Forever Rockers (39 page)

“Do it. See what happens,” she dared.

Swallowing my fear, I closed my mouth. As calm as she was, I realized she knew exactly what she was doing and wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me.

With the gun now right against my stomach, she didn’t waste any time guiding me toward the exit. I cowered back when the door opened and the rain nearly drowned me. “Keep moving,” Helena bit out and pushed me forward. I stumbled in a small hole and lost my shoe but didn’t dare stop to get it. It wasn’t like I could have put it back on by myself anyway.

I couldn’t see very clearly in the rain so when she stopped suddenly I nearly fell against a car. My clothes were glued to me from the rain and I was already starting to shiver. My hair was dripping into my face, making it even harder to see. “Helena,” I said, trying to reason with her through chattering teeth, “p-please don’t do this. Shane will never forgive you if something happens to me.”

“What Shane doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” she said with a small laugh. I heard what sounded like a trunk popping open and then she was pushing at my back.

I stumbled forward but there was nothing I could catch myself on, so I fell. When my stomach hit something hard I couldn’t help but cry out in both pain and fear for the baby. I landed on something cold and metallic but before I could even realize I was inside a trunk, Helena was pushing my legs in and slamming the door.

Another pain tightened over my belly and I hugged my arms around it, trying to protect Violet, but knowing that I might not be able to.

Shane

Five more minutes and then I was taking Harper home.

Five more minutes.

The baby shower was a huge success and Harper was laughing and having a great time. But I was antsy. For some reason I had the strongest urge to grab her and run for the door. I knew she wouldn’t let me, though, no more than Emmie would allow it. Just as I knew I was being overprotective, unreasonable at times, and more than a little bit unbearable.

I couldn’t seem to help it, though, no matter how many times I tried to tell myself I needed to chill out a little. From the moment I’d gotten Harper home from the hospital after the miscarriage scare, I’d gone a little crazy. I was terrified that the least little thing was going to hurt Harper or Violet. I had turned into an overbearing asshole and I was still trying to figure out why Harper still put up with me.

If she didn’t love me she would have probably kicked me out of the house weeks before. Not that I would have gone. My need to protect the two most important people in my life made it hard to breathe at times. I’d be lost without either one of them and one wasn’t even in this world yet.

Axton now had Shaw, so I had nothing to do with my hands as I stood watching Harper from across the room. My bandbrothers and friends had tried to keep me distracted so I wouldn’t mess up Harper’s special day. While they had kept me on the other side of the room from her, they hadn’t been able to distract me long enough not to watch her like a hawk. More than a few times she’d lifted her head from whatever she was doing with the women to give me that bright smile I loved so fucking much. That smile said so many things.

I’m okay.

I’m having fun.

I love you.

Stop worrying.

You’re worrying, stop it.

I love you.

“She’s still there, brother.”

I turned my head from watching Harper as she stood and hugged Dallas and then Emmie. They were all laughing and I knew Dallas would take care of her, so I guessed it was safe to look away and talk to Drake. “We’re leaving soon.”

“Figured as much.” Drake grinned and lifted his glass of iced tea to take a drink. “You seriously need to chill, little brother. You’re gonna drive Harper crazy and that won’t be a good thing once your baby girl is here.”

I shrugged. “I’ll chill when Violet is here and I can hold her and not have to worry about her and her mother.”

He threw his head back, openly laughing out loud at me. “You are so delusional. You think that feeling is going to just evaporate once you have that baby in your arms?” He shook his head, causing his long hair to fall into his face. “It only gets worse, Shane. And not just a little. You think you spend every second of the day worrying now? Wait, dude. Just wait.”

I grimaced and turned my gaze back toward Harper, only to find her leaving the room. I started to follow, but when I noticed she was just going to the bathroom, I relaxed. Seeing my hesitation, Drake chuckled. “Come on. Let’s get some of that cake before you hogtie your wife and desert us.”

Mutely, I followed him to the small table where the cake had been put. Emmie had outdone herself with finding the perfect bakery for the cake. It was shaped like a huge pink present, complete with a dark pink bow. There was even a small white gift tag that said ‘For Violet’.

