I missed Garrett. I missed my parents. I missed my life.
But as much as I missed all of that, I knew my situation could be much worse than playing cards with a sweet woman and a nice guy while eating cheesecake.
I was making the best of this situation. With each passing day, I was finding myself more comfortable than the last.
I could do this.
18
Garrett
Four Days Later
The conference room at my office usually didn’t feel stuffy like this.
Today, I wanted to be anywhere but here. Except, I had a responsibility to review our businesses as usual. Once I finished here, I would be on a plane and back to Enissa by dinner.
At least that was how it all worked out in my head.
An hour ago, her mom underwent the bone marrow transplant. The only thing she knew going in was a matching donor was found. None of them knew I was bankrolling all of it. Only her aunt knew I covered her expenses, but Enissa’s mother and father, along with Enissa didn’t know anything about me. In a matter of time, Enissa’s mother would have her health once again, and without the debts that typically come along with such a tragedy.
In the coming months, they would learn their mortgage had been paid in full. Even though I had them staying in a different home to keep them safe from Beacon, they would soon return to their place. I also handled some necessary repairs to the home, like a new roof, new drainage system, and new plumbing in their second bathroom along with flooring because they had a slow leak. All the debts her father had amassed trying to stay afloat and cover treatments had been paid in full as well as the ones Enissa acquired. The future for the Mitchell family looked bright.
Sure, it cost me a large chunk of my assets. I sold my Colorado mountain house because I wasn’t really content anywhere it snowed. I made some stock trades that wouldn’t impact me tax-wise. I cleared out a savings account, but only one, and I had quite a few more. In the end, it would all be worth it. Truthfully, the satisfaction I found had nothing to do with Enissa’s mother at all. I had no intention of sharing that. Nope, if everything continued according to my plan, they would never know I had anything to do with this.
Life was a funny bitch, though, and things rarely went according to best-laid plans.
Onyx, Paxton, and Dane entered the space, and we all shared a quick greeting. The files of our current contracts sat in front of me.
“O’Donnelly, they made another payment,” I explained, passing the file with the check over to Paxton who handled all accounting, personal and business for each of us. “I have their surrogate under contract and moving into the Carol Street set up.”
I slid the file on our newest mother-to-be to Onyx so he could get to know her. He scanned it and passed it on to Dane. Between the two of them, they would make sure she had everything she needed to be comfortable for the duration of this pregnancy.
Onyx’s phone rang, interrupting us. He slid the screen and answered, “Case.”
Immediately, I went on alert. Case was in my home watching Enissa and Ellen Sue. While Case worked for all of us, his primary contact was Onyx since he maintained all security through the systems at The Manor.
“On it,” he said before ending the call and furiously typing away on his screen.
“What?” I clipped out, trying to remain composed.
“Three men down, Case is injured, got a standby crew headed there now,” Onyx explained, continuing to send messages on his phone. “Enissa and Ellen Sue are gone.”
“We need to leave,” I told the room as Dane gave me a nod and lifted his phone. I paced the space trying to steady my thoughts. We had to be smart about this. With my hands in my pockets, I felt the lighter and squeezed the metal tightly.
“Get the plane ready,” Dane muttered, and I knew they were all stepping in.
The weight of the lighter was heavy as was my soul. I had a responsibility to Enissa and Ellen Sue to keep them safe.
“You think it’s Beacon?” Dane asked me while Paxton put the files up before moving to the safe to get cash for each of us.
“Thirty minutes, we’re ready for liftoff,” Dane explained, looking at his phone. “When we land, Paxton and Onyx, you head to the house and get Case and the crew checked out. I gotta make some calls right now. I’ll have a location on Ellen Sue in five minutes. We can assume Enissa is with her. Garrett, you and I’ll head to their spot.”
With a nod, we all moved about the space getting ready. I went to the safe and pulled out my Glock. I listened to Dane in the background as he checked in with his people.
That was what Beacon wanted originally. A man with underground connections like Dane. What Beacon didn’t realize was Dane’s skill set made him the kind of man you didn’t fuck with. By fucking with me and what was mine, Beacon bought a world of trouble.
The four of us had no secrets between us. We had an unshakable bond. More than anything, we knew what life was like when you were powerless to your circumstances. We knew what it was to live a life we had no control of. We vowed to grow into men who never lost in life.
At this moment, not knowing where Enissa was … I couldn’t stop the feeling of losing her as it washed over me. Everything was background noise as I allowed the fears to take over me.
“She’s not far from your place.”
“How do we know he won’t move her before we can get there?”
I knew this was a risk I was taking, putting her on an island so far away and then leaving. Except, I had to follow up and force her aunt to give her mom the bone marrow.
Yes, I could have been patient and used my resources to find a donor who wasn’t a relative, but a patient man I was not. Also, it was a power play to force the aunt to do what was right regardless of whether she wanted to or not. Family took care of family,, and Lisa Sanders needed to learn that shit.
