by London Casey
Another heavy pounding on the door.
Then it was followed by, “Ashlynn? I know you’re in there. It’s about the murder… I just need to talk to you.”
“Detective Williams?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s me. Yes. Are you with Noah?”
My mouth opened… “I…”
“I have something else for you, Ashlynn. It’s important.”
“Tell me.”
“There’s evidence against you. I’m trying to figure this out without jumping to conclusions. I know you have a newborn and I know it’s hard right now. But if you don’t answer my questions, I’m going to have to take you in.”
“Then ask me through the door,” I said.
“We found something else on the body. I’m not sure what to make of it. I need you to see it. If you can answer my questions about it, maybe even point me in the right direction, then I won’t need to bother you.”
“I’m not opening that door,” I said.
“Because you’re alone and afraid. Ashlynn, I have a gun. A badge. You know who I am, right?”
I swallowed hard. I stepped toward the door. “What kind of object is it? The thing you found?”
“I can’t really explain it. Just open a little and I’ll show it to you. I think this will get me to that Ellis guy. Right?”
Ellis… right…
I grabbed the doorknob. I unlocked the door. I reached up and undid the deadbolt lock. I didn’t want to piss off the detective and have him take out his anger on me or Noah. And if he had something that could get Ellis put away…
You shouldn’t open the door…
I fought my better judgement. The other time I fought my better judgement was the night a wickedly sexy fighter was eyeing me. The way he seemed to circle around me, his eyes devouring me. The way he made me so nervous that I missed my mouth when I took a drink. The way I begged myself not to fall for anything… but I did. I went against my better judgement then. I went into a bathroom with Noah. I had the hottest sex of my life. And, yeah, I had gotten pregnant.
I opened the door, tossing my judgement aside.
The first time, it paid off… it got me Jude and it got me Noah.
This time?
Shit.
“You stupid bitch.”
I stared at him and at the gun.
“Don’t kill me,” I whispered.
“I’m not. I’m taking you.”
44.
(Noah)
“I want you to set up your boss.”
I stared at the bar as I sat in my car. I knew I needed to drive and get out of there.
“Set up Benito?” I asked.
I started to drive away.
“Yes.”
“You think you’re something, don’t you?” I asked. “You killed my best friend. For no goddamn reason.”
“For good reason,” Ellis said. “I have your attention. I have everyone’s attention. I’m taking what is mine, Noah. That whore slept around behind my back and now my baby is confused.”
“She wasn’t yours,” I said. “And Jude is my son. I fucked Ashlynn, not you. You never got her. You barely touched her, you fucking loser.”
“Fucking loser? Yeah? Okay… I’ll show you what a loser gets then.”
There was some muffled scratching sound followed by the pop of a gunshot. A split second later I heard a scream. Then a cry.
I almost drove my damn car off the road.
It was Ashlynn and Jude.
“What the fuck did you do?” I yelled.
“Now I have your full attention, Noah,” Ellis said. “Here, listen to them scream.”
“Stop!” I screamed. “I’ll help you! Just stop!”
I heard the sound of Jude crying start to fade. Ellis was walking away from Ashlynn and Jude. I heard a door shut. Then the squeak of a chair.
“Are we settled here?” Ellis asked.
“I’m going to kill you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ellis said. “Now I need you to listen carefully.”
“I’m all fucking ears.”
“I want Benito in front of me so I can kill him. You’re going to set him up. Tell him whatever you need to about Craig…”
“How does Craig fit into this, Ellis? Just give me that?”
“Let’s just say we have common interests,” Ellis said. “Now, once Benito shows up and I kill him, you get Ashlynn. She’ll be unharmed. Untouched. I never want to touch her again. Not after your hands have been on her. Oh, and not to mention how many cocks have touched her. Think about that. While pregnant with my baby, all those strange men…”
“She never did that,” I growled. “And Jude is not your son.”
