The distinct sound of Ariel crying and calling Delaney’s name was heard before Bisanti chuckled. “Very well then, you can talk to the girl. I’m afraid your wife is a little...preoccupied,” he said, pausing to let a groan carry over the phone line. “Here is the little one.”
“Ariel...Are you there Sweet Pea?” Raelin softly asked.
“Aunty Rae, I wants to come home. I’s scared and they’s mean to Delly,” she cried into the phone.
“You will soon...I need you to remember the glen...here’s your Mommy, but don’t say Mommy’s name okay?” Raelin handed the phone to Jessie.
Jessie grabbed the phone and whispered, “Baby...are you alright?”
“I’s okays. They don’ts hit me like they do Delly. Why is they so mean? Was Delly a bad girl?” she asked, through her tears. “I wants to come homes.”
“No baby...Delly wasn’t bad. You be a good girl and try not to cry too much. Aunty Rae will come and get you okay.” Jessie tried to reassure her daughter.
“Delly doesn’t looks like Delly any mores. They gives her lots of needles and theys nevers lets her out of the chair. I’s scared, but they’s let me sleeps in Delly’s lap,” she said crying as Del took another hit with a groan.
“You be a big girl and keep Delly awake if you can. Can you do that for us?” the attorney asked.
“I already is. She says I gots to be brave. I will try my bests. I’ll be a big girl. Oh, the big man is reaching for the phones.” Before Ariel could say anymore, Bisanti came back on the line.
“So, Raelin as you can tell the little one is just fine,” he chuckled. “She’s a feisty one, a bit like your wife I think.”
Jesse quickly passed the phone back to Raelin. “May I speak with my wife please? Just for a moment...please?” the brunette begged.
“Well I guess, but only for a minute. We have plans for her. Go ahead,” he said, waving a hand at the guard currently harassing Del.
“Rae?” Del answered hoarsely.
“Delaney...I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love you.” Raelin croaked out. “Remember the glen. Remember.”
“Rae, I want to be home,” Del said weakly. “I want to be home with you.”
“You’ll be home soon, I promise. I’ll come for you as soon as I can. Can you feel anything from me, at all?” The witch was hoping that she could.
“I can’t feel anything except the hurting, sometimes not even that. Keep given me needles full of something,” she slurred.
“Darlin’, don’t give them any reason to hit you, and maybe they will quit giving you the drugs. Please Delaney, don’t...don’t give them any more reasons,” Raelin begged her wife.
“Not doing anything. I’m trying Rae. Love you,” she whispered as Bisanti took back the phone.
“That will be all for tonight. Gotta get some sleep you know. You have yourself a good night and I look forward to getting those papers,” the man chuckled before hanging up.
Raelin held the phone to her ear for a long moment after it went silent, tears rolling down her face, crying silently. She slowly closed the phone while trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Nodding her head, she sniffed and headed for the door. “I’ll get them back,” she whispered as she walked out.
Slowly made her way downstairs, Raelin spent the rest of the night going over the spell, making sure that she had the wording, and all of the ingredients in the proper order and ready to go. Throughout the night she kept drinking the spring water, feeling as if it charged her power almost to the extreme. However, this overload felt more natural and didn’t change her appearance at least as far as she knew.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kasey breathed into Jenny’s neck as she pressed herself closer to her lover, her fingers still trailing over damp skin as she fought to get her breathing and emotions under control. “You okay Jenn?” she asked, still feeling the pounding of Jenny’s heart against her fingertips.
The younger woman kept a tight hold of her fiancée, not wanting to be separated quite yet. “Yeah, thank you for asking.” Their lovemaking had been intense, but it had been more about reassuring each other that they were together and they needed to be strong for Raelin and Jessie, than the act itself.
“This whole thing is crazy. Raelin wants to go off on a vigilante mission and who knows what kind of shape Del is in. I thought I had left this kind of thing behind when I left the Bureau,” Kasey mumbled, her arms wrapping around Jenny’s waist to hold her close. “I’m supposed to be in charge now and I have no idea how I’m supposed to handle something like this.”
