The Way Home (Chasing #3) (28 page)

While I examined him, Sierra stroked his muzzle, softly murmuring to him what a good boy he was. At the back of his broad head, right behind one crooked ear, I had found a lump the size of a goose egg. There was also a gash, at least a half of an inch deep running along his chest. It was still seeping blood. While I turned him over, Sierra held his head. Her frightened eyes met mine. “Where’s my mommy?”

“She’s not here, but I’ll bring her home soon.”

It seemed as if she wanted to say something else, but instead, she buried her face in Hank’s fur, hiding. Her shoulders shook. The sight before me had my heart aching, but I focused my attention on where it was needed… Hank. After a couple of minutes, Sierra lifted her head. Her face was red, but I pretended not to notice. She stroked Hank’s fur. In the meantime, I’d discovered another gash that ran along his left side. The fur was dried, stiff, and matted. I needed to tend to the wound on his chest. It was the worst and still bleeding.

“Sierra, stay here with Hank while I get some supplies from upstairs. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. She laid down on the floor beside Hank placing her face close to his.

Despite everything, the kid was holding up well. She was a trooper. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind who was to blame for all of this. There had been no sign of Miley anywhere to be found. She wasn’t here. I closed the front door and locked it before heading upstairs. It was better to be safe than sorry.

In the bathroom, I grabbed peroxide and gauze. I remembered to get a sheet from the hall closet. The sound of a phone ringing had me sprinting into my bedroom room. Miley’s phone lay vibrating on the nightstand as it rang.

“Hello.” I gasped, hoping and praying to hear the sound of her voice on the other end of the line.

“Is Miley coming into work today?”

No such luck, it was that frigging Cecil.

“She’s missing,” I snapped. Cecil screaming in my ear had me clenching the phone. He was firing a million and one questions at me all at once. “I woke up and she wasn’t here. Her car is still parked in the driveway. I need to call the Sheriff,” I told him. It was only then that I remembered my own phone and grabbed it off the dresser.

“Son of a bitch. Mother. Fucking. Son. Of. A. Bitch,” Cecil roared, and I held the phone away from my ear so he wouldn’t deafen me. “I’m on my way.” I finally heard him say, but before I could reply, the line went dead.

Fuck, Cecil. Let him come. I had a fist waiting that I was itching to plant in his ugly face.

Next, I called nine-one-one.

Sheriff Burke, along with another patrol car, arrived at the exact same time as Cecil.
It was perfect timing since it probably saved Cecil from getting his ass beat.
After cleaning Hank’s wounds, Sierra and I managed to get a couple small sips of water down him. Using Miley’s phone, I found her parent’s numbers stored in her contacts. There was always the chance her dad was in surgery so I’d dialed her mom instead. She’d been frantic even though I was well aware of the estrangement between the two of them. She was currently in route here and was going to take care of Sierra so I could help with the search for Miley. I also managed to make arrangements to drop off Hank at the vet’s.

Usually with a missing person’s case, they had to be missing forty-eight hours before the police would intervene, but since Sherriff Burke knew me and Miley, he’d made an exception. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. With or without the police’s help, I was finding my girl before nightfall. Come hell or high water, I would find her. She would be back where she belonged, with Sierra, Hank and me. As I recalled the morning’s events to Sheriff Burke and his deputy, Cecil stood nearby listening. He didn’t say a word, but his gaze kept drifting to Sierra and Hank.

After taking my statement, Burke and the deputy disappeared back outside to search the premises for any evidence. I could have told him he wasting his time, but it was police protocol and I understood how the law worked only too well. Cecil knelt down beside Sierra. The little girl had refused to leave Hank’s side. From where I stood, it was impossible to make out what Cecil was saying to her, but she nodded her head a couple of times in reply.

Miley’s mom was due to arrive at any moment. I was anxious to get out and start searching. Time was wasting. It was hard to be patient with her missing, especially after the news I’d received from Sheriff Burke.

A couple of his men had spotted a stranger wandering around outside The Eight Ball in the early morning hours. They’d been unable to apprehend the suspect. He’d fled the scene and, since there had been no known property damage, they’d dismissed the incident entirely.

