Escape

by Jay Crownover

  Lane reached around the redheaded teenager and put his hand on the knob. The cheap door swung open with barely a touch.

  Bauer fell back a step, and I instinctively reached out to catch him. I heard Lane swear and held the teenager up as he started to collapse into my arms. I peeked around Lane’s broad shoulders and couldn’t stop my whispered “Oh, fuck” that slipped out.

  The apartment was dingy and small. It was decorated like any straight, eighteen-year-old male would decorate with lots of posters of bands, beer, and breasts. The furniture was obviously second hand and mismatched in a way that made my head hurt. However, none of that held a candle to the fact that the place had been trashed. Absolutely demolished. It looked like everything Mikey owned had been shredded and dumped in a pile in the living room. It was a mess.

  There was no sign of Mikey anywhere.

  We were too late, and Bauer was going to break down.

  I held onto him even tighter, determined to keep it and him together as Lane and I exchanged knowing looks.

  We were standing right on the fault line as things shifted from bad to worse and the quake that rumbled under our feet was ominous and worrying.

  Chapter 13

  Lane

  Freeze or Melt

  The stunning redheaded policewoman who arrived to check out the apartment and to take the missing person report was watching me with sympathetic eyes that were almost as dark as Brynn’s. She told me there wasn’t much the police could do about the teenager being gone considering Mikey was eighteen, and it wasn’t clear that he had been taken against his will. Even with all the destruction and mess in the apartment, his TV, MacBook, and video game console were all in pieces but present. Nothing was indicating that the disaster wasn’t caused by a rowdy party or careless teenagers. And since I couldn’t go into all the details of why I suspected someone had snatched the kid against his will, all I could do was watch as she was blown off by the neighbors and given the stink-eye by the other people she questioned at the apartment complex. Clearly, this was the kind of place where a police presence was unwelcome, no matter how attractive that presence may be.

  She handed me a card that had Officer Cross printed on the front. She had jotted down a couple of numbers telling me how to reach her if any more information became available. I got the distinct impression that she had picked up that there was so much more at play here than I was admitting to, but I promised Bauer I wouldn’t make him talk to the cops. It was the only way he’d agreed to go with Brynn to a hotel while I stayed behind and played upstanding citizen. The kid was frantic, ready to run off into the night, checking every alleyway and dumpster for his brother’s body. He was concerned Mikey was dead, even though there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment. Nothing Brynn or I said could convince him otherwise and trying to get him to calm down had been nearly impossible.

  It was only the appearance of Ten and Webb Bryant that eventually broke through Bauer’s near hysteria. Ten had a no-nonsense demeanor and a way of making it seem like she had everything under complete control. As soon as he realized she wasn’t there to arrest him or force him to go to the authorities, he relaxed. When she looked the distraught teenager in the eyes and promised him that she would find his older brother, it was almost as if Bauer was compelled to believe her. Or maybe it was nothing more than having a whole group of people on his side for once that finally had the kid believing in miracles. The kid had never had a shield to hide behind, and the world had fired shot after shot at him while he was unarmed. Now there was a virtual wall surrounding him, and we weren’t going to let anything get through.

  I wasn’t surprised to see Webb with Ten. The former crook had taken to following the Ranger around like a lost puppy. He was Ten’s opposite in pretty much every way, laid back and goofy where she was stern and serious. She barely tolerated the reformed criminal when we were back home, but here in a busy metropolitan area, she was differing to Webb’s knowledge of where the bad guys liked to hide because he used to be one. Webb mentioned that he tagged along because his brother was catching a flight in tomorrow as well. Wyatt Bryant apparently had a personal connection in Denver’s FBI field office and thought he would get better results having a conversation face to face with this guy about what was going on with Bauer and the men who wanted him.

  The cavalry had arrived full force and wasted no time in getting to work, which finally convinced Bauer to go with Brynn while I handled the mess at the apartment.

