Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Alex pressed through the door of the building that housed the gym and the shooting range. He’d convinced Marcus Black to meet him there for a sparring session because they both needed to work out their frustrations. Marcus was more on edge than he’d ever seen him, and that was something considering they’d been friends for over fourteen years.
As Alex stepped into the large gym, his gaze swept the room looking for either Justin or Marcus. Seeing neither, he went into the changing room to get into his workout clothes. He dropped his bag on the floor and sank down on the long bench in front of the lockers.
Leaning forward, arms resting on his thighs, Alex stared at the tiled floor. The knot in his stomach hadn’t eased at all since the night the news had come about Justin and Alana. If this was the work of whoever was behind the other attacks on the company, the person was now digging deep into the pasts of people. He would have had to get through several layers of security to find out about Alana’s ex and the threat he posed to her.
And that concerned him more than a little. Alex had a secret that wasn’t buried anywhere nearly as deep as Alana’s, but if the person was looking to cause problems, dredging up his past would surely do that. Not for the first time, he wished he’d taken care of things differently.
Alex reached for his bag and unzipped it. After he pulled out his workout clothes, he changed into them, a bit surprised that Marcus still hadn’t shown up. Figuring he could use some of the machines until the man arrived, Alex shoved his bag into his locker.
When he stepped back into the gym, Alex realized that Marcus had arrived, he just hadn’t come into the changing room yet. The man stood facing away from Alex, watching something going on in front of him.
As Alex got closer, he noticed that Justin and Than had also arrived. Justin was down on his knees holding a large punching pad. A little boy, who Alex recognized as Alana’s son, Caden, stood there with gloves on his hands. Than was using sign language to interpret what Justin was saying to the deaf boy, instructing him on how to hit the pad.
Seemingly oblivious to Alex and Marcus, Caden focused on Justin and then landed a weak punch on the pad.
“Harder,” Than said as he signed. “You won’t hurt him.”
Caden landed another punch with slightly more weight behind it.
“Harder,” Than said again when Caden looked at him.
Justin nodded when Caden focused on him again. Punch. Justin nodded. Punch. Another nod. Each punch Caden landed held more confidence. Pretty soon he was hitting the pad at regular intervals.
Alex glanced at Justin and felt as if one of Caden’s punches landed in his gut. Justin’s expression was drawn and stark with pain. Every punch seemed to push him closer and closer to an emotional edge. When he looked back at Caden, Alex saw the emotion on Justin’s face reflected there.
The punches began to fly as tears flowed down Caden’s face. Over and over he punched the bag until he suddenly sagged against it, clearly physically spent, but as Justin tossed the pad aside and gathered the boy into his arms, Alex knew the emotions were just beginning to flow.
Justin crouched with Caden wrapped in his arms, his sobs as heart wrenching as the boy’s. Alex felt tears sting his eyes, and he had to look away and take a deep breath. Than came to stand next to him but unlike Alex, he allowed his tears to fall. Alex knew that Than was close to Alana’s son because of his ability to communicate with the boy through sign language.
The scene playing out in front of him hit Alex on so many different levels. Anger. Fear. Regret. Guilt. And as he watched Justin with the boy who would one day be his son, Alex prayed that God would protect the woman who meant everything to them.
“I’m going to change,” Marcus murmured before turning away from Justin and Caden.
Alex moved to sit on one of the benches that lined the one wall of the gym. Than followed and settled down next to him.
“Was that what was supposed to happen?” Alex asked, his gaze still on the man and boy.
Than nodded. “Caden hasn’t been letting anything out since his mom was taken. Justin thought maybe encouraging him to express himself physically might help with the emotional side.”
“How’s he doing?”
Than rubbed a hand on his thigh and shook his head as his jaw tightened. “I don’t know how he’s holding it together, man. If it had been Lindsay who was taken…”
Even though some of them hadn’t known Alana as well as others, her kidnapping had hit everyone hard. The atmosphere within the company was not what it would normally be at this time of year. With less than a month until Christmas, usually large amounts of decorating would be going on, and Christmas music would be playing on each floor. But instead, it was as if no one felt comfortable moving into the festive part of the year with one of their fellow employees experiencing so much heartache.
By the time Alex left the gym a couple of hours later, his physical state matched his mental one. Totally and completely drained. Maybe tonight he’d actually be able to sleep.