My gaze drifted to Cecil and Sierra.
As if sensing my stare, Cecil lifted his head. His eyes meeting mine. He patted Sierra reassuringly on the back then stood and walked toward me. “We’ll find her,” he said, but his words did little to ease my worry.

My fucking skin was crawling. I wanted to punch something, preferably him, but I held myself in check. I didn’t want to end up behind bars. Miley needed me. “And again, why are you here?” I asked him coldly, not caring in the least that I was behaving like a prick. I despised him.

“Listen, I care about Miley, too. I can help you find her,” he explained, and ran a hand over his round, bald head while staring back at me with pleading eyes. “I can help,” he insisted.

“I don’t need your help,” I snapped at him and just so happened to notice the silver Range Rover currently pulling up in the driveway.

“That’s Miley’s mom,” Cecil said, but I paid him no mind.

The Rover’s windows were tinted, making it impossible to see inside. The door opened and a slightly older version of Miley emerged and began walking across the yard toward the house. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. The years had been kind to Rebecca Triton. She was as slim as I remembered. Her stylish strawberry blonde hair brushed the tops of her shoulders. Familiar blue eyes met mine through the wire mesh of the screen door.

I turned, my attention now focused on the little girl lying on the floor beside Hank. “Your grandmother is here.”

Sierra sat up, pushed herself up from the floor, glanced at Hank, and then headed straight for me. Seeing the concern on her tiny face had me kneeling down in front of her. She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I want my mommy,” she whispered.

“I’ll find her, Sierra, I promise,” I vowed, fighting to speak against the sudden lump in my throat. Already an hour had passed, an hour in which Ryder could have spirited Miley that much farther away from us or worse.

“I want to stay with you, Nate. I want to help find my mommy.”

Brushing my lips along her forehead, I hugged her tighter. “I need you to go with your grandmother for now.”

Sierra pulled back staring up at me. She was so much like her mother, tiny but determined and loyal to a fault. From behind me, I vaguely caught the tail end of the conversation Cecil was currently having with Rebecca Triton, who now stood in my living room watching us. “I don’t know her,” Sierra argued, her eyes were wide as she glanced at her grandmother. “Please, Nate, keep me with you,” she begged.

Her words tugged at something deep inside of me and twisted around my heart. I pulled her back into my arms, hugging her a second time. “I need to know that you’re safe. As soon as I find your mom, I will come for you. I promise. I need you to do this for me, for now.”

“Okay,” she said, and at the slight press of her lips against my cheek, my eyes watered. I stood and she took my hand in hers. Side by side, we walked toward the elegantly dressed woman waiting with Cecil.

“Mrs. Triton.”

She smiled at me. It was a cool but gracious smile. One of those smiles that didn’t quiet reach the eyes. Rebecca Triton had always had a chilly demeanor. With the aid of her high heels, she was tall. We stood almost eye to eye. Her makeup was flawless, not a single strand of hair was out of place. Perfume teased my nostrils. Hers, though, wasn’t pleasant like Miley’s. Everything about this woman screamed wealth. She was the perfect picture of a doctor’s wife and socialite.

“I’m Nate Lucas,” I said, introducing myself and taking the hand she had extended. I wasn’t sure if she would remember me or not. It had been a while.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Lucas,” she said, taking me by surprise. Her blue eyes flickered from mine and her attention became entirely focused on her grandchild. “I’m sorry we have to meet under such dire circumstances. Hello, Sierra.”

“Hello,” Sierra echoed woodenly. She pressed against my side and her grip tightened around my hand. The kid was scared, but who in the hell could blame her.

“She looks exactly like Miley did at her age. Do you have any leads on who has taken my daughter?” Her voice turned brisk and frosty. Her tight smile faded with her question. “Miley’s father would have been here, too, but he’s tied up in surgery at the moment,” she explained with a nonchalant wave of her hand.

“We have a lead,” I informed her, and those steely blue eyes of hers were now entirely trained on me. “Is there anything you can tell me about Ryder Blade?”

She briefly appeared taken aback and repulsed at hearing his name; a sour look registered on her otherwise serene face. She glanced at Cecil whose cheeks had suddenly turned a dull red.

That son of a bitch looked as guilty as hell about something, but what? I didn’t have a fucking clue.

