TANNER

Quickly killing Randy would be showing him mercy, in my opinion. I don't want to upset Addie more than she already is, but I'm worried. Her stepfather is a selfish prick, and I wouldn't put it past him to sell Owen on the black market. But I would never tell Addie that. Instead, I whisper soothing words of comfort and promise her everything is going to be okay.

And I hope to God that I'm right.

The police show up and I wrap my arm around Addie and do my best to comfort her as she explains the situation, giving them as many details as possible and clearly answering their questions. She's doing an amazing job when I know that she’s falling apart on the inside and crumbling with worry. When she tells the officer how he had stopped over and Randy threatened her, I am pissed. Then when she says a loan shark showed up here, I am in a state of absolute shock and beyond livid. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jo bn ib.com. Visit J obn I b.c 0 m to read the complete chapters for free. How dare these assholes threaten her and then steal Owen away in the middle of the night. 'm trying to keep it together and not lose my shit, but it's getting really damn hard. After taking her statement, the police promise they will do everything in their power to find Owen and they immediately issue a bulletin with Randy and Owen's description and picture.

Normally I'm cool and in control, the most level-headed of my siblings, but right now I am furious.

I walk the policemen out and go straight back to Addie. She's sniffling into a tissue, and I sit back down beside her on the couch. 'm upset about everything, but especially because she didn't reach out to me sooner.

“Sweetheart, I am so sorry for what I said the other day. I know we had a fight, but why didn’t you call me the second Randy showed up? Or the loan shark? You know I would've dropped everything and ran straight here. Right?”

Addie looks into my eyes, her dark brown gaze tear-bright and devastated. She nods and I drag her into my arms.

“Yes, I know," she whispers, wrapping her arms around my neck and holding on for dear life. “And I'm so sorry, too, Tanner. I never meant to keep Owen a secret for so long. AlL I ever wanted was to be with you.’

My heart expands. “That's all I've ever wanted too."

She pulls back and swipes a hand over her eyes, brushing the wetness away. “We need to find Owen. If we don't-"

“We will” I say. run a hand up and down her back, thinking. And it occurs to me that I have someone who can help us track Randy down probably way quicker than the police. I pull back and yank my phone out of my pocket. “I know who can help,” I tell her.

“Who?” she asks, eyes filling with hope.

“My brother”

“Nash?”

I shake my head. “No. Sawyer” Even though it's after three in the morning, Sawyer picks up right away. He once told me that he doesn't sleep very much and the military never allowed him much sleep, anyway.

“Tanner? What's wrong?” Sawyer asks. Even though it's so late, he sounds wide awake.

“Sorry for calling so late, but it's an emergency.”

“I was up. What's wrong?"

“Addie’s stepdad broke in and kidnapped Owen a few hours ago. He's demanding she pay him $50 thousand dollars. There's also a shithead loan shark threatening her”

“Fuckers,” Sawyer swears. “What can you tell me about the stepdad?”

I look over at Addie and nod encouragingly. “Tell him everything you can.”

Addie releases a shaky breath and starts spilling every piece of information about Randy that she can think of from his full name to what he looks like to where he hangs out and what he likes to do.

Ten minutes later, Sawyer tells us he's calling a couple of contacts and will cash in favors to get answers.

“I should have his location soon,” Sawyer says, voice steely. “A couple of hours maybe?’

“Thanks, Sawyer!"

“Don’t worry, we'll find Randy and get Owen back tonight. I'll be in touch."

We thank him and I disconnect the call.

“How is he going to find Randy?" Addie asks.

“Tanner is former military," I explain. “He has connections with a lot of people. People who have access to things we don't. If anyone can find Randy fast, it's him."

“Oh, God, I hope so."

I reach out and take Addie’s hands in mine. “We're going to find him, sweetheart.”

Addie forces a nod, but I can tell she’s struggling. I want to help get her mind off what's going on right now as best as I can, and we still have so much to talk about. I want to clear the air.

“Addie? I need you to know that no matter what's happened between us, it's never changed my feelings. I've loved you through all the ups and downs and after you took off, my heart broke.”

“I'm 50 sorry, Tanner. I know now that I should've found you and talked to you. Not just run off the way I did."

I shake my head. “I understand why you did what you did. After putting myself in your position, it amazes me that you were so incredibly strong. Christ, Addie, the world was against us and all we wanted to do was be together. I apologize for my father's actions and how he drove us apart”

“And I'm sorry Kayla was part of it, too. We talked earlier and...” Addie frowns. “She told me Thomas came to her and asked her to talk to me and put doubts in my head about you. About our relationship.”

“Christ,” I hiss. “Just when I think it couldn't get any worse.”

“He paid off Kayla's credit card debt for making me believe you wanted to break up with me and go with someone else. And was naive enough to believe her”

“No," I say and squeeze her hands. “What happened was not your fault. We let other people influence us, but never again." “I forgave her, she says softly. “She's my sister and she was so sorry. I couldn't turn her away. It would've hurt too much. We've grown really close since I moved back home."

