If she had any idea what those two words did to me, she would never say them again. She has no idea that just that phrase has my heart stopping as I think about the girl who would whisper those very words against my bare chest just before I was forced to leave her alone. I hated leaving her in that basement for those few hours, but I knew I would hate it more if she were there with me. There’s no way I would have been able to concentrate on the fight if I was constantly worrying about him touching her or letting someone else do the same thing.
I quickly shake my head, knowing I need to focus on the plan rather than on what happened more than ten years ago. I quickly make my way through the resort, which, unlike earlier, is now practically a ghost town. The bars, restaurants and pools all closed by two, so there isn’t much for anyone to do at this time of night.
Staying in the shadows, I make my way to edge of the property where the large house stands. Using the aerial photos that Emily has accessed, I arrive at the rear side of the property just like I wanted to.
“I’m in place,” I whisper.
“Alarm is deactivated in three…two…one…you’re clear,” I keep my voice as low as possible.
“Going in, alert me of any changes.”
It’s certainly not the first time I’m going into a situation blind, and it won’t be the last. Of course, we prefer to have eyes on the target and our location, but more often than not, it’s not possible. I quickly scale the large stone wall and toss myself over without pausing for more than a second to ensure a landing spot. I hold my breath, waiting for the alarms to go off and the security team to come running from the house. I count the seconds before letting out the breath realizing that no one has sensed my presence.
Thank you, Emily.
It’s dark as all hell both outside and in as all the lights are turned off. The only light in the vast yard is provided by soft solar lights around a large built-in swimming pool. I quickly check around the yard, noting several children’s toys lying around the otherwise well-maintained landscaping. I don’t know how I know, but I can tell the toys are out of place here.
Making my way to the exterior of the house, I quickly look inside the windows, but as expected I don’t see much. Not only is it dark inside, but the large curtains prevent me from seeing anything that might help us prove the kids are here.
“Does the owner have kids?” I mumble as I make my way around the corner of the house.
“Two grown children, both residing in New York.”
“Do they have young kids?”
“One has a baby…less than a year old.”
“Find out if they traveled here in the last month.”
“On it.”
“I’ll be back to the room shortly.”
“Be careful.”
Damn it.
Thankfully, I force myself to stay focused and to not get dragged back there, as tempting as it is. Not because I want to go back to that prison, but because I want to go back to Em. I want to feel her in my arms again, feel her soft lips against mine, feel her cuddled up next to me as she sleeps. Fuck, I had no idea when she walked out of my hospital room all those years ago that I would fucking miss her this much.
I quickly scale the wall and hop back over, thankful when I see no one waiting for me when I land. I jog away from the house, taking a different path than I took to get there, before letting Emily know she can reset the alarm.
“You’re back!” She jumps from her seat as soon as I open the door. I don’t know why she’s surprised, since I told her to expect me, but it’s still nice to have someone glad that I’m back here, even if she is just worried about the mission.
“All good?” I ask.
“Yup, the alarm is reset and there’s no movement from what I can tell so I doubt anyone noticed you were there. Did you find anything?”
“Maybe. Did you look into the kids?”
“Yeah, both have passports, but neither has left the country in the last year and before that, when they did, it wasn’t to come here.”
“Interesting.”
“That’s what I thought. I mean, if I had a family member who owned a place like this…”
“I’d be here every chance I got.” I chuckle.
“Exactly. What made you ask about them?”
“There were kids’ toys all over the backyard and they looked very out of place. Pool toys, small bikes, balls, etc…just things I didn’t expect there.”
“Did you see Jack or the kids?” she asks excitedly.
“No, I couldn’t see in the house. All the windows were covered,” I explain. “I’m guessing the bedrooms are upstairs based on the layout of the house.”
“Well, the toys point to the kids being there, so maybe we’re onto something after all.”
“Or he has family visiting and Jack was never here.”
“Maybe…”
Chapter 18
Emily
“Luke! Luke! Wake up!” I’m practically bouncing with excitement over what I just discovered. I’ve been awake for hours now, having barely slept last night.
“I found something!” he groans and throws an arm over his eyes. For a split second I consider slipping into bed next to him, feeling his arms around me as I kiss him awake.
“What did you find? What time is it?” Thankfully he pulls me from my thoughts before I can act on them.
“A little after four—”
“In the morning? UGH.”
“Mrs. Thompson was having an affair with Matthew Davidson—”
“You’re certain?”
“Oh yeah.” I laugh at the memory. “The text messages I found leave no doubt about what they were doing.”
“I thought you had gone through her phone before? What changed?”
He quickly gets out of bed and follows me over to the table where I’ve spent the last three hour working.
“I did, but get this,” I click around on the laptop screen bringing up several different windows at once, “Mr. Davidson has a family plan, with four phones included.”
“So?”
“He has one, his wife has one, and their only son has one. Guess who has the fourth one?”
