Train couldn’t understand why Killyama believed she couldn’t have her own like that. She had even told him she didn’t want to have kids.
He wanted to hold her close and ask the questions that were going to drive them apart if she didn’t learn to trust him with her answers.
Pulling his cell phone back out of his pocket, he texted her before she could go inside the restaurant.
Have fun. Text me when you get back, and we’ll meet up. Love you.
Her smiling face was worth the cut to his pride. The smiley face she texted back was as good as it was going to get for now.
Train ducked into a convenience store to use the restroom and grab himself a snack. He had just resettled back in the car when Killyama, Hammer, and Jonas came running outside the restaurant. When Hammer pulled out with wheels screeching, he knew they must have received a hot tip.
He had already been listening to the police scanner as he waited for them, so when the alert came from his phone and the scanner, his blood ran cold.
There had been an alert issued for a two-year-old boy. The child had been taken by his non-custodial father who was wanted for a parole violation. Train knew it was the same man Killyama was searching for when Cooper’s name verified by the dispatcher.
Train cussed, almost hitting a blue truck that had pulled out of a shopping lot. It blocked him from keeping a clear view of Hammer’s vehicle. Then, when the truck stopped at a yellow light, Train lost sight of them, still stopped at the red light behind the truck while Hammer had sped up.
Train nearly rear-ended the truck. Slamming his hand down on the steering wheel, he backed up then swerved to the right into the turning lane. Gunning Moon’s motor, he shot out into the traffic, dodging cars until he saw a turn he could make that led into a drug store.
He shot through oncoming traffic, did a U-turn to make a left, and then another right onto the street he had lost Hammer. Passing cars at a speed that would have gotten him a ticket if the cops hadn’t been searching for the little boy, Train gave a sigh of relief when he saw Hammer’s SUV turn down a side street. He made the turn three cars behind them.
The streets became tree-lined as they moved farther into a residential neighborhood. He was about to follow Hammer down another street when he saw him break and park in front of a house.
Train braked, too, stopping his car. He then watched as Killyama and Jonas walked away from Hammer, who started running catty corner from them. Their bright vests were clearly visible as they walked toward a house that had a “For Sale” sign posted in the front yard.
Train jumped out of Moon’s vehicle and ran to the side of the neighboring house. He climbed over a fence on the opposite side of the tree line, seeing Hammer trying to look through the side windows then disappearing behind the house.
Train brought his hand behind his back, clutching his gun handle, as Killyama knocked on the door then fiddled with the lock box on the door handle. Jonas must have called the agent, requesting to see the house.
When Killyama raised the key in her hand triumphantly, Train tensed as she put it in the lock and turned it. Killyama and Jonas then barged inside.
Train wanted to run inside when he heard yells. Then he heard a crash from the backyard, assuming Hammer had broken in through the back.
“Get your fucking hands up!” He heard Jonas’s loud shout from inside.
Train was about to charge toward the house when Killyama came running out with the little boy carried protectively in her arms. At the same time, the police swarmed the neighborhood.
Seeing her holding the crying child brought a lump to his throat as he hurried back to his car, driving past the squad cars. He drove by a traffic jam as he headed back to the hotel where Killyama was staying. He knew she would be busy for the next few hours doing the paperwork on the capture. He could get some sleep before heading back to Treepoint.
He was about to check in to a room when he changed his mind after staring at his watch. Instead, he grabbed a bite to eat at the Waffle Stop then drove back to Treepoint. If he was wrong, then she would still be safe with Hammer and Jonas for the night. However, with the fugitive captured, she would more than likely go right back to Jamestown.
He was exhausted when he arrived back at the club.
Parking behind the factory, he changed the license plates before he covered the car up with a tarp. Too tired to take the steps, he walked the pathway around the club, not speaking to any of the brothers as he went upstairs, where he simply nodded at Moon as he passed him in the hall.
He didn’t want to shower, but two days without one had him taking a quick one before he dried off and made his way to his bed. He thought about locking the door, but he knew no one would come in without knocking