Chapter 14
Harlow
Evie, Tommy, Lucas, and Max have the club under control for the day. I'm heading over to the guys’ house to see Rosie. I miss her, and I want to see how she's doing. Cass has kept her trapped inside that house long enough, and I need to work with the guys to have everything set up for Rosie. I found one of the best child psychiatrists that money can buy to help Rosie deal with any damage those sick fucks left behind.
Maybe if I had someone who really wanted to help me when I was growing up, I might not be as fucked up as I am now. Well, at least up until being locked away and used at that demon's disposal.
Tracy hasn't called, and let’s just say that I didn't exactly take the news well, and as a result, we’ve had to order a new shipment of glasses for the bar. Evie has been working around the clock to try to get any leads she can, but she still only knows as much as Miller, which is next to nothing.
Evie’s kicked me out of the club for the day, telling me to go see Rosie. With that in mind, my inner monster has agreed to go back into hiding, for now. But she also told me she was working on a D-Day for tomorrow night, which helped brighten my morning a bit more.
I feel helpless, and I fucking hate that feeling. It's not something I’ve felt or been in over three years, and I never wanted to, ever again. I made a promise to protect these girls with my life, to give them everything they deserve after all those years of living in hell.
Oh, and another girl went missing as well. So, that's five women in total, all between the ages of 16 and 25. This is exactly the kind of thing I would handle, but none of my contacts know shit. None of the regular players would dare try anything like this. So, whoever is taking these women can’t be from around here. They are coming into my town to grab women from right under my nose and then taking them somewhere else, and they must be really fucking good at what they do for them to not leave any trails. But don't worry, so am I. Whatever the case may be, they will be dead as soon as I get my hands on them.
I will start storming the streets, beating any and every fucker I can, until I find not only Tracy but the other missing women too. But Evie is right, at this very moment, I can't do anything. And to avoid a few thousand dollars more in damages, I think I need some of those blinding smiles and giggles from that pretty little princess.
This time, when I show up at the house, I do it like a normal person. Odd for me, but hey, I'm always down for trying something at least once.
I ring the buzzer, waiting for someone to answer or open the damn gate. I look through the bars and tap my foot. I don't like to be kept waiting; it gives me too much time to think of fun and fucked up things to do.
I press the speaker button. “I know you're in there,” I sing. “Open up, or I'll huff and puff and blow the mother fucking door down,” I say in a sugary sweet tone. A moment later, the gate clicks open. I smile wide, happy with myself, and press the speaker button again. “Smart choice.”
I hum to myself as I skip up the long pathway to the front door. Thank god, I chose sneakers opposed to a pair of heels. When I get to the door, I try the doorknob. And look at that, it’s open. Good, saves me from having to pound the door down.
“Honey, I'm home,” I call out. I hear a few voices in the next room, then the sounds of little feet hitting against the floor.
“Queenie!” Rosie shouts with the brightest smile that instantly melts my ice-cold heart. It’s like that part in The Grinch where his heart kick-starts and grows three sizes; well, mine just grew one hundred.
“Hey, kiddo,” I smile and crouch down as she runs across the room and into my open arms. I hug her tightly to my body, lifting her, and spin her around with both of us giggling.
“I missed you,” Rosie says. “I’ve been asking Daddy for you to come over to play, but he said you were busy,” she pouts. I look behind Rosie and find Cass leaning against the kitchen doorway, his arms crossed and with a guarded look on his face.
“Oh, he did, did he?” I narrow my eyes at Cass, and he does the same to me. “Well, not anymore! From this day forward, I'll never be too busy for you.”
“Yay! Does that mean you're here to play?” she asks, her blue eyes shining brightly with hope.
“It sure does!” I say, giving her one last squeeze, and then put her down.
“I wanna show you Susie and Bob,” she says, bouncing with excitement.
Chuckling, I take her hand and let her guide me to the backyard. I still can't believe they have zoo animals here. But I mean, they are Neo’s, so I guess I'm not really all that surprised.
“Hey, can I talk to you?” Cass asks, placing a hand on my shoulder and stopping me from walking out the back door.
I see the importance of what he wants to say in his eyes. “Yeah,” I nod.
Looking down at Rosie, I say, “Hey kiddo, why don't you head back there for a minute while I talk to your daddy, okay?”
She looks at the both of us. “Okay, but don't be too long,” she admonishes.
“I won't.” I chuckle.
Once she races off into the backyard, I take a seat on the stool at the kitchen island. “What’s up?”
He sighs and takes a seat next to me, angling his body so that it's facing me. “First, I want to apologize for not being at work lately.”
“Look, I get it. You don't have to apologize,” I say, taking a grape from the fruit bowl and popping it into my mouth.