Chapter Seventeen

Declan bounded down the steps and away from temptation. That’s what Kenzie was to him—Biblical Eve seductively taunting him with a ripe, juicy red apple in her palm. If she’d have asked him to take a bite, he’d have been powerless to resist. He suddenly realized Adam’s unfortunate dilemma.

His coworkers were already awake and ready to tackle the day. He asked Noah to drive him to the airport to pick up his vehicle and they departed a few minutes later. He almost grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter on the way out but opted for a banana instead. Freud probably would’ve had a field day with his choice.

Traffic was light so they made good time. Noah dropped him off at the terminal and he found his way to the short-term lot. He’d been in a panic when he’d arrived and had just enough rational thought to snap a picture of the location so he’d be able to find it upon his return. Slamming his hands on his hips, he glanced around with a sigh. Too bad he’d destroyed his phone. He spent ten minutes walking up and down rows until he spotted his mesquite brown truck and punched the key fob to unlock the doors. Yogi was right where he left him in the copilot seat. Jamal would be so happy to have his companion back.

He found the ticket stub he’d stashed in the cup holder and proceeded to the exit. He almost swallowed his tongue at the cost. He’d need to hit an ATM soon or his wallet would be empty. Once he returned to the safe house, he planned on questioning Kenzie on what she remembered about the kidnappers. They needed to figure out if some of the Eighty-Sixers had slipped through the net the Chicago Police cast to reel them in, or if they’d contracted with another group. He was hoping for the first scenario.

Noah beat him back to the safe house and he parked beside his Escalade. The SUV BeBe arranged for him to drive from Detroit was gone. He assumed she’d called for it to be picked up since they didn’t need it anymore. Tucking Yogi behind his back, he entered the house.

“Declan!”

Jamal jumped off the stool at the breakfast bar where he’d been eating a bowl of cereal and hugged him. Declan wondered if it would be like this every time he arrived home and found himself hoping it would. Having someone excited to see him was a rare occurrence and he reveled in the feelings of belonging.

“I have a surprise for you.”

Jamal’s eyes widened. “You do? For me?”

“Yes. Close your eyes and hold out your arms.”

Jamal complied and Declan placed the stuffed animal in his outstretched hands. Jamal’s lids flew open and he gasped with joy.

“Yogi!” He clutched the bear tight, a look of pure, unabashed joy on his face. Suddenly he stiffened, his gaze darting around the room before he lowered the bear and ducked his head.

Declan placed a hand on his shoulder. “Jamal, what’s wrong?”

“Jamarcus said only babies have teddy bears and he made fun of me,” he whispered. “He was always trying to hide him from me.” He glanced around at the others with a look of shame. “I don’t want you guys to think I’m a baby.”

They all rushed to assure him he wasn’t at the same time.

Kayla stepped forward. “Jamal, do you think I’m a baby?”

As if suspecting a trap, he narrowed his eyes and carefully shook his head.

“Wait right here.”

She disappeared into the downstairs bedroom and quickly returned, holding something in her hand. “This is Skipper. He goes everywhere with me.”

“Gah.” Ethan jumped back. “What the hell is that?”

She shot him a glare. “It’s a raccoon.”

“From what horror film?” He eyed the ratty ball of fluff with disdain. “It looks like something my sister’s old cat Whiskers coughed up.”

“Shut up, you imbecile. I’ve had him since I was born. He goes everywhere with me.”

Jamal watched the exchange with rapt attention. “You aren’t embarrassed to have a stuffed animal?”

“Not even a little bit. I’m proud of him and even when jerks like Ethan,” she shot him another glare, “pick on me, I’m not ashamed.”

Ethan had the decency to look abashed, Declan was happy to note. He’d had the same reaction at spotting the scary-looking animal, but he’d been able to curb his reaction, unlike Ethan.

Kayla’s display did the trick. Jamal hugged Yogi and started for the living room but stopped abruptly and turned around, holding out the bear to Declan. “He isn’t mine anymore. I gave him to you.”

No way would he keep Yogi from Jamal. “How about we share him?”

Jamal’s head bobbed up and down enthusiastically. “Okay. I’ll take him to watch cartoons with me.”

