Thread of Hope

I could, too. Most threats would be enough to scare an eighteen-year-old girl into doing something she didn’t want to do.

“I lit into her,” Chuck said. “I was furious. But all I was doing was scaring her more. I asked her a ton of questions, but couldn’t get much out of her. Whoever is controlling her has her wound pretty tight. I told her I was going to tell her parents and she just absolutely lost it. Worse than when we first walked out of the hotel. She begged me not to.” He looked away from me, taking a couple of deep breaths. “There was something in how upset she was. I’m not sure what it was. But it wasn’t just that she didn’t want me to tell her parents so she could avoid getting in trouble. There was something else there that I couldn’t get out of her. So I made a deal with her.”

He took another deep breath and I could see he was laboring. “I gave her a week to get out and to tell her parents. I’d keep my mouth shut, but she had to get out. At first, she wouldn’t agree and I told her then that we were driving to her parents to tell them. Finally, she agreed.” A small smile appeared on his face. “And it was almost like she was relieved, like she was glad it wasn’t just her secret anymore and that she was being leveraged.” The smile evaporated. “So I drove her home. As she’s getting out of the car, she tells me thanks and makes me promise again. I promise again. She looks at me kind of fu

His eyelids were sagging and I knew he was on the verge of drifting off. “I know how stupid it sounds, Joe. But that got me. I think there’s a lot of shit in her life and I was trying to be solid for her, be someone she could count on. Stupid.”

I agreed. It was stupid. His heart was in the right place, but his head needed to be smacked around.

“Three days later, I’m in here,” he said.

“So why the fuck didn’t you say something when she started telling everyone you hurt her?”

“Because I made her a promise. I told her a week and I meant a week.”

I tried to hold onto my temper. “The second she lied about you hurting her, that promise was a pile of shit, Chuck.”

He stared at me for a long moment. “Maybe. But you weren’t in the car with her. You didn’t see what I saw. My guess is that she did try to get out, that she told whoever she’s working for that she wanted out and he’s the one that beat the shit out of her.”

“Even more of a reason for you not to have kept your mouth shut,” I said.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I figured I could keep an eye on her while she figured it out. She named me for a reason. Because I was the only one who knew what was going on. She knew I’d keep my promise.” He stared at me. “I trusted her.”

“Lot of good it did you,” I said, frustrated with him for far too many reasons to lay out right then.

The door opened and the nurse came all the way in the room this time. “Sir, please.”

I stood.

“When did your seven-day promise expire?” I asked.

He thought for a moment, his eyes closing. “Two days ago.”

The day Meredith Jordan disappeared.

SIXTY-THREE

I was exhausted and wanted to go back to the hotel. The previous night with Lauren had drained me-both physically and emotionally. Seeing Chuck had emptied the reserves. I knew that returning to my old life would take a toll on me, but I had underestimated exactly how large the toll would be.

But Chuck had filled in a couple of tiny blanks for me and I didn’t want to lose the momentum of having small pieces fall into place while the thoughts were fresh in my head. So I stopped at a gas station, grabbed some coffee, made a phone call to Gina and headed back to Rancho Santa Fe and the Jordan estate.

Caffeine and adrenaline had my hands bouncing on the steering wheel as I was buzzed through the gate. I drove slowly up the winding road, formulating what I wanted to do. It was entirely dependent upon whether or not Gina had arranged what I'd asked for.

As I crested the top of the road and pulled into the circular drive at the front of the home, I could see she’d done exactly what I’d asked.

She was sitting on the steps of the Jordan home, along with Jon Jordan and my escorts from the first day, Hanley and Boyle. Jordan was pacing slowly behind her and Hanley and Boyle were perched on either side of her. They stood when I shut off the engine. I bounced my hands off the wheel one last time and got out.

Jordan came down the steps immediately. “What the hell is going on, Tyler?”

I came around the car and didn’t say anything.

Hanley and Boyle slid into protective spots next to Jordan. They were about five feet from me. Gina stayed on the steps, watching.

“I asked you a question,” Jordan said, his face flushing.

I stood there, silent.

Boyle took two steps toward me and pointed a finger at me. “Hey. Are you…”

I grabbed his wrist, pulled him to me and brought my knee hard into his crotch. His mouth opened, but no sound came out and he sank to the ground. I bent his wrist straight back, felt it snap and dropped it.

Hanley came up fast on my left, but I was ready. I stepped into him, blocked a punch and pivoted around him. I locked my arm tight across his neck, under his chin and wrapped my left arm tight around his head, as I spun us back to our original position.

Hanley beat on my arms, but there was no strength behind the punches. Gina stood behind Jordan, making no move to come forward. I stared at Jordan as Hanley’s punches stopped hitting my arms and his body went slack. I held him up for another moment, making sure he was out, then dropped him to the ground.

I hadn’t exerted much effort, but I was breathing hard, sweat soaking my back. My hands were shaking and I waited a moment until they stopped.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jordan asked, glancing over his shoulder at Gina.

“You sent them after Chuck,” I said. “They were the ones that put him in the hospital.”

I didn’t need to see his reaction to know I was right. I’d pegged them from the moment they showed up at the high school. I’d placed Matt and Derek on my suspect list as well, but sitting with Chuck at the hospital that day, I knew that two high school boys weren’t capable of inflicting the kind of damage Chuck had suffered. Jordan had sent his two goons to do a job and they'd gotten it done.

Boyle rolled over on the ground and tried to sit up. I planted my left foot and drove my right foot into his jaw. His head snapped back and thumped against the ground.

Gina moved down the steps behind Jordan and I held up my hand. “Don’t, Gina. Or I’ll put you on the ground next to them. I’m done fucking around.”

She stopped and stayed behind Jordan.

I moved my eyes back to him. “Our deal has changed.”

He glanced at his men on the ground, then back at me. “What?”

“Deal’s changed. You’re go

Anger fired through his eyes. “The hell I am.”

“You’re go

The anger flared hotter. “We had a deal, Tyler! We…”

“Had,” I emphasized. “Had. You tried to kill my friend, though you neglected to tell me that part when I signed on for this. So we had a deal. You still want me to find your daughter, you’re going to go drop the charges. Now.” I looked past him at Gina. “Olivia inside?”

Gina nodded.

I focused on Jordan again. “I’m going inside to speak to your wife while Gina takes you to Coronado.”

Jordan’s anger was fully aflame now, his hands balled into fists so tight it appeared they’d been glued that way.

“And before you say something stupid, let me lay it out for you,” I said, stepping closer to Jordan. “You refuse, I’m going right from here to the cops to tell them it was these two assholes that laid him out. Chuck’s awake and he I.D.’d both of them. No one is dumb enough to think they did it without your knowing, so you’ll go down with them. And I won’t spend another second looking for Meredith.”