Legacy (Montgomery Brothers Series ~ Book 1)

by Laura Pavlov

  Damon grabbed me by the ponytail and yanked me to my feet. He dragged me over to the table and shoved me in the chair beside my mother. She turned the laptop my way.

  “Pull up your account,” she said. Her voice lacked any emotion.

  I turned to the screen and pulled up my business account. I knew that if I emptied my entire account it would set off red flags. I also assumed this would be an easy thing for the bank to trace, as we were depositing it into Damon’s account. But I wanted to give them time to investigate it. Put the pieces together. Time was not on my side. As soon as they got what they wanted, they’d dispose of me and Gramps. I needed to buy time for Ford to find us.

  “Do you want me to deposit all of it? I think that will cause some red flags. Maybe you should do half of the money today and the other half tomorrow.” I kept my fingers on the keyboard and waited for a response. My face throbbed from where he’d punched me, and I struggled to focus as my eye was swelling with each passing minute.

  “Don’t fucking try to tell me what to do, little girl,” Damon shouted, moving his face next to mine. His cheek resting against mine as he stared at the screen. He reeked of booze and smoke. I held my breath and tried to focus on the task at hand. One of his hands rested on my shoulder, and he rubbed it back and forth. Making his way down to cup my breast. “Although you are a pretty little thing.”

  I slapped his hand away instinctively and pushed to stand, shoving him away from me. His hand came up hard and fast as he hit me across the face. I fell back and dropped to the floor.

  “You got a death wish?” my mother said from her chair with a chuckle.

  The big guy from the car came over and lifted me from the floor and set me in the chair. My labored breathing filled the air around me and I swiped at my mouth with the back of my hand, which was now covered in blood. Gramps whimpered from behind me. I looked up at the man who’d just put me in the chair, and our gazes locked. Something in the way he looked at me gave me hope. Maybe he wanted to help us get out of here.

  “Do it all. It’s a bogus account. So even if they flag it, they won’t know who it went to,” Damon said.

  “You sure about that?” my mother asked.

  “Don’t fucking question me, bitch.”

  “Let’s just try not to fuck this one up,” my mother said. I glanced over at her. Looking for anything. A sign of a human being under all that evil.

  Nothing.

  Damon picked up his gun and held it to my head. “Do it.”

  The big man stood beside me. I didn’t know why, but he seemed to be staying close for a reason. “You shoot her, and we don’t get any money.”

  “Stop telling me how to do my fucking job,” Damon snarled.

  I asked for his account number and typed it in. “How do I know you’re going to let Gramps and me go?”

  “You don’t,” he said.

  I typed slowly. Trying to come up with a way to negotiate us out of this.

  But I couldn’t see a way out.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ford

  My day was shit and I hadn’t heard back from Harley since I texted her about dinner. I knew she was swamped, but that was unlike her.

  “I’ll be back shortly,” I said to Sam before heading downstairs.

  “Bring me a treat back,” she yelled out and I laughed.

  “Will do.”

  Everyone was crazy for my girl’s sweets. I was just crazy for her. I saw my brothers sitting at the table through the glass door and rolled my eyes. They should have already been on their way to Napa, but they couldn’t stay out of the damn bakery. I liked that they loved Harley though, even if I acted like it annoyed me.

  “Are you the reason she hasn’t responded?” I said as I pushed the door open and glared at Jack and Harrison.

  Molly moved to her feet. “What do you mean? She’s not with you?”

  Alarm bells sounded, and my pulse raced. “What are you talking about?”

  “She left thirty minutes ago. She met with the lady for the wedding cake and said she needed to go meet you real quick.”

  I pulled out my phone and shot Edward a text and Jack ran outside to get Calvin.

  “Tell me exactly what she said. What door did she leave from?” I asked Molly as I pulled up Harley’s number and tracked her phone. “It shows her a block away. That doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

  I tried dialing her and it went right to voicemail.

  Calvin rushed inside. “I never saw her leave. I just came on thirty minutes ago.”

  “Call the guy you relieved. Could she have gotten past you during the transition?” My voice was frantic, and Harrison stood beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.

  Calvin thought about it. “You know, there was a little mishap right when I came on. A young girl tripped and spilled her purse everywhere. I helped her to her feet and got her cleaned up.”

  “Jesus Christ. They’ve got her,” I said, dialing Jerome to get the car here now.

  My phone screen lit up with a call from Edward. His voice was calm. “I was able to track her through her shoes. I’ve got the address. Looks like an abandoned old house about ten minutes away. I sent the info to Jerome. I’ll meet you there. Have Calvin follow. I’ve got a group of guys on the way already and I’ve called my contact at the police station. He’s sending out a bunch of cars as well. Don’t go in without us, Ford.”

  I ended the call and ran for the door just as Jerome pulled up. My brothers and Molly all jumped in the car with me and I didn’t have time to argue with them.

  “What did Edward say?” Jack asked, covering his mouth with his hand.

  “They’ve got her at some old house. And they’ve got a thirty-minute lead on us. How the fuck did this happen?” I shouted.

  “I’m so sorry, Ford.” Molly’s words broke on a sob.

