Chapter 116

The drive was filled with tense, palpable silence. The fact that the man seated next was his rival for Emma was not lost on him. It was the way his eyes lit up, the fierce way he moved to protect her. Will had always considered himself an alpha male. The most powerful, the sexiest, the richest man wherever he went. Getting what he wanted had never been an issue. He never lost. Especially not to someone like Spencer. He wasn’t intimidating at first glance. But he’d been on the receiving end of Spencer’s wrath. That was alpha behavior. Protecting what he wanted, what was his.
But Emma isn’t his.
“She loves me, you know,” Will blurted out. His voice thundered through the dense quiet in the car.
“I know,” Spencer said, not looking at him. “Your mistake was to wait until after you ruined her and caused her to uproot her life and run away from everything she knew to say or do anything about it.”
“I take it back,” Will scowled. “We probably wouldn’t be friends.”
“No,” Spencer said with a mirthless laugh. “Probably not. I was bullied by guys like you my whole life. Guys who thought they had the world in their hands.”
“Guys like me do have the world in our hands,” Will knuckles tightened around the wheel. “We’re just never taught how to hold on to it without crushing it.”
Spencer was caught off guard by that answer. In the last twenty-four hours, he’d seen a side to William Stewart he could never imagined. He had always known Will to be a brutish presence. He was always one to force his volition upon others. There was a sort of oppressive, magnetic way about him. Will captured your attention even if you didn’t want him to. But this man with him now was someone else. Perhaps it was the laser focus on the goal of saving Emma. Or it could have been his willingness to work with someone he didn’t like. Or the way he dropped everything to be close to his daughter.
Spencer hated himself for even thinking it. But Will seemed like, beneath that domineering and cold exterior, a good person. But was he worthy of Emma? We’ll see.
“Have you learned yet?” Spencer asked.
Will’s eyes flashed up to the rear-view mirror, catching a glimpse of his sleeping child. The way his heart swelled every time he looked at her made him wonder about his parents. Lizzie had done nothing but exist, and yet he’d never known a love so strong. It overwhelmed him in a way he couldn’t understand. So how could his parents never love him?
“Not really,” he answered. Again, Spencer was surprised. “But I get now that it’s something we’re supposed to learn on our own. Parts of the world do need to be crushed.”
“Like the people who have Emma,” Spencer seethed. “And her friend, Jess.”
“Exactly. And I am going to crush those people. I am going to crush them with my bare hands.”
They didn’t speak for the rest of the drive. Will waited for a call from the kidnapper, but nothing came. It worried him. His mind jumped to insane conclusions, to every terrible scenario. If the kidnapper was on the phone with him, then they couldn’t be hurting Emma. Fuck, she could be being tortured right now. It was maddening.
By the time they arrived at Alex and Sabrina’s home, Lizzie had fallen asleep. Spencer gathered the large duffle bag, laptop, and documents he grabbed from Will’s apartment. Will scooped Lizzie out her seat, careful not to wake her. He snatched up the poorly packed diaper bag as well. He was sure Sabrina would let him know just how poorly packed the bag was.
Alex’s security escorted them inside.
“Mr. and Mrs. Rossi are waiting for you in the parlor,” the guard announced.
“Rossi?” Spencer asked, whipping his head around at Will. “As in…”
“Don’t ask,” Will cautioned. “But yes.”
“Holy shit,” Spencer whispered. They were led inside. Their house wasn’t as grand as Will’s home. But Alex and his family preferred to keep a lower profile. It was a cozy room, with many places to sit. Clearly, it was the space used for guests. But Will couldn’t help but think that not many guests were probably received here. There was a cherry wood table in front on him. Will knew that a large elaborate vase usually sat there. But it had been moved and the table was littered with documents, surveillance photos and print outs of phone records. Sabrina was pacing as they walked in. Alex was seated on a small sofa, his leg bouncing up and down.
“Your guests,” the guard said to catch their attention.
“Finally!” Sabrina said. She went to Will and held her arms open for Lizzie. “We had an extra crib delivered for her and set up in Damian’s room. Let me get her settled before we get into it.”
She took the baby, the diaper bag and walked upstairs, muttering to herself about how light the bag was. Will laughed.
