Chapter 20
TWENTY
RYKER
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I slipped it out. A number I didn’t recognize read MCSO across the top. The sheriff’s department? Why the hell would they call me? Maybe it was some routine parole thing for Mom. I answered the call as I strolled toward the office. “Hello?”
“Ryker Hart?” A stern male voice asked.
“Yes, this is he.” I breathed through my tumbling heart rate. This had to be nothing, right? Just a mundane call about Mom’s parole?
“This is Detective Cranson with the Maricopa County Sherrif’s Office. I’ve been trying to reach your mother but haven’t been successful. Carl Hagen escaped prison early this morning, and we believe he might try to contact her. We’d reviewed several letters he sent—”
“Yes, I got them. I-I know what’s in them.
” I sucked in a breath as my vision sparkled at the edges.
Falling onto the couch, I stared at nothing.
Mom would have been home today. She didn’t start her new job until Monday.
And Wes…shit, he would be home right after school, since he had a game tonight. “Did you try my mom’s cell phone?”
“Yes, the one we had on file. Has she changed the number?” Detective Cranson asked.
“No, and we reinstated the service. Let me try calling her.” And then Wes. Fuck, what a mess. “What do you want me to do?” I fisted my free hand over my thigh. If that fucker—
“We need you to be vigilant and move her to a safe location, preferably away from her home, since it sounds like he knows the address. He’s armed and dangerous. If you see him, call nine-one-one right away,” Detective Cranson said.
“Can you, uh, if you think he’s looking for my mom, shouldn’t you send police to watch our apartment?” What the fuck? Why waste time calling me?
Dylan burst through the shop’s door. “Ryker? What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I held my palm to Dylan. I had to listen to the detective.
“We’re not sure where he is. He may have fled out of state by now. It’s just a hunch that he’ll look for your mother because of the letters he sent her,” the detective said. “We have an all-points bulletin out for him.”
“But don’t you think it would be a good idea to send at least one fucking cop to our apartment?” I glanced at Dylan as his brows ticked up. I needed to hold it together. “I’m sorry for swearing, sir.”
“Let me see what I can do,” the detective said. “In the meantime, try reaching your mother, and I’ll be in touch if we find him. You can reach me at this number if you hear anything.”
“Okay.” I looked at the phone for a beat. Was this really happening? Bringing the phone to my ear, I said, “Goodbye.” I ended the call.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dylan sank in next to me, placing his hand between my shoulder blades.
“I, uh, Carl escaped, and he might look for Mom. I have to call her.” Trying her number, I set the phone on speaker. It rang a few times and then her voicemail started.
“Fuck! Where the hell is she?” I pulled up Wes’s number and called it. “Wes should be home from school.” Again, the phone rang until his voicemail picked up.
“Dude, go home. Now. Me and Ian will take care of the shop. This is more important.” His gaze darted across my face. “Fuck, do you want me to close the shop and come with you?”
Clenching my jaw, I said, “No, you keep the shop going. We’ve got cars we promised, and it’s a Friday. The customers will need them. I’ll call Casey.” As I stood, I dialed Casey’s number with trembling fingers and grabbed my truck keys from the desk.
The phone rang once. “Babe, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“C-Casey?” My voice broke. I had to calm the fuck down. This could be nothing. Maybe Mom and Wes just weren’t answering their phones? Hell, Wes could be gaming.
“Babe, what’s wrong?”
“It’s probably nothing, but Carl escaped prison earlier today, and I can’t reach Mom and Wes.
I’m heading to the apartment now.” After giving Dylan a quick hug, I jogged out of the shop and to my truck.
Casey knew about some of the letters, but not the last one.
The fucker had claimed he was being released. Was this what he meant?
“I’m on my way.” Casey huffed, his footsteps clomping through our connection. “Don’t you dare do anything without me, you hear? When you get there, wait for me in the parking lot.”
“Yeah, okay.” How quickly could he get there? It was a Friday afternoon in Tempe, and the traffic would suck. I hopped into my truck and started the engine. I had to focus. Hopefully, a police cruiser would already be there and everything would be fine.
I parked in a guest space at the apartment and examined the area, my heart jumping against my ribcage.
Everything looked normal. As I waited for Casey, I spied a police SUV driving past the complex.
They slowed as they neared but then sped off with their lights flashing.
Shit, they must have gotten a call. At least they were close by.
Casey drove into the spot next to me and jumped out, along with Tex, Eli and Malik.