Turning to look into Kasey’s eyes, Jenny could see the confusion and reached out to caress the woman’s cheek. “You do just what you’ve been doing. You take care of Rae, Jessie and me. Douglas and Michaels are doing their job, and I’m sure that since you called Director Jacobs, she got someone keeping an eye on things too. She knows how close you are to Del,” she shifted a bit so that she was facing the brunette. “But know that you are not in this alone. I’m here taking care of you too. We are a team, and we share everything.”
“I know, I’m not sure I’d be able to handle this without you here. You’re about the only thing that makes sense right now,” the brunette replied, pressing a soft kiss to Jenny’s jaw. “I’m trying to be strong for everyone, but Del is my best friend, and it’s hard for me too. We just can’t afford to all fall apart at the same time.”
“Kasey, listen to me. We are not going to fall apart. We are stronger than that, and we’ve already been through so much. Rae will get Del and Ariel back, and then we’ll start healing each other. Have faith in yourself Kasey...I do,” Jenny whispered.
Kasey held Jenny’s gaze, letting the strength in those words and feel of Jenny’s touch reassure her and quiet her fears and insecurities. “Thank you,” she whispered, letting their foreheads touch. “We’ll get through this, because that’s what we do. Together, because we are family now, you, me, Raelin and Del.”
“That is exactly what we are...now close your eyes and let’s get some sleep, for I fear tomorrow is going to be a rough day.” Leaning forward, Jenny captured Kasey’s lips in a gentle kiss. “I love you Spaulding.”
Returning the gentle kiss, Kasey pulled Jenny’s lean body tighter against her. “I love you too Jenn. More than anything,” she sighed as she settled into the bed and closed her eyes.
Jenny stayed awake a while longer, letting her fingertips trace gentle designs over Kasey’s back until her eyes grew heavy and she finally succumbed to sleep.
~ Chapter 15 ~
“Thanks for helping me put breakfast together,” Kasey said gratefully as Jessie worked at the stove next to her. They’d both been up early and Kasey had decided to start breakfast as a means of making herself useful. Jessie had joined her a few minutes later looking like she hadn’t slept a wink.
“Not a problem… It wasn’t like I was actually sleeping after the phone call,” the attorney whipped the eggs.
“Phone call?” Kasey asked, ducking her head out of the way when the bacon splattered. Reaching up she turned the burner down and leaned against the counter to look at the attorney. “You got a phone call from whom?”
Putting down the bowl, Jessie sat down heavily in a nearby chair. “Bisanti… he wanted to let tell her that the instructions were in an e-mail. He did let us talk with Ariel and Delaney.”
“Did they say anything that gives us a better idea of where they are? Are they okay?” she asked flipping over a few pieces of the bacon. “Does Raelin plan on handing the shares over?”
“No, because I can’t give them all the shares that they want.” Raelin walked into the kitchen to lean against the counter. “Delaney doesn’t know it yet, but she’s a quarter owner of the casino.”
Kasey dropped the tongs she been holding, her eyes wide. “What? Does Bisanti know that? Raelin, if he finds out about that, Del is going to be in for a much rougher ride than she is now. He’ll do anything in his power to break her so he can get what he wants. That’s wh
y he makes sure you can hear them being rough to her on the phone. He thinks you’ll do anything to keep her from being hurt, including giving up your ownership of the casino.”
“I know that Kasey, but what I did isn’t common knowledge…and I will do anything to keep her from being hurt.” Raelin turned to Jessie, who had a shocked look on her face. “I didn’t go through you on this because I didn’t want you to feel that you had to keep a secret from Delaney.”
“Why keep it a secret from Delaney at all?” Kasey asked, washing the tongs and drying them before she flipped the bacon again.
“Are you kidding? Del avoids money matters as much as she can. Considering the heart attack she nearly had over the price tag on the Audi, I can only imagine the medical bill after she finds out she owns a multi-million dollar casino,” Jessie said, shaking her head.