  “It’s not your fault. They must have said something to get her to tell you she was going to see me and then willingly leave with them,” I hissed.

  Harrison’s gaze locked with mine. “It’s got to be her grandfather.”

  “How the fuck could they get to both of them that easily?” I punched the back of the passenger seat hard.

  “We’ll find her, brother. What’s the plan? Should we call the police?” Harrison asked.

  “Edward already did. You guys stay in the car when we get there. I’m going in.”

  “The fuck you are. You go—we go.” Jack pushed forward in his seat, and I’d never seen my brother so serious in my life.

  “Okay, we’re here,” Jerome said. “Should I pull around back?”

  “Just get me close to the house. I don’t give a fuck if they see us. We’re going in.”

  He pulled up beside the house and I was pushing out the door before the car came to a stop. In my peripheral, I saw several cars moving in beside us. I didn’t wait. I charged the door, my brothers in tow. I heard shouting behind me as I kicked through the door and took in the scene.

  Harley was on the floor beside a table and Damon looked up just as he kicked her hard. I attacked. Caught him right as he reached for the gun on the table. I dove on top of him and tackled him to the ground. I didn’t know what was happening around me as everything blurred. I punched the bastard repeatedly as adrenaline surged. I’d fucking kill him. Someone pulled me off of him, and I fought to break free.

  “Ford, stop.” It was Harrison’s voice calling me, and I turned to see Harley in a ball on the floor.

  The room was filled with people now. Where the hell had they all come from? I raced over to Harley and dropped down on the floor, pulling her onto my lap.

  She whimpered, and I held her against my chest. It was hard to see over the tears that were blurring my vision. Jesus Christ. She’d been held here and beaten by this piece of shit. “You’re okay, baby.”

  “
Gramps,” she said through her sobs.

  “I’ve got him,” Jack shouted, and his voice cracked. “He’s okay, Harls.”

  I looked up at Harrison, and tears streamed down his face. It was like a scene out of a movie. People didn’t do this shit in real life. I looked up to see Harley’s mother as she was being cuffed. She smirked, and it took everything in me not to charge her. She’d done this. She’d allowed this. Damon was dragged out of the house screaming and shouting, and I was pissed that he was able to speak. I should have beaten him harder. Longer.

  A group of paramedics entered the room. One of the men directed two of the others to tend to Harley’s grandfather, while the guy in charge and a female paramedic bent down to look at Harley. “We need to evaluate her injuries,” he said, his gaze locked with mine.

  “If you hurt her, I’ll kick your fucking ass,” I snarled at the paramedics.

  “Montgomery,” Edward said, pressing down hard on my shoulders. “Relax. They’re here to help.”

  “It’s okay. I get it,” the one dude said as he placed a brace around her neck before he shifted her from my arms and onto the gurney.

  The woman helped to get her to come out of the ball she was curled in, and for the first time I saw her face. Her eye was swollen shut, her mouth bruised and bloody, and her cheek twice the normal size with shades of blue and purple covering one side of her face.

  Motherfucker.

  He’d beaten the living shit out of her. My hands fisted beside me as I moved to my feet and hovered over her. She whimpered as they lifted her shirt to find bruises covering her stomach.

  Another paramedic was hunched over Harley’s grandfather insisting he drink the water he was offering. He had a gash across his forehead and bruising on his wrists where they’d bound his hands. He hadn’t taken the same beating that Harley did—but watching the girl he loved so much take it was probably worse for him. They were both taken out to two separate ambulances and I jumped in with my girl. Molly rode over with Gramps. She’d been pretty quiet as she’d stood over her best friend, crying as she watched the scene in horror.

  Jack and Harrison followed us to the hospital. I sat beside her holding her hand, not knowing if I should even touch her for fear of hurting her more.

  “I’m okay,” she said, one tear running down her swollen, bruised cheek as she looked up at me.

  “I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t get there sooner, baby.”

  “You came for me. That’s all that matters. You got us out of there alive.”

  We pulled up to the hospital and they rushed Harley inside. They insisted I stay in the hospital waiting room, which didn’t sit well with me. Jack and Harrison were there, forcing me to calm down and take a seat. Harley’s grandfather was taken back as well, and Molly sat beside me and buried her face in her hands.

  “How is she?” she croaked.

  “She’s going to be okay,” I said, wrapping her in a hug. I knew she was hurting seeing her best friend like that. Hell, we were all shaken to the core by the scene we’d walked into.

  “Let me bring you up to speed,” Edward said from behind me.

  “Tell me we’ve got enough to put them away for a long time?” I asked, turning to face him.

  “So, not sure if you took in all the people in that room, but there was a large man off to the side. He was undercover. The Feds had been tracking Damon and Valentina for some time. That’s why there were so many cops there.”

  “A cop let him beat the shit out of her and just stood there watching?” I seethed.

  “Ford. They wanted to put them away for a long time. Once she transferred the money, they had him for enough to put them behind bars for a long, long time. They have a shit ton of charges against both of them. Kidnapping, wire fraud, selling drugs, prostitution. They won’t see the light of day for a very long time.”

