He throws his head back and laughs. No one annoys him. They know better. He throws these little soirées to gain their trust. He needs their confidence so they will delegate business his way, and while his mandate might be one of confidence, Archie needs to ensure these people know their anonymity is of paramount importance to him.
It’s one of the reasons Rylee would never want August to attend.
Everyone who attends these events belongs in prison, and August has already been inside. Therefore, if something did go wrong, he would be thrown back inside, and that’s not something Rylee is prepared for.
Plus, there’s pussy.
Fuck, there’s so much pussy here.
Rylee would not want August anywhere near this shit.
My phone starts ringing in my pocket, but I ignore it as Archie keeps on pointing out women who he thinks will interest me.
“The best way to get over someone is to get under another. Surely, you have heard that saying?” Archie keeps going on and on.
My phone rings again, so I eventually pull it out of my pocket to two missed calls from Jacinta and a few from Rylee. Before I can put it back, Archie’s phone starts ringing, and he shows me the screen before he answers with, “Favorite sister. When are you going to leave your boy toy and run away with me?” he says, smiling. Then his face drops, and he hands me the phone. “You should probably take that.”
I give him a puzzled look and take the phone from him.
“Beckham. Beckman, can you come? Now?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oliver is missing, and Jacinta is a mess. I can’t calm her down.” I hear a scream in the background and then Rylee whispers, “Please come. I don’t know what to do.”
As I pass the phone back to Archie, he stands. “What’s going on?” He takes his phone and slides it back into his pocket. “Do you need me to do anything?”
“No, just …” I look around and reach in my pocket for my keys, then look back at him. “Maybe … I’ll let you know.”
“Do you want me to drive?” I hear him say as I walk toward my car.
“No.” I don’t know if he hears me, but I don’t really care as I get in my car and go straight to her.
Cars are parked out front of Rylee and August’s home. I spot Glenn straight away, his hands on his hips in his uniform—he means business.
“Beckham,” Glenn says my name, and August, who is standing with him, turns to face me.
“What happened?” My gaze flickers to the house as the front door opens, and I see Jacinta standing there, her eyes red and puffy.
“Anderson is unreachable. His mother picked Oliver up from school today …” August says.
Jacinta makes her way closer to me, and I take a few steps in her direction. Once we reach each other, I pull her in. She grabs hold of my shirt. Jacinta is sobbing. I can feel her chest going up and down as she breathes heavily, but her voice is silent.
“You haven’t tracked her down yet?” I ask, my eyes flicking to Glenn, who’s watching us interact.
His eyes lift to mine. “No. We have applied for a warrant, but it takes time. And so far, the child isn’t listed as in danger, just with his grandparent.”
“She stole him,” I state categorically.
“Anderson was with her, so technically, his father did,” Glenn replies.
I rub her back. “I can find them.”
Her sobbing stops, and she pulls back to look at me. They all go silent and focus solely on me.
“How can you find them?” August asks.
I ignore him and look directly into Jacinta’s sad eyes. The hurt punches me in my chest like a bullet going straight through from seeing her like this. So damn broken.
I like her.
A lot.
I always knew that fact.
But now? Now I know it.
“I can find them,” I repeat, pulling my phone out of my pocket and stepping away so Glenn can’t hear me speaking. Jacinta stays where she is, her hands hugging her body as I call Archie.
“I need you to track this car and number.”
Archie doesn’t ask any questions. He has one of the best hackers I’ve ever had the good fortune of meeting on his books. He’s so competent, even the authorities haven’t found out about him yet. I hear him talking with his accomplice, and not more than a few minutes later, I hear, “Found him. Texting you the address.”
As soon as the address comes through, I hang up, walk to my car and get in. Just as I am about to pull out onto the road, my passenger side door opens, and August slides into the seat.
“Rylee will kill you.”
“Drive,” he barks, and so I do.
August should have killed Anderson, and right now, I bet he wishes he had.
“You’re joking, right?” August asks as we come up to Anderson’s childhood home. “Jacinta came here. The police came here,” August says.