Fog lay low over the city Monday morning as Alex made his way to the BlackThorpe offices. As he did most days anymore, Alex spent the drive praying. He’d believed in the power of prayer from the moment his sister had been returned to them alive. And looking at Melanie now, he knew that those prayers were once again being answered as she blossomed with the love she and Tyler shared.
Now he prayed for the return of another woman. A mother. He just couldn’t let himself believe that God would allow anything bad to happen to Alana. Caden needed her. Justin needed her.
Please, God, place angels around Alana to protect her from the evil of the person who has taken her and bring her back home soon.
Alex hit the button to lower his window as he neared the secure entrance to the office compound. A guard approached him and ducked down to look at him through his open window.
“Mr. Thorpe, we’ve had a young man here since seven-thirty saying he needs to see you,” the guard said with a glance over his shoulder.
Alex frowned. “Did he give his name?”
“No. He’s refusing to talk to anyone but you.” The guard straightened and pointed to a spot not too far from the gate.
The foggy morning didn’t reveal much beyond a figure hunched against the cement wall that surrounded the compound.
“Okay. Let me park, and I’ll come back out to see what he wants.”
When the gate slid open, Alex guided his truck into the parking lot. Usually, he parked in the underground parking lot, but for now, he pulled his truck into the nearest empty spot. Gripping the wheel with both hands, Alex let out a long breath. He had no idea what this newest situation was about, but he really hoped that it was something that could be easily resolved.
It could be someone looking for help with a loved one. It wouldn’t be the first time a person had approached them out of the blue to ask them to help a family member. Usually the person needed the help of the BlackThorpe Wellness Center. If that was the case, he’d refer them on to his sister, Melanie, since that was her department.
But as Alex made his way toward the guardhouse, the thought played in the back of his mind that this could be something set up by whoever was behind the attacks. After Justin had been attacked and Alana taken, it would be foolish to dismiss anything out of the ordinary without first assessing it for a threat.
The security guards nodded to him as he stepped into the room where they monitored things when they weren’t dealing with people coming in and out of the compound through the gate.
“Can I get one of you to follow me? Stay back a bit, but be ready for anything,” Alex instructed as the guard who’d spoken with him initially followed him through to the other side of the gate.
Fog still hung heavy in the air as he paused for a moment, taking in the man where he sat on the sidewalk, his back pressed against the wall. He wore a backward ball cap, and his head was bent forward. His legs were drawn up, and his arms rested on hi
s knees. It was hard to assess much more from a distance, so Alex took another deep breath and let it out as he headed in the guy’s direction.
Something must have alerted him to Alex’s approach because suddenly the man was scrambling to his feet, pulling the strap of a backpack over one shoulder. Alex stopped a few feet away from him. He didn’t bother to glance over his shoulder to see if the guard was there, confident that they were doing as he’d asked.
“I’m told you wanted to see me,” he said, keeping his hands in the pockets of his long coat. He was armed beneath his coat—they all were after what had happened to Alana—but he didn’t want to tip his hand if this person was a threat.
When the guy shuffled his feet nervously, Alex looked at him a bit more closely and realized that he was more of a teenager than a man.
“Are you Alex Thorpe?” The guy’s voice trembled as he spoke.
“I am. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Can I talk to you?” The kid’s gaze flicked to the guard behind Alex. “In private?”
Alex stared at the teenager. There was something familiar about him, but he was positive he’d never met the guy before. He was on the slender side, and the jean jacket he wore didn’t look like it was doing a very good job keeping him warm. “What’s your name?”
“Jordan.”
A knot began to tighten in Alex’s gut. Surely it was a coincidence that this kid’s first name was his middle name. It was a fairly common name, after all. “Jordan what?”
The kid shifted his weight again, both hands going to grip the strap over his left shoulder. “MacKenzie. Jordan MacKenzie.”
Air whooshed out of Alex’s lungs as the blood pounded in his head. He turned on his heel and approached the guard.
“Have someone bring him up to my office. Bypass security, but send a guard with him. I’m going to park my vehicle underground and will meet him in my office.” Without waiting for the guard to acknowledge his instructions, Alex strode back through the guardhouse and headed for his truck, coat flapping as he walked.
Without thought, he got back in his truck and started it up. He didn’t look back to see if the guard was bringing the boy as he’d requested. Right then, Alex was trying to figure out what was going on. Was this kid really who he thought he was? But that was impossible.
