Page 37 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

THIRTY-ONE

TEDDY

W hen the lunch rush was over, I managed to turn to Bear and make him a hot chocolate while Zach offered him some pie because, of course, Zach had made pie again after Dare told him how much he liked it.

Those two. They were so into each other. It was undeniable. And a little silly considering how long it had been going on.

Zach had moved to the island a year or so ago, and Dare had been visiting him almost every day, without fail, since.

But despite how obvious their attraction was, I hadn’t said anything to either Dare or Zach. Maybe there was a good reason neither of them had done anything other than be idiots.

“Can we go home now?” Bear asked.

“Not yet, sweetheart. We still have a few hours to go,” I replied, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

He was a kid. He should be playing with his friends and having a good time. Not be stuck in a food truck all weekend long because his uncle didn’t make enough money to support him. I had to figure out something. A solution to all this.

The annoying part was that I enjoyed working here. Alongside Zach. Seeing the light in people’s eyes when they bit into one of his pastries and cakes. It made me want to learn how to do that to. To bake. But as much as I enjoyed all my jobs, this way of living wasn’t viable in the long run.

“Okay,” Bear sighed, and Zach grabbed my arm.

“If you want to go home, it’s okay. I can manage.”

I glanced at my friend, and even though I knew he meant it, I also knew he needed me.

“It’s okay,” I said. “But maybe I can take a break to take him to the park for a bit.”

“Of course,” he answered, and I waited for Bear to finish his drink and pie before we jumped off the truck to go to the park a couple of blocks down.

But when we got there, Bear didn’t know what to do with himself, so I jumped straight into action and showed him how to play, from going down slides to climbing monkey bars to using the see-saws or the swings until Bear was running, laughing, and panting like kids his age should.

“Did you have a good time?” I asked him on the way back.

He nodded. “Can we do it again?”

“Of course. We can come again after work if you want.”

He smiled and took my hand, leading me back to the food truck and Zach.

When we got back, I checked my phone I’d left on charge for any messages, but Wesley still hadn’t replied to any of them.

Teddy:

Hey, just want to check you’re okay. I haven’t heard from you all day. Hope lunch with your sisters is going well.

“Still nothing?” Zach asked.

I shook my head.

“I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably too busy chatting to check his phone.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right.”

I tapped my phone screen one more time before I went back to work, making drinks and serving happy customers with worry weighing heavily on me.

Half an hour later, I spotted a familiar face, and the weight lifted off my shoulders.

Ruby was with another young woman, who I assumed was Wesley’s other sister, Lexi, and they were both running toward the food truck.

It was only when they got closer that I recognized the anguish in their expressions, and my stomach sank.

“Ruby. Are you okay?” I asked.

“Have you seen Wesley?” she asked, out of breath.

“I thought he was with you,” I said and immediately jumped off the truck to pull her and Lexi aside.

“He never showed up. Something happened, and he went to the police station?—”

“The station? Why?” I asked, but instead of answering me, Lexi put her phone in my hand, and I read the message from Wesley.

Wesley:

Saw two of my students alone in the street, so I brought them to the MHPD as I’m concerned about their living conditions. We’re waiting for CPS. I won’t make lunch.

The more I read, the bigger the knot in my throat became, until it was hard to breathe.

“He…he’s not at the station?”

“They said he left and took the kids with him, but they can’t find him.”

“How? How does he go missing from the police station?”

Both girls shook their heads and Ruby chewed on her lip.

“It doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“No. It doesn’t. There must be an explanation. Wait here.”

I stepped aside and back into the food truck to grab my phone.

“Are you okay, Uncle Teddy?” Bear asked, making me freeze in place.

Zach turned to me too, asking the same with his eyes.

“I…don’t know, Bear. That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

Being honest at a time like this was the only thing I could manage. I couldn’t lie. Not right now.

With that, I jumped back out and walked behind the food truck to call Wyatt.

“He’s missing,” I said as soon as he picked up.

“What? Who?” he asked.

“Wesley. And the kids,” I said, filling him in on the little I knew. “It makes no sense, right? How does one go missing from inside the police station?”

Wyatt groaned.

“We’ve long suspected there’s someone in the department who’s dirty. Maybe several someones.”

“Fuck! So now what? How do we find out what’s going on?”

Wyatt took a beat and then, with a sigh, said, “Let me see what I can find out. The police captain is an old friend. He might help piece this together.”

“Call me back, ASAP.”

As soon as we hung up, I called Slade. I wasn’t going to waste any time when every second could be life-or-death.

He answered on the second ring.

“Is there any chatter on GhostLink?” I asked him right away.

“What? No. I don’t think so,” Slade mumbled. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

I told him what I knew, which was fuck-all, and about Wyatt. I heard noise from the other end of the line as Slade rushed to his feet and got to work.

“No. Nothing. No messages, calls, or any weird codes have been sent in the last day or so.”

I leaned against the food truck and slowly collapsed to the ground.

“What-what am I going to do? How are we going to…? I can’t…”

My breath started catching in my throat and talking became harder when I was desperate to fill my lungs with oxygen.

“Teddy? Are you okay, Teddy? Are you having a panic attack?”

I never had one before, but considering I couldn’t move, think, talk, or breathe properly, I guessed I was having one.