  The very pretty cop gave my arm a little pat, and I caught sight of the simple wedding band on her finger. I wondered what kind of guy she was hitched to. It would take someone secure in themselves and in their woman to trust her out on the streets looking like she did and doing what she did for a living. I would spend every second Brynn was out of my sight with my heart in my throat if she wore a badge and carried a gun like this redhead did.

  “Seriously, if you can think of anything else, please give me a call. We take missing persons very seriously, especially when the circumstances around their disappearance are highly questionable.” She cocked her head to the side, taking in the mess in the apartment. “And if you find out that he did simply take off with his friends for a few days and resurfaces, please let me know.”

  I got the feeling that she was a very nice woman who probably saw a lot of really bad things in her line of work and that she really did want to help. I wished I could get Bauer to talk to her, but the kid was adamant that he wasn’t talking to the police. He seemed as frightened of law enforcement as he was of the men behind his abduction.

  “I will. I hope that’s all it is.” I shook her hand and followed her out the door, casting one last look at the destruction left behind. It didn’t make any sense. If they had Bauer’s brother why not use him for leverage to get Bauer to do what they wanted? They didn’t have anything to bargain with if Mikey was dead. There was nothing to hold over Bauer’s head with his brother out of the picture.

  “You said he was a snowboarder. I didn’t see a board or any other gear in any of the wreckage and Keystone opened their slopes early last weekend. He’s eighteen. When you were that age did you stop and think about letting anyone know where you were going or did you just take off chasing a good time?” She said it with a smile but her sharp gaze missed nothing. It was clear she knew my angle was more than a family friend concerned about Mikey’s whereabouts.

  “When I was eighteen, my dad was dying, and me and my brothers were doing everything we could to keep our family’s ranch afloat.” I lifted an eyebrow at her. I softened my words with a tilted grin. “Plus, I never had to chase a good time, they always seemed to find me.”

  She returned the grin. “Oh, I have no trouble believing that. Keep me updated on the kid. If you haven’t heard from him in a day or so, give me a call and we’ll ramp up our efforts and put an alert out.” The radio pinned to her shoulder squawked to life, and her friendly demeanor shifted to all business in the blink of an eye. She rattled off a bunch of words that made no sense and gave me one last sympathetic smile. “Protecting the people we care about is hard. Sometimes it puts us in a tough spot. You look like the kind of guy who can take care of his own, but keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be you against the world. There are people who genuinely want to help.”

  I flashed her a genuine grin and lifted the brim of my hat up. “If you weren’t married and if I didn’t have my own redhead to go home to, I think I would have a mighty big crush on you, Officer Cross.” She was something special. I could tell even in the short time we spent together.

  “You would be surprised how often the wedding ring and the fact the other person has a woman at home get ignored when people talk to me on the job, Mr. Warner. I appreciate your restraint. Have a good evening.” She slipped into her police cruiser and took off with the sirens blaring.

  The guy who was dealing on the front steps when we first pulled up to the apartment came out of the shadows he’d been lurking in and gave me a furio
us look. He lifted the front of his baggy sweatshirt up to show me that he had a gun tucked into the waistband of his low riding jeans. His sneer was ugly, and his tone was serious as he told me, “We don’t like narcs around here. I suggest you go back wherever you came from before you get hurt.”

  I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. I wasn’t the Warner who wasted time going head to head with thugs like this guy. That would be Sutton. The middle Warner brother was the one who couldn’t walk away from a fight, I had more important things to worry about than overstepping on someone else’s turf.

  “I got no beef, buddy, just checking on a kid who lives here as I haven’t heard from him in a few days is all.” And with that, I turned and got out of that crime-infested neighborhood as quickly as I could.

