“Fuck,” I growled, shoving my hair back from my face with both hands as I put Dylan and Jesse out of my mind. They were safe. Teddy was there. As much as it killed me, there was nothing I could do for them, no matter where I was.
Finn needed my full attention.
I’d promised Teddy that I would find him, and I wasn’t any closer to knowing where the hell he was. David Granger hadn’t taken any of the numerous calls that we’d made until my grandfather had picked up the phone and called himself. He figured correctly that Granger would be willing to ignore everyone else, but not willing to show that kind of disrespect to our president. I looked over at Dylan’s truck but couldn’t see anything from my vantage point.
The fucking neighbors hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.
Considering the absolute destruction in my living room, I couldn’t understand how no one had heard anything. The houses had good-sized lots, but they weren’t that far away from each other.
I was pacing up and down the sidewalk when my grandfather got out of the truck and headed toward me, shaking his head.
“What?” I asked as I met him halfway.
“He assured me it wasn’t him,” my grandfather said emotionlessly. “It was.”
“Fuck.” We needed to find out who Granger had used to take Finn. If they were on their way to Sacramento, we may be able to cut them off before they got there and hooked up with the rest of Granger’s crew. If we could figure out who he’d sent, we could find out what they drove and watch for it.
“But I don’t think he has Finn,” my grandfather continued.
“What?”
“He was lyin’ when he said he didn’t send anyone. He wasn’t lyin’ when he said that he didn’t have Finn. Asked how the fuck we’d lost him. The man went from amused to panicked even though he was tryin’ to hide it. He doesn’t know where Finn is.”
I tried to make sense of the development.
“Granger sent a couple of his goons up here to take Finn, but he doesn’t have him?” Draco asked in confusion. “Did they fuck him?”
“Couldn’t tell you,” Dragon replied. “The man wouldn’t admit that he sent anyone. Wouldn’t tell me if the men he sent betrayed him.”
“So we have no fucking idea who has Finn,” I stated flatly, breaking out in a cold sweat. “Whoever Granger used nearly killed my kids. If they’ve got Finn and they aren’t in touch with Granger—”
“I’ve still got feelers out,” Grandpa Casper reminded me. “We’ll hear somethin’.”
Yeah, we would. Eventually.
But our ten-year-old was somewhere, probably scared out of his fucking mind, going through only god knew what after watching Jesse and Dylan get beaten unconscious. Every minute that went by meant one more minute that he wasn’t safe. That he was going through something I couldn’t protect him from.
Walking toward the neighbor’s bushes, I barely made it there before everything I’d eaten that day came back up. I heaved and coughed as my head pounded.
What if we didn’t get him back? What if by the time we did get him back, he wasn’t himself anymore? He was only ten. He had no way to defend himself from the monsters who’d beaten and stabbed a couple of kids nearly to death.
I thought I’d have years to show Finn all the shit I’d taught Dylan as he grew up. We hadn’t even pulled out the dirt bikes, even though we’d mentioned it at least ten times. He hadn’t had time to make new friends yet. I’d told him that we’d go to the hardware store to get him some new work gloves and a headlamp so we could work in the yard at night. He loved helping. It made the kid practically vibrate with happiness. I should’ve taken the half hour and brought him to the fucking hardware store.
“Steady,” Draco said, putting his hand on my shoulder as I stood straight again. “We’ll find him. Don’t give up.”
“I should’ve taken the kids out in the Chevelle,” I said, numbness invading my body, starting with my fingertips. “I was waitin’ to take Teddy first. Stupid. We’re always with the kids. Should’ve just taken them.”
Christ, Jesse had been so excited, and I’d made them wait. And for what? Bullshit.
“You’ll take ’em out,” Draco assured me as we walked back toward my dad. “Still got time.”
“Do I?” I asked sharply. “You sure about that? Because I’ve got two kids in emergency surgery and another that’s fuckin’ missing, while that fuckin’ car sits in the garage—”
My words trailed off as something occurred to me.
“The cops search the garage?” I asked my dad. I looked over at Grandpa Casper and raised my voice. “Did the cops search the garage?”
“They said they cleared it,” he replied with a nod.
