She rolled her eyes and cursed her deprived hormones, but couldn't stop the grin on her face. She was still trying to figure out how the hell he had gotten in that day. Probably picked the lock.

  She swung the door open and made a grab for the keys dangling from his fingers but he pulled them away at the last second.

  "Wait. First, you have to promise you won't be cooking anything tomorrow night."

  She barely kept herself from stomping her foot like a child and glared at him. "God, will you just give it up. I'll never get better at it if I never practice."

  He smiled and shook his head, "Sometimes practice doesn't always make perfect. It just makes people sick."

  "Ugh! Fine! I won't be here tomorrow night anyway so don't get your panties in a twist."

  "I'm not even going to go there," he said with a wink.

  She stiffened as she remembered the exact same banter she had with Dreamy over texting. Then she shook her head clear and told herself that the guy in front of her was a jerk and the guy she was meeting in person the next night was freaking adorable. Not. One. Similarity.

  "You got a hot date tomorrow night?" he inquired annoyingly.

  "As a matter of fact, I do."

  "Good, you need to get laid soon." Before she could respond, he tossed her keys at her and she caught them on a reflex. He hurried down the hall and into his apartment leaving her standing there in shock.

  "Payback is a bitch, jackass!" she shouted from her doorway.

  The only sound she heard was a deep, sexy laugh before she slammed her door shut.

  Chapter 2

  Gus

  "Good night, Detective."

  The sound of my captain's farewell sent a shot of adrenaline through my veins.

  Detective.

  For the last couple months, it was one of two things in my life I was the most proud of. My family was the first, as always, but accomplishing something as big as making detective in my department was a very close second. Luke and Con always had it easy when it came to climbing up the ranks. They could focus on all different kinds of cases without breaking a sweat.

  Me? I couldn't get my mind off the missing and the sick fucks that took these innocent people. Sure there are plenty of other bad guys doing bad things, but ever since I found little Katie in that rundown shack and shot that piece of shit that had taken her, my head was only in one game when I got to the station each day. Find them.

  I was good at it. Luke and Con could take down all the drug lords and mob bosses they wanted. I was going to eradicate every last child stealing son of a bitch I could.

  "Night, Captain," I replied with a brief salute.

  "Thanks for coming back in again. I know you've had a long week."

  "No thanks needed, Cap. It's the job, right? This is what I signed up for."

  I had taken the day off after spending the last week relentlessly searching for new leads on a recent kidnapping and until the night before, I had been expecting to cancel my date for the next night. It would have been disappointing, but I would have done it.

  "You talk to Johnny again?"

  "Yes, sir. Spoke with his parents this morning and he asked to talk to me. Had a lot to say."

  "He's a good kid. You and Lincoln did a fine job," he said with a rare smile.

  Captain Frank Payne was probably the most bad ass man I had ever met in my life, aside from my father. He was in his 50's but didn't look a day over 30. No matter how often I found myself at the gym, he was there before me and always stayed after I left. The man was a beast and I couldn't have asked for a better boss. He backed me up with every case I managed to get my hands on. There was no explanation to how I was able to find these kids. I just got that feeling, heard the right clues, and four out of five times, put the pieces together.

  Katie was just the start and since I had made detective, I hadn't lost a kid yet. Prayed I never would either.

  "He is, sir. We're just pissed we didn't get the bastard that took him."

  Payne nodded grimly and slapped me on the back. "Don't fret. We'll find him. They always slip up eventually. Let's just hope it's sooner rather than later. You finish your paperwork tonight and have a good weekend, but keep your phone on."

  "Yes, sir."

  He nodded and left, leaving me with only two others in the small office space we had for the detectives. There were several of us who worked all hours of the day, but being the newest, I attempted to pull more than my weight and stayed to get paperwork done whenever I could. It was the only time I got to go through evidence alone and the best time for me to find something significant. I was halfway through my report when my night turned to shit.

  "We got a letter."

  My partner, Evan Lincoln, slumped into the chair across from me and threw a stack of papers onto my desk.

  "God damn it! Please don't say it," I growled.

  "Fine, I won't say it," he sighed and lifted his hands as if to say 'don't shoot the messenger'.

  Lincoln was just as badass as the captain with two small differences; he was about six inches shorter than me and scrawny as hell. He had beach blonde hair, pale green eyes, and never went a day without shaving. All the women say he is a sweetheart. Doesn't change the fact that the man could take me down in a heartbeat. A 2nd Dan black belt in karate, master of Taekwondo and ridiculously skilled with Jiu Jitsu; he could probably kill me with one strike and I wouldn't have seen him coming. A first glance at him would leave a very underestimated impression and he had corrected that more than a hundred times in the time I had known him.

  Being my closest friend since the day I moved to Detroit, I'd see him in action too many times to count and we climbed the ranks side by side ever since. He made detective about two weeks after me and Payne immediately partnered us up. The department hadn't been planning on the extra position, but we worked too well together and Payne saw it. All that was needed was the okay from his superiors and lo and behold, we were all but exclusively on missing persons. Payne made it clear that the other cases would rotate around depending on our work load and we were completely fine with that. Lincoln had the same mindset as I did and no way were we going to argue about it.

