"Hurry up. What do you think this is, a luxury hotel?" Neil complained.

"I'm done," Lexie said as she stepped out into the hallway.

CHAPTER.

TWENTY-FOUR.

Jackson The pizza was stale and tasted like the cardboard box it had been sitting in since the night before as Jackson managed to swallow a few bites before tossing it to the pigeons. A large flock of them were beginning to collect outside the motel room. He leaned against the railing and watched them fight over the sc.r.a.ps of food, their wings fluttering madly as they pecked at the tough crust.

Jackson's headphones were around his neck. He could barely hear the music, but it was enough to clear his head. For Lexie's sake, he needed a solid plan. He would not gamble with her life. His entire life he had been diving into danger head first, and if he was honest with himself, part of him wished that he would never surface from the dangers he tempted. The situation that stood before him would have once made his mouth water in antic.i.p.ation, but now he was determined not to make the wrong move.

Dane sighed as he settled back in one of the flimsy plastic chairs that sat outside the motel. It groaned unpleasantly and Jackson was surprised it didn't collapse under the strain of Dane's size. Dane tipped a bottle of whiskey to his lips and took a long haul.

"Breakfast of champions," Jackson said with a smirk.

"It's better than stale pizza," Dane said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"You might be right. How much are you drinking these days, anyway?" Jackson asked Dane, who'd been nursing a bottle since he rolled out of bed. Jackson knew his history well enough to know that it didn't take much for him to spiral out of control. Jackson was not much of a talker himself but Dane was worse. He also had a habit of keeping things bottled deep inside and they slowly carved away at him, piece by piece. It was only a matter of time until he couldn't stand it anymore. Jackson didn't fault him for trying to forget with a bottle. It was a coping technique they both used.

This time of year was particularly hard on Dane, and normally a bender would cause him to disappear without a word for days, sometimes weeks at a time. Jackson and Teddy never let on, but they always tracked his every movement on these occasions. They needed to make sure they were there to step in if Dane got himself into trouble. It only came to that one time and Dane was too inebriated to remember they'd come to his rescue. Jackson thought it was best he didn't remember they intervened. There was something that felt sacred about Dane's time away from his life, where he sought complete dullness of mind and let himself get lost. He was always a new man when he returned, like he had hit reset on the torment that haunted him. And the cycle would start again until the next year.

Jackson had known about Dane's history, but only what he had found on paper when he looked into Dane when they first met. The truth about Dane's demons was hidden deep inside him.

"What are you talking about? You drink me and Teddy under the table," Dane argued.

"I won't deny that, but you usually drink when the sun is setting, not rising." Jackson needed him to be with them for this to work. He hoped Dane understood how important he was in pulling this off. Dane looked down at the bottle in his hand thoughtfully before he tipped it up and poured the rest of the contents on the ground.

"I have an appointment with that shrink..." Dane said absently.

"Just make some s.h.i.t up like you normally do," Jackson said dismissively, not really understanding what had Dane so distraught about meeting with this new psychiatrist.

"I can't. She's not like the others. She can see through my bulls.h.i.t, and Giles said if I didn't meet her, he'd take my badge."

"Then talk. What harm can it do? Maybe it will even help," Jackson suggested.

Dane narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jackson. "Tell me why Lexie has you all turned around. What is it about her that has got you seeing f.u.c.king stars?"

"See, you'll be fine. You got that deflection s.h.i.t down to a science." Jackson turned around and leaned both elbows back on the railing. "Just talk circles around her until your hour is up."

"She's a professional and sees right through that s.h.i.t, and I'm serious, man. I want to know why you let Lexie in. She's his daughter and the last person I would have thought could crack your sh.e.l.l. I've been your friend for years and you never let anyone in, and now all of a sudden we're picking up strays everywhere, and you're thinking through your actions and s.h.i.t. She changed you."

"Is that what this is about? You have a crush on that shrink and you're scared she'll get inside and see all the dark s.h.i.t you carry around with you?"

"f.u.c.k, man, talk about deflection. We are a pair, aren't we?"

"I'm not going soft, if that's what you're worried about," Jackson said defensively.

"You can rest a.s.sured that no one can ever accuse you of being soft, but if you start sending me birthday cards and s.h.i.t, I might have to shoot you." Dane chuckled.

"Please do."

"After this f.u.c.ked up conversation I'm starting to regret pouring that good whiskey out." Dane looked down at the wet stain on the ground.

"Me too." Jackson frowned. "I'm feeling like a drink myself."

"Jacks?" Teddy called from inside their room.

