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JASON

Carli .

I glanced in the rearview mirror as I pulled through the gates of OPS. I’d stopped for gas in the middle of the night and found the key to the lockbox in the jewelry box. Her birth certificate was in there, and right on the line for her father was my name. Even though I already knew it deep in my soul, it eased something inside me to have proof.

Carli James Spencer. I didn’t know if the name had any meaning or if Leah just chose it randomly, but I loved it because it reminded me so much of the woman I loved. The woman I loved and never told.

Johnny and Jack were waiting as soon as I pulled up to the house, along with Tahlia, Skylar, and her son Parker. The welcome party was too much for my little girl. Hell, she hadn’t even spoken since we’d gotten in the car. I had no idea the trauma she’d suffered at the house. I understood she was locked in the basement, but that didn’t mean she didn’t hear anything.

I shifted into park and turned in my seat to face my daughter. She stared straight ahead, her eyes flicking to meet mine. “Hey, sweetheart. We’re home.”

She blinked, not showing any emotion. Christ, I really hoped I hadn’t fucked her up already.

“I know you miss your momma, but…”

But what? I would be a good replacement? Fucking hell, I was going to screw her up.

“I have some friends who are dying to meet you. They’re going to love you. Are you ready to meet them?”

Again, she didn’t say anything or show even a hint of emotion.

“Okay,” I said quietly, shoving my door open. I got out, shaking my head slightly at everyone, letting them know not to approach. I walked around to her side and carefully unbuckled her, then tucked my hands under her arms and pulled her into my arms, holding her tight to my body.

As I stood, I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, pushing away all thoughts of Leah. I couldn’t think about her right now or I’d choke on my failures. I ran my hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe her. My eyes flew open when her little arms wrapped around my neck and held me tight. It was the first sign that she was with me, and I held her just a little tighter.

“Are you ready to meet your family?” I asked, pulling her away just enough to see her face.

She cocked her head slightly, her big eyes taking in every inch of my face for the first time. I did the same, thinking of how much I had missed from the very beginning, and it was all because I had told Leah I didn’t want to ever see her again. Fuck, she didn’t even think I would want to know I had a kid. I couldn’t even fault her for her decision.

“Jason—” Tahlia’s voice broke as she called out to me.

I took a deep breath and turned, facing my made family. They all studied my little girl, taking in every inch of her, but it was Tahlia who made the first move. She was running to us before I even took the first step. Tears streaked down her face and a sob broke from her chest as she reached for my little girl.

I held her protectively, even though deep down, I knew Tahlia would never hurt her. “Carli, this is your Aunt Tahlia. She was your momma’s best friend.”

“Tahlia!” Carli exclaimed, leaping out of my arms.

My jaw hardened as realization struck. Tahlia ducked her head, pressing a kiss to my daughter’s head as tears leaked from her eyes. My head snapped up to Johnny’s face, but he looked just as shocked as I did.

She fucking knew about Carli. She knew the whole time and didn’t say a word to me. Hell, she didn’t even tell Johnny. I had a kid, and while I understood why Leah didn’t want to tell me, Tahlia looked me in the eye on a daily basis and lied to my fucking face. She obviously had talked to my daughter before. She had a connection with her.

“Hey, sweet girl,” Tahlia grinned, bouncing her on her hip. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Where’s Mommy?”

Tahlia’s eyes flicked to mine for instruction.

I was still shocked that my little girl—my fucking daughter—was talking to Tahlia and not me. She knew Tahlia. I was reeling.

“Hey, why don’t we check out your room?” Tahlia asked, waiting for me to approve.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

What the hell else was I supposed to say? I didn’t even know what to do right now. I watched as she headed into the house with Carli, chatting with her as if they talked every fucking day. I ran a hand over my jaw, shaking my head in frustration.

“Baby, why don’t you take Parker into the house,” Jack said to Skylar.

She eyed me, then nodded to her husband. As soon as they got inside, I fucking exploded.

“What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know, man. I swear to God, I had no idea.”

“Your wife knew I had a kid. My daughter knows Tahlia, but she had no fucking clue who I was,” I snapped.

“I know?—”

“She looked me in the eye every fucking day and said nothing to me! She has a relationship with her that I never got the chance to have!”

“Jason—”

“Don’t you even try to justify this to me,” I hissed at Johnny. “You would be fucking pissed if the situation was reversed.”

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t be. Calm the fuck down,” he snapped.

I was trying to. Fuck, I really was trying to forget about the fact that another person knew my own kid better than me, but there was too much shit going on right now.

“What happened when you got there?” Johnny asked.

It took everything in me to force the image of Leah strapped to the chair to the back of my mind. If I focused on the way she looked, I’d fucking lose it, and I had to keep my shit together.

“They’d tortured her. She was beaten to hell,” I said, my voice cracking as I barely held it together.

