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Chapter Thirty-One

Brantley had come up with a design that was perfect on his first attempt. Somehow, he had listened to what I’d said and figured out a ring that totally fit Maddie. I called him back immediately to get started on it. I couldn’t care less that it was going to be a significant hit to my savings account. It was totally worth it. Now I just needed to figure out a way to ask her to marry me. I’d heard how Simon had popped the question to Trenda, so I was going to have to do this up right.

Right now, though, I had bigger fish to fry. Maddie had sent me on a mission to find Sparks, if it was at all possible. She had visited two animal shelters in Gatlinburg yesterday, and they said they never received a dog with Sparks' description, and she’d been given two more shelters to check out. I was going to go about this another way.

I went back a couple of weeks ago to when we had discovered Eli under the stairs, and I had arranged for Sparks to be picked up by animal control. I knew the date, time, and address of the pickup, so that was where I started. I explained the situation to animal control, that the little boy who had been beaten by the same man who had beaten the dog wanted to be reunited with the dog. The woman I talked to was extremely helpful. She told me which vet Sparks was taken to, so that’s where I went next.

When I got there, I told the vet who was on duty the same story that I had told animal control. He was very sympathetic. I found out that Sparks had been kept there for over a week until he was healthy enough to be handed over to a no-kill shelter in Pigeon Forge. The vet told me that even though they’d sent him to a no-kill shelter, he was worried that Sparks was so aggressive, he might have to be put down if he tried to attack someone.

I thanked him for the information and headed over to Pigeon Forge. On my way over there I got a call from Roan.

“Hey,” I answered. “How’s it going?”

“Not so good,” Roan replied.

I frowned. “What’s going on?”

“You told me to monitor that fucker, Bruce. I’m guessing he was informed by his public defender today that they’re going to use Eli’s testimony against him.”

“Okay. So, what makes this not so good?”

“Bruce’s car is parked in Maddie’s office parking lot.”

“Fuck!” I took the first right I could into a parking lot. It was a bank. “Tell me everything.”

“Do you know where Maddie is?”

“She’s working at the office today. We need to call her right now and tell her she is not to go out into the parking lot, no matter what. I’m going to conference her in right now.”

I pressed the add-call feature on my phone and pressed in Maddie’s number.

“Hey, Beau,” Maddie said, with a smile in her voice. “Any luck?—”

“Maddie, I need you to listen, okay? I’m going to conference in Roan.”

I pressed the button on my phone and confirmed that the three of us were on the line. “Maddie, Bruce is currently waiting for you in your office parking lot,” I said.

“What? How do you know that? Are you out there?”

“I put a tracker under his wheel well on his car,” Roan answered.

“Why did you— Oh, never mind. So, is he out to get me?”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” I said.

“No,” Maddie said excitedly. “I bet he intends to follow me to Eli.”

“Either that, or somehow get you alone, and get you to tell him where Eli is,” I said.

“Always with the positive attitude,” Roan commented.

“You’ve noticed that too, huh?” Maddie teased.

“Shut up, the both of you. This is not funny.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but it was tough.

“Why don’t we just call the police and say he’s harassing me?” Maddie asked.

“Because he really hasn’t harassed you,” Roan answers. “Instead, let’s see if we can do something that will get Bruce a longer prison sentence. Would you be up for that?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I demanded. “We’re on this call to protect Maddie.”

“Hold up, Beau,” Maddie said soothingly. “Let’s listen to what Roan has to say. Is there really something we could do to make sure that Bruce is put away longer?”

“If he’s caught trying to break into a place where he thought Eli was, thinking he could harm the kid, then yeah. I think the D.A. would have a huge case against him.”

I hate how excited Roan sounds.

I really fucking hate how right he sounds!

“Wouldn’t he need to have actually kidnapped him?” Maddie asked.

“Not if he broke into the house where Eli was staying with an intent to do harm,” Roan explained.

“But you’d only be able to do that if Maddie was a decoy,” I spoke up. “And that is a non-starter in my book.”

“Beau, that’s not your decision to make,” Maddie said. “Obviously, this is what Bruce has planned, and you’ve already fixed it so he can’t do it because you had Roan plant a tracker in Bruce’s car. Why not use this advantage and really put the wood to Bruce?”

She sounded so reasonable that it drove me up a wall.

“I’ll tell you why we won’t use this advantage. Because I already saw you in the hospital once, after you were almost killed. I refuse to let you be placed in danger for some stupid stunt,” I roared over the phone.

There was dead silence on the line. Neither Roan nor Maddie said a word. They were letting me play back what I had just said.

“Come on, Roan. Admit it. We should let this drop.” I prayed my friend would agree with me.

“It’s Maddie’s decision,” he said. “What do you think?”

She sighed. “Beau, if you really can’t deal with this, then we won’t do it. But what’s to stop Bruce from following me in the future until he pleads out and goes to prison?”

“I’ll tell you what,” I growled. “I’ll go have a talk with the motherfucker. Trust me, he won’t get within a mile of you after I’m done with him.”

“What’s to stop him from trying to go after Eli after you go back to California?” Maddie asked.

