by Barb Shuler
Oh, God. I rolled over as best as I could, biting back a scream at the pain. Fuck the pain. I need to find my kid. But my body had other thoughts. I looked over at Stella and she too was fighting to get up. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I just wanted to curl up, puke or die. Not sure what my body had in mind for me.
* * *
Jackson
* * *
When the boys and I stepped into Gabe’s office I never expected him to have three men dressed in all black, wearing tac vests and armed to the teeth, with him. They were all standing behind him like he was being guarded. He looked ten shades of pissed when he fell back into his chair.
“What I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room. These men are part of a DEA task force in charge of observing, intercepting and taking down a sex trafficking ring in the lower states.” The utter look of disgust on his face made my stomach fall. Drew must have put together what I did cause he stood up. His body was tight and I had to fight back the urge to get up and pace too.
“I’m sorry, boys, but, this is all part of Stephen’s shit. Problem is… the undercover DEA agent hasn’t checked in for a few weeks. That’s not abnormal, but they are afraid things have escalated and the timeline was pushed up. We are going to have company in this office and I expect you all to comply with anything they need. This will be a “training” group as far as anyone in town is concerned. We have to keep this top secret. No slips and no telling the better halves. I fucking mean that,” he said pointing at Drew.
“Oh, hell no, old man, I wouldn’t tell her this. You think I want to fucking remind her of what that sick bastard let happen to her?” Drew snarled. I stood up, grabbing him by the shoulder.
“Calm down, she’s safe, bubba,” I told him. When he nodded I sighed.
“Gabe, what are we gonna do about Derek? You can’t hide shit from him. What about Anna? They work here, you can’t keep shit like that from them easily,” I said, trying to keep my mind off of the shit my so called father was still stirring up from the grave.
“Someone call me?” Derek popped his head in through the door leading to the big conference room in the back of Gabe’s office. It was one we would use for official business, secret shit no one else would be privy too.
“Get in here. You know the rules,” Gabe said, pointing a finger at him. He raised his right hand, put the other over his heart.
“I swear, Gramps, not a word.” The kid had hit a growth spurt over the last couple of years. I guess that happens when you have people around to actually provide for you.. But anyway, it looked funny with this kid, who is over six foot now, mock saluting the old man. I chuckled as did everyone else.
We all sat down again and Gabe filled us in on what he and the task force had discussed. Seems Stephen’s reach was a lot further than we thought. We eventually moved to the back conference room and looked at a few maps that had been spread out on the table. It wasn’t until someone said the Jacobs’ name that I put together the gravity of this all. Kristol was mixed up in this shit too.
“Wait, hold the fucking phone. This..” I said pointing to the area of the map that was circled on the big screen. “This is the Jacobs’ property? All of it?”
“Yeah, but we need to get closer eyes on it. They have a camo net, or something blocking view of part of the place. The satellites and the few fly overs we have been able to maneuver have had blind spots,” the bigger of the men said. I think Gabe said his name was Kane.
“So, we need a closer look? I can do that. It’s easy,” Derek piped up. I went to say something, but both Gabe and Drew glared at him and said, “no” at the same time. “Let me explain before you both go all grizzly and crap. Dang, man. I’d need help, but Carter and I have our drones. They are compact, and both have cameras that can be turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees. They have a three mile radius, height wise, so we would need to be close to the property, but nowhere in sight. I have the cameras attached to a program on my laptop. It’s secure. Hatcher helped me set up the firewalls and it has a triple firewall, that is… well, anyone makes it that far their equipment will fry itself so.. Again, it’s safe, you can all stop glaring at me now,” he said, scowling.
“Sure I can’t convince you to come work for me kid?” Kane asked.
“Not a chance, man. I like what I do here. Plus, these guys kinda need me. I’m the Robin to their Batman,” Derek said with a straight face. I was proud of him but I’m sorry, I laughed. Hard.
“Yeah, stop trying to steal my kid, man,” Drew said, chuckling.
“All right, for now,” Kane said, nodding. “I would like to talk to Miss Jacobs at some time.”
