Chapter 52 Carter
Keegan and Marcus going out together makes me itch at not being with them, watching their backs.
I trust them both, and know they’re good at their jobs, but fuck, so much has happened, it’s hard not to want to wrap them up in my arms and keep them safe.
The bodyguard in me will never fully retire, and while my position on the Council now means I am the one who needs to be kept safe, that doesn’t stop me wanting to protect those I love either.
Entering our suite, still a bit in awe that I can call it ours now, I brace myself for an excited toddler, only to find nothing but silence.
I told Cole’s nanny I would do naptime today, because the plan is to make cookies as a way to distract us both from Keegan and Marcus being out. Cookies, and then a movie in our bed, is on the agenda, but coming into an empty room is not.
Cole’s lunch tray is still on the table, as if he finished and then got up right after.
I check the table for a note—it’s not uncommon for them to play hide and seek when they know we’re coming to spend time with Cole, but there’s usually a note to let us know the game’s begun.
That, and Cole’s giggles can normally be heard from his hiding spot.
Though, even those have tempered out lately as he’s gone quieter and quieter as the days have passed.
My loves say he’s doing better now I’m an official part of their family, but it’s clear to all three of us that the boy is struggling, and it kills us.
As much as I am wary of the guy, maybe we should talk to Javi about any child psychologists he knows.
Keegan and Marcus have one they could call, but with the Senator still out there, it’s safer to do everything in-house, rather than risk taking Cole out—even for something as simple as an appointment.
Maybe. The idea of a serial killer around Roman is hard enough, but letting him get close to Cole is nightmare-inducing.
Doing a quick sweep of our rooms, there’s no sign of Cole in any of his usual hiding spots, and my chest tightens with anxiety, but I shove it down. There's no reason to freak out—yet.
Going downstairs, I check the kitchen, and then outside. Maybe the nanny forgot, and decided to take him out to burn off some extra energy?
When I come up empty in both locations, my stomach churns and I have to take a few deep breaths.
There’s a reasonable explanation for this…
Clearly, I’ll need to have a talk with the nanny about paying more attention to the schedule and when we tell her things, so we can make sure our son is where he’s supposed to be, but it’s fine.
I head to Hollis’s office. Rather than spend valuable time searching the whole house, simply asking Leandro will be faster. As much as the mimic has pissed everyone off lately, his inherent nosiness does come in handy sometimes, I’ll give him that.
I knock briefly on the door before swinging it the rest of the way open, looking straight at Leandro’s desk, only to find he's not there.
“Where’s your protégé?”
Hollis doesn’t turn around. “I sent him to bed after the meeting; the kid’s been working way too hard and was up for thirty-six hours this time.”
I wince, knowing both hackers have been working insane hours for months now, and Leandro has picked up the slack since Hollis’s breakdown. Gratitude for my nephew replaces the anger I still feel at him playing God where he shouldn’t.
“I need Cole’s location,” I tell Hollis. “I guess his nanny forgot I was going to take him this afternoon, and I’d rather not walk around the entire house like an idiot while trying to find them.”
Hollis snorts but brings up the surveillance feeds on one of his monitors, shifting through them and…coming up empty. “Are they outside?” he muses, pushing more buttons as I shake my head and walk further into the room.
“I checked the backyard, and there’s no reason for them to be in the front.”
“You left them in your suite for the meeting?” he asks, clicking a few more buttons.
With my heart in my throat, I respond, “Yeah. We had breakfast as a family, and then left him with the nanny. I told her I’d be back after lunch to take over…
I wanted to distract him from thinking about Keegan and Marcus being out.
He’s used to being with the nanny while we’re working, but it’s different because we’re all just a text or call away and can get to him in seconds if he needs us. ”
Hollis doesn’t reply to that, but mutters to himself, “Fucking Leandro is getting too good at locking me out of things.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Nothing…he has his surveillance encrypted, which is good as it means no one else can see or hear what he does, but it’s taking me longer to get through his protections as he’s gotten better at them.”
I don’t have the capacity to understand what the hell Hollis is talking about, I simply watch as he types away.
After what has to only be a minute but feels like hours, he says, “I’ll go back and trace their steps, see what’s going on.
Chances are I’ll need to replace some of the regular security cameras as they’re probably malfunctioning.
Lucky for you, your suite is one of the places Leandro put cameras up—he might be an asshole, but he’s as protective of Cole as we all are. ”
I tune Hollis out as I watch his monitor. He goes back to just after breakfast, then speeds it up until half an hour ago when lunch was brought in for them.
My knees shake and I grab the back of Hollis’s chair in order to stay upright as we watch Cole go from happily eating his food to passing out at the table.
A strangled noise escapes my throat as Hollis curses. He hits a few buttons and brings up another angle, rewinding the footage a little so we can watch as the nanny…the woman we trusted with our son, slips something into his drink.
Tears burn my eyes as rage and devastation take turns swirling through my veins. On screen, we watch as the woman puts Cole in a fucking duffle bag, his small frame the perfect size for it, and then she walks out, all the way to the front door.
None of the guards stop her, because why would they? She’s a trusted person, and there’s nothing suspicious about leaving with a bag of old and unused clothes, or toys, or whatever the fucking excuse she used was.
There’s a ringing in my ears, and everything goes fuzzy and dark. The sharp sting of being slapped in the face has me gasping, and I look up at Hollis—how did I end up on the ground?
“Carter!” The hacker says my name firmly, and in a tone that indicates he’s been calling it for a while.
Looking into his intense dark brown eyes, I try to form a response, to let him know I’m okay, but everything in me feels as if it’s being crushed.
“Do I need to get Doc?”
I shake my head. “No…please…” I say in a rough voice. “Cole…no…”
Hollis’s expression softens. “I alerted the rest of the Council, and sent messages to both Keegan and Marcus, though I can’t get through to them.”
Fuck… Keegan and Marcus… My loves, the other parts of my heart…they’re going to be devastated. They’re…they’re going to hate me for losing their son.
Bile works its way up and I lean over, coughing and spitting as the acid burns my throat, nose, and mouth.
They trusted me with the most precious part of them and I lost him. Fuck…how will they ever be able to look at me again?
“Dad!” Roman’s voice makes me lose the battle with my tears, and I spit up again.
Gasping for breath, I’m distantly aware of someone touching me, trying to soothe my pain. I flinch. I don’t deserve comfort. Not…not when Cole is gone.
No, no, no, no… This can’t be happening. Not again. Not Cole…
Someone cries out my name, but as I lose my breath and the darkness overtakes me. All I can think about is how I failed. As a father, and a lover. I can only hope Keegan and Marcus—my heart and soul—kill me quickly, for their sake rather than mine. It’s the least I deserve for failing them.