4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Laney

W e wait for da's friend, Clyde, who is a police officer, to arrive, before we head to where Caleb is. "We'll never get anywhere near the scene without Clyde." Da states. "Doesn't matter how wealthy we are. Sometimes money can't buy things. Access to a crime scene is one of them."

"Good call." I say to da, as I grab my purse. Mama stays behind, just in case someone needs us here.

"You bring my grandbaby home safe, now." Mama says.

"I promise you, as God is my witness, I will." I tell mama, fighting the lump in my throat.

"I know you will, Laney."

"Clyde's here." Da says, as he puts his shoes on at the door. Mrs. Quinn has managed to pull herself together, doing some baking, so that when Peg comes home, she'll have her favorite cookies waiting.

We take da's car, so that I can make calls, if necessary. As we keep with Clyde in his cruiser, he turns on the sirens, leading us to where we need to be. It's the longest ten minutes of my life, but as we arrive, when Clyde leads us to a building, surrounded with police cruisers, and other emergency response vehicles, I see Caleb's brother Ethan. He's with Dougall, Caleb's da, but Caleb is nowhere to be found. For just a moment. Amongst the flurry of police officers, cruisers, and a flatbed tow truck, I see my love off in the distance, running to a car, while a cruiser follows, just a short distance behind him.

"What's going on?" I ask, running to him.

"Laney, stop!" Da shouts, in a vain attempt to grab me, but it's too late. As I run to Caleb, faster than I would ever expect, I see what he's after. It's a car, tearing off, trying to get away, and I can only guess that that's the kidnapper, and that he's got Peg. As I surmise this, I run faster, gaining on Caleb. The car turns down a street, squealing its tires, as a cruiser tries to block him, but the car sneaks by and passes. I follow as closely as I can, watching the chase unfold. Traffic down the small alleyway is non-existent, as the whole area has been blocked off, and as I turn down the street that Caleb is on, gaining on the car, we both witness it.

A man stops the car abruptly, opens the driver's side door, and abandons the running vehicle, tearing off on foot. He heads for the back of a building, going inside, as if he owns the place. But all I care about is what's inside the car, or, more important, who. It looks like Caleb is thinking the exact same thing. That's when we hear her. Little Peg is inside the car, crying her heart out in terror. "Jesus Christ!" Caleb shouts, running so fast it looks like his legs will give out. I watch officers head inside the building, going after the man now on the loose, as I finally make it to Caleb.

"Oh my God! Peg!" Caleb shouts, almost cries, as he approaches the vehicle, and practically dives inside. His voice cracks. "Baby, you're okay." He says, and as I arrive at the vehicle, I climb in the other side, where the bairn sits in a ball on the floor, covering her face, crying so hard her face is red and soaked with tears. We both look her over, making sure that she's not hurt, as she sobs, terrified, soaked in sweat and tears, and urine, from what I can smell. Aside from soiling herself, she seems unharmed, so I pull her into my arms, Caleb right behind me, us both squished inside the vehicle, holding her tight.

"Get out of the car!" We hear officers shouting, scurrying to us. "Get the child out and vacate immediately!" Two of them say, pulling us out. "The car could be armed with a bomb. He might have activated it when he abandoned it."

"Shit." Caleb says, running away from the vehicle, holding Peg tight to him. The place is a flurry of activity, with police running all over, trying to catch the perpetrators. We take Peg back to the site where we were when we arrived, as she lays on Caleb's shoulder, still shivering and sobbing with upset. As if the poor bairn hasn't been through enough, now this. "We'll get you back to grandmama's house, baby. Mrs. Quinn baked you some cookies. Your favorite." I tell her, sliding my hand through her hair, trying to calm her.

The paramedics are there, at the ready, but she wants none of it, and I don't blame her. She's shivering with fear, sobbing so hard she's coughing, and so they let her calm down, before they look her over. "Are you hurt, baby?" I ask her, as she buries her face into Caleb's neck, not wanting to see anyone. I pull her little dress up, so I at least can see her legs and back, and she looks unscathed, aside from being drenched in her own urine. Her legs are sticky and wet, right down to her socks and shoes, and I regret not thinking ahead and bringing her a change of clothes.

I make a quick call to mama, to let her know that Peg is safe, and to please bring some clothes for her if she can, but I doubt it. Mama won't get anywhere near the scene, but she can pass the clothing along to the officers. When Peg finally cries herself to sleep in Caleb's arms, the paramedics take a look at her, and confirm that she is, in fact, unharmed. "Thank God." Caleb says, looking at her little body, asleep on the gurney, inside the ambulance. He slides a hand through his hair in relief.