“His brother really did a number on him,” Noah muttered when Jamal was out of earshot.

“If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself.” Decan hadn’t uttered the statement lightly. For all the fear and misery Jamarcus put his brother through, he deserved no less.

Kenzie came down the stairs from a shower and Declan’s heart thumped against his chest. He wanted her again. He had a feeling he’d never get enough of her. She smiled and he backed up and banged into the fridge.

While the others greeted her, he couldn’t get his mouth to work. What was wrong with him? Maybe he was having a stroke or something. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his pulse raced. She did this to him.

“How are you feeling?” Ethan asked her.

“Still a bit fuzzy, but better. My hearing returned to normal.”

Noah winced. “Yeah, sorry about that. We’d have warned you if we could.”

She held up a hand. “I’m not complaining. I’d rather suffer a headache and temporary hearing loss than to have spent another moment in the warehouse.”

“Let me take a look at the cut on your neck.” Kayla peeled the bandage away to reveal a red gash. Declan felt like a brute for having practically attacked her when she was injured and vulnerable. As if sensing his turmoil, she gave him a sharp shake of her head.

“It looks better,” Kayla pronounced, reapplying a fresh bandage that Ethan handed to her.

“Are you up to talking about what happened?” Noah asked.

“Sure. Let me grab something to drink.”

“Coffee, tea?” Declan asked.

“Just water, please.”

She took a seat at the table and he placed a cold bottle in front of her. After she thanked him, she opened the cap and took a drink. “I’ll start at the beginning. I’d just used the bathroom and was washing my hands when a woman came up behind me and stuck a gun in my back. She told me if I made a sound, she’d put a bullet in me.”

Rage made Declan’s blood boil. No one got away with threatening his woman. She started talking again, distracting him from examining the “his woman” musing.

“She forced me out the other door where a man was waiting for me with a wheelchair. He injected something in my neck.” Her fingers brushed against the spot. “The next thing I remember was waking up when someone was carrying me. I have no idea how long I was out. After they tied me to the chair, they removed the blindfold.”

“Did you get a good look at the captors?” Ethan asked.

She nodded. “They weren’t even trying to disguise their faces. I watch enough cop shows to know that probably meant they didn’t plan on letting me leave the warehouse alive.”

Another wave of rage—or maybe it was fear—washed over Declan. The thought of her in danger scared him to death.

“Did they tell you why they took you?” Kayla questioned.

“The man kept asking me where,” she made air quotes, “it was. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, but he didn’t believe me. He insisted Jamal must’ve told me. I tried to make him understand that Jamal didn’t know either, but it was like talking to a brick wall. I finally got him to admit that Jamal’s brother stole something from them, and they want it back.”

“It is about Jamarcus,” Declan said, confirming his suspicious. “He stole from his gang brothers?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Kayla’s brows dipped. “You just said he did a second ago.”

Kenzie shook her head. “The guys who took me weren’t Eighty-Sixers. They were Daggers.”

#

Declan didn’t think he could worry any more about Jamal’s safety, but Kenzie’s revelation proved him wrong. The men who took her weren’t Eighty-Sixers, but Daggers, their blood rivals.

After Kenzie described her abduction, she headed to the living room to check on Jamal while Declan and his coworkers tried to make sense of the turn of events.

“We’re dealing with two gangs instead of one,” Ethan said.

“What could Jamarcus have taken that has two gangs after him?” Noah shook his head. “It has to be something big.”

Declan took a seat at the bar. “Kenzie and I both questioned Jamal extensively. I’m positive he has no idea what they want. Jamal was terrified of his older brother and tried to steer clear of him. It doesn’t make sense that both gangs would think he’d know anything about stolen goods.”

“Why now?” Kayla questioned. “Jamarcus’s been dead for a month. Why the sudden rush to recover whatever he stole from them?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Declan said. “They must’ve looked for it and when they couldn’t find it, they assumed he’d have said something to Jamal. His mother was battered and killed the night Boomer and Blaze arrived in Detroit to grab Jamal. They probably beat his location out of her.”

“I checked on her death before we drove up here,” Noah informed him. “She was killed about seven hours before her body was found.”

“Plenty of time for the two to torture the information out of her and head north,” Ethan concluded.