“You’re kidding? Are you certain?”
“The phone isn’t registered to anyone specifically, unlike the other three phones on their plan. But it got me digging further into their cloud account. Well, let’s just say from the photos I found there is no doubt that Mrs. Thompson has the other phone.”
“Holy shit, this could be huge.”
“I know.” I beam.
“Is there any mention of the money?”
“Not with Mrs. Thompson, but he does chat with someone else about the money. I just haven’t figured out who that is yet. The number is a burner phone, so it’s going to take some more digging.”
“No first names are mentioned I assume?”
“No.”
“This could definitely give Jack motivation to kidnap the kids if he just found out about the affair. This is payback for that, not for the divorce.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Let’s pack up and get out of here. We can call Alec from the airport and let him know what you found. We don’t know if the kids are here, but I feel like we’re just wasting time staying here.”
“Works for me.”
We both take fast showers and throw all of our stuff back into the carry-on bags we brought. Technically, we don’t need to leave for a couple more hours yet, but with this new information, Luke seems eager to get back to Virginia. On the way to the airport, he’s busy looking for an earlier flight while I’m trying to see what else I can find that I might have missed earlier. Even though our attention is on our phones, I don’t miss how close we’re sitting to each other or how our legs are touching.
“Here you go, we look forward to seeing you again,” our driver says as he parks the van in front of the loading area for the airport. We quickly put away our phones, grab the bags and head inside. We’re standing i
n line, waiting to get speak with a ticket agent about changing our flights when out of the corner of my eye I catch a movement. I don’t know why I look that way, but when I do I can’t believe what I see. Without drawing attention to us, I hiss at Luke.
“What’s wrong?” His attention immediately turns to me.
“He’s here.” I lean closer to him and stand on my toes.
“What?”
“Don’t look, but he’s at the self-serve kiosk over there.”
Of course, he looks, ignoring my warning not to. Sure enough, Jack and two young kids are standing next to the kiosk. I can tell by his sigh of relief that he confirms what I already knew—they are who we’ve spent the last few days searching the resort for.
“I’m going to see if I can find out where they’re headed,” his warm breath is soft against my cheek. “Call Alec, let him know what’s going on.”
“Okay,” I pause. “Luke?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
The confidence in his voice is reassuring as is the gentle squeeze to my hand before he steps away. Our eyes meet for a split second and I swear I nearly stop breathing wondering what’s going through his head. Is he thinking of our kiss the other night like I am? Or is he just looking forward to getting back to Virginia and putting this all behind us? Something flashes through his eyes and before I can say anything he turns and walks away.
Meanwhile, I head to a small bench against the windows to call Alec. Thankfully, I can keep an eye on Luke while I’m briefing Alec on everything that’s happened and what I found on the cloud drive. Luke pretends to the kiosk next to Jack but I can see him glancing over to figure out Jack’s destination. If I knew the names they were traveling under I could easily hack into the system and find out their destination but without knowing names it complicates things.
When Luke starts walking towards me, I meet him halfway and hand him the phone.
“They’re heading to Texas,” he announces. “Flying into Dallas.”
My heart stops and I don’t hear anything else that he says. My head spins and my chest feels like someone is sitting on it. I don’t know when he finished the call with Alec, but at some point Luke must have noticed something was wrong because he took my hand and led me over to the bench I was sitting on earlier.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah…fine,” I lie.
“We’ll get something to eat as soon as we get through security; we should have stopped before we got here. I’m sorry, I was just in such a hurry—”
“It’s fine, I’m fine. I…just got a little lightheaded for a minute. You’re right—food will help.”
“You sure? If you’d rather go back to Virginia, you can. I can fly to Texas by myself while you head home—”
“No, I’ll go with you. I’m fine…nothing a little food won’t fix.” I’m convinced he knows I’m lying, but I need to see this job through. I’ve never felt so strongly about finishing a case until this one, maybe because Luke wasn’t involved in the other cases?
“Yeah?” he answers the phone on the first ring. I end up listening to just his side of the conversation but it’s enough that I can piece together what’s being planned.
“You found them?”
“Got it.”
“You do?”
“We’ll need a rental when we land. Chances are Jack has one or has someone meeting him there. I don’t want to take the chance and lose him.”
“Have you been in touch with the FBI? This goes beyond the local PD.”
“Have you told Mrs. Thompson yet?”
“Good idea.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back to Virginia?” he asks while slipping the phone into his jean pocket.
“No, I’ll go to…I’ll go with you.”
“If you’re sure.” Once again he offers me his hand, which I try not to look too much into. Chances are he’s only doing so because he thought I was going to pass out a few moments ago and not for any other reason.
Getting through security is quick despite the last minute ticket purchase. We find the gate before grabbing breakfast from a nearby cart. Jack and the kids aren’t here yet, but we’re confident they’ll show. He would have to go back through security to purchase tickets to another destination or even just to check in for another flight.
