Take Back My Heart (Come Back To Me) Page 6

  Taking a good look at the man standing in front of her, Lauren felt overwhelmed. He had been here the whole time, without question. It was clear that he shared her concern for Eliot. His once perfectly styled hair was now disheveled from all the times his fingers ran through it—a nervous habit that Lauren remembered all too well. Worry lingered in his eyes and anger radiated off of him. If he clenched his jaw any tighter, she swore he’d crack a few teeth.

  The worst part though, he was right. She didn’t want to be left alone. She didn’t want to be a burden to anyone, but more than anything, she worried that when everyone did leave, she’d fall apart, her mind would throw itself into overdrive, and she would think about every single ‘what if.’ Having Connor with her, made her feel safer. He gave her the comfort she desperately needed.

  “I can’t believe he took my baby, Connor. Something’s wrong. I should have known better. Why? Why did he do this? Even on his worst days, Kyle was never like this,” she sobbed.

  “Shhh.” Connor pulled her toward the couch where he could cradle her in his lap. “It’s going to work out, Princess. I promise you. He’s going to come to his senses and do the right thing. Eliot is going to be fine.” Connor hoped he was telling her the truth.

  She continued to cry, rehashing everything that happened: where she went wrong, what she could have done differently. She blamed herself. No matter how many times Connor reassured her that this whole mess was far from her fault, Lauren still felt the blame rested on her shoulders.

  Eventually her crying stopped. Glancing down at her, Connor found her eyes closed. Her breathing had evened out—minus the occasional hiccup. Lauren had fallen asleep against his chest. Resting his chin on top of her head, he breathed in her scent, wishing there was something more he could do to help her, to fix this horrible situation.

  Leaning his head backwards onto the sofa, his arms were firmly wrapped around Lauren as he willed his body to relax.

  He jumped when the front door opened without warning. His body tense, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Amy tiptoe in, holding dinner in her hands. With a signal for her to keep quiet, he tried to slip out of Lauren’s embrace—not the easiest feat to accomplish.

  “Her room is just up the stairs to the left. I think she’d be more comfortable if you think you can get her up there,” Amy whispered. “She’s usually a pretty heavy sleeper, so I doubt you’d wake her up.”

  He smiled, grateful for the guidance. Hoisting himself up from the couch with Lauren tucked close to him, he followed Amy’s directions her room. Laying her down, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, covered her with the blanket, and then escaped quietly.

  When he came back down the stairs, Amy had set a plate of food out for him and was waiting at the breakfast bar for him to join her. His temper was still boiling under the surface. He could keep his cool for Lauren, but he needed answers. “How the fuck could y’all stand there and let him take Eliot like that?” he barked. He’d kept quiet long enough, not wanting to upset Lauren any more than she already was.

  “It’s complicated. And you seriously need to chill.” Amy stood her ground. “Kyle can be a loose cannon sometimes. Anything any of us did right then would have only made things worse. Don’t be taking this shit out on me, Connor. I’m seriously rooting for you here, but don’t think you can just swoop in and play hero whenever you want to.”

  Connor let her words sink in. “I swear, I could beat him into a pulp. I know it won’t help this situation, but it doesn’t mean I still don’t want to.”

  “Riley’s ready to snap. I think if he wasn’t with our kids right now, he’d be on the hunt with you.”

  “I find it hard to believe that my Lauren would fall for a guy like Kyle. Was he always like this?”

  Amy shook her head, swallowing a bite of food before answering, “He wasn’t always like this. You remember how timid he was when we were kids? This is so far out of left field, even for him. I mean, he wasn’t the greatest husband simply because he had such a wondering eye, and eventually couldn’t keep it in his pants. Aside from the big indiscretion, he was a great dad to Eliot, even after the divorce. Custody arrangements went smoothly, and they agreed on everything. It was almost too good to be true. Recently though, he’s been more of an asshole.”

  “How long have they been separated?”

  “Six years. They split-up when Eliot was three. She came home from work early one day and caught him in the act. He had some bimbo bent over the couch.”

