CHAPTER NINETEEN
JAKE
––––––––
“How’d it go?” Liam asks when I return from lunch and climb into the driver’s seat of the BHS SUV.
Great, except I had to lie to her all lunch about this fucking party she is throwing.
I did not tell my parents.
I will not be inviting them.
And who knows how she’s going to react when they don’t turn up. I’m still working on the reason they’ll be a no-show.
“Gut instinct?” I ask, recalling the odd comment Brad Thornton made.
I can’t live without my Caylee.
He was provoking me under the guise of a compliment to my fucking girlfriend.
Mine for now, at least.
“It’s where we start.” Liam shrugged.
“He’s a sociopath with narcissistic tendencies.” I start the vehicle and glance in the rear mirror before pulling out into traffic.
“In other words, he fits the profile.”
Yeah.
That.
“Him and probably fifty other CEOs within a two-mile radius,” I admit, glancing around the buildings. “Could be anyone, and our line of thinking is way off.”
“True.” Liam fiddles with the stereo, landing on some rap while I recall Brad’s body language over and over.
Using Caylee to meet him was a bit low but if he’s our predator, then we need to do everything we can to get him behind bars. To protect her and any other underage girls.
Seeing my girl was a bonus. Caylee looked beautiful, and I can’t wait to take her out again tonight. I bought us movie tickets and even chose a sort of chick flick.
I would say I’m doing well at this boyfriend gig; except for the fact I’m hiding things from her and being dishonest.
Essentially.
When she started chatting about the party over lunch, I nodded and hummed at all the right places. But as we walked back to the clinic, I said, “I thought you could meet them privately the first time.”
It sort of fell out, but as it did, I thought it might be an easy out.
To delay the inevitable.
I was wrong.
“It’s less stress with everyone around,” Caylee replied, eyeing me carefully. “You know, for everyone.”
She’s treating me with kid gloves, trying to work out what my family issue is. God, if only she knew.
Those pretty eyes smiling up at me could almost get me to kill for her.
But I wouldn’t betray my family secret.
My family shame.
There was no way I was inviting them. My mother would lose her fucking mind at the thought, and if by some chance they did come, my dad would be shitfaced by the time he arrived. Or within the hour if, by some miracle, he wasn’t.
There is no way on god’s green earth I’m exposing my parents to my friends and new colleagues.
It’s not happening. Ever.
Between Caylee’s party, fucking Thanksgiving, then Christmas, the time of year couldn’t be worse to reunite. Why couldn’t it have been February or goddamn May?
I sigh inwardly.
I don’t want to let her down.
I’ll invite some friends and old colleagues. That’s it. Keeping Caylee hidden is not my goal. Hell, I’d stand on the highest mountain peak in the world and scream how much I liked this woman.
More than liked.
But her opinion of me would change in an instant if she knew about my past.
“Then again,” Liam continues. “Other organizations around the area here haven’t had all of these missing kids through their clinics. That’s not a coincidence.”
“No. It isn’t.”
There was something about Brad I couldn’t put my finger on. I certainly didn’t trust him.
He didn’t like me touching Caylee, which was one of two reasons I did it in front of him.
Testing him.
Caylee isn’t a target for trafficking, but these mentally unstable sociopaths have interesting relationships with those in their inner circle.
I want her away from him.
Something I don’t have control over, which doesn’t sit well with me. If he suspects she knows something, he might be a danger to her.
If he’s a pimp, this could just be a game to him.
Sociopaths usually have no emotion one way or another, but they know right from wrong.
Unlike pedophiles or sex offenders, who end up hurting or killing their victims because they try to hide their crimes. Whether from immediate guilt or shame, they rarely set out to kill.
They know if they’re caught it would mean prison. Or in some states, the death penalty.
Caylee is too old to be of interest to child traffickers. Grown, independent women are threatening and terrifying to them.
But is she completely safe?
No.
And that makes all my protective tendencies rise to the surface. Which is probably why I saw her back up in the elevator, watched her walk through the door to the clinic, studied Brad, who was speaking to the mother of a child, and gave him a sharp nod when he glanced in my direction.
I don’t like him. I don’t trust him.
His good-looking, charming smile might attract middle class, sex-craved moms. But it doesn’t fool me.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Liam reminds me. “You’re right, we shouldn’t take our eyes off anyone else in case we’re wrong.”
I steer the car onto the highway, trying to think of any way to get Caylee out of that office.
Marry her.
Impregnate her.
Kidnap her.
Blow the fucking thing up—after hours.
“We need to loop Cole in,” I say darkly. “I want eyes on Caylee as much as possible.”
One glance at my partner, and I see Liam connect the dots. Not that both of us haven’t been thinking about it all day, but now that my instincts are firing, it’s time to step up our game.
Liam puts his phone to his ear. “Hey boss. We need ten minutes with you when we get back to the office. I’m inviting Cole.”
I merge into traffic.
“Nope.” Liam glances at me. “It can’t wait.”
As he ends the call, my heart rate speeds up.
Shit’s about to get real.
Liam continues his calls. “Ryder, need you to pull Cole off his job. Tell him to meet us at HQ in an hour.”
I’m reminded how quickly these guys can move. There’s no bullshit paperwork; they simply pivot and do what’s necessary.
He waits for the Delta Force operator’s response as I rest my elbow on the door, focusing on the surrounding cars, my mind on one dark-haired beauty.
Looping Cole in is the right thing to do. This is a delicate operation, and excluding him is going to be important.
“Also need you to put together a small team of private security to shadow Caylee Zimbardo.”
I hear the what the fuck through the phone.
“See you in ten.” Liam ends the call and shakes his head. “You want to know why I warned you not to date Caylee? You’re about to see how the BHS team reacts when one of their own is in potential danger.”
I have no doubt.
After all, the Semper Fi motto of the US Marine Corps, or always faithful, is a fundamental principle across all military departments. Though some could argue, not as ingrained.
I suspect they’ve incorporated the same culture at Black Hawke Security.
No man or woman left behind.
Dead or alive.