Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mac
I ’d been standing with Thoren and Nate, waiting to give direction to the medics on which hospital to take Cal, Burgess, and Mo to, surrounded by a mix of concerned PD and FD crews, when a radio call-out sounded from the PD radios.
“911, NPD. Respond to the area behind First Baptist Church. Possible abduction in progress. Fourteen-year-old female, unknown male. Caller states she thinks she saw them in the area.”
Every hair on my body raised, and I locked eyes with Mike Harrison.
“Olivia,” I mouthed, unable to form words through the dread coursing through my system.
I stumbled back, spun, and ran.
Down the long blocks, dodging people, dodging hoses still pumping water on the fire. My heavy boots thumped on the concrete. Past the stores locked up for the night, toward the darkness that lay beyond the immediate downtown area .
My heart pumped. I couldn’t draw enough air. My God, Rosie had been taken. And Olivia was out there on her own, chasing down our daughter.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registered that I needed to relinquish command, but I couldn’t stop. I had to get to them.
At the corner of East Washington and Main, I stumbled for a heartbeat, barely registering the scene before me.
Two people fighting in the shadows of the poorly lit park. Someone running toward me.
“Dad!”
I braced as Rosie slammed into me. Mike sprinted past.
My arms closed around her automatically, lifting her as I kept moving to Olivia. I had to get to her, but I couldn’t seem to let go of Rosie. My arms locked in a tight grip around her slender body.
In the park ahead, Olivia spun an impressive roundhouse kick, taking her attacker to the ground, detaining him. She was powerful, all beauty and grace. And mad as hell.
Mike ran up and took control of the situation.
Two other officers showed, one helping Olivia to stand.
And there she stood, my magnificent woman. I was so damn proud. So fucking scared. So livid that she’d taken even the first hit.
“Liv,” I choked out. Unable to move or really speak, barely able to breathe.
She saw me then. Our eyes locked across the distance. She took one stumbling step toward us. Then another. Slowly at first, then faster, until she was nearly running.
In slow motion, I watched her run to my open arms as she joined us, hugging our shaking daughter between us.
I closed my eyes, holding on to these women for dear life. Because they were my life .
I’d been alone and happily solitary when they found me. But now I couldn’t imagine my life without them.
“Why aren’t you at the fire command?” Olivia finally found her voice.
I opened my eyes to find Mike and the other officers had Loren Watkins on his feet, shuffling him forward, hands cuffed behind his back.
Rosie had quieted, but Olivia looked ready to go to war.
“Come on.” I ignored her question and turned us into the light, needing to get them to safety, unable to let either of them out of arm’s reach. “Let’s get out of here.”
At the corner, an elderly woman stood wringing her hands. As we drew closer, I recognized her as the leader of the Public Safety Foundation.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaimed as we drew into the light, coming back into the block off the court square. “You found her.”
Olivia said, “Yes ma’am. Thank you.” She let go of us, and it was all I could do to not voice my objection until she said, “Can I give you a hug?”
She embraced the older woman tightly. “Thank you for paying attention. You helped me find her.”
The words were soft-spoken and heartfelt, and the elderly woman pulled away and patted her cheek with tears in her eyes. Olivia took a step back, her own eyes sparkling with unshed tears. I slipped my arm back around her, needing to touch her, to feel that she was alive and well. I never wanted to see her cry or hurt again.
From the other end of the block, the mayor’s voice boomed. I looked up to find him laughing with one of the business owners, the sound so jarring and out of place, it took me a second to register what I was hearing .
Who could laugh at a time like this? I glared in his direction, willing him to feel my anger.
A woman and her child were attacked.
My woman and my child were hurt.
A very bad man was taken off the streets.
Our historic courthouse had burned to almost a total loss, and we’d had a man shot and two injured in the line of duty.
The need to walk right up and deck the mayor burned as hot and bright as anything I’d ever felt in my life.
As if the man himself had been the one to hurt them.
But in a way, part of tonight’s shit show had been a direct result of his actions.
“Mac. Head back to the scene.” Olivia gave me a low warning.
“Fuck that. It’s his fault that scene was such a shit show.”
“The mayor’s? How?” the elderly woman asked.
“He’s one of the ones who cut the funding for our equipment, forcing us to go with cheaper options. Options that failed when we needed them most,” I ground out.
“Mac, go back to the scene,” Olivia demanded. “Take care of the guys. Do your job.”
I looked her right in the eye. “I mean this as respectfully as possible. Shut up, Chief. I’m not going anywhere.” There was no way I could act all business as usual when the two most precious people in my life had nearly been lost.
“Mac,” she warned again. “We can’t be seen like this.”
I ignored her, slipping my arm around her because she was too far away.
“Hush up. Y’all can fight about it later,” Rosie finally spoke, still tucked into my chest. If a voice could hold an eye roll, hers did. “The whole world can see how in love you are. You aren’t fooling anyone.”
“Exactly, even the ones who can ruin everything,” Olivia ground out.
I kissed her temple.
“Let them look. I don’t care who sees. I don’t care if I have to leave the department. I can find another job.”
Olivia turned to me. “But…”
I quieted her with a kiss. “We’ll figure it out, baby. But go easy on me right now. My two favorite people in the whole world were just in a fight for their lives. I need to hold you. I need you close. Let me have that. None of the rest of it matters.”