22. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter twenty-two
N ick watched the reunion at the FBI offices between the parents and children. Everyone looked hesitant, excited, worried, and a bit wary. He couldn’t imagine not knowing where his child was, or if they were dead or alive.
Nicole hesitated. She didn’t get too close to her parents until her mom broke down crying and said, “I love you so much. I’ve missed you so much.” Nicole rushed into her mother’s arms and held her like she’d never let go. Nicole had been missing fourteen long months. All that time, abused and wishing to go home but told no one wanted her back.
It was a tactic used to dehumanize and disillusion victims. Make them feel like they’re not wanted. Make them feel like there was nowhere for them to go.
He hated seeing that look in someone’s eyes, like they weren’t worth saving.
Everyone was worth saving.
Everyone deserved a safe and happy life.
And Javier Lopez deserved life in a cage for making Nicole hesitate for those few seconds, for making her believe that maybe they didn’t want her back with every fiber of their being.
It sickened him.
But their reunion made him believe that good won over evil.
He wished Aria could be here to see this.
Emma’s dad didn’t hesitate to scoop her into his arms, hold her close, and cry, even as he smiled into her face and said, “Thank God,” over and over and over again as his wife buried her face in Emma’s side and Emma held a fistful of her mother’s hair. Emma had been taken from her brother’s baseball game nine months ago. Mom and Dad had been right there, waiting for her to return from the restroom.
The panic they must have felt when they realized she was gone. The guilt and second-guessing they must have done, thinking if only one of them had accompanied her, kept her safe.
But it wasn’t their fault. They thought their daughter would be safe in their town, with so many good people nearby to help if needed. They’d probably let her go to the restroom dozens of times before and everything turned out fine.
You couldn’t live your life expecting the worst. That was no way to live.
It would be harder for them to live carefree now. To not set boundaries that stifled Emma.
They’d find a balance. Someday. Right now, all they wanted was Emma close.
Toby shook like a leaf when his parents approached him. Tears cascaded down his face. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his head bent, eyes on the ground. He’d been taken two years and one month ago, when someone walked off with him from the mall when his mother turned to pick out a new shirt for him and he wandered away from her.
His parents both kneeled on the floor in front of him. They both said the same thing. “You didn’t do anything wrong. We’re so happy to have you back.” Toby didn’t fall into their arms. He stayed three feet away. He was the youngest, taken when he was just six years old. So easy for someone so young to forget what life was like at home with his family. Especially when he’d been abused, mentally and physically, groomed by countless men.
Nick wished he could wash it all away for him. For all of them.
Toby’s mother took a step toward him and crouched low.
Toby took a step back.
The heartbreak in his mother’s eyes didn’t dim the smile on her face.
All the parents had been warned by a psychologist that the kids might not want to be touched. They would be overwhelmed, unsure, and scared.
Toby’s parents took it in stride and tried to coax him to talk more with them. “What do you have in your hand?” his father asked.
Toby held up the Pontiac Firebird Aria had given him.
The dad looked impressed. “That’s a really cool car. Where did you get it?”
Toby looked up at Nick, then back to his parents. “Aria gave it to me.”
Nick couldn’t kneel like the parents due to the crutch he was using to keep himself steady and upright while he kept his weight off his injured leg. “My girlfriend and her sister bought the kids the backpacks and clothes and toys, so they’d have something of their own to take home.”
“Agent Nick,” Stacy called out, backing away from her father and grandmother, panic in her voice. Apparently her mother wasn’t in the picture anymore, hadn’t been for years. Stacy had been reported missing twenty months ago by the grandmother, though the story didn’t quite add up, because Karl said he’d been at work since Stacy left for school that morning and had no idea when Stacy went missing. He thought maybe she’d stayed at a friend’s house for the night.
Who doesn’t know where their ten-year-old is? Especially when they aren’t home after school, or by dinner?
The grandmother, Donna, went to pick up Stacy at school the next day, like she always did on Tuesday, but Stacy never came out to the car in the pickup line. The grandmother went to the classroom and spoke to the teacher, only to discover Stacy hadn’t been to class in two days.
Nick excused himself from Toby and his parents, then turned to Stacy.
Karl took a quick step toward her when she called to Nick again. Karl grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him, whispering something in her ear. Stacy’s hands trembled at her sides and suddenly the lavender-colored leggings she was wearing turned a darker shade of purple between her thighs. It took Nick a second to realize she’d peed her pants.
Donna gasped. “Stacy. You should have said you needed to go.”
