Chapter 16
Sixteen
Aaric
“So, he left the house three days ago, and no one has seen him since?” I lean back in my desk chair and stare at my brother.
“That’s correct,” Adrian says as he paces my office, running a hand through his hair. “My PI got a notification that he drove away. He has not returned. There’s no evidence anyone has been in his house since then.”
I take a deep breath. “Shit.”
“Yeah. Could be nothing. Maybe he went out of town.”
I chuckle sardonically. Presley Vanguard does not take regular vacations. I doubt he’s ever left the mountain, except to come into town for supplies.
Adrian sighs. “Well, he can’t get onto our property without me knowing.”
“True, but I don’t like my wife held prisoner in her own home. I want her to be able to learn to drive and go into town on her own. She deserves to have some freedom.”
“I hear ya. I don’t know how else to handle this other than for her to go to the sheriff and file a report. After all, the man bought her and was holding her against her will as a slave.”
“Yeah… I hate the idea of her having to go to court, but I think it’s time we faced this head-on. I wasn’t about to have her think about or deal with Vanguard until she was healed from giving birth, but it’s time.”
We’re entering into a new phase in our lives. I’m back at work part-time. Hannah’s at home with Eve. She says she wants to start studying for her GED like Rebekah is doing.
Hannah is not an idle person. She’s never had an opportunity to relax. And though I encourage her to take plenty of time for herself, now that she’s been medically released to resume all normal activities, she never sits down.
We’re lucky that Eve sleeps through the night. It’s such a blessing. Neither of us is exhausted. She is the sweetest, easiest baby ever. I doubt we’ll get so lucky when we have another one.
It’s madness how often I think about adding another child to our lives.
I must have a screw loose. But I love my girls so much.
Watching Hannah with the baby makes me all warm and fuzzy.
I also love being a father. It’s rewarding in ways I never could have understood before having my own kid.
Now I understand why my parents had six.
Granted, they didn’t exactly plan on having me and Adam at the same time. Apparently, my twin and I thought there should be two of us, so we split that egg.
I’m not bringing this subject up with my wife yet because she has barely recovered from the last birth. And I just got her. There’s plenty of time. She’s only twenty-one. I’m twenty-eight. That’s not exactly old. We can fill this cabin with tiny voices and add on as many times as we want.
“Earth to Aaric…” Adrian waves a hand in front of me.
I chuckle and swipe a hand down my face. “We have to go into town for a well-baby visit today. I’ll talk to Hannah about meeting with Sheriff Sherman.”
Adrian slaps me on the shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hannah asks me as we pull up in front of the sheriff’s office. She fidgets and tucks her hands under her thighs as she stares out the windshield at the front door.
I turn toward her and reach out to finger a lock of blond hair. “I won’t force you to do this, Hannah. I mean it. It’s your choice. You have full autonomy over your life.”
She turns to me and lets out a slight giggle. “Except in the bedroom.”
I give her a slight smile. “Even there, when it comes down to it, honey. I would never do anything in our bedroom that you didn’t enjoy.”
She takes a deep breath. “I know. I was kidding. But I’m not used to having permission to make my own decisions.”
“Well, you’re taking charge now. I will always be here to help you work through your options and even offer advice, but in the end, anything that affects your life is your choice.”
“And you think I should report what happened with Vanguard to the sheriff.”
“I do. Here’s why: We don’t know what the man is planning.
In his mind, he purchased a slave, and she escaped.
When you’re on our property, you will always be safe.
No one can get to our cabins or the main house undetected.
But I don’t want you to spend your life feeling like a prisoner in your own home.
I want you to be able to get a driver’s license and go into town whenever you want.
You said you want Eve to go to school with other kids.
There will be times when you’ll need to drive her or pick her up.
You’ll want to go shopping, or get your hair done, or go out to lunch with Rebekah.
You might want to go to college someday.
Right now, I would feel very stressed if you left Gallant Mountain on your own.
The only way to fix that is to file a report with the sheriff so that Vanguard gets arrested. ”
She shudders and then nods. “I know you’re right. What if Sheriff Sherman doesn’t believe me?”
“Then I’ll grab the front of his shirt and shake some sense into him until he does.” I grin.
She rolls her eyes. “As if you’d ever do something like that.”
