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Cade
“FUCK!” I HISSED as my brother and Devon rushed up to me.
“What’s goin’ on?” Connor asked.
“Navy’s gone,” I said.
“Where’d she go?” Devon asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, my heart racing.
“She went off somewhere with her assistant,” Flea said.
I frowned. “What?”
He nodded. “Yeah. The short, brunette chick who was with you in the big top, that’s her assistant, right?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
Flea pointed to the big top. “They walked back that way a few minutes ago.”
I shoved the panda at Devon and ordered, “Stay with Flea. Do not go anywhere else, got it?”
“Yeah, Dad, I got it. Is Navy okay?”
“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.” I glanced at Flea. “Do not let my kid outta your sight.”
“Got it.”
“I mean it,” I growled. “Not for one fuckin’ second.”
“Yeah, man, I got it,” Flea promised.
“Flea, Train’s already on the only exit outta here, tell him to stay put and watch for Navy. I think Buzz is still at the front, if he’s not, get him up there,” Connor ordered.
“Flick’s at the front,” Flea said. “Buzz is walking the grounds.”
“Okay, then have Flick stay at the front and tell Buzz to meet us by the big top,” Connor said. “Then call whoever the fuck’s closest and get them over here. Hawk and Ace live a mile from here, call them.”
Flea nodded. “Got it.”
I was already walking by the time my brother finished dispatching orders, his beefy hand landing on my shoulder. “Hold up.”
I shook him off. “I have to find her.”
“We will,” he said. “But take a breath. We need to do this smart. Quiet. If this asshole hears us comin’, she could be in real trouble.”
I pressed my palms to my eye sockets. I knew he was right, but I didn’t like it.
“You strapped?”
“No.”
My brother knelt down and pulled a Kimber Micro 9mm from an ankle holster, handing it to me. “You remember how to use this?” he joked.
I was a munitions expert in the army, so it was redundant question.
“I’m assuming you’re covered?” I asked.
“Got my Glock,” he confirmed.
We headed towards the big top but found only a scattered few fairgoers and the occasional employee. Most of the crowd was either gathered at the midway or enjoying the rides.
“Fuck, she could be anywhere,” I said.
“If somebody grabbed her, they couldn’t have gotten far,” Connor said.
I dropped my head, thinking about what our next move was, when I noticed a glint on the ground. I knelt down and unearthed one of the paua shells from Navy’s bracelet. “This is Navy’s,” I said. “Look around and see if you can find any more like it.”
Connor nodded and gingerly stepped forward before bending down. “Found one.”
“And here’s another one,” I said. I glanced to the right. “Looks like they’re going in this direction. That’s my girl.”
“They must be holding her in one of those trailers,” Connor said.
“Yeah, but which one,” I said, looking off at more than a dozen identical worksite trailers.
“Let’s go start kickin’ down doors.”
“We gotta go in quiet, brother. If John is behind all of this, he’ll have no problem hurting her, or worse.” I frowned. “Follow my lead.”
We went from trailer to trailer, listening the best we could over the din of the joyous fairgoers as they rode the roller coasters and bumper cars. Suddenly, we heard a loud thud from the trailer at the end of the row.
“Let’s go check that out,” I whispered, and we headed toward the sound.
Putting my head to the outside wall, I could hear muffled sounds of two people arguing from inside.
“That’s gotta be them,” Connor whispered.
I leaned in closer and clearly heard, “Cade will find me.”
“It’s her,” I said. “This is it.”
I opted not to knock, instead applied the full force of my boot directly to the trailer’s doorknob. Stepping inside, I raised my gun, aiming it at whoever it was stuffing my woman into a box. I fired one shot, hitting him in the right shoulder. His body spun around, and his gun fell to the floor. He landed face up and although in a disguise, I could clearly see it was her ex, John.
“You got him covered?” I called out to my brother as I rushed to check on Navy who let out a quiet moan.
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay, baby?” I asked, lifting her from the box, but she was drifting in and out of consciousness. It was then I saw blood coming from a gash on the right side of her head just above her temple. “We’ve gotta get her to the hospital, I think she’s concussed.”