“They’re going to keep coming after him.” That scared him as much as the thought of Kenzie in danger. More, even. Kenzie could take care of herself. Jamal was too young. “I need to get him out of town. He’s a target here.”

“Whatever it is has to be important to both gangs,” Noah said. “They won’t give up until they get it back. We need to figure out what it is and find it so he’ll be safe.”

“Declan, can I ask you something?” At his nod, Kayla checked to make sure Jamal was occupied in the other room. “What are you going to do once this ordeal is over with his aunt and mother both deceased?”

“I’m going to adopt him.”

All three of his coworkers gaped at him. What? They didn’t think he’d make a good guardian?

“You are? Because I was going to offer,” Ethan said.

“So was I,” Noah echoed. “Peyton wanted to take him before his aunt stepped up.”

Peyton and Noah would make great parents. And they were a hair away from the altar. Courts would probably favor them. But no way on earth was he giving up Jamal without a fight. He was his.

“I appreciate the offers, truly. But I’ve already told him he’s with me from now on. We’re a team.” That his coworkers wanted to step up to the plate and care for him would make going out on missions easier. Knowing Jamal would be taken care of if something happened to him would be a huge relief.

“He clearly adores and idolizes you,” Kayla said. “We’re all here for you and we’ll help in any way we can.”

Words bumped up against the boulder in his throat, so he just nodded his thanks to his coworkers who had already become family to him.

#

Kenzie was reluctant to approach Jamal as he sat with his attention focused on the television. Had he seen anything when he joined her and Declan in bed last night? She’d been mortified to wake up and realize he was sleeping soundly between them when she wore not one stitch of clothing. It’d been careless and though she didn’t regret her encounter with Declan, she wished they’d been more discreet. “Hey, Jamal, what are you watching?”

“Kenzie!”

He scrambled up from the cushions and hugged her, his little arms gripping tightly. He didn’t act as if anything was amiss. Then he grasped her hand and led her back to the couch. “Do you feel better today?” The concern on his face touched her heart.

“I do. Thank you for asking.”

He dropped his head. “I’m sorry you were taken.”

“I’m fine now, so there’s no need to be sorry.”

He looked up at her, misery on his precious face. “But I should’ve watched out for you and I didn’t. Declan said we were a team, a threesome. Teammates should watch out for each other.”

“The last time I checked, boys weren’t allowed in the girls bathroom,” she reminded him. “There was no way for you to know it had two entrances.”

“Still.”

She hugged him against her side. He was much too young to carry the weight of the world on his small shoulders. “Hey, who’s that?” She pointed to the bear sitting on a pillow beside him.

“Oh, that’s Yogi.” He scooped the stuffed animal up and handed it to her. “He’s mine but I gave him to Declan to keep him company when he was hurt in the hospital and he’s kept him safe the last month but Declan gave him back to me so now we share him.”

She smiled at his run-on sentence. “Well, he’s just too cute. I have one like him in my apartment back home.”

His eyes widened. “You do? What’s his name?”

“Her name,” she corrected. “She’s a girl bear. I named her Aurora, after Sleeping Beauty.”

“That’s a pretty name. Do you think Aurora would like to meet Yogi sometime?”

“I think she’d love to meet him.”

Jamal’s face scrunched. “My brother made fun of me for having him. He called me a baby.”

Though she shouldn’t want to think ill of the dead, she really hated his brother.

“Well, I think you’re fortunate to have a loyal friend. Can I hold him?”

“Oh, sure.” Jamal handed the bear to her and she smiled. It looked well-loved. She thought he probably kept Jamal company on many nights. “Oh, he’s losing a bit of stuffing back here.” She turned him over to assess the damage. Though sewing wasn’t a skill of hers, she should be able to stitch together a hole. She prodded at the opening and felt something solid. That was strange. Kids’ stuffed animals should be safe. Wiggling her finger inside, she felt the foreign object and worked to free it, wincing when the hole ripped wider. She hoped Jamal didn’t notice she was wrecking his bear. Finally, the item slid into her hand.

“What’s that?” Jamal leaned over to inspect her discovery.

She turned the shiny object over in her palm. “It’s a key.”