Chapter Five #3
“I have you,” he whispered. “I have you, Ridge. It’s going to be okay. I promise you.”
The man stayed against him, his hands going directly into Lucian’s hair and his face tucked into his neck as he held on for dear life.
That was when Bishop knelt beside them.
“Ridge, Honey, I know you’re hurting. I know this is painful, and it is for all of us, but this isn’t your fault, or Wynter’s fault, or Lucian’s fault. This is all the fault of the person who did this to all of these people.”
That didn’t slow the sobs down.
Not.
At.
All.
Bishop continued.
“Give us time to find him. We’re going to make that happen. Honor and I are going to work it legally, and keep pushing on the other victims, and Avalon Carter and her people will be in the static doing their thing.”
She took his hand, and he held it, as Lucian held him.
When Ridge moved his face, there were tears streaming down his cheeks. It was clear that the torment was real, and it had him by the balls.
“How do I tell Sophia when she gets older? How do I tell her that mommy is gone because of this? Because I didn’t protect her enough?”
They didn’t know.
There was no easy way to do that.
The one and only saving grace was Sophia was so young, she’d never remember any of this, or Wynter. She’d never recall losing her mother.
The only pain she’d feel was growing up without one—which was difficult enough.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Ridge.
For now, though, we don’t do anything stupid to endanger any more lives.
This entity is waiting to make the next move.
He’s already damaged Lucian and taken him out of the game.
He’ll keep picking away at us until he wins.
We’re down two psychics. Beckett’s gift is gone, and Lucian is handicapped. ”
As the storm raged, Ridge let himself be held against Lucian’s body. He needed that soothing, and while it wouldn’t help him get over Wynter’s death, it would give him a moment’s reprieve.
Thankfully.
“I need to get her justice.”
Oh, well, they would.
Bishop would make sure of that. She knew what Maura and Jagger could do, and when this was over, this person was never hurting another person again.
All they had to do was find him.
But that would take time.
“Are you okay?” she asked Lucian.
He nodded.
“Yeah, it was just a love tap to the balls. I’m good,” he said, cuddling the other man as he held onto his body. Lucian’s arms were around Ridge, as he protectively gave him something stable to hold onto.
For Bishop, she was no one’s fool. The nuzzling, and the holding gave it all away.
They were bonded.
Lucian and Ridge did something that would change their world forever. Bishop would bet on it.
Later, she and Lucian would be having a conversation about this.
Trust and believe.
She would get to the bottom of it.
Without.
A.
Doubt.
Now that the wildest part of the storm had passed, they needed some answers. Getting up, she went to the contents of the woman’s purse and found Wynter’s phone.
Unfortunately for them, it was locked with a passcode.
“Do you know how to get into her phone?” he asked.
He looked confused.
“Uh, it’s locked?”
She held it up and showed him. She was going to need a fingerprint or face to open it.
“Yeah, it is.”
He looked confused.
“We don’t lock our phones. There’s no reason to do that,” he said, his heart racing.
Bishop waved it off.
“Honey, she was seeing a doctor and didn’t likely want anyone to know. That’s probably it.”
He immediately calmed down.
Once more, that fear of what Jo had told him about his wife disappearing, appeared again, but Bishop was right. She’d just wanted some privacy to handle her mental health.
He got that.
“What are you going to do?” Lucian asked.
Well, that was the big question.
Bishop needed this phone.
Mostly, it was to see if there was anything in it tied to the doctor. Yes, she knew they were doing battle on a psychological front with whatever this guy was, but she also needed to build a case.
So, that meant evidence.
It wasn’t like she could go to the doctor and beat it out of him if Wynter was a patient. Honor said the man wouldn’t play ball before without a warrant.
That would take time, and it was late at night.
Then, it hit her.
It was a macabre plan, but it would work.
“Can I take her phone?” she asked, formulating her plan. “I can get a warrant to access it. If she told you in her dream to go into her purse, and her phone was there, maybe that will give us something.”
He nodded.
“Sure.”
Well, then, she had a way to circumnavigate a warrant in this case. She’d take it right to the source.
Putting the phone in her pocket, tomorrow, she’d take it to work, or better yet, the morgue.
They couldn’t use a facial ID to open it, since Wynter had done a number on her head, BUT…they had her fingers.
She’d ask Bodhi to open it.
Or she’d sneak her ass in and do it without him knowing.
Oh, how the mighty law-abiding cops had fallen on this one.
For.
Sure.
“I need to go talk to the family about what we just found out about the doctor. Do you have Ridge?” she asked, knowing he absolutely did.
Her man was holding him like a lover would.
Oh, yeah, there was going to be a conversation at the soonest moment they were alone.
The sexy pirate could bet his ass on that.
Lucian nodded.
“I’ll bring him down. He’s staying with us tonight so that I can be there with him if he needs me.”
Bishop was good with that for one reason. Not only would it be for the man’s well-being, but mostly to keep him from killing the doctor without proof.
A person caught up in the heat of the moment could do pretty much anything. Despite what she was seeing between the two men, it was best to make sure they could find Ridge at all times.
Like as in an alibi.
Just.
In.
Case.
Oh, and this display of attachment told her one thing.
Her husband was going to be all over Ridge for the foreseeable future.
Getting up, she headed out.
Later, there would be a conversation. For now, Bishop needed to figure out how to get Wynter justice.
This wasn’t a conventional case.
Not.
Even.
Close.
When she was gone, Lucian got Ridge back to the couch, and the man laid against him. The whole time, Lucian held him in his arms, brushing hair from his face.
“My heart hurts, Lucian,” he whispered. “It hurts so bad.”
Yeah, he wasn’t shocked. In the same position, he would be far more volatile.
That Ridge was consolable at all…
He gave the man credit.
“It will be okay, Ridge. I promise. I’m here with you. I’ll help you get through this.”
He stared up at him. Honestly, Ridge didn’t know if he’d be able to do this without Lucian. The man was the ONLY reason he had any peace.
Well, and because he knew Bishop was hell on a case and would get his wife justice.
“The dream was so real,” he whispered. “She sounded so sad that I was going to have to navigate this.”
Oh, he bet.
“What else did you talk about?” he asked.
Ridge closed his eyes for a second and tried to remember all of it.
When he did, he shared.
“She told me to not go home and to burn the place down. I can’t live there, Lucian. I can’t be there. She died there. I’ll never be able to be there again.”
The panic began building, and Lucian fought to keep him calm.
Oh, he understood why Ridge couldn’t do that.
Lucian knew he wouldn’t be able to go home to a place where his Bishop died.
It would kill him.
“Please don’t make me go back there,” he whispered. “Please,” he begged. “This is one more trauma in my life that’s going to damage me.”
Lucian knew how he’d found his whole family slaughtered, and then, to make it worse, he’d been accused of it.
So, he’d step in and protect Ridge now that Wynter wasn’t here to do just that.
He was on duty, and he only hoped Bishop understood.
“I’ll take care of you, Baby,” he admitted. “I’ll make sure you and Sophia are safe. I promise.”
Ridge stared up into his eye.
“Promise me that you won’t leave me, too, Lucian. I need you,” he whispered.
He kissed him on the forehead.
“I won’t leave you. I swear on my own life.”
That would have to do.
Ridge closed his eyes, and the tears came again.
And Lucian knew one thing.
Now, not only did he have to come clean to his wife, but he had another predicament.
Would she let him take care of Ridge?
Or would this be the deal breaker because he’d just made one hell of a promise?
It appeared they were going to find out.