“I have connections. I’m getting people in play to get eyes on the place while we get the fuck outta Pennsylvania and down to her. I’ve got my guy hacking into the airport to delay flights for us to get there so he won’t be able to get her out commercially. I’ve got someone working on the private airstrips to keep the personal jets grounded. There is no record of Beacon owning a plane or helicopter, so he would have chartered one. When my crew gets on the ground, they are going to dismantle the engine to his boat so he’ll be land-locked,” Dane stated, confident that nothing would go wrong. Life sucked, though, and I knew there was a chance things could go to shit quick.
With a plan in place, we made our way from the office to the plane. I went into this determined to help Enissa while ruining Beacon. My priority was Beacon. Except things changed the moment I met her. She was the reason I returned. Honestly, in the beginning I wanted to provide medical care for her mother and stick it to Charles. If her mom lived, great; if she died well, death was part of life. Then, brick by brick, Enissa tore down this wall of unfeeling I had. Watching the sacrifice she was willing to make for her family changed me. This wasn’t about Beacon anymore. This was about making Enissa’s every dream come true. So I returned to Pennsylvania all to make sure her aunt kept up her end of the deal because she was the key to ensuring Evelyn Mitchell’s health.
Nervous energy plagued me like never before.
My body was done in. The room spun even as I remained limply stuck in place.
“Nobody wants you,” Amos roared.
I didn’t have it in me to brace for the impact of his next blow.
The lashings kept coming, and his mouth kept running.
“Everyone threw you away like garbage. I give you a home, food, clothes, and what do you do for me?”
I couldn’t choke out a reply. Two more years I had to endure his torture. We would get through. Onyx, Dane, Paxton, and I would survive this; I just had to be strong. The state was no longer giving Amos and his wife more children to foster. The four of us were all who were left.
I had to hold on.
This journey, this hell
we had lived, it was going to be over soon enough.
The darkness was trying to win. My vision was cloudy, and everything wanted to go black. I fought to stay in the moment.
“Chores make you tough. Chores teach you to stay on task. Did you do your chores?”
I shook my head. I didn’t. I was studying for a test so Onyx was doing them for me. Only he got caught. He was locked in the feed room, waiting for his punishment, at least that was what I thought. The tasks were done, all of them. That didn’t matter to Amos, though. I didn’t earn my keep, and Onyx couldn’t cover for me.
To him, we defied his control and his command.
Vaguely, I made out a rustling sound behind me. My head was too heavy to lift and see.
Noises, shuffling, things were happening.
There was a clang and then a thud.
“Fucker, you tried to kill my brother!” I heard Dane yell as Paxton rushed to my side to release me.
“Hang in there, Garrett. We got Onyx to Ellen Sue’s. You gotta be alright; he’s gotta be alright.”
Paxton was worried. His voice, I could hear the fear laced in every word.
“What happened to Onyx?” I choked out.
Paxton shook his head. “Fucker tied him to the old trough in the feed room. Onyx is bigger than Amos now; fucker must’ve knocked him out. Slit his wrists. Let him bleed out. We got him to Ellen Sue.”
Guilt hit me like a wrecking ball. This was all my fault.
“I’m sorry,” I whined as Paxton draped my arm over his shoulders to take my weight. I couldn’t make my body move. With every breath I felt like I was going to fall to the ground in a heap.
Paxton guided me around where I watched Dane take a shovel down on Amos’ head. “You wanted to kill my brothers. I’m gonna end you today, fucker. We aren’t your trash! We’re a fuckin’ family of our own makin’. Let my wrath reign down on you, motherfucker!” With that, he raised the shovel over his head and slammed it down, splattering pieces of Amos all over the floor.
My mind shifted into overdrive. On shaking legs, I moved to the trunk where Amos stored the driving gear for the mules. Falling to the ground in front of the box, I fought to breathe as I reached in and searched for the tucked away leather pouch. Inside, I pulled out the cigarettes and Zippo lighter.
Paxton leaned down and flicked the flint to strike the flame as I put a cigarette to my lips. We all smoked. We all shared the cigarettes and lighter in this pouch.
“Gotta be smart,” I spoke, clearing my throat. Dane was still muttering shit to what I was certain was a dead Amos. “Burn the shit down.”
Paxton followed my gaze to Dane and nodded. “Let me get you to Ellen Sue.”
My mind came back to the present. Ellen Sue had done everything for us. Growing up on the farm, her land was beside Amos’. She used to see all us foster kids working and sneak us sweet treats and a moment of kindness in another human being. The older we got, the more we all looked out for Ellen Sue. Her husband died in a freak accident training a horse. He took a kick to the head and never woke up. They didn’t have kids of their own, so she adopted us in her own way.
Ellen Sue never remarried. The night I laid facedown and bleeding all over her rug as she cleaned out each of the lashings on my back, she cried for me, for Dane, for Paxton, and for Onyx—whose life she very well saved. Mine too because the infection would have killed me if Amos hadn’t done it himself there in that barn.
Ellen Sue was in trouble because of me. I couldn’t lose her like this.
We couldn’t lose her like this.
Not after everything she had done for us. Not after the secrets she’d kept for us.
19
Enissa
My head throbbed like elephants were jumping up and down on it. The pain behind my eyes made it difficult to open, but somehow I pried them. It took a few blinks to focus. Even then I couldn’t make out much.
