Page 13 of Midnight (Chasing the Sun #3)
Nate
M rs. Kincaid gave us the most amazing gift, and moved out quickly.
Apparently, she was so excited to have sold the house to us that she didn’t want us to wait.
On our last night in Hummingbird Island, we were able to spend it on an air mattress in our new house.
We got takeout from one of Jasper's restaurants, and had no TV other than what we could watch on my phone.
It was just us on the air mattress in the middle of an empty house on the last night of our honeymoon. But it was perfect.
We spent the first part of the night going room by room talking about what we wanted to redo, things like paint and how we wanted to decorate. Seeing how much Harper's face lit up when talking about decorating the house, told me I made the right choice.
When we first move in, we decided that we'd redecorate our bedroom first and stay in one of the guest rooms. It doesn't need much but we're going to refinish the floor, repaint it and do some updates to the bathroom.
We both wanted our space in the house be calm and relaxing and updated as we finished the rest of the house.
Now we're on our way home, well it's not really home anymore but back to the apartment in Washington, North Carolina. Also, it's time for me to come clean.
"Sweetheart, I need to tell you something, but I want you to remember that I will always take care of you, so you must trust me on this," I tell her, rambling just a bit.
She squeezes my hand and looks over at me, pure love on her face.
"I do trust you, Nate. What’s going on?"
"Your father has filed a missing persons report on you." Instantly the happiness falls from her face and the grip on my hand tightens.
"All you have to do is go into the station with me and file a dispute.
You are eighteen and they cannot make you go back.
Especially since you are now my wife which gives you another layer of protection.
You are part of the police family and we protect our own.
But going in and filing the not missing removes any power he has that way. "
"Okay," is all she says as she slowly nods her head.
"We have time, or we can swing by the station and do it now so that it's not something you have to be worrying about."
"That sounds like a good idea. Let's do it." Her voice is shaky and I can only imagine what she's going through at the moment.
We get to the station and with Harper's hand in mine and I head right into James's office and close the door behind us.
"Well, if it isn't the two newlyweds. How is life treating you?" He asks us with a genuine smile on his face.
"At the moment, we have a slightly delicate situation," I tell them and his smile gets even wider.
"Don't tell me you're expecting already?" He asks full of genuine excitement that I almost feel bad that I have to ruin it.
"No, I wish it was something like that. Harper's dad filed a missing persons report on her. Our problem is she ran away right before she turned eighteen," I tell him. Then I go on to tell him the story as Harper told it to me about her father trying to sell her virginity.
"But there's no proof that he was trying to sell it, otherwise you would have been in here before now," he says slowly, putting the pieces together.
"Exactly. We need to file the dispute to the missing persons report, but I want to let you know before we did so."
"I appreciate the heads up. File the paperwork and make sure you get it to me. I'll handle this one personally," he says and I'm partly relieved.
"There's one more thing. As you know, we bought the house back in Seaview. After talking with my old boss, I got my old job back and I’m transferring back there."
"So you're putting in your two weeks’ notice," he says as a statement and not really a question.
"Yes," I tell him.
"Good. I would have to be completely blind to not see how well you both fit in there at your wedding.
Actually, I didn't expect you to last here much longer anyway.
You let me know if you need any help with anything and get that paperwork filed.
The rest I'll take care of it," he says making the whole thing so much easier than I thought it would be.
We've been home for a few days now and I’m working out my two-week notice making sure that everything that I've been working on is wrapped up or transferred to who it needs to have it.
Since we filed the paperwork, it's been quiet. Harper is no longer listed as a missing person, essentially cutting any power that her dad might have over her.
She's convinced that everything is over, but something in my gut isn't so sure. I'm working on some paperwork when my house alarm goes off. Pure panic like I've never known courses through my body, and I’m praying that maybe she was going outside for something and forgot to turn it off.
But once I pull up the video feed, I see that is not the case. Already I’m running to my boss's office as I watch the horrible scene unfold in front of me.
Harper's dad has broken the house and is attempting to kidnap her. I know I would never make it there in time and I know I'm going to need backup because all I can think about is killing him for daring to touch her.
When I ask for help when I told them what's going on, they have my back, and I know the department is there to help. It really is a family, and we protect our own.
Some might call me overprotective, but right now it is about to pay off. I had a GPS tracker installed in her wedding ring and as I pull it up, I'm able to track where her father is taking her.
I'm sure he ditched the phone, but no one ever thinks that a piece of jewelry like a ring is going to hold a tracking device, nor do people that intend to cause harm check for jewelry. Only the thieves want the jewelry and they generally don't want to cause harm to anybody.
In no time flat, we have a whole group of guys including a SWAT team heading towards the direction out of town that Harper is being taken. While I don't know the strings that James had to pull to get this done so quickly, I will forever be grateful to him.
The GPS finally stops at an abandoned warehouse just outside of town.
We are only five minutes away, but we might as well be five lifetimes away.