Out Of The Shadows (HADES) (Whiskey Bend MC Series, Book #4)

That ought to stir them up a bit. Drake observed them scramble. He also saw the shade drop to cover the window. He smiled. Things were progressing nicely. He stood and walked away from his hiding place in the park across the street from the police station. He didn’t hurry and stopped long enough to watch a child at play. He didn’t see the child in front of him, instead he saw the small dark haired son of Detective Jake Dylan.

He walked past the school Ethan attended and smiled at the sound of the kids playing outside. He kept his eyes open trying to pick out Ethan. He couldn’t find him at first, so he stopped at the fence line and scoured the playground.

Ethan Dylan wasn’t there. He’d seen the kid come to school this morning with his mother. Mom was wearing a pink dress and the kid had a bright red shirt on. He scanned the grounds one more time and before he walked away.

His pace picked up as he made his way to the neighborhood park. He wanted to call the bank where Hope worked. If Hope wasn’t there, he’d have to change his plans.

He needed to keep in control of the game and the players. He also knew he couldn’t be in two places at one time. He needed to figure out who deserved his time the most. He so wanted to get everyone but most of all he wanted to get to Hope or Harper as she was called now.

After he asked to speak to Hope and found out she didn’t work today, he hung up the call. He turned and walked back to the school. He searched every face, but still couldn’t find the boy. ‘So,’ he thought. ‘Jake had reached out to his son already. But had he spirited his son away or were the boy and his mother still inside the building?’

The killer mounted the steps of the building and made his way inside. He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do but he had to know if Ethan was still here.

As he walked down the hall, his footsteps echoed. He glanced into each room as he passed them, but he didn’t see a bright red shirt until he passed the fifth room. Glancing around him, he didn’t see anyone else. Then fate played him a winning hand. He saw Ethan raise his hand. Then the teacher nodded his head. Ethan stood and came toward the door.

He waited until the boy’s room door swung shut before he followed him inside. He caught sight of the boy as he zipped up his pants. He waited as the boy washed his hands and checked the mirror.

Then he grabbed him and held on while Ethan struggled.

Ethan tried to call out for help but Drake covered Ethan’s mouth and nose until the struggling slowed and stopped altogether.

His hand slid off the boy’s face and checked for a pulse. Ethan’s heartbeat was there, slow and steady. The boy had fallen unconscious due to lack of oxygen. He smiled. He didn’t really want to kill the boy yet; he just wanted to stack the odds in his favor.

He opened the door slightly and glanced up and down the hall. When no one was in sight, he slipped out of the boys’ room and down the hall to the outside doors. He knew he couldn’t be seen carrying an unconscious boy down the street so he ducked out of sight as quickly as possible. He made it as far as the park before he slipped out of sight in the underbrush. He made his way from there to his little resting spot.

It wasn’t much more than a cubbyhole in the underbrush, but it held everything he’d brought with him. Knowing he would have to move around a lot, he only brought enough stuff that would fit into a backpack. The rest of his belongings were back at his real camp. He laid the boy on the ground and rummaged through his stuff for a rope to tie him up with. Drake then slapped the boy’s face gently and waited while he came to.

Ethan woke up startled. His eyes flew to see where he was and as he tried to get up, Drake held him down. Ethan stared at him with fear in his eyes.

It was a look Drake recognized and almost reveled in. He felt back in control of the game as he gagged the young boy. “Now, you be a good lad and stay put. I’m going to have some fun with your daddy.” He smiled and tied the other end of the rope to the roots of the tree.

He kept to the shadows as he made his way out of the park. He didn’t want anyone to see him. He took his time and made sure no one was paying attention to him.

By the time he made it out of the park and downtown, he was positive no one had seen him. His unexpected bounty made him smile.

This ought to make the game more interesting.

He made his way to where he could see the Police Station. Caden was there as well as the Captain but he couldn’t see any sign of Jake. He waited for almost an hour before Jake finally showed. He seemed agitated. The killer smiled. Reaching for his cell phone his hand trembled slightly as he dialed the number.

“Ridge,” Caden answered.

“Hello, Caden,” he said.

Caden snapped his fingers to get Jake’s attention.

Jake immediately picked up his phone and called the switchboard to get a trace.

“What are you calling for this time? Have you killed again?”

He laughed. “Not yet, but I have something you might want back.”

Caden scoffed. “What could you have that I would want except your head on a spike?”

“Ethan.”

Caden glanced at Jake but couldn’t keep eye contact. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“Can you really afford to take the chance?”

