Zach exceeded the speed limit the entire trip to the city. He pulled into the impound lot, his fingers tight around the steering wheel, his knuckles white. With more questioning on the ride, Hadley told him she’d heard Dani’s voice and her sister had yelled out that the guy was her mother’s sleazy boyfriend.
He wasn’t sure if Patrice being involved was better for Dani, that her mother would protect her, or worse because it showed she didn’t care about her daughter, only herself. He assumed the latter. And that was why he wanted the kid back ASAP, he thought, as he put the car in park.
No sooner had he shut off the engine than Hadley reached for the handle, but he made sure the door lock button was engaged.
“Wait.”
She turned to him. “Are you kidding? The longer I do, the longer Dani’s in that crazy person’s hands.”
He slid a hand behind the back of her headrest. “That crazy person says you have something he wants in your car. That means you have the upper hand. Now take a deep breath and stay calm. We’ll get out of the car and if no one approaches you, we’ll go search your vehicle.”
“We?” her voice echoed throughout the car. “He said to come alone. Do you want to get Dani hurt? It’s bad enough you’re here with me.”
He stiffened at what felt like a rejection. Rationally, he understood. Emotionally, he felt turned upside down. He couldn’t deny her questioning whether or not to tell him about the phone call stung. He thought they were at the point where she automatically trusted him. He’d been wrong. With no choice, he put his issues with Hadley on the back burner until they got Dani home.
Focusing on the main issue, he cleared his throat. “Upper hand, remember? Let’s go find out what’s in the car,” he said and unlocked the doors. After climbing out, he strode around to her side of the car, not wanting Hadley unprotected for a second.
Before leaving for the city, he’d stopped home. He’d been wearing shorts and told Hadley he needed to run inside to change into jeans. He also wanted his gun, which he tucked into his waistband holster with a T-shirt and a long sleeve button-down over it.
No way was he going into a situation with two drug addicts unarmed. He’d also called Remy, who still had friends on the force, to arrange for back up if things went down on the street outside the lot. Remy’s family name and former status in the department held a lot of weight and he let Zach know via text he’d handled everything on his end.
In addition, Remy had information for Hadley. The feds had arrested the higher ups in her father’s case in a sting that had been going on at the same time Hadley was being informed about her father’s arrest. Something Zach told her on the trip into Manhattan. She deserved to have one less thing on her mind as they went to retrieve her sister. Neither Zach nor Hadley discussed the implications. She was free to return home. They were too focused on Dani.
The street the lot was located on was empty and quiet. Zach hooked one arm around Hadley’s waist as they walked up to the door. He buzzed and they were let in. He approached the window where a young man sat leaning back in his seat, his legs propped on the counter.
Zach cleared his throat.
The guy swung his feet down to the floor and swept his too-long hair off his forehead. “What do ya need?” he asked.
“Dario around?” Zach looked beyond him but the door behind the guy was shut. Dario was expecting him. He, too, had been alerted since having drugs in his garage would, in other circumstances, land him in jail. He also needed to know that if things went right, the cops would be swarming the place.
He was relieved nobody had approached them before they got to the car. It made it easier for them to search the car without the dirtbag breathing down their necks.
“Yo, D! Got someone asking for you,” the guy yelled.
A few minutes later, Dario, the manager of the lot walked out from the rear. About Zach’s age, he and Dario had gotten to know each other thanks to the amount of cars towed from The Back Door’s lot after being left for a stretch.
“Zach! It’s been too long.” Dario strode over and slapped him on the back, pulling him in for a hug and tucking something inside his jacket pocket. As planned.
His blond hair had been shaved last time Zach had seen him and now he had begun growing it back. “Who’s this pretty lady?” Dario asked.
Zach eased Hadley closer. “This is Hadley. Hadley, meet Dario.”
“Hi.” She treated him to a stiff greeting. He knew she was worried about Dani, but he couldn’t let on to Hadley that he had a plan.
Talking to the lot owner was part of his usual routine. “I heard you have my girl’s car?”
