Chapter 10
CAGE
As I closed my office door behind me with a quiet click, my body was still humming from the heat in Hadley’s gaze.
I settled into the leather chair behind my desk and groaned, thinking about the shy warmth and curious hunger I’d seen in her eyes.
I’d nearly said fuck dinner altogether and dragged her straight to my bed.
It took everything in me to pull away and answer Jax’s text.
My cock was still rock-hard, aching against my jeans and demanding release. With a frustrated grunt, I leaned back in my chair and scrubbed a rough hand down my face, forcing myself to focus as I dialed Jax.
He answered on the second ring, and I growled, “Somebody better be fucking dying.”
His voice was clipped and tense. “You sitting down?”
“Unfortunately,” I muttered, shifting in the chair in a failed attempt to ease the relentless pressure behind my zipper.
“Found more shit about Hadley’s birth. And brother, it gets more fucking twisted at every turn.
The timeline’s full of gaps and inconsistencies, starting from the day she was supposedly born.
” I heard the faint click of his keyboard as he spoke.
“Danielle Rivers disappeared from the public eye throughout the whole pregnancy. That alone had alarm bells going off for me. They should’ve milked that shit—perfect motherly image of domesticity—but they didn’t. ”
My gut tightened hard, my unease growing as Jax kept talking. “Not one public appearance?”
“Nothing. From the time she would have been about a month pregnant until the day they faced the press with the baby when she was around four weeks old, there wasn’t a trace of her that anyone was able to find.”
“You’re not anyone,” I grunted.
“You bet your motherfucking ass I’m not,” he growled. “Took a lot of fancy finger work into some gray areas, but I finally nailed her down. During the time Danielle was supposed to be pregnant, she was staying at a private residence with zero public connections to the family.”
I didn’t interrupt, just listened, my jaw grinding.
“But what I found real damn interesting was that she wasn’t at a hospital when and where Hadley was supposedly born. Nothing that points to a home birth either. Couldn’t find any evidence that she was under any kind of professional prenatal care.”
Cold rage began to burn through me, my fingers curling into fists on the desk. “Go on.”
“That got me wondering about her medical care leading up to and after the pregnancy and birth. Dug deeper and found fertility treatment records buried deep enough no one from the press has ever touched ’em.
Doctor shoulda’ known better than to keep shit like this in her personal files.
Made it even fucking easier to get my hands on.
Anyway, these records clearly indicate that it would have been nearly impossible for Danielle to get pregnant naturally. ”
“What the fuck?” I hissed.
“Doctor also had the woman’s yearly physical records.
I think there’s something there, but I want you to look at them.
I sent them in a secure email. Tell me if I’m on the right track there, because I also found substantial payments made directly to a doctor—off the books. Could definitely be bribe money.”
Too enraged to speak, I was silent as I opened my laptop and navigated to my email. I skimmed through the documents, including X-rays and other imaging tests. From both before and after Danielle’s supposed pregnancy.
“Motherfucker,” I growled when I finished.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Jax muttered.
“Her body is exactly the same in pre and post Hadley tests and physicals. There’s no evidence in her body of ever having carried a baby or given birth.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jax cursed. “I was hoping I was somehow wrong.”
Something in his tone had me sitting up a little straighter, tension twisting my gut.
“After I saw what was likely a bribe for the doctor, I went looking specifically for another trail that would lead to a cover-up. Found one that leads to a shell company.” Jax’s voice dipped dangerously low. “One owned by a group suspected of involvement in human trafficking.”
The implications stole my air and practically stopped my heart for a moment. Then fury scorched through my veins, but the control I’d mastered in my life—though it often disappeared when it came to Hadley—kept me from completely losing my shit.
“And Flint called,” Jax added after a beat, quieter.
“He gave me a couple of names of surgeons who might’ve done the botched surgery on Hadley.
There’s one in particular he flagged as most likely, an asshole who’s been investigated multiple times for unethical practices.
Eventually lost his license altogether.”
I pressed a palm to my forehead, fighting the murderous rage that had my whole body shaking from the effort to contain it. “Any ties between this surgeon and the trafficking group?”
“I’m digging into that right now, but my gut says yes,” Jax replied. “Connections like this don’t happen by chance. These people deal in desperation. They all know each other’s business.”
My mind locked everything into place with painful clarity, pieces finally fitting together to reveal a picture darker than I ever imagined. “You see it, right? Same thing I am?”
Jax exhaled sharply. “Yeah. Hadley was probably kidnapped as a baby. Sold on the black market to a wealthy, image-obsessed family.”