  He gave me a shrug before logging onto his computer and nodding towards the papers in front of me. "I don't really have to say it once you take a look."

  I started reading the page on top of the thick stack of papers and felt my stomach twist into a knot. This guy was the reason I had spent the last three weeks working sixteen to twenty hour days and the reason I had seen more shit in that time than I ever wanted to see. Leads had turned into dead ends trying to find these kids, but the people we investigated turned out to be heavily involved in other shit. Shit you just can't un-see.

  Now I know why Dad loved Mom the way he did. You can't help but take some of this crap home and I would give anything to know that the person waiting for me at home was strong enough to help me through it. Dad never asked for help, at least not that I ever witnessed, but Mom didn't need to be asked. She was a rock.

  God, I miss her.

  I knew without a doubt that Isabelle Brannock was the reason I found these children. It was her strength that taught me to keep going, to protect the people I loved which in turn meant the people I served.

  However, this letter made me wonder why I ever chose this profession in the first place. Our kidnapper hadn't done the same thing twice with the exception of actually taking the kids. The method, the contact, the demands; none of them were the same. Even the letters were completely different. The paper was different, the medium different, the method of delivery.

  He was a God damn ghost.

  The only reason I knew it was the same guy was the twisting in my gut. Same with Linc. At least until now. Now, there wasn't a question about it.

  "What the fuck is this, Linc?"

  "I told you I wasn't going to say it. Just read it and tell me you are thinking the same thing as me."

  I didn't know what to think as I stared down at the glued letters and crinkled paper.

  I gave you 2. 3rd time's the charm. Don't get too cocky.

  "Shit!"

  "Yeah," Linc sighed.

  "I'm assuming we got nothing on the letter," I stated as I flipped through the papers beneath it. All test results and all stating the same thing. Nothing. No fingerprints, no DNA, no leads on where the paper even came from. It was too common and so was the glue used to paste the letters.

  "Nothing," he replied and leaned forward resting his forearms on his desk. "And get this. It showed up in Denise's inbox. Just sitting there in the middle of all her paperwork in a blank envelope."

  "You have got to be kidding me."

  Denise was the receptionist that sat in the lobby at the entrance to the station. She handled a lot of paperwork, but every single piece of it that wasn't official mail had to be hand delivered and placed in the box on top of her desk.

  "So now what? We got nothing to start with?" I asked, my voice loaded with frustration.

  "Payne put Pax and Eckart on lead and wants us as back up. He said we need some time to recover from the last few weeks on lead. We each take the weekend and get our personal shit taken care of, rest, relax, then we hit it hard on Monday."

  "You know for a fact I can't just forget about this."

  "Yeah, I know. And so do Pax and Eckart. That's why they are taking lead on this over the weekend and then Monday we'll rally and go from there." He shook his head and rubbed a hand down his face. "We need a minute, Gus. You look like shit and my wife has almost forgotten what I look like."

  "You're right. Let me just make sure Pax is going to contact us with anything big."

  "Already told him to. Once we get this paperwork done with Johnny's case, we head home."

  I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the ceiling. Something had to give. No way could I just sit back and let this guy take someone's kid again. Who knows what he would ask for this time?

  When we first got the call on Johnny Brooks, I had sworn to myself I would put the guy away. We got lucky on the first kidnapping. He had taken a 7 year old girl from the park where she and her mother were spending the day. Her mom turned away for less than a minute to look in her purse for a snack for her daughter and that was all it took. She had been gone for three days before we finally got a tip. Linc had been two minutes ahead of me when we got the call and he was in the middle of untying the little girl when I showed up. The rest of the place was empty. An abandoned building that used to be a pet store and a box of random food was all we found with her.

  When we got the call on Johnny a week later, I knew immediately it was the same guy, even if all the evidence said otherwise. He had been missing for five days before the call for a ransom came in to his mother and father. They attempted to collect the requested fifty thousand dollars within the ten hours he gave them. A problem at the bank resulted in a call to me an hour before the deadline. We were ten minutes late and lost contact with the kidnapper until a few days later when he called again asking for a different amount.

  The amount was ridiculous, but not because it was more than anyone could collect in a day. No, it was because it was so little and so perfectly budgeted to the Brooks' savings account.

  They had collected the balance of the account and were preparing to make the drop in exchange for their son when the bastard changed his mind and just left the kid in the middle of the same department store he had been taken from. A woman who noticed Johnny wandering around looking for someone to help him called the police and I went and picked him up. The kid is only 6 years old, but he was tough. Cried only when I told him I was getting him back to his parents and didn't shed a tear since.

  He never saw the kidnapper's face since the guy wore a mask and only saw him three times every day for each meal. After he answered all of our questions, he told me he knew I would come for him and that was that. I don't think I've ever felt that tightness in my chest before, but I felt it then and I'll never forget it.

  Made me all the more determined to bring this guy down. A part of me wondered if the bastard even had a clue as to what he wanted and was just looking for the right opportunity, but a bigger part of me thought the guy was just fucking with us.