Dario inclined his head. He flipped Zach the keys. “Come with me.” He led them through the door he’d come through and into the back, bypassing going outside. He opened the metal, over-sized garage door. Zach didn’t mind not hearing the loud, grinding gears.
“First floor in the back. No charge. Just keep my drinks free.”
Zach chuckled. “Will do.”
Dario grinned. “I’ll go open the electric door so you can pull out.”
“Thanks, man. But we’re not going to take it just yet. I want to grab something Hadley left inside and once she makes her plans, we’ll be back for the car. That work for you?”
Dario nodded. “Head on inside and let me know when you’re finished.”
Zach waited until Dario stepped back through the door to the offices and closed it behind him before turning to Hadley.
Bracing his hands on her shoulders, he let her know the next steps. “Okay, if Patrice’s boyfriend was watching, he hasn’t shown his face. Right now, let’s dig through the vehicle. Once we find what he’s after, we walk outside where I assume he’ll be waiting.”
As would the cops Remy had called. Not wanting to give Hadley more to worry about, he hadn’t told her what his plan was. He didn’t want her any jumpier than she was or for her to accidently give something away.
She drew a shaky breath and met his gaze, fear obvious in her wide eyes. “Promise me you have a plan?”
He nodded. “I promise. And I will do the best I can to get your sister home and safe with you again.”
“That’s good enough for me,” she said in a shaky voice. “I trust you and I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t.”
The fist around his heart that had been squeezing him tight loosened. “And that’s good enough for me. Come on.” He grasped her hand and together they walked to her car.
Ignoring the muggy heat and humidity in the garage, they found her old vehicle. He opened the locks. She crawled into the back, and he took the front. He turned over floor mats, dug his hand between and beneath the seats, opened the glove compartment and sorted through every paper inside. He delved into the center panel, the door wells and in the back, Hadley did the same.
“Nothing.” She smacked the seats in frustration.
“Come out.” He pushed himself backwards out of the car and met her around the back. “I’ll pop the trunk.”
Once it opened, they both began to search. “This is quite the mess,” he said, tossing through sweatshirts and bags filled with who knew what.
She let out a laugh. “All the stuff from my classroom that I never got a chance to empty out when I got home. Posters from the walls, markers, dry erase markers…” She shrugged. “Normally I’d already be buying more for next year.”
He heard the warmth in her voice and turned his head. “You love to teach, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I do.”
Was he delusional in thinking he could convince her to do the work she loved here? He couldn’t begin to consider the future until he fixed the present.
Digging his fingers beneath the cargo mat, he lifted it up and… “Damn.” He pulled out a heavy bag of what looked like crystal meth. Grabbing the carpet again, he ripped it off and revealed three more weighty bags of drugs.
She sucked in a loud breath. “Is that…”
“Meth,” he said, placing the bag back down.
Hadley leaned heavily against the car. “Oh my God. I’ve been thinking ever since that call, and now I can put the pieces together.” She swiped her arm over her glistening forehead. “The day we left home, Dani didn’t want to go. She said her mother was coming to visit and I reminded her she’d just seen her mother the night before. I didn’t add that Patrice rarely kept her word. But it was weird, her telling Dani she’d come back the next night.”
“And now we know that she needed to return because she’d stashed these in your car. Probably for her drug-dealing boyfriend.”
“Holy shit. I drove here with bundles of meth in my car!” she said, her voice rising. “What if I’d been pulled over?”
Zach reached for her and yanked her against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Breathe. It’s almost over.”
“I’m going to kill Patrice,” Hadley said through gritted teeth.
Get in line, Zach thought. But neither would have that chance if things went as planned.
Before heading out, Zach checked his phone and read a quick rundown of the plan from Remy. His partner had pulled off miracles, utilizing his cop contacts and the feds, who’d met with Dario before Zach got to the city.
Dario had already planted a listening device on Zach when he’d hugged him earlier, having been given one by the cops before Zach got to the city. They’d be listening to everything that went down.
Zach was ready.
Now they just needed luck on their side.
