Chapter 24
J oel pulled up in front of his house. He was tired. Not the physical kind; the mentally drained, angry-at-the-fucking-world kind of tired.
They’d spent all day looking for Teagan. No breaks. No stops. He’d run out of water and snacks, yet they hadn’t found her.
Ryan and Zac were still out there, and in the early hours of the morning, Joel and Connor would switch in.
He glanced up at his house, light slipping through the crack in the curtains. Now he was going to have to tell Polly, and she was going to make the same connection he had.
Jonah was out on bail.
A new woman was missing.
A woman who was connected to Jonah.
Shit .
He climbed out and moved toward the door. The rich, sweet scent of bolognese hit him the second he stepped inside. Polly stood in the kitchen by the stove, back toward him. She wore jeans and a denim top that showed off a strip of skin.
Shit, she was gorgeous. And she gave him the first kick of energy he’d had in hours.
He stepped behind her and curved his arms around her waist.
She jumped and touched his forearm, before softening. “Joel.”
He kissed her cheek, then her neck, almost getting lost in that sweet scent of hers. “You didn’t hear me?”
“I was distracted.”
“By what?”
There was a small pause before she turned. “How was your day?”
“Not good.”
Her brows flickered. “What happened?”
“I want to know what’s going on with you first.”
“That’s not going to make your day any better.”
That familiar tension crept back into his shoulders. “I can take it.”
She swallowed, holding his gaze for another second. “Maybe you should have something to eat first.” She turned back to the stove.
“Polly?”
“I made a huge pot of spaghetti bolognese and have an obnoxious amount of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.” She crossed to the upper cupboard and pulled out two bowls. “Yes, two cheeses, because you can’t have enough cheese with pasta, right?”
“Polly.”
“Wine.” She turned and scanned the room. “We definitely need wine. Do you have?—”
He stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “What’s going on?”
She cringed. “I don’t want to make your day worse.”
“I told you, I can handle it.”
Her bottom lip disappeared between her lips before her next words came out in a rush. “Your parents came into the shop today.”
Yep. She was right. That definitely made it worse. “What did they say?”
“That they wanted to talk to me. I told them I was busy, but…” She wrinkled her nose. “Then they asked me to meet them at the inn tonight. Well, actually, ask is generous. Told me to meet them at the inn.”
What. The. Fuck.
He turned and stormed into the hall.
“Where are you going?” Polly called, the clicking sound of the stovetop turning off before footsteps followed.
“They want to talk? They can talk to me .” But he’d talk too.
He knew exactly what they planned to do. The same thing they always did—throw their money around to get what they wanted.
Outside, he stormed back to his truck. He’d just dropped behind the wheel when the passenger door opened and Polly slipped in.
“You’re not coming, Sunshine.”
“I sure as hell am.”
“Polly—”
“You said you loved me.”
“I do.”
“Then we’re in this together. We’re a team. You and me.”
Shit…he liked that.
He started the truck and drove toward the inn. If he’d thought the drive would calm him, it didn’t. It did the opposite. It was like his body could feel the proximity to them. Like the muscles coiled in preparation for another conversation where they chose not to listen.
But this time—he was going to make them listen.
He parked in the same spot as when he’d come here to see Bronte.
“Room twenty-eight,” Polly said, when they were out of the truck.
He felt her eyes on him as they crossed the lot. He wasn’t sure if he was glad she was here or not.
On one hand, she didn’t need to see the messed-up version of family that he’d grown up with.
But on the other, he was ready to fight for her, and she’d have a front-row seat for that.
When he reached room twenty-eight, he pounded his fist against the wood. It didn’t take long for his mother to open the door.
Her brows shot up. “Joel. What are you—” She looked behind him at Polly. “Dear, you weren’t supposed to invite him.”
The familiar, condescending tone was like gas on the fire that was his anger.
“Can we come in?” he asked through gritted teeth.
His mother sighed and stepped back. Joel took Polly’s hand and moved into the room. His father stood near the small corner bar, while his mother closed the door and sat on the couch in front of the bed.
His father shot them one glance, giving nothing away. Typical Grant Dawson move. After all, he was a businessman first.
“Why are you here?” Joel asked, without sitting.