“Cannon, her last name is Cannon. She is not a Jacobs,” I said.
“No matter what her name is, I need to speak to her. She’s the best chance we have of getting the inside info even our guy can’t get,” Kane said as he came to a stop before the big map again.
“I’ll talk to her. It’s her choice, she’s dealing with a lot right now,” I said, looking down at my watch. Shit. It had been over an hour since they left. “Can we move this along, I need to go check-”
I was cut off by a commotion out in the main room. I heard names being yelled and turned to Gabe’s office door. I slammed it open and was in the main room before Anna could call me again.
“What?” I said. The panic on her face made my heart lurch.
“Trace…” she panted, her hand to her chest. “He called, Stella and Kris.. they’re in trouble…” I was grabbing my gun and slamming the clip back in before she finished.
“Where?”
“Doc’s. They’re heading there,” she said.
“Stay here. Derek, stay with her. Get ready to call out for an ambo if it’s needed,” I said as I flung the front door open and took off running. I knew the others would get in a car, but I wasn’t waiting. I could run faster. I let nothing get in my way as I ran the few blocks to Doc’s house. As I rounded the last corner I heard bikes. Looking to the left I saw a line of bikers coming to a stop. Holy hell. Whoever hurt the girls was gonna die unless we got shit under control fast. I didn’t slow down as I got to the side gate, I just jumped it and landed on my feet. I ran to the girls who were both on the ground.
“Shit. Stella, Kris, come on, can you hear me? I moved closer to Kristol while Trace and Trevor knelt down by Stella. “Kris, come on baby, talk to me.”
“Doc…” Stella said with a groan. “Fuckers knocked him out.”
“Move, what’s going on here… holy shit… Papa. Where is Papa?” I looked up to see Shelby looking panicked.
“Here, I’m here. I”m okay, check on the girls,” He said from the doorway where he was holding a small baby. I made a face and looked back down at Kristol.
“Kristol, answer me right now!” I said as I made sure she had a pulse. I sighed and laid my forehead to hers when she blinked her eyes open. The ammonia stick Shelby ran under their noses had both girls up quickly. Stella, of course, came back faster than Kristol had.
“Taylor… f-find him…” Krisol stuttered out.
“They need to get to the hospital,” Shelby said. Drew radioed Derek and Anna to get the ambulance here. I looked down at Kristol. I made sure she was focused on me before I spoke again.
“Hey, who’s Taylor, baby? You’re not making much sense,” I said, looking over at Shelby. “She have a concussion?”
“No. I think it’s a pain overload. Her muscles are really tight. She’s bleeding from inside her cast too… shit.”
“Taylor, find Taylor,” she pleaded with me. Who the fuck was Taylor?
“Jacks… that’s her son.” I looked over at Stella and blinked.
“Her son?” What the fuck?
“Yeah, she told him to run when Gerald went after him with a knife. He’s only four and fucking scared. Go find him,” Stella said.
She was sitting up now, an ice pack on her cheek. Shelby moved around Kristol and I was in shock.
She had a son?
; 16
Search and Rescue
Jackson
Her son. She really had a kid. He was four. I’m not a math genius, but that didn’t add up. Son of a bitch. I jumped up as soon as Kristol was fully awake, fear written all over her face. “Baby, what’s he wearing?”
“Shorts.. Tank top…”
“Taylor, right?” I looked down at Kristol and gave her a tight smile when she nodded. “We’ll find him, I promise.” I ran over to where Dani Lynn, Drew, Gabe and the men in black - yes, seriously, that is what I’m calling them now - were standing talking to Doc. Dani Lynn had a baby in her arms and something in me tightened when she gave me a worried look.
“We have a missing kid. He’s four. Seems that fucking bastard threatened him so Kris told him to run. We need all hands on deck. The property behind here is full of shit that could get him hurt.”
“On it. Doc, can you take her?”
“Sure can, honey. You go find that boy,” he said, taking the baby from Dani Lynn. Her brow was furrowed but it only took her a second to jump into action.