* * *
Zach held one of Hadley’s reusable grocery bags with a package of drugs inside. The rest he left in the locked car, assuring her not to worry. He’d tried his damndest to get her to stay in Dario’s office, but she was going to be there for her sister. Besides, the dirtbag had called her. So, she was all in. If Zach hadn’t given in to her pleas, they’d still be arguing.
He held Hadley close with his free arm and they headed out, pausing by the office to let Dario know they were leaving. Once outside, her heart was pounding so hard she swore she heard the sound. Across the street was a heavily treed, abandoned-looking park with a chain link fence and signs dangling off it.
No sooner had they walked out to the sidewalk and turned than a man appeared around the nearest street corner. Wearing a baseball cap and a zippered hoodie, despite the heat, he approached them, and Zach stopped, keeping her close.
“What part of come alone did you not understand?” he asked, hands in his front pockets, his body jerking while he kept his distance.
“Where’s Dani?” Zach asked. He deliberately ignored the question.
He shrugged, taking a step back. Zach followed with Hadley, one step closer.
“You obviously already retrieved the merchandise, also not part of the plan. I said to meet me outside so I could go in and check the car. Where’s the rest of my shit?”
“You don’t expect me to carry it all out, do you? Now let me see Dani. Then I’ll give you the bag and the keys to get the rest,” Zach said.
The guy moved from foot to foot, antsy and jittery, his hands shaking. He was obviously hopped up on drugs.
“Lady, you are a pain in the ass,” he said, speaking to her and not Zach. “First, I couldn’t get the damn drugs because the Mob was coming and going from your house, then the cops were all over fucking place. Then I find out you left the damn state… with my product,” he said, voice rising.
Zach tried to push Hadley behind him, but she refused to move. She wanted her sister.
“Bitch! I was beaten because of you. The guy I owed wasn’t happy to find out I didn’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of shit, as promised.” He pulled off his hood to reveal fading bruises on his sallow skin. “You ever try driving to the city with a broken rib?”
Obviously he liked to talk, a byproduct of being hyped up. She swallowed hard, sensing Zach was letting him babble until he’d calmed down enough to focus.
“Come on. Make the trade like you promised,” Zach urged him.
“Hey, Patty! This asshole thinks he’s calling the shots,” the guy yelled out, laughing with a high pitched voice, tilting his head back toward the direction from which he’d came.
“That’s because I am. You need what we have.” Zach stood still as he spoke, his coolness under pressure impressive since she was as jumpy as the dealer.
But Hadley also had enough. If Patrice was here, then so was her sister. She hoped. “I want my sister now.” Her steady voice surprised her.
Zach stiffened at her intervening.
“Hads?” Dani screamed.
“I’m here!” she yelled back.
Zach held her tighter. “Do not move,” he warned under his breath. “I don’t need him attacking you.”
“Mom, let me go!” Dani shrieked.
“Can’t you keep the bitch quiet?” The boyfriend yelled. “She hasn’t shut her fucking mouth since she showed up.”
God, her sister was going to give Hadley a heart attack. Of course, she couldn’t be a quiet hostage.
“Dani, stay calm,” Zach called out.
“I told you to gag her again.” The man who stood between Hadley and her sister was twitching as he spoke, body parts unable to remain still.
“I’m hungry! You said you’d feed me if I was quiet, and you haven’t. Hadley?” Despite the bravado, Dani’s voice shook.
But she was brave, obviously wanting to let Hadley know she was here and okay, but who knew if Patrice had a weapon or how desperate she was.
Hadley wanted to believe she’d never hurt her child but by using her as bait and leverage, she’d already done just that. Hadley was sweating, her neck damp, her hands wet, her entire body rigid with fear for her sister.
“Patrice, do the right thing and send Dani out to me. Please.” She wasn’t above begging.
“Don’t you dare let her go!” The dealer pulled a gun from his pocket and Hadley took a shocked step back. He couldn’t keep his body from shaking. The gun could go off any minute.
“Whoa. No reason for that,” Zach said in a calm tone. “Here. Take the drugs.” Zach tossed them so they fell in front of the guy’s feet.
