“So, she fell for a guy just like your dad.”
“Yeah. Despite everything I did for her.”
I sat up and turned his head to face me. “Maybe we don’t start with that when you find her.”
“Maybe not.” He grimaced. “I had her back for two months. Right after I met you, Cam found her. I got her home, but now she’s gone again. I screwed up, Sadie. Big time.”
I smiled gently, running my thumb over his beard. “Then we’ll fix it when we find her, okay?”
“Yeah.”
I settled back against his chest. “Where are your parents now?”
“Mom’s living her life at the bottom of some bottle. I don’t see her if I can avoid it. Dad’s doing twenty to life in Portland.”
“Wow, that close?”
“Yeah. It’s a pain in the ass, ’cause he still has reach.”
“Reach?”
“His club’s out of Gresham, so they’re close enough to drive by the bar, drop in, check things out.”
I craned my head to meet his eyes. “And do they?”
“Yep. Not often. Every couple months. You know, enough to piss me off. We just keep our heads down and so long as they don’t start shit, they move on without incident. He doesn’t know where I live, so Scottie and I are safe here, but my business holdings aren’t private.”
“Does your dad know about Scottie being missing?”
“No clue. It’s possible, I guess. Club’s got people on the payroll everywhere, but Cameron’s on my payroll and his contacts aren’t dirty, so I trust Dad wouldn’t know through them.”
“Wow, Ryder, I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of this.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“What can I do?”
“You’re doin’ it. You give me peace... well, until I have to sleep alone.”
I smiled up at him. “Sorry, honey.”
He leaned forward and kissed me quickly. “It’s okay, Sadie. Just like having you close.”
“Ditto.”
Without letting me go, he set his beer aside and slid his phone from his pocket. “Ryder. Hey, Cam. Yeah? Shit, seriously? Ah, yeah, I’ll call Reese. Tonight? Yep. Okay. Meet you there.” He hung up and disengaged from me. “Cam found Scottie.”
My eyes widened. “Really?”
Ryder nodded as he stood. “We’re on the red-eye to Savannah, so I have some shit to do before I have to go.”
“Right. Okay.” I rose to my feet. “Can I do anything?”
“No.” He walked toward the kitchen and I followed. “I’ll have Reese swing by and check on you, but I need you home and safe for the moment.”
My heart raced. “You don’t think I’m safe?”
“That’s not what I meant, sorry.” Ryder faced me and pulled me close. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just mean that if you’re at your place, I know where you are.”
“Oh, okay.” I smiled. “I hadn’t planned on going anywhere except the grocery store tomorrow, so you’re good.”
“Reese’ll drive you.”
“Honey, the store’s barely a block away. I can walk.”
“Not up for discussion, Sadie.” He released me and headed to his desk area in the kitchen. “He’ll be at your place whenever you want him to be.”
I groaned. “I should have kept my mouth shut.”
“I hate that you don’t drive, babe,” he said distractedly as he rummaged through papers on his desk.
“Well, that’s not changing anytime soon, so you might as well get over it.”
“Don’t need to get over it. Reese’ll drive you.”
“This kind of protectiveness, I’m not a fan of, FYI,” I retorted, leaning against the island.
“Well, that’s not changing anytime soon, so you might as well get over it,” he parroted.
“How does Reese feel about being forced to chauffer your girlfriend around?” I challenged as I followed him toward the back of the house.
“It’s what he gets paid for, so I’d imagine he doesn’t feel much one way or the other.” He sighed. “Humor me, Sadie. At least until some of this shit is over, yeah?”
We walked into a large master bedroom and I couldn’t stop the tiny breath of surprise as I caught sight of the view. Where the great room overlooked the city, the bedroom seemed shrouded in trees. I couldn’t see another house anywhere near his.
Ryder grabbed a bag from the closet and started to throw clothes into it.
“How is your house so clean?” I asked, heading to the window.
“It’s not typically. Cleaners come on Fridays and I haven’t been home much.”
