Page 16 of Back In the Shadows

“What do you mean?” I pinned him with a glare. “Everyone is a suspect until we find my wife.” My voice boomed through the room, my temper rising along with it.

Kip and Dope glanced at each other, then Dope said, “He’s dead, Bass. That’s why he’s not on the list of people we need to look into.”

My jaw clenched and the muscles in my face jumped with the news. Anxiety and fear had consumed me, leaving me constantly on edge that he would come for Ella, and now I was hearing he was dead?What the hell. “Why didn’t anyone bother to inform me?” My voice rose in a mix of shock and anger, causing those around me to recoil.

“Because it was managed, and there was no need to bug you when you needed to focus on your family. It’s why you have us, to take care of problems so you don’t have to.”

I drew in a deep breath, calming myself as much as possible under the circumstances. “If this ever happens again, tell me right away. Stop trying to fix it all. That kind of information is critical for me to know about. It’s a matter of keeping my family safe.” Unease about the situation hovered around me.What is he not telling me?“How did he die?” I needed to know the answers since I was so sure that he was the one that took Ella.

“Not long after he tried to hurt Ella, he was …” Dope shot Kip another look. “He was in a car accident.”

My brow arched. “You’re clearly blowing sunshine up my ass. What are you hiding?”

Kip leaned back in his chair and scrubbed his jaw with his fingers. “I think that we should talk about some stuff, Bass, but why don’t you fly Ryan and Cami out to help? Lulu is fine, but she has no idea what we do in the society and … ya know other things. We need to keep her out of it as much as possible. I feel Cami would keep that secret safe. Plus, the kids need someonethey’re comfortable with, like their Aunt Cami. We have a lot of work to do.”

My gaze narrowed on him. “If I bring Ryan and Cami over, will you two tell me what you’re hiding?”

Kip and Dope answered yes in unison. A lead ball dropped to the pit of my stomach as I reached for my phone in my back pocket. At first, I hadn’t been a fan of Ryan, but as he and Cami spent more time with us, we’d become good friends.

My attention bounced between Kip and Dope. “Since Ryan is a cop, if I call him, he’ll learn about the society and our work. Do you think we can trust him not to arrest us or share the information?”

Dope leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees, and exhaustion flickered across his features. “Yeah, we’re pretty sure we can. Besides, the most important thing is to find Ella. He won’t turn us in and have us arrested at least until after she’s home, safe and sound. It’s a chance we have to take. My personal opinion? We can trust him with our lives, and Ella’s too.”

I chewed on Dope’s words before I turned to Kip. “Your thoughts?”

“Yeah, I agree with Dope. Ryan is on our side. We don’t need to worry about him right now. Let’s just find your wife and we’ll deal with any consequences later.”

I didn’t miss the glint of uncertainty in his eyes. “Okay.” I located Ryan’s number in my contacts and placed the call. He and Cami were three hours behind us, which made it seven in the evening there. I had no idea if he was working or not.

After the third ring, he picked up. “Hey, man. How are things?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, my temples throbbing with the sheer stress of the situation. “I need your help. Cami’s too.” I sucked in a breath. Once I told him, there was no going back, butmy best friends were right, we needed their help, consequences be damned. “Someone took Ella.”

An audible gasp filled the line. “What the fuck? Surely, I didn’t hear you right.”

“You heard me. Someone stole her right off our front porch. It’s all on video.” My head hung down, and I massaged the back of my neck. “Can you two fly out? I’ll need Cami to help with the kids.”

“Yeah. I’ve got some vacation time I can take. Cami won’t care if she has time off or not, it’s an emergency, and I’m sure she’ll make it work. I was just on my way over to her place, so let me talk to her, and I’ll call you back.”

“Perfect, I’ll have my pilot meet you at the Portland airport.”

“Okay. Talk to you in a few.”

“I assume they’ll be on their way shortly,” Dope said.

“Yeah.” I hung up and released a sigh. Everything was becoming so frighteningly real.

Lulu had droppedoff the twins and they were safely tucked into bed. I located the nanny cam and placed the teddy bear in their bedroom so I could keep an eye on them. If someone took Ella, they might come after the kids too. If so, I would be ready. Images of torturing and killing the person who came after my family flickered through my mind. Instead of being revulsed at the idea of someone’s brains splattering against my living room wall, it gave me peace. Although I knew that revenge was best served cold, I wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate a threat.

A soft knock sounded at my door, and I peered through the peephole. Relieved that Ryan and Cami had arrived safely, I letthem in. “Hi, Bass.” Cami gave me a big hug. “We’re going to find her. I promise.”

I returned her embrace, grateful to have her here. She was a big part of my wife’s life, so in a small way, it was like having a little piece of Ella near me.

“Thank you for coming.” My voice cracked with regret and guilt. It was my fault that Ella was missing, and once Cami learned the truth … I wasn’t sure what would happen.

“Where else would I be?” She backed away, and I noticed her blue eyes and nose were swollen and red. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and strands escaped it.

“Hey, man.” Ryan stepped forward and squeezed my shoulder. His hazel eyed gaze flickered with worry and determination. “What can I do? I have some …” His expression grew even more serious. “I have some off-the-record contacts that might be able to help, but I wanted to talk to you about it first. They’re not on the right side of the law, if you know what I mean.” His voice was low and deadly.

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