Raelin smiled weakly. “Delaney doesn’t pay much attention to the finances, the thought of having to sort through all those numbers gives her a headache. Because I have power of attorney, I was able to sell her the shares at the current market rate. That makes it a legal buy. Once I was wired the funds from Del’s account, I went into my own and had the same amount transferred into our shared account. Del doesn’t lose any money and no one can claim it as an illegal trade. Bisanti hasn’t been informed yet because we are still in the process of making it official,” Raelin explained.
Letting out a long breath, Kasey whistled. “Wow.”
“Has Tia already left?” Raelin asked.
“She and Jenny are both sleeping. Tia works nights so her body would be used to sleeping during the day,” Jessie answered.
Kasey took the bacon off the stove and piled it on a paper towel covered plate, her face flushed slightly. “Jenny should be up soon,” she murmured.
“Mmkay...listen Bisanti wants me to mail the shares to him and he’s going to send a courier with some papers that he wants signed. “I’m going to call him and tell him that I want to see Ariel and Delaney before I sign anything.” The witch sighed.
“Okay well, do you think it’s a good idea for you to go in there alone?” Kasey asked as she set the plate full of bacon on the table and started on Jessie’s abandoned eggs, pouring them into a pan and scrambling them up.
“I don’t have a choice if I want to get them out of there. Besides, I don’t know what kind of condition Delaney is going to be in when I send her back here, so I trust you Kasey to help her out.” Taking a deep breath, Raelin looked at both of her friends. “I am going to transport them to the glen, I mentioned the glen to both of them during the phone call, and I’ll do it once more before I port them out.”
“What kind of condition she’ll be in? Wouldn’t they want her in one piece as leverage? They know they won’t get anything out of you if they kill her,” Kasey said. She knew it was a little harsh, but it had to be said.
Raelin paled and took a shuddering breath. “Have you known Delaney not to try and argue if she gets the chance? Ariel said that she didn’t look like herself, and I did hear her getting punched a couple of times.” Swallowing a couple of times, she continued, “Anyways, just be at the glen and take care of her. I’ll try and transport myself in about an hour later to the spring. If you can have someone there, I would really appreciate it. I don’t kno...” she couldn’t continue further.
“You don’t know what exactly? Raelin, don’t go getting yourself killed. Delaney would fall apart,” Kasey said seriously, setting the now scrambled eggs onto the table next to the bacon.
Wiping the tears that were starting to roll down her face, Raelin smiled as Jenny stumbled into the kitchen. “Hi there sunshine. Late night?”
All Jenny could do was grin as she walked over to hug her fiancée. “No comment...hi baby.”
“Morning. You know, you could have at least thrown on some pants.” Kasey smirked, seeing that Jenny had simply thrown on one of her own large button downs that she kept at the house just in case. “You are practically swimming in that shirt.”
“And here I thought that you loved my breast stroke...fine, I’ll go put on some shorts,” Jenny kidded after snagging a piece of bacon.
“I didn’t say you had to,” Kasey called after her then blushed scarlet when she noticed everyone else in the room grinning at her. “Breakfast is ready,” she said.
Once Jenny returned Tia also stumbled into the kitchen and they all sat down to eat breakfast. They were only a few minutes in when there was a knock on the door before Jacobs appeared at the entrance to the kitchen. “Sorry for interrupting your meal. I wanted to catch you before you’d left. Kasey informed me of the recent happenings.”
Raelin stood up. “Would you care for some breakfast or some coffee?” She couldn’t eat anyway.
“Oh coffee would be most welcome. Now, I take it you’ve got a plan? It better be a good one if I’m going to go along with the crazy idea to let you try to get them back alone,” she said.
Kasey had instinctively risen when the woman entered the kitchen, old habits still not quite broken, then she sat as the director did.
“Also, I wouldn’t mind knowing who I’m sharing a table with,” the director said, sipping at the coffee handed to her.
“Oh, sorry, this Tia Colliar, she is the one who told Rae and Del about the article and overheard Bisanti talking about Del,” Kasey said, pointing to the shy girl as she ate. “Across from her is Jessie. Del’s good friend and attorney. She is also the mother of the little girl that was taken. You already know both Jenny and Rae.”
