LUCAS
Walking out of the cafe I can't help but look back one last time trying to catch a glimpse of Rhylie. I can see her and the girls deep in conversation. No doubt she's telling her about our date. Last night was everything I've ever dreamed about and trust me I've had that dream a lot over the years where Rhylie is concerned and my dreams didn't do it justice. I never expected last night to happen. All I wanted to do was hold her all night to remind myself she isn't going anywhere. But once she gave the go-ahead all bets were off. I can still taste her on my lips and I can't wait to do it again. I knew she was going to be sore this morning. I stayed up late into the night just watching her sleep, reminding myself she is safe and that nothing is going to happen to her. But between the guy the first night in the cafe and again last night it has me on edge plus the notes she has gotten. I don't have a good feeling and I never ignore those, they have saved my ass overseas more times than I can count. The guys know my thoughts it's why we are meeting up to go over any lead that may point us in the right direction on who this could be, I don't know who would want to do this to her she never has anything mean to say about anyone everyone that comes into the cafe has nothing but nice things to say about her. I didn't tell Ry my feelings on this because I didn't want her to worry anymore. I told her we would take care of this and I mean that, I will protect her until my last dying breath. She means everything to me. If someone thinks they can threaten her in any way and I’m going to stand back and take it, they are going to wish they were never born once I get my hands on them. Walking in the front door of my shop I see all the guys are already here. Maybe we can get this shit sorted. We've had each other's backs for years and I wouldn't want anyone else helping me keep Ry safe. If anything ever happens to me, I know they will make sure she's taken care of at all costs.
“Hey fuckers, Ry made us coffee so come and get yours” since she put the guy’s name on them they each grab theirs giving their thanks. Mason stands in front of me looking like he hasn't gotten much sleep either, no doubt worried about this as much as me.
“How is my sister doing? I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her today. I went over to the cafe earlier but she wasn’t in yet.”
Giving Mason a big smile I say “I’m sure that's the only reason you went over there, it doesn't happen to be because Faith opened instead? Admit it man, you want her.” I know I’m giving him shit but what are friends for. I can hear Victor and Damon laughing behind me though I'm not sure what Damon is laughing about. He's just as gone for Skylar who also works at the cafe. Now just to watch Victor fall and we will all have everything we talked about while stuck in the desert though now that he's taking care of his niece Katya it would have to be someone special for sure but that's a story for another time. Mason giving me a scowl and the middle finger says
“I don't know what you're talking about. Can we get back on track here? We came here for a reason and that's to find the fucker who’s scaring my sister”
Giving him enough shit for one day, I agree. “Let’s head back to my office and sort some shit out. I just don't have a good feeling about any of this and I feel like the answers are right there. We are just not seeing it. Did you guys come up with anything from the cameras around the area yesterday? One of them had to have picked up something. There's no way one of them didn't pick up his face? And clearly this fucker is following her if he was at the same place we were yesterday which means he more than likely followed us from her house. And why now, what has changed in her life that would cause this I’m just not understanding any of this.” scrubbing my hands down my face in frustration I’m starting to think I need to start storing a bottle of whiskey in my desk. I could use a drink or five right about now and judging by the looks on the guy’s faces they feel the same way. I hear Victor speaking up before Mason could.
“We checked all the business cameras in that area and surrounding it and came up with nothing. He kept his head down and like you guys saw was dressed in all black so it's safe to say he knows the area if he can go undetected this long.”
Fuck that’s definitely something I don’t want to hear. Damon turns to Mason and asks him something that just makes me grind my teeth.
“Does Ry have any exes that might be pissed about a breakup or an ex-employee she had to let go? Hell it could maybe be a disgruntled customer”
Sensing my mood change since Damon asked that question Mason steps in before I get more pissed at the thought of Ry dating anyone but me.
“Calm down there Romeo. Rhylie has never dated. I mean it could be because I scared the shitheads away when she was in school because she deserved better but since you came into the picture, she hasn't looked at anyone since. So no to the ex-boyfriend angle. The customers have nothing but praise to say about her and the employees at the cafe. So at this point, I'm even at a loss because I don't know who this could be either and that's what scares me. Could it be that someone saw her at the cafe and is obsessed with her now? I just don't know and that's what’s scary. I’ve seen too much shit being a cop and it never ends well with this sort of thing. That's my baby sister and I can't lose her. The only bad thing that has happened in her life was Benjamin Jones driving drunk and killing our parents but that fucker is still rotting in jail”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mason this emotional, not even when burying his parents. I know he kept that shit in with Ry around. He wanted to be there for her while she broke down so he became her rock during that time. They were always close but losing their parents brought them closer together.