  I sent a text to Brynn, asking where Ten had dropped her and Bauer off. She shot back directions to a hotel located downtown. It was nice, not as nice as the one in Vegas, but I could sleep under the covers without worrying about bed bugs and guests renting rooms by the hour. She also told me she was currently in the room she got for me, Bauer, and Webb to share. She didn’t get into much detail but indicated that Bauer was not handling the newest development well and she was hesitant to leave him alone. I asked her if she thought me showing up would hurt or help and it took a long time for her to respond. When she did, it didn’t take a genius to figure out Bauer was having a moment and didn’t want to seem weak or needy in front of prying eyes. I offered to hang in the bar until she gave the all clear even though I was exhausted, eyes gritty and grainy from the long drive.

  It was minutes before the last call when I sat down at the bar, so I ordered two beers and struggled to keep my eyes open. The guy sitting next to me started asking me about life insurance, and the bartender shot me a sympathetic look as he worked on shutting down the bar. I nodded politely in all the right places and mumbled vague responses as the guy kept talking. I was zoned out, thinking about all the things about Mikey’s disappearance when a hand landed on my shoulder.

  I turned my head just as Brynn was lowering her head to kiss my cheek. Our lips met in a surprise kiss that chased some of my sleepiness away. “Hey. How’s the kid doing?”

  I swiveled the bar stool around so I could pull her between my legs. Her back pressed against the bar as I handed her the extra beer. She took it gratefully and chugged a mouthful of it back before answering my question. “He finally fell asleep, but he’s not all right. He’s convinced his brother is dead and he’s inconsolable. He’s not listening to anything I have to say.”

  I took a drink of my beer and ran my hand up and down her thigh. “I’m not so sure anything happened to Mikey. The cop that showed up pointed out that nothing was taken. Everything was smashed to pieces, but nothing was missing, and there was no blood, no signs of a struggle. What if they showed up looking for Bauer’s brother and found an empty apartment, but wanted to make it seem like they took the kid? They could have easily gotten into Mikey’s messages on the computer if they synced to his iCloud account and figured out Bauer was coming here. None of it makes any sense.”

  She reached out a finger and dragged the tip of it over the bridge of my nose and down to my lips. She traced the top one with a gentle touch. “Ten said the same thing. She told Bauer that the men who took him had Mikey and would use him to lure Bauer out of hiding, but he didn’t want to hear it. He’s certain they would just as soon kill Mikey on the off-chance Bauer told him who the guy behind all of this is.”

  “He give you a name yet? That would go a long way toward getting the right people involved in stopping this from the bottom to the top.” I couldn’t keep the hope out of my voice even though I knew it was a long shot. The kid was determined to hold onto all his secrets. She finished her beer and reached up to wrap her arms around my neck.

  Her breath was warm on the side of my neck as she traced my jaw with the tip of her nose. “No, but I have the feeling whoever it is, it’s someone we would recognize. He keeps saying no one would believe him. We have to give him time. He’s in fight or flight mode. Why don’t you come take a shower and get a couple hours of sleep in my room? I’m worried that you’ll wake Bauer up if you go into yours right now. He needs to rest. Maybe it will help him think a little more clearly in the morning.”

  Ten and Webb were still combing the streets and prowling through back alleyways looking for anyone that might have the whereabouts on the missing brother, so Bauer currently had a room to himself. Ten mentioned she didn’t think they would be back until the sun came up.

  “You think leaving him alone is a good idea?” The kid was twice as skittish as he had been when we left Vegas.

  She brushed her lips across mine and pushed her fingers through the short hair at the back of my head. “I think we need to give him the benefit of the doubt. I want him to trust me, and I want to believe I can trust him.”

  I sighed into her kiss and couldn’t deny that the idea of me and her alone in the same hotel room held a lot of appeal. “You’re going to be heartbroken if he’s gone in the morning.” And that was the last thing I wanted when I’d started all the work it took to fix it.

