“Every day,” Deck whispered, “for the rest of your life, you will remember putting that kaleidoscope in the trash.”

McFarland carefully threw his hands out to the sides. “I didn’t know it was that big of a deal. It’s just a bunch of glass.”

“You knew,” Deck replied.

“I—”

“Shut up, now, or I’ll give you something else to remember.”

McFarland snapped his mouth shut.

Deck stared at him and he did this a long time, utilizing everything he had to stop himself from pounding the shit out of that… fucking… asshole.

Just turn the dial.

“You’re lucky I have her,” Deck stated. “Now you are gonna call Mick Shaughnessy and tell him every f**kin’ thing you know about Jon Prosky, those robberies and anything you got involving high school kids. When you do, you are not gonna use it to bargain for a plea. You’re gonna do it simply out of civic duty.”

McFarland’s voice rose when he asked, “Why would I do shit like that?”

Deck leaned toward him and he took another step back. This one was quick.

“Because,” Deck started, “you wanna be inside. You wanna be where I cannot f**k with you and you wanna be there for as long as you can be there. ’Cause when you get out, your years inside are gonna be your last happy memory.”

“Jesus. It was a just kaleidoscope, man,” McFarland said uneasily.

“It was her tellin’ me she needed me and me not hearin’ that shit. It was just her,” Deck gritted. “It was all I had of her for nine years, starin’ me in the face, tellin’ me she needed me. And I didn’t f**kin’ listen, ass**le. So I wanted that piece of beauty she gave me always to be a reminder to look after my Emme. And I wanted to give it to our daughter’s husband so I could use it to educate him about lookin’ after my baby. And you took all that when you took it away from me.”

“I was… I was just pissed that you—”

“Shut… the f**k… up,” Deck growled. “Get on the f**kin’ phone now and call f**kin’ Mick… Shaughnessy.”

“Prosky will f**k me up worse,” McFarland informed him, but Deck shook his head.

“Oh no he won’t.”

“He will. That guy seems like a nice guy but he’s got a mission, man, and he’s focused. And anyone would think that mission is whacked, but you knew, you’d know it’s a good one and he’s committed to it,” McFarland shot back, now way beyond jittery.

“He might f**k you up. But,” Deck took a long quick stride forward, lifted a hand and shoved his index finger hard in McFarland’s forehead, pushing off, and McFarland went back on a foot, “I’ll f**k with your head. I will not stop until you have nothing and I’ll keep going until you lose the last thing you got, not that it’s worth much, your f**kin’ mind. Now, motherfucker, do not try me further.” He bent in, McFarland leaned back, Deck lost it and roared, “Call Shaughnessy!”

On the last syllable, they both turned to the door that they heard thrown open.

Not a second later, a scruffy, pimple-faced kid who couldn’t be older than seventeen and looked freaked right the f**k out rushed in.

“He took a girl!” he shrieked, and Deck’s heart stopped beating.

“Wade, what the f**k are you doing here?” McFarland shouted, eyes going back and forth between the kid and Deck.

“No, dude, no, no, no…” the kid chanted, rushing up to McFarland and grabbing his arm. “Jon’s back, dude, and it’s bad. He’s pissed. He’s pissed at everybody. And dude, he’s totally pissed at you. He’s off the freakin’ reservation. He totally has this girl! Emmitt and Bryan are totally freaked!”

“A high school girl?” Deck asked.

The kid shook his head even as he looked to Deck and asked back, “Who are you?”

Deck didn’t answer.

He clipped, “Did he take a high school kid?”

The kid looked him from top to toe and wisely decided to answer.

“No, she’s an older lady. Like, your age.”

“Her name?” Deck pushed.

“No clue,” the kid answered. “Too freaked to pay attention. I just wanted to get out of there.”

“What does she look like?” Deck asked.

“I don’t know. She was like, normal. Pretty.”

And dude, he’s totally pissed at you.

Fuck, please God, tell him, because McFarland was gagging for her, Prosky wouldn’t take Emme.

