Chapter 44 #2
My dad scratched at the stubble on his chin and swung his eyes to Jae.
“And you’re in on all of this?”
Jae swallowed and sat up straighter, “Um, yes, sir. I’m fully aware of most of the details, yes.”
My dad tapped his finger against the table.
“Please, Dad,” I breathed. “You’ve got to have at least a couple ex-military contacts that are doing contract work like this that can help.”
“Where you getting the money for this kind of job, Enoch?”
“Shit,” I muttered, looking down at my lap. “I…I’ll sell everything I own, fuck, I’ll sell both my kidneys and live on dialysis for the rest of my life if—”
My dad put up his hand to shut me up. “I believe that you believe that this is really happening, but I’m sorry, bud, this sounds like a scam. Why aren’t her parents dealing with this? And really, why no cops? Is that what the kidnapper demanded?”
I fisted my hands, anything to prevent myself from throwing the glass in front of me at the wall.
“We’re her only family. She’s got no one else. No one. If we don’t do this, she’ll—” I cut myself off, clenching my jaw. “I’m going to get her back with or without your help. I just thought I’d ask first, before I tried to do this alone.”
My dad shook his head. “You’ve gotta give me something more here, bud. I’m not letting you throw your life savings and potentially your life out the window for someone that may or may not even be missing. Where’s the proof? How do you know, hold on, what’s her name?”
“Emory.”
“Right, Emory, how do you know that she’s even missing? Did this ex-husband contact you? Demand money?”
“No! Fuck, we don’t have time for this,” I moved to stand but Jae fisted the collar of my shirt and shove me back onto the bench.
“Listen, Uncle Dan, I know it sounds insane, but it’s true. Emory is missing and everything points to her ex-husband, who runs this church in Texas.”
“And how do you know this?”
I cracked my knuckles, glancing out the slider to see my mom gently rocking a chair on the patio.
“The last time she was seen or heard from was Friday night. We went to her apartment and everything pointed to her being taken.”
“What’s ‘everything’, Jae? Your vagueness isn’t helping. Was her door busted in, was there signs of a struggle, broken furniture, signs of an injury?”
I could feel Jae’s stare on my face and I sighed, scrubbing my forehead.
“Her ex, they had this ritual, something to do with the bathtub. Shi-She’s afraid of the bathtub because of it.
When we searched her apartment, her tub was filled to the top, her clothes discarded by the side that she had been wearing—” I paused, swallowing back the bile in my throat.
“The clothes she’d had on when I said goodnight to her on Friday. ”
“That still doesn’t mean she’s missing? What about her car? Her phone? Has she contacted you?”
My patience was gone, and I couldn’t contain the level of frustration that filled my voice.
“No. No one has contacted us. And no one will. This guy wants her to himself, and her phone was left behind in her apartment. Her front door was unlocked when we got there. Her car and motorcycle both parked inside her apartment garage.”
“Then why no police? If they haven’t reached out to you, why can’t you let law enforcement handle this? You’re just guessing that her husband found her—”
“Ex-husband,” I corrected and my dad raised his hands in apology.
“Okay, then tell me why no police? Enoch, you’re not making any sense. Law enforcement is your best option if she has been taken against her will.”
“Really? You think they can be trusted? Is that why you’re still working for the police in Texas? Oh wait, you’re not.”
My dad’s mask finally broke and he frowned.
Jae held my knee again, but it did nothing to control the persistent bouncing. I pulled out my phone, checking the time and for any messages from Bradley, but there was nothing.
“You expecting a phone call?”
“We’re meeting someone,” Jae said when I didn’t respond.
I elbowed him in the ribs, but he ignored me.
“Who?” my dad demanded.
“A law enforcement officer,” Jae said.
My dad closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You just said you couldn’t involve police, and now you’re meeting with someone from the police?”
“He’s not police,” Jae explained and I nudged him again, mouthing at him to shut up, but he shoved me off the bench. I landed with a thud on my ass and I glared up at him. “Emory was involved with the witness protection program. We’re meeting her handler.”
“Jae,” I growled, standing up, “shut. The fuck. Up.”
He turned on me, leveling me with a glare. “Do you want your dad’s help or not?”
“We agreed we weren’t going to share certain details.”
Jae shook his head with a sigh, “Yeah. And look how well that’s going for us.”
“Can one of you, please, just stop dancing around the details and just explain the damn truth?”
Jae broke our stare down to look at my dad.
I growled in my chest, pulling at my hair as I spun away from the table. My eyes bounced around the kitchen and the thought bubbled up before I stop it.
I need a fucking drink.
I shook my head at myself, and my dad called my name.
I slowly turned around and met his gaze.
“Please, just tell me the truth. I want to help. I do, I really do, but I can’t do that without knowing the whole truth.”
I dropped my hands to my sides, shoulders falling as I accepted the fact that this wasn’t going to plan.
“You’re going to think I’m even more insane when you I tell you.”
My dad chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re not insane.”
“You could be in danger, Dad,” I pleaded. “I can’t be responsible for getting you hurt too.”
My dad motioned for me to return to my seat and I reluctantly complied.
“Anything that you’re involved in, I want to know about, Enoch.
I don’t care if you think it’s going to hurt me or put me in danger.
I care that you’re in danger. You might be grown, but I’m still your dad, I’ll always be here to help you, to protect you.
” He reached his hand across the table and clutched my hand. “I love you.”
My eyes closed as I let his words wash over me.
“Okay,” I said on a sigh.
He removed his hand and sat up, rolling his shoulders back, the stoic mask returning. “Okay. Then start at the beginning.”
“It’s Shiloh. Emory is Shiloh.”
My dad didn’t interrupt as I let the truth roll off my tongue, as I explained how we’d met two months ago by complete coincidence that I believed was divine intervention.
How she’d been involved with the gang, how they’d forced her to marry this Theo guy.
How she left witness protection because she didn’t want to move after we had reunited.
How she believed the risk of them finding her was low, but that it was likely my fault he found her.
How we’d spoken with her ex-handler, that he was on his way here with information and had agreed to help us if we found outside resources.
By the end, I was struggling to keep my tears at bay. I had to leave the table again when Jae tried to pull me into a side hug. I couldn’t handle the comfort, it would make me think I deserved to break down again when what mattered most right now was focusing on getting Shiloh back.
I paced the kitchen before stopping to lean against the counter, head towards the floor as I took some forceful deep breaths.
My dad was still silent, and it was making me sweat.
I really need a fucking drink.
I shoved the impulse aside, pacing again. One, two, three. Turn. One, two, three. Turn. One, two, three—
My body was spun round by two strong hands, and I let out a grunt as my dad’s arms banded around me, holding me against his chest. I stiffened, not willing to relax.
Was he going to help?
Was he pitying me?
Was he going to let me down ‘gently’ by hugging me first?
My dad sighed heavily, his head tilting to rest against my own.
“I’ll make some calls.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, eyes closing with relief.
“But I’m coming with you to meet this deputy. You’re not doing this alone.”
“I’m not alone,” I replied, looking over my dad’s shoulder to find Jae.
My dad clapped my shoulder before pulling back.
“You’re not going to tell Mom, right?”
My dad sighed, turning to look out the slider. “No. At least not right now.”
I nodded, another small weight lifting off my chest. But the urgency, the panic, it hadn’t let up.
I needed to get to her now.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have already given up hope. That the will to live I’d been cultivating in her since we met had been snuffed out already. Because I knew that wherever she was, it was worse than hell. And I couldn’t hold it against her if she’d chosen to just give up.
I prayed for the millionth time that God would keep her alive long enough for me to save her.