Chapter 15 #3
“Here you go,” Reese said, handing Violet a bowl of ice cream. “Why don’t you take it to the table and have it there.”
Violet made her way to the large dining area. April helped her pull out a chair where she climbed up and started eating her ice cream.
“How is it?” Reese asked from the kitchen, still scooping ice cream into more bowls.
“It’s good,” Violet answered, her mouth half full with the creamy goodness.
“What do you say?” April asked.
“Thank you,” Violet said, already spooning another mouthful into her open mouth.
“You’re more than welcome, Sweetie,” Reese said.
Garrett smiled and gestured for her and Caden to follow him out of Violet’s earshot. “How much trouble are you in?” Garrett asked April.
She was just about to answer when the front door opened and Tanner came in.
“What did I miss? Sorry it took me a little longer than I expected to get out of there. I had to tie up some loose ends and hopefully they won't pull my badge for it.”
“They won’t.” The door opened again and Blake came in. “Whatever’s going on, you know we’ll have your back. Even if we have to pull the federal card.”
“What’s a federal card?” Violet asked from the dining table, bringing Blake’s attention down to her.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there, little one. Hi, I’m Blake, and you are…?”
“I’m Violet,” she said, then looked to April for approval.
“You’re doing great,” April assured her.
“Well, I’m not,” Caden said in a loud, overly dramatic way, with a huge smile on his face. “Someone promised me ice cream and I haven’t gotten any.”
Violet giggled and that made Caden’s smile grow wider. “Hey, I told you I’d have your back and I meant it. Even when it comes to things like ice cream. You know a federal agent can never tell a lie.”
“Ever?” Violet asked.
“Ever,” Blake said. “Now, what’s all this about ice cream? I'm hungry. Skyla left for Madigan’s early today, and she’s stuck there now waiting on a delivery.”
“Hello?” The door opened, and Hallie and Orly came in with Luke trailing behind them.
“Caden said something about ice cream at Garrett’s house,” Luke said, “and while I know it’s a weekday, I figured since I’m off, I’d bring my fishing gear in the hopes we might be able to catch dinner while we’re here.”
“Those fish are always biting,” Garrett said in greeting.
“Come on in.” Reese pulled more bowls out of the upper cabinet. Garrett went over and helped her with the ones on the top shelf as everyone settled down at the dining room table with Violet, or found a stool to perch on at the kitchen island.
April couldn’t help but be impressed with Garrett’s house.
Even though she’d been here before, she hadn’t spent much time inside that day, and the huge great room that consisted of the kitchen, dining room, and living room area was amazing.
April could literally be anywhere in the room and see out the back and the front windows.
It made it feel that much bigger, but with all the interesting artwork on the walls, the oversized leather sofa, and the stone fireplace, it still gave the space cozy and lived in vibes.
“So, what’s going on?” Blake asked. “Why did Caden call for an emergency meeting, and since when do we bring a kid to this kind of thing?”
“It’s because I got Aunt April in trouble,” Violet said, much to April’s and everyone else’s surprise.
“No, no, Sweetie, you didn’t do anything wrong,” April said.
“She’s right,” Tanner said. “You didn’t -”
“They found us.” Violet’s words were spoken with a deadly tone to her voice. Tears sprang to her eyes and April followed her gaze out the front window where a black SUV was coming down the street. She’d recognize that car anywhere. Ned had indeed found them.
“I don’t understand,” April said, trying not to hyperventilate. “We took out the damn tracker, how did he find us so fast?”
“Who?” Blake asked, already on high alert. “What is going on here?”
Instead of hiding or running in the opposite direction, Violet slid out of her chair and went straight for the front door that had been left open. “Violet, wait!” April called after her. But it was too late. Violet was out the door. April ran out behind her. Everyone else was following them out.
“Stay here,” Caden ordered Hallie, Reese and Orly, while the men followed April and gathered on Garrett’s front lawn.
April tried to push Violet behind her, but the little girl wouldn’t budge.
While April was thrilled to see her niece displaying strength and courage instead of cowering to Ned’s will, now was not the time to exercise her stubbornness.
Of course, Ned would never actually hurt her, but then again, he did have grown men attacking her, so who knew what he’d do to get her back?