He bent forward, grabbing the bag. “Now give me keys so I can get the rest, deliver them and get my cut before I end up dead in the East River.” He continued to twitch and jerk as he spoke, the gun waving wildly.
The moment Zach pulled out his keys, all hell broke loose. Police officers came from seemingly out of nowhere, jumping the fence across the street, a sea of blue shocking Hadley.
Zach shoved her against the wall, blocking her with his body. The brick scraped her hands and her shoulder hurt but she remained still, not fighting him and praying the crazy tweaked up dealer didn’t shoot and hit him.
“Clear!” Hadley heard the cops yell.
“It’s okay,” Zach said, his voice warm in her ear. He stepped back and helped her balance herself.
“Oh my God.” She glanced around. Tweaker guy was on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back. “Where’s Dani?”
“There.” Zach put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards the corner. An officer guided Patrice toward them on the sidewalk, her hands also behind her back.
Dani turned the corner next with another officer by her side. “Hadley!” she screamed and came running, slamming into Hadley full force.
Hadley wrapped her arms around her sister and let the tears flow. Burying her face in Dani’s hair, she inhaled the teen’s fading perfumed scent and squeezed tight. “Oh my God. Tell me you’re okay!”
She pulled her sister away and looked her over from head to toe. Other than wrinkled shorts and T-shirt and puffy eyes, she seemed unharmed.
“I’m okay. I wasn’t kidding that I’m starving. And is it true that Dad’s in prison? Mom said he’s never getting out.”
Hadley closed her eyes and groaned. “I–”
Before she could answer, Zach cleared his throat. “Hey, Dani.”
She looked up at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, Zach.”
He shook his head. “Nobody blames you for going when your mom called though I’m sure your sister will have a set of new rules for you to follow.”
Hadley managed a grin.
“I’m not sorry for that, okay well I am, but I meant, I’m sorry for saying you were a jerk who couldn’t help us that day I met you in the city.” She brushed the pink stripe of hair out of her face.
He coughed, then narrowed his gaze. “I don’t remember you saying that.”
“Me neither.” Hadley shot her sister a warning glare despite the trauma she’d just been through.
Dani shrugged. “Oh. Well, then I thought it and I’m sorry. You were awesome today. You too, Hads.”
She hugged her sister again. “I have to admit I was scared to death. And Zach’s right. We have a lot to talk about when we get home.”
A man in a jacket strode over to them. “Excuse me. I’m Detective Benjamin Rodell and I need to question everyone. Including the young lady.”
Hadley straightened her shoulders. “The young lady was the victim of a crime, and she’s a minor and I’m not leaving her alone.”
Zach put a hand on Hadley’s shoulder, and she appreciated his support. “Come on, Rodell,” he said. “She’s a kid and she’s been traumatized. We’ll make her available but not now.”
The man who Zach obviously knew frowned. “You and Remy might have been running your own op again, but you’re no longer in charge.”
“Remy called his precinct and the NYPD understood the emergency. If he’d trusted you, he’d have pulled you in.”
Hadley listened to the two men, confused. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later,” Zach promised.
“I want to talk to my daughter.” Patrice yelled loudly from where she stood cuffed outside a patrol car.
Hadley stiffened.
“No!” Dani threw herself at Hadley, wrapping her arms around her waist. “I don’t want to be with her. Don’t make me. She was mean. She yelled at me. She slapped me when I argued because I didn’t want them to hurt you.”
Hadley met Zach’s gaze over her sister’s head, narrowing her gaze to let him know what she thought of Dani’s words. “I want Dani out of here.”
“Not yet–”
“Shut up, Rodell or I’m going to your chief as a concerned citizen. You know how he feels about his detectives not taking the victim into account. Especially underaged ones who need to be seen by a doctor.”
Zach turned a warmer gaze to Hadley. “I’ve got this. Patrice won’t bother her.” He turned and strode to where the police held both Patrice and her dirtbag boyfriend, the detective following him.
A few seconds later, both were being pushed into the back of separate patrol cars with officers’ hands on their heads as they climbed in.