  Connor let out a whistle. “Wow. I mean I know I’m no superhero in her eyes, but wow.” He paused. “Hey, I’m sorry for being a dick. I know you’re right, but that doesn’t make this any easier.”

  Lauren stood at the bottom of the steps and cleared her throat, effectively ending their conversation. “Thanks, Amy.”

  Amy smirked and shrugged. “I made dinner. I’m sure you aren’t that hungry, but you need to eat something.” She slid a full plate in her direction.

  Connor stood, making room so Lauren could sit next to her friend. She picked at her plate while they sat in silence. The silence only led to more tears. This time, Amy and Connor flocked to her side, wrapping her in their warm embrace. She let them comfort her, taking in their warmth until her stomach started to revolt. Pushing them aside, she jumped from her seat, darted toward the bathroom, and slammed the door behind her.

  When she reappeared, Connor stood outside the bathroom door with a small glass of ginger ale and a few crackers. Lauren gave him a weak smile and accepted his offering.

  “Amy headed back to her house for the night. She said to call if you needed anything. I promised I’d stay and keep you company.”

  “Thank you. I’m trying to hold it together, but I’m on the verge of falling apart. I need to know where my boy is.” Meeting Connor’s gaze, she said, “I heard everything Amy told you. It’s true, he wasn’t always like this.”

  For a moment, Lauren thought she saw regret flash in his eyes, but as fast as it appeared, it disappeared.

  He said nothing in response, despite how badly he wanted to apologize for his own indiscretions. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, that he always had and always would, but no matter how badly he wanted to say the words, he wouldn’t. He didn’t want that moment to be clouded by the worry she was feeling.

  The weekend passed slowly with no word from Kyle. Connor, true to his word, stayed with Lauren at her house. It wasn’t until late Sunday afternoon that he finally gave in, leaving only long enough to drive home and grab some clothes. Not wanting to leave her alone, Amy stayed with her while he was gone.

  The past few days had taken a toll on both of them. Connor had taken up residence on her couch at night, while she laid in her bed, tossing and turning. Each morning, they woke up looking as if they had been run over by a truck. Lauren had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, and her entire face was red and puffy from all the tears she’d cried. Her hair stayed pulled back in a messy bun and hadn’t been washed in days.

  Connor hadn’t fared much better. His face looked worn and haggard, especially with several days’ worth of stubble. He hadn’t complained at all though. Instead, he focused on Lauren. He made sure she had breakfast and lunch, practically forcing her to eat.

  Amy called several times a day to check on them both, and each night, brought dinner over for them to eat.

  Lauren wasn’t surprised to see Connor dressed, ready to go with a cup of coffee and breakfast waiting on the table when she came downstairs Monday morning. It felt like wasted effort to her though, because she was too nervous to eat. Connor urged her to take a few bites, but her plate remained mostly untouched.

  Her only focus was getting to the courthouse and getting her boy back. Eating could wait.

  Kyle’s lawyer, Jack, was waiting outside the courthouse with Matt when Lauren and Connor arrived. Judging by the scowl on his face, Lauren assumed he didn’t have good news.

  “I haven’t been able to reach Kyle. I’ve
left messages, but I’m not sure he’ll even show up.” Jack confirmed the fear that had been rolling through her mind.

  Hearing Connor curse under his breath, Lauren trembled, bit her lip, and fought back another round of tears. How much more would she have to endure?

  The lawyers led the way to the appropriate court room where they waited for their case to be called.

  Kyle’s absence was inexcusable in the judge’s eyes. He issued a warrant for his arrest, and next, he awarded Lauren temporary sole custody until further notice.

  Leaving the courthouse, Lauren felt run down and defeated. She would never give up hope, but with each passing moment, she wondered if she would ever see her child again.

  Connor would never speak it out loud, but he shared Lauren’s worry. He wanted to believe that as much as he hated Kyle, the father of Lauren’s son wouldn’t be stupid enough to run off with Eliot or keep the boy from his mother.

  By the time they got home from court, Lauren had retreated into her shell. Silence surrounded them.