“What about Carli?”

“She was in the basement. Knight and Cash found shell casings all over the house. Leah must have seen them coming and locked her down there.” I ran my hand over the back of my neck, feeling like complete shit for not being there, for the fact that she had to go through that alone. For the terror she must have felt. “She never gave up. She protected our little girl until the end. And where was I?”

“Don’t do this,” Jack sighed, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve been there. Trust me, you’ll kill yourself with guilt.”

“I did this to her,” I admitted. “I told her it would never be more, that I never wanted to see her again. She didn’t tell me about Carli because I fucking made it perfectly clear that I would never return to her.” I glanced at the house. “I can’t even be pissed at Tahlia. She was there for Leah when I wasn’t.”

“She should have told you,” Johnny grumbled. “If I had known?—”

“It’s done,” I said sharply. “We won’t argue over this, and it won’t put a strain on your relationship. She did what she thought she had to do for her friend. I don’t like it, but at least Carli has someone she knows.”

It hit me like a punch to the gut to admit that, but it was the truth. This all laid at my feet. All my fuckups caused this chain of events. “If I had been there for her, she would have been here. She would have been protected, and she never would have had to stash our daughter in the fucking basement to protect her. She never would have?—”

I choked on my words, closing my eyes as I pictured her slumped over in that chair with blood dripping from her hair. I slid my hand over my face and fought back the tears that threatened to consume me. Fuck, I’d lost her. I never even had the chance to make things right. The woman I had fallen for was all alone when they came for her, and it was all my fault. My stupid pride got in the way, and she paid the price for it.

“You said Cash and Knight were there,” Jack said after a few minutes. “Did they say who was after her?”

I shook my head. “Cash told me to stop digging. He said they came after her because OPS wouldn’t stop digging.”

“He’s the owner of OPS,” Jack pointed out.

“Ironic, right?” I scoffed.

“Who is they?”

I shook my head. “He wouldn’t say. He said it didn’t matter.”

“Because he’s going after them,” Johnny surmised. “He doesn’t want anyone else getting involved.”

“His vendetta is gonna get more people killed,” Jack said.

“We would be out there with him if it wasn’t for Lock’s orders,” I said pointedly. “You know we would.”

“That’s different. Rafe was?—”

“An asshole,” Johnny spoke up. “He nearly got you killed. He ruined Tahlia’s life. It doesn’t fucking matter what he did or why he did it. Yeah, we all understand his motives, but he stepped on a lot of people to get what he wanted. And now that’s coming back to bite us in the ass. Make no mistake, Leah’s dead because of what Rafe set in motion.”

He was right. As much as I wanted to avenge Rafe, if he had just asked for help, there was every possibility that things would have ended differently. But that wasn’t Rafe’s style. He never knew who he could trust, and because of that, he died alone.

“What do you need from us?” Jack asked.

I blew out a harsh breath. I didn’t have a fucking clue. “How do you take care of a kid? I never thought I would be a father.”

“Neither did I, but you’ll be fine,” Jack reassured me.

I knew I would be. I would give anything for that little girl in there. “I’m not worried I won’t be a good father. I know I’ll do anything to give her the life she deserves. But she should have her mother.”

“She should have you, too,” Johnny pointed out. “Yeah, it’s fucking terrible that Leah’s gone, but she still has you, and you deserve that just as much. Don’t fuck it up.”

I looked at the house and knew that there was nothing that could stand between me and my little girl. “I don’t intend to.”

* * *

I stood in the doorway to Carli’s bedroom, watching as Tahlia sat on the floor with her and read a book. Carli pointed out words she knew and giggled at her favorite parts of the story. My chest squeezed when I realized she didn’t really understand that her mother was gone. It was like she was on a sleepover at Aunt Tahlia’s house.

But soon, she would miss her mother and I would have to explain that Leah was never coming home. Everything she thought she knew would be gone, and I was the sorry replacement she was stuck with.

Tahlia glanced up and the smile slipped from her lips. “Hey, peanut. I’m gonna talk with your dad for a minute. Why don’t you pick out the next book?”

When Carli got up and ran to sort through the books for the next one to read, Tahlia got up and came over to me, her face instantly wary. “Jason?—”

“Don’t.” My tone was harsh, but not because I was mad. “I understand why you kept it from me. I’m not thrilled about it, but…I didn’t give Leah any impression that I would be there for her.”

“I never wanted to keep it from you. In fact, I think she was going to tell you soon. With every day that passed, it was like she was…” Her eyes drifted off in thought.

“She was what?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “There was something different about her. I tried to get her to talk to me, but she was distant. Distracted.”

“Distracted, how?”

“Like something big was coming. I don’t know. It’s like she knew something was coming. That sounds so silly.”

“Maybe.”

