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“Well, it’s not helping us, that’s for sure.”
“Nope. But we’re doing the best we can. I think our best bet is still by baiting the bastard out.”
“All we have to do is sit and wait. Annie and Miley don’t know what’s going on, so at least they’re oblivious to the danger. But Avery is coming apart at the seams. I worry about her.” The pained look on his face tells me how much.
“What can we do?” I ask with a slight shrug. “Kellan has the legal reins here, and he’s limited on so many levels. I could reach out to some of our old Navy buddies, but I can’t trust them to keep it from Kellan.”
“One of them would absolutely be compelled to tell him. Honor bound. We both know it.”
“I don’t think the law can help us, though,” I say the one thing I’ve avoided saying out loud since Avery first came into the picture. I have considered this possibility more than once, but I have trusted my brother and our security firm to handle it. Daniel has proven himself annoyingly capable, however, and I’m finding my thoughts bouncing back to a dark and dangerous scenario. One which I can no longer ignore. “Luke, I might have to do something.”
He gives me a troubled look. “What are you talking about?”
“I might ask you to let me be the first to know if you have a location on Daniel, before you notify Kellan and the sheriff’s department. I don’t trust the court, man, I don’t trust the judges, either. The legal system is a sham to those who know how to play it. Look at my parents. Look at how they’re waltzing around, free and only slightly irritated by Kellan’s investigations. They’re confident they are immune to justice. It’s ridiculous.”
Luke leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. The blue of his eyes has darkened to a shade of midnight, his forehead crinkled and coldness exuding from every pore.
“Fallon, if you go down that road, you’ll put Kellan in a tough spot.”
“I know. But Daniel shouldn’t be allowed to live. You know it. I know it. He will find a way to keep coming after Avery and the girls. He will never let them be, they will never feel completely safe or be at peace as long as he breathes. I can’t sit by and let him toy with her like this.”
“We have to trust Kellan here.”
“I want to. Don’t you think I don’t want to? He’s my twin brother for God’s sake. But I’ve met enough people like Daniel to know that this is only the beginning. It’ll get worse. And you’re right, I think Avery will try to make a run for it sooner or later. She doesn’t know how we feel about her, she doesn’t understand how deep this bond of ours truly runs, and I get it. She’s been so busy surviving and protecting her girls, she doesn’t have the clarity to notice what you and I and Kellan have already become aware of. We can’t let her get hurt or worse. We can’t let her leave.”
Luke groans with genuine anguish, and I know I’m bringing up terrible memories for him.
I remember precisely what he is capable of in terms of violence. And he’s certainly aware of my propensity for it, too. It took us a couple of years to pull ourselves out of that darkness. Kellan had the police force to keep him on the straight and narrow. Besides that, Kellan was always the only righteous guy in our platoon. The rest of us could easily turn into monsters if the situation demanded it.
“I’m stirring nasty shit up here, I’m sorry,” I tell Luke. “But I’m just telling you that I am ready to go down that road if that’s what it takes to keep Avery and the girls here and safe.”
“Don’t do this to Kellan.”
“He’ll have to arrest me if he finds out,” I sigh deeply. “I’d do the same if I were him. But I don’t really care. Not where Avery is concerned. He’d be upset, yeah, but he would also understand. I haven’t decided on anything yet, but I have given it enough thought to come here and talk to you about it.”
“Whyareyou talking to me about it?” Luke asks, cocking his head to the side. “Do you expect me to talk you out of it?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
He smiles, but it’s a bitter smile. The smile of a defeated man. His own demons have breached the surface. “I wouldn’t. I’d probably cover for you. Fucking hell, Fallon, I’d probably join you. As much as I hate to admit it, you may be right about Daniel. Killing him might be the only way—”
“No, I want you to stay out of it, Luke,” I cut him off. “Don’t even think about it. I saw what the Navy did to you, man. I don’t want you falling down that rabbit hole again. You deserve better. Besides, Avery is going to need you and Kellan to be there to pick up the pieces when it comes time to pay for what I’m ready to do.”
“Fallon. There has to be another way.”
“I’m not sure there is. Look at us. It’s been over two months since Avery came into the picture, two months that we’ve been searching for this guy. He made it into North Platte and even had the audacity to show his face to Avery, yet we’re still not even close to picking him up. He’s practically laughing in our faces. And after what she did to get away from him, you and I both know that he will kill her once he gets his hands on her.”
Luke shakes his head, then curses under his breath and gets up, slowly walking over to one of the large windows overlooking the front gardens. It’s snowing again. The view should offer a smidge of tranquility, but all I can think about is how hard it’ll be to move quickly from one point to another if a blizzard hits again. I need clean roads and decent weather if I’m to go after this guy.
“I don’t know, Fallon. It’s a pretty drastic measure. I’m ready to back you up however I can, but let’s hold off until tomorrow, at least.”
“Just promise me one thing,” I say. He gives me a wondering glance.
“What is it?”
“You’ll tell me first if you identify Daniel anywhere. The tech guys are currently combing the shit out of hours’ worth of CCTV footage with new search parameters. He’s got to pop up at some street corner, parking lot, 7/11, something. Wherever you see him, please, Luke, tell me first. I’ll get ahead and track him down. I can find him.”
Luke thinks about it for a moment. “And once you find him, what will you do? Will you kill him, or will you bring Kellan in?”