Jackson locked eyes with Dane before pushing off the railing. "What do you have?" He walked into the room to see Teddy in the exact same place, parked in front of his multiple laptops spread out on the small round table in the corner of the room. The s.p.a.ce was less than ideal, but Teddy never complained. He knew what needed to be done. Jackson was never one for technology, all the screens that were up looked like a completely different language to him.

"Just got a tip on a private bid; seems whoever took Lexie is trying to cash in," Teddy said, pointing toward his screen where he tapped into a private message board.

"That means we can rule out that Stodden has her." They had tracked Lexie's location to a residential property and took up position at the hotel that was just far enough to stop and get a handle on the situation before they moved in. Something about the scenario seemed off to Jackson and they were now discovering why.

"I've tracked the name of who took the bait. It's a man named Dillan Neumann."

"Who's that?" Jackson asked with a frown.

"On the surface he looks like a n.o.body. His record is clean as f.u.c.k, but I dug a little deeper and found out that he has connections with Marcel Quintano."

Jackson's confusion deepened when he heard the name. Marcel Quintano was a man he had been introduced to many years ago, even before he earned his badge and learned the man's criminal history. His name was practically a household name in Belhaven. Marcel had spent most of his youth behind bars until he wised up to the system and managed to keep his hands clean enough to evade prosecution. He was now the president of a bike club that was located just outside Belhaven, the Heathens. Most of the city feared them with good reason, but fortunately for the police their matters did not interfere with the wellbeing of the general population. Jackson knew him better than either Teddy or Dane realized.

"Why the f.u.c.k would Quintano get involved with Stodden's s.h.i.t?" Jackson rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully, trying to find the connection. Jackson knew for a fact that Quintano made it his personal mission to stay far away from anything with Stodden's prints on it. He wanted to know what changed that. "Find me the connection."

"Already working on it," Teddy replied.

"What are the chances that Stodden is already on to this lead?"

"This was kept on the low in a private group. We should have a good head start," Teddy said.

"How did you find it?" Jackson asked "You aren't the only one with friends in dark places, and besides, I'm the s.h.i.t," Teddy boasted.

"Whoever crossed Stodden will have probably left a trail, so we should move fast." Jackson mentally began to check the boxes of his plan, making sure everything was lined up to make their move.

"No one has left the property, but a car recently arrived," Teddy said, pointing toward the satellite view of the house where Lexie was.

"Dane and I have to go make our pick up. Call me with any change." Jackson looked up and noticed something on one of his other screens. "What's this? Is that a hallway in Max's apartment building?" Jackson recognized the sad looking interior of the building.

Teddy closed the screen on the computer in question and looked up at Jackson with a guilty look in his eye. "What? I'm just making sure that b.a.s.t.a.r.d doesn't sneak into her apartment again and put another camera in there."

"f.u.c.k me." Jackson shook his head in disbelief as he looked at Teddy. "We'll be back soon, Stalker." Jackson smacked him on the back as he grabbed his keys of the nightstand.

"I'm just looking out for her." Teddy raised his hands in question. "There's something about her..."

"The fact that she has t.i.ts?" Jackson interrupted.

"Ha ha, you're so funny. I'm looking out for her because she seemed scared."

"Yeah, she's scared of you, and rightfully so," Dane said.

"f.u.c.k you, guys." Teddy waved them off and began typing away as they slipped out the door.

Giles had arranged for a care package for them and they were going to need it. Though the orders were not official, Jackson knew that everyone was counting on him. Stodden's power had grown too great and he had contaminated even the people sworn to protect it. Jackson knew he was the last resort.

CHAPTER.

TWENTY-FIVE.

Stephanie Looking down at her bare finger, Stephanie sighed. She missed the ring more than she would ever admit, but it was back where it belonged, and that was what she would find comfort in now. Stephanie looked up and caught Nate looking at her from the driver's seat. He had concern in his eyes that she wished wasn't there. It only made her feel guilty.

"I'm fine. Stop looking at me like you have to hide all the sharp objects. Why are we stopped here, anyway?" Stephanie asked as she looked out the windshield to a small park with quaint wooden benches that overlooked a small lake. The sun set high in the sky and there was little breeze to break the intense heat. She was surprised there was no one around on such a beautiful day.

Nate leaned back in his seat. "I just want to make sure we're not being followed."

"Why would we be followed?" Stephanie turned her head so she could watch the wheels turning behind his troubled eyes.

"There was something way off with that guy," he confessed.

"Alden? He only just found out his wife was abducted by a demented serial killer that was also very recently the mayor of his city, of course there would be something off," Stephanie suggested.

