Love Required (27 page)

Rushing to him, he knelt down next to him in a position that shielded Lexi from what he might find when he rolled the older man over. Gently placing his hand on Hal’s shoulder, he felt the man tense up underneath his touch. “Hal, it’s Jason Michaels.”

The older man relaxed and turned his head, looking over his shoulder at Jason before breathing a sigh of relief. “I thought that bastard was back. Why the hell didn’t you announce yourself when you came in? I’ve been lying here pretending to be knocked out since I heard you!”

Jason helped him roll to a sitting position as he responded, “Sorry Hal, I had no idea if someone was in here. Where’s Tori?”

It wasn’t until he was fully seated that Jason could see Hal’s legs had been duct taped together. His hands weren’t restrained, but the fact that he suffered from severe arthritis must not have escaped whoever did this. There was no way he would’ve been able to get out of the binding.

“Shit, Hal, are you hurt anywhere?” Jason asked as he went to help release his legs.

Hal’s hands shot out quickly. “Don’t touch anything!” Confused, Jason looked at him before he continued, “That bastard wasn’t wearing any gloves. Don’t mess with anything. I can tolerate being in this position until the authorities remove it properly.”

Jason slumped back onto his heels; he was right. Feeling a little helpless, he asked, “Hal, where’s Tori?”

Hal just shook his head slightly, “She’s not here. I saw a man stuff her into a trunk.”

Jason felt the blood drain from his face at the image Hal had painted for him. His hold on Lexi tightened as Hal confirmed his fear. “The guy was wearing a hood, but she put up a fight and it fell back. That’s when I saw scars on his face.” Hal sighed and shook his head in disgust. “I was clumsy and knocked the chair over getting to the phone. He obviously heard me because he broke down the back door, and he must have knocked me out because I woke up to the sound of the car leaving. And my legs like this.”

Hal shook his head again before groaning in discomfort as he rested his head against the wall. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. But she put up a fight, because I heard him howl in pain and that’s how I knew something was wrong.”

Jason wasn’t sure what to say, but just then a police officer came into the room. Gun drawn, he yelled, “Police! Hands where I can see them.”

Jason lifted his free arm in the air. “Officer, I’m the one who called.”

The officer demanded again, “I said put your hands where I can see them!”

Taking in the situation, he understood the officer didn’t have a clear view of Jason, so he was unaware he was holding Lexi. “I can’t lift my other arm … I’m holding a child. Can I turn around and show you?”

“No, stay right where you are,” the officer stated authoritatively, but Jason just thought he sounded like an overreacting asshole. He heard him say, ‘Cover me,’ to what he assumed was another officer. Hal sat in front of him, with his crippled hands as high as he could hold them, but Jason knew that his big body shielded Hal from the officer’s view.

Jason knew the exact moment Hal could see the officer since he barked at him, “Put that gun away, rookie! If you point that gun anywhere near that child he’s holding, I’ll make sure to kick your ass myself.”

Jason wanted to laugh. Hal clearly wasn’t capable of inflicting harm on the other man, but Jason appreciated his threat. The officer came into Jason’s view on his right side—the side where Lexi was being held. He knew this was done because if Jason was armed, there would be no way he could turn and shoot the officer quickly enough.

“Slowly turn toward me until I can see both of your hands,” the officer instructed.

Jason complied, turning as slowly and awkwardly as he could while kneeling on the hard ground, holding Lexi. Once fully facing the officer, whose gun was still drawn, he said, “Officer, my name is Jason Michaels. I’m the one who called 9-1-1. I’m not armed, and Hal here took a blow to the head.”

The “rookie,” as Hal called him, ordered, “Stand up and move away from the other man.”

Jason made sure to roll his eyes as he stood to his full six-foot three-inch height. His broad shoulders and imposing appearance probably didn’t put the officer at ease, so Jason cautiously stepped backward. He knew it was important to do what he was told, regardless of the fact that he wanted to wrap both of his hands around the officer’s neck and squeeze until he passed out. Being distracted by Hal’s situation had lessened his anxiety over Tori being missing … but only momentarily. Now it was coming back full force, and hostility was crowding in with it. Tori needed him, and he had no idea how to find her.

