Chapter 25
Grant flicked his gaze, clouded with panic, disbelief, and fear at his security team head.
“Keep her on the line, we’ve almost got her location,” Max answered.
His mind whirled as he tried to think ahead in this chess match. If they found Sierra, could they locate Julia? Was she nearby? How far would they have driven in the time it took for them to get his daughter?
“We’re almost there, Sierra, just hang on,” he said, keeping his voice as steady as he could as the emotions roiling inside him threatened to boil over.
“We got it. She’s north of the city.” Max pulled two of his men with him as he inputted the location onto his cell phone’s GPS.
“I’m coming with you. But they should keep working on finding Kyle Carter and Julia.”
“Absolutely,” Max said with a bob of his head.
Grant snatched his cell phone from the desk. “Sierra, we’re on our way. I’m going to stay on the line with you until we get there, okay?”
“Okay,” she answered, her voice slightly stronger.
The night sky blurred by him as the two cars raced toward Sierra’s location. Time seemed to stop and every second ticked by far too slowly for Grant as he tried to keep Sierra calm during the trip.
Finally, they rounded a bend. The lead car’s headlights illuminated her, shivering with her arms wrapped around herself. She squinted back against them as the cars screeched to a halt.
The two men from the first car leapt out, weapons drawn, sweeping the area for any threats as Sierra tottered her way toward the second car.
Grant flung his door open before the tires rolled to a stop and raced toward his daughter. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer, pressing her head to his shoulder. “Oh, Sierra, thank God.”
She sobbed as she clung to him.
“We’re clear, sir. No signs of Carter or Mrs. Harrington.”
He cursed under his breath. He’d hoped to find Julia not far from Sierra’s location, that by some miracle, that maniac had dumped them both in slightly different locations but close enough to be found.
“You haven’t heard from her?” Sierra asked, pulling back from him.
“No. Do you know which way they went?”
Sierra bit her lower lip as she pointed down the road. “That way. He…just took her. He wouldn’t let her out of the car. Daddy, he had a knife.”
The words punched him in the gut. The man had threatened to take her from him. What if he hadn’t meant romantically? What if he’d meant he’d kill her?
His heart clenched at the thought.
“We’ll continue down this road and search for them. You take Ms. Harrington for medical treatment,” Max said as he and another security team member leapt into the first car and peeled off.
“Come on, honey,” Grant said, forcing himself away from the last known location of his wife. He had to tend to Sierra, had to make sure she was all right.
“I don’t want to go to the hospital. I’m okay. I want to go look for Julia.”
He wrapped an arm around Sierra and led her to the car. “Baby, you need to get checked out. And I don’t want you anywhere near Kyle Carter if we find him.”
Sierra stopped, her features pinched with concern as she refused to continue walking. “But Julia is with him. And he kept saying all these things about making her listen to him. Daddy, I’m scared for her.”
“So, am I. Let’s go home and see if there’s been any progress, okay?”
She wrapped her arm around his waist and continued to the car where he safely tucked her in the backseat before sliding in next to her.
The car whipped around in a circle to return to Harrington House as Sierra settled against him.
“Honey, is there anything else you can tell us about what happened?”
Sierra stiffened next to him, her features pinching. “It happened so fast. And then we were in some kind of room, and we were tied to chairs. Julia kept telling me we were going to be all right. And then Kyle came in…he…”
“Okay, Sierra, slow down. It’s okay, you’re safe now,” he said as he stroked her hair. Inside him, though a storm of anger and worry for Julia raged.
“He…he took her. And he wanted to leave me there. And she wouldn’t let him. She said he had to take me, too.”
He silently thanked Julia for the safety of his daughter, hoping he’d have the chance to tell her himself.
“But I was sick, I couldn’t stand up, so he had to carry me. And they were shooting at us.” Her voice turned shrill as the panicked moments she must have lived through frightened her all over again.
“Shh, it’s okay, Sierra. You’re safe now. It’s okay.”
She tilted her head to glance up at him. “We’re going to find her, right?”
“Yes, we are,” Grant said, his jaw clenching with resolve. “There is no way he is taking her from us.”
The answer seemed to satisfy Sierra who settled her head against his shoulder again until they reached Harrington House. He told her to go to her room and asked Worthington to call a doctor to tend to her, but she refused.
With a blanket wrapped around her, she insisted the security hub move to the living room where she’d parked herself on the couch to oversee the search for Julia. Still shaken, Grant kept a protective arm wrapped around her tightly as he waited for any word from Max. At least here, he didn’t have to see the giant reminder of Julia’s sweet smile grinning at him on what she’d likely count among the worst days of her life now.
The ringing of his phone brought him both hope and despair. “Max, tell me you found her.”
“Nothing, sir. We’re continuing to comb the area but haven’t found a trace of them yet.”
His mind whirled at the news. If they hadn’t stopped, they could be far from the city. Every second meant another mile further away. They could be anywhere. She could already be…
His mind refused to complete the thought. “Keep looking,” he forced himself to say with a steady voice.
“Yes, Mr. Harrington,” Max said before he signed off.