“Okay, split up, I want you all one set of arms apart. We start at the edge and walk until we find him. Daddy, you call Derek and get him, Carter and Lana over here. They can get into tighter places better than you guys. No offense, fellas,” she said, looking at the men in black. “Drew, you stay with Daddy, get this sorted out,” she said waving her arm in the air. “Jacks, you’re with me,” and with that she was making her way down the stairs. I moved to follow as did Drew but the men in black just stood there, their brows raised.
“Sorry, darlin’, I don’t take orders from you. I’m not here to do search and rescue,” the bigger of the three said. Dani Lynn didn’t miss a beat she moved back up the stairs and poked him in the chest. I saw Gabe move closer to her, ready to grab her if need be. She had one helluva temper on her after all.
“You listen to me. I don’t give two shits what you’re here for. You will do it, or I will do everything in my power to get you fired. Do not test me. I’ve had enough of egotistical men to last a lifetime,” she snapped.
“I believe you heard my niece the first time. There is a kid out there, get your fucking asses to moving,” I turned to see Kane standing behind me a scowl on his face.
The men all nodded and moved down the stairs. Dani Lynn’s grin grew when she saw him. She ran down and threw her arms around him.
“I didn’t know you were here! God, it’s been too long, old man,” she punched his arm. “Your men are douche canoes, just saying. Alright, let’s move it, we have a kid to find.”
“The kids will be here in five minutes,” Gabe called out and I jogged with Dani Lynn to the tree edge.
“All right boys, typical search pattern. If you find him holler, the trees should echo enough to hear you if not, hit the cell phones,” she said.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” one of the men asked and I went to move closer to him when Dani Lynn put a hand to my chest. She glared at him.
“I’m a team leader for the local Search and Rescue. Not that I have to explain myself to the likes of you. Shut up and do your fucking job. I’ll let Uncle Kane deal with you later,” she snapped and turned to me. “What’s the kid's name? Did she say Taylor?”
“Yeah, Taylor. He’s four. Tank top and shorts is all the clothing he has on,” I said grimacing.
The poor kid would be hurt in this mess if we didn’t find him soon.
“If you find him, don’t approach him… those monsters back there tried to hurt him. You’ll scare him and make him run,” I said before walking into the woods. I called out to him. God, please let us find this little one. Let him be safe.
Twenty minutes later we’d made it deeper into the wooded area where the vegetation was like a canvas over everything. Calling out Taylor’s name again I stopped walking, listening. If he was hiding, or God forbid stuck somewhere in the bushes I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss him. I thought I heard crying. Was my mind playing with me? I heard a twig snap behind me and turned to see a wide eyed Lana standing there, Thor at her heels.
“Sorry, I saw you standing here and came to help. Thor might be a big help too,” she said nodding as she moved closer. Then I heard it again, apparently so did she. Her whispered words came out slowly, “Is… that… crying?”
“Yeah, but I can’t tell from where,” I looked around and took a few more steps. Thor’s head cocked to the side and he took off running. Crap. Lana and I ran after him, careful to not trip over the falling branches. Thor jumped around, his barking more frantic than I had heard it before. Lana beat me to where he was and she knelt down, peeking into a hole between two downed trees.
“Hi there. I’m Lana, are you Taylor?” I saw her smile and the crying seemed to ebb a bit.
“I’s...wans...my mommy…”
“I know, buddy. Come on, I will take you to Kristol. She’s very worried about you,” Lana said, holding her arms out.
“I’s tucks,” he said, his tears starting back up. Lana backed up a little and looked around.
“Um, we need help. I need a flashlight too. No way y’all are gonna fit in there,” her voice was calm but I could see the panic in her eyes. I raised a brow as she let out a breath. “He’s got a few cuts.. I can see them, but barely.”
“Dani Lynn, we got him, but we need help, and a flashlight. No, Lana is here, she’s gonna have to get him.. Yes. I know that. Just, get me a flashlight and some more muscles. Ha. No. Fifty paces from where we split up. Yeah, he seems okay. Yeah. Okay, thanks. Bye,” I slid my phone back into my pocket and turned back to Lana. “Two minutes, and we will have help.”