"No, it's not that." Nate's phone sounded from the console of the car. He picked it up and looked at the screen. His face looked like it paled as he read the screen.

"Who is it?" Stephanie asked nervously. She got a quick glance at the phone and recognized the name as one of the officers working on the Masten case.

"h.e.l.lo?" Nate asked in a reserved tone. "That's me."

Stephanie could only watch helplessly from the pa.s.senger's seat as Nate listened to the other end of the line. Despite the heat of the sun, she could feel the temperature drop around him. Her imagination began to run wild as she listened to Nate's breathing. The only thing she knew for certain was the information he was receiving carved deep into him by the rigidness of his posture. Stephanie wanted to offer him comfort but she didn't know how. All she could do was wait.

Stephanie held her breath when Nate ended the call. "It's nice to know people with connections," Nate said, trying to be light, but it was unconvincing.

"What was it?" Stephanie blurted. "What happened?"

"They didn't find my mother buried with the others," Nate said as he locked eyes with her.

"Oh." Stephanie could tell her confusion was written on her face. "But I thought they already identified her?"

"She was there...they found her body stuffed in a freezer in the bas.e.m.e.nt."

Stephanie didn't know how to respond as she stared at him with a heavy weight in her stomach.

"He kept her in there for all these years..."

Stephanie tentatively placed her hand on his arm, needing to know that she was doing something to relieve some of his pain.

"I saw that freezer when we were in that bas.e.m.e.nt. When we came for you...do you remember when I opened those other doors? I can remember seeing it sitting in the corner."

Stephanie covered her mouth. "Oh G.o.d," she whispered.

"Because she was frozen, her remains were better preserved than the others. It looks like she died from complications of childbirth."

"Did they find a baby?" The question burst from her without any thought.

Nate looked at her, but all he could do was shake his head. They both remained quiet, lost in thought to what this meant; the horror of wondering if an innocent baby was killed or allowing the slightest hope that the child survived somehow. It was so overwhelming it was hard to digest. Stephanie could only watch Nate and wonder if the same thoughts were going through his head.

Nate spun around in his seat, startling Stephanie before he suddenly reached over her and opened his glove box. Stephanie watched wide-eyed as he grabbed a handgun. "Get down and stay down," Nate ordered.

Stephanie slid down in her seat, completely frozen with fear. She was too terrified to turn around and look but she knew a car had come to a stop behind them. Stephanie held her breath as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

Stephanie slapped her hands over her mouth to stop the scream that escaped her when the back window of their car exploded as gunshots rang out. Nate had opened his door and slipped out of the car. She had no idea where he was as she heard more gunshots and then the sound of struggling.

Something slammed against the side of the car and made her jump. She glanced back to see Nate fighting with Alden. This was not the same man she had only just met, who had welcomed her into his home. This man had fire in his eyes and was intent on killing Nate. Stephanie looked inside the open glove box to see a knife. She grabbed the handle and tore off the case with shaky hands.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she crawled over the console of the car to the driver's seat. Another bang against the car jolted her and she tumbled out of the car onto the ground. Her body trembled so badly she didn't know if she would be able to stand as she looked under the car to see Nate and Alden's feet still on the other side.

"Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d..." Stephanie whispered as she ducked down low and moved toward the back of the car. She looked at the thick forest that was only just on the opposite side of the road. She knew she could probably make it if she ran and hid. Every part of her screamed to run but she couldn't leave Nate. She knew she would hate herself for it. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she drew in a deep breath and looked up at the sky, praying for strength. She rounded the car but darted back as both men came barreling toward her, knocking into the side of the car, which caused it to painfully dig into her back.

Nausea raked through her as she cringed from the pain. The men fought for control of the gun and a bullet shot off mere feet from where she was huddled behind the car. She cried out as she pressed herself back into the car tighter. Adjusting her sweaty grip on the knife, she knew she needed to act before Alden turned the gun on them.

Stephanie grabbed hold of her survival instinct and acted. She lunged forward and jabbed the blade of the knife into Alden's calf muscle as Nate pressed him against the car.

Alden screamed out in pain as blood streamed down his leg. Stephanie scrambled backward, her eyes not leaving the knife. Nate knocked him backward and managed to wrestle the gun from his hand.

Stephanie watched as Nate pulled the trigger and a red hole appeared on Alden's stomach and his blood began to spread across his shirt. Alden looked down at his wound and placed his hand over it, watching the blood coat his fingers. He staggered on his feet before he looked back up at Nate.

"I know that you gave your wife to that sick b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but what I can't figure out is why?" Nate narrowed his eyes. "Why the f.u.c.k would you send the mother of your child to a man you know would torture and ultimately kill her?"