Chapter 19
Celine filled an oversized mug with hot water then found a full bottle in fridge.
She plopped the bottle in the cup and waited for it to slowly heat the milk inside.
She could pump while Lane fed Parker. That would give Lane more opportunities to be hands on with Parker’s feedings, and her time to actually relax while he enjoyed his parental duties.
A contentment she’d never experienced settled into her bones. Partnership, teamwork, someone who loved her son as much as she did picking up the slack. Those were the things she’d craved for so long and never thought she’d have.
And now?
Fear rattled her insides. Now that she’d had a taste of what life with Lane could be, losing it again would be unbearable. But she had to try, and not just for Parker.
Because she loved Lane.
Dammit, she’d never really stopped. He’d held her heart in his hand since they were teenagers and she’d never gotten it back. At least not fully.
But even if he said all the right things, she had to tread lightly. She’d been burned twice. A third time wouldn’t just destroy her, it could have repercussions for Parker’s relationship with his father as well.
The doorbell erupted into the silene of the kitchen, setting her on edge. Incessant banging on the front door came next. She froze, unsure what to do.
“Celine! Celine, help! Are you in there?”
Her heart jolted at the sound of Kevin’s muffled voice, and she ran to the front door.
The pounding continued along with Kevin’s frantic pleas. “Lane? Celine? Please! Let me in!”
With shaking hands, Celine threw open the door and the alarm sprang to life.
Kevin stood hunched over on the porch. Blood matted down his disheveled hair and stained his t-shirt. Black and purple rings circled both eyes and his nose was set at an unnatural angle. He stumbled in the house. “Hurry. Close the door before they come back.”
“I need to turn off the alarm,” she screamed above the abrasive screeching. She fumbled for the keypad, trying to recall the code Lane had given her for the security system.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder and the twisted expression on Lane’s face tightened her gut. Sheer fear and determination lined his face, his chest and feet bare.
His narrowed gaze darted from Celine—his expression relaxing a fraction—before focusing on Kevin slumped against the foyer wall.
When he erased the space between them, he rested a hand on her shoulder to guide her to the side and moved his fingers over the keypad then clicked the deadbolt into place.
The bone-shaking noise shut off, and she squeezed her eyes closed for a beat to absorb the sudden silence before tackling the giant issue standing in front of her.
“You’ve got to help me,” Kevin pleaded. “I’m in over my head and didn’t know where else to go.”
Anger welled inside her to the point of explosion, and she laid her eyes on her sniveling ex-husband. “So you came here? Where I am with my child? Did you bring those mobsters with you? Do they know where I am now? My God, Kevin, what the hell were you thinking?”
“I…I didn’t know what else to do.”
Lane stood tall and strong beside her. “How did you get here?” he asked, voice shaking with rage.
“The goons who kidnapped me stranded me in the middle of nowhere. Kicked me out of a moving car. They said they’d be back, and if I didn’t have the money, they’d kill everyone I loved before they killed me.
That’s why they went after you.” He finally lifted his gaze from the tiled floor and stared at Celine with wide, fearful eyes.
“It was punishment. A way to show me they could get to anyone in my life. That no one was safe. I’m so sorry.
I should have stopped gambling months ago. I have a problem. I need help.”
Lane snorted. “You need a lot more help than we can give you. Looks like you need a doctor and the authorities to clean up this mess.”
Kevin shook his head then winced, lifting his fingers to press against his temples. “No. No police. If they find out I called the authorities, I’m dead.”
Lane took one step forward and pressed into Kevin’s personal space. “You brought danger to my child, to the mother of my child. You’re lucky I don’t finish you off here and now and put an end to this shit.”
Kevn’s jaw dropped and he sank further against the wall, sliding down into a pathetic puddle. “I didn’t do any of this on purpose. I just couldn’t stop. They knew how to string me along to get me to offer more and more until they had me in so deep there was no way out.”
Relief seeped into Celine’s muscles at finally knowing the truth about why her life had been hijacked, but questions still loomed large about what Kevin had gotten himself into.
As well as no real solution as to how to get him out of it.
“Who is ‘they’?” she asked. “Does this all stem from the casino?”
Kevin dropped his head and covered the back of his neck with his hands, interlocking his fingers. “I can’t tell you too much. It will put a target on your back.”
“I already have a target on my back,” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air. “Apparently just to get you to pay what you owe. How much is it this time?”
He mumbled something she couldn’t hear, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to see him hurt—or worse, killed. But he wasn’t her problem anymore.
“We need to call the sheriff’s department,” she said. “They’ve been looking for you, and you’re the only one who can clear up everything. Once you talk to a deputy, they can put you in protective custody or something until the people after you are caught.”
Hysterical laughter bubbled from Kevin’s throat. “You think it’s that simple? This organization has a wide, dangerous reach. They’ll know where I am and who I talked to. And once they find out, I’m dead.”
“Not our problem,” Lane said. “You can’t show up at my doorstep, bring more danger to Celine and Parker, and think you call the shots. I’m going upstairs to grab my phone and I’m making the call. So you better figure your shit out fast.”
Celine crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the sniveling excuse of a man she’d once thought she loved. “I can’t believe you did this.”
Kevin glanced up at Lane, who disappeared at the top of the staircase, and scrambled to his feet. The injured look morphed into a hard mask and he pulled a gun from the back of his waistband. “I don’t care what you believe. Get your ass outside now before that idiot gets back.”
Icy terror slid down her spine like an avalanche. “What are you doing?”
He dug his fingers into her biceps and pressed the barrel of the gun to her side. “Outside. Now. I’d hate to have to use this on Parker.”
“You wouldn’t,” she gasped, tears stinging her eyes.