  I pushed to my feet and paced. “He should have stepped in sooner.”

  “He knew if he called them in too soon, Damon would weasel out of the charges. He needed to let her transfer the funds. And they were following a drug transaction set up by him and Valentina a mile away with their carrier at the same time. It was a large delivery that went to an agent. So, they’ve got them now.”

  I ran my hands through my hair and continued to pace. My mother came running into the waiting room and wrapped her arms around me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling back to look at her.

  “The boys called when you were in the ambulance. How is she? How’s her grandfather?”

  “They’ve been back there for over a fucking hour. They aren’t telling us shit,” I shouted. The lady at the reception desk gave me an apologetic smile.

  “Let me go back and see if there are any updates,” she said.

  “You need to calm down, son. She’s a strong girl. She’s going to be okay.” Mom led me to take the chair beside her.

  “You didn’t see her. He beat the shit out of her.”

  “And you got to her before it was worse,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “That her own mother could take part in something so brutal. She’s going to need your support more than ever now.”

  “And she’ll have it. But I’m fucking pissed, and I don’t know what to do with that.”

  “You need to let it go, Ford. Anger won’t help her heal.”

  “Mr. Montgomery,” a nurse called out.

  “Yes.” I jumped to my feet and moved toward her.

  “They are both resting now. Mr. DeLuca has been cleaned up and given some pain meds. He is severely dehydrated, so the doctor has admitted him for observation overnight. Miss DeLuca’s injuries are more extensive, but remarkably, she doesn’t have any broken bones. A lot of bruising and a lot of healing to do, so we’d like to admit her and just keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours. We are getting their rooms ready now and they will be moved upstairs in a little bit.” She smiled.

  “Okay. Thank you. Can I see her?”

  “Of course. Come on back,” she said.

  “Harrison, can you call Helena and let her know to get the guest suite ready for Harley’s grandfather? Explain the situation and tell her to plan for extra staff as they will both be coming home with me to recover,” I shouted across the waiting room.

  “Doing it now.”

  “I can cover the bakery for as long as needed,” Molly said, and I nodded.

  “Thanks. That’ll make her feel better.”

  When they brought me to the curtained-off area in the ER, she was propped up on a pillow and her eyes were closed, one severely swollen and bruised. I walked over and stroked her hair. She looked up at me, her cheeks swollen and streaked with tears.

  “Hi,” she said just above a whisper as she tried to push to sit forward. “Can you make sure my shoes are in the bag with my clothes? The nurse helped me get undressed, and I want to make sure they don’t get misplaced.”

  “Hey, lie back down. You need to take it easy,” I said, kissing her forehead before reaching in the bag that sat on the chair beside her bed. “Yes. The shoes are in here.”

  “Good. Those are my favorites.” She smiled, her head settling back on the pillow.

  “You know those are what led me to you,” I said.

  She startled a bit, her gaze landing on mine. “My shoes?”

  “Yes. I had a tracker put in them. In all of your shoes, actually. It was Edward’s suggestion, but I’m sure as shit glad I listened now.”

  “I want to be mad.” She winced as she tried to turn on her side. “But I’m glad you found me and Gramps, so I can’t complain.”

  “Good.” I ran the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip. “Jesus, baby. You scared the shit out of me.”

  “I was scared too,” she whispered. I knew it was hard for her to admit when she was vulnerable or afraid. I understood it, but
I needed her to know she could tell me everything. Anything.

  “Of course, you were. That was one creepy-ass house. Straight out of a fucking horror movie.” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “You don’t always need to be so brave.”

  She shook her head, and a few tears sprung from her eyes. “I wasn’t brave. I was terrified. I thought they were going to kill Gramps. I didn’t think you’d be able to find me once they tossed my phone out the window.”

  “I’d have found you no matter what.” I kissed the back of her hand.

  “How ugly do I look?”

  “You’re beautiful. You look even more badass now.” I laughed and she forced a smile. Her face was swollen, discolored, and battered.

  “Well, at least I don’t have any broken bones, so I’m hoping to get back to work soon.”

  My head whipped up to look at her. “Are you fucking serious? You’re not going to work for a while. Molly said she’s got it covered. Jack will step in and help during the busy hours. You know how much he likes it there.”

  “Yeah, but it’s my business.”

  “And you can have someone take over while you recover. Once you’re released, we’ll set your grandfather up at my place. I have Helena getting the guest suite ready for him. She’ll bring in extra staff to help out. You’re both going to need time to heal once you’re home.”

  Her gaze searched mine. “I can’t believe you did that for Gramps. Thank you.”

  “I love you so fucking much, Harley. I’d do anything for you.”

  “I love you too,” she said, reaching for my hand.

  The nurse came in and informed us that Harley’s grandfather had been moved, and they were taking her to the room next door to his now. They allowed me to walk beside her as they pushed her into the elevator, and she got settled in her room. The nurse went to inform the rest of the group in the lobby that they could come up and see both Harley and her grandfather. I walked over to check on him as well, per my girlfriend’s insistence, before returning to sit beside her.

  “Hi sweetheart,” my mother said as she walked into the room. “How are you feeling?”