by Tia Lewis
“It’s Amelia,” he shouted back. My body went into full on dad mode, my blood freezing in my veins as I ran over, the crowd going fucking crazy behind me. “What?”
The paleness of his face alarmed me, and I was already starting to strip off my gloves, not giving two fucks about the fight. “She’s, hell, she’s been kidnapped, Benji. Danielle just got the call.”
“Kidnapped? You’re kidding me,” I said, waiting for the punch line. When one didn’t come, I felt a growing panic starting to build. Kidnapped? My daughter?
Not wasting any time, I climbed out of the cage, ignoring the fact that they were handing over the title back to the champion. Screw the title, my daughter was in danger. “What do you know?”
“Not much,” Tony said in my ear as he escorted me down the aisle, where people were starting to throw things. “Danielle took the call. That’s all I know.”
Then Danielle is who I needed to talk to. Tamping down my anger, I hurried to the locker room, finding her standing there, tears streaming down her face. The sight alone was enough to bring a grown man to his knees, and I wobbled a bit, Tony’s strong hand catching me as I sank onto the bench.
“Benji,” she breathed, clutching my phone in her trembling hands. “It’s Amelia. Some-someone broke in and took her.”
No words that a parent wants to hear, I can assure you. Bile rose in my throat, and I felt faint as I attempted to process the words. My baby was in the hands of some monster. My precious curly haired daughter was somewhere unsafe, away from the one person she trusted. All because of this damn fight.
“No!” I shouted hoarsely, standing and turning around, punching the locker behind me angrily. The metal met my hand, and I felt the bones shatter, the pain a blessed change from the overwhelming pain in my heart. “It’s a mistake. Call them back.”
“I-I’m sorry,” she said softly, her voice breaking.
Tony’s hand laid on my shoulder as I started to punch the damn locker, again and again, feeling helpless and pissed off at the same time. What was I going to do? What if? No, I wasn’t going to think like that. This was all a bad dream, and I was going to wake up here in a minute. “Come on man, let’s get you home. The cops, they want to talk to you.”
The drive home was hellacious. The van transporting us to my apartment wasn’t going fast enough, and I broke out in a cold sweat as I thought of what Amelia would be going through, what she might be experiencing. It was enough to make a grown man nearly lose it.
Finally, the van arrived, and I tore out of the van as soon as it stopped moving, ignoring all the police that were milling around outside. One tried to stop me, but I snarled at him, my legs eating up the space between me and my apartment. Joey was matching me step for step, the worry about his daughter written all over his face and we reached the apartment door at the same time.
“Marcella,” he breathed, seeing his daughter sitting on the couch. She was holding an ice pack on her head with a paramedic shining a light in her eyes. I instantly looked around my apartment, expecting to see my daughter there, waiting for me to arrive.
Instead, I saw an overturned bowl of popcorn on the floor, the splinters from where the door was kicked open out of the door frame, the yellow tents of numbers as the crime scene techs marked the evidence and took their pictures. Suddenly I wanted to scream at all of them, tell them to get out of my damn apartment and find my daughter.
Danielle stepped in my line of vision, approaching one of the men lounging against my counter. “Henderson,” she said, her voice cracking a bit. “What do you know?”
Henderson looked at me, raising a brow as he took in my attire and battered face. I wanted to smash his in. “Forced entry. The babysitter said she was getting ready to watch a movie. The kid was asleep in her room. She tried to run but they conked her over the head, and when she woke up, the kid was gone. There is a note.”
“Give it to me,” I said instantly, stepping over to them. Danielle met me before I could reach the detective, her hand on my bare chest. “Wait. Benji, I don’t know.”
“Get out of my fucking way,” I said, cutting her off. “This is my fucking child we are talking about. I want to see the note.”
Thankfully, she stepped aside as Henderson handed over a plastic baggie, the note inside. “Just don’t open it.”
I glared at him as I took the bag from him, looking down at the handwriting. Mr. Lomns, it started. We have your daughter. She will be safe as long as you comply with our demands. We will be in touch.
“No prints,” Henderson was saying as I reread it again, looking for the hidden nugget inside the words. Was this it? What the hell was I supposed to do until the contacted me? “No evidence. Nothing.”
I handed it back to the detective, running a hand through my hair roughly. “What’s the next step?” I asked, unable to control my frustration. “Are we gonna just stand here and look at each other like dumbasses until they call?”
“Benji,” Tony warned. “They are doing everything they can.”
I whirled around, seeing my friend in the doorway. “Are they? Looks like they are fucking enjoying themselves in my fucking apartment! My daughter, she’s out there, alone and upset and I can’t do a fucking thing about it.”
The entire apartment grew silent, but I ignored them, turning back to Henderson. “Get the fuck out there and start looking for my daughter.”