  What could Connor possibly say to her to make this better? Anything he did say was met with either silence or a one word answer. She had even pushed him away when he tried to hold her close to comfort her.

  She spent most of the day staring off into space.

  When her cell phone rang around midafternoon, she barely registered the sound at first. The minute she realized it was her phone, she jumped up and answered the unknown number immediately.

  “Mommy,” Eliot sniffled on the other end.

  “Baby? Oh, my gosh.” She fought back tears.

  Connor sat up straighter, pulling his own phone from his pocket. “Put it on speaker,” he urged her quietly, opening his phone’s digital recorder.

  Lauren hit speaker and kept talking. “Eliot, are you okay, sweetie?”

  “I’m scared, Mommy. Please, come get me,” he begged. “He took me to some lady’s house.”

  “Baby, I’m going to come and get you as soon as I can. Do you know where you are?”

  “I fell asleep in the car. I don’t know. Can you find me?”

  “I will, baby. I will find you.”

  There was a muffled noise in the background, then a woman’s voice spoke. “I’m taking it this is Lauren?”

  “Tell me who the fuck you are, and why you have my son,” Lauren demanded.

  “Kyle brought him here. I’m sorry I couldn’t call you sooner, but he didn’t really give me a chance. He’s left for a little bit. I don’t know how long he’ll be gone or where he went. I wanted you to know your little guy is safe. If you have a pen and a paper, I’ll give you my address. I’ll do all I can to help you get him back home. I’m sorry Kyle has done this to you,” the stranger rambled quickly.

  Connor had a pen and paper ready, handing it to her. Her hand shook nervously as she jotted down the address. Kyle had taken him all the way to New York.

  “Mother fucker!” Lauren cursed. “Fuck, Kyle. Damn it. I’m coming to get my son.” Her voice cracked. “Please, keep him safe until I get there.”

  The emotion in her voice had Connor’s heart breaking.

  “My name’s Jen, and I promise you, I’ll do everything can to keep him safe. I’ll try to get in touch with you again soon. Maybe I can get him out of here and meet you somewhere. I’m not sure, but I’ll try,” the other woman tried to reassure Lauren.

  As soon as she hung up the phone, Lauren ran upstairs and started packing frantically. Unsure of what she’d need, she tossed whatever she grabbed into a suitcase. Her bag packed, she ran to Eliot’s room and did the same thing in there. With both bags in hand, she charged back down the steps and toward the front door, giving no thoughts to Connor or anything—except Eliot.

  Sheriff Greene met her at the front door. “Lauren, you can’t just go running out of here. Why don’t you slow down and give me what you know?” He urged her back inside.

  Lauren’s eyes darted between Sheriff Greene and Connor. How did he know she had gotten any information? In her haste to get to Eliot, she’d completely forgotten to make any other phone calls.

  “I called him,” Connor offered. “We can’t just swoop in and take him, even though I know we’d both like to,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, guiding her toward the couch to sit down so they could discuss a plan of action.

  Lauren huffed. Part of her was relieved Connor was thinking clearly and had called Sheriff Greene; the other part of her wanted to storm out of the house and retrieve her son, and was pissed off that she couldn’t. Precious time was slipping away. Knowing Kyle had taken him out of state only fueled her worry. She didn’t trust that Kyle wouldn’t do something else.

  “Kyle took him here.” She handed over the slip of paper with the address she’d scribbled down. “He’s with a woman named Jen. Connor recorded the whole thing.”

  “I’ll need that recording to share with the team.” Sheriff Green shifted his gaze to Connor. “Anything else important?”

  “Apparently, Kyle’s been keeping a close watch on both of them. He left for a little bit for the first time today, which gave her a chance to call me. She doesn’t know how long he’ll be gone. We’ve got to hurry up and go get my son!” Lauren begged as she jumped from the couch only to pace anxiously.

  “Lauren,” Connor warned.