Grant leaned back into the supple leather of the couch, though the soft cushion offered him no comfort. His chest tightened as the stalled search put thoughts into his mind he didn’t want to think.
Every second they didn’t find her was a step closer to failure. His forehead creased as the worry threatened to overwhelm him.
The buzz of activity around him drowned out most other sounds as keys clacked, papers shuffled, and low conversations sounded with what little information they’d pieced together.
Grant slid his eyes closed as the weight of the situation settled on him. He drew in a shaky breath when a single word stopped his heart.
“Grant?” Julia’s soft voice said.
He must be hallucinating, imagining her. How he wished that voice was real. Next to him, Sierra tensed.
He snapped his eyes open, glancing at his daughter. The wide-eyed expression on her face confounded him. He flicked his gaze in the direction of her surprised stare.
Disbelief, shock, and elation created a dizzying mix of emotions in him as he stared at Julia hovering in the doorway. Alive, unhurt. Was he still hallucinating?
“Julia?” His hoarse voice barely resonated above a whisper as he rose and rushed toward her. His features melted as he pulled her into his arms in a bear hug, lifting her from the ground. She hesitated for a moment before her arms wrapped around him and squeezed.
He let go of her, cupping her face in his hands. “Julia, thank God. Are you okay?”
She nodded, her features still pinched. “How is James?”
“He’s okay. No surgery needed.”
Sierra raced past him and flung her arms around Julia’s neck. “Julia!”
His wife wrapped her arms around his daughter, stroking her hair.
He glanced at her bandaged wrists. “We need to get you to the hospital.”
She shook her head as she pulled back from Sierra, her arm still around her shoulders, worry still etched in her features. “No, there’s something we need to do first.”
He knitted his brows as he tried to understand the cryptic remark.
“And I need you to promise you’ll listen and not overreact.” She sniffled, laying a hand on his shoulder. “And it’s not going to be easy.”
His mind whirled at her request. His stomach churned, and a lump formed in his throat. Had she had enough of this life? Had Kyle convinced her to walk away? Or had the frightening experience done that?
Worry edged out the relief in his voice. “Julia, you’ve just been through a lot. It’s overwhelming, but we need to make sure you’re okay.”
Her features pinched again. “You don’t understand. We have to deal with this now.”
He couldn’t shake the bad feeling that twisted his gut into knots. “A-all right,” he stammered.
Julia rubbed a thumb across Sierra’s cheek. “Stay here, okay?”
Sierra tugged against her, upset creasing her features. “Julia, please don’t leave.”
She offered Sierra a slight smile. “I’m not leaving, Sierra. But there is something I have to deal with. Stay here.”
Grant sucked in a breath, his worst fears dismissed. What was it she needed to discuss? She offered him a glance, worry and something else clouding her eyes as she reached for his hand.
He slipped his into hers, pulling her closer to him as they strode from the room. “Any hints?”
She stopped in the foyer, facing him. “It’s about Kyle.”
His heart pounded at the mention of the man’s name, and his fingers curled into fists. Horrific thoughts raced through his mind about what had happened when Kyle Carter had driven off with her. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head, her lips pressed into a tight line. “No. But I know why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
His mind spun at the words. What had Kyle told her, and what had she been reluctant to bring up in front of his daughter?
“It’s not mine to tell. Please promise me you won’t overreact.”
“Julia…you’re not making sense.” He gently gripped her arms, wondering if she was confused. “Let’s just go sit down, okay?”
She shook her head again before she led him toward the closed doors of his study. With a glance over her shoulder at him, she pushed them open and stepped inside.
Grant kept his eyes trained on her until movement across the room caught his eye. His eyes went wide and anger burned through him at the sight of Kyle Carter standing in the center of the room.
Fury drove him toward the man. “You bastard.”
Julia raced in front of him, placing herself between them. “No, Grant.”
“Julia, get away from him.”
Kyle wrapped his fingers around her shoulder. “Don’t move, Julia. He’ll kill me if you do.”
Grant lifted his chin to peer around her. “Oh, what a real man, hiding behind an innocent woman. Stop using her as a shield, Carter.”
“Grant, stop,” she pleaded.
“I told you he’d be like this,” Kyle said. “I told you he wouldn’t listen. Now, do you believe me?”
“No,” she growled at him. “Just…everyone needs to take a breath.”
She kept her eyes trained on Grant as she placed a hand on his chest. “Please, listen to him.”
Grant wrapped his hand around hers before he tugged her closer to him, wrapping an arm around her. If Julia requested this of him, he would oblige. She must have a reason. “All right. Talk, Carter.”
The man glanced at Julia first, infuriating him again. She offered him a subtle nod.
He swallowed hard, and Grant caught sight of fear shifting in the shadows of his eyes. “Does the name Laura Michaels mean anything to you?”
Grant’s forehead creased as he searched his memory. He didn’t recall anyone by that name. “No,” he answered, trying to keep his voice even and measured for Julia’s sake.
Kyle slid his eyes closed, his jaw flexing. “Of course, it doesn’t. This is useless.”
“It’s not,” Julia said. “Explain. At least give him that.”
