Never Surrender Read online

  Across the room, his computer dinged several times in a row with messages.

  Then more.

  Five Fingers wouldn’t be able to put them off forever. But there was still a little time in his favor. He checked the blog again—so far, no update. Not surprising. Mercer had been seen traveling, so this recent turn of events might not even be on his radar. Yet. Or he could be writing up the post, ready to send it to the world in a matter of minutes.

  That was no real worry.

  He would be shut up soon enough.

  Five Fingers had a message for that no-good blogger that would be loud and clear. Something he could never ignore. And for that, he needed to contact at least one of his men.

  The time to act would be sooner rather than later.

  And it would hit Mercer exactly where it hurt the most.

  Chapter 21

  Alex stifled another yawn and resisted the urge to make himself a coffee. It was too late for caffeine, but he couldn’t go to sleep because he had too much to do before bed. He saved the progress on his blog post and grabbed a donut from the counter. Ariana had insisted on picking them up on the way home, and after the day they’d had, he hadn’t been able to say no.

  He kept listening for the sound of cars driving by, hoping against hope it would be Zoey with the twins. But each time he checked their driveway, his car sat alone.

  After finishing the pastry, he made his way upstairs to check on his daughter.

  She was sprawled across her bed, reading a textbook. With the dark circles under her eyes, she looked every bit as tired as Alex felt.

  “Hey, Dad,” she said without glancing up.

  “Why don’t you get some sleep? I can’t imagine you have any tests this week. I never did during half-days.”

  Ariana rubbed her eyes. “No tests, but homework is due tomorrow.”

  He sat next to her. “Are you going to be able to get it done in time?”

  She yawned. “Should be able to.”

  “Would it be easier to go to bed now and work on it in the morning when you’re rested?”

  “Maybe. But I don’t want to stop while I’m on a roll.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “You can pick up where you left off. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Not for you.”

  “We’ll see. I might just have to do that.” She yawned again. “How are you doing?”

  “Me? I’m fine.”

  “You don’t have to play the tough guy for me. It was hard seeing Mom so happy over there, not to mention it had been so long since we’d seen the twins. It sucked having to leave them.”

  He patted her back. “You’re right. It’s wearing on me, but I’ve been looking at real estate around here.”

  “I hate to point out the obvious, but Mom doesn’t want to live here.”

  “There are similar properties not far from here. Sure, it’d be a little drive to get into town, but we’d have acreage and a bigger house.”

  “As big as over there? And how far are we talking? I don’t want to change schools.”

  “No, the houses and properties aren’t as big over here—not in our price range, anyway. But they’re still nice. Definitely a good compromise. If we’re willing to give a little, hopefully she will, too.”

  “How far away?” she asked again.

  Alex hesitated before answering. “About half an hour. Maybe a little more for some of them.”

  “A half hour?” Ari exclaimed. “You want me to drive thirty minutes to get to and from school? It sounds like I’d be out of the district, or at least the range for my school.”

  “There are ways around that. We can sign a paper saying we’ll be responsible for getting you to school since the buses obviously won’t go that far.”

  “Seriously?”

  Alex nodded. “I had a friend in high school who did that when his parents moved senior year. He had to drive forty minutes each way, but he wanted to graduate with all of us.”

  “Would the school even agree to that now? Things have changed a lot since you were a teenager.”

  “Are you saying I’m old?”

  “I’m saying things change.”

  “You’re saying I’m old.”

  She shoved him. “You’re the youngest dad out of any of my friends’ parents.”

  “I suppose that’s better. Anyway, I’m not saying we’ll necessarily move, but it might help if Mom thinks we’re willing to compromise with her.”

  “You’ve convinced me to go to bed. Goodnight, Dad.”

  He kissed her cheek. “’Night, sweetheart.”

  It was tempting to climb into his empty bed, but he really needed to get his blog post published. At least it was almost done. He only needed to add a few finishing touches and read it over before making it live.

  Then there was the matter of texting a few real estate links to Zoey. She might be excited to know there were similar homes not so far away. It would be a compromise for sure, since Ariana didn’t want to move thirty minutes away and Zoey would think it was too close, but that was what compromises were all about. And since neither Alex nor Ari wanted to move at all, it was a good starting point considering how far away his wife wanted to go.

  He played around with the wording of his text before sending the links. Hopefully, if nothing else, it would help them to figure out something that would make everyone happy. Or somewhat happy. Or at least not split up.

  Alex waited to see if Zoey would respond, but after a few minutes, he hadn’t even gotten a read receipt. Maybe she was busy getting the twins ready for bed.

  He turned his attention back to the blog post, reading over what he’d written and adding a few details here and there. It was as good as it would get for now. He could always post an update later. And that was exactly what he would likely end up doing, anyway.

  After publishing, he read over the post one more time before closing the laptop and making his way upstairs. The light under Ari’s door was already off. She was more exhausted than she’d wanted to believe, and it wasn’t surprising given how early they’d woken to make the flight.

