“You keep laughing, baby.”
And she did, she kept at it as he exited the bedroom. Even though he could no longer hear her as he walked around checking that the doors were locked and the lights were off, he was sure she was still up in his room laughing herself sick, thinking it was funny she could get his dick hard and ready with a few words. He used the time it took to get back upstairs wisely and plotted his revenge. There would be a whole lot of begging on her part before the night was over.
By the time he got back to the room, Charleigh was in bed, her back to the headboard, blanket up to her waist, and she obviously rummaged through his bag and nabbed one of his tees, something she used to do when they lived together, but something she hadn’t done since they’d been back together. Mainly because he’d done his best to keep her naked, making good use of their limited alone time.
But right then he appreciated the tee—her naked would distract him from the talk they needed to have.
Once he’d stripped off his clothes, he climbed in next to her, and even knowing it was a fool thing to do, Holden’s arm went around Charleigh and he tugged her to his side. Further, he continued the lunacy and cupped her bare ass.
It took three deep breaths to get his body under control, then he started.
“Sydney Powell.”
Charleigh jerked and her head tipped up.
“The girl I’m planning the party for?”
“Yeah. What are her parents like?”
“Rich.”
“No. What are they like? Good people, attentive parents, watchful?”
“Um…negative. They’re planning a blowout fifteenth birthday party so they can brag about having the party of the decade. They’re doing this because from what I’ve witnessed they mostly ignore her. Her dad is a workaholic and her mom likes to spend his money as fast as she can. Of course, I don’t know them well, but I do know a spoiled brat when I see one.”
Shit. That was what he was afraid of.
“What’s she look like?”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain in a second.”
“Okay, she’s tall, only a couple inches shorter than I am. She’s very pretty though she has a heavy hand with makeup and her clothes are far too skimpy, especially for a teenager.”
“What color hair?”
“She’s a blonde and she has blue eyes.”
“Fuck.”
“You’re scaring me.”
Holden squeezed her but refrained from telling her she should be scared because if he was right, the fifteen-year-old was being groomed by a sick fuck who intended to harm her.
“I don’t know for sure, I reckon there are a lot of high school girls with the name Sydney in Kent County but…”
Over the next ten minutes, he ran down the case for her, leaving out some of the details she didn’t know, but giving her enough to understand Jonny needed this guy off the street.
“Oh my God. I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing to say, baby. We need to find him, but none of the girls are talking. And the messages they’re sending are cryptic, leaving out his name. All we know is he’s older, he has a car, and he gave Sydney Malibu rum at a party hosted by a teenager. No description, no make or model or his car, nothing.” Holden gave her another squeeze then added, “And we know he’s seriously fucked in the head and he’s hurting these girls. I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Do you have Sydney’s email or cell number?”
“Yes, to both.”
“If McKenna gives you something to text Sydney, will you do it?”
“Sure. What do you want me to send her?”
“You find a video or picture, it can be of anything, and McKenna will embed a virus so when Sydney opens it, McKenna will have access to her cell or computer. Though she’d prefer her cell.”
“She wants to hack her phone,” Charleigh surmised.
“Yeah. The kids are using a hidden messaging app and Micky’s been trying but hasn’t had any luck finding a way to break into the app. We need access to Sydney’s phone to see if she’s communicating with this guy.”
“I know the perfect video to send her. The party’s next week and we’re finalizing the song list for the DJ.”
“That’s perfect. Thank you.”
Charleigh tipped her head back and gave him a small, sad smile.
“She’s kinda a brat, totally spoiled, has zero respect for the adults in her life, acts like she’s thirty, not fifteen. But she doesn’t deserve to be preyed on by some gross old man.”
“No, baby, she doesn’t. No kid deserves that. Jonny’s doing his best and feels like shit this has been going on for as long as it has and he didn’t see the pattern.”
“It’s not Jonny’s fault.”
“No, it’s not. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel like it is. After everything that happened with his brother, Doug, and his dad dying, Jonny’s been in a bad way. He feels guilt over what his niece Rory saw and what Caleb endured. But mostly, he’s feeling like he’s useless. And that’s the worst thing a man like Jonny can feel.”
“Macy told me what happened. I knew a little bit of the story because Kennedy told me but I didn’t know Rory was kidnapped and witnessed her dad kill her grandfather, or that she was in the room when her dad died, until after Faith was taken. Macy told me everything and gave me the name of the counselor Rory’s been seeing.”
Alec had come apart the day he found Caleb hiding in the woods after the boy had narrowly escaped Doug. Only to find that Doug had gotten his hands on Rory. From there, the events of the day went downhill. Jonny was left bleeding on his parents’ living room floor, his dad was dead, he killed his brother. Jonny’s emotional scars were so deep, Holden was worried he’d never recover. Rory had been
