Two days earlier
Lou stood beside his sleeping son. He couldn't sit down. He'd been pacing the hall because Renee had kicked him out of the room. Until she needed a break. And here he was again, seeing only the bruises and cuts. Will looked like a side of meat, not the boy he'd sent off to a birthday party.
He refused to dwell on why his son had been wearing only his boxer shorts. Lou was young once. He knew. And none of that mattered.
His thoughts shifted to Danny's perspective. Lou had a daughter. He knew. Seeing your child's boyfriend wearing nothing but his drawers - well, that was enough to light the fire. That same baby girl being missing could kill a man.
It tore Lou up that he couldn't comfort Danny like he'd comforted him when Samantha had been taken. Before they even really knew one another. Danny had saved him.
Now Lou couldn't leave his son. He was selfish and filled with shame about it.
"Lou. Knock that off." Renee smacked his arm. "Danny wouldn't want you anywhere but here."
His wife could read minds. Mainly his mind.
"Lord I hope she had some decent clothes on." Renee shook her head and made that odd sort of embarrassed sound that resembled a chuckle.
It was crazy what ran through your head in times like this, but he'd been thinking the same thing. He couldn't chuckle though. All he could do was sigh. Lou blew out a world of pain. For himself. For Danny. But it wasn't enough.
He prayed they found that precious young lady. Alive.
Renee leaned against him, slipping her arm around him. Closing his eyes didn't shut out the worry. He had to stay in the moment.
Lou forced himself to focus on something positive. If his son hadn't been there, they might not have any leads on Grace.
Not that Will had said much.
White masks. Two guys. Stinky breath.
That's all they knew so far.
/././
Two days later... time was a blur…
No new leads, and Danny was bouncing off the walls.
Cracked tiles in the bathroom. A smear of blood. A tipped over garbage can.
A scream of anguish so intense, the birds rose from the trees outside the building.
Steve followed the trail with expert precision.
His quarry was not elusive but that didn't mean it was no less dangerous. The madness had to be contained.
But there was no reasoning with Danny. He wanted blood. Steve knew from sparring with his best friend that someone was going to get hurt. It may as well be him.
"Take a break, man. Come on. You can't keep going like this."
Danny made direct eye contact with Steve for the first time all day. "Don't tell me what to do."
Steve knew what was coming. He fanned the flames a little.
"You need me, Danny."
"Need you?" Danny giggled. "What would make you think that?"
Flashing a smile, Steve stepped closer but didn't respond to Danny's words.
"What good are you, huh Steven?" The words stung as much as any punch.
The room vibrated. They stared at one another.
"Gee, I don't know, Daniel. Maybe I'm better than you?"
That did it.
Danny hit Steve square in the jaw. Steve stumbled backwards, quickly taking a defensive stance. He wouldn't fight but he sure as hell wouldn't let himself get too fucked up. He still needed to lead the team.
This exercise was meant only to release the building tension.
But Danny surprised him. Knocked him to the ground. The punches kept coming. Steve landed one or two, trying to throw Danny off guard. His actions only fueled his partner. Danny grabbed Steve's shirt with both hands and shook him, bouncing his head off the floor.
Where there was once reason, now Steve saw only stars and white spots.
"Sirs! Stop!" Junior bellowed.
Steve caught Junior's angry face in his peripheral vision. Danny's weight was suddenly just gone. Steve rolled over and pushed to his feet, not turning his back on Danny.
"God! What are you doing?" Tani's voice was feral. Shocked, confused. "Stop it!"
Danny deflated a little but Steve remained hard. Eyes cold and steady.
"Shake it off." Junior stood between them, both arms out. "We're all under a lot of stress."
"How does this happen?" Danny sighed. "My baby is gone."
Steve opened his mouth and broke one of his biggest rules. He made a promise. "We'll find her."
"Fuck you." Danny spat the words with a small spray of blood. He went into his office and shut the door.
/././
Somewhere on Oahu...same day...
Would this be all she ever knew? Would she die there? Alone with her dreams.
Her dad would come. Uncle Steve would come.
She'd kissed three boys.
Will had been her first ti- She stopped again.
She didn't want to think about him. Or anyone else.
Grace peeled the label off the empty water bottle. She had one left. Not even one. Two thirds of one.
It was hot in her cell today. That was the first time she thought about it that way. She was a prisoner.
Kidnapped by two guys who smelled like alcohol and fish. Rotten fish. Memories were coming back to her in pieces.
