Chapter Fifteen
Max
“Cody’s at the apartment with Micah,”
I tell the men around me.
“Nurse is with them. I told him to act normal. Say Lila and Bree are out with the girls. No sense in putting that kind of worry on the kid.”
“Good,”
Spike nods. He turns to Foster.
“So, why’d you call us away from the station?”
Foster lifts his phone, eyes sharp.
“Because I have the school’s security feed. The sign-out sheet shows Bree was checked out a little after eleven this morning by a man named Christopher Campton.”
“Her father,”
I mutter, my jaw tight.
“Except Lila swore he told her it wasn’t him.”
Foster rotates the screen toward us.
“I can’t confirm or deny if this is actually him. The angle’s bad. But what we do know is that Bree didn’t resist. She lit up the second she saw him, ran straight into his arms. So, whether it’s her father or not, it’s someone she knows. Someone she trusts.”
“Let me see,”
Lila’s groggy voice drifts from the couch.
We’re back at my old house inside the compound. When Foster called and said to forget the cops and to come back, I held her against my chest and flew us back on my bike.
Patch was already here when we returned and gave her a quick exam. I knew she’d just fainted, but I wanted his word on it. He said it plain: her mind hit overload, and her body shut down before it broke her completely. Self-defense of the brain.
Now she’s awake, pale and trembling, but still fighting to sit up. Still demanding to see what Foster’s uncovered.
I help her sit up, fingers steady at the small of her back until I’m sure she won’t tip. Foster un-pauses the feed and turns the phone so we can all see.
“That’s him,”
she says, voice raw. She shakes her head like she can’t believe it.
“That’s Chris. He said he didn’t pick her up. Why would he lie?”
“Are you sure, baby?”
I ask, leaning in.
“His face is mostly hidden.”
“When you know someone as long as I’ve known him, you don’t need a clear shot of their face,”
she says, jaw tightening.
“It’s the way he moves. His build. That crooked way he carries his shoulder. That’s him. He has her. He lied. Why?”
“That’s what I plan on finding out,” I say.
“Max, why don’t you and Bones pay him a visit? See if Bree’s there,”
Spike says.
“I’m coming too,”
Lila snaps, pushing herself up. Her eyes blaze at me.
“Don’t you dare tell me to stay on my ass and wait. I’m going. Where’s my phone?”
“I had no intention of leaving you behind, baby,”
I say honestly as I press the phone into her hand. My thumb covers hers for a second…steady, anchoring.
“We go together. We find her. We bring her home.”
“Micah must be worried sick,”
she cries, her voice breaking.
“He doesn’t know what’s happening,”
I say gently.
“Cody’s with him. He checked in and said Micah’s asleep.”
Lila releases a breath so deep it shakes her shoulders.
“Okay,”
she whispers, nodding as if she’s trying to convince herself.
“Okay. Good. That’s good.”
I cup her cheek, tilting her face to mine.
“We’re going to get her back, baby,”
I promise, holding her gaze so she sees the truth in my words.
Bones leans forward, his voice low.
“Does your ex-husband know you’re tied to us? That you’re connected with the club?”
“No,”
Lila says quickly, then blinks hard. Her confusion bleeds through her voice.
“Wait…how long was I out? Where…where am I?”
“A couple of hours,”
I admit, keeping my tone steady.
“We had Patch look you over. He said you’d wake when your brain was ready. Baby, you had a severe panic attack. Your body just… shut down on you.”
“A panic attack,”
she whispers, testing the words like they don’t quite fit.
“Okay. And where are we?”
“This is my house inside the compound,”
I tell her softly, brushing my thumb across her hand.
“You’re safe here.”
Her eyes glisten, a fresh tear sliding free. “Yeah,”
she says faintly.
“But is Bree safe…where she is?”
“Foster, I want you to dig into Chris Campton,”
Spike says.
“Max, report back what you find at the house. Someone took a Shadow…a very precious member of our family…and I want her fucking back.”
