Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

March 25th

2:18 P.M.

Thirty minutes had passed since Panther had learned his son had disappeared.

Since all evidence pointed toward Andy having run away, he was consoling himself with the fact that the boy was probably somewhere in the woods surrounding the compound.

His son was smart, Andy knew his way down to the road, all he had to do then was walk into town. It would take a long time for an eight-year-old, though, and at the most the boy had been gone for less than four hours, and that was if he'd left almost as soon as Marcia had arrived, so he might not have even made it to the road.

Honestly, what scared Panther the most was if Andy had gotten lost and was wandering around out there in the big forest. That would make him that much harder to find.

Because there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he knew where Andy was headed.

Elle.

Andy had made his feelings clear. He loved Elle and Ruthie, wanted them to be part of his life, and was angry that they'd been taken away from him. The boy wasn't just running away to run away, he was running with a purpose, he was running to somewhere.

Although he had debated calling Elle to let her know there was a slim chance that Andy would show up on her doorstep, he'd held off. To get to Elle's, Andy would have to walk the streets of the city and surely someone would stop a small boy walking alone to check he was okay. Calls had already been placed with the local police departments to alert him immediately if a young boy was found because anyone who saw him would definitely call the cops. Telling Elle about Andy would only worry her and she had been through enough.

Since he couldn't be absolutely sure Andy knew the way to the road and might have gotten lost, his entire team were out in the forest searching for the boy along with him. While Marcia had been completely unconcerned about their eight-year-old's wellbeing, his team cared and would do whatever it took to find him and bring him home.

Family wasn't blood.

If ever he'd needed another reminder of that, this was it.

No one on his team was biologically related to Andy, yet they all adored him and wouldn't stop searching for him until he was safe.

When his cell began ringing, Panther yanked it from his pocket, answering without even checking to see who was calling, assuming it would be one of his teammates, and he hoped they had good news.

"Lose something?"

The sweet, feminine voice was the last one in the world he expected to hear. "Elle?"

"Something of yours just turned up on my doorstep," she replied.

Relief almost knocked him to his knees. "Andy is with you?"

"Apparently he decided to run away from home and hitchhiked to get here."

Hitchhiked?

Now he felt nauseous.

If the wrong person had picked up his son, he might never have gotten him back. Andy could have been abused and murdered, or sold, or any number of horrific things.

Why would someone pick up a child and not call the police?

What was wrong with people?

Andy didn"t look much older than his age, certainly not even old enough to be a pre-teen. If someone had spotted him trying to hitch a ride they should have called 911 or taken him straight to a police station.

"He hitchhiked?" Panther asked in a strangled voice. He was absolutely torn between grabbing his son the second he got to him and holding him tight, never letting him go, and giving out the mother of all punishments so Andy never tried anything like this again.

"Afraid so," Elle said, sympathy in her voice.

What must she be thinking of him?

There she was, a mother of a child who had been abducted, she had fought tooth and nail for her daughter, prepared to sacrifice anything to keep Ruthie alive, and there he was such an awful father that his son had run away from home.

Sighing, he sank back to rest against the nearest tree trunk. "I'll be there to pick him up as soon as I can. Sorry Andy caused all this trouble."

"It's okay, Rafe," she said gently. "Andy and Ruthie are in the car and we're already on our way to your place. I'll have your son home as soon as possible."

She was coming here?

And she didn"t sound angry.

There was no way it could be this easy to get his second chance.

Could it?

There was no way he would let Elle leave until he'd apologized and done his best to explain why he'd made his choices. She was a mother, too, so she might understand. On the other hand, she was a mother of a child he had hurt so maybe she wouldn't be all that inclined to understand.

"Thank you," he said, wishing she could understand just how grateful he was to have her in his life, and how hard he would fight to convince her that he wouldn't repeat his mistakes. If she would let him, he would be there for her and Ruthie until the day he died.

"It's no problem, really. After all, I have to pack up my stuff at some point, can"t put it off forever."

Elle sounded so tired. What he wouldn't give to be able to wrap his arms around her and just hold her, show her with actions that he was right there, she wasn't alone, all she had to do was lean on him.

This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have on the phone. He wanted her to see his face and body language so she would know he wasn't lying to her. But he also wasn't going to allow her to think that it was over that easily between them.

It was absolutely his fault that they were in this mess, but he was willing and prepared to do anything to fix it.

Anything.

"What are the kids doing?" he asked.

