When all of this mess started happening I put a GPS in her phone, her car, my phone, my cars, and any place else that I could think of. It would have come in handy if she had actually had her phone on her.
I called the guys and told them we had a new case. I needed as much help as I could get with this. I was going to find Araylia even if I died trying. I had so much guilt I was suppressing because I was the reason she was taken. I told her to get out and she got kidnapped. Liam was with her and I could only hope that he was okay too.
About an hour later we were gathered in my office, all of my guys and Araylia’s brothers. To say they were pissed was putting it mildly. I couldn’t blame them though, they had every right to be pissed at me.
“Where are we?” I asked Leo. He was on his computer hacking. Michael had informed us that Luke was supposed to have been transported back to Chicago early this morning, but he never made it. When he never made it cops went searching and found the transportation vehicles about 50 miles from the jail. So there was no doubt in our minds that Luke was behind this. We just had to figure out who was helping Luke. So Leo was searching all of Luke’s cards to see if there was any activity.
“Nothing yet, man.” Leo said in a soothing voice which sounded extremely odd coming out of his mouth.
“What the fuck?” I roared, “We are the best fucking security and rescue detail around here and we can’t find the most important people in my life? Are you fucking kidding me?” I shoved shit off a desk with my forearm in a rage and almost broke down.
How is it that we could find someone who is virtually impossible to find, but we couldn’t find Araylia? Why was I stupid enough to let her walk out of my…our house? My son and my woman were out there somewhere probably terrified and feeling betrayed by me. So fucking stupid!
I bent my head and took in a deep, cleansing breath to calm myself down and get my head back on the right track. After I felt my composure return I turned around to the guys and they acted as if they didn’t witness my melt down.
“Go back several months. Look at rental places. Luke has had this planned for far longer than we originally thought. He was smart enough to buy a place months ago. He knew we would look for recent transactions,” I told Leo.
“On it,” he said back.
Although Leo had only met Ray a handful of times he was doing all of this for her. He knew how important she was, not only to me but her brothers as well. He was a good guy and I would never be able to repay him for this.
“Got something,” I heard Leo call, pulling me out of my reverie.
I focused back on his screen and bent to get a closer look.
“Here,” he pointed to the screen and I saw a large sum of money, “there was nothing bought in the past several months, but there were large payments taken out over a period of 3 months. About ten grand twice a month. It was just withdrawn, not deposited into another account. So I looked at all of his friend’s accounts to look for the money. There is one guy, Jason Spring, who deposited cash into his accounts around the same time Luke withdrew it. Therefore, I looked into any places bought recently and I found a place nearby.” I felt relief flood in. The hope I thought I had lost was finally coming back.
I got the address and wrote it down and we all went into the room with our artillery. We got suited up with bullet proof vests, walkies, and our guns. Even though Ray’s brothers didn’t work with us they suited up as well and I was not going to stop them. This was just as important to them as it was me and I was not going to stop them from using my shit.
We piled into two SUVs and took off like rockets. Leo had plugged the address into the GPS for me so I could drive. The old building was about 20 minutes away from my office and about an hour away from my house. When I found that out it tore me up. I could not believe that she was just an hour away from my house all this time.
We had found the old building that Araylia and Liam were being held captive. When we first got here we slowly rode past it so see if there were any cars. We had seen two cars parked in the gravel driveway and we parked the SUV’s little farther up the lane so we could go undetected.
I was briefing Michael, Bryan, and Matt on what to do and what not to do. I didn’t want them fucking this up because they didn’t know what to do. Michael I wasn’t as worried about because he was a cop, but we still did things differently than police did.
Cade, Ryan, and I went to the front of the building. Callum, Blake, and Leo went around the back while Michael, Matt, and Bryan went to the side exit.
We slowly walked up to the front and when we didn’t hear any noise we tried the door and it opened easily. The fucking door wasn’t locked? I shook the thought out of my head because I needed my mind to be completely blank. I couldn’t have any thoughts, I needed to concentrate so I could do my job to the best of my abilities.
The place was big, old, and almost empty save the few boxes that were waist high. There were a few walls blocking us from seeing all the way through the building and I would almost guarantee it was blocking my view of Araylia and Liam.
All of a suddenly I heard yelling to my right and I sped-walked closer to the voices.
“…fucking ruined us!” I heard a man’s voice and knew right off the bat it was Luke’s.
“NO! You stupid mother-fucker! YOU ruined us! Why can’t you get that through your thick fucking skull?” I heard Araylia scream right back and I felt pride course through me. She was finally standing up to her biggest demon.
My pride was short-lived when I heard Luke’s shoes cross the floor then a loud bang.
“That little fucking boy ruined us. You don’t get to tell me who ruined us, because I know. I know the truth,” Luke seethed. At this point we had gotten to them. We were all bent down so the boxes were hiding us from Luke’s view.
Luke had Araylia pinned to the wall with his forearm to her throat. He wasn’t killing her but he certainly was making her point. He had the gun to her temple and even though she was standing up to him, her eyes were wide and alight with fear. I knew I had a matter of seconds to get her and Liam out of her after Luke spotted us.
