44. Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Four
D eclan
"It was my fault," Monty continues, between panted breaths. "I’m so sorry about this. Someone knocked on the door and told me Emma sent him over to get something she forgot. It was the guy from the Tiki Bar. And Amelia said he was good friends with Emma, which was the only reason I let him in. And then they ambushed me, hit me over the head. By the time I woke up, Amelia was gone."
Emma gasps and slaps her hand over her mouth, her eyeballs wide and aghast.
I remain still, but inside I'm seething.
"How the fuck did you not stop them?" It takes effort to say the words without the murderous intent overwhelming me. "Isn't that what I hired you for?"
"There were too many," Monty says. "Like six of them. They got the drop on me and knocked me out before I even knew what was happening."
"Oh God," Emma whispers horrified. "What is going on?"
I don’t even know how to respond to her, because I don’t know what to say.
My ears are ringing and I feel like the top of my head is about to blow off. On the outside, I might be the picture of calm, but inside there’s a swirling mass of pure rage within me.
Everything before was child's play.
Now I'm mad.
They took my daughter.
They're going to pay for that.
"Sir?" Sandy's voice is tentative and apologetic. "Hi. This is my fault too. I wasn't there when they took Amelia because I went back to get her more ice cream. I should never have left her alone."
"I don't give a damn whose fault this is." I pinch my nose, trying to suppress the urge to scream. "Just find her. The two of you look around the neighborhood. Ask anyone if they saw her or know where the men went."
"We're already on that," Monty says. "The lobby boy said he saw them leave, but according to him, they walked out calmly so he didn't think anything of it."
"Of course." God only knows what those bastards threatened my daughter with to get her to comply.
"Just keep looking. Call me if you find anything." I hang up and shut my eyes, inhaling deeply.
This is a total nightmare.
I briefly consider calling Rachel to tell her what happened, but I immediately axe the idea.
As her mother, Rachel has the right to know but the last thing I need is her panicking and calling the police. These people are unpredictable. If we spook them, God only knows what they'll do.
Okay, think about this clearly, Declan . You know what they want. They'll probably call me any moment now, demanding the pearls for my daughter. I would hand them over in a heartbeat, except that I'm pretty sure the culprit may know that I'm onto him.
In which case, they would do everything to keep me quiet and that complicates this massively.
I need to find Amelia before they make their next move.
I face Nate again and he pales at the look in my eyes. "Where has he taken her?"
"I don’t..." He shakes his head. "I really don't know. I had nothing to do with this."
But I’m no longer willing to hear that. I grab Nate by his shirt and pull him until the bars slam into his face.
Jensen calls out behind us but I ignore him, focusing on Nate. "Let me explain something to you, kid. Right now you still have a chance, a rare chance to make things right. I can forgive you for coming to my office and messing with my equipment. Heck, I will even drop all the charges right now. I’m sure Emma will be happy to do so too."
Nate whimpers as I pull him even harder, the side of his head squeezing between the metal bars. "But let me be very clear that if anything happens to my daughter, I will kill you." I whisper the last part into his ear. "This is not a threat, this is a promise. And if I can't kill you, I will make your every living moment hell on earth. There’s no hole deep enough for you to hide from my wrath. I will go to the very ends of the earth if I have to. And I won't stop until I make each and every one of you pay. Do you understand me?"
I let him see the enraged animal in my eyes. The hotel is one thing, but going after my daughter unleashes a whole new beast.
"What's going on here?" I hear Jensen walking up from his table. "Let him go, bud. We may be friendly and all, but I can't let you harass prisoners."
I ignore Jensen watching as real fear and shame crawls onto Nate's face. When I finally release him, he falls back and his shoulders sag in defeat.
"It's Rick." He finally admits in a breath. "He's the one behind it."
I suspected as much but it's still crazy to hear it.
“Is Poppy involved?”He shakes his head. “No. She knows nothing about this. Those were my gloves, but I took them off because I cut myself pretty bad with garden scissors while pruning her hedges. I put them in my pocket before I went to the Pink Hotel, but they must have fallen out when I got there.”
That explains the blood on them.
"Where is Rick?"
"I don't know. But I don’t think he’ll hurt your daughter. This isn’t how any of this was supposed to go. We just wanted the Pearls back and we wanted you to just leave the Pink Hotel alone."
"Why? Why was the hotel so important?"
"It was the only site with Pearls left. In the lake, or sometimes deep underground we could find a good number of them. And it was also a great hiding spot because people rarely ever went there."
