’t help but feel pity for Damon, despite the fact that Ari had been secretly seeing him. Over the last few weeks, Damon had won Dad over—mostly. Dad was still throwing his weight around, making sure Damon knew not to mess with him, but Dad was actually kind of protective of Damon when it came to seeing Cal at the prison. Dad went with him each time.

  But he was definitely more protective of Ariana. They were only allowed to see each other when at least one of her parents was around.

  It was better than nothing, at least.

  Hanna tugged on Ari’s arm. “Did you ask yet?”

  She laughed. “Not yet, but I’ll take care of it.”

  “If you don’t, I will.” She skipped off into the house.

  Ari shook her head.

  Dad glanced at her. “What was that about?”

  “She wants me to sleep over with her and Tinsley.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “In the middle of the woods.”

  Dad arched a brow. “I’ll have to discuss that with Nick.”

  Genevieve waved them over to the food table. Dad joked with Damon about something.

  Ariana relaxed and enjoyed the moment as she piled food on a paper plate. Things were actually going well.

  And that usually meant trouble was just around the corner.

  She shoved that thought aside. Everything was good. She was going to be in Nick and Genevieve’s wedding along with their kids and her parents. Dad actually liked Damon. And they were planning a family vacation to Hawaii.

  Things actually were good.

  Zip

  Alex downed the last of his peppermint mocha and set the empty cup in Nick’s cupholder. “I heard they closed your case.”

  “They did. I was worried because they found more tapes with girls’ names on them, but none of them were killed. The televangelist just liked recording his exorcisms. It appears the first one to go wrong was his last.”

  “The video showed him burning down that building?”

  Nick nodded and took a sharp right turn. “Saw it with my own eyes. That’s why the building isn’t on the property now.”

&
nbsp; “Why didn’t he burn the body and the tape?” Alex asked.

  “That’s a good question. But he did go to a lot of trouble to keep them sealed away in the attic.”

  “I’m glad the girl got justice. There’s something satisfying about closing an old case like that.”

  Nick nodded. “There really is. And Colin is giving her a proper memorial service and burial in their hometown. She’s finally going to rest.”

  “Her boyfriend? Not her brother?” Alex asked.

  “Right. Colin is the one most concerned about Daisy getting justice and a proper resting place. Will’s under investigation for the accusations against his sister.”

  Alex shuddered. “That poor girl lived a horrible life. All she wanted was to get away, and look what happened.”

  “I know. I’m just glad she has someone who cares enough to give her the honor she deserves. He’s paying out of pocket, and I’m going to donate some of the funds from the auction toward it. I’m actually glad to be giving him some. I felt kind of bad taking everything, you know? All that stuff was supposed to be his.”

  “I get it. Was the paternity of Daisy’s baby ever established?” Alex asked.

  “It was Colin’s.” Nick pulled into the parking lot at the penitentiary and showed the guard his badge.

  She tapped on a keyboard then opened the gate.

  Nick turned to Alex after parking. “Enough questions about that case. Are you ready to face the man who tried to destroy your life?”

  “Isn’t my first time seeing him. I brought Damon to visit his dad a few times until he felt things were resolved.”

  “How’s that going? Your daughter dating the son of your enemy?”

  “Damon wasn’t involved in any of it, beyond doing a few jobs for Cal. He had no idea his dad was actually behind something so sinister. The kid has apologized profusely for agreeing to say bad things about me to Ari when he was tutoring her. His regret is genuine.”

  “I’m not sure I’d be able to allow him to see my daughter.”

  “Believe me, I had my reservations,” Alex said. “Damon and I have had several talks about him seeing Ariana. He’s surprisingly down-to-earth and respectful for being Cal’s son.”

  “And how did it go, facing off with the father?”