30. Kane

The feeling of total helplessness was driving Kane crazy. He wanted to get the Tim situation resolved so he and Haylee could start the rest of their lives together. He also hated that she was struggling to sleep and felt so stressed. He knew no matter what he said or how much he reassured her that she couldn't help but worry. It was a natural reaction to the insane threats that the lowlife had sent.

Waking up in the early hours of the morning, he made his way down to his office after making sure she had her stuffy in her arm and pacifier in her mouth. He sat down at his computer and stared at the screen while trying to figure out what the hell to do. He hated not being able to control the situation. In a small town like Pinebrook, he should stick out like a sore thumb, but Damian's guys hadn't seen any sign of him.

His phone lit up with an incoming FaceTime call from Ian. Kane looked at the clock to see it wasn't even six in the morning. He hit Accept, and Ian's face appeared on the screen. The man looked nothing like you would expect for someone who worked on computer stuff all day. He was as tall as Kane but a little bit leaner, though based on the times they'd met in the boxing ring, Kane knew most people would underestimate the man's strength. His chestnut-colored hair, blue-gray eyes, strong jawline, and award-winning smile were enough alone to put him on the cover of some magazine.

"Hope I didn't wake you, but I have some information that I think will help."

Kane noticed how exhausted Ian looked and frowned. He could tell that he was in his home office.

"Did you sleep last night?"

Ian continued typing on his computer and didn't even look at Kane. "No. I couldn't sleep. I knew there had to be a way to find more information about this Parker guy, so I've been working all night."

"You stayed up all night trying to help me?"

He considered Ian a friend, but he was a little surprised at the lengths he was going to help. This time, Ian stopped typing and looked at him through the screen.

"I know you would do the same for me if the tables were turned. Besides, I can't stand the thought of a Little having to go through all this bullshit. I was doing it for her, really. The guy is a psychopath."

Kane nodded. Ian was right—he would do the same for him or any of his friends if the tables were turned. Especially if it was to help protect a Little.

"What do you have for me?"

"I figured he would have to be staying at a hotel locally unless he was sleeping in his car, and that doesn't sound like his style. I hacked the systems of all the motels and hotels in the area, within a twenty-mile radius of Pinebrook, and ding ding ding, I found a Jason Parker that is checked in at Pinebrook Motel only a few miles outside of Pinebrook. By the way, Jason is his middle name, in case you didn't remember that. Anyway, I wanted to make sure it was him, so I got into the Newsday News payroll system and found the name of his bank and hacked his account. The guy isn't that smart because he used his debit card to pay for the motel. The guy is on the run, and he's using his fucking debit card to pay for a motel. If you're going to be a criminal, at least try to be smart about it."

Kane listened to Ian ramble about everything he hacked and found it entertaining. He talked about all of this as though he was discussing what he was going to buy his mother for Christmas.

"You are a genius, and I owe you big. Did you get a room number off the hotel system?"

"Yep, room one-thirty-eight. And Kane… He also spent over two hundred dollars on gas at one gas station last night in Bend. I tapped the camera feed at that gas station—shocking that they actually had cameras, I know. He was filling several gas cans and putting them in the trunk of his car. Of course, he put those on his debit card too. Moron."

Shit. What would a pyromaniac be doing with that much fuel unless they were planning to set fire to a whole lot of shit. They needed to get to him before he got to something or someone else.

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Not at the moment. I'll keep you posted if I find anything else."

Hanging up with Ian, he called Luke right away.

"Ian found where he's staying. He's at the Pinebrook Motel a few miles out of town. He also purchased a lot of fuel and put it in multiple gas cans."

Luke let out a string of curses. He heard Ally ask something in the background and Luke telling her to go back to sleep.

"We need to get to him before he does something crazy," Luke said.

"Look, I know you want to do this by the law, and that's fine, but I am going as backup, as well as Damian and his guys. We will follow your lead."