Karl glared at her and held her arm tighter. “You stupid girl.”
Nick fumed at the derogatory reprimand. “Let her go.” His order made everyone in the room stop and stare. He didn’t want to frighten the children, but he needed to get Stacy away from Karl.
Who reprimanded and scared their kid so badly they peed after what Stacy had been through?
Karl seemed to catch himself and released Stacy, then stood, looking nervous, sweat glistening on his brow. “She’s fine. Aren’t you, girl.”
Girl. Not honey. Sweetheart. Some other nickname that meant something special. Stacy was his daughter. She’d been missing for nearly two years, and this was how he treated her.
Stacy wrapped her scrawny arms around her middle, her whole body trembling.
The kids had all warmed up to Nick, since he found them and spent a day and half with them in the hospital. So he took a chance that he didn’t make things worse for Stacy, leaned over, so his mouth was right next to her ear, and asked, “What can I do for you?”
She turned her big, watery, green eyes on him, then whispered in his ear, “Save me again?”
His heart broke in half right before the rage hit him. He hooked his right arm around her hips, picked her up, and used the left crutch to keep the weight off his bad leg, and carried her right out of there, despite how much it hurt his injuries. Holding her was definitely not helping his stab wound or bruised ribs, but he’d muscle through the pain to protect her.
“Hey. Where are you going?” Donna called.
Stacy kept a death grip with both her arms locked around his neck as he took her out of the conference room and through the office. He ducked into the first empty room he found and slammed the door.
Stacy trembled in his arms.
He hoped she wasn’t afraid of him. “You’re okay, sweetheart.” He leaned against the desk, released the crutch, and rubbed her back, just holding her, hoping she said something more about why she needed to be saved again, so he’d know what to do.
“I-is A-Aria coming back s-soon?”
The quake in her words hurt his heart.
“Do you want to talk to her?” Maybe that’s exactly what she needed. A woman. Someone she knew. Someone who’d been kind to her. Someone she trusted. “I can call her right now and you can talk to her.”
Stacy leaned back, her bottom lip quivering. “If I tell her the secret, she can t-tell you, and you’ll s-save me.”
His heart bled even more for her. “You can tell me. I will save you.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Can we still call her?”
Choked up and trying not to lose it as this little girl broke his heart with her big, sad eyes and her quaking body, her whole face telling him she had something really bad to tell him, he could only nod.
He hated to bring Aria into this, but if the kid trusted her and him, then she’d get both of them. “Let’s call her.”
Aria wouldn’t disappoint her. She’d never disappointed him.
He pulled out his phone as he held Stacy against his chest, her arm still hooked around his neck.
Nick put the call on speaker after he hit the speed dial for Aria. The phone rang once and Aria answered. “Hey, you. I miss you already.” Her cheerful voice did a lot to ease his anxiety.
“I miss you, too. And so does someone else.” He held the phone closer to Stacy.
“Aria,” Stacy called out, then used her free hand to hold the phone closer to her.
“Stacy? Is that my sweet girl?”
Not stupid girl. Not just a girl. Aria’s sweet girl.
Stacy almost smiled. “Yes. It’s me.”
“How are you doing, sweetheart?”
Nick answered for her, because he wanted to try to give Aria some kind of warning. “Stacy’s upset. The families are here. Stacy got a little scared and overwhelmed. She needed to hear your voice.”
“Well, I’m glad you called. I was worried about you, honey. You didn’t want to talk about your dad in the hospital. I get it. It can be hard to be away from someone for a long time. You’re not sure how they’ll be when you see them again. Is that it, honey?”
Nick was so damn proud of Aria for trying to connect with this scared, traumatized little girl.
Stacy shook her head, though only he could see that. “No. Maybe. It’s just…”
Nick took over, since the little one didn’t know what to say. “Aria, Stacy asked me to save her again.”
“Of course you will.” Not a second of hesitation before that declaration.
He loved her even more for having such faith in him.
“But why, Stacy? What’s wrong?”
Nick looked into Stacy’s troubled eyes. “Stacy has a secret she wants to tell us.”
“You can tell us anything, sweetheart. It won’t change how we feel about you. You’re so special, sweetheart. Whatever it is, we will help you.”
Stacy met his gaze. “Promise?”
“I promise,” Nick and Aria said at the same time.
“Go ahead, sweetheart,” Aria coaxed. “You are brave and strong. I know you can do this,”
Nick stopped breathing, waiting for her to say whatever she needed to say, hoping it was something inconsequential like she still wet the bed at night. But he knew before she even spoke it was going to be something worse.