"Oh, um," she sounded surprised and paused, he assumed to look in the rear view mirror so she could see the kids in the backseat. "They're laughing and talking and watching something on Ruthie's iPad. They're holding hands, haven't stopped since they saw each other, it's the cutest thing."

"They missed each other." Drawing in a deep breath, knowing this was a battle he might not win no matter how hard he fought, he spoke from his heart. "Elle, he's not the only one who?—"

His words broke off at the sound of screeching brakes, children's screams, and a muttered curse from Elle.

"Elle?" he called into the phone, straightening, his free hand curling into a fist.

"Rafe! There's a man, he has a—" She broke off and he heard the unmistakeable sound of gunshots before the line went dead.

Panic coursed through his system, the three people he cared about most in the world needed him and he wasn't there.

"Someone shot at Elle. She has Andy and Ruthie with her, in a car, on the way here," he shot off to whoever was within range to hear him, then took off at a run toward his cabin where he'd told Marcia to wait so he could finish telling her off once he knew Andy was safe and sound.

Now she held the answers he needed to getting his son, Elle, and Ruthie back alive.

Footsteps pounded the ground behind him so he knew at least one of his friends was following him, probably to make sure he didn"t kill the woman who had come back to exploit his insecurities and used their son to do it.

As soon as he burst into his cabin, he yanked Marcia off the couch where she was sitting, and shoved her up against the wall. "What have you done?" he growled low, menacingly.

"Wh—?"

"Don't even start with me, Marcia," he warned. "Andy ran to Elle's house, she was bringing him home and someone shot at them. This is on you, isn't it? Who did you borrow money from?"

Marcia's eyes were wild with fear. "A l-loan shark," she stammered.

"Did they threaten you?"

"Th-they said that i-if I didn"t g-get the m-money, that I w-would have to w-work it off at th-their club. Its why I c-came here. I thought y-you would help. I d-don't want to be a p-prostitute. If you didn"t I …"

"You what?" he growled. Given the danger his son was currently in he had little sympathy for the woman who had brought this on herself.

"I … I thought … the boy … he's young and … he'd be worth …"

"You were going to sell my son?" he roared. What kind of mother was Marcia? What kind of human being? You could anyone even think of selling a child—their own child—to get themselves out of debt?

How could he have ever thought it was worth even considering working things out with Marcia to give Andy the childhood he'd never had?

Elle and Ruthie were the family Andy needed, they would love and support him, give him everything he needed.

Now if he couldn't get to them quickly enough he would lose all three of them.

March 25th

2:30 P.M.

Fear made it hard to concentrate, hard to think, heck, hard to breathe.

Her daughter's life was in danger again, and Andy's, too.

What did she do?

How did she get the kids out of this mess alive?

As Elle watched a man dressed in camouflage gear walk toward the car, carrying the biggest gun she'd ever seen, she pressed a hand to her stomach where her tiny little baby was nestled. How did she get this baby out of this mess alive?

"Mommy!" Ruthie cried from the backseat, and she met the children's terrified gazes in the rear view mirror.

"I need you two to promise me that you will do whatever I tell you, no hesitation, no questions asked. Can you both do that for me?" Elle asked. Getting these two out alive had to be her priority. She would do everything she could to keep herself and her unborn baby alive, too, but Ruthie and Andy had to be her number one.

"P-promise," Andy said with way too much understanding in his eyes for such a little boy. Given his dad's job, he knew more about their situation than Ruthie did.

"Good boy. Ruthie?"

"Promise, Mommy," her daughter said, tears streaming down her little face.

"That's my girl. I love you both, okay? Remember that. No matter what happens, know that I love both of you very much. My favorite daughter, and my favorite Andy." Giving the children what she hoped was a somewhat reassuring smile, she had no time to say or do anything else because the man reached the car and yanked open her door.

There was no doubt that he was absolutely prepared to use his gun to shoot them all. Him shooting up the car had convinced her of that.

Who was he?

What did he want?

It couldn't be a carjacking because his shots had rendered the car virtually unusable if the smoking engine was anything to go by. Was he a killer? Rapist? Why was he out here on the secluded road? They were close to where she'd pulled over to cry that first night she had driven out to Rafe's place. The chances of someone stumbling upon them were slim to none. All she could do was hope that Rafe got here before any of them died.

At least he knew something was wrong. Elle had intended to call him immediately so he knew Andy was safe, but then the kids had seen each other, they'd been so excited, and she'd bundled them both into the car. The whole drive she'd tried to make herself call, knowing she had to alleviate Rafe's fears for his son while battling her fear of talking to him after everything that had happened.

