He stared down Priest, not trusting anyone. Stepping inside, Jess sprung from the couch and lunged for him.
Catching his daughter, he held her tightly. "Are you okay?"
Mrs. Danski and Mr. Baste stood in the living room, looking on in concern. He pried Jess off him and held her at arm's length, looking her over. Besides the upset, physically, she was okay.
"Stay here. If Joey shows up, with or without Travis, tell her to stay with you. Let her know that I'm going to look for your brother, and there are more Tarkio members searching." He straightened, dipped his chin to Jess's teenager-sitters, and walked back outside.
He looked to Priest. "Let's go."
Leading the others, he issued directions for them to cover all the ground from the apartments to five blocks in all directions. Forcing himself to calm down, he rode slowly. Every yard, garage, house, a possible hiding place for a teenage boy.
In the back of his mind, the incessant guilt of failing as a father sent his blood pressure sky high. What was he missing? Not wanting to limit the kid since losing his mother, he'd allowed Travis to set his own schedule. He put few rules on him, and those were necessary to keep him safe while Dean continually threatened to go after custody of his kids.
A boy rounded the corner riding a bicycle. Wyatt's hand tightened on the throttle until he realized Travis gave up riding a bike years ago and the kid was a couple years younger than his son.
Going by the school, he rode his motorcycle to the playground. Several kids were hanging out at the swings, filling their summer days with nothing more than conversation and childish dares.
He stopped beside them. They backed away. Cutting the engine, he said, "Have you seen a kid about this tall?" He held out his hand. "Black hair. His name's Travis."
The kids shook their heads. He turned the motorcycle around and caught up with Priest. The other bikers slowed, going down side streets.
"Does he have money on him?" yelled Priest.
He shook his head. If he had anything, it was only a couple of dollars. His kids never grew up having an allowance. Chores were part of being a family. If they needed or wanted something, they asked, and he usually got it for them if it was reasonable.
"Let's stick to the residential areas." Priest pulled ahead and turned to take the next block.
He'd rushed out the door that morning and couldn't remember what shirt Travis wore or if he'd even dressed after rolling out of bed before Wyatt left for work. Wanting to get the windows installed on the remodel that day, he'd left the apartment early.
The more time passed, and there was no sign of Travis, he began to worry more. He couldn't ignore Tarkio's involvement and determination to go after Dean. What if Travis got caught in the middle of Dean's troubles?
As a stepdad, Dean had never involved himself in the kids' lives. Jess and Travis would often give him hints and insight into the life they had at home when Claudia was alive. Because Dean had distanced himself and never took an interest in the kids, he always believed Claudia's behavior was the main problem. The biggest conflict was making sure his ex-girlfriend stayed clean and cared for the kids like they deserved.
So why would Dean want shared custody now that Claudia was out of the picture?
The only way he was going to get some answers was by finding the asshole. Or, finding Travis, and getting to the real reason why he kept running away.
Chapter 27Joey
CURLEY CAUGHT UP TO Joey. She leaned forward, bracing her hands on her knees. Her heart pounded, and the heat from the afternoon nauseated her. She felt like throwing up.
"We've checked every area twice." Curley steadily looked around. "Why don't you go down some water and cool off?"
She waved her hand, unable to speak. Unable to believe that one teenage boy could disappear and an apartment complex full of people hadn't seen him, she felt herself panicking.
Wyatt trusted her to watch the kids. Not twenty minutes earlier, they'd both checked in with her and said they were going to the rec center. Then Travis up and disappeared.
She had to find him.
Straightening, she inhaled deeply, trying to gain her second wind. "I don't know where else to look."
Never had she experienced such fear. Imagining all the terrible things that could happen to children, not to mention he could be hurt or lost. She was going to wring his neck after she hugged him so tight, he wouldn't know what hit him.
"Yoo-hoo," yelled Mrs. Danski, waving in front of Joey's apartment.
She glanced at Curley, shrugged, and walked over to the older lady who was staying with Jess.
"Our boy is coming home." Mrs. Danski wiped the corners of her eyes with a white hankie.
Relief swept through Joey. She pressed a hand to her chest and grabbed Curley's arm to stay on her feet. "Where was he? Who found him? Does Wyatt know?"
Mrs. Danski reached out and hugged Joey. "I don't know all the details. Jess, the dear child, took the phone call. One of the bikers, I forget his name, they all sound like nicknames, you know. Why they don't use the name their blessed mother gave them is beyond me, called and is bringing Travis home. That's all I know."
She turned to Curley. "Can you get ahold of Wyatt?"
"If Tarkio has him, Wyatt will know." He motioned toward the apartment. "Go inside and get out of the sun and relax."
She walked inside, and Jess talked her ear off, repeating the phone conversation. Besides Travis being okay, and on his way back, they knew no other details.
Hugging Jess to her, she said, "Do you want something to eat? Drink?"
"I'll wait. Today, I don't even care if Dad brings home pizza." Jess laughed.
She