“What does she look like?” Deck repeated.

“I told you. Normal. Pretty.”

“What does she look like?” Deck barked, and both Wade and McFarland jumped.

“Brown hair, like… long. Some, like, streaks in it. She’s tall. Weird eyes—” the kid started to say fast.

Fuck. Fuck!

He had f**king Emme.

“Where is she?” Deck bit out.

“She’s… she was at Jon’s place but he was movin’ her.” Wade looked to McFarland. “That’s how I got away. I slipped out when they were movin’ her. You gotta do somethin’, Dane. That’s whacked. You gotta talk to him. When he got intense, you were the only one who could talk to him.”

“Where are they movin’ her?” Deck asked, the kid looked at him and shrugged.

“I dunno. I got outta there.”

Deck looked at McFarland. “Where would he take her?”

“How would I know?” McFarland asked.

Deck moved and McFarland was on his back on the floor with Deck’s knee in his chest and his hand fisted in his collar.

“Where would he f**kin’ take her?” Deck snarled.

“I don’t—” McFarland began.

“It’s f**kin’ Emme. He’s pissed at you and he’s got f**kin’ Emme,” Deck clipped.

“Oh f**k,” McFarland breathed as it belatedly dawned on him, the f**king moron.

Deck took his knee out of McFarland’s chest, lifted McFarland a foot up then slammed him back into the floor.

“Talk!” he ordered.

“Probably… we’ve got… well, this place. Off the access road a mile up Navajo in Carnal, into the hills, goin’ toward the hiking trails.”

Deck knew it so he wasted no time straightening, yanking McFarland up with him and pushing him off.

“You,” Deck pointed at McFarland. “Call Shaughnessy, report this, all of this shit, f**kin’ everything. You,” Deck pointed at Wade then at the couch. “Sit your ass down.”

“Shaughnessy!” Wade squealed. “Like, the cop?”

“Man, I cannot call Shaughnessy,” McFarland said at the same time.

Deck pulled his gun out of the holster at his hip and both McFarland and Wade’s eyes both went to the gun and grew huge.

He pointed it at McFarland. “You, Shaughnessy.” He pointed it to Wade. “Ass. On. Couch.”

McFarland fished his phone out of his pocket.

Wade ran to the couch and planted his ass on it.

Deck breathed deep as his blood ran so f**king hot, it was a wonder he didn’t burn inside out.

Prosky had Emme.

Just turn the dial.

Prosky had his girl.

You’re everything to me.

Emme had been taken.

I can’t go through it again, Jacob.

Deck heard McFarland’s voice saying, “Yes, this is Dane McFarland. I need to speak with Captain Shaughnessy.”

Deck holstered his gun then pointed his finger between the two of them. “You leave, he leaves before the cops get here, neither of you leave the hospital without a limp and you’ll also be leavin’ behind your balls ’cause I’m gonna cut them off and shove them down your throat. You get me?”

McFarland, phone to his ear, instantly nodded.

Wade swallowed and asked, “Seriously?”

“Confirm you get me!” Deck thundered.

“Yeah, yeah… totally,” the kid said, lifting his hands into a don’t-shoot position and shrinking into the couch.

Deck wasted not another second. He turned on his boot and left.

Sprinting down the stairs to the parking lot, his phone to his ear, Chace answered, “I don’t clean up messes. Please God, tell me you do—”

Deck cut him off tersely, “Jon Prosky has Emme.”

You’re everything to me.

Fuck!

“Where are you?” Chace asked with urgency.

“In my truck,” Deck answered, angling in. “McFarland’s turning over. He’s in his condo with a high school kid named Wade. They’ll be here when the cops get here. Now where are you?”

Just as he suspected, there was no hesitation before Chace replied.

“Wherever you need me to be.”

* * *

Emme

An hour later…

I was staring at the payroll reports when it hit me.

I needed a burrito. Badly.

I heard boots quickly coming up the wooden stairs outside my office as I reached for my cell.