“Onyx Security will keep tabs on him. We have the tracker in his car, and the Pattersons’ location is confidential.” I kept my tone as reasonable as possible.

“Why wouldn’t he just go after a different social worker?” Maddie asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck. She was killing me. “Fine. We’ll come up with a plan to trick him into trying for Eli, then call in the cops.”

“You’re making the right decision,” Roan assured me.

* * *

Roan and I had gone into Maddie’s office through the front door, on the opposite side of the building from the employee parking lot. She invited us into a small office, and Roan pulled out his goodies. He had a comm system that she could wear that wouldn’t show underneath her hair. We showed her how it worked, which took less than a minute. I’d also brought a large cardigan from her house so that she could wear it over a bullet-proof vest.

“Isn’t this overkill?” she asked.

“No,” Roan and I said simultaneously.

We continued to go over our plans.

Maddie had already talked to the Pattersons, and Mr. Patterson had stopped by with a key to their house. He was then going to join his wife and Eli over at his in-laws.

I provided the last thing. It was a good-sized teddy bear. The thought was that Bruce would assume it was a present for Eli, therefore, he wouldn’t have a reason to stop Maddie and question her about Eli’s whereabouts.

Maddie had her taser gun with her, along with her pepper spray. Roan and Simon would take turns following Bruce, so he wouldn’t realize he was being tailed. I would go to the Pattersons’ house two hours before Maddie left so I could set up cameras, and then answer the door when Maddie arrived.

“I still don’t like this,” I grumbled.

“I wouldn’t like it if Bruce were following Lisa,” Roan admitted.

“Thank God I have Drake as a big brother, and I know the workings of overprotective male minds, otherwise I’d kick both of you in the nuts.” Maddie glared at both of us.

Roan gave me an amused look, and I started to laugh.

I pulled Maddie up from her seat, hauled her into my arms, and gave her a short, hard kiss. “You stay safe. You got me?”

She cupped my cheek. “I got you. I promise not to do anything but what we agreed on. I’m taking no unnecessary risks.”

I glared down at her. “No. You need to promise not to take any risks at all.”

“Fine, Mr. Marine. No risks at all. You happy now?”

“Closer. I’ll be happy once Bruce is locked up for good.”

She reached up and kissed me. “Me, too.”

I picked up the bullet-proof vest. “Let’s get you armored up.” I hated that she needed this.

Hated it.

“Okay, honey.” After I had it on her, she looked into my eyes and bit her lip. “It’s going to be fine.”

There she was, once again, trying to comfort me.

God, I loved her.

* * *

“She’s almost there,” Simon said into the comm link. “Three more blocks. Bruce is tailing a block behind her. He’s really shitty at being covert.”

Of course he is.

“You doing okay, Maddie?” I asked into my mic.

“For the fifth time, I’m doing fine,” Maddie answered.

I heard Roan chuckle.

“I’m pulling up to the house. I’m going to park in their driveway,” she told us.

I had cameras set up at the three entry points in the house, with two extras. One was inside the front door where Maddie was going to enter, the other was outside where I could watch Maddie’s approach.

Roan, Simon, and I had bets as to how Bruce would decide to enter. Roan was saying through the patio door, and Simon was saying through the kitchen door. My bet was that Bruce would muscle his way in behind Maddie. The man was all brawn and no brain. That meant I wanted to have the front door open and Maddie inside before Bruce could lay a hand on her.

Maddie pulled into the driveway.

“He just passed the house,” Simon explained. “I’ve got a visual on him. If he’s smart, he’ll drive on around the block.”

Roan laughed. “He’s not smart. He just parked three houses down.”

“Maddie, get your ass into the house. Now.” I commanded.

“He needs to see me walking in with the teddy bear. I’ll be fine. For God’s sake, I’ve got two Marine Raiders and one Navy SEAL protecting me.”

I watched as she got out of her Jeep and then wandered around the back and opened the hatch to pull out her satchel and the teddy bear.

“He’s out of his car. He’s wearing a hoodie and gloves. He sure is out of shape,” Roan said. “You shouldn’t have interfered that last time, Beau. Maddie could have taken him out with the bat, no problem.”

“Shut the hell up, Roan, and concentrate on your job. Does he have a weapon?”

“None that I see,” Roan replied. “What about you, Simon? Did you see any?”

“No.”

“He’s crossing through the front yards. He’s almost at the house,” Roan said needlessly. I could see him.

“Maddie, move your fine ass,” I growled. “I want you in the house now !”

She got to the top of the front stoop, and I opened the door. She looked calm as hell. Of course she did. That was my Maddie, strong as fuck. I forced myself not to yank her in, knowing that would give away the game.

“Get in here,” I said through gritted teeth.

As soon as she walked over the threshold, I closed the door and pulled her into a fierce hug, forcing her face into my neck.

“No more. You hear me? No more of this shit. From now until you’re Little Grandma’s age, it’s nothing but needlepoint and baking cookies. You got that?”

“Whatever you say, Beau.”

I was pretty sure she was laughing, but I didn’t care.