Echo stepped out of the SUV and casually strolled toward them. Tanner and his friends had their weapons ready, but he seemed to only have eyes for Violet.
“Can I throw him?” Violet asked, not bothering to talk quietly anymore.
“What did she say?” Garrett asked, part confusion, part shock.
“April.” Echo never minced words, so April didn’t expect him to start now. “Look, I don’t want to make this any harder than it has to be, but I have to take Violet back to her dad.”
“No,” Violet said, stomping her little foot.
“You heard her, Echo. And besides, he’s not even her real dad,” April added for good measure.
“Violet,” Echo warned, his tone harsh and demanding. “You don’t want to fight me on this, Honey. It’s best if I just take you back.”
“No!” Violet shrieked and suddenly Echo was airborne, thrown at least ten feet in the air where Violet was keeping him suspended. “I won’t go back, and you can’t make me. I won’t! I won’t! I won’t!” Her shrieking grew increasingly louder with each word.
Ignoring the gasps of the men around her, April touched Violet’s shoulder. “Violet, put him down, Sweetie. Tanner and Caden won’t let anyone take you away from me. Put him down before someone else sees what you’re doing.”
Violet nibbled her bottom lip and looked up at Echo. He wasn’t struggling or injured or even uncomfortable. He was just suspended in mid-air. “I won’t go back.” She emphasized. “And you can’t make me.”
“Understood,” Echo said, defeated. “I won’t make you. But others will come. They’ll find you. They’ll make you, and they won’t be as nice as I am.”
April swallowed the knot in her throat, taking his threat for what it was. “Violet, put him down, right now.” When Violet didn’t budge, April insisted. “Now, Violet, and be gentle so he doesn’t get hurt.”
The little girl took in a ragged breath and blew it out, then nodded and Echo came down, not as gently as April would’ve liked, but he wouldn’t be anything more than bruised, if that. “Thank you, Violet,” April said.
Echo stood, straightened his jacket, and started to head back to his SUV.
“Not so fast,” April said. “How did you find us? We took out her tracker.”
Echo shook his head. “I can’t. The boss will have my head.”
“How?” Tanner demanded as he came up to Echo pushing his weapon to the side of his neck.
“I don’t care what your boss does to you.
I care about a six-year-old girl that you’ve obviously played a large part in tormenting for years.
Years! Who does that? How do you live with yourself? How did you find them?”
Echo closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if he needed to come to terms with what he was about to say. “Your phone also has a tracker in it,” he finally said.
“My -” April reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, then looked at Echo. “Thank you.”
But Tanner didn’t move, keeping his weapon pressed against Echo’s neck, likely leaving a mark. “I never laid a hand on her except to help her. Never hurt her. That wasn’t my job,” Echo said, even as Tanner shoved the gun deeper into the side of his neck.
“Do tell,” Tanner growled. “What was your job?”
Echo chose to look at Violet then and April didn’t miss the sorrow in his eyes, as though his own heart was breaking. But how could that be? He’d been complicit in all of it. Never showed any sign of compassion or mercy toward Violet. At least not in front of April.
“My job was to protect her. When she grew weak, when that last bullet was coming, if I thought for a second that she wouldn’t be able to stop it, my job was to take it for her. I took bullets, knives, and spears when she fell and didn’t get back up.”
“So, instead of putting the protective gear on her, they put it on you in the hopes that you’d get to her in time?” Tanner asked with disgust.
“What are you even talking about?” April asked Echo. “Violet never fell, and she never missed a bullet.”
Echo looked from Violet to April. “I guess she never told you about the late nights and weekends. Ned always saved the most grueling stuff for when you weren’t around so he wouldn’t have to listen to you complain about it. Tell her, Violet. Tell her that I never hurt you.”
Violet stared at him with big eyes, then turned and ran back into the house. She stopped in the doorway long enough to give him one last look and shouted, “I’m never going back and you can’t make me!”
“You might not have hurt her, but you stood by and let it happen,” Tanner snarled. “That’s even worse.”
“No worse than April,” Echo said, glancing her way. “And we both probably did it for the same reason. We could’ve tried to do something, but then Ned would’ve gotten rid of us and where would Violet be then? At least if I was there, I knew no harm would come to her because I wouldn’t let it.”