The director nodded to both Jessie and Tia. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances. Jenny, Raelin we really need to stop meeting like this,” she said, her lips twitching.
Raelin gave her a weak smile. “Yeah, I’d rather be going through anything else but this.”
“I would have to agree so give me one good reason I should let you risk your life by going in to the casino alone,” the older woman said seriously, her sharp gaze never wavering from Raelin’s.
Taking a deep breath, Raelin quickly thought on how to explain her plan without sounding like a freak. “For one thing, we don’t know if they are actually being held in the casino. We think that they are, but just not sure. Second of all, you can storm the place once Kasey gives you the go ahead and if I haven’t been able to get myself out I’ll need to be carried out.”
“What do you plan to do that you will need to be carried out?” the Director asked leaning forward over the table.
“Let’s just say it’s not illegal, or immoral, and just refuse to tell you. The less you know, the better you can answer questions later,” Raelin simply stated.
Kasey watched wide-eyed as the director and Raelin stared each other down. She was even more surprised when Jacobs was the one who backed down first. “Fine, but you will be wired.”
“Fine, but if they are being held where we think they are, you may not get a signal. I plan to go to Bisanti’s office first though so I’ll try and get him to admit as much as possible there.” Raelin went and poured herself another cup of coffee and made it as blonde and as sweet as she could stand it. She was going to need all the help that she could get.
“That is a disgusting looking coffee.” Kasey winced as she watched Raelin load it with sugar and cream.
“Raelin, I hate to be the bad guy here, but you know it’s possible that whatever you try is not going to work. I just want you to be prepared for that,” Jacobs said sadly. She knew there was a chance they might not be able to save either Delaney or the girl. She was going to try her best, but she had seen too much over the course of her career to get her hopes too high.
The coffee cup paused on the way to the witch’s mouth and her eyes hardened. “I know what I am about to do is risky, but I know in my heart I can get Delaney and Ariel out. They are what’s important. You just make sure that the wire picks up every word that is spoken in Bisanti’s office so you can hold them accountable for their kidnapping and for everything else you can think of.
Can you do that?” She asked with fiery eyes.
“Have you ever known me to do anything half way Mrs. Delacroix?” Jacobs replied back evenly. “I’ll do my part on this and those men will get what is coming to them. I can promise you that.”
Kasey looked nervously between the two headstrong women as she began clearing the empty plates off the table and piling them in the hot water in the sink along with the dirty pans.
Drinking her coffee Raelin barely was able to keep from making a face at the taste. She had been drinking the spring water all night, but hopefully the caffeine and the sugar would be enough to give her a little kick.
The witch turned to Tia. “What time do you need to be at work?”
“I start at four. If you are going to come in the main doors, I would be careful about the valet. He sometimes calls to inform Mr. Bisanti when guests have arrived. I don’t think you want Bisanti to know you are there until you are ready for him,” the young woman answered quietly.
“Is there a side entrance that isn’t covered by cameras or any other way I could get in?” Raelin closed her eyes for a moment.
“Yes, you can use the staff entrance. It’s around to the left side of the building. It has a sign. We can go from there right to the back staircase to get to the offices upstairs,” Tia said with a smile.
Sighing, Raelin agreed. “That will be fine then. I’ll show up at five-thirty at the entrance. Will you be able to meet me there and get me upstairs?”
“Yeah, it will be fine. There are always two of us on the desk because I have to do rounds and check the lobby every so often. I’ll simply time one of my rounds to meet you. No one will miss me for at least forty-five minutes,” Tia explained
“That will be fine.” Quickly Raelin finished her coffee and set the mug in the sink. “If everyone will excuse me, I need to prepare some more.” She left the kitchen and headed back to the altar room where she stayed until it was almost time to leave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kasey stood looking thoughtfully out the living room window. Her mind ran over all everything that needed to be done and all of the things that could go wrong. She really wasn’t keen on letting Raelin go in alone but she was also well aware that Raelin could take care of herself. She smiled a little as she heard the mewling of the new kittens as they chattered at Rori and Tasha. She’d greeted both felines earlier and congratulated them before she’d started her musings at the window.
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