“I get it. Earlier today I went to the cemetery and visited my parents’ grave. I forgave my dad, too. For everything”

“You did? Oh, Tanner, I know how hard that must've been for you.”

“Excruciatingly so, but I'm not going to lie. It feels like a weights been lifted off my shoulders. Off my heart actually.”

“I'm 50 glad,” she says fervently.

I look deeply into her eyes, knowing my next words will make or break everything. “I need you to know exactly how I feel, sweetheart. I loved you two years ago with every ounce of my being and now... I take a deep breath, praying she's on the same page as me. “Now I love you more than I even thought possible. You are my everything, Addie. My past, present and future. Without you, I have nothing; I want nothing”

Tears fill her eyes again.

“Please, don't cry," I whisper and reach up to swipe my thumb across her cheek. “I promise you; we're going to get Owen bac and then I'm never leaving your side again. We're going to be a little family and I'm going to take care of you both and love you like you've never been loved before. I'm going to f*****g worship you, sweetheart. That is, if you'll have me."

Tears stream down her face and I pull her into my arms, holding her tightly against my chest. Right where she belongs. “Nothing would make me happier,” she whispers.

“Oh, thank God. If you would've turned me down-"

“Never,” she assures me. “You're my everything, Tanner Morgan Beckett.” Her arms tighten around me. “That's his name, too. Owen Morgan- after you!"

“And if it's okay with you, he's going to have my last name, too.”

“It's absolutely fine with me.”

I press a kiss to her temple. “I want you to have it, too."

Addie pulls back and looks up at me, slightly confused. “What?”

“This isn't how I planned to do this," I admit. Reaching for the ring in my pocket, I pull it out and hold it between my fingers. “I bought this for you two years ago. The night everything happened, I had planned to propose.”

Her mouth drops open.

“Obviously I never got around to the proposal, but 'm doing it now before anything else tries to come between us. Sliding of the couch, I get down on one knee and slide the diamond ring onto her finger. “Don't answer yet but know this is your ring and I'm going to convince you to be with me. But first, we're going to get Owen back and then do a real, proper proposal where we can both be in a happy place first because our son is safe. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers.

I'sit back down on the couch beside her, pull her into my arms and lay back on the pillows with her. Pressing my lips into he hair, I hold her tightly. “Everything is going to be okay." I keep whispering those words to her until she's breathing evenly anc resting.

Finally, I have my girl back in my arms. Right where she belongs.

My phone buzzes at 5:I5am and we both jump awake. I sit up, grab it off the coffee table and stand up. “It's Sawyer, I tell Addie. “Hey, Sawyer, what have you got for me?" I start pacing and rubbing the kink out of my neck.

I put him on speaker so Addie can hear, too.

“I just heard back from a Navy buddy of mine,” Sawyer tells us. “He managed to pull up CCTV footage in the area and used it to track Randy down. We have the location where he's hiding!”

Relief fills me and Addie jumps up, wringing her hands. “Where are they?” she asks.

Sawyer rattles off an address that I instantly commit to memory.

“It looks like it's about 30 minutes away and satellite images show an industrial-looking neighborhood.”

“He's in South Grove” Addie says. “The warehouse district.”

“I'm pulling up out front right now,” Sawyer says.

“You're here already?” I ask. God, I fucking love my brother.

“Affirmative. Now get your asses down here and let's go get my nephew back. I'd like to meet the kid, you know.”

Addie grabs her purse and keys, and we hurry out of the apartment and down to Sawyer's Jeep idling at the curb. It's still early and the sun is barely peeking up over the horizon which means we won't have to deal with traffic and will make excellent timing over to South Grove.

I open the back door for Addie and then slide in beside her. Leaning forward, I rest my arms on the two front seats and clap, my brother on the shoulder. “Thanks, Sawyer. You have no idea what this means to us."

“Yes, thank you so much,” Addie says, moving up beside me.

“Hey, Addie” Sawyer says with a crooked smile. “Long time no see”

“Right? It's been a while," she agrees.

“Sorry our father and your stepdad are such fuckwads. But don't worry. We're getting Owen back right now."Content © copyrighted by .

I can see her finally starting to believe what we're telling her about getting Owen back. I need her to believe. We all need to believe it.

“Glad to see you and my brother worked things out,” Sawyer says, noticing the engagement ring on her finger. “Congrats. It's about damn time”

“Well, it's technically not official yet” I say.

“Oh, Christ,” Sawyer grumbles. “What the hell does that mean?"

“It means we're getting Owen back first. Then, hopefully, Miss Hayes will be able to happily tell me yes."

Sawyer nods. “Well, then let's make that happen. Hell, no one deserves a happy ending more than you two."

“Thank you,” Addie whispers.

I give her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. It's almost over” As we close in on the industrial section of South Grove and the address where Randy is hopefully still hiding out, I prepare myself for what's to come. Because I don't care what it takes or who I have to take down.

I'm getting our son back and I will burn the damn city down to the ground if I have to.