She leaned in and whispered, “My dad gave me to the man who gave me to the other bad man who shot you.”
Aria gasped. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry he did that to you.”
Nick reined in his fury and kept his gaze on Stacy. “The man he gave you to…was it someone he knew?”
Stacy nodded, her eyes watery with tears. “He owed him money. But he didn’t have any to give him, so he gave him me, because the man wanted me real bad. But I didn’t like him. He acted real nice but his eyes were…strange. He looked at me so…hard. And then he…hurt me. Made me do stuff.”
Nick didn’t want to push, but he needed more information to keep her safe. “Do you know his name?”
“Perry. He owned the big company in town. Daddy played poker with him. And lost. A lot. He’d get really mad and say if he didn’t have to feed me he wouldn’t need so much money.”
That fucker blamed his child for his gambling. Nick fumed, but tried not to show it.
“It is not your fault, sweetheart. Your dad was supposed to take care of you, not gamble away all the money. He should have protected you.” Aria’s leashed anger still permeated her words, and maybe that’s exactly what Stacy needed to hear and know, that someone was furious about what her father did to her.
Nick still needed more. “How long did you stay with Perry?”
She shrugged, but her eyes filled with tears and her lips pressed tight. “A while. He wouldn’t let me go to school. He kept me locked in a room in the basement. And he did…bad things. It hurt. Then he dressed me up and took me to a fancy place. It had pretty things and a big bed and big windows. I could see a big pool and lots of trees. I wanted to run away but he never let go of me, or let me outside. Then the other man showed up. Javier. He said I looked nice. Sweet.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “He said the others would like me.” Those whispered words gutted him.
“Why did Perry want to give you to Javier?” Maybe this question was too broad for her to answer.
Stacy shrugged again. “Perry said he had to mend him, or something. Perry kept saying sorry to Javier, but he just looked mean at Perry.”
Mend him? Mend? Perry was sorry. Maybe… “Did he say make amends?”
Stacy nodded, then shrugged. “That sounds right. Maybe. I was trying really hard to be good and be quiet so I didn’t get punished.”
“Was Javier mean to you?”
“Not really. Not like Perry. He wasn’t around much. There were others like Julia who kept us.” Not took care of them. Kept them. What a distinction she’d made at such a young age.
Nick tried to get a little more from her. “Were you with Javier for a long time?”
She nodded. “I was there for a few days, and then Emma arrived and they kept us together.”
That would help him figure out a timeline, once he pieced the other kidnappings together and put it all into one complete story.
“Did Javier ever hurt you like Perry did?”
She shook her head. “He came around sometimes, but mostly Julia kept us in the cellar and took me to the bad men in the cabins or at the big place.”
“The resort.”
She nodded.
He didn’t want to get into what happened to her in the cabins and at the resort. They’d have a child psychologist ask those questions in a way that wouldn’t cause more damage. He was not qualified for that. “Is there anything else you want to tell us?”
“Nicole told me to ask them their names, so we could tell the police.”
“Do you remember some of the names?”
She nodded again. “All of them. She made us remember. We’d say them, so we never forgot who hurt us, so we could hurt them.”
Nick hugged her tighter. “You are amazing. I will make sure that you get to hurt them.” He'd arrest every single one and ruin their lives the way they ruined this little girl’s childhood. And it would be Stacy who ultimately won by living the rest of her life free, while those bastards rotted in a cell, having lost everything.
Aria sniffed back tears. “Sweetheart, you are the bravest, strongest, most fantastic person I’ve ever known. You will get your chance to make them pay for hurting you. And then you are going to do big, bold things with your life. I know it.”
“Can I come live with you?” The desperate plea hit Nick like a sledgehammer to the heart. “I don’t want to go back with him.” Her eyes begged him. “Please. Don’t make me go back.”
“Nick? What happens next?” Aria asked.
“I’m going to save Stacy. She will not go back with her father.” The man didn’t deserve that name. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Sweetheart, it’s going to be hard to get through this.” Aria reassured Stacy. “But you are going to be okay. You will be safe. And I promise you, you will see me soon. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now you do what Nick says and he will keep you safe, even if you have to be with someone else for a little while. Nick will make sure it’s someone good.”
Nick nodded at Stacy. “Would you feel safe with your grandmother?”
Tears fell over her cheeks. “I want Aria.”
A knock sounded on the door. “Nick, it’s me. Everything okay?” Agent Hayward asked.
“Wait right there, but give me a sec.” He kept his focus on Stacy. “Why don’t you want to go with your grandmother?”
