35. Easton
THIRTY-FIVE
Easton
I'm not sure how to describe how I'm feeling. I've never been in a situation like this before, and it is wild from the outside.
When you're inside it, there's just too much.
Mostly, I'm consumed by fear and worry and anxiety and various versions of those same things.
I'm furious that Neil has taken the people I love from me. But I also know I need to focus. It will do no one any good if I fly off the handle and rush into the building too quickly.
The cops have secured the location. We came in without headlights on and cruised on neutral for most of it. Neil has no idea we’re here.
Neil sent someone out from the inside of the building, though. The cops secured him quickly enough, dragging him off into one of the cruisers.
He must have been the man who attacked Hazel. He was wearing the same Halloween mask.
Renewed fury drives through my blood like a freight train, and I look back at the building, waiting for the all-clear to go in.
I'm not even supposed to be here. I had to use every ounce of charisma that I possess, which isn’t much, and my familiarity with the military to be allowed this far.
The cops weren't going to get rid of me, though. Hazel and Jade are in there—the girl who I'm coming to think of as my daughter, and the love of my life are in that building with the unhinged man who wants to traffic them, and I will not let that happen.
“Alright, Mr. Hawk. We're going to go inside, but I need you to be silent and listen to everything we say. You are not the lead on this. The only reason that we're letting you inside is because you were in the military, and you know how to handle yourself.”
I nod. That's all I can do right now.
“Alright, let's go.”
I follow the officer, a Detective Kowalsky, who takes point and rushes forward towards the building. We get to the back, but that door has been secured.
So, we circle around the front to the main entrance. This one seems easier to get in through, and the cops think that Neil is probably at the back of the building anyway.
This way we'll have a little bit of cover before we go inside. They open the door surprisingly quietly, and I'm impressed by their skills.
We slip inside, moving, deadly silent. I haven't been provided with a weapon, of course, but I know how to handle myself easily enough.
It's pitch black inside here, the sun having gone down long ago, and the windows are covered over with a layer of grime that doesn't even let in the moonlight.
As we slink forward into the darkness, we all stop at the sound of a repetitive noise.
Pat, Pat, Pat.
It sounds like someone quickly rushing up to us, feet slapping against the cement.
Everybody hunkers down, holds up their weapons, and waits to see what happens. It's the next noise that stops me in my tracks before getting me sprinting toward the sound.
It's muffled, but I’d know that whine anywhere.
“Jade? Jade!”
I take off, and sure enough, there she is, running towards us. Her hands are tied in front of her, and there's duct tape pulled over her mouth.
Panic and worry hit me, but so does relief. She's here, she's in front of us, and I don't see Neil.
She smashes into my arms, and I wrap them around her. “Oh my god, Jade. You’re okay. Thank god. But…” I look around. “Where’s Hazel?”
Jade uses her bound hands to point towards the back of the building. Her eyes are wide, and it's clear that she's been crying.
Hell, I think she's still crying, but Jade’s just too dried out to produce tears.
“It's okay. It's okay. We're going to go get her, we're going to get Hazel, and we're all going to go home.”
Another officer rushes up to us and takes Jade in her arms. “Okay, honey, let's get you to the EMTs. They're outside, they're going to look you over, and they're going to make sure you're alright.”
I allow the woman to pull Jade away.
“It's okay,” I whisper back at Jade as she fights against the detective who's trying to get her to go outside. “It's okay, honey. I'm going to get Hazel, and I'm going to come right back.”
She nods. Jade has no choice but to believe me right now, but I think she does.
When she's out of the building and we can think straight again, the cops and I progress forward toward the back of the building. Built into this larger warehouse, there’s a smaller room.
It must be some type of office where management would sit when it was still a running business.
At that point, time does something strange, stretching out into this thin line that I have to precariously walk on in order to get to Hazel.
If I tip this way or that, I will fall off, and something will go wrong, and I’ll lose her.
Sound becomes a muted thing in the background, and I remember this focus from when I was in the military. I have an objective that I have to meet, and nothing matters besides getting into this room and getting Hazel out.
I will get her to safety and make sure Neil winds up behind bars.
The police stand at the door to the office with a mobile battering ram positioned between two of them. Everybody makes eye contact, waiting for the right moment, and Detective Kowalski counts it down on his fingers.
Three, two, one. Smash.
The door breaks in, and one of the other officers kicks it the rest of the way down. We rush up towards it, getting inside the office.
Everything moves quickly, but in the mad dash, I see Neil has Hazel pinned to the floor, about to punch her in the face, but he's up on his feet quickly, dragging Hazel behind him.
He holds her in front of him as he digs in his pocket and pulls out a knife. The blade goes to Hazel's throat, and my stomach drops clean through the earth.
“Let her go, you piece of shit!” I scream, and Neil's eyes find mine.
A nasty snarl lifts the corner of his mouth, and I glare back at him. “Ah, yes, the boyfriend.”
“Mr. James,” Detective Kowalski stands in front of me, putting a hand on my chest, “let her go. Your time is up; we have the building surrounded, and there's no way out of this. If you let her go now, you free yourself up from a much worse charge.”