He didn’t look intimidated. “I assure you, Mr. Lomns, we are doing everything we can at this moment, but I am going to need for you to calm down. Go get cleaned up and then we will walk through the process, alright?”
He didn’t understand. I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t even function knowing that Amelia was out there. My baby was out there, somewhere, wanting her daddy and I couldn’t do anything about it. I was failing as a parent, failing my child when she needed me the most.
Danielle took a step forward, biting her lip. “Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up Benji. Let the detectives do their job, and they will update you.”
I looked at her, helpless to know what I was supposed to be doing at this moment. The rage inside was barely controlled, and at any moment I was going to lose it. She held out her hand, tears in her eyes and I grabbed it, wanting to hold onto anything that could keep me from falling apart. I couldn’t do this. Amelia was an innocent little girl, and some fucker had put their hands on my daughter.
Danielle gripped my hand as she led me back to the master bath, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest as I took in Amelia’s bath toys still in the tub. My knees weakened, and I went down on the floor, unable to keep myself standing. Amelia was missing.
“Benji,” Danielle breathed, shutting the door behind us before she had me in her arms, my hand gripping her hair tightly as I pulled her against me. “Oh God, Benji I am so sorry.”
I let out a guttural sound, burying my face in her shoulder as the tears started to flow. I had failed my daughter.
Danielle
I had known heartbreak in my life, more so than most should ever have to deal with, but holding Benji as he lost it on the bathroom floor was probably the hardest thing I had ever been through. His entire body shook as he cried on my shoulder, my arms around him attempting to soothe the hurt he was feeling. I still couldn’t believe that Amelia had been kidnapped and with so few clues to go off of, it was going to be extremely hard to find her. Even I knew as a cop that the chances were slim. It tore at my heart to think that his little girl was now lost forever.
Benji lifted his head and looked at me, his blood smeared all over his face, but the look in his eyes, it nearly destroyed me. “I can’t, she can’t,” he started, his mouth unable to form the words. “She’s got to come back.”
“We will find her,” I said, reaching up to grab the towel from the rack. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up so you can speak with Henderson.”
Benji sat on the floor like an obedient child while I gently wiped his face, clearing off the blood and attempting to st
op the cut from bleeding again. The bruises from his fight were starting to show on his skin, and my heart went out to him. “I should have kept her tonight.”
His eyes narrowed, and he grabbed my hand, stilling my movements. “What? Hell, no you shouldn’t have. You were right where I wanted you to be. This is my fucking fault. I should have dumped the title shot when I found out about her. I was fucking selfish, and now I’m paying for it.”
I took his battered face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. “Don’t blame yourself for this Benji. You didn’t cause this. Some sick person did this, and we are going to find him. I promise you.”
He swallowed hard, looking away from my stare. “What if we don’t?”
“That’s not an option,” I said, setting my mouth in a firm line. “We don’t lose hope. Never.”
He nodded, and I picked myself up off the floor as he wiped his eyes again, throwing the towel in the sink. He looked so lost sitting on the floor, surrounded by his daughter’s toys that I nearly lost it myself, wishing I could help him. But I was a cop and needed to be that cop right now. I would deal with my own personal grief later. “I’ll go get some clothes for you.”
Without waiting for a response, I walked out, crossing over the hall to the bedroom. Methodically, I pulled open the drawer and located a pair of jogging pants and t-shirt for Benji, my hands shaking. We had to find Amelia. Failure was not an option with this one. I would die before I let anything happen to her. Or Benji.
Delivering the clothes to the bathroom, I handed them to the battered father, who had gotten himself off the floor. “Here,” I said gently, pretending not to notice the smashed mirror in front of him or the cuts on his already bruised fist. “Change into these. I’m going to speak to Henderson.”
Benji didn’t answer as I closed the door, steeling myself against the emotions as I walked back into the living room. Joey and his daughter were gone, but Tony was leaning up against the counter, his eyes flickering to mine as I walked past. I saw the pain in his eyes as well, realizing that a little girl had wrapped herself around his finger. He was hurting just as badly.
“Henderson,” I said, walking over to where the support crew was setting up a station for the taping of phone calls. “Can I talk to you?”
Henderson reluctantly walked over. “What is it, Parkman?”
“Give me something,” I pleaded, seeing the shadows in his eyes. Though Henderson was tough, the thought of the little girl out there on her own, with some manic, was taking a toll on him as well.
“I have nothing Parkman,” he said, blowing out a breath. “I don’t have any prints, I don’t have any indication from the note. I don’t have a damn clue of who would do this without talking to your boy toy.”
“He will be out in a minute,” I answered, ignoring the jab. “And he is taking this very hard Henderson so lay off, will you?”
“Fine,” the detective grumbled. “I just, I’m fucking thinking about my own daughter. I want to nail this bastard just as bad as he probably wants to kill him.”