“I’d do whatever it takes to stay alive.” Opening the door, he forced her through it. “Now hurry the hell up.”
Lane stalked back to the nursery to give Duke a heads up before making a call to the sheriff’s department.
Duke sat in the rocking chair with Parker fast asleep in his arms. He glanced up as Lane entered the room. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, no, sonofabitch.” He shoved a hand through his hair, fisting the short strands for a beat before letting his arm fall back to his side. “Kevin Koffman’s here.”
“Celine’s ex-husband?”
“Yep.” Pent up anger and frustration flowed through his veins.
He paced to expel as much of it as he could so he wouldn’t put his fist through the asshole’s face as soon as he went back downstairs.
“Showed up all bloody and bruised. Asking for help. The idiot doesn’t want a doctor to look him over or the sheriff’s department involved in his shitshow.
But too damn bad. I’m calling Spencer and getting his ass here now. He needs to get out of my house now.”
“Want me to come down and lend a hand? This little guy fell right back to sleep as soon as everything quieted down.”
Stopping, Lane smiled down at his sleeping son. “Didn’t need fed, huh?”
“Nah, just the comforting arms of Uncle Duke.”
Lane shook his head. “Christ, what has my world come to?”
Chuckling, Duke stood and gently laid Parker back in his portable crib. “You love every single thing about this new world, including me. Now go get your phone, and I’ll meet you downstairs. No reason for Celine to be alone with that clown any longer than necessary.”
“Good point. And thanks.” He ducked out of the room and into his own, snatching his phone from the nightstand and placing the call.
“Hello?” Spencer’s groggy voice rang through the speaker.
“Hey, Spence. It’s Lane. Kevin Koffman’s all banged up and at my house.” He found his t-shirt on the floor and yanked it over his head.
“Shit. Did you call dispatch?”
“Didn’t have their number saved in my phone and hoped you were working. You’re the one who’s been on the case from the beginning. I can get ahold of the station though.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Spencer said. “I’m awake now. I’ll be right over and call the station myself. See who’s on shift and can head that way. The sooner we get someone there to speak with him the better.”
“Agreed. I want this idiot out of my house and away from Celine and Parker as soon as possible.”
Disconnecting, he hurried down the steps and stopped at the base of the stairway. The foyer was empty. “Celine?”
Duke ducked his head out from the doorway to the living room and frowned. “Where are they?”
Alarm blasted inside him as heat climbed the back of his neck. “What do you mean? They were right by the front door when I went upstairs.”
“They weren’t there when I got down here, and the living room’s empty.”
Lane rushed toward the kitchen. His heart rate kicked up three notches as every worst-case scenario played in his head. “Celine!”
The kitchen was empty, the only thing out of place one of Parker’s bottles in an oversized mug on the counter.
Duke stepped in behind him. “Doesn’t make sense, man. They didn’t just disappear.”
He sprinted back to the front hall and turned in a circle, as if Celine would magically appear. When he stopped, his eyes caught on the closed door. The deadbolt wasn’t locked. He frowned.
“What is it?” Duke asked.
“I secured the deadbolt as soon as I shut off the alarm. It’s unlocked now.” He flung open the door and the cool, night air rushed to greet him. Stepping outside, he squinted down the long lane that led to the country road.
Nothing but darkness stared back.
He jogged down the porch steps and kept his ears tuned for any signs of struggle, any signs of Celine.
The porch light blinked on behind him, illuminating the driveway. Deep ruts in the gravel caught his attention. He knelt down and fear grabbed hold of his throat. “Tire tracks,” he called out. “We need to look at the video feed from the front camera.”
He plucked his phone from his pocket and opened the app that showed the video feed. New activity waited in the log. He clicked on the thumbnail and played the video.
The front door swung open and Kevin dragged Celine from the house. His long, determined strides didn’t match the broken man who’d sat in a heap on the floor moments before. Rage and terror contorted his boy-next-door features and he held something against Celine while forcing her down the stairs.
Lane sucked in a sharp breath. “Holy shit, he’s got a gun on her.” He watched helplessly as Kevin shoved her in a car and drove away.
“How much of a head start do they have?” Duke asked.
Lane checked the time stamp. “About ten minutes. Dammit, I shouldn’t have left her alone with him. What the hell was I thinking?”
“That you needed to get authorities here as fast as possible. This isn’t your fault, and the last thing Celine needs right now is you falling apart because you feel guilty.”
The hard truth was like slap in the face, but one Lane needed.
“You’re right.” He scrubbed his palms down his face as his brain spun in circles. “I need to call Spencer again. Get an APB out on the vehicle so deputies are looking for it. But where would he take her? And why?”
Duke shrugged. “I don’t know man, but we can’t leave Parker here to run after her. Especially when we don’t know where to run.”
With his phone in hand, he sent a quick text to Suzy and prayed she’d see it then redialed Spencer.
“I’m almost there, dude,” Spencer said when he answered. “And the on-duty deputy is en route.”
“He’s got her, man.” Lane’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat to keep the emotion from gaining a chokehold on his vocal cords.
“Who has who? What are you talking about?”
“Kevin. He took Celine by gunpoint, and I have no clue where they’re going. We’ve got to find her.”
Spencer took the information and promised to handle it before disconnecting.
Lane sank onto the hard gravel and allowed himself one more second to wallow in the guilt and fear weighing him down. He couldn’t lose Celine. Not again. Not after they’d made their way back to each other and had a future full of everything he’d ever dreamed of waiting for him.
Sniffing back tears, he rose and tightened his jaw. He stared at his buddy, knowing Duke would stand beside him and do whatever it took to get her back.
Because if he didn’t, there was no way he’d ever survive.