Chapter 2
Cooper Devlin was the odd man out. He should be used to that.
Had thought he was. Growing up in a home that made the word dysfunctional sound like playtime, he’d learned at an early age not to expect anything.
Not a smile or kind word from those who were supposed to love him.
His childhood had been a blur of neglect, punctuated by moments of violence that had left both physical and emotional scars.
He’d found a home, though. His Phoenix Three brothers had become the family he never thought he’d have.
They were the ones who’d shown him what loyalty truly meant, who taught him that love didn’t have to come with conditions and fists.
Grayson and Liam weren’t his blood brothers.
He didn’t have one of those. But they were his brothers all the same.
Now Grayson was married to Harlow, and Liam and Quinn were expecting a baby and engaged to be married.
He was happy for his brothers, he really was.
But would they still have room for him, the odd man out?
Maybe he wasn’t used to that after all because here he was, in a rented apartment, feeling sorry for himself while hiding from the sweet grandmother next door who wanted him to come over tonight and meet her granddaughter.
“Get over yourself,” he muttered. Ruby, his rescue dog, lifted her head from where she was curled up next to him on the couch. “Didn’t mean you, girl.” He really did need to start looking for a place to buy like he kept saying he was going to do. A house with a yard for Ruby to play in.
He was supposed to be at Grayson’s for an afternoon at the beach and then a cookout.
He was procrastinating. The cookout was to celebrate Liam’s and Quinn’s engagement.
Not that he could just not go. That would require explaining, and he didn’t want to rain on their parade with his poor-me story.
Tomorrow, he’d be over it. He always got over it.
He sighed as he stuck his wallet in his pocket, and as soon as he picked up his keys, Ruby raced to the door, tail wagging. She loved riding in his truck, and she loved when that truck took them to Grayson’s, where she could play with her best friend, Einstein, a very talkative cat.
Now all they had to do was sneak past Mrs. Seagrave’s apartment. Not an easy task as he was sure she had her ear to the door listening for his footsteps. Turned out to be his lucky night, and he and Ruby were able to sneak past.
As he was getting in his truck, his phone chimed, the ringtone telling him it was a Phoenix Three call forwarded to him since he was on duty tonight.
“The Phoenix Three. Cooper Devlin speaking.”
“Thank God, it’s you. My name’s Kendall Hart, and I have to talk to you. Tonight.”
He heard the panic in her voice. “I have somewhere I have to be right now, Miss Hart. Can you tell me what this is about?”
“Not over the phone, but it’s urgent. Please. Oh, God, please.”
She was crying now. “I really do need to be somewhere. I assume you’re in Myrtle Beach. I can meet you in three hours.” This would give him an excuse to leave right after dinner.
“You don’t understand. We can’t wait. She’s been missing since this afternoon.”
“Who’s missing?”
There was a long pause, and then, “Your daughter.”
“Ma’am… Ms. Hart, I don’t have a daughter. I can tell you’re upset, and I’ll do what I can to help you. When did you—”
“She’s yours, Cooper. Olivia’s the result of our night together. You were home on leave, and we met at The Tipsy Turtle. Please tell me you remember.”
The phone slipped out of his hand, falling to the floor of his truck. Remember? Hell, yes. He’d never forgotten that night and the woman who wouldn’t give him her name. “I have a daughter?” Ruby, sensing his distress, whined as she tried to lick his face.
He reached down and picked up his cell phone.
“Ms. Hart… Kendall.” Surely, it was okay to use her first name considering they’d spent an entire night in each other’s arms. “I remember.” He couldn’t wrap his mind around learning he had a daughter.
“Where are you and what do you know?” And what’s my daughter’s name?
What does she look like? Is she happy? A thousand questions crammed their way into his mind.
“I still live in Decatur, not far from where we met.”
“Do you have someone with you? A husband or boyfriend?” He didn’t like the thought of her being alone right now.
“No, it’s just my daughter and me.”
The relief that there wasn’t a man in her life surprised him. He hadn’t seen her in five years, had no claim on her, but he’d thought of her often, regretted that she was only one unforgettable night in his life. “This is your cell phone number we’re talking on?”
“Yes. Please, Cooper. You find missing children. You have to help me find Olivia.”
His daughter’s name was Olivia. It didn’t occur to him that he might not be Olivia’s father. The woman he’d spent a night with wouldn’t lie about something like that. “Do you have a pen handy?”
“Yes.”