The window overlooked a small backyard also surrounded by trees. I felt a bit like I was standing in a treehouse. “Your house is incredible.”
Ryder emerged from the bathroom, a leather bag in his hand that he quickly shoved into his overnight luggage. “Thanks.” He pulled out his phone again and put it to his ear. “Hey man, Cam found Scottie. Yeah. Yeah. You good with watching the bar for a couple days? Cool, thanks, man. I’m dropping Sadie home now, then heading to PDX. You got time to take her on some errands tomorrow? Yeah, I’ll give it to her. Thanks. Yep. Okay. ’Bye.” He slid his phone into his pocket and glanced at me. “Reese’ll be at your place at eleven tomorrow.”
“What if that doesn’t work for me?”
“Babe, don’t be difficult right now, yeah? If it doesn’t work, you can call him, but it’s happening and he knows it, so don’t dick around with his schedule just because you’re pissed at me.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m pissed at you,” I grumbled.
“Fine, irritated. Whatever.” He swung his bag over his shoulder. “Reese has to pull bar duty as well as watch out for you.”
“I’m perfectly capable of watching out for myself, Ryder. This is my point.”
“Humor me.”
He left the room and again I followed him back out to the kitchen. Once he grabbed his wallet and keys off the island, he handed me my purse and led me to the garage. After entering in a code, he locked the door between the house and car and threw his bag in the trunk.
“Here’s a key to the house,” he said, handing me a key ring with two keys on it. “The smaller one’s for the mail, but I doubt you’ll need it. The alarm code is 4122.”
“4122, got it.” I grabbed his arm as he unlocked the BMW doors. “I’ll humor you, honey, okay? We can have a rip-roaring fight about it after you bring Scottie home.”
“Appreciate that,” he said, and finally cracked a smile... albeit, a small one. “I promise we’ll talk more when I get home, yeah?”
I nodded.
“Okay, let’s get you home.”
I climbed into the car and, with my mind a jumble of thoughts and emotions, we headed to my place.
Sadie
MONDAY MORNING, I awoke to the shrill peal of my cell phone. I’d kept the sound on in case Ryder called and it would appear four a.m. was the earliest he could. Probably a good thing, considering I’d been awake until past midnight worrying. “Hello,” I rasped, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“Hey, baby,” Ryder said. “Just landed.”
He sounded wrecked.
“Flight go okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Can’t talk, though. We’re heading straight to Scottie.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll keep praying.”
“Thanks. I’ll call when I can.”
“Okay.”
“You okay?” he asked.
I smiled. Even when he needed to go, he was taking time to make sure I was good. “Yep. Just sleepy.”
“Go back to sleep. I’ll call soon.”
I nodded. “Okay. Stay safe.”
“I will, baby.”
He hung up and I took a few minutes to pray for him and Scottie before succumbing to sleep again.
* * *
Ryder
Ryder followed Cameron through the Savannah airport and into a taxi waiting at the curb. Cameron gave the driver the address
and Ryder pulled a bottle of water out of his bag, taking a swig. “How far’s the place?”
“Not far,” Cameron said as he studied his phone. “Dalton’s meeting us there.”
“You’re sure she’s there.”
“As sure as I can be.”
Ryder didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say. Cameron couldn’t control whether or not Scottie had been, or might be moved between the time he’d found out her location up till now. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans, attempting to keep his worry buried.
The taxi pulled up to a nondescript building in a rundown area Ryder assumed was on the outskirts of Savannah, and after Cameron paid, they climbed out and headed inside. The cavernous room was dark and empty, and for all intents and purposes, appeared to be abandoned. Ryder followed Cameron toward the back where Cameron paused long enough to enter a code into a panel hidden behind a brick facade. A hidden door popped open and Cameron glanced at Ryder. “This way.”
Ryder followed him down a long hallway where, after Cameron entered another code into another panel, they were admitted into a room that looked like an FBI war room.