“Yes he is,” Ellis said. “You can have Ashlynn. Make a new baby. I’m keeping Jude. I’ll raise him the proper way. He’ll have a fair life. Yes. That’s right.”
I opened my mouth but stopped. There was no use arguing with a guy like Ellis. He had the upper hand. He had Ashlynn. He had Jude. In that moment, I was fucked.
“Are you still there?” Ellis asked.
“I’m still here,” I said. “And, yes, you have my complete attention, Ellis.”
“Great. I’m so happy we can finally make all this work. You know, Ashlynn has been nothing but a tease and pain in my ass. It’ll be good to settle up all these old feelings.”
“Just answer something,” I said. “Did you use her father to get to her?”
“Of course,” Ellis said. “The man was in great debt. Plus, there was talk of something extremely valuable in Ashlynn’s mother’s room. Some kind of necklace or jewel. That was the ticket for Craig. I gave him the green light to find it and he couldn’t pull it off. But I’ll check again. Don’t worry.”
So it had been Ashlynn’s father and Ellis who barged into her apartment that night… holding a gun to poor Leah… holding Ashlynn’s throat as they trashed the bedroom…
The anger was red hot. I couldn’t remember a time being so livid.
“So, Noah,” Ellis said. “I was able to get Ashlynn and the baby out of the apartment, but sadly we were in such a rush that Ashlynn didn’t get a chance to pack. So we’re just waiting.”
I gritted my teeth and thought about what I was about to do. It had to be done. I truly had no other option. This was for love. The love I had for Ashlynn. The love I had for Jude.
I was digging my own grave, but if it saved my family, it was worth digging.
“Noah?” Ellis asked.
“Tell me where you want me to bring Benito.”
~
“Benito wants the location,” Dante said to me.
I was inside Ashlynn’s apartment. There were no signs of a struggle. No signs of a breakin either. That meant she opened the door. I wanted to get pissed at her because I told her not to open the door. To hide out and wait for me to call.
Her cell was on the coffee table, just fucking resting there.
I walked down the hall and opened the door to her bedroom. She lingered in there. The soft smell of the sheets, pillows, a hint of sleep. The smell of her soap, perfume, whatever laundry detergent she used. All those little things mattered to me in a way I never thought before.
“Noah?”
“I hear you,” I said.
“Okay. You said you knew the location. Her mother gave it to you, right?”
“Yeah, she said some stuff to me,” I said. “She’s really sick. On her last leg with cancer. Really bad stuff.”
“Well, we’ll send flowers,” Dante said. “Not trying to be heartless or anything, but this is a bigger deal now. We need Craig. It’s gone too far.”
Gone too far? Ashlynn and Jude have been kidnapped. You fucking piece of shit.
I stepped into Jude’s room and stood there. That soothing powder and lotion smell in the room. A blanket folded up, hanging over the side of the changing table. Another goddamn elephant looking at me with a blue eye and a big smile. The letters on the wall spelled out my son’s name
. Then I saw something draped over the railing of the crib. It was a one piece PJ set I had bought for Jude. All black with white skulls. I grabbed it and brought it to my nose.
It smelled like Jude.
There was a spot in the crib where he slept. A wrinkly indent of his small body.
“Noah, what are you doing?” Dante asked.
“You have a pen and paper handy?” I asked.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Good. I agree, Dante, let’s finish this thing up. This is where you need to be. I’ll meet you guys there. Make sure you bring Benito.”
45.
(Ashlynn)
I was angry at myself. But I had to hold it together. There was a baby in my arms that depended on me. From the second I knew I was pregnant I tried to come to terms with what my life would become. That Jude would depend on me and it was my job to take care of him without making him feel guilty for being alive. That was what my mother - and father - did to me. I carried a sense of guilt and a heavy burden that I had been born.
I never wanted Jude to feel that way.
Then again, I just wanted to survive whatever the hell was going on.