“Okay, breathe. Just breathe. I know how you feel. I’ve been there with King, and the best thing you can do is stay calm. You can only help him if you keep calm. You hear me?”

“H-how?” was all I managed to say, but Slade didn’t stutter.

He started giving me breathing instructions over the phone, and I followed them, hoping it would work.

“Hang on. It’s Wyatt on the other line. Wait there and keep breathing, okay?” he said.

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. The line clicked and went quiet, but I kept inhaling and exhaling, trying not to make up wild scenarios of what had happened to Wesley in my head.

“Teddy! Are you okay?” Ruby came around and rushed to my side with Lexi.

“I’m…I’m getting there,” I said.

“What happened? Did you find out something? Is Wesley okay?” Lexi asked.

“I…I don’t—” I started when Slade came back on the other end of the line.

“Teddy, are you still there?”

I took one last deep breath and sat up straight.

“Yes. What did you find out?” I asked with far more composure than before.

“Wyatt. He spoke with the captain’s son, Dakota. He’s on his way to you. Apparently, it’s not just Wesley and the kids who went AWOL. A detective is missing too.”

“What? Who?”

“Some guy named Garret Bennet. Wyatt said he’s dealt with him in the past, and he’s always been a bit…funny, so he thinks he’s the dirty cop.”

I bit my lip and tried to control the tremors in my body caused by my racing heart.

“Wh-what do we do, Slade? How do we find him? How do we find them?”

“We’ll figure something out. This isn’t our first rodeo. First, we need to get the team together.”

“I…how? I’ve got Bear with me.”

“Bring him here. King and Mac can stay with him. Then we’ll leave together. Okay?”

“I’ll be right over.” I hung up and got back to my feet, but Ruby and Lexi were still staring at me.

“What…what happened?” Ruby asked.

I wanted to be honest with them, I really did. But in order to be honest, I had to explain everything happening on the island and how I let Wesley get involved with everything. And that would take time. Which was something we didn’t have. Something Wesley and the boys didn’t have.

“I’m going to find out, okay? But I need to go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“To my friends. They can help find him. But I need to go now.” I started to walk back into the food truck, but I felt bad leaving them like that, so I stopped and turned around. “Here.” I offered Ruby my phone. “Put your number in there, and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

“We want to come with you,” Lexi said.

I shook my head.

“That…that’s not possible. Just…trust me. I’m going to do whatever it takes to find Wesley and get him back home safe and sound. I promise.”

Ruby stared at me but grabbed my phone, and after a few moments, punched in her number and called her own cell.

“There. Now I have your number too. So you better believe I’ll be calling you non-stop if you don’t get in touch ASAP,” she said.

“You got it.” I took my phone back and gave her hand a squeeze, then returned to the food truck and grabbed Bear’s stuff.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

I didn’t answer. I put us both in the car and drove to Slade’s, who was already on his porch, waiting for us.

“Go on, honey. Mac is inside,” I told him when we reached Slade, but Bear just stopped and stared at me.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

I glanced at Slade, but he didn’t say anything.

“Slade and I have to go,” I said.

“I want to come with you.”

“You can’t, Bear.”

“Why?” Bear crossed his arms over Bubblegum on his chest and pouted.

I didn’t have time for this. I couldn’t sit here and explain everything to him. Especially when I had to sugarcoat the truth to make it more palatable for a kid. And even then, it would only give him nightmares if I did.

“Because…because you can’t, Bear. Now go inside with Mac and her dad.”

At that, King appeared at the door and took Bear’s hand, but Bear wasn’t having it. Instead of following King inside, he stomped his feet and pulled to break free.

“No. Don’t leave me alone, Uncle Teddy. Don’t leave me alone,” he cried, and the words struck me like bullets to the chest.

Fuck. I shouldn’t have spoken like that to him. I hadn’t wanted to scare him, but I only made things worse.

I dropped to my knees and grabbed him by the arms.

“Bear, sweetheart, I’m not leaving you alone. I’m leaving you with your best friend and her dad. I will be back. I’m not going anywhere without you. Okay?”

Bear shook his head.

“Take me with you.”

“I can’t, sweetheart. It’s too…” I took a deep breath. “It’s not safe for kids.”

“I want to come with you. I don’t care.”

He wrapped his arms around my neck and hung on for dear life, only making me feel shittier for having to leave him at a time like this.

“I will be back, Bear. I promise. Please, let go. I will be back.”

“You promise?” he cried in my ear.

“I promise. I swear to you I will be back,” I repeated over and over again until Bear gave up and allowed King to take him inside. And even though I was finally free to leave, I felt trapped and heavy.

“You okay?” Slade asked.

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t okay. How could I be when Wesley and the boys were missing, probably in danger, and I was abandoning Bear at a time when he felt very vulnerable?

Was that how he reacted when Josie would leave him alone to go out with her boyfriends?

How could she do it? How did it not break her heart to leave him crying like that?

And to top it all off, I’d made a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep.

“Let’s go,” I told Slade and walked back to the car.

No.

I would keep it. I would be back. I wasn’t going to abandon him like Josie. I wasn’t going to die on him.

And I would make sure Wesley and the boys didn’t die on me either. No matter what.