40. Dempsey
40
Dempsey
I want this life with Katy. I want to bring Owen and our children to tumble class and get dizzy doing forward rolls with them into the foam pits. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in life.
Katy and her mother don’t look like they are having a great time. I supported her decision to see her mother once more, but I had my doubts it would go any better than their first meeting. I respect her desire to allow Babs and Owen to have their chance at a relationship, but if the glances I’m seeing are any indication of their future, it doesn’t look promising.
Owen runs toward the foam pit, and I have to focus my attention entirely on him so he doesn’t sink and disappear into the foam abyss.
This is the life I’ve always wanted. It’s time to tell her how I feel. I know she’s not ready, but I think she’s scared, and I need her to know there’s nothing to be afraid of with me. There will never be anything to be afraid of.
By the time I pull Owen away from the foam pit, I’m sweaty and more exhausted than I think I should be for playing with a not even two year old. Joy beams on my face, and I look at Katy and her mother and find one seat empty. I feel my face fall as I look around the room, trying to find her.
She’s not at the front counter or near the vending machines. Her mother still sits where I last saw them together but looks around nervously. When she sees me staring at her, she stands and spins in both directions, looking for a way out.
I snatch Owen up and speed walk to Babs. She takes several steps backward, tripping into the seats. She braces herself on the back of a chair before she falls over and clutches her cell phone to her chest.
“Where is she?” My voice is a growl as the feeble woman cowers below me.
“I-I-I…”
“Where. Is. She.”
Babs stares at Owen in my arms with awe and momentarily forgets I’ve asked her a question.
“Babs.” My sharp tone grabs her attention back to me.
“B-bathroom. She’s in the bathroom.” Babs spits out as she cowers under my stare. My eyes whip to the back of the building and back to her.
“Let’s go.”
“What?”
“If she’s in the bathroom, I’ll need you to check on her. Let’s go.” Her mouth flaps like a fish, but she sees the seriousness in my eyes and slowly walks toward the bathrooms.
“Maybe she didn’t go to the bathroom. I might have heard her wrong.”
“I guess we’re about to see?”
Babs drags her feet as we walk down the long hall. I have a terrible feeling. I knew seeing her mother wasn’t a good idea. Katy should have been the one on the gym floor with Owen, and I would have been watching them play together.
I slam my hand into the bathroom door and yell, as it opens, “Man coming in the women’s room.” I coax Babs into the room ahead of me and see all the stall doors open. The room is empty, and my heart sinks.
Where is she?
Owen starts to squirm in my arms. I know he wants down, but I can’t release him. I have to hold on to him for Katy. For myself. As I readjust him, something on the floor catches my eye.
No.
I bend down, carefully picking up the shattered phone. As much as I hope when I flip it over, Katy’s sunflower phone case doesn’t stare back at me, I know it will.
Turning it in my hand, Babs gasps when she sees it. It sounds fake, but I can’t understand why.
“What do you know?”
“Nothing,” she says too quickly.
“Fuck!” The word escapes me in a roar, and Owen bursts into tears. My heart breaks, and I apologize to him as I pull my phone out.
Who the fuck do I call first?
“I should go.”
I hit the speed dial on my phone, not wanting to make this call, but it has to be done.
“Don’t fucking move.” Babs freezes in fear.
“Dempsey?”
“Tucker, she’s fucking gone.”
“Where are you?”
“He has her. I know it. I found her phone smashed in the bathroom at Rock Star Gym. We’re here for Owen’s tumble class.”
“I’m on my way.”
I stop him before he can hang up. “Tucker, Katy’s mother is here with me. I have no proof, but I have a nagging feeling she’s involved.
“I’m already in my truck.”
The call disconnects, and I hit #1 on my speed dial, and Patrick picks up.
“Inside. Now. I’m walking Katy’s mother out with me from the bathrooms. Meet me along the way.” I hang up and glare at the mouse of a woman before me.
“ We , meaning you and I, are going to walk out of this building. You are going to come with me quietly and without making a scene, or I won’t be held responsible for whatever happens if you try to protest. Do you understand me?”
With fear in her eyes, she nods her head, and I’m glad. The less bloodshed now means the more I can spill when I get my hands on that motherfucker. And Shane’s blood will be shed.
? ? ? ? ?
If I truly admitted to myself everything I know about the evil men in the world, I’d have to confess that Shane taking Katy isn’t really a surprise. But fuck me if I didn’t think I could protect her from this situation.
I failed her.
Again.
Fucking. Again.