“We came to speak to Polly,” his father said without facing them. “Obviously, we weren’t clear enough.”
Joel opened his mouth to blast his father, but Polly touched his arm. “I understood perfectly, Mr. Dawson. But Joel and I are in a relationship, and I wasn’t comfortable seeing you both behind his back.”
His mother’s lip curled.
“Whatever you want to say to me,” Polly pushed, “you can say in front of Joel.”
“Fine.” His father pulled an envelope from his suit pocket and dropped it onto the coffee table. “We had a proposition for you.”
“We have a proposition for you,” his mother corrected, lifting the envelope and holding it out for Polly.
Right in front of him. They were offering her money to leave right in fucking front of him.
Polly shook her head. “Whatever it is, I don’t want it.”
“Don’t be foolish,” his mother scoffed.
“I’m not.” Her voice was calm. A hell of a lot calmer than he felt. “I assume it’s money. But I can’t be bribed to leave Joel.”
Joel snatched the envelope.
“Joel—” his mother started, but he’d already opened it.
Yep. A check. “Honestly, it’s lower than I would have assumed.”
His mother huffed and looked at Polly. “It’s plenty. She could retire from that little shop?—”
“I own that shop,” she corrected.
“It’s life-changing money for someone like you,” his father pressed.
“In exchange for her leaving me.” It wasn’t a question from Joel.
His mother looked back at him, not a scrap of remorse on her face.
“Bronte told us you wouldn’t marry her because you’d met some woman who works in a coffee shop.
We all know it won’t last more than a couple of months.
So your father and I are just trying to speed things along to lessen the damage this is causing with the Simmonses. ”
“Except I’m not taking that money,” Polly repeated. “I’m not leaving Joel.”
His father slammed his glass onto the bar table. “Of course you are.”
“You do not speak to her like that!” Joel shouted, taking a step in front of her, toward his father. “You can wave your money around all you want, but it’s useless here. It can’t buy Polly. And it sure as hell can’t buy me .”
His father crossed the distance between them. He was the same height as Joel but lacked his son’s breadth.
“You listen here, boy, we have given you everything?—”
“Everything but what I needed.”
“What on earth does that mean?” his mother asked.
“It means, I didn’t need the fancy schools or the expensive cars. I needed family . I needed parents who showed up at my enlistment ceremony and BUD/S graduation. I needed family who called to check in rather than just to remind me of my duty .”
“You will marry Bronte,” his father growled.
“No. I won’t.”
His father’s chest heaved, and for a moment, Joel thought his dad might hit him. He almost welcomed it, just so he could show his father that he was weaker than Joel in every way.
But Grant Dawson was a man of numbers, and he knew this wasn’t a fight he could win.
“We’re done here,” Joel finally said through gritted teeth.
“Sit down,” his father growled.
“No.”
Red tinged his father’s cheeks. This had to be the most off balance he’d ever seen the guy. “You walk out that door and you lose everything. You won’t be a son of mine.”
His mother gasped. “Grant.”
Joel shook his head. “No. I walk out that door and I gain everything.”
Without an ounce of hesitation, he took Polly’s hand and led her toward the door.
“Wait.” His mother rushed forward and shifted in front of him. “You’re not thinking with your head, Joel.”
“I’m thinking with my heart. You might want to try it, Mom.”
She gasped, and he stepped around her and out of the room.
The second the door closed behind him, he felt it. The peace. The calm that came from knowing that this might just be his last interaction with his parents.
Polly snuck a peek at Joel behind the wheel. He was so…hard. His jaw. His fingers around the wheel. Even the muscles in his forearms seemed to vibrate.
Her heart bled for him. For the boy who’d grown up in a house with those people. She wasn’t even going to call them parents, because she was certain they hadn’t done a day of parenting in their lives.
She touched his thigh. His muscles twitched beneath her palm. She didn’t ask if he was okay. He wasn’t.
She always complained about her own mother and her inability to live without a man. But Polly had never doubted her mother’s love for her. And her mother had always wanted the best for her daughter.
Joel’s parents, though…they didn’t care about Joel or his happiness or what he wanted. They just expected things from him. Things that would benefit them and not him .
How a man as caring and protective and amazing as Joel had come from those two people, she had no idea.
