I nodded. “He kept a pistol tucked into his waistband.”
“Tell the state troopers he's armed and dangerous,” Grey said. Then he hung up and gunned the engine. With a spray of gravel, we started bumping down the mountainside, heading on our long way home.
Chapter Thirteen
Greyson
With hot blood still raging through my veins, it took everything I had just to keep driving east. I wanted to go back there and wait for Brant to return. To make him feel the same agony I’d felt for the last three days searching for Finley and Maple—let alone the pain and fear he'd put them through. But getting them home as soon as possible was more important than revenge. Knowing they were both safe, and next to me, I kept driving, putting as much distance as possible between them and danger’s path.
Finley sobbed quietly in the passenger's seat, her hands shaking in her lap, while Maple napped behind us in her car seat, unaware of everything that had gone on. Or maybe, somehow her little mind had absorbed some of it and the stress had exhausted her.
I curled my fists around the steering wheel and settled in. We had a long drive ahead of us and there was no way in hell I was ready to take Finley back to her apartment. Honestly, I had no intention of letting her out of my sight again, but I didn’t know how she was going to take that. So I just drove.
A couple hours later, Maple was restless and we were all hungry. I navigated to an acceptably nice hotel off the interstate and pulled the SUV to a stop.
“What are we doing here?” Finley asked. There was smudged makeup under her eyes and she looked exhausted. I couldn’t even imagine what she had been through. We would get to that, but first I needed them settled.
“We’ll rest. Let Maple run around and play. Order room service. Come on.” I turned off the car and got out.
Finley gave a soft sigh, but didn’t argue. We checked into a room with two double beds and requested a crib be brought up. I ordered a feast from room service while Finley changed Maple's diaper and unpacked what little luggage she had.
“Are we really staying the night here? We’re only a few hours from home,” she asked after I hung up the phone.
“It’s the safest thing to do for now. Brant knows where you live.” Obviously. “Until I hear that he’s in custody, I can’t have you going back to your apartment and have him try to come after you again.”
I checked my phone again. No word from Jerry yet. The idea of that guy being hauled off in handcuffs—preferably with a little police brutality—was the only thing that could ease my mind right now. Until I knew for sure, we’d lay low.
“Once we eat, we’ll find a store and pick up some supplies.”
We’d gotten out of there so fast, all they had were the clothes on their backs and a few meager articles thrown in a trash bag.
Finley sunk down onto the bed and nodded. “I just feel like an epic failure. I put my daughter in jeopardy. Probably scarred her for life.”
“Don’t say that. She’s fine. Look at her.”
Maple was toddling around the room while babbling into the TV remote, pretending it was a phone.
Finley wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “How can she be fine? We were kidnapped, Grey. By some psychopath from a job I should have never even ...”
“Hey.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “You were doing what you had to do to make ends meet.”
“That’s it. That’s all you’re going to say? No, I told you so?” There was so much pain in her eyes. It sliced straight through me and made my heart stutter.
I shook my head. That would be an asshole of a thing to say at a time like this. Now, if she tried to continue working there, then all bets were off.
“How did you know something was wrong? How did you know to come find me?” she asked.
“I just knew.” Because you’re mine to protect now.
Her eyes grew wider and I thought maybe, just maybe, she was starting to understand that.
When our food arrived, we ate in front of the TV, watching some kid’s show that kept Maple occupied. Afterwards, we just kept moving as if on auto-pilot, putting on our shoes and piling into the car. I wanted nothing more than to pull Finley into the bed with me, wrap my arms around them and just hold her. Let her calm down like I knew she needed to. But we had responsibilities first. We had a baby with a very soggy diaper, and in a couple hours, it would be bedtime. I wanted to make sure her routine stayed as normal as possible. So we headed into town to a super-store and pushed a shopping cart through the aisles, tossing essentials in as we went. Lavender baby shampoo, diapers, snacks, and a pair of yoga pants for Finley. She grumbled something about that fuckstick only packing her lingerie and dresses. I clenched my jaw and kept my mouth shut.
A little while later, back at the hotel, Finley gave Maple a bath and then I diapered and dressed her in her new fuzzy pajamas while Finley showered herself. It was the first time I’d ever changed a diaper, but rather than it being gross, I felt proud taking care of her.
Finley took her time in the shower, and that was fine with me. I figured she had some things to work through. By the time I heard the shower turn off, Maple was sound asleep in her temporary crib.
The bathroom door opened with a rush of warm steam. Finley was dressed in her new yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt, and her damp hair hung in loose, golden waves around her shoulders. With her skin scrubbed clean of makeup and her pink cheeks glowing from the warm shower, she looked years younger. Softer, somehow. But those brilliant green eyes still sliced right through me.