I’d take the pain of bleeding out in a car again over this feeling. Every fiber of my soul is being shredded over and over, leaving nothing but a bloody pulp, but I have to focus.
Katy’s mother sits in a corner of Spencer’s house, looking frailer than a piece of paper in a hurricane. Her skin becomes paler the longer she sits. We’ve offered her food and water, but she’s refused.
Outwardly you’d think she was exhibiting signs of a mother traumatized by her daughter’s abduction, but I’m calling bullshit. I’m not the only one who’s noticed the slight signs of withdrawal paired with fear in her eyes.
When Justin barged into the house, the look of disgust he flung her way was palpable. All the women and kids are locked up at Annie’s house, like Fort Knox. No one is getting in or out of there without a nuclear launch code. Cole stayed with them as our point of contact, so none of the ladies have to get direct bad news if any comes, and we can all check up on the kids without worrying them.
It’s tearing me up even more not to have eyes on Owen every second, but I know he’s safe at Annie’s. I need to believe that so I can focus all my energy on Katy.
“She’s not his ultimate goal,” Spencer offers.
It’s been my thought as well, but I’m trying to make rational decisions before I go off the rails. I feel like a caged animal ready to strike.
“What do you mean, Smithy? His pictures have been focused on Katy. I don’t think he’s after you anymore.”
“He’s not. It hasn’t been me for a while. It hasn’t been Katy either.” She walks over to the kitchen table, where hundreds of pictures are spread out. “Look.”
“You don’t have to. It’s not Katy or Spencer. He’s after Owen.”
Curses and grumbles fill the room as everyone realizes what I’ve been thinking for a while. Owen was with me, and he was safe, but I left Katy vulnerable.
“Fuck!” I slam my hands on the table, pictures fly in every direction, and no one flinches except Babs. A shriek echoes from the living room, and I charge into the room straight for her. I know I’m a mess right now, but she’s reacting to me like she thinks I’ll hurt her. I’m not entirely sure I won’t, so maybe her reaction is accurate.
Bracing my arms on either side of her chair, she leans back as far as she physically can as I tower over her trembling frame.
“Listen, you little bitch. I don’t fucking like you, and I think you know a lot fucking more than you’re saying. I don’t like to hurt women, but I might make an exception if I decide you have information you’re holding back.”
A firm hand clasps my shoulder, and I shrug it off.
“Dempsey.”
Tucker can fuck off. I don’t care who signs my checks; they can fucking keep their money for all I care. Babs knows something.
Babs starts to hyperventilate under my intense glare. Her eyes roll back into her head, and her body slumps over as she passes out.
I stand, crossing my arms over my chest. “Fucking great.”
“Dempsey.”
“I fucking know, Tucker. I need to calm the fuck down.” I run my hands through my hair, pulling the hair tie out and chucking it across the room with a roar.
Dropping onto the couch, I fist my hair at my temples and pull. The bite of pain grounds me but does nothing to calm my rage.
I FUCKING FAILED HER AGAIN.
We have nothing. No leads. He hasn’t contacted us. She could be anywhere.
“What does he want? Why hasn’t he contacted us? He’s never been shy about it before. Why now?”
It’s obvious by the looks on everyone’s faces they’re feeling the same way.
“What are we missing?” I can see Lincoln sorting through the pictures on the table.
A soft moan draws my attention across the room as Babs wakes from her fainting spell. Before I can even move, Tucker stands in front of me.
“Let me try.”
I nod, knowing I’m beyond rational thinking at this moment.
I never told her. I was too chicken shit, and then when I wasn’t, I let her irrational fear keep me from telling her how I feel.
I fucking love her, and I will tear Shane apart inch by fucking inch when I find him.
As Tucker approaches Babs, she cowers as far into the corner of the chair as humanly possible. My lip twitches, seeing her fear, knowing I caused it. Even if she had nothing to do with Katy’s abduction, she deserves every bit of fear she has right now. She neglected Katy growing up and used her for whatever she needed, then basically sold her.
“Babs, I’m inclined to agree with my friend over there that you seem to know more than you’re letting on. Would you care to share with us what you know? It seems convenient that the one time our guard was down, Shane took the opportunity to take Katy. How did he know she went to the bathroom?”
Babs closes her eyes as if she can block out Tucker’s words just by not seeing him. That’s not going to fucking happen.
Justin enters the room and steps up to Tucker. “Let me try.” Tucker steps aside, looking slightly defeated. It’s how we are all feeling.
No one has even mentioned calling the police. At this point, we are beyond the law.
