Tanner couldn’t help the smile that split his face. “She’s amazing you guys. She’s everything.” His voice cracked and heturned away from his friends, rubbing a hand down his face, desperately trying to hold it together.
“Hey,” Blake said, putting a hand on Tanner’s shoulder. “We checked the security cameras on our way in and they’ve all been disabled. But I brought the FBI laptop with me. We’re going to dig up everything we can on Ned Dynam. We’ll find a way in. Just breathe, my friend. I know this is hard. We’ve all been there. Knowing someone you love is in the hands of a monster is the worst kind of hell in the world, but we’ve always come through and that’s not going to change now.”
Tanner nodded. “I know. I just hope April is okay. Ned uses and abuses Violet, but at least I know he won’t hurt her. April though…” His voice cracked again just thinking about the woman he’d been spending his time with. He loved her so much. The thought of her at Ned’s mercy, knowing she’d do anything to protect Violet, was eating him alive.
“April has been dealing with Ned for years. I think she can handle another night or two,” Luke said. “You just have to stay strong, and you’ll have your family back in your arms in no time.”
Tanner sighed. “From your lips. Alright, let’s get to work.”
Tanner joined the guys in the living room, all of them pulling out their laptops and opening every database, file, and resource they had available to them to get any kind of dirt they could come up with on Ned Dynam. Pam took Peter upstairs to rest, as he was still a bit groggy from the drug, and Sienna was helping Faith make coffee, and set out snacks for everyone to munch on.
Everyone he cared about was inside this house, except for the two people that had turned his life upside down in the best possible way. They made him feel like he was more than he could ever be.
A father.
He was a very special little girl’s father, and she was counting on him to come through for her.
And April.
He’d already been thinking about spending the rest of his life with her, and maybe it was crazy, and they were moving too fast, but he didn’t care.
There was nothing he wouldn’t do for them. Or at the very least, die trying.
Chapter 27
April shivered from the cold air blowing into the small room she’d been locked in for what seemed like hours now. Though it could’ve been days. She had no idea what time it was, or how long she’d been asleep. She was lying on a bed with no blanket or sheet for cover, and a pillow harder than the bale of hay in Tanner’s family barn. On the opposite wall was a small dresser with three drawers and a television mounted to the wall that she didn’t see a remote for.
She sat on the edge of the bed, rolling her shoulders and rubbing her temples. Her head hurt, but the pain seemed to be fading. She knew better than to yell out. No one would come even if they did hear her. Not until Ned was ready to talk to her.
After a while, she stood and paced the length of the room which wasn’t very big. She hated not being with Violet. Not knowing where she was, or if Ned was hurting her, was worse than any torture he could devise. Maybe Tanner had found her already. Maybe he was here, and the door would burst open at any moment. But every minute that went by in horrid silence, April’s hope for a quick rescue dwindled.
Besides, Tanner had no legal ground without a court order. Even if he was Violet’s biological father, as of right this moment, Ned had every right to take Violet anywhere he wanted to.
April cringed at what Violet was probably going through. Those stupid games, as Ned called them, only hurt her. And then there was the bomb that Violet swore she overheard Ned and Echo talking about.
April lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, exhausted from stress and anticipation. She imagined being back with Tanner. In his arms. In the barn. The way he kissed her, touched her. Her body was reacting even now at the thought of how his mouth trailed down her neck and breasts. She hated the way Ned’s goon had made them leave in the middle of the storm like that. Would Tanner think she left him and took Violet with her? No. He had to know she’d never do something like that. She only hoped the goon had kept his word, and Tanner’s family hadn’t been harmed.
The door flew open and April bolted upright, her eyes wide, muscles tense.
“You’re awake,” Ned said, almost casually, as if he wasn’t keeping her in a locked room with no windows, no clock, and no way of seeing or connecting with the outside world. He wore a dark suit, like every other time she’d seen him. He had a menacing glare, held his mouth in a tight grimace, and there was only cold vile hatred in his eyes. Nothing like the warmth and kindness she always saw in Tanner’s. “I hope you like this room because you’re not going to be leaving it for a while.” He smirked, like he was proud of himself for achieving some big accomplishment.
“Where’s Violet?” April demanded, standing to be closer to eye level with him.
“Right where I want her to be.” He brushed a finger along the edge of the dresser like he was checking it for dust, then shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “It’s you I don’t know what to do with. I mean there are so many possibilities.”
“Violet needs me,” April reminded him, already knowing anything she said would prove to be futile. Still, she couldn’t help adding, “You can’t hurt me.”
Ned lifted one hand and unceremoniously backhanded her across the face, sending April flying onto the bed, falling onto her side. “I can do whatever the hell I want with you, and no one can stop me.”
April glared at him, her cheek on fire. “You won’t get away with this. Violet might be your adopted daughter, but you can’t hold me here against my will. People will come looking for me.”
Ned smiled. “Oh, you mean that cop friend of yours. I’m shaking in my boots.” A low chuckle escaped his throat and his expression turned even darker. “I’d like to see him try to find you. And even if he does, all I have to do is threaten his daddy’s very lucrative ranch, and he’ll back off faster than you can say ‘sayonara.’” With that same smug look on his face, Ned turned to leave, but stopped short of opening the door. “Get comfortable, April. Or don’t. I don’t care.” And with those parting words, he let the door slam shut behind him, and April blew out a breath. Her cheek still ached, but her worry for Violet was more pressing than the slight sting. Without April there to protect her and try to reign him in, Ned really could do whatever he wanted with Violet, and she wouldn’t have anyone to take care of her.
April stood and stomped over to the door. Just as she suspected, it was locked from the outside. “Let me out of here you monster! Let me out!” She banged on the door until her hands and arms hurt. Then she collapsed in a crying heap on the floor. “Violet,” she called out with no hope of her niece hearing her. What was Ned going to force her to do? Was he going to threaten April to get her to do it? Every worst possible scenario flooded April’s mind until she grasped her head with both hands and screamed out in frustration.
It would be so easy to give up, and maybe if it was just about her, April wouldn’t care. But she had to find a way out of this room for Violet. She stood back up and looked around. Aside from the bed, a dresser, and a television mounted on the wall, there was a small bathroom with a toilet, a pedestal sink, and a small shower stall. Nothing else. No windows. No other doors or closets. And the only vents in the room were far too small to fit anything through besides her hand. There really was no way out of this godforsaken place.
She collapsed onto the bed, hope quickly fading. A knock on the door only frustrated her. Of course, Ned would have someone checking up on her. When the door opened before she’d said anything, she was prepared to give whoever was coming in a piece of her mind. But then her eyes widened at the sight of Echo. She couldn’t decipher his expression, but at least he wasn’t being smug like his boss.
