Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Cannon
“You think they’re okay?” I ask as Blade and I settle on chairs in my home office to discuss what the team has discovered about Eloise.
I feel bad about leaving her with June to shop.
It seemed like the two of them have hit it off, but I don’t know Eloise well enough to be certain she’s not just a really good actress.
“They’re fine. They have unlimited funds and a laptop. What could possibly go wrong?” he jokes.
I rub my beard. “I’m not sure Eloise will be willing to actually spend any money. She’s very uncomfortable letting me buy her things.”
“Don’t worry. June isn’t as casual about it as she was pretending either. It’s hard for her to accept gifts.”
I try to relax and focus on what matters most. Eloise’s safety.
We didn’t discuss anything specific while the girls were getting to know each other, partly because I didn’t want Eloise to overhear our conversation, but also because I was half listening in on the two of them to make sure Eloise was comfortable. “Talk to me.”
“You were right about Eloise’s record. She doesn’t have one. Not a single thing. There’s nothing falsified about ever having been stopped by the cops, detained, or arrested. Larkin lied to her.”
I release a deep breath. That’s a relief. It was as expected, but still, if that asshole had created false police reports, flames would have come out of my head, and I might have made his ultimate demise last a lot longer than I’m currently planning.
“You were also right about her school records. Excellent grades on every report card. Her elementary teachers adored her. The only negative comment anyone ever had—if you can even call it negative—was that she was often too quiet and didn’t interact with the other children much.”
I don’t comment on that. I’m not surprised. She was never in one place long enough to develop relationships. “Wait, how did Mace pull her records so fast? She probably went to damn near twelve schools in twelve years.”
“Yeah, he hacked into the state system where there was a file on her.”
I chuckle. “Of course he did.” Thank God for Mace.
“As for Larkin. He was the cop at her high school for three years. He resigned about a year after her ‘disappearance.’ If what she says is accurate and Larkin was running a human trafficking ring, I’m not surprised. I’m sure he’d have accumulated enough money to retire by then.”
“Do we know where he is now?”
“Yep. Got an address. He has a Ring doorbell, too.”
“Super convenient. Has Mace captured him coming and going?”
“He has.” Blade lifts his phone and taps the screen several times before flipping it around to show me. “This is Gary Larkin.”
I grit my teeth as I memorize his face.
“We don’t have any guys currently working in that part of the country, nor do I trust anyone local to snoop around without ratting us out if Larkin is a beloved former cop. I’m sending Tank to feel this one out.”
“I should go with him,” I say, glancing at the door. There’s no way I can leave Seattle or even my apartment right now. Eloise needs me.
“No, you shouldn’t. And before you ask, Tank will not take him out. He’s going to break in and see what he can find out about our upstanding cop slash human trafficker and get back to us. Let’s see what he can dig up on this prick before we take action.”
“And then?” I know I’m not going to be able to be the point man on this case. I’m too close. I’m clenching my fists and salivating over the desire to take this guy out, preferably after pulling each of his nails out with needle-nosed pliers.
“And then we lure him here,” Blade replies.
“Lure him how?” I’m already shaking my head. “No. We’re not using Eloise as bait.”
Blade leans forward, elbows on his knees. “I’m not suggesting we send her out to roam the streets, Cannon. You should register her for GED classes at a physical location in Seattle, and then we’ll intercept his fucking ass when he shows up.”
I flinch.
Blade continues, “Hear me out. The study center will have to put in a request to have her records transferred from her high school. I’d bet anything that’s the first thing our fine school cop will be watching.
He knows she will eventually need to get her diploma.
When he sees she’s applied to take classes here in Seattle, he’ll jump on the next plane.
His primary concern is to keep her silent. ”
It’s not a bad idea. “Eloise never leaves this apartment,” I insist.
“She doesn’t have to. There’s no need. Larkin’s a coward. He’ll sit in his car and wait for her. We’ll pick him up without anyone being the wiser.”
I inhale deeply, trying to think if there’s a hole in this plan and not coming up with one.
Blade is right. It’s brilliant. It’s not like Larkin will tell anyone why he’s coming to Seattle.
If he has friends, he will tell them he’s going on vacation.
He’ll never return because, darn it, Seattle can be so dangerous.
Poor Mr. Gary Larkin. Killed in a random act of violence when street thugs tried to rob him. “It’ll work.”
Blade chuckles. “Of course it will.”
“What about James Westin?”
“Mace found the coroner’s report. Heart attack, just as Eloise suspected. Found dead in his home after an anonymous tip led officers to check his residence.”
“Shocking,” I mumble sarcastically. I’m sure Mace could trace that call back to Larkin, but it’s not necessary. I know enough about this piece of shit. He’s a dead man. I won’t lose a minute’s sleep.
Blade taps his thighs. “Anyone else we need to hunt down and eradicate?”
“I’m not sure yet. I suspect there are other assholes who fucked with Eloise before Larkin got his hands on her.
She had a nightmare during her nap. Woke up screaming.
She hasn’t told me what it was about yet, but based on what I know, there is a long line of assholes who wronged my girl before she was eighteen. ”
Blade winces. “I’m sorry. Let me know if I need to dig around in anyone else’s life. Happy to do so.”
“Thanks.” I glance at the door again. “Think we should check on them?”
Blade grins. “No. I can hear them giggling. I like that sound. Let’s leave them be. It’s not like they could do that much damage to our credit cards. I actually hope they do. I know June could stand to worry less about money. I’m positive Eloise could, too.”
I lean back and run my hands through my hair. A lot of emotions are running through me. One of them is relief because I’ve found my Little girl. I know it. It might take her some time to feel as certain as I do, but I’m positive.
I didn’t even realize I was carrying around a giant weight on my shoulders. Waiting. Always waiting to find her. The one. The Little girl who would make my life complete. It’s not as though I could have roamed the streets hoping to run into her.
The pink room has been ready for my special Little for months.
When I moved in, I put just as much effort into that room as the rest of the apartment.
I didn’t care if my future special girl hated it.
Eloise can change anything she wants. I wanted it to exist so when I brought her home, it would be waiting for her.
And it paid off. Eloise needed a soft place to fall. She needed those books and dolls. The bedding and mattress. All that stuff called to her last night in a way that brought me to my knees.
The image of walking into her room and finding her huddled in the corner with piles of books and dolls… I’ll never forget that moment. I already knew she was mine, but that confirmed it.
I’m a lucky man.