Wasn’t it?
Alex stepped off the elevator when it reached his floor and briefly greeted Kelsey as he walked by. Momentarily, he wondered if it had been a good idea to have brought the boy—Jordan—into the office. Maybe he should have taken him somewhere else to figure out what his story was.
But before he could come up with a new plan, there was a rap on the door of his office. The guard stood there with Jordan in front of him.
“Thanks,” Alex said to him. “I’ll take it from here.”
The guard gave him a nod then stepped out of the office, pulling the door closed behind him. Alex finished taking off his coat and hanging it on the rack beside the door. He turned to find Jordan watching him, his face expressionless.
“Have a seat.” Alex gestured to the chairs in front of his desk as he rounded it to get to his own.
Jordan hesitated for a moment before sinking into the chair nearest him. He put his backpack on the floor between his feet but kept a grip on the strap. Still he didn’t say anything.
“Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat or drink?”
When the kid only shrugged, Alex picked up his phone and punched a button for Kelsey’s desk. “Hey, Kels, can you do me a favor? Can you get a hot chocolate and a coffee from the deli for me? Also an assortment of muffins. Thanks.”
He didn’t really want to get into anything only to be interrupted by Kelsey, but they could hardly just sit there staring at each other. And there was a part of Alex that had no idea what he’d do if the kid confirmed his suspicions.
“How old are you, Jordan?” Alex asked as he picked up a pen, unable to keep himself from opening the door from which there would be no return.
“Fourteen.” Straightening, the boy pulled his shoulders back. “Almost fifteen.”
Alex wrote the number on the notepad in front of him and drew a circle around it. “And your birthday?”
“September twenty.”
That got scribbled down on the paper too. Every answer the boy gave just reinforced the conclusion Alex had already arrived at outside the gate.
“What’s your mom’s name?”
Jordan’s shoulders slumped as he shifted in his seat, his gaze fixed on the floor. “Rebecca.”
At the sound of her name, memories rushed Alex like a tidal wave. He never allowed himself to think of that time. Never allowed himself to dwell on what might have been.
Drawing on strength he didn’t realize he had, Alex shoved all the memories aside. There would be time to deal with them later on. Right now there was a boy sitting across from him with familiar blue eyes and an expression of anticipation mixed with fear on his face.
Before Alex could say anything further, there was a light knock on his door. He pushed back from his desk and went to open it.
Kelsey stood there with a brown paper bag with the deli logo and a tray holding two Styrofoam cups. “Here you go. Need anything else?”
Alex could see the curiosity on her face, but he wasn’t in any position to answer her questions when he had so many of his own. “No. Thanks, Kelsey.”
With a quick smile, she closed the door. Alex returned to his seat and set the stuff down on the desk. He looked at the lids to determine which one was the hot chocolate then pulled it free. Leaning across his desk, he held it out to Jordan. The boy hesitated before he took it, finally releasing his grip on the strap of his backpack to wrap both his hands around the cup.
Alex looked into the bag to see a selection of muffins. He put the bag on the edge of the desk near Jordan. “Help yourself.”
After pulling his cup free from the tray, Alex sat back down and took the lid off. He inhaled the rich aroma, letting it calm his nerves before he took a sip. And then another. Coffee was definitely his addiction.
He watched as Jordan poked out the opening in his lid and took a sip of his hot chocolate. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, but eventually, the boy set the cup on the desk and reached for the bag. He took out a muffin without spending much time looking them over.
Alex waited for Jordan to take a couple of bites before asking his next question. “Does your mother know where you are?”
Jordan swallowed and lifted his cup to take another sip. “No. I didn’t tell her.”
“You don’t think maybe she’s worried about you?”
Jordan shrugged as if he didn’t care. “She thinks I’m staying with a friend for a couple of days.”
“Are you missing school?” Alex hadn’t been to school in a quite a few years, but he was pretty sure that kids were still in class at the beginning of December.
“I’m homeschooled. My mom gave me a couple of days off.”
Alex took another couple sips of coffee, wondering which one of them was going to say the words first. As much as he was confused how—given what he’d been told years ago—the kid could be his, there was really no way to deny what stared him right in the face.
Jordan MacKenzie was his son.
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A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3) Page 28