Ellis was tall, in a suit, his eyes weary and full of evil.
“It’ll be over soon,” he said, standing over me as I sat in a chair.
I guess I could consider myself lucky that he hadn’t tied me to a chair. I was able to hold my baby.
“What will be over?” I asked.
Ellis crouched down. “What we started a long time ago, Ashlynn.”
“You’re wrong, Ellis. You’re going to get in trouble. I don’t know what my father told you…”
Ellis smiled. He touched my face. “Ashlynn, I don’t want you anymore. I’ve made my peace with that. You’re a whore. That’s all you’ll ever be. But my son… he needs a better life. So I’ve arranged for that.”
“Jude is not your son,” I said. “We never had sex, Ellis.”
Ellis laughed. “Oh, you have such a sweet memory. I wish it could have worked for us.”
“Where’s my father? Tell me what he told you.”
“My gift to you,” Ellis said, “is him… my way of apologizing, I guess. I realize at the beginning of our relationship I shouldn’t have been so aggressive with you. I pushed you too hard. So I’m sorry for that.”
I swallowed hard. I tried to hide the fear surging through my body. I nodded. “Okay, Ellis. I forgive you for that. I’m sorry if I was misleading at all to you. Now just tell me what’s happening, okay? There’s people looking for my father. If you’re tied to him, you’ll end up getting hurt. The baby could get hurt.”
“Oh, no no no, Ashlynn. I promise you… nothing bad can happen to your father.”
Ellis smiled and stood up. The look in his eyes took all the heat and color from my body. He looked at his watch and then tapped it with his pointer finger a few times.
“Ellis…”
“No more talking,” he said.
“You have to tell…”
“I said no more fucking talking!”
With that, he took out a gun and pointed it at me.
46.
(Noah)
I arrived at the building first.
That was part of the plan.
All I wanted to do was see Ashlynn and Jude. Make sure they were alive and everything would be okay. I kept playing it in my mind over and over. Ellis would show up and kill Benito. Then Ellis would release Ashlynn to me. His plan was to take Jude though. If Ellis had men with him, it would get really messy. If Ellis was alone, I’d take him down.
Better yet… if Ellis killed Benito and Dante was lingering… maybe Dante would quick trigger Ellis. Then I’d have Ashlynn and Jude.
And a pissed off Dante with a gun.
Benito’s black car pulled up next to me. I got out of my car and a driver got out of the other car. He opened the backdoor and out climbed Benito. He adjusted his suit jacket and nodded to me.
“Where’s Dante?” I asked.
“He stayed back,” Benito said. “Working on another project for me. This should be quick, right? We go in, grab Craig, and leave. You can muscle this for me, right?”
“Of course,” I said.
Benito pointed at me. “I’m not keeping that money you gave me either, Noah. It’s bullshit. I owe you so much. You’re like a son to me.”
He was laying it on thick. But I knew how to suppress my emotions. I walked to Benito and touched his shoulder. “We need to just get this over with. Save the family.”
“The family. Right.”
It was just me and Benito. We walked to the side door and it was open.
Everything was happening way too easy. Way too fucking smooth.
I glanced over my shoulder before going into the building.
There wasn’t a soul in sight.
The door clanked shut and a second later, there was the sound of a handclap.
I stepped back and Benito stepped forward.
From the shadows of the building walked who I assumed to be Ellis. He was tall, in a nice suit, and stunk of cocky arrogance.
“Ah, there he is,” he said.
“Motherfucker,” Benito said. He looked back at me. “That’s not Craig.”
“No. It’s not. I’m so sorry, Benito. He took Ashlynn and Jude. I have to protect my family…”
“Family,” Benito whispered. “Right.”
Always being a man of composure and never showing fear, Benito adjusted his tie, sucked in a breath, and started to walk toward Ellis. The two got really close to each other and I realized this wasn’t their first time meeting. So that meant Benito was lying to me back at the bar when I asked him if he knew anything about Ellis.