  It was sick.

  It was frustrating.

  It was absolutely terrifying not knowing a damn thing about him when he apparently knew so much about the families he was terrorizing.

  "I know this sounds harsh, but at this point, I'm glad Kristie and I don't have any kids," Lincoln said glumly. "Makes you wonder if as a cop, we're more susceptible, you know?"

  "Yeah. I know."

  "Is that awful of me to say? I mean, Kristie wants them so damn bad and we've been trying for over a year. You'd think something would have taken by now. Starts to make me think there's a reason."

  I smiled weakly and raked a hand through my hair. "There's always a reason for everything that happens to us. At least, that's what my mom always used to say." I stood up and stretched my arms and legs before looking back down at my friend. "The good comes. It may seem to take forever, but it comes eventually. Just gotta keep on keeping on."

  Linc smiled back before turning his attention to his computer screen. "Amen."

  My pocket started to vibrate and the familiar ring tone of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun broke the heavy silence.

  Ash.

  Linc laughed heartily and shook his head. "That sister of yours. Did you know about this ringtone?"

  I smiled at the screen and nodded. "Yeah, figured she would only change it to something ten times worse if I messed with it this time."

  I lifted the phone to my ear and greeted my little sister. "Hey, sis."

  "Hey, Gus Gus. How's it going?" Her familiar voice made my heavy heart lighten. She was an exact replica of my mother and no matter how hard of a time we gave her, she was always the light we all needed through the years.

  "Good as it can be," I smiled. "How's wedding shit?"

  She sighed, like always, at my unnecessary use of swear words. She wasn't so innocent herself, but old habits die hard. "Wedding shit is going just fine with a slight change that I wanted to talk to you about."

  "Shoot. What is it?"

  "We are moving it up," she all but whispered.

  "Oookaay."

  "It's not in December anymore. It's… um… it's in September."

  "Serious? But it's almost July already."

  "Yeah."

  The shakiness in her voice was all the warning I needed. Something was seriously wrong and it either had to do with Luke or her health.

  "What's going on, Ash?"

  "Well…"

  "Just say it and get it over with," I snapped and immediately winced at the harshness of my tone. I had been making an honest effort to be nicer to everyone since I got back from Oakland. I didn't want to piss her off, but if something was wrong, I needed to know right away.

  She sighed into the phone and I could just picture her twisting that locket around her neck and biting her lip to the point of almost breaking the skin. When Ash was nervous, everyone knew it. "I'm pregnant."

  Couldn't have been more shocked if I planned it. Or pissed.

  "Fucking Shady! He knocked you up? I'm gonna kill that little piece of-"

  "Come on, Gus. Don't be an asshole," she bit out, but I could hear the wariness in her voice and it helped to tamp down my sudden anger.

  Lucas Shade, her fiancé, and one of my best friends, was a good guy. He wouldn't screw her over. No way. Not after the years he spent pining after her in secret.

  "How long have you known?" I asked after a few deep breaths.

  "A week or so?"

  "Does Con know? Does Dad?"

  "Dad does and he freaked at first," she stated, amused, "but the thought of a grandchild apparently won out and you know how close he is to Lucas. I don't know how to tell Con. He's still trying to smooth stuff out with Emily and getting her a teaching job and he hasn't even gotten back to regular work. I don't know how to spring this on them." She was starting to ramble and it made me grin. No matter how tough she had become with Luke, she was still the same little Aislinn Brannock. "If she gets this job, Emily will just be starting the school year and won't have time to take off for the wedding so I need everyone to rally together and help me out here. I'm terrified, but so incredibly happy about this, Gus. I need my family's support."

  Of course she would play the 'family' card on me. She more than anyone knew how much I loved my family. Everyone may think she has a closer relationship to Con because they talk on the phone more often, but after all she went through months back, I've made it a point to make sure she knows I'm always here for her. Her and mom were the rocks in the Brannock household, now it was my turn no matter how far away I was.

  I sighed and sat back down in my chair, glancing at Lincoln who was sporting a smile and pretending not to eavesdrop. I rested my head on my desk as I spoke to her. "You know you have my support, Ash. Just keep Luke away for a while so I don't have to kick his ass for letting players pass the goal line."

  She laughed loudly, making me smile even wider. She was happy with Luke and there wasn't a better man for her. She had let us control her life even after she moved away, but she had made it clear that doing so protected her and made her time with Luke that much better. I'll never regret protecting my sister, but we all should have backed off, especially after Mom died.

  "I'll call you later this weekend once I talk to Con, okay?"

  "Sounds good. I might get called in, but I'm supposedly off for the next few days."

  "Good. You need a break, Gus. You boys work so damn hard and I'm proud of you, but you need to live your lives, too. Take a vacation from playing hero. Ya know?"

  "Yeah. I know."

  "Any plans this weekend?"

  I wasn't going to say anything and I was shocked that Con hadn't already, but I needed some advice. "Yeah actually. I, uh… I have a date tomorrow night."

  "You do?" she shrieked, forcing me to pull the phone away from my ear as she celebrated.

 

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