“Look, I can’t keep playing this game without calling you something and I don’t think you’d like what I want to call you. So tell me your name.” Caden ground his teeth in frustration.

He chuckled. “Caden, I didn’t know you cared enough to find out my name.”

“Would you rather I called you bastard?” Caden asked.

“Umm, you’re right. I don’t think I care for that name. Okay, I’ll give you something to call me other than that as it really lacks imagination. You can call me Drake.”

“Okay, Drake. You realize you should be talking to Jake don’t you?”

“Yeah, but he isn’t as objective as you would be. You see, he has too much to lose.”

“If you’ve hurt one hair on his head, I’ll personally hunt you down and nail you to my wall.”

Drake chuckled. “I haven’t hurt the boy yet.”

“What the hell do you want?”

“I wanted Jake to know I kidnapped his son,” Drake stated simply.

Caen growled. “I’m going to rip you apart and enjoy myself in the process. I’m going to hurt you, and relish the experience.”

Drake paused. “Now you’re feeling what I feel when I’m hunting. Isn’t it the most wonderful feeling there is? It’s almost sensual. We’re more alike than I thought.”

Caden wanted to punch him right in the face. “Why take Ethan?”

“Because I wanted Jake to know what it feels like to have your guts torn out of your body and I wanted you to feel the helplessness of knowing there’s nothing you can do about it right now. Ethan’s out there somewhere, all alone. Is he hurt? Is he bleeding? Or is he already dead?” Drake taunted him. “That’s what you have to ask yourself.”

Caden wanted Drake in front of him right now. “So tell me what you want?”

“I want you to tell Jake I kidnapped his kid.”

Drake hung up the phone. As he sat back, he saw Jake react to the news. He’d already been inside the office and set up a bug near Caden and Jake’s desk, now he reached into his pocket and dialed up the frequency of the listening device out in front of him. No way did he want to miss this show.

Jake stared at Caden in shock.

The office door burst open and Jake’s wife Lori rushed in. She was disheveled and frightened to death. “I can’t find Ethan!” Her hands trembled as she reached for her husband. “I can’t find our son.”

Jake folded her into his arms and held her tight. “I know. He’s okay for the moment. We’ll get him back, I promise.”

Lori glanced up at her husband. “What do you mean we’ll get him back?” Her voice trembled and she grabbed both of his arms for support. “Where is Ethan?”

Caden went over to them and called out her name.

Lori tore her gaze away from Jake to look at Caden.

“Where is my son?” she asked slowly.

Caden framed her face with his hands. “Lori, I promise we’ll get him back.”

Lori closed her eyes and repeated her question slowly, “Where. Is. My. Son?”

Caden’s hands slid off her face. “He’s with a very bad man, but I promise, we’ll get him back.”

Lori crumbled and would have fallen had Jake not been holding her so tight. He helped her over to his chair and eased her down into it.

The phone rang again. Caden snatched up the receiver.

“Wow, what a passionate display. One would be inclined to think they really wanted the boy back,” Drake spoke almost wistfully.

“Where is he, you bastard?” Caden swore.

Drake chuckled. He was about to say something when the door opened again and he observed a new player walk in. Drake gasped and fell silent.

The newcomer stood inside the door and gazed at the small group. His face was set in stone and it seemed he could feel the emotion in the air. He removed his jacket and asked calmly, “What’s our boy up to now?”

Caden frowned. “Who the hell are you and what do you want?”

The man reached into his pocket and brought out his wallet. Flipping it open, he flashed his Federal badge. “I’m agent Cole Trainer, F.B.I.”

Drake studied the newcomer and carefully left his hiding place. He needed time to adjust to this new development. There was a new player in the game. He had anticipated this move but he hadn’t expected it yet.

Drake smiled. While he didn’t normally like surprises, he had been expecting this one; he had to find a way to work this to his advantage. He glanced back in the general direction of the police station and saluted slightly. Making his way back to the park, he sat down on a bench and thought about what would happen next. He didn’t want to be seen scurrying back to his hiding place. In fact, right now might be the right time to change his abode.

Drake stood up from the bench and drifted over to his hiding place. Ducking out of sight, he made his way to where the boy was. Ethan was where he left him. The boy was still okay and Drake tapped him on the leg. “Come on kid, we got places to go and people to kill.” He gave a the kid a smile that made Ethan shiver then picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. Grabbing his backpack, he made his way out.

An hour later, he was well on his way a small town called Whiskey Bend.