Page 34 of Keeping Caroline

Stepping inside the cabin, the familiar scent of pine and a fragrance I could not quite place but that came from one of Scarlett’s scented candles washed over me. It was a small comfort amidst the chaos. With Houdini in one hand, and bags in the other, I stepped into the master bedroom, opening the hidden door, and descending the stairs toward the reinforced safe room. I paused outside the heavy steel door, setting Houdini’s carrier down and steadying myself before ringing the intercom.

“It’s Tristan.”

Within a mere breath, locks clicked, and the door swung open, and suddenly my arms were full of a tiny body. Evie crashed into me, her small frame trembling. Wrapping her in a tight hug, I lifted her off the ground, my heart aching. She had been through so much already, and now this. When we found Caroline, I intended to take care of them both, do anything I could to be a part of their family and make their lives easier.

Over her shoulder, I met Scarlett’s worried gaze, her eyes bloodshot from crying. She looked pale but composed, her inner strength just as iron clad as the child in my arms.

“Hey, kiddo,” I said, rubbing Evie’s back. “I’m here now. We’re going to get your mom back. I promise.”

She sniffled against my shirt, her tiny arms wrapping tighter around my neck. “I want my mommy.”

“I know. We all do.” For the next few minutes, I continued to hold her, waiting for her trembling to subside. Once the sniffles dried up, I extricated myself and crouched down to her level.

“Why don’t you and your Auntie Scarlett get comfy in here and help set up Houdini’s food and water while I set up my equipment so I can help Uncle Ethan look for Mommy?”

Evie nodded, only then noticing the black cat in the carrier beside me, which brought a small smile to her face. While Evie grabbed Houdini’s carrier and dragged it through the doorway, Scarlett stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug.

“We have to find her,” she whispered against my chest.

I nodded, returning the hug just as tightly. “I will. Whatever it takes.”

With Evie and Scarlett stepping back into the safe room, I headed upstairs to gather the rest of my gear, and then went back outside to move my car into the barn on the far corner of the property, not far from the tunnel that led out of the safe space.

Once my car was out of sight, I jogged back to the house and set all the security systems to their highest setting before returning to the basement. From the outside, as well as from the inside, it would appear as though the house was empty—not that anyone should have had any reason to travel all the way up the winding mountain road, unless they were looking for trouble.

There was already a large sofa in the surveillance room, so I made that my space, bringing all my equipment inside with the intention to sleep in there, if I slept at all. While Scarlett moved around the small kitchen area as she made dinner and tended to Evie, I began setting up my equipment, muscle memory taking over as I connected my laptop and an array of tech to what we had already installed only days earlier, and powering everything on that wasn’t. The familiar routine soothed me, bringing a sense of control. Once everything was powered on, I sank into the desk chair and cracked my knuckles, opening a secure connection to Legacy, hoping he had an update for me.

Chapter 23

The Savior

Alone in the hallway, I took a deep steadying breath. My hands curled into fists at my sides as I steeled my nerves for the fight ahead. I had been in countless dangerous situations before, but this time felt different. More was at stake now—not just my life, but Scarlett’s, Evie’s, Caroline’s…my unborn daughter’s.

Failure was not an option.

After pulling on my black hoodie, cargo pants, and combat boots, I retreated to the weapons room that was separate from the safe room, gearing up methodically as muscle memory took over: bulletproof vest first, then the twin hip and thigh holsters, sheathed knives, and extra ammo. I strapped a SIG Sauer P226 to my right thigh and a Glock 19 to my left. More firepower waited in the duffel bag. I preferred to kill with a blade, but it was always a bad idea to bring a knife to a gunfight. My favorite knife was sheathed at my thigh, so I was not leaving home without it, but I needed to be prepared for anything.

Satisfied with my arsenal, I sank down onto a stool and dropped my head into my hands. Doubt and anger warred within me, guilt overpowering them both. I should have done more to protect my sister. Even with all the new security additions and wiping our identities everywhere I could, she had still fallen into a dangerous situation that she didn’t belong in. How could I have let this happen?

My phone vibrated in my pocket, breaking my spiraling thoughts. Tristan was not far. With one final look back at the door to the safe room, I closed the door to our bedroom and headed outside.

Tristan’s Mustang came down the driveway just as I stepped onto the front porch. When he stepped out of the car, a cat carrier in one hand and a duffle bag in the other, his face was grim, jaw clenched.

“Any leads on Caroline?” I asked before he even reached me.

The shaking of his head sent my stomach tumbling. “Legacy is working on it, but they appear to have taken backroads after leaving town to the west.”

My hands clenched into fists, but I refrained from looking for something to punch. Adrenaline surged so forcefully beneath my skin that I needed to do something quickly or that could change. “I need you to dig, deep as you can. Find anything to give us direction.”

Tristan nodded, determination flashing behind his glasses. “I’m on it, boss. I’ll set up in the surveillance room downstairs, get a dedicated connection running.” Eyes softening, he clasped my shoulder. “I care deeply for Caroline, so the stakes are just as high for me. We’ll find her, boss. We must.”

All I managed was a tight smile in return. Tristan’s skills were unmatched—if anyone could track her down, it was him.

Alone on the porch, I breathed in the fresh mountain air as the peacefulness of my surroundings belied what lay ahead. Things were about to get bloody, because for Caroline, I would tear through anyone who stood in my way.

With one last look at my home, I headed to the barn and slid behind the wheel of my black Lexus, the need to hunt heating my blood. My knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as I pulled onto the road, heading for New Orleans, since I did not know where else they could have taken her. Caroline was counting on me, and I would not fail her. Not again. Never again.

The highway stretched endlessly into the late evening as I drove toward New Orleans, my grip white-knuckled on the steering wheel. Caroline was out there somewhere, her fate unknown, and the not knowing ate away at me.

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