Page 74 of Her Hero Daddy
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KANE
The feeling of total helplessness was driving Kane crazy. He wanted to get the Tim situation resolved so he and Haylee could start the rest of their lives together. He also hated that she was struggling to sleep and felt so stressed. He knew no matter what he said or how much he reassured her that she couldn’t help but worry. It was a natural reaction to the insane threats that the lowlife had sent.
Waking up in the early hours of the morning, he made his way down to his office after making sure she had her stuffy in her arm and pacifier in her mouth. He sat down at his computer and stared at the screen while trying to figure out what the hell to do. He hated not being able to control the situation. In a small town like Pinebrook, he should stick out like a sore thumb, but Damian’s guys hadn’t seen any sign of him.
His phone lit up with an incoming FaceTime call from Ian. Kane looked at the clock to see it wasn’t even six in the morning. He hit Accept, and Ian’s face appeared on the screen. The man looked nothing like you would expect for someone who worked on computer stuff all day. He was as tall as Kane but a little bit leaner, though based on the times they’d met in the boxing ring, Kane knew most people would underestimate the man’s strength. His chestnut-colored hair, blue-gray eyes, strong jawline, and award-winning smile were enough alone to put him on the cover of some magazine.
“Hope I didn’t wake you, but I have some information that I think will help.”
Kane noticed how exhausted Ian looked and frowned. He could tell that he was in his home office.
“Did you sleep last night?”
Ian continued typing on his computer and didn’t even look at Kane. “No. I couldn’t sleep. I knew there had to be a way to find more information about this Parker guy, so I’ve been working all night.”
“You stayed up all night trying to help me?”
He considered Ian a friend, but he was a little surprised at the lengths he was going to help. This time, Ian stopped typing and looked at him through the screen.
“I know you would do the same for me if the tables were turned. Besides, I can’t stand the thought of a Little having to go through all this bullshit. I was doing it for her, really. The guy is a psychopath.”
Kane nodded. Ian was right—he would do the same for him or any of his friends if the tables were turned. Especially if it was to help protect a Little.
“What do you have for me?”
“I figured he would have to be staying at a hotel locally unless he was sleeping in his car, and that doesn’t sound like his style. I hacked the systems of all the motels and hotels in the area, within a twenty-mile radius of Pinebrook, and ding ding ding, I found a Jason Parker that is checked in at Pinebrook Motel only a few miles outside of Pinebrook. By the way, Jason is his middle name, in case you didn’t remember that. Anyway, I wanted to make sure it was him, so I got into the Newsday News payroll system and found the name of his bank and hacked his account. The guy isn’t that smart because he used his debit card to pay for the motel. The guy is on the run, and he’s using his fucking debit card to pay for a motel. If you’re going to be a criminal, at least try to be smart about it.”
Kane listened to Ian ramble about everything he hacked and found it entertaining. He talked about all of this as though he was discussing what he was going to buy his mother for Christmas.
“You are a genius, and I owe you big. Did you get a room number off the hotel system?”
“Yep, room one-thirty-eight. And Kane… He also spent over two hundred dollars on gas at one gas station last night in Bend. I tapped the camera feed at that gas station—shocking that they actually had cameras, I know. He was filling several gas cans and putting them in the trunk of his car. Of course, he put those on his debit card too. Moron.”
Shit. What would a pyromaniac be doing with that much fuel unless they were planning to set fire to a whole lot of shit. They needed to get to him before he got to something or someone else.
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Not at the moment. I’ll keep you posted if I find anything else.”
Hanging up with Ian, he called Luke right away.
“Ian found where he’s staying. He’s at the Pinebrook Motel a few miles out of town. He also purchased a lot of fuel and put it in multiple gas cans.”
Luke let out a string of curses. He heard Ally ask something in the background and Luke telling her to go back to sleep.
“We need to get to him before he does something crazy,” Luke said.
“Look, I know you want to do this by the law, and that’s fine, but I am going as backup, as well as Damian and his guys. We will follow your lead.”
Kane worried that Luke would argue with him and tell him they couldn’t come along, but Kane knew how small the sheriff’s department was in Pinebrook, and sending Luke and his team in alone would be risky. Luke wouldn’t want to risk the safety of his officers if he could help it.
“Fine, but you guys have to stick to the law. We need this arrest to be clean so it sticks. My guys go in first, and you guys come only as backup if it’s absolutely needed.”
“Yep. By law. You have my word.”
“I fucking mean it, Kane. I know you’re pissed, but you can’t go in there and beat the guy to a pulp. He will sit in prison for what he’s done, and you need to be able to go home after this and take care of Haylee. Don’t let your anger over what he did take away your freedom. You know I have your back, but I am still a sworn officer.”