“What about his family? Didn't he have a wife and son? He would have been the same age as Rhylie from what I remember at the hearing. I mean I'm probably grasping at straws here but we've got nothing else. Would they be still pissed at the fact that his dad ended up in jail? Your dad did arrest him a few weeks prior which resulted in him losing his job. Then killing your parents in a drunken rage. I know I'm reaching but people have reacted for a lot less. Do we know if the wife and son are still around?”
“From what I know, the wife took her son and left town. She couldn't handle all the whispers behind her back and some of it was nasty. Just because the husband decided to be an idiot didn't mean she deserved any of it. It rocked our town and dad being a cop as well did not help people and how they thought saying she should have seen the signs of her husband spiraling out of control. I know during the hearing Ry told me she felt sorry for them and wanted to talk to the wife to tell her she didn't blame her at all but she took off before she could”
Blowing out a rough breath I ask Victor “Do you think you can get a location on them just in case, I want to eliminate any possibilities as to who could be doing this.” without saying a word he walks out of the office, phone to his ear, hopefully he can get something soon. At least this way we will know one way or another.
Trying to break the tension you can cut with a knife, Damon wiggles his eyebrows saying “so casanova how was your date with Rhylie yesterday? Did you confess your undying love to her finally?”
Mason gets up and walks out the door mumbling how he doesn’t need to hear any of this and to see what he can find out. Laughing at his retreating back, I turn back to Damon. “ shut it jackass, just you wait I’m sure you’ll be doing the exact same thing soon enough then I’ll be the one giving you shit. But to answer your question, yes I did and she's the best damn thing to happen to me, she's it for me man. She's the one I'm going to marry and have children with, and grow old together. Once all this is over, I'm going to ask her to marry me. I don't want to waste any more time.”
“I'm happy for you man, Rhylie is good for you. I can't wait for the day I get to experience that level of happiness like you. Now enough of the sappy shit, let’s go see if the guys got anything”
Walking out of the office with Damon behind me, I already know something is wrong with just the way Mason and Victor are acting. Walking up to them I say “What’s going on, what did you find out?”
“I did a little more digging than what you asked. It turns out Benjamin Jones died in a fight that broke out at the jail almost a year ago. I also found out the kid left home a little after that, he turned to doing bad shit with the wrong crowd. He couldn’t handle the fact his father was in jail or that he had to leave his life behind here so he took it out on his mom and just bailed on her she hasn’t seen him since.”
Pacing back and forth with that information I can’t help but think this kid is after some type of revenge or some shit. Feels like he got wronged somehow. “Fuck, so it could be him then. Do we have a picture of the kid and a name?”
“Ya, I have it right here his name is Frankie Jones. Twenty-five, tall and skinny, very greasy looking. He’s been in shit with the police so he’s no stranger to a holding cell. I’m not saying it’s our guy but it’s a direction we can look into more”
“Ya let’s go” before I’m able to finish my sentence an alarm is going off on Mason's phone and he goes white as a sheet. Not getting a good feeling I ask “what the fuck is that?”
He turns to me, swallows hard, and says something that almost makes me drop to my knees. “When I had the panic button installed at the cafe I had it set up for an alarm to go off on my phone when pushed. I was going to set it up for you today as well. I also tapped into the security feed and it’s none other than Frankie Jones and he has a gun on the girls.”
My world just stopped and my only thought is that I have to get to Rhylie and fast. I'm not fully aware of the guys trying to hold me back. “Get the fuck off me, I have to get to Rhylie.” But they aren’t moving an inch. That’s my whole world across the street, nothing can happen to her. I won’t survive it.
“That’s my sister in there, we can’t just go guns blazing and get someone killed so calm the fuck down and think. Victor has already called it in as well so I need you focused on what happens next. I have the key to the back door so Victor and I are going to go around and see if we can get in through there. I'd ask you to stay here but I already know the answer to that one. So if you have a gun stored here, I’d get it now because we leave in five with or without you.”
Nodding my head without saying a thing, Damon lets me go. I don’t know how Mason is so calm during this. I'm trying not to lose my shit right now but he’s right I have to stay focused. So going into my office and over to the safe, I pull out my gun and check it, putting it in the back of my pants. Walking towards the back door where the guys are, this fucker is going to wish he was never born if Rhylie is harmed in any way.
“Let’s go, backup is on the way. Stay focused, let’s get in and take this fucker down”
That's when we can hear a gunshot coming from across the street. Fuck Rhylie better be okay I cant loose her when I get my hands on Frankie he isnt going to know what hit him when I get through with him.