  He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

  The ringing of his phone pulled him from the dark depths of a dream. He fumbled around for it and took a moment to focus on the screen.

  It was Zoey.

  Was she calling about the listings? Why so late?

  It was only a little after ten, so not too late. Normally, he and Ariana would’ve still been awake.

  He accepted the call. “Zoey?”

  “Alex!” She sounded near tears. It sounded like one of the twins was crying in the background.

  He sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Zander. He’s gone!”

  Chapter 22

  “Gone?” Alex exclaimed. “What do you mean, he’s gone?”

  “Someone took him!”

  “Where are you?” The darkness seemed to shrink around him.

  “In the rental I’ve been staying at.”

  “Tell me everything that happened.”

  “I was—”

  “Wait! You reported this, right?”

  “I called you.” She gasped for air. “I just found his bed empty!”

  “Call the police! Then call me right back.” Alex ended the call, not giving her time to say anything else. He leaped up, threw on some sweats, and paced, his heart threatening to explode out of his chest.

  Zander might not be missing. He could’ve gotten up and been hiding somewhere Zoey hadn’t seen him. Maybe he thought he was playing hide and seek.

  She was so obsessed with getting away from abductions, it was all she seemed to think about. So it was the first conclusion she jumped to before even looking through the house for a hiding spot. It wasn’t unlike Zander to go off somewhere quietly to play with toys by himself.

  It was only a matter of time before Zoey called and said she found him in some hidden corner of the house.

  Regardless, Alex had to make a p
lan of action. He needed to be prepared to get over there as quickly as possible, whether it be to climb on another plane or drive—depending on when the next flight out was, he might have to take his car.

  Time dragged as he checked his phone repeatedly. The minute wouldn’t change.

  It would be a while before Zoey could call him back. She would have to stay on the line until the authorities arrived and then she wouldn’t be able to call him while she gave her statement. Though if they did find Zander playing or sleeping in some obscure spot, it would only take a moment to call and let him know the good news.

  But his phone was silent.

  Alex pulled on a hoodie then checked on Ari. After confirming she was still sleeping soundly, he went downstairs. His phone remained tortuously quiet. It was worse than the emptiness that was becoming normal in the house.

  He went to the garage apartment and called Nick.

  “Is everything okay?” Nick sounded groggy. He must’ve been asleep, too.

  “Zoey just called and said Zander’s missing!”

  “In Idaho?”

  “Yes. She said she checked on the twins, and Zander was missing from his bed.”

  “Were there signs of a break-in?”

  “Not that she mentioned. I told her to call it in. Now I’m just waiting!”

  “Are you going to fly back over?”

  “I’m going to have to, if they don’t find him.”

  “How long are you going to wait?” Nick asked.

  “At least until I hear back from Zoey. Zander likes to wander off and play by himself, so I’m trying not to freak out. It could be a matter of him thinking this is a game. But the more time passes before she calls back, the less likely that is.”

  “Were there any open windows or doors?” Nick asked. “He might’ve snuck outside.”

  “Like I said, I don’t know anything. Just playing the waiting game. Once I know something, I’ll figure out my next step. If he is missing, I’ll let our precinct know. It could be related.”

  “What about your blog?”

  “I need a post written and ready! Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Because your toddler is missing,” Nick said. “Start typing something up. I’ll call the precinct for you. Someone might call you, but my hunch is they’ll want to talk to the department there first.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Call me if you hear anything.” Nick ended the call.

  He checked his phone for any news from Zoey.

  Nothing.

  Alex sent her a text asking for an update, not that he expected a reply any time soon, and made his way back upstairs to his laptop. Writing a post for one of his children made his stomach ache and twist.

  How could this have happened? He’d just seen Zander at dinner. The twins had been happy and doing well.

  He should’ve insisted Zoey bring them home. He’d done his part by pulling Ariana from school and spending the day looking at houses over there. That should’ve been good enough for Zoey.

  Maybe now she’d see bad things could happen anywhere, and running away wouldn’t solve anything.

  Hopefully Zander had just fallen asleep in an obscure part of the house and was fine.

  Alex wrote up as much as he could for the blog post, focusing on what his son looked like and uploading pictures of him from every angle. He added what little he knew about the abduction—the potential abduction—but would have to wait before adding more.

  He read it over, looking for anything that needed changing and ran spell check. It was the best he could do in his state of mind.

  Neither Zoey nor Nick had called him back. Maybe Nick was on the phone with the police in Idaho.

  It was only a matter of time before they would want to talk to Alex. Despite his distance, he would initially be a suspect, especially if Zoey mentioned anything about their current marital issues.

  He paced, simultaneously fighting off tears and the urge to punch a hole in the wall. Now he was even more helpless than ever. If he had been with them—if she hadn’t pushed him away—he could at least be there as the police questioned them.