“Take down this number. It’s my personal cell.” After giving her his number, he said, “Text me your address. I’m going to find the fastest way to get to you that I can. I’ll call you when I have the details.”
“Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He started his truck while he talked to her. “Have you contacted the police?”
“Yes, they’re aware, but they don’t have much to go on. I’m so afraid.”
He hated hearing the quaver in her voice. “Listen to me, Kendall. We’re going to find her.”
“Please hurry.”
“I’ll call you back shortly.” He dropped his phone into the cupholder. It was normally a fifteen-minute drive to Grayson’s. He made it in nine.
His friends would be on the deck, so he bypassed the front door and jogged to the back. Ruby thought this was a new game and bounced around ahead of him. “I need you to find me a charter that can take me to Atlanta,” he said, stopping in front of Grayson. “Tonight. Now.”
Without asking questions, Grayson picked up his phone from the table and scrolled through his contacts. That was what he loved about his brothers. They knew if he needed a plane immediately, there was a damn good reason for it. He paced while Grayson talked to someone.
“What airport?” Grayson asked.
“Decatur.”
“Your plane takes off from Beach Aviation in forty-five minutes.”
He glanced at his watch. It would take him at least twenty minutes or more, depending on traffic, to get to the airport. “Thanks.”
“What’s going on?” Liam asked.
“My daughter’s missing. Gotta go.”
“Whoa. Stop,” Grayson said.
He was halfway down the steps, and he turned. “What?” Four pairs of eyes stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“How come you never told us you have a daughter?” Harlow asked.
“Because I didn’t know until tonight.” He glanced at Ruby, who was sitting by the door waiting to be let in so she could play with Grayson and Harlow’s son and their cat. “Can you keep Ruby for me?”
“Of course.” Harlow got up and let Ruby into the house.
Quinn, Liam’s fiancée said, “Your daughter’s missing?”
“Yes.”
“You can spare five minutes to tell us what’s going on,” Grayson said.
Liam nodded. “And you know we’ll give you any help you need.”
He blew out a breath. “I got a phone call tonight.” He told his friends how he’d met Kendall and what she’d said on the call. “So, that’s it. Now, I have to go.”
“I’ll have a car waiting for you in Decatur,” Grayson said. “As soon as you get a handle on what’s happening and you need us there, call. Anything you need, we’ll get for you.”
“Thanks.” He hadn’t thought past getting on the plane and getting to Kendall. “I’ll keep you in the know.”
He always kept a go bag in his truck, so he didn’t have to return home and pack. Two hours and thirty-three minutes after Kendall called, he turned into the driveway of the house his GPS took him to. There was a police car parked on the street, and it appeared every light in the house was on.
The sun was low in the sky, and it was going to be dark soon.
The thought of his little girl somewhere in the dark, probably crying and begging for her mother…
No, now was not the time for the rage building inside him that someone would take an innocent child.
His child. More than ever in his life, he needed a clear head, and for that to happen, he had to stay calm so he could think clearly.
As he walked toward the front door, he noted that the house was small but well kept.
Flower beds gave color to the landscape, and the scent of what he thought might be lavender filled the air.
This was where the woman he’d thought of often lived with the baby they’d made, and for five years, he hadn’t known he was a father.
Whom should he be mad at over that? Kendall for refusing to give him her name? Himself for not insisting? Maybe he shouldn’t be mad at all as neither one of them even considered they would make a baby that night, but the regret for not being here for Kendall was heavy.
A pink bicycle with training wheels leaned against the wall of the house, and he paused. His daughter rode that little bike. His daughter. He was still having trouble wrapping his head around that. He touched the handlebar, smiling at the pink tassels. What was she like, his little girl?
He moved on to the front door. There was a knocker in the shape of a heart, which he assumed was a play on Kendall’s last name of Hart. Before even walking inside, he had the sense of a home filled with love.
The door swung open before he could lift the knocker, and Kendall stood there, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy but she was as beautiful as he remembered.
Acting on instinct, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
“I’m here,” he softly said. She melted into his embrace, and nothing had ever felt so right as holding this woman in his arms.
“Who’s that?” a man said.
Refusing to let go of Kendall, he pulled her to his side as he met the gaze of the man in a police officer’s uniform. “I’m Olivia’s father.”
The officer’s eyes narrowed as he called someone on his phone. “The father’s here. What do you want me to do with him?”
Do with him? Still keeping Kendall by his side, he walked them past the officer and down a hallway. “Where can we talk?”