Lexi had remained huddled against him, obviously sensing the tension around her. Still with his hand in the air, and unable to hug Lexi with both hands, he pressed his lips against her curls. He took in a deep breath filled with her scent. Filled with Tori’s scent. It was like a hit of Valium and a dose of a stimulant at the same time.

Once he was backed up against the wall, about five feet away from Hal, both officers holstered their weapons. Jason dropped his raised arm and wrapped it around Lexi, giving her the comfort she needed. The rookie said, “We got a call about an abandoned child, and we arrive to a busted in door and a restrained man. You mind telling us what the hell is going on here? And is this the abandoned child?”

Jason didn’t have time for this shit. “My girlfriend lives in the back house. When she didn’t show up where she was supposed to, I came looking for her. What I found was her daughter alone in the car, and Hal, here, with tape around his legs.”

The officer interrupted him and took a step closer. “So this child has been abandoned by her mother?”

What the hell? Jason was going to throttle him if he said it like that one more time. Tori would never abandon Lexi … ever. “No,” he growled. “This child’s mother was taken against her will, and the child was left behind.”

He took another step closer and asked, “Is this child yours then?”

Jason’s hold around Lexi tightened once again. He wasn’t sure he liked where the officer was going with his questions, but they were taking them off the subject of Tori. “No, not biologically,” Jason said with exasperation.

His need to get back on track had him distracted, and he almost didn’t realize what was happening until the officer had his hands on Lexi. “Let go of the child, sir. I have no idea who you are and if you had anything to do with her mother’s disappearance.”

Jason bared his teeth and, in a menacing voice, said, “Get your fucking hands off her … now!”

The officer stepped back and put his hand on his gun. Jason angled Lexi away from the situation that seemed to be escalating out of control for no reason.

“Sir, I said …” the officer began, but was interrupted by a voice coming from the back of the house.

“Lt. Sean Cooper entering the premises. Stand down officers.” Jason sagged in relief at the arrival of Gillian’s brother. When Sean walked in, he took in Jason’s defensive posture and the officer’s offensive one and began ordering him around. “Officer Jennings, you better have one hell of a reason for treating my brother-in-law like that.”

The rookie, or officer Jennings as he now knew, didn’t back down. His hand remained on his gun, the other arm outstretched toward Lexi. He looked to Sean and said, “Lieutenant, this man claims the child’s mother is missing, and he is not the father. I have yet to determine if he had anything to do with it so I wasn’t about to let him keep the child.”

This officer clearly was a rookie and had seen one too many
Law & Order
episodes. While there was some drama around the events, it wasn’t with him. Hal picked that moment to say, “You’re a dumbass! I saw the man who took Tori, and if you’d taken a moment to ask me that three minutes ago, you could already be trying to find her.”

Everyone looked down at Hal in surprise. Then Jason looked over to Sean and said, “Damien has Tori.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

JASON found himself sitting on his bed, his back propped up against his headboard, staring down at Lexi. He didn’t even know how he got there, let alone how long he’d been sitting there. She was cradled against his chest, safe in his arms. He knew she’d probably be more comfortable lying on the bed, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to put her down. Feeling her weight against him reminded him to stay calm and focused. For her. For Tori.

Sighing, he ran a hand through her hair—the fluffy out of control curls that held the same color as her mother’s. Tori. His pulse rate picked up, and panic once again flooded his system as he fought the need to run out the door and look for her. The vision of her being stuffed in a trunk by Damien threatened to destroy him. But he was grounded by the fact that Lexi needed him. A lone tear rolled slowly down his cheek, and he let it. He recalled the last time he’d cried, and the thought made his stomach roll.
Marc
. Losing Marc brought out pain he hadn’t been familiar with until that day. The fear and pain he felt now, though, was far worse.

What if
… He couldn’t even finish the thought and quickly threw the comparison away. Tori had to be okay … she had to be. For Lexi. For him.

The bed shifted next to him, but he didn’t take his eyes off Lexi. The rise and fall of her chest was his focus, the only thing providing him with a sense of calm. It was a front, but he held on to it tightly. When he felt a hand against his shoulder, another tear escaped along with a chink in his façade.