Her head snapped up to meet my gaze. “You think maybe she knew?”

“Maybe she felt someone watching her. She’d already been to prison once. She had to learn to have eyes in the back of her head. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had an uneasy feeling.”

“Why didn’t they go after Carli?” she whispered, looking back at my little girl. “If they were watching her, they had to know she had a daughter. That’s not something you can hide. So, why not take her as well?”

That was a really fucking good question. “Maybe Cash and Knight arrived before they could find her.”

But that couldn’t be right. They said they arrived too late. That means whoever tortured Leah was already gone.

“Is it possible they just couldn’t find her?”

“Doubtful,” I admitted. “They were professionals.”

I remembered the way she looked, the bruising and the well-placed marks on her body. No, they were slowly picking her apart, trying to drag information out of her. “They wanted to know something.”

“Do you think they got it?”

“If it meant keeping Carli safe?” I nodded. “Maybe she made a deal for Carli’s safety. Information if they left her alone. I need to talk to Lock. Can you?—”

“Go. I’ll be here.”

I turned on my heel and stormed out of the house for my truck. I didn’t know if Leah gave anything up or not, but if there was even a chance, we had to let everyone know they were in danger.

The tires kicked up dust as I peeled out of the drive and headed over to the main building. Jack and Johnny were just getting out of their own vehicles, having left only minutes before I headed inside.

I slammed the door as I raced to the entrance. They were on my heels within seconds.

“What’s going on?”

“They didn’t take Carli. She was fucking tortured and they didn’t take Carli!”

I didn’t have to say another word. The implication was clear enough, and if I had been thinking coherently when I grabbed Carli, I would have realized something else was going on.

“I have no way to contact Cash,” I snapped as we took the elevator down to the IT department.

“I’m on it,” Jack said, already on his phone.

As soon as the doors opened, I ran for the IT room. Rae was working on something, but immediately tuned into my mood as I raced into the room.

“Leah was tortured, but her daughter wasn’t taken. Who’s in the field?” I asked, not even explaining my thought process.

“Teams One and Two and the Odd Squad,” she answered, already pulling up their data.

“We need to get in touch with them immediately. Tell them to be on the lookout for unfriendlies.”

“Anything more helpful than that?” she asked.

I was about to tell her I had nothing when Lock rushed in. “What do we have?”

“They didn’t go after Carli.”

He frowned, not understanding. “They fucking tortured Leah, but they didn’t go after Carli. She was in the basement.”

“Fuck,” he snapped, shoving his hand into his hair. “Get through to the teams. I want everyone on lockdown.”

“Already on it.”

“And get Asher on the phone,” Lock snapped. “If they went after Leah, we have to assume they’ll go after anyone associated with OPS. Dash, call the airport and stop the fucking flight to California from taking off. Lark’s on it.”

“On it.”

“Rae, where is Quinn stationed right now?”

“She’s back at Yellowstone.”

“We need a team to get to her now!”

“We’re on it,” Jack said, motioning for Johnny to follow.

Lock grabbed the phone on the wall, flipping on the intercom. “Nick, get your ass to IT now.”

He slammed the phone down and turned to me. “Where’s Jade?”

I shook my head. I didn’t have a fucking clue. “She vanished. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going.”

“Fuck,” he hissed, turning to Rae. “We need to find out where she went.”

“I’ll work on it. You need to call Bowie.”

Lock already had his phone out and was barking orders. As for me, I spun around, shoving my fingers through my hair as I thought of anyone else who might be affected by this turn of events.

“Reed Security,” I muttered, grabbing my own phone. I only had Cap’s number, so I really fucking hope he picked up. It took six rings, but he finally answered.

“If you’re calling to?—”

“Get everyone on lockdown,” I snapped. “We’ve got a red situation. Anyone outside your property is vulnerable.”

“We’re already on it.”

“And you didn’t think to call us?”

He started to grunt out an excuse, but I hung up. I ran through the list of people under our protection in my head, but couldn’t think of anyone else.

“Is that it?” Lock asked. “Did we get everyone?”

I started to nod, but then stopped, my blood running cold. “Claire.”

Lock’s face paled as he realized the same fucking thing I did. She was all alone at her house. “Shit. Who has Michael’s number?”

I shook my head. None of us had it. “What about Cash?”

“He’s not fucking answering.”

“Then call Knight,” I shouted, on the verge of losing my shit. Cash had kicked the hornet’s nest and now everyone was about to suffer the consequences.

Nick ran into the room and Lock spun on him. “Get in touch with local P.D. We need the whole town on lockdown. We’ve got potential unfriendlies coming in hot.”

“On it.”

Lock turned to me and shook his head. “What the fuck did he do?”

I ran through Cash’s words again. “It’s not him. This is about the senator. Where the fuck is Kavanaugh?”