Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
ANDY
I was the closest unit when the call came in.
Silent alarm, residential. Flagged high-priority. Sable Point address.
Chase and Elena’s.
My gut twisted before dispatch even finished the call sign.
Last time I responded to a call from Elena, she’ been brutally assaulted by her piece of shit ex and Chase went fuckin’ unhinged. That night cracked something open in him—and in all of us. Not long after, he’d wrecked his bike on the county road trying to outrun his own goddamn demons.
Put Charlie in a coma. His baby sister. Still doesn’t remember the crash.
I floored it.
Two minutes out.
The cruiser lights washed over the houses like a demented Bomb Pop. My pulse thudded in my ears. This wasn’t just another call. This was my friend. A good one. A guy who’d clawed his way back from hell and built something beautiful out of the ashes. If anything had happened to that baby...
I couldn’t think about it.
I pulled up and saw the back door blown open. Splintered wood. Blood on the threshold.
Gun drawn. Vest tight. Every nerve in my body firing on high alert.
I stepped into the house, and the first sound I heard was Chase—groaning—somewhere upstairs.
Then a sob.
I sprinted. Two steps at a time. Turned the corner and hit the nursery.
And I saw it all.
The blood. The broken door. Elena on the floor, unconscious. Chase slumped beside her, trying to press his hand against her head and his shoulder at the same time.
No baby.
“Andy—” he choked, pale and shaking, “he took her. He has Luci.”
I didn’t freeze. Couldn’t.
“Officer on scene, I need EMS now—gunshot wound, unconscious female, infant abduction. Suspect fled on foot or vehicle—unknown direction. White male, early thirties, likely under the influence, armed. Repeat—armed. Alert county units. Lock this shit down.”
I was already at Chase’s side, dropping to one knee, trying to apply pressure where his hand was slipping. Blood soaked through his shirt like someone had turned on a faucet. His skin was waxy. Clammy. Eyes glassy.
But he wasn’t out of it. Not even close.
“Elena—she’s breathing?” he asked, voice raw.
“Yeah. Yeah, she’s alive,” I said, checking for a pulse. “You both are, but barely, so sit your ass still until EMS gets here.”
He didn’t even nod.
Just looked at the door.
Like if he stared hard enough, Luci would be back in his arms.
“Dispatch, put out an APB on Peter Stone,” I said into my radio. “Last seen fleeing the Ventura residence with infant in arms. Repeat: infant abduction in progress. Establish roadblocks. I need traffic cams pulled, nearby security feeds pinged, all Sable Point exits monitored. Full response.”
I heard more units coming—sirens screaming up the road. Backup. Medics. Too late.
Chase shifted. Tried to sit up.
“No. Nope. Stay down, Chase.”
“I’m fine.” He grimaced, pushing himself upright with one hand, the other still slick with his own blood. “I can’t—I can’t let him take her.”
“You’ve lost a lot of blood, man. You are not doing this. You are not Rambo. You are not John Wick. You’re a dad with a bullet hole and a bleeding-out shoulder.”
He was already crawling.
“Chase—I’m ordering you to stay the fuck down. Wait for medics.”
He met my eyes—clearer than they had any right to be. “She’s my daughter.”
And then he was gone.
He stumbled down the hall, tripping on the stairs, catching himself on the wall, but refusing to stop.
He made it to the driveway, dragged open the door of his truck with a guttural sound of pain, and peeled out so fast the tires screamed against pavement.
Seconds later, backup pulled in. Medics rushed inside.
But my gut? It followed him.
“Dispatch,” I snapped, already back in my cruiser, engine roaring. “I’m in pursuit.”
And then I said the one thing I’d never thought I’d have to say. “Add Chase Everton to the BOLO. I’m not arresting him. I’m saving his damn life.”