Drake cut me a big piece of the cake and handed it over, along with a fork. “Eat and then you can take her home.”

I nodded and took a bite.

“Dray,” Lana called out from across the room. “Babe, do you have the other diaper bag? Arella needs to be changed.”

Drake pushed his own plate into my hand and left me without a backward glance. “It’s in the car, Angel. I’ll get it.”

Shaking my head at his retreating back, I put his plate down and found a chair to finish my cake. As soon as I was done, we were leaving.

Five more minutes.

“Want some company?”

I lifted my head to find Rex standing beside the table where I was sitting. Using my foot, I pushed back the chair beside me, silently inviting him to join me. I hadn’t seen much of Rex in the last few months. He’d been busy with work, and since Harper was home with me there hadn’t been any reason to see him. So it was a surprise to see how pale he was. The guy looked bad. Really bad. Like he hadn’t been eating or sleeping.

“Are you sick?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Rex’s lips pressed into a hard line as he sat down. “Depends on your definition of sick. Helena and I are having problems again. She hasn’t been herself lately. I’ve been trying to convince her to go into rehab, but she won’t hear of it.”

I blinked, drawing a blank on who Helena was for a second. Then it came to me. His wife. Why didn’t I readily know who his wife was?

Because she didn’t matter, that’s why. Unless a chick was family, I didn’t really notice them. Looks… Name… None of that mattered to me. Call me a prick for having tunnel vision, but I just didn’t give a shit about anyone who wasn’t Harper or family.

“That sucks, man. Sorry to hear it.” I took another bite of my cake. “Is it drugs?”

Rex grimaced. “I don’t know what it is, honestly. She’s been having spells where she just gets moody and then practically hysterical. She starts throwing things and raging like she’s mad at the world. Other times she gets quiet, almost depressed. She closes herself off and I can’t reach her. Then the next day it’s like none of it happened. Like a switch was turned off and she’s back to being the woman I fell in love with.”

“She sounds bipolar to me, dude.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I thought so too. But she won’t even talk to me about it.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you at your own baby shower.”

I shrugged. “I was the one who asked.”

“Harper?” Lana appeared at the door that led from the bathrooms. She was holding Arella against her chest as she looked around the room worriedly. “Harper?” Her voice grew louder. “Harper, where are you?”

Without thinking about it, I pushed away from the table and headed toward my sister-in-law. “She just went to the bathroom a little while ago. I saw her,” I assured her.

Lana shook her head. “No. I know that. She said Violet was pressing on her bladder so she went to the bathroom. That was like ten minutes ago. She’s not in there.”

My stomach clenched, but I refused to panic. She’d just gone to the bathroom. What could have happened between then and now? Right?

“I’ll find her,” I assured Lana as I moved past her toward the bathrooms.

I walked down the small corridor where the ladies’ room was and didn’t bother to knock before stepping inside. “Harper? Beautiful?” No answer and I found all the stalls empty. Shrugging, I stepped out of the bathroom and glanced around.

Maybe she’d felt sick. There was an exit just past the men’s room and I hurried toward it. Opening the door, I was nearly drowned by the rain as it poured down just outside. She wasn’t out there and I knew she wouldn’t have chanced standing out there without an umbrella. She knew I would worry she would get sick and I trusted her not to put herself at risk like that.

The back parking lot was empty, though, and I turned to step back inside when I saw something in the puddle right beside the door.

A black ballet slipper.

I bent and picked it up. It was soaked but I instantly recognized the shoe.

Harper had been wearing a pair just like this one. I remembered because her stomach was so big now she needed help putting her shoes on. Dread filled my chest and I had to suck in one deep breath after another as I turned and ran back into the ballroom.

“Harper?” It came out a bellow, but I didn’t care. “Harper, answer me.”

She had to be here. I’d just overlooked her, that was all. She was fine. Harper was fine.

