Trouble Rising (New Adult Rock Star Romance): Tyler and Katie's Story #3 (14 page)

“Yes,” Leanne assured her.

“No!” Tyler cried.

“We’ll make sure she’s safe,” the agent assured him. “I promise you.”

“Mom.” Tyler was the one pleading now. “It’s too dangerous. Don’t do this. You can’t do this.”

“I can.” Leanne stood, giving him a sad, twisted smile. “And I will. For you and Robbie and Sarah. And for little Jay. And my grandchildren. I am going to do this.”

“Come with me.” Wendy grabbed her briefcase, shoving the iPad and photograph inside, before taking Leanne’s arm and starting leading her away.

“Ty.” I whispered his name, grabbing on to him when he went to bolt. “No… let her go. Let her… please…”

“Katie, I can’t,” he choked, and I put my arms around him, holding him close. “What if something happens to her?”

“She wants to do this. For you. Let her be your mother.”

I watched Leanne following the agent, and I knew exactly what she was feeling. I wasn’t a mother—I didn’t know if I ever would be one, given how Tyler felt about having kids—but since Jay had come to us, I knew how it felt to be protective, to feel like you’d do anything, even sacrifice yourself, to save a child.

“I have to tell Rob.” Tyler put his arms around me for a moment, breathing deep, trying to stay calm, I knew.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “I’ll come with you. I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

“Thank God.” He held me so close for a moment I thought he’d break my ribs.

It happened fast, but it felt so slow.

Rob and Sabrina didn’t believe us, not at first. Tyler had to call Wendy, who texted him a copy of Leanne’s photograph. There was sweet little Sarah and her ice cream—with her father, Dante, in the background, and the man who had created Trouble standing right beside him.

“Arnie.” Rob would have thrown Tyler’s phone if Sabrina hadn’t grabbed it. “I’m going to kill him!”

“That’s what I said.” Tyler snarled at the photograph when Sabrina gave him back his phone.

When we told them what Leanne was going to do—the she was going to put on a wire and confront Arnie, to get him to confess, and perhaps implicate others—they didn’t believe that, either. At least, Rob didn’t. Not until Wendy showed up at their house, except this time she wasn’t alone. Her partner was a tall, dark-haired guy with angular features who said his name was Jordan and they both flashed their I.D.

“Did you find Jay?” was the first thing I asked. “Can you bring her here?”

“Jessica Finlay,” Wendy told her partner, Jordan.

“We’re working on it, ma’am,” he assured me.

Working on it. Great.

“But where is she?” I asked. “Is she with him?”

“She’s safe,” Wendy said. “We’ll bring her here as soon as we can.”

“Is she with the FBI?” I couldn’t let it go.

“We’ve got some questions for you,” Jordan interrupted me. “For all of you. Where’s Sarah?”

We hadn’t told Sarah yet.

Sabrina called her, and she came with Anne. By then, Celeste and Jesse had been informed, and Daisy had started doing what she did whenever anything happy or sad happened—she made us all food.

They wanted to talk to Rob, Tyler and Sarah alone, so I went upstairs to help Sabrina get Lucy and Henry up from their nap.

“I’m sorry, Katie,” Sabrina said, lifting Henry from his crib. Lucy was already calling for me, so I went to get her. “I should have listened to Rob—he kept telling me I was overreacting. I shouldn’t have sent her home.”

“It’s okay.” I kissed Lucy’s cheek and she put her arms around my neck. “I don’t blame you.”

I didn’t ask her what had happened, what Jay had done. Whatever it was, Rob knew Jay hadn’t meant to do anything wrong. That’s what mattered.

Now all I could think about was getting Jay back, safe and sound. After that, we’d deal with whatever came. One thing at a time.

We stayed in the nursery for a while, letting the kids crawl and toddle around, until Daisy called on the intercom to say she had food ready.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Tyler and Rob were talking at the table. Sarah hugged me as we came in, and ended up taking Lucy from my arms. Tyler held out a hand to me and I went to sit beside him. Daisy put food on the table, but I couldn’t even look at it. The smell of it made me nauseous.

“What’s happening?” I asked Tyler softly.

“Come on.” He took my hand and led me out of the kitchen. We went out the glass patio door, where it was a perfect California day. The sun was still shining, reflecting off the pool out back.

Tyler sat in one of the patio chairs, under an umbrella, and I sat beside him. He took my hand, squeezing it.

“It’s going to be okay,” he told me. “Whatever happens, we’re going to be okay.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” I watched the water, the little points of sunlight almost blinding. “I heard what Wendy said about the guys.”

“You did?” His eyebrows went up. “Sneak.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t on purpose. I’d been on my way downstairs for a sippy cup for Henry. Wendy and Jordan had been meeting with Rob, Tyler and Sarah in the living room. That’s when I’d overheard Wendy saying that they suspected that at least two of Trouble’s other band members were involved, and knew what Arnie was doing.