Holy fuck, he’d brought his friends. As warmth swarmed my chest, my eyes stung. Stepping out of my truck, I strode to them. I didn’t know what to say. “Hey, thanks for coming. This might be nothing.”
Throwing his arms around me and kissing the side of my head, Casey said, “Babe, you obviously had a bad feeling about this, and I believe in gut feelings.”
“We’re glad to help, man.” Malik patted my back.
“We were sitting around bored, so…” Tex gave me a sly grin.
Eli stepped toward me. “How are you doing?” He raked his gaze over me.
“I’m, uh, it’s taking every bit of my energy to stand here in the parking lot and not run to the apartment.” I clenched my hands at my sides.
“Relax and have your phone ready. If we see this asshole inside, the first thing we’ll do is call nine-one-one.” Eli squeezed my fist and released it.
“Shit, I just saw a cop roll by here, but then it looked like he got a call.” I dipped my head as I breathed through the stiffness in my chest.
“Why don’t they have a deputy here with your family?” Malik asked, knitting his brows.
With a shake of my head, I said, “I don’t know.
They don’t have enough proof to know he’d come here for sure.
They think he might flee the state.” My gaze locked on Casey’s.
“The last letter I got from the asshole said he might be out soon and that he wanted to see Mom.” Through clenched teeth, I said, “He said they had unfinished business to discuss.”
“Babe.” Casey side-hugged me for a beat. “Let’s assess the situation and bring in the police if we need to.”
“Yeah, okay.” I had a posse with me. If Carl were here, he would go down either way.
We marched toward the apartment, under the shadows of the tall trees, and as we approached, we slowed, with Casey shushing everyone. “The curtain is open on the front window. Let’s peek inside.”
While the other guys waited against the stucco wall, Casey grabbed my hand, and we slid our backs along the wall with me going first. “You peek inside and tell me what you see.”
“Yeah.” I held my breath and braced myself. If the place was empty, then what? As my pulse hammered in my temples and my knees weakened, I poked my head across the side of the window.
Fucking Carl paced in front of the couch, his back to me, waving a gun in the air as Mom and Wes sat stiffly, their faces drained of color.
“Fuck, he’s here.” As I drew back, Wes’s gaze caught mine, and he raised a hand, scratched the side of his head and pointed toward the back patio door while lifting his brows.
Fucking Mom left the patio door unlocked again.
“Oh, my God.” I straightened and flicked my gaze to Eli, already on his phone.
“Yes, my name is Eli Dawson, and we have an escaped convict at an apartment complex in Mesa.” He nodded. “I need your address.”
“Tell them the convict is Carl Hagen.” I gave him my address and then huddled with Casey, Malik and Tex.
“Look, Carl has a gun, but Wes saw me and pointed at the patio door. My mom goes out there to drink her coffee when the weather is nice, and she always forgets to lock it when she comes inside. My guess is Carl was here when Wes got home, and he wasn’t able to lock it himself.
He checks it every day.” I looked at them. “I think it’s unlocked.”
A smirk grew on Casey’s face. “I think this calls for a counter plus a flea-flicker play, boys.”
“What? You’re not going in there.” I gaped at him. What if any of them got shot?
Eli walked toward us with his phone in his hand and ended the call. “You know what happens in these situations. The police show up, and this Carl asshole will take your mom and Wes hostage. Then a shootout erupts, and who knows what the hell the outcome will be.”
“You can’t…” I stared at each of them, their chests puffing and fire igniting in their eyes. “No, I won’t let you.”
“You don’t have a choice.” With a soft cackle, Casey said, “Come on, boys. Let’s go to the back door.” They strutted down the building, opposite the main room’s window. “You’ll need to tell me which door it is.”
“No, Casey, you can’t.” I pulled on his arm, but he ripped it free, and he snatched my hand. “Babe, we’ve got this. Do you really think we lack the skills to grab a guy like Carl and pummel him to the ground?”
“Tex, you and I block while Casey and Malik run the fake, confusing Carl, and then we’ll pounce on the fucker.” Eli held his fist to Malik’s, and Malik bumped it with his own.
I raced in front of them and held out my hands. “No, stop. This is insane. Are you crazy? Wait for the cops.” My heart thumped so hard my head hurt.
“Step aside and let us handle it.” Tex said, pushing me toward Casey. “It can’t be harder than rounding up a bull.” He chuckled. “Which I’ve done a time or two.” He snorted as we rounded the first corner of the building and then the next.