“Nice to meet you officially. Spencer, was it?” Alex offered his hand. Spencer shook it and nodded.
“Yeah. Spencer Lucas. Nice to meet you too.” They sat around the coffee table and looked at the paperwork Alex had laid out. Spencer’s eyes scanned the array of information, his mind spinning with the reality of their situation. “Who is Damon Whitlock?” he blurted out.
“What?” Alex was caught off guard.
“When Will said he had called him, you seemed surprised. Almost upset. But so far, he’s proved to be an invaluable help and source of information for us. Why didn’t you call him from the beginning? When you suspected your uncle might be up to something?”
“Or when you got arrested?” Sabrina piped up as she came downstairs. “Or when you were trying to find Emma?” She sat next to Alex, her hands fidgeting with her bracelets. The soft tinkling noise added a strange soothing tone to their tense atmosphere.
“We really don’t need to get into Damon Whitlock right now,” Alex said.
“He’s someone we know from a while ago. Yeah, he’s impressive, but his services come with a price. And that is all I’m going to say.”
“That’s all you better say,” Alex added. He rubbed his hand along Sabrina’s back.
Sabrina and Spencer looked at each other, the question still burning in their eyes. But it seemed they came to a silent agreement. There were more pressing matters.
“Fine. For now,” Sabrina said. “So, what have we got? Has the kidnapper called?”
“No,” Will said. “Nothing yet.”
“I’ve got people following your uncle. He hasn’t made many movements, himself. But there has been a lot of movement around him,” Alex explained. He indicated a series of photos he had set out.
“What do you mean?” Spencer asked.
“See here?” He pointed at the photos. “This is just from the last 18 hours. Four different cars have been to his home. According to my sources, this doesn’t happen.”
“That’s right,” Will added. “Robert is paranoid as hell and doesn’t like company. He hosts large quarterly banquets in his home, or he did before he left for Singapore, to appease his wife. They were grand parties, and the guest list was highly controlled. But that was it. That many cars in day is a red flag.”
“Well, here’s the reddest flag.” Alex sifted through the paperwork and found a specific photo. The image was grainy, but it was still easy to make the figures. “The woman in this photo was seen at his house several times over the last week, and about twice since the kidnapping. I don’t think that’s his wife.”
“It’s Grace!” Sabrina exclaimed. “I’m telling you, it’s her!”
“I don’t see who else it could be,” Alex agreed.
“We’ll have to prove it,” Will said, his mood darkening. The woman in the photo wore a scarf over her head and large sunglasses to obscure her face. Her large, shapeless, tan trench coat hid her figure, and she was sure to keep her back to the camera. There was no way to know for sure that it was Grace. But there was no denying that it could be.
“We could plant a bug in your uncle’s office,” Sabrina said.
“Or one of his cars,” Spencer added.
“Won’t work,” Will said. “He sweeps everywhere he goes for bugs.”
“Not to mention, I tried it already. It’s like he’s got eyes and ears everywhere. It makes me wonder what pies he’s got his hand in,” Alex mused.
“What do you mean?” Spencer asked.
“Anyone who is that paranoid has something to hide. And judging by the sheer volume of guards and security around him at all times, I’d say he’s got his hands in places they don’t belong.”
“And he’s using Emma to get to me. I know it,” Will said.
Will’s phone rang in that moment.
“Is it the kidnapper?” Sabrina cried out.
“No, it’s Captain Whitlock,” Will clarified, then he answered. “Hello, Captain Whitlock. What do you have for me?”
“A doozy,” Captain Whitlock said. “Are you alone?”
“No,” Will said.
“Put me on speaker. And introduce me. This is information anyone involved needs to hear.”
“You’re on speaker,” Will let him know.
“Hello, all. I’m Captain Whitlock. I know Alex’s punk ass is there,” he chuckled.
“Hey, Captain,” Alex greeted.
“Hello,” Sabrina and Spencer said in unison. After a quick introduction, Captain Whitlock proceeded to drop a bomb on them.
“Robert Stewart has been a naughty boy. The reason he left Singapore was because he was about to get busted for something. Something big.”
“What is it?”
“Drugs, Will. He’s part of a cartel.”