  “As a parent, I get that you want your son, but you’re going to have to trust us and let us do our job. That’s the best chance you have of getting him back safely,” Sheriff Greene tried to placate her. “He’s taken him over state lines. I’ve got to call the police district for this address and get them involved,” he grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is suddenly bigger than our town, Lauren. I need you to trust us. Trust me.”

  Lauren sighed in defeat, still agitated with the entire situation. “So what you’re saying is that I’ve got to wait some more. I’m tired of fucking waiting. I think I’ve been more than patient. I want my son back, and I want Kyle’s head on a fucking platter for this mess.”

  “Lauren, please hold tight,” Connor begged, “We’ve made it this far. You don’t want to do something to set Kyle off again and make this any worse than it is.”

  Sheriff Greene stepped outside onto the porch to give Connor and Lauren a minute alone while he made some phone calls.

  “Oh great. So, you think I caused all of this?” she snapped at Connor.

  Connor took a deep breath, and ran his fingers through his hair. Being the rational one in this situation was getting old very quickly. “That’s not what I said. I’m not the enemy here, Lauren. Let’s let Sheriff Greene do his job so we can bring Eliot home.”

  “Not we, Connor. I’m bringing my son home! Me!” she shouted, and started to pound on his chest before falling into him with a sob. “I’m bringing him home. One way or another.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, he rubbed his hand up and down her back in a soothing pattern. “You’re right. You’re bringing him home,” he promised.

  Her words stung, but he was convinced she only said it out of fear and anger. It appeared he had become the scapegoat. Lauren may not want to admit it, but she needed him right now. He knew it. She knew it. The way she was clinging to him proved it.

  Sheriff Greene tapped on the door before stepping back inside. “We’ll load up in thirty minutes. Deputy Thomas is on his way over. He’s going to make the drive with us up to Red Hook.” He moved toward Lauren and put a firm hand on her shoulder. “Hang in there. Just a little bit longer now. The Red Hook Police Department is working on securing a place for us to meet up and review everything. I’ll touch base with them once we’re closer, and we’ll go from there.”

  “Why don’t you call Amy before we leave? Update her on what’s going on, and let her know we’ll be leaving,” Connor offered.

  “I probably should,” she replied quietly.

  “I’m going to go make some more calls. I’ll let you know when Deputy Thomas arrives.” Sheriff Greene excused
himself and stepped back outside.

  Lauren snuggled closer to Connor as he kissed her forehead gently. “We’re here, Princess,” he whispered.

  It had taken two hours before they pulled into the parking lot of a Best Western. Lauren spent half of the ride trying to calm her nerves and fight back the tears that threatened to spill. One minute, she was staring blankly out the window, and the next, she had tears rolling down her face. Eventually, she leaned on Connor and began to doze.

  At the sound of Connor’s voice, she quickly sat upright and looked around.

  Sheriff Greene peered into the backseat from over his shoulder. “Red Hook PD is already here. I’m going run through all the details with them again, and they’ll let us know what their game plan is.”

  “Okay,” Lauren whimpered, biting her lip as tears threatened to fall again.

  Connor helped Lauren exit the SUV. Once her feet hit the pavement, they followed Deputy Thomas and Sheriff Greene into room number twenty-four.

  “Greene, Thomas.” A man dressed in a Red Hook police uniform shook their hands. “Ms. Forbes, Mr. Matheson,” he greeted Connor and Lauren. “I’m Chief Reynolds. This is Special Agent Ryan with the DEA. It’s his job to get Kyle Forbes. My priority is Eliot.”

  Special Agent Ryan extended his hand.

  “Wait. DEA? Why is the DEA involved?” Lauren’s gaze travelled between the four officers, searching for answers on their blank faces.

  “I can’t comment too much since this is an ongoing investigation, but he has some dealings with men that are currently on our watch list. Along with retrieving your son, I’ve been ordered to bring Kyle Forbes in for questioning.” Seeing the apprehension in Lauren’s eyes, he continued, “Please understand that the main priority here today is the safety of your son. He comes first.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Connor spat under his breath.

  “What the fuck has Kyle gotten himself into?” Lauren groaned out loud.