Chapter 8
eight
Quinn
N ormally when a woman figures out who I am, there’s immediate interest in my bank account. Or how many pretty and expensive ‘things’ they can get from me before moving on. After my ex, I learned to be cautious. I wait for the internal warning and, thank god, don’t feel that type of desire coming from Storm. I never have. She doesn’t play games. Has never tried to be something she’s not to impress me.
She feels right, so perfect in my arms. She’s trying not to cry—probably considers tears a sign of weakness. Maybe someday she’ll be able to accept that her weaknesses won’t turn me away. I’ll help her be strong. Because I’m in love with her. She’s mine. And I keep and protect what’s mine.
Brushing the slight dampness from her cheeks with my thumbs, I angle her face for my kiss. My promise. I won’t say the words now, it’s too soon and she wouldn’t believe them, thinking I’m just saying I love her to get her into my bed. I want her in my bed. Need her there. Holding myself in check, I press a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Storm? Baby?”
She sighs and wraps her arms tightly around my waist, rises to her toes and kisses me. Relinquishing control of the moment, I stroke her back and allow us to happen. Her kisses deepen, grow insistent, almost desperate.
I know the feeling. That’s how much I want her. Not just her lush, soft body, but the whole of her. Bunching the fabric in one hand, I slip the other under her shirt to caress her warm skin.
There’s a disruptive knock at the door. Can’t be housekeeping. They’ve already been here. “Ignore it,” I whisper and Storm nods as her hands move to the buttons of my shirt.
The knocking continues and my phone rings. From the hall I hear Helene. “Quinn, Quinn, let me in.”
Storm reaches for my phone where I left it on the table and glances at the screen. “Helene.”
Dread pools in my stomach, my rising cock deflates and when Storm pushes at my chest, I rush to open the door.
Helene bursts into tears and stumbles into the room. Hands on her shoulders, I steady her. “What’s wrong. Helene, calm down.” Her eyes are wide with fear and helplessness. Something terrible has happened. No. Fuck, no. I give her a slight shake. “Where are the kids?”
“I… I don’t know. She too…took them.”
I don’t need to ask who. “Britany. What the fuck, Helene. You know she’s not supposed to have unsupervised visits.”
Storm takes Helene’s arm and leads her to a chair. I follow helplessly. My ex-wife has my kids. Patting the older woman’s hand, Storm asks, “What happened?”
“My daughter showed up. She seemed fine.” Helene glances at me. “No apparent drugs or alcohol use. She wanted to spend some time with her kids. I know I shouldn’t have left but she was so convincing.”
At Storm’s questioning glance, I draw a calming breath before explaining. “Britany can talk her way around any problem, or to get whatever she wants. She’s honed that ability to a fine point.”
Helene pounds her fist against her thigh. “And I always fall for it. I guess I don’t want to believe she’s turned out how she has. That there’s some hope for her. Quinn, I’m so sorry. You must hate me, too.”
My ex mother-in-law is as much a victim of her daughter’s manipulations as I was. “No, Helene, I don’t hate you. I know how she can twist everything to her advantage. Now we need to find my kids.”
I can’t stand still. I have to do something. Pacing the room, I wrack my brain for answers. Where could that bitch have taken them? And why? She’s never expressed any interest in being a parent. Unless…
Helene continues with her story, her tears drying as she speaks. “She spent time with the children while I was in the next room. Then, she said she wanted to take them for lunch. Said she’d arranged for me to have lunch and a facial at a spa. That much was true. When I got back to the room, they were gone.”
Storm takes Helene’s hand. “No indication of where she might take them?
Thank god for Storm’s calm tone and reasonable questions. Needing an anchor, I rest my hand on her shoulder. She covers my hand with hers and I can breathe again. “Did she say anything that might be a clue?”
Helene shakes her head.
The three of us remain silent for a moment before Storm jerks from her thoughts to stare at me. “Your daughter has a phone, right?” She focuses on Helene. “Do you know if she has her phone?”
Another shake of her smooth gray hair.
I mentally slap my forehead and grab my phone from the table. “The kid-finder app. It will tell us where the phone is.” A few clicks later, I pump my fist in triumph. “The tracker is active. She’s at… the Adventuredome. Why the fuck would Britany take the kids there?”
Helene’s voice is small and hesitant. “Maybe she is trying to be a parent.” She blinks and makes a disgusted face. “Who am I kidding. We all know that’s not going to happen.”
Praying Emm will answer, I quick dial her number. It rings five times then goes to voicemail. Frustrated, I try again. And again. Damn it. When my phone pings with a message I open the app without thinking. Maybe it’s… “Shit, it’s Britany.” I glance at the short message then hold out the phone so Storm and Helene can read the words.