“Okay,” she wasted no time getting back on the ground and with Thor in her face they half crawled into the space so she could talk to Taylor. If she could keep him calm that meant we could get him out faster. I let out a relieved breath when the men in black, Dani Lynn and the boys came into sight.
“Lana, how’s he doing?” Dani Lynn asked and I heard a ‘Oomph’ before Lana popped back out of the whole. Her face had dirt on it and I could see her hand had blood on it.
“Whose blood is that?” I asked.
“Um… I don’t know. Mine and his. I was trying to untangle him. Hit my knuckles on something. Look, it’s frigging dark in there,” she said.
“What do we need to do?”
“Better question is, how in the hell did he get in there?” Derek asked as he knelt down to check Lana’s hand.
He ran through that,” Lana said pointing up. “He didn’t know there was a drop off, who would. He fell through,” she frowned. “The overgrowth, it’s got berry vines and something else in it. Y’all need to try and pull that away, once I’m back in there. His shirt’s tangled in something. Flashlight? Knife?”
Derek pulled his pocket knife out and she kissed his cheek. One of the men in black handed her a flashlight. “Thank you. Thor, come on, move, I need in there, fat butt,” she pulled the pup out of the way and once Derek had him she started to wiggle herself into the hole.
“I wans mommy!” Taylor shrieked from in the mess of trees and I sighed.
“Come on, let’s get him out of there,” I said to the guys. “Dani Lynn, hold Thor and step back, okay?” she scowled but did as I asked. I moved around and started pulling the twigs and things from the massive tangle of shit. It was slow going. Dear Lord, how long had this shit been growing?
“WAIT!” we all stopped and I looked down through the small openings we now had.
“Lana, what is it?” Derek said, he was ready to dive in there with her. I put a hand on his chest.
“Um, hold on…” I heard a grunt and Lana shriek.
“What’s going on in there?”
“Geds offs me!” Taylor cried as the brush above them shook slightly.
“Lana?” “Butterfly?” Derek and Carter said at the same time.
“SPIDERS!”
I laughed. In this situation she was worried about spiders. I shook my head unti
l I heard Taylor and Lana shriek again. I pulled at the vines again, faster this time.
“I got him loose, but, I’m hung on something!” Lana screamed as the bushes rustled again.
“Lana, hold on, I can see you,” I hopped up on a fallen tree and laid over it, leaning my frame into the hole we had created. I felt hands on my ankles and stretched down to grab Taylor around the waist. He let out a cry of pain and I cursed under my breath.
“I’m sorry, buddy. Come on, can you climb up on my back for me?”
He tried his best and with my help I got him up and out of the hole. Derek had moved down to help Lana get out and when I made it back up the men in black were pulling me back. One was helping Taylor down onto solid ground. Lana spun and did this shrieking dance, slapping at herself. Derek was trying to help her get the spiders off, I guessed. I was gonna laugh again until I saw Taylor had spiders on his shirt. I grimaced and moved to take it off of him.
“Hold on, buddy, let’s get these nasty things off of you,” I said, pulling his shirt off. The moment I did an anger unlike any other ran through me. I heard a gasp and saw Lana and Dani Lynn both with wide eyes.
“Oh my God.”
“Holy shit….”
“What the actual fuck, man?” I shot Derek a look and shook my head. I turned Taylor to me and brushed the dirt from his face.
“Ready to go see your mommy?”
“Yes. I sees her,” he nodded and I saw him looking around.
When Lana came over with Derek’s t-shirt on I chuckled. She held out a hand to him, but he raised his arms. Lana scooped him up, locking her arms under his butt to hold onto him since someone marked up his back. Derek moved to walk with her, and of course Carter and Thor followed.
I moved to Dani Lynn who looked as murderous as I felt. We silently walked out of the woods, the men in black behind us. The yard was empty but I could hear voices and what sounded like glass hitting a bucket.
When we advanced onto the porch Lana looked at us and I noticed Taylor was asleep across her chest. Poor kid. I moved inside with them and looked around.
