Taken With Trouble (CAUGHT IN CHAOS #2)

38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Liam

I take a sharp left and glance over at my grandfather. “What do you mean? I saved you.”

“You should have let me die. It should have been me, not her.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“Seraphina. They’re going to come for her.”

I shake my head. “She’s safe, I made sure of it.” But even as I say it, my foot presses harder against the gas pedal. I promised I’d turn myself in, and I will. If only to see for myself that she’s safe. I pull up the text from Agent Harris with the directions to the safe house.

“As long as she’s alive, she’ll never be safe.” Grandpa’s chin quivers, and tears seep into the wrinkles lining his face.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He drags in a breath. “I think they have someone on the inside.”

Someone on the inside? What does that mean?

As if on cue my phone rings. It’s Caleb. My heart leaps into my throat, and I swipe it open. “Hello?”

“They took her. ”

“Harris?” I ask, hoping this is some kind of joke to get back at me. “What do you mean they took her?”

“Agent Hadley attacked me. I fought him off, but I didn’t realize what was going on until it was too late. Ford took Serena.”

The road—the whole world—turns dark. That’s why they let me go. They already had her. I was just a nuisance. That’s oddly humbling.

“I told you to protect her. You had one job ,” I yell. I’m a mile from the safe house. I could turn around, go to the warehouse. But there’s no way they would have taken her there. That’s why Sebastian didn’t ask about her. He already had a plan. He was playing me. I should have seen right through it, but I didn’t.

“I’ve got Hadley tied up. I’ll question him,” Harris says.

“I’m almost there,” I grunt. “Tell him hell’s coming with me.”

There’s a moment of silence. “Do you really want me to say it like that? Because that’s kind of drama–”

I hang up.

“You’ve got to find her, Liam,” my grandfather sobs.

“I will.” I grip the steering wheel. “Why didn’t you tell me she came to you all those years ago? I could have helped.”

He shakes his head. “I-I couldn’t, Liam. You were up to no good yourself. You were wild and reckless. You were blinded by Scarlett. You were in no position to help.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. I failed Serena even then. I won’t again.

“I’ve changed. I’m not that man anymore.”

“I know, son. I know. I’m so sorry.”

Now’s my chance to prove it.

I clear my throat. “There’s a gun stitched into your seat,” I say. He immediately rips into the seams, and it pains me to watch his bruised and knuckled fingers tear at the seat, but he’s as stubborn as me and keeps tearing while I drive like a madman.

How did this happen? Serena was supposed to be safe with the same people who had kept her safe for years .

The safe house comes into view, and I swing the car into the driveway. I leap from the car the second it’s in park and run into the house.

Caleb is standing above a man zip-tied to an old heater.

“Where is she?” he asks, much too civil for my liking. Hadley doesn’t respond. Guess it’s my turn.

I pull a gun from my waistband and cock it. “Hello, Agent Hadley.” Both men look up at me, and Hadley jerks back. Coward.

“Hawthorne, I’ve got this,” Caleb says sharply.

“I don’t think you do.” I roll up the sleeve on my left arm. “You’re too kind. Thankfully, I have no morals. I’ll kill him and still sleep well,” I lie.

Hadley looks at Harris. “He’s crazy. You gotta get me out of here, man.”

“Where’s Serena?” I ask, aiming the gun at his chest.

Hadley looks back and forth between us but doesn’t say anything.

“How long have you been a traitor?” Caleb asks.

Something flashes in Hadley’s eyes, and he looks at Caleb. “I’m not . Ford told me you two had gone rogue, and we needed to bring you in. I had no idea he was going to take Serena anywhere. He said Serena shot someone a few years ago and was here to cover her tracks. You came to help her.”

“He lied to you,” Caleb says. “Serena is in danger. Tell us where he went.”

“I don’t know where he went,” Hadley says. “I swear.”

Unfortunately, I believe him. I shake my head, thinking. Ford wouldn’t have been stupid enough to take his government phone with him and even if he did, it would have enough protection on it. I could hack it, but that would take time we don’t have for something that might not work. “What car do you have?”

“Uh…” Hadley shakes his head. “I don’t remember. We had to rent one because all of ours were in use.”

Even better.

“Give me the name of the rental place now,” I bark. Five minutes later, I’ve hacked into the rental car site and found the location of the vehicle. Assuming he didn’t ditch it, I now have a glimmer of hope that I’ll find her. It’s not at the same warehouse. It’s in the opposite direction, almost thirty minutes away.

“Let’s go,” I tell Caleb .

“What about me?” Hadley asks.

My grandfather stumbles out of the bathroom at that moment, and I grin.

“I got you a babysitter.”

Grandpa Henry looks at Hadley, his eyes narrowing. “This is the guy who turned on Serena?”

“Yep. Have at him.”