Hadley let out a relieved breath. When she’d come to Zach, it had been on a whim, a desperate move she’d hoped was the right one. She hadn’t known how skilled he was or how far his influence reached.
“Dani?”
Her sister released her and stepped back. Her eyes were red and her hair fell into her face. Hadley handed her a hair tie she kept around her wrist.
“Thanks,” Dani said, as she pulled the long strands into a bun on top of her head.
“Honey, were you hurt? I mean seriously, not being hungry, not putting on that bravado you like so much. Did Patrice do more than slap you?”
“She gagged me with a disgusting bandana thing,” she said in a shaky voice. “No one’s ever hit me before. And she’s my mom.” The tears welled in her eyes and Hadley wanted to march over to Patrice and wrap her hands around the woman’s neck.
“Nobody will ever hurt you again.” Speaking of being hurt… Hadley put an arm around Dani’s shoulder. “Did your mom’s boyfriend touch you at all?” she asked gently. “You can tell me anything.” She held her breath, waiting for an answer.
Looking down, Dani shook her head. “I know what you’re asking and no.” She wrapped her arms around herself tight.
“Anything else?”
Another head shake.
Okay, so maybe some trauma therapy would be necessary but thank God there was nothing more.
Zach cleared his throat.
Hadley hadn’t heard him approach.
“I let my parents and Layla know Dani is okay,” he said.
To Hadley’s surprise, Dani looked up and met his gaze. “I’m sorry I made Layla lie for me.”
“When did your mom give you the phone?” Hadley asked, curious.
Dani shrugged. “A while ago. In case I ever wanted to talk to her… or get away from you, she said. But I didn’t see any harm in it. It’s not like I would ever run away from you… except today I hadn’t seen Mom in so long and she said she missed me. That she’d come to the city just to see me and take me for lunch, and we never did that together.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her arm. “She said not to tell you. That it was our special secret.”
Understanding the pull of needing to be wanted by her mom, Hadley nodded. Patrice had played Hadley and Dani, but she’d used her teenage daughter in ways that were unforgiveable.
“Out of curiosity, how did you get here?” Zach asked.
Dani let out a sigh. “Layla lent me money. She called for the Uber and once I was in the city, I took a taxi to the address Mom gave me.”
Hadley closed her eyes and shook her head. So much could have gone wrong. Worse than what had actually happened, which was pretty scary to begin with.
“Okay, ladies. I said we’d stay in the city and come by the station so we could all give statements. Dani, we should get you checked out by a doctor when we get home.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. I don’t need a doctor.”
Zach glanced at Hadley.
She bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head, meaning they’d talk about it later. Zach was right. When they got back to the Hamptons, her sister was getting seen and checked over.
“Okay since we have to stick around for a bit, how about we go get Dani something to eat before we go do our thing at the police station?”
Dani’s head perked up at the mention of food. “Yes! I’m starving! Mom said lunch so I didn’t eat anything before I left, and nobody gave me food or water.”
Zach shook his head, his grin wide, now that Dani was back to her old self, at least on the surface. “Sounds like they kept you in prison.”
“Might as well have been,” Dani muttered. “Speaking of prison, if Dad’s locked up like Mom said, and she’s probably going to jail too, what’s going to happen to me?” she asked in a small voice Hadley never wanted to hear again.
She grabbed her sister’s hand. “You’re with me, just like always.”
She didn’t bother explaining their father would have to sign over custody. That would hurt. Hell, it hurt Hadley just to hear it, too. But she didn’t want Dani worrying at all.
Dani remained quiet.
“You want to be with me, right?”
With a nod, she gave Hadley a tight squeeze again, holding on as if she’d never let go. Hadley rubbed her hand over her messy bun. “Everything’s going to be okay, sis. We’re a team. You and me.”
After a few seconds, Zach cleared his throat. “It’s hot as hell out here and someone said they were hungry.”
Dani perked up and they walked back to Zach’s car, leaving Hadley alone with her thoughts.
The danger was over. She and Dani were safe. Hadley knew what that meant. Her time with Zach had come to an end.