Kane worried that Luke would argue with him and tell him they couldn't come along, but Kane knew how small the sheriff's department was in Pinebrook, and sending Luke and his team in alone would be risky. Luke wouldn't want to risk the safety of his officers if he could help it.

"Fine, but you guys have to stick to the law. We need this arrest to be clean so it sticks. My guys go in first, and you guys come only as backup if it's absolutely needed."

"Yep. By law. You have my word."

"I fucking mean it, Kane. I know you're pissed, but you can't go in there and beat the guy to a pulp. He will sit in prison for what he's done, and you need to be able to go home after this and take care of Haylee. Don't let your anger over what he did take away your freedom. You know I have your back, but I am still a sworn officer."

"Do you think I can't keep my temper in check?" he snapped.

"I think that you are in love with Haylee, and you feel the need to get revenge on this guy for what he did to her, but you can't let your own anger cloud your judgment. You know the best thing is for him to be arrested."

He did want to beat the guy to a bloody pulp, but Luke was right, and he really hated admitting it.

"I know. I promise not to lose my shit. I am only coming to support you and make sure you and your guys are safe."

"Okay. Round up Damian and his guys and bring Haylee over here. We will keep one of the guys here with the girls while we go. I'm going to round up my officers and have them meet up here as well."

Kane hung up, went out to the attached apartment, and knocked on the door. Damian answered the door in his underwear, though he looked like he was already awake. Years in the military made them naturally early risers.

"We found him. Get dressed, arm up, and round up the guys. We are all meeting at Luke's. I need a guy to stay with the girls while we go. We are only to provide backup to Luke and his team. Can't go all Rambo on him."

Before Kane even finished telling his brother all the information he had found out, Damian was getting dressed and arming himself with several handguns that he placed in his boot, waistband, and shoulder holster.

"I need to go wake up Haylee and get her ready to go," he said, disappearing out of the apartment.

Walking up to the nursery, he packed a bag with several toys, coloring books, a sippy cup, a pacifier, and a change of clothes for Haylee to take with them, setting it in the hall and then making his way into their bedroom. He took his time getting dressed and getting himself armed, wanting his baby girl to get as much sleep as possible.

When he'd waited for as long as he could, he sat on the edge of her side of the bed and ran his hand gently over her hair.

"You gotta wake up, baby alligator."

Haylee let out a sound of protest and tried to slide deeper under the covers. He couldn't help but chuckle. She hated being woken up. He leaned over her, tugging the blankets down slightly so he could see the back of her wild hair.

"I know you're a sleepy girl, but Daddy needs you to wake up. We need to go over to Luke's, and then you can climb into bed with Ally and go back to sleep."

Turning her head toward him, she opened her eyes and frowned. He wanted to kiss the corners of that frown and turn it into a smile. If everything went as planned that day, he hoped she would only have reasons to smile going forward.

"Why do we have to go to Luke's? It's barely even light out. What's going on?"

"We found where Tim is. We need you and Ally to stay together with a guard so the rest of us can go take him down."

Haylee sat up so quickly that he didn't have time to move, and her head collided with his. Her hand flew up to her forehead.

"Owie!"

"Fuck, baby! Are you okay? Let Daddy see."

Turning on the bedside lamp, Kane pulled on her wrist gently so he could look at her forehead. A small red circle was already forming.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't know you would sit up so quick. Are you okay?"

Nodding her head, she looked up at him sleepily. "I'm fine. You have a really hard head, Daddy."

He grinned and leaned in to kiss her. "That's not the only hard head I have."

She giggled and leaned into his shoulder, resting her head on it.

"What do you mean you're going to take him down? Are you going to be in danger?" she asked quietly.

Pulling himself back from her, he reached out to cup her chin, lifting it so she was looking at him.

"I am going to be fine, baby. I have extensive training in situations like this, and I know how to protect myself. Besides, there will be plenty of us. I'm not going in alone."

She didn't say anything, but he saw the worry in her face. The sooner they could get it done and over with, the better.