MY kids and I are having a great time. THEY want to stay with ME not you. They’ll love Mexico. I’ll let YOU know where to send child support.
Even after reading the short message over and over, the audacity of the woman still astounds me. “Mexico? No way in hell.”
Storm digs in her bag for her phone. “Time to call the police. Hopefully officer Cortez can get us to the right people.”
She steps away and places the call. I save a screen shot of the message before going back to the kids-finder app. “They’re still there. Helene, will you stay here just in case there’s some sort of contact?”
“Of course, just tell me what to do. You’re going after them, aren’t you?”
I bend to place a kiss on her cheek. She needs to know I don’t blame her for any of this. “Yes. I’ll bring Emm and Isaac back here safely. We’ll meet back in your suite. You’ll be okay?”
She pats my cheek. “Just let me know they’re okay and with you as soon as possible.”
“We will,” Storm confirms. “Officer Cortez is on the way there. Can you send her photos of the kids?”
Helene lifts her phone. “What about a picture of Britany? Would that help? I’ll send one to your phone, Quinn.”
Once the pictures are sent to the officer, Storm and I jog through the hotel to the parking area. I hand her my phone and have her keep calling my daughter’s phone. Traffic moves at a snail’s pace, even on the side streets. I don’t waste time looking for parking, and hand Storm the valet ticket to keep safe. Using the app, we make our way through the crowded Adventuredome. I’m concerned that the phone hasn’t moved since we left my hotel room.
We reach the indicated GPS location but there’s no one in the area. Just a cluster of trash cans. Storm shoves the top off one can and with a grimace, starts digging through the food wrappers and leaking cups. I start on another bin with no luck. Finally at the fourth container, Emm’s pink phone rests on top of the garbage.
“Do you think your ex threw this away?” Storm asks as she uses a reasonably clean napkin to wipe off the phone.
“Actually, no. She’d want to use it somehow. Even just to sell it. Here, let me see.”
I’d talked to my kids about dangerous people, and things they could do to keep themselves safe. I find the notes app I’d put on Emm’s phone and holding my breath, open the first dictated note.
Daddy, I’m throwing my phone away cuz Isaac and me are running away from her. I’m trying to be brave. Isaac too. We’re hiding. You know where. Find us. Hurry.
Storm steps back from reading over my shoulder. “You know where?”
I try to concentrate and run through areas where we’d spent time here yesterday but can’t think of where my daughter means. Shaking my head, I lift what must be a desperate expression to Storm. “There’s too many places. Too much here.”
She starts to speak, then focuses on something over my shoulder. The spike of hope is dashed when she says, “There’s Cortez. She’s coming this way.”
Cortez holds up her phone facing me. “Is this the car?”
I study the photo and notice the small dent I’d noticed in the front fender.
“Yes, where is it?”
She speaks into her shoulder microphone before answering. “Parking lot on the south side of the building. My partner has eyes on it. It won’t go anywhere.”
I explain where we found Emm’s phone and at the officer’s suggestion we split up to expand our search. She’ll alert the dome’s security to the situation.
Sit tight kids. I’ll find you. I send my thoughts out to the universe, give Storm a distracted hug then head toward the area where we saw the clowns perform. Isaac loves clowns, but my daughter, not so much. At the far end of the building it’s a good place to start then work my way back.
Time moves at a snail’s pace. The crowds shift around me in slow motion. Where are my kids? If Britany has harmed them in any way—I stop and draw a deep breath. My fists clench. I have to remain in control. I can’t let my ex get to me. She knows what buttons to push.
She put my kids in danger. I can’t forgive her for this. She doesn’t deserve to be a parent. Now my children will probably be afraid of her. I don’t know if that will translate into a fear of people or new situations. Isaac is outgoing and friendly to everyone. And hopefully young enough he’ll get over this ‘adventure’ quickly. I’m more concerned about my sweet, quiet daughter.
How could their mother be so selfish?
Emmerii, Isaac, where are you?
Clutching my phone like a lifeline I show the kids’ pictures to the performers and other staff members. Each sad ‘haven’t seen them’ shoves another painful spike into my heart. Desperation must show on my face as people begin to take a wide path around me.
My legs aren’t going to hold me up much longer so I drop onto a bench and stare at the photos on my phone. The burn and sting of tears fill my eyes. I don’t care. Don’t care what others might think seeing me cry. I just need my babies safe and back in my arms.
That’s not going to happen if I sit here doing nothing. Keep looking. They’re here somewhere. My phone rings as I stand. It’s Storm. Does she have the news my aching heart needs to hear? “Yes?”
“I found them.”