So they were fetching those pearls at the Pink Lake. I should have known. The ones Nate dropped were probably freshly fetched, which is why the sack was damp. All those times I thought I heard sounds in the bushes, the times I felt a presence around.
It wasn't ghosts. Just thieves.
"You should have just asked for the damn pearls back."
"Rick was afraid you would ask too many questions," he says. "And he thought you may not give it back to us if you found out how valuable they are."
"So I was right about everything I said concerning their value?"
He nods misery in every line of his face. "Yeah, pretty much. Except we're not the ones putting the pearls on the black market. There are these guys Rick meets with...they're kinda dangerous but he does business with them. They’re obsessed with the pearls, especially the Pink Pearl. They think the missing Pink Pearl from all those years ago is still somewhere in town, and that Rick knows something about it.
"They've been trying to make Rick tell them more about it, and also to make him give up the source of the Pearls themselves so they can cut him out entirely, but Rick caught on and has been keeping them at bay. But without these pearls, it put him in a tough spot. That's why Rick asked that other guy to come back, to help get the pearls from Emma."
"That guy...Xavier?"
He nods again then turns to Emma. "You were supposed to fall in love with him again and he would use that to figure out where you kept Rick's pearls."
"That's ridiculous," Emma sounds downright offended at the possibility. "I would never fall in love with him again."
"Never mind that," I say. "Where has Rick taken my daughter?"
"I don’t know. My guess is probably at his cabin up in the woods. It's where we would meet up. It's also where he stashes the pearls sometimes and that's where he meets the buyers too."
That makes sense, given how Emma and I found two Rainbow Pearls while we were up there.
"Rick won't hurt the girl," Nate says. "He just wants the pearls back."
I want to believe that, but I don’t trust this Rick bastard any more than I can throw him, especially given his involvement with the so-called dangerous business partners. Someone willing to go this far for money isn't going to give a damn about protecting my family.
But Nate seems to have told me all he can, which leaves me to plan what to do next.I turn to Officer Jensen, who instantly nods and goes to his desk. "I’ll get my gun and go check it out.""No." Even though I appreciate the Officer’s help, the older man will only slow me down. He’ll likely insist on following proper procedure and waiting for backup, which I may not have time for.
Besides, I need someone here with Emma in the meantime.
"Just be on standby for now," I tell Jensen. "I need to observe what the situation is like, check if Rick did take my daughter to his cabin. I’ll call you when I know for sure."
"Son, this is a job for cops not civilians.""She’s my daughter," I bite out. "And one wrong move could mean the end of her life. I won’t risk it."Jensen looks like he wants to argue, but then finally sighs. "Fine. I’ll do it your way for now. In the meantime, I’ll try to get some people from Bellamy down here. We need all the help we can get.""Thanks," I say. "I’ll call you the instant I get a read of the situation."
"Still," Emma points out with fear in her eyes. "You should take someone with you."I nod. "You’re right." I instantly call Cross.
"Still tailing him?" I ask.
"Yeah. He hasn’t done anything yet. He’s just been making a bunch of phone calls."
To Rick? Might be.
Shit. It's still too risky to leave Xavier alone, so I say, "Keep tailing him."
I call Monty next.
"Get to Emma's grandfather's house and stay with the old man. Better yet, bring him down here too so Officer Jensen can guard him and Emma at the same time. And then you’ll catch up with me. I’m heading over to where they potentially took Amelia."
"Okay," Monty says.
With that settled, I turn back to Emma. Uncertainty plagues me. I need to save my daughter, but I don't want to leave Emma alone for even a second with Xavier out on the loose.
"It's okay," Emma says as though she can tell my struggle. "I'll be fine. Just be careful."
She reaches out and holds my hand, squeezing it. I pull her in and kiss her softly, as gently as I can manage with the storm raging inside me.
Then I press my forehead against hers.
"I love you," I tell her. "I was going to save it for after this was over, but I want to say it now." In case I never get the chance again.
Emotion climbs into her eyes. She opens her mouth. And I think she's going to deny it at first, but then she says, "I love you too, Declan."
I kiss her again and then turn to Officer Jensen who isn't even pretending not to watch us.
"Stay with her," I tell him. "Lock down the station if you can. And keep your gun handy."
Jensen nods.
I turn back to Emma and unable to help myself, I kiss her one more time.
After I leave the police station, I finally remember something I forgot in all my panic. The trackers I put in some of Amelia’s clothes. That would help me find her.
But when I pull up the app to locate them, only the one in her necklace is active, leading to somewhere up in the woods. Likely Rick’s cabin. Thank God, I’m on the right track.