“She hates me more than she hates my dad. She says he’s a deadbeat dad and she didn’t want another brat to take care of.”
Well that was unexpected. “Okay. Well, I can’t get you to Aria right now. She’s in another state and we need you here while we work on this case. So you’ll have to be placed in protective custody with agents until we catch Javier. I promise the agents will be nice. They won’t hurt you. Okay?”
Aria asked, “Nick, you’ll give me the agent’s name so I can check on her, right?”
“No. It’s not safe to give out the name or location. I’m sorry. But I’ll be able to get updates on Stacy and fill you in.”
Aria wouldn’t abandon Stacy.
Nick knew Aria’s big heart wouldn’t let her rest until Stacy was with people who would love her. “Say goodbye to Aria. And let’s go get one of the bad guys who hurt you.”
Stacy nodded, then looked down. “I need to change my clothes.” Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.
Nick had forgotten she’d wet her pants when her father touched her. “We’ll get you all cleaned up. Promise.” He held the phone close to her again.
“Bye, Aria. Thanks again for all my stuff.”
“You’re welcome, honey. And I’ll call you as soon as Agent Nick can make that happen, okay?”
She held the phone tighter. “Don’t forget.”
“I won’t. You can count on it.”
Nick turned the phone toward him. “Thank you for your help. I’ll call you later.”
“Stay off that leg. I love you.” Of course she was worried about him.
“Love you, too.” Nick hung up.
Stacy looked at him. “When can I see her again?”
“Soon as I can make it happen. But first, you understand that there’s a lot we need to do to get all the bad guys.”
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. “Okay.”
Nick unlocked the door and found Agent Hayward staring back at him, a look of impatience on his face.
Agent Hayward planted his hands on his hips. “Stacy’s family is anxious to speak to her and take her home.”
Nick glared. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”
Agent Hayward raised a brow. “Why?”
“Because Agent Nick is going to arrest the bad guy.” Stacy gave the other agent a firm nod.
Agent Hayward glanced back to Nick, a question in his eyes.
Nick answered. “Her father used her to pay off a gambling debt.”
Agent Hayward opened his mouth, probably to swear, then looked at Stacy and closed it with a click of his molars. “Well, then, let’s go arrest the bad guy.”
Nick grabbed the other agent’s arm to stop him from leaving. “Stacy and the other kids know the names of all the bad guys who hurt them, too.”
Agent Hayward gaped at Stacy. “You do?”
She nodded.
Agent Hayward grinned at her, pride in his eyes. “Maybe you four will grow up to be kick-ass agents.”
“Maybe.” Stacy held on to Nick’s neck, looking very proud of herself now.
Nick let Agent Hayward lead the way back to the conference room. Stacy was getting heavy in his arm, the pain in his chest intensifying, but he refused to put her down. She trusted him. And he wanted her to have the perfect view of her father being arrested for what he did to her.
Agent Hayward stepped into the room just as Stacy’s dad stood and rushed forward. “You can’t keep her from me.”
Nick stopped next to the table and stood Stacy in the chair in front of him as he kept a protective arm around her middle. “You will never see her again.”
Karl’s eyes narrowed. “What? You can’t do that.”
Nick caught the grandmother’s gaze fall to the floor and a look of shame come over her face. “You know what happened,” he accused.
Her gaze shot up to his and her face fell in remorse. “He gave a drunken confession three days after she went missing. He tried to get her back but that asshole Perry Whitehouse refused and threatened to kill her if Karl or I went to the police.”
Agent Hayward pulled out his cuffs and headed for Karl and Donna, though his gaze held Stacy’s. “Lucky you, sweetheart, you get two bad guys arrested today. And we’ll get Perry Whitehouse next.”
Agent Hayward cuffed Stacy’s father and called in another agent to take her grandmother into custody. Karl walked out with his head down, no words for his little girl. No remorse. Not even a half-assed apology.
Donna stopped by the door and looked back at Stacy. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I-I didn’t know what to do.” She walked out, head down.
She should have done the right thing and called the police. She could have saved Stacy nearly two years of abuse and trauma.
The other families watched it all play out. The other kids had tears in their eyes and stared at Stacy.
She turned and buried her face in Nick’s chest and cried so hard her whole body shook.
Nick wrapped her in his arms and held her. “You cry all you want. That was a terrible thing they did to you. You’re safe now.”
Those words made him think of Perry Whitehouse out there somewhere. And Javier Lopez with his threat of retribution.
He needed to warn Aria and find both those monsters and make them pay for everything they’d done.