Page 60 of Take Me, Sir

“Out front.”

“I have a PI coming. Come up with him.”

He ended the call, and I let out a string of curses, earning stares from everyone around me. I ignored them and made my way down the police line to where a pair of suited men were talking to people in the crowd. As I reached them, I saw a stocky, light-haired man pushing his way through too.

“You can't come through,” the cop said as I tried to step past him.

“My friends–” I started to say.

The stocky guy arrived and pulled something out of his jacket. “Mars Roster. I'm a PI working for Mr. Letlow. He called me.”

“I need to go with him,” I said quickly. “Dalton – Mr. Letlow, I mean – asked me to come up with Mr. Roster.”

“I don't know–”

“I can get Mr. Letlow's lawyer on the phone, if you'd like.” Roster gave the cop a stern look. “Or you can let my associate and me up so we can help.”

For a moment, I thought they were going to tell us to get back, but something about Mars must've told them he wouldn't hesitate to make their lives miserable if they didn't let him through, because a minute later, we were heading into the lobby.

“I'm truly hoping that you really do know Mr. Letlow,” Roster said quietly as we got onto the elevator.

“I do,” I assured him. “His sister and I...” I let my voice trail off as I realized I wasn't sure how to finish the sentence. I didn't know how to describe what Kyndall and I were to each other, but that didn't matter right now. “What happened, Mr. Roster?”

I knew what happened, somewhere deep inside, I knew, but I needed to hear it all before I could accept it.

The PI gave me a sideways look. “Earlier today, Mrs. Letlow was coming back from a walk with Anthony when a white, unmarked van pulled up to the curb and two masked men, armed with automatic weapons, got out, knocked Mrs. Letlow down, and grabbed the stroller.”

His voice may have been matter-of-fact, but I caught the anger in his dark eyes. He might've been hired as a PI, but this was definitely not just a job to him. Then again, I didn't know of many good people who'd be okay with a child being kidnapped.

“Is Juliette okay? I mean, physically. I'm assuming the answer is no to any other way.”

“I didn't get any details, but she wasn't taken to the hospital, so I'd go with okay.”

My relief was brief, but there. Once Anthony was found, Dalton and Juliette would be grateful that she was there to welcome him, but right now, I knew she would be feeling guilty that she hadn't been able to stop the kidnappers.

By the time we reached their floor, I'd managed to put my own issues aside and was focusing on being there for my friends.

The moment I stepped inside, however, I was faced with a new and complete understanding of what it meant to be helpless. Dalton's face was drawn, like he'd been ill for a long time and wouldn't be getting better any point in the near future. Juliette leaned against him, the gash on her temple a deep, raw red against her pale skin. A paramedic stood nearby, and at least six cops and detectives were walking around the apartment.

“If there's anything I can do,” I said as I approached, “please don't hesitate to ask.”

“And you are?” A man in a rumpled suit stepped in front of me. A stocky man in his late forties, he had the look of someone who was counting the days until retirement. “Detective James Bison.”

“Dean Stokes,” I said. “I'm a friend.”

“I appreciate that, Mr. Stokes, but we don't need any more civilians here.” He sounded tired.

“He's dating my sister,” Dalton interjected. “So he's more than a friend.”

“Let him stay, Bison,” a younger woman spoke up as she glanced my way. In one quick sweep, she seemed to size up and dismiss me before turning back to Mars Roster.

“As I was saying,” the PI continued, “a source got back to me about fifteen minutes ago and said two local guys snatched a baby.” Roster glanced at the detective, then at Juliette before turning back to Dalton. “I don't know for sure if their employer is behind it, but they work for the same guy so I wouldn't rule it out.”

“Who do they work for?” Detective Bison asked.

“Stanley Maverick.” Roster pulled out his phone and called up something on his screen. When he turned it, I could see it was a picture.

A familiar picture.

“Shit.”

All eyes turned to me.

“Do you have something to say, Mr. Stokes?” the female detective asked.

Dalton was going to be pissed when he heard all of this, but now I had a horrific feeling that things had just taken a turn for the worse, and I knew I couldn't hold anything back. If I was wrong, or if Maverick wasn't involved in Anthony's disappearance, then I'd be betraying Kyndall's trust for nothing, but she wasn't here, so I had to do what I felt was right.

And that meant telling them everything.

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