Page 108 of Saving You

They nod, and I jog towards the parking lot, making sure to keep my eyes open for both of them.

I have never felt the panic that I feel right now, not knowing where Charlie is. At least when I was deployed and now at work, everyone else is trained. Charlie is defenceless.

I do everything I can to push that feeling aside as I work to find her. I push open the door to the parking lot, and the brisk winter air hits my skin. Adrenaline has my blood pumping through me so quickly that the cold barely registers.

I meticulously make my way up and down the rows of cars, looking for the familiar make and model. I check each license plate, hoping to find him. I’m halfway through the parking lot when I hear Charlie’s cries. That awful sound makes me freeze, but it’s going to help me find her.

Crouching down, I listen for where it’s coming from. I can tell it’s to my left and a few rows back. Still crouched, I slowly make my way in the direction of her cries. Each row I move through has the sound getting louder and my heart racing faster.

“I don’t want to go with you,” she says through her sobs.

Frustration fills Derek’s voice as it sounds like he pounds his fist on a car. “When your mommy gets here, everything will be better,” he says.

“You hurt Mommy,” she says.

“Only because she deserved it. Now, if you don’t stop that crying, I’ll give you something to cry about.”

I can see him five cars down from me as I come to the last row. He’s gripping Charlie’s arm as he drags her to the car. I carefully grab the radio on my shoulder and say into it, “I found them. Last row at the back of the parking lot, south side. He’s driving a red Honda civic.” I turn the radio down to ensure it doesn’t alert Derek.

As the beep of him unlocking the car fills the air, I unclip my gun from my side, flicking the safety off and standing to my full height. Luckily, he hasn’t noticed me yet. I put one foot in front of the other and slowly approach the vehicle.

When I’m just one car away, I say, “Put your hands up and step away from the girl.”

Red crawls up Derek’s neck, and he turns to face me. His grip tightens on Charlie, creating white marks on her skin. That poor girl is going to have bruises to remind her of today.

“Release the girl,” I say, my voice coming out calmer than I feel.

He shakes his head. “I’m not listening to the likes of you,” he spits.

This isn’t going to be easy. I steel myself, knowing I need to remove the emotional aspect to ensure a positive outcome.

“Why don’t you tell me why you took Charlie,” I say.

That seems to have him loosening his grip on her. I watch her blood flow rush to the spots that had turned white from his fingers.

“Because it seems to be the onlyway to get Bailey’s attention. She’s selling our house. I saw the sign. I needed her to talk to me.”

“Did you really think that kidnapping her daughter would have her see you in a positive light?”

His brows pinch together as his face flushes red. “That bitch doesn’t realize how lucky she had it with me.”

His words have me wanting to punch him. How could he possibly think she was lucky being scared of her husband? I push the anger down with three deep breaths. I will not fuck this up. I will not lose Charlie.

“Man, I can’t let Bailey come here until you let Charlie go. I need to make sure she’s safe,” I say.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Haas and Lazar make their way through the cars in an attempt to get behind Derek. I take a step to the side, forcing Derek to turn towards me more so they can sneak past without him seeing.

“Please let me go,” Charlie says as she sniffles, and my heart breaks watching her.

Derek shakes her arm. “Shut up,” he grits at her, and I watch as tears fall down her cheeks.

I take a step towards them, and Derek reaches behind his back and produces a 9mm hand gun, pointing at me.

“Don’t take another step,” he says as he shakes the gun at me. The way he holds the weapon shows me he’s had no training on how to use a gun, but that only makes it more dangerous.

I stop in my tracks, keeping my weapon trained on him.

“Okay. Let’s talk this out then. What will it take for you to let her go. You’re hurting your daughter.”

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