They pulled into his driveway, and by the time she climbed out of the truck he was already at her side, but his eyes weren’t on her. They were on the street, searching.
She followed his gaze but saw no one.
Inside, he kicked off his shoes and went straight to the kitchen.
She watched as he reheated the bolognese and put water in the pot for the pasta. It was like he was moving on autopilot. Needing to keep busy so he didn’t think about what had just happened.
His jaw kept doing that clicky thing, and his brows looked to be in a permanent frown.
Without hesitation, she crossed the small distance between them, wrapped her arms around his middle, and touched her cheek to his back. Then she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
He froze. His body went so still, she wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
“I’m sorry that they’re shit parents,” she continued. “You deserved to be loved. Really loved. You deserved parents who celebrated your achievements. Who showed up. Who put your happiness first.”
He remained stiff for another couple seconds.
Then slowly, he turned and his arms wrapped around her.
A kiss was pressed to the top of her head before he sat his chin on her hair and just held her.
It felt like one of those hugs where he needed something from her.
Maybe her love. Maybe her familiarity. Whatever it was, it was his.
When she finally lifted her head, she took his cheek in her palm. “You know what I’m most impressed with?”
“What?”
“That you became who you are despite them. How amazing is that?”
His lips twitched. “I just got better when you came along. Thank you for coming with me today.”
“I almost thought…”
“That he was going to hit me?” Joel finished.
“Yeah.”
“If he had, it would have given me an excuse to hit him back.”
She swiped her thumb over his cheek. “You wouldn’t have done that. You don’t prey on those weaker than you.”
“Probably not. But I like to think I would have.”
She leaned her head against his chest, feeling the steady thumps of his heart beneath her cheek. “I’m glad you didn’t marry Bronte. Your life would have been so boring. Whereas at least I bring you colorful arguments and caffeine.”
He chuckled. “You bring more than that, Sunshine.” There was a small pause before he said, “I need to tell you something.”
Oh no . She pulled back. “You’re not secretly married to a princess in Japan, are you?”
“Japan has a princess?”
“Several.”
His smile widened. “I’m not married to a princess in Japan. But I will need to leave at about two a.m.”
“Why?”
“My team is in the middle of a search for a woman.”
Her stomach dropped. “Another one?”
“Another one. And you’ve seen this woman before.”
Oh no… “Who?”
“Remember that woman Jonah was talking to outside the church? The one he hugged?”
“She went missing?”
“Her car was found on the outskirts of the forest. She wasn’t inside and we haven’t been able to locate her. We searched all afternoon. Ryan and Zac are still out there, and Connor and I are taking over in the morning.”
She stepped back, mind swirling. “When did Jonah get out?”
“Last night.”
“That can’t be a coincidence. Right?”
“We won’t know until we find her alive, or until he confesses.”
Jesus . “I need to call my mom.”
She stepped into the bedroom and lifted her cell to make the call.
It rang. Then it rang some more.
Come on, Mom. Pick up. Pick up and tell me you’re not with him!
But she didn’t. The call rang out.
Shit.
She moved to the front door even as she tried her mother’s number again. She’d just grabbed her keys and wrapped her fingers around the door handle when her mother answered. “Polly?”
“Mom! Where are you?”
Warmth touched her back, and she knew without turning that Joel was close and ready to follow her.
“I’m at home.” There was a pause from her mother. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes. Why? Darling, you’re scaring me.”
“I need you to promise me you’ll stay away from Jonah.”
“Polly—”
“Promise me, Mom! Another woman went missing. A woman who’s connected to Jonah went missing just when he got out on bail.”
“ What? ”
“They go to church together, and I saw them hugging.”
There was a pause. “That doesn’t mean?—”
“ Mom . Please! This is important.”
There was a small pause from her mother. “Okay. I won’t see him.”
Air rushed from her lungs. Thank God. “Good. Do you want to come over here?”
“Oh, no, I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Mom—”
“I’ll be fine, Polly. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just…worried. Will you at least call if you need anything?”
“Okay.”
She hung up and turned to Joel. “I’m worried about her. I wish we’d just find this person and the women in this town would be safe.”
He pulled her into his chest. “Me too, Sunshine. Me too.”