“I need you to come with us first, sweetheart,” he said, never breaking his stride. He looked tense while Ember looked scared, neither of which sat well with me. Ember took my hand and pulled me along with her as we followed her father on his mission.
He came to a stop when he found Reese putting a load of clothes in the washing machine. She turned around, and the look of utter devastation on her face had tears pricking the backs of my eyes. “What happened?” she croaked, then screamed, “Tell me!! Duke? Carbon? Who is it?”
I also wanted to know what was going on, but never in a million years would I have expected the words that came out of Phoenix’s mouth. “It’s James.”
The screaming wail that erupted from Reese as she collapsed to the floor is a sound I hoped to never hear again, from anyone. My own chest ached as I took a staggering step back. Ember’s arms surrounded me and held me steady as Phoenix scooped Reese off the floor.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered.
We followed Phoenix as he carried Reese first to Chase’s room, then to Duke’s. He placed her on my brother’s bed and began explaining the details of my nephew’s kidnapping.
Kidnapped.
My nephew had been kidnapped.
I walked as fast as my legs would go on my way home from school. Dad was sick, and I needed to get back to take care of him. He’d been ill since we lost Mom a few months ago.
I watched the lines and the cracks in the sidewalk pass as I made my way home. I wasn’t paying attention. I should have been paying attention.
The dark cloth that covered my head came out of nowhere. One second, I was watching my feet move along the sidewalk, and the next second everything was black as unforgiving hands lifted my body from the ground.
I cried out in pain when I landed on something hard. Someone wrapped something tight and sticky around my wrists and ankles. I tried to scream for help, but they quickly covered my mouth with something that felt like tape. What was happening to me?
Tears ran down my face as I tried desperately to plead for help or mercy through the substance holding my lips together.
“Do as I say and I won’t hurt you,” a man said.
I nodded my head. I didn’t want him to hurt me, so I would do whatever he said.
“Good girl. You’re going to a new home with a new family. And your name is now Vanessa.”
“Harper, please answer me,” Ember cried.
I blinked a few times, and the room came back into focus. I was sitting on the floor of my brother’s room hugging my knees with Ember crouched in front of me.
“James?” I asked.
She smiled and nodded. “They got him. He’s okay, and they’re on their way back.”
I nodded and exhaled a sigh of relief as more tears slid down my cheeks. Tilting my head toward the sky, I whispered, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Ember cleared her throat. “Harper, what just—”
I cut her off. “I don’t want to talk about it. James is okay, and that’s all that matters right now.”
She nodded, rose to her feet, and extended her hand to help me up. “Let’s go out to the common room with Dad and Reese and wait for them to get back.”
After James’s kidnapping, Duke was insistent upon me staying in Croftridge for an extended visit. I called work and told them I needed to take time off due to a family emergency. Luckily, I had enough vacation time available and agreed to stay for two weeks. It wasn’t a hardship as far as I was concerned. I wanted to spend time with my brother and my new nephew. Spending time with Chase was an added bonus.
I didn’t know how to act around him when we were around other people. I didn’t particularly want anyone in the club to know about our relationship, or lack thereof, but I didn’t want to completely ignore him either. It’s not like I could. All the man had to do was enter the same room as me and my attention was solely on him, complete with wet panties and all.
During the first week of my stay, everyone was so wrapped up in the situation with Duke and Reese no one paid any attention to Chase and I. At least, I was pretty sure they didn’t. During the day, I spent time with James, and usually Reese as she was hesitant to leave his side after he was taken. Duke usually joined us for dinner before I went to my room at the farm and waited for Chase to text me. Then, just like a teenager, I would sneak out and spend the better part of the night fucking him in random locations around the farm property. I was exhausted most of the time, but it was so worth it.
The second week of my stay was much more eventful, starting when Reese asked me to help her sneak into the basement of the clubhouse to question the woman responsible for taking James. When my eyes landed on Melissa Massengill, anger like never before consumed me. This bitch had bullied me all through elementary school, had a ridiculous obsession with my brother, and, apparently, had just kidnapped his son.
I snapped. Unethical as it may have been, I used every bit of knowledge I had about human psychology against her and had her spewing her evil plans to us in minutes. The girl was certifiably insane. If I hadn’t known it before, I would have the moment she started chanting about Nemo coming.
I looked to Reese, wondering if she knew what Melissa meant, when another voice spoke, scaring the shit out of both of us. “I can’t take this anymore. Reverse it so she’ll shut up. That’s all you need to do!”