Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (34 page)

“
You were one of them. You were one of the girls he sold
…”

I nod and wipe at my cheeks.

“
The first,
”
I whisper.

“
Bloody fucking hell.
”
He moves to the edge of his seat and starts rifling through papers on his desk.

“
Max
…
listen to me. If he
’
s here
—
chances are he
’
s already working on grabbing some of the guys here. In this precinct. He thrives on bait and switch
—
manipulation
—
bribery.
”

He points at me.
“
Not on my watch. You hear me?
Not on my watch.
”
He points to a framed picture on his desk.
“
You see her? She
’
s my daughter. Born just two months ago.
”
He shakes his head and his eyes search for something to focus on before they land on me again.

“
I can
’
t imagine what kind of monster
…”

He can
’
t even finish his sentence without clenching his fists.

Jessa leans over and brushes up against my arm.

“
Hey. I need to use the restroom. Will you be okay? I
’
ll be right back.
”

I find her eyes and nod.

“
I
’
m fine.
”

She stands up and slides in and around the chairs and desk and walks out of the office almost running into Ren on his way inside.

I turn my attention back to Max. He
’
s still rustling through papers. Finally, he finds what he
’
s looking for and pulls out the picture of my dad from his stacks of files. He looks up at me with darkened eyes.

“
We
’
re going to find this bastard, Stephanie. I promise.
”

I hear Kevin shuffling behind me and whispering to someone. Turning to see what
’
s going on, I notice Ren peeking over my shoulder at the picture on the desk.

“
Wait. Who
’
s that guy?
”
He asks.

I turn and look at him.

“
That
’
s my dad, Ren.
”

Ren pales and looks at me and then Jude and Kevin and then back to Max.

“
That
’
s your father.
”
He points to the picture.

I nod.
“
Yeah. Why?
”

He steps back and his eyes go wide.

“
He was outside. I was talking with him.
”
He wrinkles his nose.
“
He noticed you guys
—
was asking why I was here and who you all were
…
I didn
’
t say anything. I swear. He-he even followed me in here because he said he needed to check on a buddy of his
…”

He glances at me.
“
I had no idea
…”

My skin turns to ice. My hands wrap around the arm of the chair.

Jessa.

I feel faint.

“
Kevin
…
Jessa. We have to
…”
I can
’
t even finish the sentence before he
’
s out the door. Jude breathes deep and places his hand on my shoulder.

“
She
’
s probably fine, Stephanie. The restroom is right around the corner.
”

My heart starts pounding and I rub at my chest to calm it down.

My dad is here. He found me again. My dad is here.

I feel a vibration in my pocket and pull out my phone.

“
It
’
s an unknown number.
”

Max acts as though he
’
s reaching for the phone and then pulls back his arm. Resting his chin in one hand he taps his desk with the fingers on his other hand. His eyes grow wide and he shifts to lean against the back of his chair. He motions at me, waving his hand.

“
Answer it.
”

I already have though. The phone is to my ear and all I hear is heavy breathing. There
’
s a struggle on the other end of the line and I hear flesh slapping against flesh.

A cry.

“
Stephanie! Stephanie I
’
m fi-
“
I hear what sounds like a punch and I close my eyes, avoiding those in the room. That was Jessa. My dad has Jessa.

“
H-hello?
”

“
Lolly. I
’
ve missed you.
”

“
What are you doing, dad. Bring her back. You can
’
t do this. Not to Jessa.
”

The line goes quiet for a moment and I see Ren out of the corner of my eye frantically pacing back and forth on his cell.

“
No answer.
”
he mouths to Max. Max runs out of the office and I hear him hollering for back up. Everything around me is chaos but I am frozen. A statue. I close my eyes and pray this is just another nightmare. My dad
’
s voice breaks the silence.

“
Oh but why? She
’
s so perty. And those golden pants look mighty nice. I like her hair too. She seems feisty.
”
He growls again and his breath deepens.

“
We haven
’
t had feisty since Marisol.
”

My spine turns into a flame.

