Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  The door to the basement was just off the pathetic excuse for a kitchen and he ambled down the stairs, treading lightly.

  “It’s about fucking time,” said the voice beneath him. The lighting was faint and Braxton struggled to make out his form, but then another lantern blared into being and Benny set it on top of a wooden work bench, brightening the small room. “I thought you would have wanted to take care of business months ago.”

  “I did,” he said, taking the last couple steps off the stairs. “But you know my rule. Never do anything in haste.”

  “I’m not complaining.”

  “No, I didn’t think you would be.”

  “How’s your girl? Did she heal okay?”

  “Beautifully. You did perfect. I would have preferred if you didn’t break the rib, but still, you did what I wasn’t able to do, so thank you for that.”

  “So it worked then? I’ve been out here in the middle of fucking nowhere for months. Was beginning to think maybe things hadn’t turned out as planned.”

  “It worked. She’s perfect now. I needed her brought down to nothing and she was. I can’t imagine her ever trying to leave me now. She worships me.”

  “That’s good,” Benny said, moving a folding chair to the center of the room. “I’m still a little shocked how you knew what she was going to do. How’d you know she would take the money?”

  “I didn’t. It just seemed like something she would do.” Braxton began helping Benny, moving around the room in search of the items he would need. A switchblade in the toolbox, a pair of plyers. “It didn’t matter if she took the money. For a moment I thought she wouldn’t. She called before she left and I thought maybe she would be good, but then I got Trevor’s voicemails. It didn’t matter really. I would have continued with the plan no matter what, it’s what she needed, what the Emmo needed, but I would have felt a lot worse if she was being true to me.”

  “I know you know this already,” Benny called over his shoulder, picking up rope from the corner of the room and setting it by the chair, “but the coverage with Kari was brilliant. And her parents. Nice touch. The Grims were worried more about you at first. Kept dragging their feet on taking her, but once they found out she was the Governor candidate’s daughter, they were all in. Getting to pin her murder on the Emmo and hurt you in the process. It was too good for them to pass up.”

  “It was pretty good, wasn’t it? And now I have her parents on my side, not like they weren’t before, but with all the press on Annie’s abduction her father’s a shoe in for Governor now. And he has high aspirations too. I doubt it’s long before he’s on to bigger and better things.”

  “Things the Emmo could benefit from.”

  “Exactly.” Braxton walked back over to Benny, he was sitting in the chair now, working to tie the rope around his legs.

  “It’s too bad Cole’s not here to see this. What you did. He’d be proud. Did you get her to pin his murder on the Grims?”

  “Of course I did. It still bugs me though, knowing another group could have killed him and is walking away from it free.”

  “It is what it is. If you ever figure it out, you kill them too. Put an extra bullet in their heads for me.”

  “You know I will.” Braxton knelt down, helping to tie Benny up further. “I really do appreciate everything you did for me. Not many men would step up for the cause, knowing they would die in the end.”

  “To be fair, you never told me I would die. I only assumed. No loose ends. She can’t ever find out, and I’m the only one left who knows the truth. You couldn’t get away with letting me live. No one would believe you let me go.”

  “And yet you still took the job.”

  “Did I have a choice?” he asked, raising a brow.

  “You were the only one I could trust.”

  “And that was all I needed to know. I always knew I could die in the name of the Emmo. This was the best scenario I could have imagined. We’re strong now. I helped save us. When Cole first chose you, I wasn’t so sure, but you’ve proved me wrong time and time again. You’re so much like him.”

  The comment was unsettling for Braxton. He didn’t want to be like Cole, and yet it was clear he was. He risked his girl for the Emmo. It was a huge gamble. He had trusted Benny to keep her safe until he arrived, but accidents could always happen. They could have killed her on the spot. At the time he thought it was worth it. He was done playing her games. They either lived together or they died together. If they had killed her he would have done exactly what he told her back in the hospital. Would have killed everyone he could before he was either taken down in the process or shot by his own hand. No matter what, he wasn’t living without her. He wanted to feel bad about what he did, but she was so entirely his now it was hard to think what he did was wrong. It fixed everything. He only hoped this could be his turning point. Without Cole around, without Benny, maybe he could step up and be the man he wanted to be.