Kids were still laughing and running around. Friends and family were mingling and enjoying the rest of the cake, talking about who had won whatever stupid baby-shower game. I looked for Luca in the crowd, hoping he had just snuck in some Harper-time so he could call her round stomach ‘pwetty’ again. But the kid was with his twin, running around with Jagger who was playing tag with Neveah.

“She’s not in here,” Emmie said as she stepped in front of me. “What’s wrong?” Her eyes landed on the shoe clutched in my fist. “Is that her shoe?”

I nodded. “She’s not in the bathroom. This was outside, by the restrooms.”

She pressed her lips together. “Okay, don’t panic. She’s probably just off with one of the other women doing something.”

“She’s not. Everyone else is in here.” I shook my head. “Something’s wrong, Em. She’s not here.” I could feel it in my gut.

Harper wasn’t there.

“What could happen to her here, Shane? No one here would hurt her.” Emmie took my hands in hers, trying to make me see reason, but I noticed that her fingers were ice cold. “She’s fine.”

“What’s wrong, Emmie?” I demanded, seeing the paleness of her face. She wasn’t telling me something. I could see it in her eyes, feel it in the deathly cold fingers clenching mine. “Where’s Mia?” I breathed when I realized that I hadn’t seen her running around throughout the last hour.

Emmie swallowed hard. “She’s on her way. She just got caught in traffic with Gabriella.” She gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and it did nothing to relieve my worry. “Liam’s been texting with her. They’re fine.”

I wanted to believe her, ached to believe her, but I couldn’t. Not even for a second. “Find Harper,” I commanded, my voice low and dangerous. “Find her, now.”

Peterson was still in the SUV because we hadn’t really needed him during a family event like a baby shower. I’d thought she would be safe with her guard waiting in the vehicle, but now I was realizing that I’d been wrong. I ran toward the entrance and out into the rain. The guard had parked the vehicle close to the front door. Seeing it and him still in the driver’s seat, I pounded on the window.

He quickly lowered it. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you seen Harper out here?”

His eyes widened as if he thought I was losing my mind. “No, of course not. She wouldn’t be out here in this.”

“She’s missing.” My voice actually broke and I could feel my knees going weak. The reality was starting to set in and I was going to lose it. “She’s missing.”

Peterson opened the door and got out. “I did see a car leave about ten minutes ago. Rex’s wife. Helena Brennen, right?”

“What? He’s still in there. I didn’t see her leave.” What the fuck was going on? Why would Helena leave without Rex?

Was Harper with her?

“It’s been raining so hard I couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like her,” Peterson assured me. “I didn’t see anyone with her, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Before my eyes, I watched Peterson change. He lost the blank-faced expression I was used to and his eyes became assessing, as if he were going over every possibility and not liking any of them. “We need to talk to Rex.”

“Fucking right we do.” I followed Peterson back into the building.

Inside, Emmie had been working her magic. Everyone but the kids and a few of the moms were standing around watching her, none of them daring to say a word as they watched the redhead move around the room. “I’m sure we will find her,” Emmie said with that damned forced smile again.

“Em…” I got her attention and she turned to face me and Peterson. “He saw Helena Brennen leaving about ten minutes ago.”

“Helena?” Rex stepped forward. “What? Why would she leave? I have the keys to our car.” He pulled them from his pocket, showing us all that he had them.

“She could have brought her own,” Emmie told him, her voice cooler now.

“But why would she leave? We have dinner plans for later. I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I,” I growled. “But I want to.”

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY
O
NE

Emmie

I was in a nightmare. That was what this was. Just another nightmare. Any minute now I would wake up and be safely at home in bed beside of Nik. I’d wake him up and he’d kiss me and soon I’d forget all of this.

But it wasn’t a nightmare.

I knew it, but I couldn’t convince my mind of that fact.

Peterson had moved us into a smaller room. Nik, Jesse, and Liam had followed us, leaving Drake to watch Jagger and soothe Lana and the others who I refused to let leave yet. Shane had grabbed Rex and dragged him along with us, though, and I was glad for that. He might have answers to all my questions.