“
Anyways. I
’
m glad you
’
re sharing your friend with me. What
’
s her name, Jessa?
”
He laughs.
“
Such a beautiful name.
”
His voice fades and I can hear whispering in the background along with moaning. My dad grunts.

“
You stupid bitch. I told you not to fight.
”

Another slap.

No. No. Shit-shit-shit-fucking-shit.

“
Stop! Stop. I
’
ll do whatever you want. Whatever you want, dad. Just
…
just leave her alone. Let her go.
”

“
Let her go? Well that
’
s no fun.
”
His words slur in on each other and I wonder how much he
’
s had to drink today.
“
You never liked sharing anyways. How about we make a trade? You come and meet me at the parking garage and I
’
ll give back this pretty girl.
”
He chuckles.
“
Maybe.
”

The line goes dead and I
’
m left holding the cell phone in my shaking hand. Kevin
’
s saying something but I can
’
t hear him because I
’
m somewhere else
—
I
’
m back in the shed, the men above me and my soul below
—
and everything darkens until there
’
s nothing left except for this broken piece of hope.

Chapter Eighteen

I
’
m doubled over in my chair when I feel Kevin
’
s hands wrap around my wrists. I don
’
t even know my eyes are closed until I hear his voice.

“
Steph. Steph. Hey Steph, come back.
”

I blink my eyes open, see him kneeling in front of me, and drop my head even further.

“
My dad has Jessa, Kevin. He has her.
”

His eyes look into mine.

“
We found you, didn
’
t we? We
’
ll find her. We
’
ll get her back. I promise.
”

I start shaking my head vehemently, rubbing the snot from my nose on my sleeve. I gingerly touch my fingers to my cheeks and notice tears streaming down my skin.

“
Don
’
t promise, Kevin. Promises aren
’
t for keeping.
”

He looks away for a moment and then grabs my head in his hands. I pull away for just a moment before resting, remembering my exhaustion and how amazing his fingers feel on my skin. I close my eyes and lean into him.

“
Look at me, Stephanie.
”

I look at him.

“
I
’
ve made some mistakes. I
’
ll be the first to admit that. But you need to know that every single moment I
’
ve lost my shit these past few months
—
every single moment pointed to you knowing how much I love you. You are not a job to me anymore. I tried telling you this in the hospital.
”
His hands fall to his knees.
“
I
’
ve been off the case since before Thanksgiving. Everything I
’
ve done has been behind the scenes with Jude.
”

I blink again, the words falling together and not-quite-making sense in the wake of knowing my dad
’
s hands are touching Jessa
’
s skin.

“
You
…
quit?
”

“
I quit. I told them I couldn
’
t do any of this without you knowing. I was going to tell you that day we went over to Emma and Jude
’
s
—
when you found out about Pacey.
”
His face darkens.
“
Then my mom called and ruined everything.
”

I smile.

“
I
’
m not your job.
”

“
You
’
re not my job. You never were. From the second I saw you walking down that street I knew something had shifted. You changed me. I was different. And when we met in the coffee shop, well
—
that sealed the deal. I was done.
”

He takes my hands in his.

“
Listen. I don
’
t know everything. But I know I love you. I know I will do anything for you
—
lose my shit if that means you
’
re safe. Maybe that
’
s not normal. Jude says I have a hero complex.
”
He shrugs.
“
I don
’
t know. But I know I never feel myself unless I
’
m looking into your eyes.
”

I study him for a moment, unsure of what to say. In my worst nightmares, my father comes back with a vengeance and sets fire to everything I
’
ve ever loved. In my wildest dreams, Kevin and I are together and all of this is just a distant memory.

And right now, in this fraction of eternity, I
’
m on the edge of both.

“…
I don
’
t know what to say
…”

His lips curl into a slow smile.

“
That
’
s okay.
”
He nods, his eyes glancing over to where Jude is now standing in the corner of the office talking on his cell.
“
It
’
s okay. You take your time.
”
He leans forward and kisses me softly on the forehead. Before he stands up and walks over to Jude, he winks.
“
I
’
ll wait forever if it means I
’
ll have you on the other side.
”