Justin squats in front of Babs, and she peeks her eyes open. Her body physically relaxes when she sees him, and it makes my rage boil inside again. She shouldn’t feel an ounce of relief.
“Babs, you’re a piece of shit mother. The only good thing you’ve ever done in your life is sign the paperwork allowing Katy to be free of you. If there’s a fucking iota of a human being left inside you, and you know anything about Katy’s abduction, I suggest you tell us right now. If we find out that you were holding back information, every person in this room will turn a blind eye to whatever wrath that Viking back there sees fit to dole out to you.”
Holy fucking shit. I don’t know where that came from, but every word Justin just said is accurate. I’ll name my firstborn after him for that.
Babs begins to stutter, and her eyes start to roll again.
“Nope. Not happening.” Justin slaps her cheek a few times, stopping her fainting spell, and whatever relaxation she felt in his presence is gone.
“Let me have my fucking chance with her.” Justin puts his hand up to stop Lincoln, and I see the pain in his eyes that matches mine.
Lincoln is feeling the agony of failing Katy as much as I am. He thought he saved her from Shane once, and here we are, having to do it again.
Katy has a piece of every person’s heart in this room. She’s Justin’s savior, Axel’s safe space, Miller’s joy, Lincoln’s kindred soul, Spencer and Tucker’s daughter, and my future wife.
“Okay.”
What? Did Babs just say okay? Is she admitting to knowing something?
Her eyes dart around the room at everyone gathered around her. Tucker and I exchange a knowing look. We’re about to get somewhere in Katy’s disappearance.
“Sh-Shane took her.”
No shit. That’s not news.
With a trembling hand, she reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone, handing it to Justin. He takes it with a confused look.
“T-texts.”
Justin glances at the phone and immediately sprints to the kitchen, handing it to Chip, who’s been trying to access any cameras around the gym to see if he can find any suspicious cars. The house grows silent as Chip types away after plugging her phone into his laptop. I think everyone is holding their breath, waiting for even a scrap of hope of Katy’s whereabouts.
“You fucking bitch.” Chip shoots a scathing glance in the direction of Babs.
“What did you find?” Axel asks. His usual bubbly tone is laced with unease. Tucker walks up behind him and wraps his arms around Axel’s chest, pulling him close. His vibrating stops as Tucker takes away some of his anxiety.
“Katy was being tracked.”
“We already knew this.” My words come out with more venom than I intend, but Chip lets it roll off his shoulders and goes back to his search.
“Bun-Bun.”
“The fuck?”
“There are texts exchanged about Owen’s bunny. She gave him one with a tracker in it.”
“The fucking coffee shop,” I growl. All eyes turn to me, waiting for an explanation. I charge back into the living room and put my finger in Babs’ face.
“You goddamn fucking cunt. You conspired with your fucking daughter’s rapist. Are you that fucking heartless? Are you so fucking hard up for a fix? What did he pay you because people like you don’t do a damn thing unless they’re getting something out of it? I’ll double it. I’ll fucking triple it. Every penny I have for every piece of information you know right goddamn now.”
My chest heaves with the effort it’s taking me to contain myself. I want to tear this woman apart. Words start spilling from her mouth, but I can’t hear anything. The blood rushes through my ears so loudly it’s all I can hear.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my pocket. Everyone who would be contacting me is here in this room. It has to be…
“FUCK!”
I toss my phone at Chip, and everyone scrambles to see the reason for my outburst.
“Dempsey?”
Tucker calls out to me as I storm out of the room, but I’m beyond reasoning right now. I walk through the kitchen and out the back door, straight to the first tree I come to. I take my aggression out, punch by punch. I see Shane, who took the woman I love. I see my CO that got away with raping a fellow Marine. I see…myself. Their brutality doesn’t come close to the feeling of failure coursing through my body. I’m not good enough for her. I wasn’t good enough to keep her out of Shane’s hands. I’m no better than them.
He has her, and the picture he sent me is proof.
Unknown: Are you willing to share?
“God damn mother fucking asshole fucking cunt—”
A hand grabs my biceps, and on instinct, I spin, swinging my fist. Patrick ducks but sucker punches me in the gut as he straightens. I fall to the ground, my body exhausted. Tears flowing freely down my cheeks, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.
I scream.
Long. Loud. Agonizingly.
I scream until my voice becomes hoarse, and the tears stop. When I look up at Patrick, he offers me his hand. There’s no judgment on his face. I feel the empathy, the camaraderie.
“Chip has a lead.”