“I wouldn’t. You’re right. But I will be with you to make sure no one takes your complaint lightly.”
She sits taller, takes a deep breath, and nods. “Let’s do it.”
I know filing that report was one of the hardest things my wife has ever done, but I think she’s lighter and relieved now that it’s done. Luckily, Sherman did not treat her like she was a stupid girl or a liar. He took her story very seriously. And I don’t think he was surprised.
Eve slept through the entire process, but she’s going to wake up hungry soon. It’s almost time for her to nurse.
I fasten her car seat securely into its base in the middle of the back seat before coming around to Hannah’s side of the truck to make sure she’s in and belted, too. She and Eve are my life. I want them secure.
Cupping my wife’s face, I kiss her before shutting her door and rounding to the driver’s side. After starting the truck and checking in the rearview mirror, I pull out of the spot and head down Main Street.
Eve starts making little noises as I drive. Not surprising. It will take about fifteen minutes to get to Gallant Mountain. Hopefully, she won’t start wailing. If she does, she’ll live.
I’m about a mile outside of town when I run over something in the road and blow the front passenger tire.
“Shit…” I mutter as I pull to the side of the road.
There isn’t much of a shoulder on this road.
I look around. This is not a very safe place to stop.
We’re on a curve. If someone comes around the bend at a very fast clip, they will rear-end us.
“What was that?” Hannah asks, sitting upright before twisting to look at Eve.
“Not sure, honey. We ran over something. Flat tire.” I pull out my cell phone and call Andrew. It’s instinctive. Whenever any of us ever needed help as kids, we always called our eldest brother. Still holds true.
“Hey,” he answers. “Aren’t you in town?”
“Yes. Well, we were. We’re on our way back now. We’re about a mile from town. But I have a flat tire, so I pulled over.”
“Gotcha. I’m on my way now. I’ll bring Aaron in case we need some muscle.”
“Thanks. This is going to be a hell of a spot to change the tire. I’ve got almost no shoulder. I’ll be glad for your help.” I keep glancing in the rearview mirror as I end the call. I really hate our location, but moving the truck on the rim would not be safe.
Eve is crying. She probably would have been fine if we’d been moving, but now that we’re stopped, she’s pissed.
“Should I feed her?” Hannah asks.
I look around again and shake my head. “I want you and Eve out of the truck before someone comes around the bend and rear-ends us, honey,” I say as gently as possible.
Hannah twists around farther, eyes wide. “Oh.”
“Jump out, honey. I’ll get Eve.”
My wife unbuckles her seatbelt and yanks her door open, obeying me immediately.
I quickly hop down from my seat and shut the door. I don’t want to take Eve out on this side, so I round to the tight shoulder.
And then I freeze. All the blood drains from my face.
Presley Vanguard has Hannah. He has one arm around her chest, pressing her back against his front. In his other hand is a gun, which he presses against her temple.
Hannah’s eyes are wide. She’s not making a single sound, but tears are already running down her face.
“Presley… You don’t want to do this. Let her go.” I inch closer.
He backs up, moving away from the truck. “Stay out of this, asshole. You fucking Gallants think you own this damn mountain. Well, you don’t. And you certainly don’t own my woman.” Spittle comes out of his mouth as he rants.
The man is probably fifty. He looks closer to seventy. Hard living, bad hygiene, and alcohol will do that to a man.
The truck door is closed, but I can hear Eve screaming in the back seat.
I’m going to need to reason with Vanguard.
I have more than one weapon in the truck, but I can’t exactly stop and open the glove compartment right now.
I used to carry a gun on me, but I stopped doing so when Eve was born.
I won’t take that kind of risk with her.
What if one of my guns went off and hit her?
It will never happen because they are all securely locked up now.
Except I wish I fucking had one in my hand or the back of my jeans. Fuck .
I hold up both hands, making myself look harmless. “Let her go, Vanguard. You don’t own her.”
“The fuck I don’t. I bought her. She works for me.”
Works for you? You mean she’s your slave .
“The world doesn’t work that way, Presley,” I say, hoping to appeal to him by using his first name.
“It does in the mountains, asshole. We make our own laws out here. I paid her father good money. She needs to be reminded of her place.” He continues to back up.
I keep inching forward. Vanguard isn’t playing with a full deck.
Eve cries louder.
“The baby needs her, Presley.”