“I think this guy shot her up with something,” Connor said, pointing to an empty syringe near where he was standing.
I let out a growl, raising my gun toward John, my brother stepping in to stop me. “Whoa, Cade, Navy’s safe, and this guy’s not goin’ anywhere.”
“Neither is she by the looks of it,” I said, pointing to the dead Alisa on the ground. “This guy doesn’t deserve to breathe anymore.”
“You’re right, but the most important thing is to get Navy to a hospital and keep you out of prison. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
I let out a long sigh and lowered my gun. “You’re right. Let’s get Navy outta here. Help me lift her out of the box.”
My brother scooped her up, cradling her in his arms, and I turned back to John who was writhing on the floor, crying out in agony, “You better get me a doctor, too, you son of a bitch.”
“How about I send you to the mortician instead?” I suggested, and John’s eyes widened as I leveled the gun at his head. I squeezed the trigger, painting the trailer’s interior with blood and brain matter before grinning at my brother.
“Goddammit, Cade!” Connor hissed. “Is there something medically wrong with you that prevents you from doing anything I say?”
“Nobody hurts Navy and gets to live.” I handed him the gun. “I’ll take her now.”
“What am I supposed to do with these two dead bodies?”
I took Navy from him and shrugged. “I don’t know, you’re the Sergeant in the MC, you deal with it.”
“You’re gonna owe me a kidney for this.”
“Put it on my tab,” I retorted, and carried Navy out of the trailer.
* * *
Navy
I was in and out of consciousness for almost two days. Whatever John had injected me with was enough to tranquilize a horse and the doctors had been concerned I might have some long-term brain damage.
Luckily, my body seemed to expel enough of the toxin the first night to dispel the doctor’s fears, so they were hoping to let me go home on the third day. I was beyond relieved, as was Cade. He’d been pacing the hospital room like a caged tiger, and refused to leave me, even to eat.
His brothers and sister had been in and out making sure he had changes of clothes, and Devon was at my bedside as often as his father would allow him, but I could tell he was worried almost as much as Cade was.
Jim and my brother had been in and out every few hours and as worried as Cade was, Reed’s concern appeared to be on eleven. I’d had to promise him unfettered access to me over the next week just to get him to leave my side for a few hours. With a deal of dinner every night as soon as I was released, he kissed my cheek and headed home.
“Come and sit down, Lumpy,” I said, for the third time in the last twenty minutes.
“The doctor needs to get his ass in here and release you,” he said, flopping into the chair.
I grimaced. “I’m sure he will. He was just checking on one more blood test.”
Before Cade could say anything, the doctor walked back in and stood at the end of the bed. “Well, Ms. Henderson, I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear you can go home.”
“About damn time,” Cade mumbled.
I smiled. “That’s great. And everything looks good?”
“Everything looks great.” He smiled. “I’ll get your release paperwork done and then you’re free to go.”
“Thanks, Doctor.”
The doctor walked out, and Cade turned to me. “Let’s get you home. I have a surprise for you.”
“Not sure I can handle much more.”
“It’s a small one.”
Once I was released, Cade and Devon drove me home where I discovered the giant panda Cade had won at Felida Days waiting for me. That wasn’t the surprise, though. The surprise was the bracelet Nicola had given me on my thirteenth birthday had been put back together and looked better than ever.
“Oh my god,” I breathed out, biting back tears.
“That was so fuckin’ smart, baby, dropping those shells,” Cade said. “They led me straight to you.”
I slid the bracelet on then, looping my arms around his neck. “Thank you for putting this back together. Thank you for putting me back together.”
“Always, baby,” he said. “Okay, what are you going to call your panda?”
“Craig.”
“Oh, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“How come?” he asked.
“I used to work with a guy who didn’t think they were real. He legitimately thought they were men in panda costumes.”
“I take it his name was Craig.”
“Sure was.” I chuckled, picking up the stuffed animal. “He will now live on in infamy. Craig the panda.”
Cade laughed. “I love you, beautiful.”
“Love you more, Lumpy.”
As he kissed me, I sent a little prayer of thanks up to the universe. I’d found the love of my life, and I was the luckiest woman in the world.