A man about Ryder’s age walked toward them. “Cam, you made it.” His southern accent, along with his voice, was deep.
“Hey, Dalt.” Cameron shook his hand. “Dalton Moore, Ryder Carsen.”
Ryder shook the man’s hand, forcing down the desire to demand to see his sister. He knew there were protocols. Knew he had to be patient... even if he didn’t like it.
“So, we’ve got a lock on your sister, and we’ll get her out, but we’ve hit a snag. There are about ten other young women with her, so we don’t want to barge in guns blazing until we know we can get them out safely.”
“Damn,” Ryder breathed out. “You’re sure she’s in there?”
“Yeah, man. Visual confirmation.”
Well, that was something at least. Ryder dropped his bag on the ground and paced the room while Dalton’s team of six men and one woman did whatever the hell they did.
Cameron stood in the corner with Dalton and studied a computer screen as Ryder walked from one end of the room to the other like an idiot unable to help. He was completely impotent and it pissed him off. His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen, his mood lifting to see a text from Sadie.
Hey, honey. Woke up suddenly. Hope you’re okay. Remember, you got this. I believe in you, so does Scottie. Be at peace, sweetheart.
Ryder closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking her words to heart. Beautiful didn’t begin to describe her and he smiled inside at her sweetness.
“Ryder?” Cameron called.
“Yeah.”
“Ready?” he asked.
Ryder nodded.
“We’re driving, but getting out a block away,” Cameron informed him.
“Okay.”
“You’ll stay in the car,” Dalton ordered, before leading them around the corner then through a battered wooden door.
“Hell no.”
“He’ll hang back,” Cameron argued. “Won’t you, Ride?”
Ryder scowled, but gave a nod. He agreed somewhat loosely. If anyone came between him and getting his sister to safety, he would not hesitate to put them down. He fisted and unfisted his hands as he followed the men into the black SUV. He desperately wanted to hit something... or someone, but he was stuck for the moment. They drove in tense silence for less than five minutes, pulling behind a brick building, the area around it vacant.
“Stay with the vehicle,” Dalton ordered, as they climbed out of the SUV. Before Ryder could so much as argue, Dalton led his team around the corner, disappearing from view.
Gunfire came from within the building. Unarmed, Ryder wasn’t sure what he could do, but he had to do something. Damn it! He needed to find Scottie. What if his sister became collateral damage? What if she was shot in the fray?
Screw it, he was goin’ in. Hugging the house, he slid through the ratty screen door, nearly tripping over a body. Bending down, he checked for a pulse. Nothing. He was relieved that the dead man wasn’t one of Cameron or Dalton’s men, so that was at least one less threat. Lucky for him, the shithead had a gun. Ryder took it and crept toward the dark hallway. It was eerily quiet between rounds of gunfire coming from deeper within the house. He could hear creaking from above him, along with scuffling of feet and a din of men yelling between gunfire.
Ryder inched along the hallway, circumventing trash (including needles and food) on the ground. He stalled when he heard female voices on the other side of the wall. He stopped in front of a door that was slightly ajar and gripped his gun tighter. Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob, planted his feet, and aimed into the room.
“I can’t move, Molly, I think my leg is broken. But as soon as you can, go.”
“No, Scottie, I won’t leave you,” a young voice argued.
“You have to. You have to get help.”
Glancing inside, he observed a window barred by iron allowed a little light into the room, but not much. A scream bounced off the walls and he stepped further into the room.
“Shhh,” Scottie hissed. “Molly, quit screaming. Please.”
“Scottie, it’s me,” he said.
A whimper and another “shhh” from Scottie.
“Scottie?” he said again, heading to what he assumed was a closet door. “It’s me.”
“Ryder?”
“Yeah, honey. Come out.” He reached for his phone, engaging the flashlight and sweeping it around the room before pulling open the closet door. The light fell on his sister, and he swore. Her face was so swollen, had he not heard her voice, he might not have known it was her.