“He’s trouble, Mr. Lucas,” she stated, flatly. “I haven’t heard that name mentioned in years. I really don’t know anything about him. Please keep me informed about Miley. We haven’t always been on the best of terms these past few years, but she is my child and I love her despite our differences.”

For what it was worth, she appeared sincere, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she did in fact love Miley, but I wanted to ask about those differences. Now wasn’t the time or the place to get into it. I had to find Miley. She was out there somewhere with Ryder Blade, and he was one dangerous, manipulative bastard.

“Sierra, are you ready?” Mrs. Triton asked. It was time to go.

My gaze was drawn to the little girl who was now desperately clinging to my hand. Unwanted emotions squeezed my heart as she stared up at me with pleading eyes. Without a second thought, I bent down and scooped her up into my arms.

“I’ll walk you out.”

Miley’s mom nodded and turned for the door. I saw her and Cecil briefly exchange words. I couldn’t hear what was said. Cecil held the door open for us. I looked at him as I walked past and he averted his gaze
. Something was up with him? But what?
Sierra buried her face in the crook of my neck. She was scared. It was a given.

I followed Mrs. Triton across the yard to her SUV. She smiled politely at me as she opened the passenger door and stepped aside so I could place Sierra inside. I fucking hated this. I kissed Sierra’s cheek and, when I was pulling the seatbelt around her waist, I happened to glance up meeting her eyes. She was on the verge of tears.

“I’ll be after you soon,” I promised her and clicked the lock into place.

“She’ll be taken care of,” Mrs. Triton commented from behind me. I shut the door and tried to forget about the small pleading face of the child sitting in her back seat.

“I’m anxious to spend time with my grand-daughter regardless of what you may think, Mr. Lucas. I’m well aware that my daughter has probably already painted her father and I in an unpleasant light, but we only wanted what was best for Miley and for her child.”

Really?
I thought snidely as I took in her fancy clothes and her expensive SUV.
What was best for her?
I wanted to laugh. As I recalled, she’d always been such an uppity bitch thinking she was better than everyone else, obviously even her own child and grandchild. “Is that why Miley and Sierra were living in a dump and driving around in a piece of shit?”

For a second, she appeared appalled but quickly recovered schooling her features. Her face was a pleasant mask of calmness. “Mr. Lucas, there are two sides to every story,” she curtly informed me.

“I’m well aware of that.” But right now, I didn’t give a shit about her side or her stories. “I’ll keep you updated on Miley,” I said, and walked past her.

“Nate!”

I stopped turning back around.
What in the hell did she want now?
“Your guest may know more about Mr. Blade than he is stating,” she informed me. Her gaze flickering from mine to the house where Cecil stood inside the screen door watching us.

“How so?” I asked, curiously.

Time was wasting, and, whatever this woman thought she knew, she needed to just spit it out.

“He is Mr. Blade’s brother,” she said matter of factly, and without another word she climbed inside of her Range Rover and closed the door.

My hands were clenched at my sides as I stood there watching her turn and drive away. A murderous rage consumed me. My blood boiled hot, hotter than any lava in any frigging volcano.

That fucking lying ass Cecil. All this time and he was that cocksucker’s brother. He’d never said a word, not one damn word.

I stomped across the yard, ignoring Sheriff Burke when he called my name. Cecil had left his perch by the door, and I hurried up the steps intent on one thing and one thing only. I yanked open the screen door and found Cecil now sitting in a chair not far from Hank.

“You sorry son of a bitch!” I headed straight for him. Surprise flickered across his features. He stood, but before he had the time to react, my fist connected with his jaw, knocking his head back. He landed hard on his ass in the chair behind him.

Shit, he had a motherfucking jaw like a brick!
My arm tingled. My knuckles throbbed.
I’d felt that punch clear up my fucking shoulder.

“What in the hell did you hit me for?” he roared from the chair, rubbing his injured jaw as he gazed back at me through narrowed eyes. If he tried anything, I’d be on him in less than a second flat.

“I believe you know,” I yelled, glaring back at him. I wanted to snap him like a twig. “While I was outside becoming reacquainted with Rebecca Triton, she just happened to mention that you had a brother,” I informed him.