"Come on, let's get you dressed. Want to wear some footie pajamas, and I'll carry you?"

She scrunched up her nose even though he could tell she liked the idea. "But Damian and his guys will see and think I'm weird."

Kane couldn't help but laugh. "Damian is a Daddy, remember? And I'm pretty sure his guys are all Doms or Daddies. Besides, if they think you're weird, I'll just shoot them."

She broke out in a fit of giggles that made him feel like a king.

"Daddy, you can't just go around shooting people who make me feel weird or aren't nice to me."

He could, and he would if it meant keeping his baby happy and safe.

"Why not? It's my job to protect you."

Rolling her eyes, she smacked him playfully on the chest. "You are crazy."

He nodded in agreement. "Crazy for you, baby girl. Come on. Let's get you ready."

Kane dressed her in a pair of thermal pajamas with alligators printed all over them. He tried to pick out a pair of footie pajamas, but she insisted that she wanted the alligator ones instead. He helped her put on a pair of light pink Converse and tied them for her as she stood in front of him with her hands on his shoulders, lifting one foot at a time onto his knee. He loved taking care of her in those simple ways.

It wasn't long before Haylee, Kane, and Damian walked into Luke and Ally's house with eight of Damian's men following. It wasn't even seven in the morning yet, but all the men were wide-awake. None of the men batted an eye at the fact that Haylee was dressed in pajamas, clinging to her stuffed alligator in one arm and him with the other. One of the men even complimented Virgil and gave her a wink, which resulted in her hiding her face behind Kane's arm. Luckily, the man didn't seem offended and just smiled up at Kane.

Several officers in uniform entered the house, and before long, it felt like Luke's living room was very crowded with all men, except for Haylee and Ally, who was still trying to wake up and process what was going on. She clung to Luke's waist, eyeing the sea of masculine men surrounding them.

"Okay, listen up, everyone," Luke said.

The room quieted, and everyone turned their attention to Luke.

"We have to all keep our heads on straight," he said, looking directly at Kane, "and we need to keep this as clean and by the book as possible to eliminate any risk of anything being overturned in court. We know he has a hotshot lawyer who's gotten him out of a lot of charges. I know we are all armed, but unless he is aiming a gun at you or shooting, do not shoot him. Especially those of you who aren't sworn-in officers. But by all means, protect yourself if necessary."

Kane looked down at Haylee, seeing how pale and wide-eyed she was, then looked at Ally, who had the same pained expression.

"Why don't you girls go up and play for a bit while we make our plans. Luke and I will come and find you before we head out."

Haylee shook her head and clung tighter against him. Kane leaned down so his mouth was against her ear. "Be a good girl for Daddy and do as I said."

She let out a noise of protest but removed her hold on him and followed Ally up the stairs.

"Thanks. Sorry, I should have sent them up first thing," Luke said, looking regretful.

Kane nodded and shrugged.

"We need to surround the place. It is a one-story motel, and the doors are all exterior, so the only way he could get in or out of his room is by the door, bathroom window, or a side window since he's in an end unit. You all remember what he looks like?"

A series of nods and yeses went around the room.

"Good. Keith, I want you to stay with the girls. Do not let them go outside of the house. You have mine and I'm sure Kane's permission to do whatever is necessary to keep them under control. You still need to stay alert and on guard, obviously, and we will let you know right away if he's not at the hotel for some reason."

Kane nodded in agreement with Luke's statement. He knew Luke chose Keith to stay for a reason. They'd met him at the club in Seattle as well, and he was also a Daddy Dom, though they'd never really gotten to know him. Damian had said he was a great Daddy, though, and did well with all the Littles in the club.

"I'm hoping they will stay up in the nursery and be able to stay in Little space to keep their minds off of what's going on."

Keith nodded. "I will do what I can to keep them busy and their minds off everything."

Luke looked around the room. "Any questions?"

When no one said anything, he nodded. "Right. Kane and I need to go talk to the girls and get them settled and introduced to Keith. There's a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen while you wait."