“My daddy is going to come here and get us! He is going to help!” I heard Liam’s small voice. I noticed him tied to an old chair about three feet away from Luke and Araylia.
Luke turned his head to my little boy and gave him a cruel smile. He pulled away from Araylia and crouched down in front of Liam.
“You really think he is going to come for you? And even if he does, I will shoot him so fast your head will spin,” he told Liam and I expected his face to crumple but it didn’t. He held his head even higher and didn’t cry not one tear. Instead he said something that change my entire life and the outcome of them coming out of here alive became slim to none with his words.
“My daddy is going to come here and kick your butt again!” He exclaimed not realizing how fatal his words were.
Luke stood up and started backing away. He looked back and forth between Liam and Araylia with a manic look in his eyes. He waved the gun around wildly and laughed.
“He won’t step foot in here. I. Will. Kill. Him!” He roared. The tone of his voice suggested that he was about to do something stupid.
Luke pointed the gun at Liam and Araylia whimpered and rushed to stand in front of him right before the gun went off. Everything after that was a flurry of action. Araylia went down and Liam let out a heart-wrenching sob. Cade stood up first and nobody noticed him. He shot Luke in the back of the head and he went down about ten inches away from Araylia’s lifeless body.
I hadn’t moved.
Not an inch.
Not a muscle.
My heart had stopped beating.
It was happening all over again. I was losing my family all over again.
I sprang into action and ran to Araylia’s side. She was bleeding from her stomach and her eyes were glazed over and I knew this did not bode well for her health. She was going to lose consciousness and pass out.
; “Babe, I’m here. Stay with me, please,” I pleaded. I applied the appropriate amount of pressure to her wound and looked at Liam.
“You came daddy, you really came,” he whispered in shock and awe.
“Yeah buddy, daddy came. I need you to get Ryan for me.” He nodded and jumped to find Ryan.
“M-ma-mace…” Araylia whispered.
“Shhh, don’t talk bright eyes. You need to use all of your strength to stay awake, okay?” I told her and she nodded.
I kept pressure on her stomach while I waited for Ryan to come over. When he came over I told him to call the police and get Liam out of there. I looked down at my hands and they were covered in blood. She was losing too much blood. My heart was beating out of my chest.
I couldn’t lose her.
She was the only thing I had left.
“You’re going to be okay babe. We are going to get you help and you are going to be okay.” I promised her, a promise I prayed I could keep.
“B-baby,” she choked out.
“Yes, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“N-no…the b-ba-baby,” she gurgled and blood started seeping out of her mouth.
“CADE! She’s losing too much blood! She needs to get to a hospital NOW!” I roared at him. He was only a few feet away but come rushing over.
He started talking into his walkie and then I heard Ryan on my ear piece but I didn’t understand a word he said. All I could hear was my heart beating in my ears. Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. It was so fast. Everything was happening so fast. I could feel myself falling apart again. Losing another piece of me. Gone. She was dying.
“Take c-care…of my b-boy. I…l-lo-love you,” she gasped out before her eyes rolled back and her body went completely limp.
“NO! No, no, no, no. You cannot die on me! Dammit! NO!” I sobbed into her chest. She was leaving me. She was leaving Liam. Her brothers, her Nanny, she was leaving all of us.
Liam would never get to grow up with his mother. He would never get to experience anything else with her. It was all taken away from him. All because of that bastard, Luke. If he wasn’t dead next to me, I would kill him. I would make sure to take away from him what he took from Liam.
The paramedics came in a few seconds later and immediately started working on Araylia’s chest. Before I had time to blink they had her on a stretcher and the guy on top of her, still preforming CPR. I didn’t move after they wheeled her out. I stared at Araylia’s blood, my hands were covered in it, and the floor was soaked.
Her blood.
Her life.
On this cold, nasty floor.
Epilogue
6 months later – Mace
I held Liam’s hand tightly in my own and walked down the familiar path of the cemetery. We had been here a lot over the past six months. We stopped at the headstone and sat down in the dead grass with our legs crossed.
“I love you,” Liam whispered so softly I almost didn’t catch it. He reached out and stroked his fingers over the marble.
It was always hard being here with Liam. He always went through so many emotions and it broke my heart to watch him.
“You knew I would be here,” I heard the voice behind me. I turned my head around and grinned.
“Why ever would you think such a thing?” I asked playfully.
Araylia rolled her eyes at me and sat down in between Liam and I. She reached out and grabbed both of our hands. She needed the strength and she was giving it. I did know she was going to be here. It was our wedding morning and I knew she would come to visit her papa.
After everything happened with Luke, Araylia was rushed to the hospital where they did emergency surgery to get the bullet out of her stomach. She had sustained a lot of blood loss and due to the bullet, we lost our baby. She was in a coma for about two weeks. During that time I had a lot of mixed feelings. I didn’t feel that it was my place to be at the hospital because I was the one that had caused all of that pain. I had kicked her out and in turn she had been kidnapped and shot.
