Women were beautiful creatures, meant to be cherished.
That’s what he’d do for his sweet angel. He would make sure Grace had the most beautiful memorial, something that represented her personality, then once they both gained their wings, she would spend eternity knowing how much he loved her.
For nine long years he had lived in his parents’ home, enduring the beatings and his mother’s screams, his father’s silence and blank stares, even while being in the room while Jason was being hit by his mother, and through all of it he had been alone. He’d left as soon as he could, but the loneliness hadn't gone away. There had been girlfriends but none of them were right, they didn't really see him, didn't understand him.
Then there was Grace.
Jason had known the moment he heard her voice that she was special. Had known she was different the night he’d entered her home and taken her with him. Had known she was strong when she had survived every lesson he taught, learned everything he wanted her too, and aced every test.
When he was with her, he wasn’t alone, he wasn’t anyone’s punching bag, and he wasn’t a failure.
There was no way he could go on without her. Grace was his redemption.
* * * * *
9:55 P.M.
Matthew prayed they were right about this because he had a sickening feeling in his gut that said Grace was quickly running out of time.
After they’d gotten Jason Yamagada’s name, they’d gone to his parents’ house, where they learned that their son had been there the day of the abduction attempt at the hospital, the day Natalie Potter had been killed. He’d been right when he thought that Emmanuel had to have already known Natalie, but because the house was his parents, and Jason had his own place, they hadn't been able to connect him right away.
Once they knew they had their man it should have been simple enough to end this. Go to Jason’s house, arrest him, rescue Grace, they all lived happily ever after, the end.
Only it hadn't turned out that simple.
After their daughter’s suicide, Mr. Yamagada had allowed his construction company to all but fall apart. Upon graduating, Jason had taken over, managing to rebuild the business into something much more profitable than it had been before. But the way he had done that was to move from construction to house flipping. Besides the apartment he lived in, Jason was currently the owner of six properties that he was in the process of renovating and flipping.
That made seven properties that had to be checked.
Of course, they’d gone to the apartment first since it was the place where he actually resided, but they’d known before they got there that it wouldn’t be where he would go with a kidnap victim in tow.
He’d need more privacy which meant they were now checking out the other properties. They’d split up to cover more ground, but the properties were spread far and wide across the city, and it took time to get to each one of them and clear them. Checking for signs as to whether Jason had spent any time there other than working on them with his teams.
So far, they had eliminated three of the buildings, but that still left three of them to go.
He, Elijah, Allina, and Jonathon had just pulled up outside property number five. It was a pretty-looking house that looked like it was already finished, or close to it. There was a stone fence that had vines growing over it, the front door was framed by a cute little porch also covered in vines, only this vine was a mass of pink flowers. There were dormer windows on the third floor, bright white shutters on the first two floors’ windows, and the door had been painted a bright, cheery yellow. The garden consisted of two large trees and flowerbeds framing the front of the house. It was a beautiful property, and he could see why Jason had made such a success of the business after taking over from his father. He did great work, paid attention to detail, and didn't just present a finished house but a dream of a future where you could all but hear children laughing, and see them playing, swinging from branch to branch in the trees, and chasing each other across the lawn.
It was a future he wanted with Grace, one he was determined to have which meant he had to find her.
The four of them climbed out of the car, and he winced as the wound on his chest protested yet another movement when all it wanted to do was lie still.
“You okay?” Allina asked.
“Fine,” he gritted out. Matthew was getting sick and tired of being asked that question. Whether he was all right or not, Grace was in a much more serious position, and he wasn’t resting until he could do so with her tucked safely in his arms.
“I think we should take you back to the hospital after we check out this place,” Elijah said. “Jem, Laynie, Sam, and Naomi are at the sixth house, and Nick, Nate, and Rylla are at the seventh. If he’s not at any of them then he’s set himself up at a property not in his name, like he did with Mable White. If he’s done that, we’re not going to catch him tonight. You may as well rest.”
“No.” If they didn't find Grace at one of Jason's houses then there was a very good chance that they wouldn’t find her.
Ever.
They couldn’t go knocking on every door in the city, not that he wouldn’t do just that, but there was no way that his bosses would okay that.
“I don’t need rest, I need Grace,” he said.
“We all want to find her,” Elijah said.
“Trust me, no one wants to find her more than I do,” he said. While Grace’s family might have loved her longer, nobody could love her more than he did. She was his future, his salvation, his chance at a redemption many would say he didn't need but that he was determined to find.