“If the police located him and contacted him, he may have skipped town,” Rafe says darkly. “That’s why we decided to act quickly. If he’s gone, we may never find him again.”
Makes sense.
“If he’s in there, if he’s armed…” Dylan chews on the inside of his cheek. “We leave, we get out, we call for help. No heroic acts. No attempt to overpower him. Got it?”
We all nod obediently. Truth is, I think even those of us who once didn’t value their lives so much have come a long way to cherishing them. We have families, kids, people who love us and we appreciate what we have. Whole-heartedly.
I think of my baby boy in Seth’s arms and shiver.
Then I glance at Zane who’s gazing at the house of the man who stripped his childhood innocence away, who gave him nightmares and made it hard for him to trust in love, and let out a huge breath.
“Come on,” I say, tugging on Rafe’s arm. “Let’s find a way to put this bastard behind bars before he has the chance to hurt anyone ever again.”
Chapter Twenty Six
Rafe
I shouldn’t be so happy Meg is here with me, trying to break into the house of a potentially dangerous man. Every protective instinct in me—and I have lots of those—screams at me to get her away, to keep her out of harm’s way.
But I’m happy, and calm seeps through my system like every time she’s close to me. She’s the steady, warm, perfect part of me, and after a day spent in near panic, with guilt eating at my insides, her presence is a soothing balm.
Until she tells me who she left our kid with, that is.
“With the Damage Boyz? Seriously?” I feel panic welling up again. “Those klutzes will fucking drop him!”
“I think they’re naturals.” She winks at me, and smiles, and I swear she’s laughing at me inside. “You need to hold a baby to learn how to hold a baby. Like we did. Zay will be fine.”
I swallow back my protests. She’s right. And I trust the guys at Damage. She trusts them, too, obviously, or she wouldn’t have left Zay with them.
“Silence your phones,” Tessa whispers at us as we stalk toward the house. “Keep your voices low.”
Faced with the house as night is falling I have a brief moment of doubt.
Okay, moment of truth: I’ve been battling doubt all day. Questioning my decision to come here, to look for fuck knows what. Most probably we’ll find nothing, and I’ll have endangered my friends’ safety, and for what?
I shouldn’t have told Dylan or anyone else. They’re my family. I should have known they’d all show up.
I should have come alone.
And yet I smile at my girl when she squeezes my hand and bites her lower lip, sinking those white teeth into the caramel flesh, her dark eyes studying me. I lean in for a quick kiss and pray this crazy expedition will be worth the fucking ulcer I can feel coming on.
Asher is crouched by the back door, fiddling with his tools, when we approach. He works a thin instrument into the lock, jiggling it right and left.
Over my shoulder I glance back at the street where Tyler and Erin are keeping watch. I know Dylan and Tessa have gone to keep watch on the other side, leaving six of us to check the house: Asher and Audrey, Zane and Dakota, Megan and myself.
I could still call this off. If the others listen to me. It was my idea, after all. I mean, what the hell do I expect to find? A conveniently written confession? Selfies of him with kids he abused taped to the walls?
Fuck, this was a
terrible idea. At the time, I couldn’t think of a better one.
Still can’t.
The lock clicks, and Asher grabs the handle. He turns it slowly and pushes the door open.
A glance at our lookouts shows we’re in the clear. I give Asher a thumbs-up, and he slips inside, pulling Audrey with him. Dakota follows, tugging on Zane’s hand, and then it’s our turn.
We step into darkness, and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the faint light of the city-lit sky slanting through the curtains on the windows.