***Lila***
“This is it,”
I tell Bones as we pull into Chris’s place. A two-story suburban dream, the kind you see in commercials. White siding, white picket fence, a neatly trimmed yard. Parked in the driveway is a gleaming black Mercedes S-Class, polished to perfection like it’s never seen a speck of dust.
“He seems to be doing good,”
Bones mutters. His voice is edged, suspicious.
“So why the fuck are you stuck in that shitty apartment with his kid if he’s living like this?”
“Bones,”
Max warns, his tone a growl.
“It’s okay,”
I say before it can escalate. I keep my eyes on the house, though the memories press in hard.
“I used to live here, too. Chris and I got married fresh out of high school. His family runs a shipping business…big money, old money. Before the divorce, I didn’t have a job. Didn’t need one.”
I swallow, hating how raw it sounds to admit.
“But I signed a prenup, so when things went south, he got everything. The house, the cars… all of it. Micah was still in the hospital at the time. We hadn’t realized he had locked-in syndrome yet. And Bree was only six at the time. Chris said he couldn’t handle the pressure, the responsibility. Taking care of a wife, a sick brother-in-law, and a child. It was too much for him.”
My throat tightens as I glance at them.
“So, we were forced out. He’s never been cruel, not really. Just… absent. Bree doesn’t see him nearly as much as she should. Doesn’t ask about him much anymore, either.”
“He doesn’t help you?”
Max asks, voice low.
“Child support?”
“No,”
I admit.
“I don’t ask him to. It was hard at first, but I realized I was far happier without him in my life.”
Max presses a quick kiss to the top of my head and glances back at the house. It’s just after five; the sun’s still high enough that anyone could see us standing in the street.
“She might not be in there, Max,”
I whisper.
“What if she’s not? What do I do if she’s not?”
My hands clench into fists at my sides.
Bones meets my eyes, steady and blunt.
“Then we use every resource we have. And that’s a hell of a lot of resources.”
“When you’re ready,”
Max adds, close enough that I can feel the heat of him.
“we move. You tell us what you want and we follow your lead.”
I take a deep breath, nod, and walk to the front door. I ring once and wait.
Max and Bones stand off to the side. Close, but far enough not to be the first faces he sees.
“Lila,”
Chris says when he finally opens the door.
“What are you doing here?”
“Where is she?”
I ask, cutting to the point.
“Dammit, woman, she’s not here,”
he snaps.
“I told you earlier I didn’t pick her up.”
“I saw the surveillance video, Chris,”
I say.
“I saw Bree run up to you, and you walked her out of the building.”
“You saw wrong,”
he says, throwing his hands up.
“I’ve been home all day.”
Before he can finish, I push past him and rush inside. “Bree!”
I call.
“Honey, it’s Mama. Are you here?”
“She’s not here,”
Chris answers from behind me.
“Then why is her backpack here?”
I spin, and my eyes lock on the pink school bag Max is holding up.
“That’s her travel bag,”
Chris says.
“And who the hell are you?”
His voice is sharp, but Max doesn’t flinch. He steps forward, Bree’s backpack dangling from his fist like evidence.
“The man who buries people who lie to me,”
Max says quietly, every syllable cold.
Bones closes the door with a soft click, his bulk blotting out the last of the evening light.
“Now answer her truthfully,”
he says.
“My patience is thin.”
I press a hand to my chest to keep from screaming.
“Chris…don’t play games. Where is my daughter? That is not a travel bag. I dropped her off at school this morning with that bag on her back. Now where…is…she?”
His face twists into indignation, but I catch it…a micro-flicker of fear. He’s lying. He knows more than he’s saying.
Max moves in, crowding him against the wall.
“This is your one chance to tell the truth,”
he says, voice low and final.
“I don’t know,”
Chris insists, sticking to his story.
“I’m telling the truth. I have no idea where she is.”
“You’ve known she was missing for four hours,”
Bones says, his tone like gravel.
“Strange that, as her father, you don’t look the least bit upset.”
“Are you kidding me?”
Chris snaps, voice pitching higher.
“I’m clearly upset!”
“What you are is a coward,”
Max growls.
“You’re worried about yourself right now, not your daughter.”
“Mrs. Campton? Is that you?”