Nevertheless, I arrive at the base of Ashton Woods, ready for anything. I palm the gun in my hand as I ascend the hill slowly and carefully, hopping onto the rocks rather than walking on the marshy ground.
Officer Jensen refused to give me his spare gun, but I got one from Monty on the way here. He was on his way to deliver Emma’s grandfather to the police station, and then he’ll come circling back to follow me to Ashton Woods. He’s likely about fifteen to twenty minutes behind me right now, but I can’t wait.
Urgency eats at me. I need to know if my daughter is there, and I need to know now.
My father took me to a lot of shooting ranges when I was younger, and I went hunting once in college. I didn't get the appeal of shooting at defenseless animals, so I never went back. But I know enough about how to hit a target, and I have no qualms about defending myself and my loved ones with a bullet.
My car lays abandoned at the base of the hill and as I climb, I stay concealed in the thicker parts of the foliage watching around me for any traps. The darkening sky provides even better cover, although I'm concerned it will start raining any moment from now.
I remember the last time I was caught in this forest during a storm, and I would rather not repeat the experience.
But I soldier on, trying my best to keep thoughts of my daughter's suffering at bay.
Don't think about that right now. It will distract you. Just focus on finding her.
When I get closer to the lodge, I crouch even lower. Two cars are parked out front. I recognize Rick's truck, but then there's another darker SUV.
I go closer keeping my eyes peeled, and that's when I notice curly brown hair through the window of the truck.
Hope pumps through my chest.
It's Amelia.
The damn bastards left her in the car, probably so they could go inside and discuss their plan in private.
I send a silent thank you skyward but stay on alert as I sneak closer to the car. The back door doesn't open, and I have to creep around to the driver's side, which thankfully pops open with minimal sound.
My daughter's fearful eyes meet mine as I unlock the rest of the car with the side button.
Relief beating through me, I hold my finger up to my mouth for quiet although it isn't necessary. They gagged her and cable-tied her hands behind her back. I suppress a surge of anger, and shut the door loosely, before going back around to her side and opening the backdoor finally.
She must have been leaning against the door because she instantly falls into my arms.
I only take a second to hold her close, breathing her in before I pull back.
I rip the gag from her mouth and she whispers, "Daddy."
The despairing sound breaks my heart.
Her face is tear-streaked and I caress her hair.
"It's okay. I'm here."
Tears start rolling down her cheeks but I don't take time to savor the rescue. Instead, I say, "Remember that thing you used to do with your elbows that freaked your mother out?"
She takes a second then nods.
"I need you to do that now."
She cocks her head and then catches my intent with a clipped nod. She instantly starts moving around, so she can swing her tied hands from the back underneath her legs to the front.
I never thought my daughter's double-jointedness would come in handy at a time like this.
"Stay low," I instruct as she does it, while I keep an eye out.
When it's done, I say, "Good girl. Now, what you're going to do next is that you're going to get the hell out of here. Go down the hill carefully so you don't trip. Stay on the rocky path and keep going down until you see my car. Get in and lock yourself there."
I reach into my pocket and pull out my keys and then my cell phone, pressing them into her hands. "Monty should be down by the time you get there. The second you get service, call him. Tell him to come get you."
"Aren't you coming with me, daddy?" she whispers.
I smile and shake my head. "Not immediately, but I’ll be right behind you." I have to stay here, so I can slow them down in case they come out looking for Amelia. She still has a long way to treck and I need to distract them so she can escape safely.
"Just go straight, okay? Be brave." The sky grumbles again and I hope against hope that my daughter makes it out before the storm. "And remember that I love you, so much."
"I love you too daddy."
"Good. Now go."
She hesitates and throws herself into my arms so I can hug her tightly. And then she turns and dashes down the hill, giving me one final look as she goes.
When she's out of sight, I turn back to the lodge. No one has come out yet, which strikes me as odd.
I creep closer so I can hear voices.
An unfamiliar one says, "Let's just call him and ask for the pearls back."
"Does this man know about our business?"
"Of course not," Rick says. "Look, gentlemen, it doesn't have to be like this. Just let me get you the pearls you paid for alright?"
"We're no longer satisfied with that. We want to know where you're getting them and we're not leaving here until you tell us."
The man's voice is threatening, and I think I hear the sound of a cocked gun. Damn. I'm just realizing that I may have misread and underestimated this situation.
It's not just Rick's men here. There's another crew of people and Rick might be in danger himself.
As I debate what to do next, I feel the touch of metal on my skull.