I drop to my knees, and as I welcome them straight into my arms, they each bawl for the trauma they’ve experienced here today. “Everything’s going to be alright,” I tell them, hoping like fuck we hear from Emily and Jonah soon. “Your mommy anddaddy are going to be here soon. You’re safe. You’re both safe now.”
“Gr . . . Grandma Mae had a gun,” Taliah tells me. “She hurt Izzy with it, and then Izzy bleed all over the floor.”
“I know. Izzy is very hurt right now, but the doctors are here, and they’re going to take her to the hospital in the special ambulance so that she won’t be hurting anymore. Does that sound good?”
They nod in unison, and I try to wipe the tears off their little faces. “Now,” I say, trying not to let them see the fear in my eyes. “Have you seen your Aunty Harper? I think she’s playing hide-and-seek. But she’s too good. I can’t find her.”
Haylee shrugs, and I turn to Taliah to see her shaking her head as well. “Okay,” I say, not wanting to push them on it. After all, from what I could gather, Mae had taken the girls away long before Elias got his hands on Harper. “Okay, well, I need to go find her because I think she’s a little bit sad right now. So could you girls keep being brave and go with Hunter? He’s going to help you find somewhere safe you can go while we wait for your mommy and daddy to come back.”
The girls nod again, but as they start to step around me, Haylee glances back. “You could give Harper a hug,” she suggests. “When I’m sad, my mommy gives me a big hug, and it always makes me happy again.”
“You know what?” I say, offering her a small smile. “I think you’re right.”
Getting up, Hunter hands my gun back, and just as I go to walk past him, he catches my eye, a hollowness lingering in his broken stare. “This is on me,” he tells me. “I failed again, and now Harper is out there with her attacker, the twins are traumatized, and Izzy is on the ground bleeding out. I’m going to be there to help in any way I can. I need to see this through and ensure we get Harper back where she belongs, but once this is done,I’m handing in my resignation. I clearly need to continue my training. I’m not up to scratch to be a member of this team, and I apologize for letting you down.”
I stare at Hunter. I know the guilt he’s feeling. We’ve all been there at one point or another. It’s just part of the territory, but I’m not about to let him throw away everything he’s accomplished because my girl managed to manipulate him and slip away. Twice.
“The fuck you are,” I tell him. “I won’t accept your resignation. Now, take Mae down to the dining room. We need to interrogate her on Elias’s whereabouts. We can deal with a suitable punishment after Harper is back home, but until then, get your head in the game.”
After completely clearing the property and confirming that no one else is here, I make my way back downstairs just in time to watch the paramedics rolling Izzy out of the house on a gurney.
Ace and Diesel follow them out to the ambulance, and I’m right behind them. “How’s she doing?”
Diesel shakes his head. “Not looking good,” he says, his face grim. “She’s mostly stable, but critical. She needs to get into surgery now.”
I nod and watch as they each go to make their way to the back of the ambulance, intending to ride along with her, but I pull them up short. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
“To the hospital,” Ace grunts, looking at me as though I’ve lost my mind.
“The fuck you are,” I tell him, anger swirling in my chest. “Harper is still out there, and I need you at my back. I need a fully functioning team, and I need your fucking heads in the game.”
“I know, but—”
“No fucking buts,” I tell Ace. “Yes, Izzy is about to head into the most terrifying surgery of her life, but she’s in the hands ofthe best doctors in Blackstone. Having you two taking up space in the waiting room while she sleeps is not helping anyone. It doesn’t speed up the process or put anyone at ease. What’s going to help her is making sure her best friend is by her side when she wakes up, and that’s something that you two can give her.”
Diesel nods. “Fuck. You’re right,” he says, rubbing his hands over his face. “This isn’t over until Harper is safe.”
Ace looks longingly at the back of the ambulance, watching them load Izzy into the truck and pull the doors closed. “Goddamn it,” he grunts, clearly conflicted as his heart still rests on his sleeve. “Where do you need me?”
“Mae,” I say, and all three of us glance in through the broken window to where Mae sits at the head of the dining table. “She knows where he’s taken her, and we’re going to get that information, even if I have to cut it from her tongue.”
The ambulance pulls away, and the moment it clears the bottom of the driveway, we make our way back into the house. Every second wasted is another second Harper is in my brother’s hands.
We stride in through the dining room, and despite the many SWAT officers surrounding her, Mae keeps her gaze trained on me, clearly knowing that I’m the one calling the shots here.
Not having the time or the patience for the dramatics today, I pull out my phone and lay it on the table before hitting play and standing back. Her brows furrow, clearly having no idea why I’ve just laid my phone down, but then her voice comes through the speakers. “I have made it more than clear that my only goal was to maintain my marriage with Elias at all costs, and unfortunately, that cost is you, my dear. Elias and I struck a deal. I hand you over on a silver platter, and in return, I get to keep the life I have here. Nothing has to change.”
Her eyes widen, realizing her admission is on tape, but before she can cut in with some kind of bullshit explanation, I give itto her straight. “Trespassing. Kidnapping. Child endangerment. Assault with a deadly weapon. Murder. Shall I go on?”
“Just say what you’ve come to say,” she spits.
“You’re looking at the rest of your life behind bars,” I tell her, “especially if Izzy doesn’t make it. You can kiss the luxury mansion goodbye. The clothes. Jewelry. Designer bags. It’s all going to be traded out for an orange jumpsuit and an itchy bunk bed. However, if you cooperate and give us what we need to know, then I’ll be happy to strike a deal that keeps you out of doing hard time.”
Her eyes widen a fraction. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm,” I lie, knowing damn well that I don’t have the approval to even whisper about offering her a deal. Nor do I want to, but there’s not a damn line I wouldn’t cross to find my girl.
“How is the girl?” she asks, though there’s no emotion behind her eyes, and it occurs to me that she’s trying to work out just how much time she’ll be doing if Izzy were to die. “Is she going to make it?”
