Her Regret, His Resolve; Bouncing Back, Book 2

26

It had only taken the IT team half an hour to get the folder of information. A folder that contained everything about the mother of his daughter. It was a fight to keep Jaxon and Lukas out of the way since the two teens always wanted to help out, but thankfully, Markus and Memphis had taken them to their favourite tech store to distract them. Trace was on his way up with the files, but David was desperately clinging to his last nerve. His last iota of common sense was threatening to leave him as he poured another shot of whiskey.

As he downed it, he heard Trace come into the apartment. David sat down in his favourite chair and sighed, watching Trace walk in, he knew the news was going to be a hard pill to swallow. Thankful that Jaxon wasn’t around as he accepted the folder, David asked, "It's all here?"

"Ja. Need me to stick around?" Trace replied.

David shook his head. "No, I should be good. Did you look?"

"Yeah, but it was only because I was the one doing the research. I didn't let the rest of the team in on it. Figured you wanted to keep it as low-key as possible until we got the truth." Trace shuddered, knowing that his friend was going to lose his cool once he saw the contents of the file.

"I did, yes," David replied as he saw the other man out of the apartment. “Thanks again for getting it so fast for me. I want this taken care of as quickly and as quietly as possible.”

“Not like I had much else to do. My boys are grown and can take care of themselves now, so I got a bit of time on my hands. Gute Nacht und viel Glück."

“Thanks,” David replied. “I’m going to need luck, ‘cause I’m probably not sleeping tonight. Hopefully, you also have a good night and good luck with your boys. Kids are more of a challenge than the mafia ever was.”

Laughing, Trace shook his head. “You can say that again. The boys are almost done with their coding practice. I can’t wait to bring them to OTU next week and watch them make a nuisance of themselves. They were always the quiet ones, but those are the ones you gotta watch out for.”

“True facts,” David chuckled. Taking the folder into his study, he locked the door behind himself and sighed heavily. Sitting at his desk, he flipped open the cover to start reading.

"Trinity Gabriel, age forty-four," he muttered. Downing his third drink that night, he winced as the liquor burned his throat. He wasn't a consistently heavy drinker, but the information about his daughter hit him harder than any of the cases he'd dealt with in the past. It made him feel as though he didn't do enough to keep her as safe as he'd promised he would. Pouring his fourth shot, he seethed over the woman’s rap sheet as he read over the charges she’d been slapped with repeatedly.

"I should make her disappear, too. Let's see," he muttered. He flipped over more of the pages, noting the long list of petty crimes. Shaking his head, he was tempted to toss the folder into the garbage until something caught his eye. David's brow creased, "What have we got here?"

Picking up the rap sheet for the man in the picture, he whistled. "Arson, drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to traffic - this dude's track record is huge. It should be an easy takedown if this is the same guy."

Someone knocked on the door, and he got up to answer it only to find Russell standing on the other side. His eyes filled with a sinfully wicked gleam that told the older man he wanted in on whatever David was up to.

"Jax just got home, so he and Sky are in her room talking. As for me, I want to help track that sonuvabitch down. He needs to pay for what he did."

David grinned at the young man's attitude, "Insubordination will get you killed, Russell. Get in here, and mention nothing to no one."

Following him into the room, Russell produced a canister. "Jaxon said you've been drinking since you got back. He made some soup for you and asked me to bring it in."

"Kids," David muttered. "His heart's in the right place, so it's not like I can complain.”

Handing half the file to Russell, he told him to start looking for anything that could help in their search. Not even twenty minutes later, Russell whistled to get his attention. “Got an address. Looks current, and some guy named Jericho Tate is on her lease."

Nodding, David blew out a heavy sigh, "We got one issue. He's a biker.”

"One of Ken's?"

"Yeah," David replied as he flipped a few more pages. "Call your sister and have her come by with some sedatives. I have a feeling we're going to need her backup."

Russell eyed him with a perfect mix of trepidation and concern. "What exactly are you planning, Dave?"

Glancing over at the younger man, he held up the picture of the guy. "I'm going to show Skylar his picture. If she reacts, then we found our target. If not, we keep looking."

"That sounds like you're looking to piss my sister off," Russell joked as he followed David out to the kitchen. Reaching for the Keurig on the counter, he said, "Coffee?"

"Straight black, no sugar," his superior replied.

Groaning, David watched as Russell dialled Ambrosia's number. Ten minutes later, she breezed into the apartment with a scowl on her face. "Callum filled me in already. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, sis," he replied. Gesturing to the other man sitting at the table, he said, "Just trying to sober David up before we tackle showing Skylar the picture that was in the files Trace dug up."

"Her mother, Trinity, has a s**t-ton of stuff she's still going through in the courts. If I find out that she knew about the abuse and did nothing..." David trailed off.

Her eyes softening, Ambrosia put her hand over his. "You do whatever you need to do, David. You just let us know, and we'll wipe out any trace of evidence from existence. If she knew, and did nothing, I'll make sure she gets taken care of."

Blinking up at her, David nodded, "Thanks, Amber."

He hated to do it, but it needed to be done. He had to know the truth so he could hunt the guy down for hurting his little girl. "Skylar, can you come out to the kitchen for a minute?"

Tentatively, she rounded the corner before making her way over to Russell. Snuggling into his chest, she let him put his arms around her. Ambrosia watched carefully, noting each movement the girl made. "So, after finding out about my brother's past, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Bowing her head, the girl sobbed, "I can't apologize enough, to be honest. He knows about me now, so I guess everyone does."

"No," her father stated. "Just Callum, Trace, Amber and Russell. Everyone else can come later, when you’re ready to tell them, but I may need to involve Kenni."

David glanced at Ambrosia, who nodded in answer to his unasked question. Good, she brought the sedatives. "I'm going to show you a picture, and I want you to tell me if this is the one who hurt you, Cupcake."

"I'm right here, baby," Russell whispered in her ear. The warmth of his embrace helped as he spoke, "I've always been here for you."

Nodding, she drew strength from his words as the picture was slid across the table. David stood, backing up against the wall as he waited for the explosion.

Skylar took one look at the picture and started screaming, clawing at Russell's arms as she attempted to get away from him and run. He held her firmly, wincing as she drew blood from the long scratches she was leaving behind.

"Sky, it's okay. It's okay, baby. I got you," Russell whispered. Sinking to the floor with her as she continued to scream. He locked eyes with his sister as guilt ripped at his soul.

Ambrosia swallowed, nodding her head as she walked over, "David, hold down her arm."

"On it."

"We have our answer," she said as she tossed the injector when she was done. Dropping her eyes to the young woman, she heaved a sigh, "Russell, promise me that you won't rush her into anything. She's in desperate need of healing, and she seems to trust you the most right now."

Getting to his feet, he cradled Skylar in his arms for the second time that day. "I'm not leaving her, Ambrosia. Not when she needs me the most, not now that I know the truth."

Grabbing the younger man’s arm, David locked eyes with him. “Thank you. Had you actually listened to me and stayed away, I would never have known what she went through. How did you figure it out, anyway?”

“At the therapist, actually. When he mentioned the theory, I thought back to when I first met her. She walked in limping, but no one else seemed to notice. I originally brushed it off, but today was the day everything hit the fan. I bullied it out of her; I had to in order to save our relationship. She was so damn tight-lipped that she gave me no other choice.”

“I already deduced that answer for myself, Russ. We’re good,” David said calmly. "When I find him, I plan on taking a page out of Kennedy's playbook."

“I’ll prep for the bloodbath,” Ambrosia replied as she hastily left the apartment.