Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,24
Greg. He was my rock and sounding board when a case threw me for a loop. He didn’t deserve to be left there like that, and the guilt has been eating me up inside ever since. I’ve picked up my phone a dozen times over the last few days to call or text him like I normally would, but I could never let myself dial the number. We’ve fought before, but never like this. I have to give him space.
A part of me misses him hovering around, but it’s a bit of a relief to not have to explain my every move to him about this case. More so now that I went in person, unofficially, to speak with Eugene Grant again. He’d have locked me up if he knew and then he would throw away the key in his effort to protect me.
I’ve taken the time to dive deeper into the files Aaron had given me at dinner, though. Natalie and Kevin’s mother didn’t leave this world kindly, going by the photographs Aaron had included. Her sunken eyes and rail thin body lying in the ditch near the truck stop shook me more than I care to admit. I’ve seen things, horrible things, but her death... It’ll haunt me for the rest of my life because when I look into her sad death stare, all I can see is Natalie and Kevin looking back at me.
Their pain.
Their terrible childhood.
How similar their upbringing is to my own.
Flipping through Aaron’s files again, I find where I left off the night before and dive into my work. My notebook is filled with page after page of scribbles—notes, personal thoughts, and possible reasons for why they ended up with the president of a motorcycle club. All of them circle back to Eugene Grant. He’s the key to everything.
My mind drifts off for a few seconds, considering all the secrets he must hold before my desk phone snaps me out of it. I blink twice when I recognize the number that comes across the screen. Aaron.
“H–Hi. I didn’t expect you’d call me—”
“I have some information for you about the Tucker case.” No hello. No sweetness in his voice. It’s cold as ice. “There’s been a missing persons report filed for the kids and an uncle. I emailed it all over to you.”
“Let me open up my email.” Clicking the icon, I find it at the top. “Got it. Do you have any information about the person who filed it?”
“Their father.” He gives me no further information.
“Father?” I flip through the paperwork in front of me. “In all the case files, there’s no indication of their father being in the picture. He’s never sought legal custody.”
“That’s what I was told by the officer who took the report. All the information is there, as well as how to contact him. I put in an order for a background check since I knew you’d ask. They’ll send the results directly to you.”
“Thank you for sending this over to me, Aaron. Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened at the restaurant.”
“Sorry, Grace, but I have to go.” He hangs up without so much as an acknowledgment of my apology. I knew I had hurt him, but this seems so final. Am I truly losing my best friend over a case?
I allow myself a few minutes to compose myself before clicking on his email. The summation of the report from the officer who took it is sparse. Details are clearly not his forte. Kevin and Natalie’s name, along with a Randall McDade, are listed as the missing persons by one Mr. Henry Wayne Tucker. His contact information lies at the bottom of the report, now under review by the detective staff. Grabbing my phone, I dial the number.
“What?” a gruff voice barks into the receiver. “If you’re selling something, I ain’t interested.”
“Are you Henry Wayne Tucker?”
“Who’s asking?”
“My name is Grace Halfpenny, and I’m with the Texas Department of Child Protective Services. I was alerted to your recent missing persons report and wanted to inquire about it. Do you have a few minutes to talk to me?”
His tone immediately changes, all business now. “Yes, ma’am. My kids and my ex-brother-in-law, Randall.”
“When was the last time you saw them, Mr. Tucker?”
“It’s been years since I saw the kids. Their mother left one night with them, and I haven’t seen them since. It’s only recently that I found out they’ve been living with her brother. I went by his house, but it’s