The space was dark, but there was a crack allowing a small bit of light to shine in. I had never been afraid of the dark, but this moment, this situation, fear was controlling me. My emotions were scattered, and I fought to remain calm enough to maybe not get myself killed.
Ellen Sue was laying on her side completely still as I moved slowly to her, my body not able to go as swiftly as I’d liked. Anxiety gripped me, not just for me, but for the woman beside me. While I didn’t know her well, she mattered to me. The time we spent together meant something to me, and I didn’t want her hurt.
“Ellen Sue,” I whispered in her ear and rolled her to her back, tapping the side of her face. Nothing. She was limp. This couldn’t be happening. Checking for a pulse, she had a faint one, but I found it. So she was at least alive.
Fear like no other slammed into me. We were taken. It all came back in a rush.
“No way!” Laughter filled the room as Ellen Sue screamed out, “Uno!” Ellen Sue slapped her hands on the table, excitement bubbling off of her.
“There’s no way. You’ve won the last three games!” I cried out, smiling and tossing my cards down to the table in mock frustration. Case left us to do his sweep of the property and, frankly, I was pretty sure he was tired of losing.
“When you’re hot, you’re hot!” Ellen Sue called out proudly.
A loud pop came from the other room, and Ellen Sue jumped up from the chair, both of our eyes flying to the room. Ellen Sue grasped me and pulled me behind her as three men came barging into the room, guns pointed directly at us. I was shell-shocked, but the woman in front of me was calm.
The men who stood before us were menacing. Their bodies were large, their faces angry and determined. Each step they took appeared to be precise, like they knew exactly what was going to happen. The air was filled with confidence from them and trepidation from me. All the while Ellen Sue stood in front of me like a shield taking in every angle.
My heart thumped, and fear slid through me.
“What do you want?” Ellen Sue asked bravely.
The men said nothing. They charged in, aimed, and shot their guns. The sting coursed through me before I could register in my mind that Ellen Sue had been hit as well. My body shook, and everything went black in an instant.
It was all I remembered until this moment. Tapping Ellen Sue’s face, she groaned. “Shh…” I told her, not wanting to catch anyone’s attention. Whatever this was, well, it wasn’t good.
“You’re okay.”
Ellen Sue’s eyes opened then blinked, coming into focus, looking around the space. “Are you alright?” she asked me, sitting up and grasping her head.
“Yes. Are you?” I asked, fighting back the fear and confusion. She was awake. I didn’t see blood, so maybe I didn’t get a good spot for her pulse and that was why it was weak. I had to hold onto hope we would both come out of this okay.
“My head hurts a bit. Like I hit it, but I don’t remember doing that,” she explained as she looked around.
“I don’t remember much either.”
I wished I had the answers. Honestly, I wished I had told Ellen Sue about my situation. This way she would have at least been somewhat prepared. Except, I didn’t think we were in danger.
I never thought Charles Beacon would do this. I already agreed to his demands, so why put me through this? I didn’t need him to be some knight to save me. I needed him to pay for my mom’s medical care, and in return I would give him me. So why this charade? Unless this wasn’t from him but one of his enemies? I had no one angry with me. I certainly didn’t live a life where I ran in the kinds of circles that brought on this level of trouble. Charles Beacon was the only trouble I had in my life. What or who else could it be?
My mind kept racing with all the possibilities.
“Help me up, dear.”
Together, we stood on shaky legs. “Why is my body so tingly?”
“Taser. They shot us with Tasers. It has prongs that jab you with electricity and makes you lose control of your muscles. It takes a bit before all your limbs get moving again.” Her
statement was matter-of-fact, like somehow this happened regularly.
This took me by surprise. “How do you know this?”
Ellen Sue wobbled a bit, but was able to get her body steady. “We need to figure out where we are,” she said instead of answering. This woman was bouncing back while I felt like falling apart.
She began to move, hands feeling the walls.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked her, wanting to contribute.
“Feel the floor. Is it dirt, metal, carpet, wood? We need all the details, darlin’. Gotta figure out our surroundings first.”
I got busy, getting down on my hands and knees. It was rough in some spots, then smooth in others. “Ouch,” I mumbled, cutting my hand on something sharp.
“What’s wrong?”
“Metal floors. I think I just cut my hand.” I felt like I had a herd of animals running through my head, all while the woman beside me had her shit together. How could she be so calm?
Ellen Sue gripped my hand, feeling around it. “Nothing too bad. Wipe it on your shirt and hold it on there for a bit. We don’t want it getting dirty.”
I followed her command as Ellen Sue moved throughout the space. It was amazing, even though dark, that I could see her movements. Eyes were able to adjust well when you needed them.
“The walls are metal too.” I heard her moving down the length of the space and then coming back to me. “We’re in a shipping container.”
“What? Why?” How could she figure this shit out so fast?
She patted me gently. “Take a deep breath, Enissa. Gotta keep your head about ya. We’re on an island. Getting supplies here is done by cargo ships. Process of elimination, we’re in a container.”
“Wait, so they’re going to take us out of here?”
“That’d be my guess.”
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