Page 35 of Property of Riptide
“That’s okay, darlin’, I’ve got a handkerchief handy if you need it. I’ll always take care of your needs.”
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Van
That comment resonates in my mind as we duck and weave around the crowd. There are clusters of individuals and those who are coupled up—all of them annoyingly in the way. As we approach the tent where Gagey is, I see that man again and all of my spidey senses begin to tingle.
“Riptide, that man from the arena, the one that was spying on and staring at me and Zoey is over there,” I tell him, pointing toward the right back corner of the pavilion.
He follows my line of sight and his entire body stiffens. “I see him. I need you to go inside and tell Indiana and Icer I need them.”
“Okay,” I whisper. “Be careful.”
“Always am, baby. Now hurry, I don’t want to lose sight of him.”
I scurry away from him and the closer I get to the tent’s flap, the faster my feet carry me. As I make my way inside, it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. Once they do, my eyes roamaround the enclosure until they find the men I’m searching for. When they notice me, I wave them my way. They must see something in my eyes that alerts them to my panic because they quickly make it to me.
“Van, what’s wrong?” Indiana asks, reaching out and gripping my elbow with a strong, yet steadying grip.
“Riptide needs you. There’s a man out there that made him get all stiff and growly. He told me to come get you and have you meet him. I think you need to hurry,” I press.
“Head over and stay by Zoey,” Indiana orders as he and Icer sprint from the enclosure. I’m not religious by any means, but I do know that there’s a higher power out there and I quickly say a prayer, “Please watch over them and keep them safe.”
I meander my way through the napping kids until I reach Zoey. “What’s going on?” she asks me. “The guys took off like their pants were on fire.”
“There’s this guy–”
“Isn’t there always,” she interrupts, sounding perturbed.
“It’s usually how all bar jokes begin,” I banter.
“True,” she responds. “What about this guy?”
“During the procession, I noticed this man staring at me, but then I also watched as he turned his head in your direction. He gave me the creeps, he had that dark persona that had all of my internal warning bells going off. When I brought him to Riptide’s attention, he’d disappeared. After I gave his description to Riptide, he stiffened up and has been on guard ever since. As we made it here, I saw him again. He was trying toblend in but instead, he was like a beacon to me and I found him easily.”
“Tell me what he looked like, Van.” I tell her exactly what I told Riptide, and once I’m done she looks scared.
“You know who it is, Zoey, don’t you?”
“Without seeing him myself, I can’t say that I positively do,” she says, her entire body quivering including her voice.
“Who do you think it is?” I ask, reaching out and grabbing her hand in comfort.
“I can’t say his name, Van. He’s like Beetlejuice, you say his name too many times and he appears in a flash of smoke.”
“Surely, you’re joking,” I harrumph. I get the impression that it’s more like she doesn’t want to say who he is, because then, it’ll make this more realistic and detrimental. However, I’m going to give this to her and not press the issue because I can’t imagine being in her position. The fact that she can’t stop shaking reiterates my thoughts. Whoever this guy is, he scares the bejesus outta her.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” she sighs, moving closer to Elodie and sitting down beside her, combing her fingers through her hair. “If it’s who I suspect it is, he’s Elodie’s sperm donor.”
“The man who violated you and then later on had you kidnapped?” I ask, following her lead and sitting at Gagey’s head. My maternal instinct kicking in, my only ambition is to keep my boy out of the evil-minded man’s sights. I may not have all of the details, but I get the gist that he has no issues using kids to get what he wants.
“That’d be him,” she says, silent tears falling down her face. “He’s never going to give up, Van. Not until he has us under his command and can do with us as he pleases.”
“The guys aren’t going to let that happen,” I determine. “You and Elodie are everything to Indiana. He’d move Heaven and Hell to keep you both safe.”
“I know he will,” she returns. “But how many people will get caught in the crossfire when he does? I can’t stand the thought of innocents being hurt because a group of men believe we belong to them.”