  Or he could’ve been there to prevent anything from happening in the first place.

  That would’ve been even better.

  But she hadn’t given him that option.

  His phone rang.

  It was Zoey.

  He shook as he accepted the call. “Did you find him?”

  “No.” Her voice wobbled. “He was taken, Alex. Someone broke in and took him—Zander is really missing!”

  Chapter 23

  The words hit him like a rush of an icy, raging river. “There’s evidence of a break-in?”

  “Yes!” She was sobbing. “It wasn’t obvious at first, but someone broke into the basement through a window! He came up and took Zander from the bed as I was getting ready to go to sleep. They were gone by the time I was done and checked on the kids. What made him leave Laney? Why didn’t he hurt me? Why just take Zander?”

  “We’ll get the answers eventually.”

  “What are we going to do?” she exclaimed.

  “Give the phone to the officers. Let me talk to one of them.”

  “They already left.”

  “Before wanting to talk to me?” he exclaimed. “Did they say anything about wanting to question me?”

  “I can’t remember. I didn’t mention you to them.”

  “What?” he exclaimed.

  “They always suspect the parents—especially the dad. You weren’t even here, so I didn’t think saying anything about you was relevant. We just need them to find Zander!”

  “You didn’t tell them about me at all?” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “I can call the detective if you want me to.”

  Alex could barely think. “I’ll deal with it. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m just supposed to wait here and do nothing. You know how this goes—you deal with these cases every day.”

  “Not every day. Not even every month. What does that have to do with anything?” He needed to pull his thoughts together. “Did any of the officers leave their card? I want to call them.”

  Zoey sniffled. “I think so. Let me look in the living room.”

  “Where’s Laney?” Alex asked. “Is she okay?”

  “She was agitated when I found Zander missing. I woke her up, and she started crying because I was upset.”

  “What about now?” Alex demanded. “Where is she? How is she?”

  “She fell asleep in my arms while I was talking to the detective. I put her back to bed.” Muffled noises sounded. “Here’s the card. Want me to text the number?”

  “Send me a picture of the card. I want to see it myself.”

  “Okay. They’re going to find Zander safe, aren’t they?”

  “Of course they are. Did you find a ransom note? Anything else taken?”

  “Nothing—on both counts.”

  “Text me that picture. I’m going to call them.”

  She said something, but he couldn’t make it out.

  The text came in with the picture. “I’ve got it. I’m calling now.”

  “Let me know what they say.”

  “I will.” He ended the call and dialed the number for the detective in an obscure town in Idaho.

  The detective didn’t answer, so he left a voicemail.

  Alex paced, gasping for air. Debated whether to publish his blog post or wait. He could always update it later with more details. The important thing was getting the word out there so people could look for his son.

  He skimmed the post before clicking publish.

  His heart nearly exploded, he couldn’t catch his breath.

  For just a moment, he worried what people would say. A second child of his was kidnapped. First, Ariana when she was eleven. Now Zander. At least nobody could blame him for this one. He hadn’t even been in the state when it had happened. Not that blame mattered, but it was one less thing to have
to deal with. People could be crazy. The less distraction, the better. He needed to focus on doing what he could to find his son.

  Comments started flooding in almost immediately. So many people were expressing their condolences. The post was getting more shares than usual—that could be good or bad. But shares were shares, even if people were criticizing his parenting skills.

  Alex slumped into the chair, unable to respond to anything, his mind swimming. At least word was getting out. They needed as many people looking for Zander as possible.

  His phone rang.

  He almost didn’t look at it because his arms felt like weights. But he managed to lift one to grab the phone.

  It was the detective from Idaho.

  Alex accepted the call just before it went to voicemail. “This is Detective Alex Mercer.”

  “Detective?” she asked. “I thought I was calling Zander’s father?”

  “I’m both.” The thought that he wasn’t Zander’s biological dad ran through his mind, but he shoved it to the side. Nobody but he, Zoey, and a few people in the hospital were aware of that fact. He was Zander’s parent in every way that mattered, including legally.

  “I didn’t realize you’re also a detective,” she said.

  He gave her the details of his precinct. “We’ve been closely following the rash of abductions up and down the west coast. Are there any similarities between those cases and my son’s abduction?”

  “Not really,” she said. “Those were all taken from malls, to my understanding.”

  “Was there any video of the assailant?” Alex asked. “If he was wearing a long coat, then it’s a link.”

  “Our guy avoided the doorbell camera.”

  “There weren’t any others?”

  “Not that your ex-wife was aware of.”

  “My wife,” he corrected.

  “Oh, my apologies. I didn’t realize that, since you work out there and she lives here.”

  “She doesn’t live in Idaho. She’s staying there in a friend’s house for a short time.” Alex’s stomach knotted. How professionally was the police force handling his son’s abduction? Were they even capable?