“It would explain why they removed a birthmark,” I gritted through clenched teeth.
“From the scar, I’d say the size and placement were significant.
It would have been too recognizable. They’re commonly used as identifiers in missing child cases.
Especially since there are usually hospital records and early photos documenting it, they wouldn’t want to run the risk when their lives are splashed all over the media. ”
The reality of that hit me with a force that nearly knocked the breath from my lungs. My woman had been taken. Bought as a baby. Hidden behind a perfect family facade her entire fucking life.
But that wasn’t what had me worried. It was the people who’d facilitated the kidnapping, the surgery, and the sale of a little baby. Hadley was living, breathing proof of their crimes. If anyone found out that we even suspected the truth, they’d want her taken out.
Protectiveness burned through me, coupled with a possessiveness so strong it felt primal. Hadley was mine, and I’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
“Find everything you can,” I told Jax, my tone lethal. “Get me the proof we need to bury them. All of them.”
“On it,” Jax agreed without hesitation. “I’ll let you know when I have something solid on the others involved. But I already built a case against the parents in case Hadley decides she wants—”
“Fuck,” I groaned, dropping my forehead onto the desk. “How do I tell her?”
“You haven’t told her?” Jax asked, his tone incredulous.
My head snapped up, and I glared at my phone. “You gonna tell me you would have told Lark she was kidnapped and sold to the people she thought were her parents for her whole fucking like before you had proof?”
Silence.
“That’s what I thought.”
Jax sighed. “You’re right. But it’s time, brother. She deserves to know.”
“Yeah. Just get me what I need to make sure she’s safe.”
“You know I will.”
Ending the call, I forced myself to my feet, pacing once around my office to calm the storm raging inside me.
I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be tossed into a situation where I wasn’t the one pulling all the strings.
Now, I knew I needed to tell Hadley at least some of what we’d found, and I had no idea how she was going to react.
I decided to go ahead with my plan to take her to dinner, and then I’d ease her into it. I would make it very clear that I would protect her because she wasn’t going anywhere—not now, or ever.
I padded down the hall, steadying myself before I stepped into my bedroom to change.
The scent of her lingered in the air, wrapping around me like a sensual promise as I stripped out of my clothes and pulled on fresh jeans and a button-down shirt before shrugging on my cut once more.
My pulse quickened as I glanced toward the bed, remembering how she’d looked cuddled against my pillow this morning.
Hadley belonged to me, but I hadn’t claimed all of her yet. That was gonna change real fucking soon. The possessiveness of that thought sent another jolt of arousal pulsing straight to my cock, making me ache painfully.
Fuck, I wanted her. Needed her with an intensity that threatened to snap my control completely.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself back to the living room where Hadley waited, curled comfortably on the couch, her e-reader resting on her knee.
She’d changed into jeans and a pink, strapless top that looked beautiful against her sun-kissed skin.
Her slightly wild dark-blond locks that I loved running my fingers through were cascading down her shoulder.
She looked up, her eyes widening slightly when she caught me staring.
Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and the hunger in her gaze made my blood heat in response.
I reminded myself that we were about to head out in public, so I needed to get a handle on my desire. After drawing in a deep, steadying breath, I walked over to her and held out my hand. “Ready for dinner?”
Her eyes lit up, sparkling in a way that warmed me straight through. “Absolutely.”
I pulled her to her feet and entwined our fingers together before guiding her out to the garage and over to my motorcycle.
She looked up at me, her eyes round as saucers. “We’re…you want to ride…to dinner—” Her cheeks burned hot as she cut herself off and sighed. “You know what I mean.”
I chuckled and cupped her cheeks, staring down at her beautiful face. “I know I’ve told you, baby. You’re mine. Putting you on the back of my ride is just one way to make that clear to you and to the rest of the world.”
She smiled up at me, and that was it. The last thread of my control finally snapped.
I hauled her into my arms and crashed my mouth down on hers in a possessive kiss.
Her soft gasp of surprise quickly melted into a sweet moan as she wrapped her arms around my neck, surrendering immediately to the hungry demand of my lips and tongue.
I held her tightly against my chest, claiming her mouth with rough, heated intensity, tasting every soft, addictive inch of her.
“Bike can wait,” I growled against her mouth, the words raspy with need. “Gonna mark you. Claim you inside and out, baby.”
Her body arched instinctively closer, her fingers tightening in my shirt as she whimpered softly into my kiss. “Please, Thayer.”
Desire surged hot and fierce, making every muscle strain against my self-control. I was done waiting. No more denying myself. She belonged with me. Now and fucking always.