They're negotiating with him because this is a fucking hostage situation now. Neil James has the woman I love hostage in his arms with a knife pressed to her throat, and all I can do is meet her eyes and see the terror that is lingering there.
Neil doesn't give a shit about worse charges. He's in trouble as it is. This feels completely futile.
“I'm not going anywhere. You come a step closer, and I'm going to slit this girl's throat. I have no problem doing it. You're all going to back off, and you're going to let me get out of here.”
My body surges forward on instinct, but Kowalski keeps me back. I can't get closer to that asshole, but I know I'd be able to outpower him if I could get my hands around him.
“Mr. James, this isn't the way you want to do this. Just put the weapon down. You're in a room with four officers and one really pisssed off ex-military man. You really want to risk those odds? I wouldn't.”
I'll hand it to Kowalski with that one. He has a point.
Neil meets my eyes, probably looking to see some type of mercy or leniency or just some proof that I wouldn't go through with it.
He won't find anything. He's hurt the woman I love, and there is absolutely nothing in this world that I wouldn't do to him right now to get her back.
Fear and panic start to worm through his eyes. I knew he was a coward, just some fucker who likes to push girls around. I knew he didn't have the balls to stick to his guns against people who could actually put up a fight.
“Mr. James, drop the knife, and we will get out of here. You can come to a secured cell with us, and you'll stay in a nice and cozy prison for a long, long time. Don't do something stupid and make yourself the victim of Montana's justice system.”
I know Kowalski is alluding to capital punishment, so there it is.
Neil has a choice; his life or Hazel’s. Which is more important to him?
I'm not surprised in the least when I see him toss down the knife and shove Hazel forward, because he's a fucking coward.
There's nothing that Kowalski can do now to keep me away from her, and I shove past his arms and reach for Hazel, yanking her against my chest.
Neil tries to make a sidestep into the back of the room where there might be another door, using this moment between us as a distraction.
But I let go of Hazel, and run forward to grab his shirt and pull him towards me before I collide my fist with his face.
He crumples onto the ground, whining and squealing as his nose pours blood.
“Mr. Hawke!”
“I only punched him. He's got a broken nose. I wanted to do much worse, trust me.”
Kowalski and the others deal with Neil as I go back to Hazel and press her to my chest.
“Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay. Did he do anything to you? Are you alright?”
Hazel looks up into my eyes, and I can see that she's too shocked to put anything into words. Then, realization clicks in her brain that I'm actually here, that she's not going crazy.
“How? How did you do this? How are you here?”
Guilt and relief war inside me as I meet Hazel's eyes, and a tiny scoff leaves me.
“I had a feeling you would do this. You were off earlier when you got that phone call. I had to assume that Neil called you, that he wanted to make a trade. I really, really wish you wouldn't have done this. It was really stupid.”
Dropping her chin, I can tell that Hazel feels terrible.
“But thank you. I know you were trying to protect Jade. I know that you were trying to do everything you could to keep her safe. And I was doing everything I could to keep you both safe.”
She shakes her head, dried tears clinging to her skin. “You were asleep when I left, though, and I deleted the message from my phone.”
“I wasn’t asleep. I was pretending, and before we went to bed, I called the sheriff to make sure that everyone was on standby. We followed you here. They had to get everything set up to arrest Neil before we came in. I'm sorry it took so long.”
Hazel sags against my chest, her head hitting me with a solid thump. “It's okay. I just…I'm really glad that you're here. I'm really glad that I'm not…that he is…”
I lift up her chin, kissing her forehead. “I know, I know, baby. I'm glad, too. Please don't do anything as reckless as that again, though, all right?”
Hazel nods against me. “I won't, I promise.”
I smile down at her, so damn happy that she is okay.
“Jade! I sent her running. Is she?—”
“She's alright. She's outside. I'm sure she'd like to see both of us. Come on.”
We start to leave the office. I know Kowalski wants to talk to me about punching Neil and all this nonsense, but I don't care right now.
I just want my girls to be together, and I want them to be in my arms, safe against me. We rush across the warehouse towards where the front door is held open, and the flashing blue and red lights of the EMT trucks are reflecting off the ground.
I'm surprised Hazel is able to run so fast, but we get through the door to where the ambulance is parked.
“Hazel! Uncle Easton!”
Jade leaps up from where she’s seated at the back of the ambulance, running over towards us. Hazel opens her arms, kneeling down on the ground, and Jade smashes into her.
They squeeze each other so tight, and I am right there behind them, wrapping my arms around both of them.
This is where they belong. Both of my girls are here, and they're right where they belong.
Everything slows down at that point, and the wave of relief that hits me is so profound I almost fall asleep on my feet. Something tells me tomorrow is just going to be sleeping.
As we're standing there, we watch a handful of cops drag Neil out of the building and shove him into a cop car.
His nose is still pouring blood, and an EMT comes by to help plaster on a bit of gauze.
I only wish I could have gotten in a few more punches before he was put inside the squad car.
But at least we're here. The three of us are together. And Neil is going away for a very, very long time.
“I’ve got you, girls. I’ve got you right here.” I squeeze Hazel and Jade. “And I’m going to take you home.”