Kyle’s nostrils flared as he shot Julia a frustrated glance, his chest heaving with heated breaths. He shifted his gaze to the floor. “Well, thirty-three years ago, she meant something to you.”
“Thirty-three years ago?”
“Yes, Grant,” he growled. “Thirty-three years ago, when you spent some time with Laura Michaels. And she ended up pregnant.”
Julia’s hand twisted to intertwine her fingers with his as the words sank in. A vague recollection of a drunken night floated through his memory. He’d never imagined that forgotten moment would circle back to him now.
“And when she tried to tell you about it, all she got was ten thousand dollars and an order to get an abortion.”
Grant’s features pinched. He had never offered anyone money for an abortion. “What?”
“I’m your son, Grant. The one you tried to erase. The one you refused to take responsibility for.”
Grant’s mind stretched to put together the puzzle. Thirty-three years ago, he’d fathered a child. He couldn’t believe it. Could it be true? How had he never known?
But, if this was real, he’d hadn’t. He’d never asked the woman to dispose of it.
A wave of nausea rolled over him, his heart pounding like a drum. His palms turned clammy as he tried to process the words. “I didn’t…”
“He says your father wrote the check,” Julia said softly.
Realization dawned. Memories of a heated argument between him and his father about responsibilities cropped up. He’d never known what had happened. He flicked his gaze to Kyle’s face, wondering how he hadn’t seen it before. His eyes were eerily similar to his own and Sierra’s. He was staring at his son. A son he’d never known he had.
His mind flashed to the woman at his side. The woman who had rode out the storm of anger from the younger man across from him, and who had likely pieced the entire thing together. Had she realized he hadn’t known, or had she thought he’d do something this horrible?
“I didn’t know.” He set his eyes on his wife, his features pleading. “Julia, I didn’t know.”
“I told him that,” she said, her voice still soft.
“I don’t buy that,” Kyle snapped.
He snapped his gaze to Kyle. “Kyle, I…I don’t know what to say, but I had no idea. I’m sorry.”
“Too little, too late,” he growled.
“Kyle, that’s not fair,” Julia said.
“Isn’t it? Do you think what they did was fair? How do you think it felt to find out my life was…nothing more than a mistake?”
“Your life isn’t a mistake. And he didn’t do what you think he did.”
“I don’t believe that, Julia.”
“I didn’t,” Grant insisted.
“I don’t care!” Kyle shouted.
“Okay, enough,” Julia said, placing herself between them again. The two men stared each other down, neither of them willing to budge. “I think everyone needs to go to neutral corners.”
“For what? His half-hearted apology doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Grant scoffed, ready to rip into him. Any softened emotion he’d had toward the man fizzled in seconds when Julia interjected. “I don’t think it was intended to cover anything. And I don’t think it was half-hearted. I also don’t think this is going to be settled in one night.”
“What was the point of this, then? Other than to lure me here so you could get back to life under his thumb.”
“The point was to get this all out in the open. And now it is. Now, you’ve heard his side. He knows you exist. What you do from here is up to the two of you.”
Grant studied his wife as she spoke, her words seeming to come so easily. “Julia’s right. This is bigger than one night. But right now, I need to make sure Julia and Sierra are okay.”
Kyle stared at the floor, his jaw tense. “They should be taken to the hospital. There’s a needle mark on her arm. They could have given her anything.”
Grant wrapped his arm around Julia and tugged her toward the door. “Come on, Juls.”
Her shoulders slumped slightly as they walked to the door. He stopped before they reached the foyer and twisted to face the man claiming to be his son. He had always prided himself on being a man who faced consequences head-on. But now, confronted with a past decision that had resulted in an unintended consequence, a sobering humility settled on him. “Kyle, let’s talk tomorrow, and see if we can find some common ground.”
Kyle’s eyes landed on Julia before they flicked back to Grant. “All right.”
“I am sorry. I hope we can resolve this. You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”
Kyle offered him a nod as he flicked his gaze away.
They took another step toward the foyer when Kyle called to him again. “Hey, Grant?”
Grant turned to face him.
“I may be able to help you figure out who did this to Julia and Sierra.”
Grant offered him a fleeting smile before he pushed Julia further into the foyer and away from the man’s prying eyes. He stopped, trying to find words. Julia laid a steadying hand on his shoulder, her eyes offering silent support.
“Julia, I…”
She sucked in a breath. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“I do,” he answered as he grabbed her hand. “I need you to know I didn’t know about him.”
“I believe you. I didn’t think you did, and that’s why I convinced him to come. I’m sorry to have sprung that on you, but…I just thought a conversation may set you both on the road to resolving this instead of having you both trying to destroy each other.”
Once again, Julia’s wisdom and empathy may have saved him from a trouble he wouldn’t have otherwise escaped from. He couldn’t find the words he needed to thank her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. “I couldn’t have gotten luckier than the day you walked into that nightclub.”
He pulled back from her, cupping her face in his hands. “Now, let’s get you to the hospital and make certain you’re okay.”
She smiled up at him as she nodded. Another hospital visit for this poor woman, but he would be at her side every step of the way. Maybe now they could move forward with slightly less drama. Maybe now they could move forward together.