Chapter 2 - The Man Outside the Gate
Harper forgot how to breathe.
“No.”
Gabriel did not blink.
“Do you know him?”
She gave him a look that answered the question.
“He found me.”
Her voice barely worked.
“He couldn’t have. I changed phones. I left the car. I paid cash for the apartment.”
Gabriel was already moving.
“Stay here.”
Harper followed him.
“No.”
He turned.
“If he’s outside my gate, you are not walking toward him.”
“That’s my problem.”
“It became my problem when he came onto my property armed.”
The word armed stopped her.
“He has his service weapon?”
“He has two guns.”
Derek always carried a backup pistol at his ankle.
Harper wrapped both arms around herself.
Gabriel saw it.
“Did he ever threaten your brother?”
Her silence answered again.
Gabriel’s voice dropped.
“What did he say?”
Harper stared at the floor.
“He said if I left, he’d make sure Noah disappeared into foster care and I’d never see him again.”
Something dangerous moved across Gabriel’s face.
“Stay with Mrs. Morrison.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
“I spent three years hiding in rooms when Derek got angry. I’m done hiding.”
Gabriel studied her.
Then he gave one short nod.
“Fine. But you stay behind me.”
“I’m not your employee right now.”
“Tonight, you are whoever gets home alive.”
They went downstairs.
The mansion had changed.
Men in dark suits stood at doors that had been empty an hour ago. Security monitors glowed behind a paneled wall. Mrs. Morrison, usually composed enough to survive a hurricane without spilling tea, looked pale.
“Mr. Ashford,” she said, “the police officer is demanding entry.”
“Is he alone?”
“So far.”
Gabriel looked toward one of his men.
“Elias.”
A broad-shouldered man stepped forward.
“Boss.”
“Pull every exterior camera from the last hour. Send me the plates of every vehicle that passed twice.”
“Yes, sir.”
Harper stared at the screens.
One showed the east gate.
Derek stood under the security lights wearing his uniform jacket open over a black T-shirt.
His badge was visible.
So was his smile.
Harper’s stomach turned.
She knew that smile.
It meant he believed he had already won.
Gabriel pressed a button on the intercom.
“Officer Lawson.”
Derek looked up at the camera.
“Gabriel Ashford.”
His voice crackled through the speaker.
“Open the gate.”
“No.”
“I’m conducting official police business.”
“At eleven at night without a warrant?”
“I have reason to believe a missing child is connected to one of your employees.”
Harper flinched.
Noah.
Gabriel’s expression did not change.
“What child?”
“My wife’s little brother.”
“Ex-wife,” Harper whispered.
Derek somehow heard her through the speaker.
His face changed.
“Harper?”
Her whole body locked.
“There you are, baby.”
The old pet name made bile rise in her throat.
Gabriel’s hand moved toward the intercom, but Harper stopped him.
“No.”
She stepped closer to the microphone.
“I’m not coming out.”
Derek smiled at the camera.
“You’re confused.”
“No.”
“You’re hurt. You need help.”
“You hurt me.”
Mrs. Morrison covered her mouth.
Derek’s smile vanished.
“Careful.”
Gabriel looked at Harper.
She kept going.
“You broke my ribs.”
“You fell.”
“You cut my leg on the coffee table because I wouldn’t give you my phone.”
“Harper.”
“You put a gun on the kitchen table and told Noah he’d better learn who the man of the house was.”
Derek’s face went dead.
Gabriel pressed a button.
A red light blinked on the console.
Harper looked at him.
“Recording,” he said quietly.
Derek seemed to realize the same thing.
He stepped back.
Then his radio crackled.
A dispatcher’s voice came through faintly.
Derek answered it quickly and turned away from the gate.
Gabriel looked at Elias.
“Can you pull that frequency?”
“Already recording it.”
Derek walked toward his cruiser.
Harper’s knees weakened with relief.
Then Derek stopped.
He looked back at the camera.
“Tell Noah I’ll see him soon.”
Harper’s blood turned to ice.
Gabriel hit the intercom.
“If you go near that child—”
Derek smiled again.
“What? You’ll call the cops?”
He got into his cruiser and drove away.
Harper grabbed her phone.
She called Noah.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
Her hands began to shake.
“He always answers.”
Gabriel was already barking orders.
“Car. Now.”
Harper called again.
Straight to voicemail.
Then a text arrived from Noah’s number.
Three words.
COME GET HIM.
Under the message was a photo.
Noah sat on the floor of their apartment with tears on his face.
May you like
Behind him, reflected in the dark television screen, stood a man in a police uniform.