Allie wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled his head against her. Still, he kept his eyes locked on Lexi, pulling strength from her. Allie ran her hand over Lexi’s hair, too, and he found himself following the motion, watching how the reddish-brown strands would separate before springing back upward. Together, they sat in silence. Allie’s presence offered both comfort and threatened to destroy his barriers.

After a while, he felt his eyes getting heavy, the soft, repetitive sounds of their breathing and Lexi’s weight on his chest, lulling him. But he fought it. Even when he felt Allie’s hand stroking his hair, he resisted. “It’s okay to close your eyes, Jay. I know it’s a scary thing to do, but you need to,” Allie whispered.

He sighed, because he wanted to. “I can’t, Al. I feel like if I do, Lexi might disappear, too.”

Allie’s hold tightened. “Not gonna happen. There is a small army of people downstairs willing to kill for her … for both of them.”

Comforted by her words, he once again fought the fear that had a firm grip around his heart. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he voiced his fear to a person who knew the pain of loss. “I can’t lose her, Allie.” His eyes welled up. “I’ve waited so long for her. I just
can’t
.”

“You won’t,” she said with a resolve she had no way of supporting. “She’s strong, and strength like that doesn’t disappear. I refuse to accept any other alternative. And neither should you.”

Allie’s determined hope fed into his own, bolstering its strength further. Jason settled against her, still clinging to Lexi, and closed his eyes. If only for a few moments.

Startled, he realized he’d fallen asleep. Opening his eyes, Gillian loomed over him, a soft smile on her face. “Let me take her for a little bit, Jay.”

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he processed her words.
Take her
? Panic seized him and he sat straight up.

“No!” he barked in a tone he had no business using with Gillian. It startled Lexi awake, and he regretted it even more. Lowering his voice, he consoled Lexi before looking back at Gillian. “I don’t want to let her go.”

Allie was still next to him, her hand on his shoulder. She squeezed it, offering her silent support and understanding. Gillian sat opposite him, her stare unwavering as she placed one hand on his cheek. He felt weak right then, surrounded by these strong women. A sense of longing for
his
woman slammed into him, and he closed his eyes to fight the tension and despair. Lexi squirmed in his arms, obviously sensing his turmoil.

“I know you don’t want to, but you have to. Let me take her, change her, and put her in her crib for the night,” Gillian said in a soothing voice. Jason drew his attention to the window to see that the sun had set. He knew she was right, but it still didn’t mean he liked it. Seeing the resolve in his eyes, Gillian leaned in and gently took Lexi from his arms. “She will only be in her room, safe and sound. I promise.”

Unable to speak, he nodded, before pressing his lips to Lexi’s head. He watched as Gillian walked out of his bedroom and had never felt so alone. Sitting in the middle of his bed, he dropped his face in his hands and let the tears fall. Allie was there immediately, wrapping her arms around him. She didn’t say anything … she just let him get it all out.

~*~*~*~

JASON wasn’t sure what time it was when he finally lifted his aching body from bed. The sun was rising, and soon, so would Lexi. After being awake until the early hours of the morning, he needed to make sure he was cleaned up and ready to face the day for her. At some point in the night, Allie had traded places with Logan, and he was now sleeping in the corner chair. Jason knew he had great friends, but he’d just never been the one they had to look after before. Shaking his head, he took off his shirt, grabbed a clean pair of jeans, and headed toward the bathroom.

After a quick shower, he was making his way out when he heard Lexi come over the monitor. Grabbing a shirt, he was in the hall before he had it on; he needed to see her. Lexi was standing at her crib bars, waiting for him. She began to bounce up and down, her obvious excitement at seeing him warranted a smile. “Good morning, sweetheart. How’s my baby girl today?”

He felt like a hypocrite asking the question. Of course, she was blissfully unaware that her mother had been kidnapped, so she was perfect. Pushing back his fears, he focused on Lexi. After lifting her from the crib, he hugged her to him, absorbing her, before he went about changing her. Since Tori no longer breastfed, there would be no impact of her absence in that sense. And there had been that night where Jason and Tori had been able to get away, so he hoped Lexi was none the wiser today. He liked to think that because
he
was there, it wouldn’t be as obvious that Tori was not.