“What?” Tanner asked. He’d told them what she’d said and her suspicions that DynaTech was somehow responsible for their murders, and the guys had promised to look into it without bringing any attention to themselves. Just until they found some evidence to back it up.
“Well, given her restricted access,” Garrett continued, “I can understand why she might not have seen any other kids there, but there’s also the possibility of -”
“Human trafficking.” Caden’s words landed like bricks on Tanner’s heart. He’d considered the possibility. Of course, he had. But given how hard it was to prove, he hadn’t wanted to mention anything about it to April until he knew for sure. The reality was that if any kids had been trafficked out of the country, they were long gone, likely living in a hell-like situation, never to be found again. The thought alone was enough to nearly break him, but he had to focus on the problem at hand. The one thing he could do. Bring his family home.
Violet probably had no idea if he was even coming for her. She’d been let down so many times by the only father she’d ever known that Tanner wouldn’t put it past her to assume that he wouldn’t be there for her either. “When we go in,” Tanner said, “we’re not leaving either one of them behind. As for any other possible kids, I think we’ll have to leave that to a specialized task force. Hopefully they can be found and reunited with their families.”
“Agreed,” Caden said quietly. A few seconds later, he perked up. “I might have something here. I’ve been looking into April, and I found her sister’s death certificate. According to this, Casey died in a head-on collision that was ruled an accident. The truck driver fell asleep at the wheel.”
“You think Ned might’ve had something to do with that?” Tanner asked.
“Well, I’ve been doing some digging, and there are a few things that should be here that are curiously missing,” Caden continued. “Which makes me wonder…”
He didn’t have to finish that thought. “That son of a - Ned got rid of the only person he knew he wouldn’t be able to control.” Tanner already hated Ned for how he treated Violet and April, but if they could prove he was the reason behind Casey’s death, the man could be arrested on murder charges, making it that much easier for Tanner to get custody of his daughter.
Caden nodded. “Like take this report, it’s missing some basic things, like the truck’s plates. Even the trucker’s name sounded fake to me. So, I ran it, and the only truck driver with that name who worked in the vicinity died almost a decade ago.”
“Which means he wouldn’t have been on the road when Casey was killed in that accident three years ago,” Tanner surmised.
“No,” Caden said. “It’s something to go on, but unfortunately, it doesn’t get us in the door of DynaTech Corp right now. I’m sorry, Tanner.”
Tanner huffed out a breath. He was more than grateful to his friends for helping him, but his frustration of feeling so damn helpless was pissing him off. “Thanks for trying.”
“Hey man, no one’s giving up. None of us are going to rest easy until you’ve got your family back. That’s a promise,” Luke said.
Tanner nodded his thanks, swallowing hard past the lump in his throat.His family.The sound of that when he thought about what it meant should’ve sent fear skittering up his spine. What did he know about kids? Little girls? He blew out a breath. Good thing he’d been living with Sienna the last few years, but even that wasn’t the same. She had a mom who took care of her. He was just fun Uncle Tanner who chased her around the house, tickled her senseless, and built playhouses. Being a father was so much more than that, and now he didn’t even know if he’d ever get the chance to find out what it really meant.
That’s what terrified him. His love for Violet. How much he’d enjoyed spending time with her. She was smart and funny. She asked lots of questions. Demanded to know about everything she saw. Even asked if she could have her own horse someday. Tanner smiled at that. Violet sure knew what she wanted. What he didn’t tell her was that he already had a horse in mind for her.His daughter.Tanner didn’t think he’d ever get used to that idea, but he loved it, and her, more with every passing moment.
“Tanner?”
Faith stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, holding out her phone to him. “I think it’s Violet. She was whispering and the connection isn’t great, so I couldn’t quite tell.”
He shot out of his seat and snatched the cell phone out of Faith’s hand, then stared down at the screen. Unknown Number.
“Hello?” He said into the receiver. “This is Tanner Rhodes.”
“Daddy?” Violet whispered. “They hurt Aunt April and took her away. I’m scared. Sienna made me memorize her mommy’s phone number because she had to, and she wanted us to do it together.”
Tanner nearly dropped to his knees in relief at hearing his daughter’s voice. He put her on speakerphone so everyone could hear her. There were gasps and sighs of relief. But where was April? And how badly was she hurt?“Are you safe?” Tanner asked. “I’m coming for you, Darlin’.”
“I’m back in my room. I stole this phone from one of Ned’s soldiers. Aunt April told me to hide it and never use it again, but I’m scared and the battery is low.”
Tanner wanted to put his fist through a wall. “Do you have a charger?”
“No.” Her voice was getting louder and he could hear the panic in it.
“Did you see where they took April?” There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Violet, are you still there?”
“They made her sleepy with a towel on her face. I’m scared. I want her back.” Her voice cracked and Tanner closed his eyes. He’d give anything to be at his daughter’s side right now.
“I’ll get her back for you, Darlin’. I’m going to get both of you back.” Dead silence followed, then the line went dead. Tanner couldn’t help but imagine the worst. Had her battery died? Hadshe been caught using the phone? Ned wouldn’t actually hurt her, would he?
“Bingo,” Caden said.
Tanner had kept his back to the room while talking to Violet and turned to look to Caden.
“Got something?” Luke asked.