While we’re waiting to the board the plane, I watch the nervousness hit Luke. His leg starts bouncing up and down while he keeps a closer eye on the surrounding area waiting for Jack and the kids to show up. I gently squeeze the hand still wrapped in his, hoping to somehow comfort him the way he did to me earlier.
“You okay?” I keep my voice low as to not alert anyone near us.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he lies.
“No, you’re not.”
“Neither are you.”
Chapter 19
Luke
Even though this is the last place I want to be going, I breathe a sigh of relief when the doors to the plane close, essentially preventing Jack from changing plans at the last minute. Just like when we left Virginia, the moment the plane starts moving Emily’s hands grip the arm rests tightly and she closes her eyes. Silently, I pry one of her hands off of it and wrap mine around it instead. She doesn’t open her eyes, but the slight squeeze she gives me is enough.
I try to focus on Jack and the kids for the trip, but just knowing that we’re heading back to Texas has my mind working overtime. I can’t stop the memories from coming back; the memories of all the foster homes, the memories of the day my nightmare started, the memories of the punishments I was dealt out, the memories of the night Em’s nightmare began… and the memory of our last night together in what had become our prison.
For those seven months, which were longer than either of us initially thought, she was the reason I didn’t give up. We were all we had; one of us giving up meant failing the other one. Since I was the sole reason she was there, I couldn’t fail her. I never would have expected it, but in that dark, dingy basement I felt love for the first time in my entire life.
And then it was gone.
I try not to let myself have too much down-time, because it’s times like this that I torture myself wondering what Em is doing now. Fuck, I’ve wanted to find her so many times over the years but the idea that seeing me would hurt her again has always held me back. I caused her enough pain; I will not be the reason she hurts ever again.
That doesn’t stop me from thinking about her constantly though. If nothing else, I just want to know that she’s happy. That she’s found someone to love her as much as I loved her, that she found someone to hold her during her nightmares, that she found someone that she can trust and love again.
As much as I’ve tried, I can’t find someone to do any of those things for me. I can’t find someone to trust and without trust…well, everything else is impossible. How do you trust someone with your darkest secrets? How do you even begin to tell someone what your nightmares are about? How do you tell someone all this shit you endured for those eighteen months?
You don’t.
A soft moan catches me by surprise and pulls me back to reality. At some point, Emily must have fallen asleep because her head now rests on my shoulder and she’s turned a little in her seat so she’s angled towards me. My gaze immediately goes to her soft lips, remembering how they felt against mine the other night. Somehow this quirky, beautiful woman has grabbed my attention… and kept it.
For the first time since I met her, Emily looks relaxed. She doesn’t look like she’s on guard, waiting for something to happen, the way she does when she’s awake. Even at the office, behind one of the best security systems in the country, she’s on edge. At the resort, where there was no immediate danger, she was the same way.
What happened to you to make you so afraid of…everything?
Using one hand, I pull out my phone and read through the background report that Alec sent me before the interview. Nothi
ng in it stands out; she attended public school and graduated early after being transferred to a homeschooling program. Her mother passed away when she was a baby and the report confirms her father was her only family.
I want to ask Alec more about her, but doing so won’t get me any further information. As he said, she’s a very private person and prefers to keep things to herself. Even spending the last few days with her, I’ve learned only a small amount more about her than I knew when we left.
The moment the plane touches down, she jerks awake. She lifts her head off my shoulder, immediately searching the plane before her gaze lands on me. Her cheeks blush an adorable shade of pink when, I can only assume, she realizes she was sleeping on me. I squeeze her hand but don’t say anything about it.
“Sorry,” she mumbles.
“Don’t be.” I’m not.
“What’s the plan?” she purposely keeps her voice low but damn if the huskiness from just waking up doesn’t start to turn me on.
“We’ll grab our bags and head out. When we get off the plane we’ll have to go through customs, but I’ll pull us both to the side so we can pretend to look for our documents. Once they’re in line, we’ll step in behind them. This way we won’t lose them when we get into the main the terminal.”
“Anything I need to do?”
“No, though if you could help keep an eye on them it would be appreciated.”
“I can do that.” She smiles and immediately glances back a few rows where I know Jack is seated. I don’t know if the nap helped her or if it’s the idea of focusing on something other than the large airport we’re about to walk into, but she doesn’t seem as nervous as she did earlier.
The plan to get through customs goes off without a hitch and by the time we find Max and Cole, Jack and the kids are only a few feet in front of us. They stop at the rental counter while I introduce Emily to our new partners for this part of the mission.
“We’re both parked in the same lot as he is,” Cole gestures toward the counter. “It should make it easy to follow him once they pull away.”
“Any idea where they’re headed?” Max asks.
Luke (Dark Water Security Series Book 1) Page 12