Dougall and da see us and walk over to check on Peg. "She's fine. Asleep." Caleb answers. "Did they get the son of a bitch that took her?" Caleb asks through gritted teeth.

"They got one of them." Dougall answers with an indignant grunt. "But they're still after the rest of them."

"What about Ned? He's got to have a connection to this." Caleb states.

"He's still with police, yes." Da answers.

"Which one did they catch?" I ask.

"Just Wesley Higgins, from what I understand." Dougall replies. "But the others are still at large, and all of our security staff are being questioned."

"I hope ours are, too." I add.

Da nods. "Definitely. Every staff member is being questioned on this, until we get to the bottom of it all."

Caleb sees his brother Ethan off in the distance, talking to one of the officers, and seethes. "What's dipshit still doing here?"

Dougall raises a hand. "Caleb, stand down. Your brother cares just as much about this family as you do, and now is not the time."

"Bullshit." He sneers. "I could have sent the ransom to Higgins, and this could have gone off way smoother. We might have caught all of the assholes involved, if it weren't for him and his secrets."

"What are you talking about, Caleb?" I ask.

"I had a contact at the bank who could have helped with the ransom, but, little did I know that my brother soured that relationship and didn't bother to tell me. A lot of good it does for me to know now."

"Well, we got Peg back, Caleb." I say, touching his hand. "And she's unhurt. We couldn't ask for more."

Caleb levels with me. "Laney, if they don't find all the crooks involved in this, we always stand a chance of them trying to take Peg again, or worse. They knew they were able to infiltrate this family, and they'll do it again. We need to stop them."

"But can't we just double up on security?" I ask, concern written all over my face.

"We can, but we know that Nathan Mackenzie got in through Zen, right?"

I nod.

Dougall interjects. "What Caleb is trying to say is that unless we can get everyone that was involved in this, we're never going to be safe, no matter how much we beef up security."

"How do we keep Peg safe?" I ask. "She starts school in September."

"We'll have Slater and Young keep watch over her." Caleb adds. "Slater's been with us since I was a boy, and Young, he's got special training for this type of situation."

Dougall looks at me, answering my questioning glance. "His bairn was taken once. Got her back. He knows what to do."

"Where has he been through all this?" I ask, almost exasperated.

"His oldest daughter got married." Caleb replies. "He's been back in Scotland for a month."

I nod. "No offence, but what a fine time."

Da rests his arm across my shoulders. "We'll keep Peg safe, Laney. Now that we know she's a target, and soon you will be, too."

"If these damn cops can get hold of all these kidnappers." Dougall growls. "But we don't play the fool here, Laney. We will hire a private investigator specifically for this."

"A team." Caleb adds with emphasis. "I want the son of a bitches responsible to get fried for this." He looks over at Peg and rubs her leg. She doesn't stir. "I feel like I failed her."

"Don't be foolish, son." Dougall reasons. "This family is always going to know trouble, just like any family with fame or fortune, or both. You got the bairn back safe, and we'll keep her safe. That's all that matters."

"Yeah, she's not physically harmed, da, but what about mentally? She's already lost her mama, been uprooted, and now this?"

Da interjects. "All that means is that she'll grow a thick skin, Caleb. Which she'll need in this world."

"Exactly, Caleb." I add. "And we'll get her into a psychologist to make sure that she's okay. We'll keep her well and happy, no matter the cost."

Caleb looks up at one of the paramedics. "When can we take her home? She needs a bath and her own bed."

"As soon as the officers give you the say so." He answers.

Dougall interjects. "I'll go talk to them. There's been no gunshots, so I take it they either didn't get any more suspects, or they all surrendered. My bet is on the former." He says, unimpressed.

Caleb looks at me. "Don't let any of this sully your thoughts on the wedding, Laney. We'll have a small one, with little attention, as you wished."

I shake my head, brows furrowed. "Not at all, Caleb. I want to move forward with this. The sooner we're married, the safer Peg will be, at least in the eyes of immigration and the adoption agency."

"Aye." He nods. "I'm glad. You're a wise girl. That's why I'm marrying you."

I kiss his lips quickly, since there are so many people watching. He kisses me back, and that's when Ethan approaches. Caleb looks at him and looks away, disgusted. Ethan's nose is swollen, and his eyes are bruised. I don't ask. Nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing at all.