The voice makes me turn. My breath catches when I recognize her face. One I haven’t seen in years.
“Heidi,”
Chris barks, his tone sharp as a whip.
“I told you to stay away. There’s nothing more to clean today. Go back to your quarters.”
“Mrs. Campton?”
she repeats, ignoring him.
“Just Lila,”
I say quickly.
“Have you seen Bree?”
“Heidi!”
Chris’s voice cracks like thunder.
She flinches at his tone but doesn’t back down. Her gaze flicks toward him, then steels as she squares her shoulders.
“There’s something you need to see,”
she says.
“Follow me.”
Max doesn’t take his eyes off Chris. “Bones.”
Bones steps closer, cracking his knuckles.
“Got him. Go with your ol’ lady.”
“What is it, Heidi?”
I ask as we step into the kitchen, fear tightening every word.
“Do you know where Bree is?”
“No,”
she says, shaking her head.
“But I know who has her.”
She presses a folder and a thumb drive into my hands, her fingers trembling.
“Mr. Campton’s business partner.”
“Business partner?”
My mind races.
“You mean his dad?”
“You misunderstand.”
She gently takes the folder back, pulling out a stack of papers and a glossy print.
“Campton Shipping was sold last year. Mr. Campton Sr. wanted to retire, so he cashed out. But your ex-husband stayed on…with the new owner. At first, I thought it was just business. But then he started to change. Distant. Angry. And about three months ago, I overheard a conversation that made me realize why.”
Her voice lowers, urgent.
“You have to believe me. I didn’t know what they were really doing until just days ago.”
She lays the photo in my hands.
“Who is this?”
I ask, staring at the image. Chris, standing in his own living room. Beside him, a young man I don’t recognize…his smile sharp, his eyes cold.
“I pulled that from the security cameras the first day he visited,”
Heidi says.
“I had a bad feeling then, so I saved it. There are more on the drive…including today. I saw him leave the house with Bree. With Chris standing right there, letting it happen.”
Her gaze hardens, full of quiet defiance.
“I was gathering everything to take to the police when you showed up. That’s why it’s all ready for you now.”
“Let me see, baby,”
Max says, taking the photo from my hands.
“Who is he?”
I ask again, desperate for an answer.
“I don’t know his name,”
Heidi admits.
“But I know what I heard. They were talking about terrible things, Lila. Unspeakable things. Whoever this man is, he doesn’t have good plans for Bree.”
Max’s jaw clenches, his knuckles whitening around the photo.
“Un-fucking-believable.”
He storms out of the kitchen, and a moment later, I hear Chris’s high-pitched cry as Max slams him against the wall.
“Get off me!”
Chris squeals.
“Damián fucking Cortez,”
Max growls, his voice shaking with rage.
“Where is he?”
Chris’s eyes go wide, panic flickering as I rush into the room.
“How do you know Damián?”
he demands, his voice trembling.
“Where the fuck is he?”
Max snarls, shoving him harder.
“Do you have any idea the kind of depraved shit this man does? To women. To little fucking girls?”
“He’s not going to hurt her,”
Chris cries out, his voice cracking.
“He gave me his word. He was just going to take some pictures. That’s all.”
Pictures?
The world tilts, sickening images flashing behind my eyes…Bree standing in front of a camera, terrified, frozen. My stomach lurches, bile burning my throat.
“Easy, doll,”
Bones says, an arm wrapping tight around me. I’m leaning so hard into him that I don’t even feel my own legs anymore.
“Spike, get everyone together,”
Bones barks into his phone, his voice sharp and cutting.
“We have a fucking problem.”
“I can’t… breathe…”
The words rasp from my chest as the darkness creeps in, heavy and merciless.
“Dammit, Max, switch me spots. Your woman needs you,”
Bones growls, shifting me toward him just as my vision tunnels.
“Pictures, Max,”
I whisper, voice trembling.
“What is that evil man making my baby do?”
I can make out the raw, white-hot agony on his face for a heartbeat before everything goes black.
“I’ll get her back, baby,”
his voice, faint but iron, cuts through the fog.
“And I’ll make them all fucking pay.”