She, however, did not feel that way. That’s not to say she wasn’t pissed at me after she woke up. She was extremely pissed. After waking up, she didn’t want to be with me. She told me a number of times to get out, but I always came back. I wasn’t going to leave her side after she had been shot and almost killed. I came in every day before she woke up. When she was released from the hospital I was at her side. I would always come over bearing coffee, flowers, cards, gifts. Anything I could think of that would help me get her back.
Araylia had had enough of me after two weeks. I told her I would leave her alone if she went out on a date with me and honestly didn’t feel anything. This did not go the way she had wanted. Our date had ended that night, so many months ago, with her telling me that she still loved me, but she needed time. I gave her about two days before I was back at her front door. We went out several times after that and finally she let me back in. To say I was relieved is putting it mildly. To say I was elated is also putting it mildly. When she moved back in with me I told her about my late wife and daughter. I also explained that was the reason why I had kicked her out all those months ago. I wasn’t ready to be a father. I thought I had been when I told Liam he could call me daddy but in reality I wasn’t ready. I was too scared. I was scared of losing all that I had gained when Ray and I had gotten together. After I had finished telling Araylia everything she was upset with me and at me. She understood where I had been coming from, but that didn’t mean I had to kick her out.
About three months ago I proposed and she agreed to be my wife. Today was the big day and I came to her papa’s grave to see her. She believed in the whole ‘you can’t see the bride on the day of the wedding’ bullshit so she stayed at her Nanny’s last night. She could be mad all she wanted, but I was not going to stay away from her. It nearly killed me last night not to have her in bed.
I kissed Araylia’s temple and stood up. I knew she needed some time alone with her Papa. She was going to have an emotional day because he wouldn’t be there to walk her down the aisle.
“Come on, bud, let your mom talk to Papa.” I told Liam as I held my hand out to help him get up.
He took my hand and followed me back to the bike. We went home and started getting ready for the wedding. Liam was going to be the ring bearer and my best man so he had to get dressed up in a ‘penguin outfit’ as he called it.
Araylia and I had just said our vows and walked down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Mason Jones. Araylia had cried happy tears as I said my vows and ended up face-plating in my chest mid-sentence. Because it was so cold out we had the wedding inside a beautiful plaza that Ray had picked out. She had come to me with pictures and stated, “It is soooo gorgeous! We have to get married there!” I didn’t care where it was as long as I got to marry her, but she was very happy with it and that’s all that mattered.
We were now in the reception area and I was almost ready to give Araylia her surprise. She was going to be shocked as shit with this and probably resort back to being a teary-eyed mess. Before I could get on stage I saw my wife up there grabbing the microphone. She cleared her throat to gain everybody’s attention and lifted a glass of champagne to clink a fork against.
“Can I have everyone’s attention please?” She spoke softly and waited for everyone to quiet down and focus on her.
“As you all know, a few months back Mace and I hit a rough patch. A lot of things happened and long story short, I shoved him away. I tried to forget the feelings I had for him. The deep love. But that love still burned bright. As hard as I tried protecting myself, my love for him never went away. If anything, it got stronger and I couldn’t be more grateful.” She looked at me and smiled through her tears, “So, honey, thank you. Thank you for fighting for me. For us. You have shown me the true meaning of love. What it feels like to love deeply and to be loved just as deeply. Anyway, the whole point of this speech was to give you your wedding gift. Come up here,” she invited and held her hand out.
/>
I walked to the stage then jumped up the steps until I was standing in front of her. She took a hold of my hand with the one that wasn’t holding the microphone and smiled brightly at me. She lifted on her toes and whispered in my ear. Her words caused my whole world to shift for the second time that day.
She leaned back and stared at me with a wide, happy grin. I knew my eyes were huge and probably moist. I didn’t care if I looked like a pussy, this called for tears. Our friends and family started asking what the gift was and it snapped me out of my thoughts. My arm snaked around Araylia’s waist and yanked her into my body. Her hands darted out to my chest to catch her balance. She tipped her head back and giggled at my behavior.
“You sure?” I asked.
She nodded, “Yes. I’m sure.”
Our crowd was getting antsy trying to figure out what Araylia had whispered to me so I put them out of their misery.
“We’re having a fucking baby!”
They all clapped happily for us and a few of the guys hooted and hollered. I looked at my beautiful wife and felt happy. Truly happy. For the first time in over ten years I felt like my world was complete. I felt like I was right where I was meant to be. Araylia pregnant, Liam calling me daddy, our family gathering around us to celebrate our marriage.
About an hour later I had finally managed to make it up to the stage. I was giving Araylia half of her wedding gift, the other half she would get later tonight.
A little back story on this portion of the gift, when Araylia was still in a coma I would sing to her every night while I stroked her hair. After she had woken up and stopped avoiding me she had told me that she heard me. She said so many nights she tried willing herself awake, but her body just wouldn’t listen. She had also said that many nights my singing was what kept her going, keeping her tethered to Earth. So I figured what better way to show her how much I loved her than to sing.
The Lucky Bullet Page 22