“So this is what you wanted?” Benito asked. “You couldn’t plan something better? Bigger? You use my top fighter to lure me in?”
“It was a win-win,” Ellis said. “I get to kill you. I get my kid.”
“Your kid?”
“Jude is not his baby,” I said.
“I’m taking Jude,” Ellis said. “We already worked out the deal, Noah. No going back now.”
“Maybe there is,” I said.
I started to walk toward Ellis. Fuck, if he was alone, I could take him. I could save everyone. I could save Benito, Ashlynn, Jude, and I could save my own ass. I had no real intention of Benito dying here…
Ellis took out a gun and pointed it at me. “Don’t fuck with the deal, Noah.”
“Fuck you, Ellis.”
“I tried,” Ellis whispered.
He sighed and pulled the trigger.
47.
(Ashlynn)
I paced the room, holding Jude tight. He had gotten a little fussy, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t take care of by rocking him. I focused on my breathing and kept calm. I had no choice. Because if Jude threw a fit I was afraid what Ellis would actually do.
“It’s okay,” I whispered to Jude, knowing I was more talking to myself. “It’s all going to be okay.”
I started to follow the walls of the room. Making a giant square, over and over.
Noah would come. Noah would have a plan. Noah would save me. Noah would save Jude.
In my heart, nothing could stop Noah. I believed…
I heard a gunshot and I jumped.
A bullet could stop Noah.
48.
(Noah)
I spun around like a top and fell to my knees. My left arm burned like fire. The son of a bitch had shot at me. The bullet had grazed my arm. It wasn’t a deadly wound, but enough that it was bloody and painful.
“Christ,” Benito said. “Let’s just take a breath here.”
“What?” Ellis asked. “That man is a traitor to you, Benito. Look what he set up for you. He wants you dead. I just saved you, Benito. Look. I shot him. I didn’t kill him either. I saved him for you. Do it, Benito. Like the old days. It was never supposed to end the way it did…”
I got back to my feet, grabbing my wounded arm. “Wha
t the fuck is going on here?”
“You want this war?” Benito asked Ellis. “You think your corporate life is going to somehow matter to me? To my family? You’re nothing, Ellis. You’ve always been nothing. You’re a disgrace.”
Ellis’s eyes went wide. He slowly moved the gun and pointed it at Benito.
My heart and mind raced. I was just a tough asshole kid when Benito found me. He was the first person to bet on me. He was the first person to give a damn about me. As pathetic as it sounded, he was the only person to ever call me son. Yeah, I wasn’t his son and I would never be his son. I wasn’t related and my blood was mixed.
But I loved Benito.
I had set this up… and I could fix it.
Benito looked at me. There was a gun to his chest, right at his heart. I’d never seen him so vulnerable before.
It was time to fix it.
“The time has come, Benito,” Ellis said. “I can make an offering to you… or I can just kill you. You never loved me though. You never will love me.”
All I could do then was mouth one thing to Benito - save them.
I then lunged forward at Ellis.
~
There were screams. My shoulder hit Ellis in the gut, sending him to the ground. The gun went off, but nobody was hit. Ellis hit the ground and his gun was out of his hand. I had disarmed him without getting Benito killed.
That was good.
Ellis grabbed for my wounded arm, digging his fingers into the open skin where the bullet had gotten me. The pain was intense. I slammed my head forward into his head, busting him open. He let me go, desperate to grab his nose. I got myself to my knees and brought my fist back. I was going to knock him out and then leave everything else up to Benito.
“Don’t fucking do it!”
My fist was back, high in the air. I felt something touch the back of my head.
“I’ll fucking blow your brains out,” Benito said.
He was talking to me…
~
I slowly inched away from Ellis. I put my hands up. Benito grabbed the back of my shirt and kept walking me back. The gun was at the base of my skull. One pull of the trigger and my brains would scatter my face across the floor.
