Chapter 24
Once again Brandonwas doing paperwork, only this time it was all related to Will Huntington. He was looking for anything that could have been missed that would help him catch this guy. As a cop, it was his job and he hated having a criminal out on the streets. As a man that was in love with the woman this guy was after, he wanted him dead.
It was a thin line on which person would show up if he was ever face-to-face with him.
He looked up when he heard a noise and found Tony walking toward him.
“What brings you here at,” he glanced at the clock, “four in the morning?”
“I’m starting an install today in town and I like to get an early start.” Tony sat. “My dad told me about last night and what happened.”
Brandon leaned back in his chair. “This guy is really fucking pissing me off.”
Tony let out a small laugh. “My dad feels the same.”
Brandon could sense that Tony had come here for a reason. “Is that why you came here? The case.”
“I’m worried about the girls,” he said, straight to the point.
“Do you not think they are safe? Is the system you installed not good?”
“No, it’s good, in fact I went back and added a few extras last week.” He huffed out a breath.
“So then they should be fine.”
“Should is not a word I like to play around with,” Tony said.
“What do you suggest I do?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Fuck, I don’t know. I don’t even know why I am bothering you with this.”
“Let me guess...Carly?” Brandon said matter-of-factly.
Tony didn’t say a word but his facial expression told him that he was right.
“I’ve been there, man. Don’t try to deny it. But on the subject of safety, I think they are pretty close to as safe as they could get without locking them in the cells here.”
“Might not be a bad idea,” he barely heard Tony say.
“Listen man, Logan is staying there and they only go places in pairs. With your systems, both at home and at the studio, I think we can assume that they are secure.”
“You’re probably right,” Tony said. “I just hate feeling helpless.”
“You’ve helped a ton.” Brandon stood and walked around the desk. “If not for those security systems, I would have had to lock them up in cells. And that, my friend, would not have gone over well.”
“If there is anything else you need from me, just ask. I’m willing to help in any way.”
They shook hands and Tony left, leaving him once again alone.
He didn’t know what, if anything, would happen between Tony and Carly, but he”d be rooting for his friend. He was a stand-up guy and knowing Carly as he did, he knew she would do her best to push him away.
It was the way she worked. He didn’t really know why she was so jaded but he was sure she thought she had her reasons.
He worked for a while longer and at five, when his shift was over, headed to the cafe for an early breakfast with his dad.
He knew his dad would be there, because he was always there this time of day, having coffee with some friends.
The bell dinged above the door when he walked in and he spotted his dad, alone in his favorite booth.
“Bran what brings you here?” he stood and hugged him.
“Thought I’d stop by and say hi before I head home for the day.”
“Nightshift?” he asked.
“Yeah.” He sat across from his dad and indicated to the waitress for coffee.
“You look tired, Bran,” his dad said, “and it’s not just night shift tired.”
“This case is kicking my ass, dad.” Brandon was man enough to admit when he was at a loss.
His dad who had been a pharmacist his whole life until he retired last year, knew how much Brandon loved being a cop. It was all he had ever wanted to do and his parent’s never discouraged it.
“This is your first major test,” Charlie said. “And it’s a big one because the woman you love is at the center.”
“I keep thinking that if Leah and I weren’t involved, maybe I would be a little more on my game.”
His coffee was delivered and he added creamer.
“I don’t know if that’s the case here,” Charlie said. “I think you have more at stake and that you would be trying harder.”
“I thought so too. At first. But the fact that I can’t catch one guy has me changing my tune.”
“You told me once that you wanted to be a cop because you loved the intricacies of the work, the digging to find clues, and putting the pieces together. If that’s the case, then why would you want this guy to just fall at your feet? You have to work to find him.”
His dad was right and he had said that about being a cop. He loved the thought process, not just the end result.
“Thanks dad. I think I just needed to be reminded of that.”
“You’re gonna find him, son. I’m sure of it.” He took a sip of coffee. “Now do you have time to have breakfast?”
“I do,” Brandon said.
They placed their orders and it was then that Brandon remembered that he had news. “I have something kinda important to tell you.”
Charlie waved him off. “If you don’t think that your mom already found out about Leah moving in with you then you don’t know this town very well.”
He shook his head. “I figured and I feel bad about not telling you first. But really, it just kinda happened.”
“Are you happy?”
He smiled. “Happy is not even the right word for what I feel with Leah. She makes me smile and I think I maybe forgot how to do that for a while. Now, thinking of her not being in my life, makes me panic.”
His dad nodded a huge smile on his face. “I like her. A lot. She has backbone, that’s important. Your mom had that. Hell, she still does.”
They both laughed.
“Now if we could just settle Logan down,” Charlie said.
“That might be closer than you think.”
“Oh boy, seems as if you know something I don’t?”
“It’s nothing...yet. But I’m keeping my eye on the situation.”
“If I really wanted to know who it was, I could just ask your mom, you know that right?”
Brandon laughed. “Probably true.”
Their breakfast arrived and they ate while keeping up their conversation. When his food was gone, Brandon hugged his dad and headed for home.
He almost went by Leah’s, but at the last minute decided to let her sleep and have a regular day. It would only be a little while longer until he was sleeping with her every night. He could make due.
He parked his car outside and went around to the porch facing the lake. He loved the lake this time of the day; the sun rising, lake calm. After enjoying the view for many minutes he unlocked the door and went inside. Wanting out of his work clothes he headed for his bedroom.
A strange feeling washed over him. A feeling that he was being watched. When he turned to check, everything went black.
––––––––
When he regained consciousness, he had no idea how long he had been out, but he was now tied tightly to a chair.
His head was pounding and he felt dried blood above his right eye. There was no one in the room with him as far as he could tell.
He was in his kitchen and he could tell from the sky outside the windows that it was still morning but close to noon. He would have called out or yelled but his mouth was gagged and then taped.
This had to be Will but Brandon had no idea how he could have gotten into his house. More so, how had he gotten the jump on him, a trained cop?
And that’s when a thought occurred to him and he looked down.
Sure enough his gun was gone.
He was helpless and now there was a crazy person out there trying to hurt Leah, and he had a gun.
He screamed even though it was futile. His head was pounding and his arms hurt from being tied behind his back but none of that mattered when all he could think about was Leah and finding a way to protect her.
He needed to come up with something and he needed to do it fast.