“But they don’t suspect you or Rob?” I asked, glancing toward the house. “Right?”

“No.” His thumb moved over my wedding ring, shifting it back and forth. “They know we’re not involved.”

“Trouble.” I shook my head, trying to absorb it. “It’s…”

“Over.” Tyler let out a sigh.

“I’m so sorry, Ty.” I squinted up at the sky, trying to judge how much time had passed. It seemed to have stopped, while we could do nothing but sit here and wait.

“I was already out,” he reminded me. “Rob… it’s killing him.”

“Yeah.” I gave a little shiver. “He finds out both his agent and probably two, if not all three, of the guys left in his band are involved in a child prostitution ring. I’d say that’s a pretty bad day.”

“I just wanted you to know that Jay’s okay.”

“What?” I sat up, looking at him. “How do you know?”

“Arnie had her put up in an apartment in L.A.” His mouth tightened for a moment, then he said. “I guess he keeps them there, at first. While he’s…”

“Grooming them,” I finished, my hand tightening in his. “Jesus, Ty. He really is…”

“Yeah.” He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for a minute. “Listen, they checked to see if Jay’s mom had called the cops. There’s no missing person’s report. Nothing’s been filed.”

I gaped at him. “Nothing? At all?”

“No.” He sighed. “Which is actually good news, for us. We still have to talk to a lawyer, but I think we have a good shot. Better than I thought.”

“A good shot…” I swallowed, trying to catch my breath. “At… what? Exactly.”

He looked at me, puzzled. “Well, keeping her. What else?”

“Oh Ty.” I threw myself at him, and the tears I’d been holding in since I found Jay gone finally came in a huge rush of emotion.

“Shhh.” He soothed, rocking me in his lap. “Hey, come on, what’s this? I thought you’d be happy?”

“I am happy,” I choked. I’d been so afraid for Jay—afraid we’d lost her, afraid we wouldn’t be able to help her, that we wouldn’t be able to save her. The thought that we really might be able to keep her, as ours, I’d shoved so far back in my mind, I’d barely dared to hope.

“You mean it?” I asked him in a near whisper. “She’s a handful, you know. I mean, taking on a teenager… you’re really up for that? I know she sort of came out of nowhere, and we didn’t have time to think or talk about it, let alone plan, but…”

“Katie.” He pressed his finger to my lips, giving a little shake of his head. “Stop. You love her. I love you. That’s all.”

I put my arms around him and kissed him, tears and all. Tyler kissed me back, holding me tight, tighter. I let out a little gasp and he let me go, meeting my eyes.

“Hey.” He smiled, cupping my face in his hands, wiping my wet cheeks with his thumbs. “You think Jay will be okay with a little brother or sister?”

“Yeah, right.” I gave a little laugh, but Tyler didn’t laugh with me. I blinked at him, trying to find my voice. “You’re… you’re kidding. Aren’t you?”

“No.” His gaze searched my face. “Don’t you want to?”

“Wait a minute.” I shook my head, as if to clear it. “You’re serious? You’re talking about having kids? Like, yours and mine? Sperm and egg? A little Tyler junior?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Unless… you don’t want to…?”

“Are you kidding me?” I half-laughed, pressing my forehead to his, closing my eyes. “My uterus has had a vacancy sign on it since I met you.”

“Well, okay then.” He chuckled. Then he sobered up. “You know, I used to be scared that if I had a kid… it would get this damned family curse…”

“You’re not cursed.” I took his hand, kissing the back of his knuckles.

“Sometimes it feels like we are.” He sighed. “Just when I think things are looking up… I feel like the wizard.”

“The wizard?”

“Of Oz.” He laughed at the puzzled look on my face. “It’s one of the movies I remember watching with my mom, when I was little.”

The thought of Leanne made me feel cold and I snuggled closer to him. I didn’t like to think what she was facing, with Arnie, right this very moment.

“The wizard?” I asked again.

“Yeah. Remember that hot air balloon he had?”

I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“I feel like I’m always trying to get it off the ground, you know? And just when I do… just when it starts sailing through the air... wham! Something happens and I’m falling again…”

“It’s not a hot air balloon.” I tucked my head under his chin. “It’s a roller coaster.”

“Life?”

I nodded. “Our life. It’s a roller coaster. Up and down. Up and down. Curves here, curves there. Sometimes you see them coming—sometimes you don’t.”

“Huh.” His arms tightened around me. “Yeah… I guess it is more like a roller coaster.”

“Make sure we’re buckled in,” I said with a smile. “Then we can hang on and enjoy the ride.”

That made him laugh and he kissed my cheek. “I wouldn’t want to take this ride with anyone else.”