In the end her selfishness had delayed the call and that might just save their lives.

IfRafe got to them in time.

"Get out of the car," the man yelled at her as soon as he yanked her door open.

Shaking hands fumbled at the seatbelt, and it took her a couple of tries to get it undone so she could scramble out. By that time, the man had pulled open the back door and was reaching for the kids.

Something came over her as she saw that gun so close to her daughter and the little boy she would have loved to one day call her son.

No.

This man didn"t get to traumatize these children any more than he already had.

"Stay away from them," she snarled as she sprung forward, shoving herself between him and the kids.

For a moment, the man appeared startled by her sudden intrusion. Then his eyes narrowed at her, and when he spoke it was with exaggerated patience like one would speak to a recalcitrant toddler. "Look, lady. Nobody has to get hurt here. I just need the boy. Once I have him you and the girl can sit here and wait for somebody to find you."

He was here for Andy?

Specifically?

So that meant this wasn't random. Someone wanted to hurt Rafe by taking his son. Or maybe this had something to do with Marcia. The woman had randomly turned up in Rafe and Andy's lives just days ago after no indication for seven years that she cared about them at all. What were the odds that this abduction attempt of her son didn"t have something to do with her?

Odds didn"t really matter right now. It seemed she had two choices. She could allow this man to take Andy and pray that Rafe arrived quickly enough to follow them, or she could do everything she could to protect the boy who might not be her blood, but who she already loved.

Yeah, there was no choice.

This man wasn't laying a hand on Andy if she could help it.

Behind her, the kids had already undone their seatbelts, she'd seen that as she launched herself forward, making herself a human shield offering some, even if not much, protection to the children. If she could keep the man talking maybe she could get him to lower his weapon a little. If she could do that, then maybe she could lunge at him, knock him down, buy enough time for the kids to run off into the woods.

Perhaps not the best of plans, but Rafe was coming, she just had to hold on until he got there.

"What do you think you"re doing, lady?" the man grumbled, sounding less angry and more exasperated. Maybe he didn"t think she was a threat or anything to be taken seriously.

Okay, so that was mostly true.

She had never touched a gun before, the only time she'd ever been in a dangerous situation was when she fought Jimmy Hillier. She hadn"t taken self-defense, and all she knew about danger was what she wrote in her books. Researching danger was not the same thing as being in the midst of it herself.

But that didn"t mean she wouldn't fight with everything she had to give to save the lives of those two kids who were depending on her.

"You can"t have him," she said simply, doing her best to still the trembling of her body so she at least looked like a teeny bit of a threat.

"Look, lady. I don't know who you are and I don't care who you are. My girlfriend owes a guy a whole lot of money. Money she can't pay back. We came here to get the kid as payment so I'm going to take him. Like I said, you don't have to get hurt. You and the girl, who I can see is your daughter, can go on your merry way."

No way was she allowing this man to take Andy.

She couldn't allow this sweet little boy to be taken and sold by his heartless mother.

Trying her best to be brave, Elle straightened her back, drawing her small five-foot-two frame up to its full height. "I said you can"t have him. If Marcia owes money that's her problem, it has nothing to do with her son."

"This would have been so much easier if the kid just bonded with his mom and agreed to go with her," the man muttered, seemingly to himself. Then he dragged in a breath like he was summoning patience he didn"t have. "Lady, I'm not leaving without the kid. You"re being stupid here."

"Maybe," she conceded. "But I can"t let you just take Andy. I love him."

"Okay, I"m guessing you"re the step mom, didn"t know one was in the picture, but it doesn't matter. I didn"t want to kill anyone, but I"m losing my patience. I can respect you trying to protect a kid you love, but simple fact is, I"m taking the boy. Doesn't really faze me leaving you and the girl behind dead, but I don't really want to make this messy. So I"m going to say this one more time before I kill you and the girl and take the boy by force. Move out of my way and give me the kid."

Elle knew she'd pushed him as far as she could. What she was going to do next was either going to get them all killed or give the children a chance at escaping.

Sorry, little one.

After sending up the silent apology to her unborn baby that she probably wasn't going to be able to save it, too, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Kids, now! Run and don't stop."

As she said the words she launched herself at Andy's would-be kidnapper.

The sound of the gun seemed much too loud.

Fiery pain in her arm told her that she'd been hit.

But the force of her body hitting his, catching him off-guard, was enough to send both herself and the man to the ground in a tangle of limbs.