With a groan of pain, his sister burst into tears and reached for him. He fell to his knees and pulled her into his arms. “You came for me,” she sobbed.
He stroked her hair. “Baby girl, of course I came for you.”
“I thought you hated me.”
“Never. I could never hate you, honey.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I was stupid. I should have listened to you.”
“I forgive you, baby girl. I’ve got you.”
She continued to sob, and Ryder pulled her close. “We need to get you out of here, sissy. I need you to pull yourself together for a minute. Can your friend walk?”
“Molly, her name’s Molly.”
Ryder nodded. “Molly, can you walk?”
“Yes,” the little girl rasped.
“I can’t, Ride,” Scottie said.
He took a deep breath, shoving his rage deep inside. It wouldn’t help them right now. He needed to get her out of there and to the hospital. “Your leg is broken?”
“Feels like it,” she said.
“How many people are here?” Ryder asked. “Do you know?”
“Usually there are three or four,” Scottie said.
“Okay, honey, I’m gonna lift you. Then we’re getting the hell out of here. Molly, you need to keep up.”
Ryder lifted Scottie easily in his arms, an indication she’d lost weight, which pissed him off even more as he moved as quietly as possible back the way he came. Molly’s tiny hand gripped his jeans and he felt her hold on as he tugged her with them.
The gunfire had stopped for the moment and they made it out of the house without further incident. Walking quickly out to the front of the house and to where the cars were waiting, he got the girls to safety.
“I’m going to be sick,” Scottie warned, and Ryder set her down and held her hair back.
“Ryder!” Cameron bellowed.
“Here,” he called back. “I’ve got Scottie and another girl.”
As Cameron and Dalton approached, Ryder heard Dalton let out a series of curses and then give Cameron a blistering about his “buddy” and his issues with boundaries.
Cameron talked Dalton down and Ryder focused back on his sister. He held onto his anger as they loaded the girls (thirteen in total) into ambulances. He rode with Scottie and Molly (barel
y eleven years old) while Dalton and Cameron debriefed the local law enforcement. He held onto his anger while his sister whimpered in pain as she was poked and prodded by the doctors, and he held onto it when he was informed that not only was her leg broken, she had a fractured eye socket and three ribs that had been broken days ago and not treated.
Without warning, one of the nurses made an urgent call for a doctor while another stepped in front of him. “Sir, we need to take your sister into surgery.”
“What’s going on?”
“As soon as I know anything, I will come and find you. A nurse will bring you some forms to sign,” she said, gently. “Please. Let us help your sister.”
He was shoved out of the room and left to pace the hallway alone.
* * *
He’d been in the waiting room for almost an hour when his phone rang and he answered without looking at the screen. “Ryder.”
“Hey,” Sadie said. “I’m sorry, are you in the middle of stuff?”
Ryder let out a deep breath. “No, baby. It’s over. We found her.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so glad. Are you bringing her home?”
“Not right now. She’s in surgery.”
Sadie gasped. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, they shoved me out of the room and took her into surgery.”
“What do the doctors say?”
“I don’t know, Sadie. I’m waitin’ for them to find me.”
She sighed. “Sorry, honey.”
“Mr. Carsen?”
Ryder glanced up to see a nurse standing at the edge of the waiting room. “Sadie, I need to go.”
“Right. Of course. I’ll check in with you later.”
“Thanks, baby.” He hung up and rose to his feet. “I’m Ryder Carsen.”
The nurse smiled. “The doctor asked me to update you. Scarlett has hemorrhaged after a miscarriage, but surgery is going very well and the doctor is confident there won’t be any permanent damage.”
“She was pregnant?”
“Yes. About six weeks along.”
He crossed his arms in an effort not to hit the wall. “Shit.”
“We’re going to take really good care of her.” The nurse squeezed his arm. “I’ll come and get you when she’s in recovery.”
A Nun Walks into a Bar (Nun-Fiction Series Book 1) Page 10