  “You ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Braxton took the gun from his holster. It was the first time he was intimidated to kill a man. Benny didn’t deserve this. Had always been true to the Emmo. Now he would be labeled a traitor. There would be no funeral in his honor. No memories of all the good he did, but this was the life they led.

  Without another thought he pulled the trigger. Blood splattered back on him from the close range and he turned away. When he looked back his second in command was slumped forward in his chair, a hole the size of a quarter marring the back of his head. He didn’t know why, but the bible verse his mother uttered during his brother’s funeral suddenly sprang to mind and he dropped to his knees. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory. And thanks be to you my dear friend. I will always remember what you did. You died for us and for that I will ever be grateful.”

  Braxton stood and walked back over to the work bench where his supplies lay. He used them each one by one. Setting up the scene. Making the torture seem real. When everything was said and done, he left each tool on the floor beside the chair and called for a cleanup. Told the answering man the team’s job was done and they were to come dispose of the body. When they arrived word would eventually spread of Benny’s brutal death. Of what he would have had to endure, and Braxton’s state as Emmo boss would never be stronger.

  Three Years Later

  “This is Kari Cruz reporting live from the White House where Governor Steve Andrews has just announced his candidacy for U.S. Attorney General. If you’re not an Arizona resident, you may remember Andrews best from a few years ago when his daughter Annabel was kidnapped by the ruthless crime organization the Baller Grims. Since then Andrews has been known for his cut throat policy on organized crime, and gang violence in the Phoenix area has decreased by more than forty percent, a number he hopes to uphold nationwide.”

  The television screen switched from a photo of Annabel, one Keith remembered from their time together, to a more recent photo of her on the arm of Carter at a red carpet function, happy and smiling, and he found himself adjusting in his chair as the reporter carried on with the newscast, moving from politics to a fluff piece. It was obvious to Keith she was being paid for her pretend endorsement.

  “Governor Andrews has always been a family man and with his daughter safe and married to the well-known entrepreneur Braxton Cage, he considers himself lucky.”

  The TV cut to a clip of his ex-father in law talking about his relationship with Carter; how he’s like the son he never had.

  “Does it bother you?” Aanya asked, leaning into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer. “Seeing your ex, happy and in love with him on TV like that?”

  “You know, you’d think it would, but without her, without everything they did, I never would have met you.” Keith turned off the TV and twisted to face her. “I likely never would have showed up in your office that day to ask about Jason and if I was still with
her, I sure as hell would never have pursued anything with you. It doesn’t bother me seeing her, it makes me thankful. I’m a lucky man. I have you and now I have her,” he ran his hand on the top of her fully filled belly.

  Aanya was ready to give birth anytime now. All they did these days was sit around the house waiting for it to happen and the day had finally arrived. She’d quit her job after they got married and moved back to California to be closer to his parents. Her parents too. They lived less than thirty minutes away from each other; a pleasant coincidence, and not like it mattered, but his mom loved Aanya from the moment she met her. Everything about Aanya was almost the exact opposite of Annabel; dark hair, dark skin, exotic features. And not just on the outside, but inside as well. She was kind, honest, true, and always wore her thoughts on her sleeve. He didn’t have to ever wonder what she was thinking. If she was happy, she told him, when she was mad, he knew that too. She’d gone to school for years to become a doctor, a scientist, but when they found out she was pregnant she was more than happy to give it all up. Wanted to focus on their family, the important things in life. Work was always a runner up for her.

  “I feel sad for her,” Aanya told him, pointing to the TV. “I don’t think she realizes the amazing man she gave up. But at the same time, I’m happy she did.”

  “Me too. And don’t feel sad for her. She got what she wanted. They deserve each other, her and Carter, or Braxton. I still have a hard time calling him that.”

  Aanya squeezed his hand, an attempt to comfort him, but then she was the one who needed the comforting. “Ouch,” she whispered under her breath, waiting for the contraction to pass.

  “You think it’s time?” They’d been sitting on the couch for hours waiting for the contractions to get closer together. The last one hadn’t been more than five minutes ago.

  “Yeah, I do. Let’s go meet our baby girl.”