Her bedroom door cracking and ripping away from the wall. The sudden burst of violence. She and Will had been no match for the frenzy that followed.
One man pinned her against the bed, breathing nastiness in her face while he waited for the other guy. Grace fought. Kicking and screaming. Fingernails tearing his flesh until he punched her in the mouth, cursing at her. Her lips still hurt.
She'd caught glimpses of Will on the floor.
He'd fought too. He'd kicked the guy in the nuts earning himself more punches and kicks. Until she couldn't see him anymore.
She'd been flipped onto her stomach and the men had joked about having sex with her. Even pressed himself against her. She'd braced herself for the worst. But neither guy had touched her except one of them had licked her neck. They'd yanked her arms behind her and tied them with something. Ordering her not to make another sound. Grace had obeyed, praying she had more time left.
It was then that she realized they were wearing masks. White faces like in a horror film she'd just seen.
This gave her hope.
If she didn't see their faces, they might keep her alive.
Her dad would come. Uncle Steve would come.
Grace knew she had to do her part. Uncle Steve's words were in her head.
Survive until rescue.
He'd talked to her once not long after she'd been kidnapped by Rick Peterson. Convinced her she'd done everything she could. She survived.
That was her job now.
Her dad had scolded Steve for his blunt chat with his innocent child.
Now she was glad for it.
Her dad wanted to shield her from the world. She knew he couldn't. And she knew that he knew it too. That's why he tried so hard anyway. To stay one step ahead.
He'd be so upset with himself. He'd let his guard down. He'd given her too much freedom. Grace could hear the rant in her head. It was almost soothing.
She knew he carried the world on his shoulders.
"It's not your fault, Danno." She called to no one.
Unless someone was listening. She scanned the room for a camera again. This time she thought she spied something high above her.
Someone had watched her pee. Twice.
And that meant her dad would see her use the bucket. If he ever saw the feed. Or her Uncle Steve. The thought made her blush with embarrassment. And Uncle Jerry. He'd be blushing more than her. He was such a sweet guy.
She looked up at the camera and whispered. "I'm sorry."
/././
Same day...in a very tense office...
They had nothing.
Someone had gotten very, very lucky.
There'd been a struggle. DNA taken from what was left of Will's fingernails confirmed it. But there'd been no hits in any database.
Beginner's luck.
The worst kind.
No ransom call had come.
Grace was simply gone. Leaving a gaping hole in all of them.
Steve was frustrated. As team leader, he had to be above emotions. A brick wall against the tidal wave of desperation. Responsible for each of them.
This was not how he wanted things to go down. He felt like they were falling apart. Until he watched Jerry and Adam, still focusing on the work.
Jerry stood at the smart table, lost in something he was reading. He'd been scouring the dark web for clues. Adam was beside him flipping through images on the big screen. He was analyzing grainy footage from a neighbor's bird watching cam. Two men, both dressed in black appeared briefly in the recording. It had to be them. But they'd vanished into the night. Aided by a dark moon and storm clouds. More luck.
Tani and Junior were in Steve's office huddled in front of a laptop, scouring any and all available footage from anywhere near Danny's place. Steve watched the way they talked to one another. His earlier theory came back to him. He wondered if they were together. That happy thought vanished as Tani pounded the desk and stormed out.
"I need a break." She called for everyone to hear.
They'd been at it too long. What choice did they have? But the lack of evidence was reaching the tipping point.
Until quite suddenly, everything changed. It was like someone had sped up the tape. Fast forward to a break in the case.
"I know where Gracie is!"
The familiar voice sliced through the collective gloom. Kamekona lumbered into the office. A giant house of a man.
Right then he was a god.
"Some small-time hood wanting to make a name for himself. He's been shopping her around."
Steve stood, mouth open in horror, taking a cell phone from Kamekona. Eyes registering what he saw.
Grace lying on a mattress. The feed coming from high above her. It was the bucket that broke Steve. He shoved the phone at Kamekona, ordering him to put it away without a word. Don't let Danny see. Not now. Not ever.
Kamekona nodded. "Looks like an old warehouse complex near Kalaeloa. I think I know the place."
Danny lifted his head, words finally registering. He headed for the door before Steve could grab him.
Kamekona followed them, breathing hard.
"Let me go with you. I can get us there faster. And in one piece. My bird is fired up and waiting."
Throw some love Tracey450's way. She writes some awesome stories. And she suggested I expand a scene. More showing and less telling!