  She gave a tiny shrug and snuggled into my chest, the top of her head fitting perfectly underneath my chin. “I’m already heartbroken. If he’s gone, then we go after him. Simple as that.” I felt her smile against the base of my throat, and her fingers got more possessive in my hair when she told me, “Webb told me to tell you that it was about time you got your head out of your ass and realized what was waiting for you at home. Ten also mentioned that she was happy we were done dancing around one another. She said she was getting tired of watching us two-step around each other.”

  I hummed in agreement and shoved my hands into the back pockets of her tight jeans. I gave a little tug and pulled her until all her softness was pressed right up against my hardness. I was going to have a permanent indent on the underside of my dick from my zipper by the time we got back to Wyoming.

  So far it had just been Brynn and me trying to figure out the changes in our relationship. We were alone navigating these unknown waters, but the truth was, how we were together affected a lot of other people. Sure, our family and friends would want us both to be happy, and they all would say us being together had been a long time coming. But she had been married to my father, and we had the same last name. That made things awkward. People were going to talk, and I knew how much she hated that the first time she got tangled up with a Warner.

  “This isn’t going to be easy, you and me. People are going to have opinions and ideas, and when they offer them up without either of us asking, it’s going to piss me off. I don’t want you hurt anymore, Brynn.” And I would do whatever I had to make sure she never felt that kind of hurt again. I was no stranger to fighting for what I believed in, but for her, I would burn the world down and take everyone who meant her any kind of harm with me. Not to mention she was going to run into Jack eventually. I was sure Sheridan, Wyoming, was already dissecting every which way Brynn had screwed up that seemingly perfect relationship, and when she showed back up hand in hand with me, there was going to be no end to the hell she was going to face.

  “Oh, Lane.” She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled back so she could look me in the eye. I always thought her eyes were so dark and mysterious, so hard to read, but there in the dim light of this hotel bar, I could see everything. I could see every step of the arduous journey she had traveled, mostly on her own, to get to this point. “Those people can't hurt me. Not anymore. They don’t have that power. I refuse to let them matter. The only person who can hurt me when it comes to you and me…is you.”

  That was a heavy responsibility, one that I took as seriously as keeping my father’s dream alive. I hated that I didn’t realize that I could wound her as easily as she wounded me before I almost lost her.

  I clutched the firm flesh I was caressing in my hands and gave her a crooked grin and a heavy-lidded leer. “Oh…I’m gonna hurt
you sometimes, Brynn. But trust me, you’re gonna like it and ask me to do it again and again…and again.”

  Her eyes widened and the insurance salesman I’d forgotten about up until that point choked on the last of his drink that he was nursing while he obviously eavesdropped. I barked out a laugh and slid off the barstool, clasping her hand in mine and leading her through the bar to the elevators.

  Once I had her inside the elevator, I backed her against the mirrored wall, held her flawless face between my hands and attacked her mouth like it had been years rather than minutes since I’d had a taste of her. She opened her lips obediently and wrapped her arms around my waist. She parted her legs in invitation, and I inserted my knee. Rubbing it along the inside of her thighs until it was pressing against the seam of her jeans right where she was already warm, and I would bet, wet. She was so beautifully responsive. She came alive with the touch of my hands and mouth. I always thought she looked like fire and now that I knew how she could burn and how sweet her heat was, I couldn’t wait to play in the flames.

  She moaned into my mouth, and the blunt edge of her teeth bit into the curve of my lower lip. She chased the tiny sting with her tongue and arched her back so that her torso was rubbing impatiently against mine. Even through the layers of clothing separating us I could feel how hard her nipples were and the rapid pounding of her heart. I used my thumbs to gently caress the line of her jaw and twisted my head so I could lick my way around the delicate shell of her ear. She made a whimpering noise that I made a note of. That was good information to have for later. I wanted to memorize all her hot buttons and most sensitive places, so I could use them and torture her with them later. I wasn’t kidding about hurting her sometimes. She made me lose my mind a little and keeping all that lust and desire in check took every ounce of self-control I had. I could only hope that I got to her the same way and there would come a time that she got as lost as I was and hurt me right back.