Peg wakes up and I give her a bath immediately. She slept an hour, while police questioned us, told us that the investigation is still ongoing, as they only arrested Nathan Mackenzie. As soon as Caleb was certain that Peg was settled at home with me, at my parent's house, he left. I'll give you one guess as to where he went. Ethan followed us back, his guilt showing. Mrs. Quinn gave him an ice pack for his nose, and he sat with me, while we guarded Peg's sleep. I look at him as he sits there, almost sulking. "Does it hurt?"

"Not as much as it looks."

"Have you broken your nose before?"

"Aye. Once." He answers but doesn't elaborate. "If I knew it would cause trouble, Laney, I swear to you, I would have told Caleb."

"Told Caleb what?"

He sighs. "Freya Stewart. The banker that Caleb called to trick the kidnappers. She and I had a thing. Only, she didn't tell me that she and Caleb had a thing, too, before me."

I nod. "Ah. That explains a lot." A pause. "So, Caleb didn't know about the two of you, and he called a broken-hearted woman for help. At your cost."

"Aye."

I pause and look at him contemplatively. "What happened? Why did it end?"

He shrugs. "I felt I'd been deceived. When she didn't tell me about sleeping with my brother. Felt like I couldn't trust her anymore."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she was defending your brother's honor, Ethan? Maybe she's not the type to kiss and tell."

He considers that for a moment, and then he licks his lips and continues. "It felt gross, too, like she'd dipped her pen in the company ink, so to speak. Making her rounds in the Harris clan, you know."

"I can see that."

"Thought maybe she was getting over Caleb by fucking me." He looks at Peg and covers his mouth sheepishly. "Pardon the language."

"How do you know it wasn't just a casual thing? He did say that he'd had a business type of relationship with her. Maybe that's all it was. I can't speak for him, of course, but maybe this means more to you than it does to him."

"It's long over." He shrugs finally.

"Is it?"

"I guess it's not since it's come back to bite me in the ass."

"Is it more than that, though, Ethan?"

He scratches his lip with his thumbnail. "I think so. She hates me. I said some things that should never have been said. I was awful to her. Called her a whore. Called her so many things. She threw things at me."

"How long ago did this happen?"

"Months. Nearly a year."

"And yet it's still fresh, Ethan."

"Caleb made me feel responsible."

"Well, he was angry, frustrated. It probably said more about her than you, Ethan. It might have been a shock to him. Her refusing to help with something so delicate, so important, over something so trivial, high-school-like."

"Aye."

"How's your nose?"

He takes the ice pack off. "It'll be better tomorrow. I'll have shiners for a couple of days, maybe a week. Maverick will have to take my appointments, unless da wants me to lie and say I fought off the kidnappers or something."

"Are you going to talk to Caleb?"

"What for? It's over."

"It seems to me like there's been water under the bridge between you two for a while, Ethan. Maybe it's time to bury the hatchet."

"We've always been like that, lass. Caleb and I have never been close. We've always been brawling about something. This is typical."

"If it's so typical, why are you talking to me about it? Why not just let it go?"

Another shrug. I get the feeling that he uses shrugs as a way to say that he's thinking about it. "Like I said, he made me feel responsible."

"And you're looking at me to get you off the hook?"

He looks at me so tenderly, so apologetically. "No, I'm not like that, Laney. I just want you to know that I love the bairn as much as everyone else in the family. I'd never see anything happen to her. At least not on purpose."

"That's very noble of you to say, Ethan. But I'd never think that of you or anyone in this family."

"I'm glad. But I wanted you to know all the same."

I touch his knee. "You should talk to Caleb. Get things out into the open. I think this is bothering you more than you care to admit."

"Aye. Caleb's got enough to worry about. He doesn't want to talk about a high school crush. Like you said."

"Once he gets back, you should. I think it'll make you both feel better."

He looks at Peg. "She going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine. Your da says a private investigator will be hired, I'll assume that's to clean up the police work, and Caleb says we'll put Slater and Young on the task when she starts school."

"Aye. And you and Caleb are still carrying on with the wedding?"

I nod. "Aye. I think that's best for Peg."

He looks at me, head tilted. "And you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you getting married for Peg or for you, lass?"

I place my hand, palm down, on my belly. "For all of us, Ethan. I love your brother with all my heart, and nothing will make me happier."

He smiles, pleased. "Glad to hear it. I never thought my fool brother would find a lass to hang on to. He's always been a playboy."

I just grin warmly.

"I should get back to work."

"Okay, Ethan. Think about what I said."

He kisses my cheek as he rises. "I will."

And he does much more than just think about it, but I don't find out for a while.