I softened just a bit as the Benji came down the hall, looking worse for wear despite having cleaned up. His expression was haunted, coupled with his bruises and cuts from the fight. One hand was swollen pretty badly, the cuts on it clean but obviously from the mirror. He kept it balled in a fist, tucking it under his arm as he eyed the new group in his apartment. “What do we do now?”
“Mr. Lomns,” Henderson started, clearing his throat. “Can I say that I know you are hurting. I have a daughter that age myself, and I would be ready to kill whoever took her, but you must listen to us and do exactly what we say, alright? We have to work together as a team on this, or it could be Amelia’s life.”
Benji flinched at the thought like someone had struck him and I wanted to comfort him but stood my ground instead. He didn’t need comfort right now, he needed a fight. I needed him to fight. “So, we wait?”
Henderson nodded, a grim look on his face. “We wait. Can you tell me of anyone that would want to do this to you? Anyone?”
Benji shook his head, running his uninjured hand through his hair. “No, no I can’t think of anyone. I mean there are some people who get pissed at me, but very few know I have a daughter now. They would just kick my ass or attempt to do so anyway.”
“Anyone?” he asked again.
“Listen, man, I’m telling you the right answer. Get the hell off my back about it, will you?”
I stepped closer to Benji, placing a hand on his arm. “He’s just making sure. It’s very vital that you tell him everything.”
Benji looked over at me, a torturous look on his face. “I’m fucking telling him everything! I don’t know who took my daughter, alright?”
“Benji, calm down,” Henderson said, his tone belying the undercurrent of emotion that was written on his face. “I’m being thorough, attempting to jog your memory of anyone that would do this.”
Benji swore, and I felt his desperation clear through to my toes. This was the hard part, the part of the unknown while we waited for word from the kidnappers. I wasn’t here as a cop, I was here as Benji’s partner in this, his rock though I felt like crumbling on the inside as well. Amelia was a precious baby and didn’t deserve to go through this. Whoever had taken her was the worst kind of monster and deserved to burn in hell for what they were doing to this family that had barely gotten off the ground.
“Why don’t I call someone to check out that hand for you,” Henderson was saying as the doorbell rang. “It looks painful.”
Benji made a show of flexing his fingers though I knew it had to be painful, watching as one of the other detectives drew his weapon, checking out the visitor from the other side of the door. “Who is it?”
“Benji, it’s Tony and Hannah.”
“Let them in,” Benji growled at the detective. “They’re family.”
The detective holstered his weapon and opened the door, the couple striding into the apartment. Hannah’s face was streaked with tears as she hurried over and embraced Benji. “We will find her Benji.”
I watched as he hugged the woman, shaking hands with Tony a moment later. “Thanks. I, um, we have to wait now for word.”
“I fucking hate waiting,” Tony replied, eyeing the group that was sitting around, waiting for that all important phone call to happen. “Any idea who could have done this?”
Benji shrugged. “Beats me, man. Only my close circle knew about Amelia, and I doubt any of them took her.”
I shivered as I thought of someone we had been in contact with the last few days being the kidnapper. What would be their motive anyway? Did they not want Benji to win the fight? That was the only loss today beside Amelia. The fight. The revelation hit me, and I walked over to the group. “The fight.”
Benji’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “What are you talking about Danielle?”
“It’s the fight,” I repeated, looking at Henderson. “They wanted him to lose the fight. One would have to be crazy not to throw in the towel with this kind of incident happening.”
“But how did they know he was going to last that long?” Tony asked. Benji shot him a glare and Tony shrugged. “No offense man but they would have to be a great fucking timer to get that shit right.”
“What about the other guy?” Henderson asked. “Would he be worried about losing the fight?”
“Hell, that’s always the case,” Benji said, a frown on his face. “You don’t know from fight to fight if you are going to win or not.”
Henderson chewed on his lip for a minute before he pulled out his cell. “Hell, it’s a start. I’ll make some calls.”
“Good call Danielle,” Tony offered up, looking at me. “I mean, crazier things have happened.”
“Yeah good one,” Benji said with a sigh. “Damn, I’m beat.”
Hannah placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes misting once more. “Why don’t you go lay down for a little bit? Tony and I will let you know if anything comes through.”
/> “I’ll go with you,” I offered, knowing that he shouldn’t be alone right now.
He looked like he wanted to say no, but with three people bearing down on him, he took the easy way out. “Fine. Twenty minutes.”
“Got it,” Tony said, pulling him into a hug. “We’ll get these fuckers man. They will wish they were never born.”
Benji nodded, and I followed him to his bedroom, gently shutting the door behind us to lock out the rest of the world for a little bit. Benji walked over to the bed and sat down on his side, his head in his hands. I said nothing, waiting for whatever was going to happen next. I was devastated for him, concerned for his well-being, my mind on that precious girl who was no doubt missing her daddy at the moment. We would get her back. It was the only option.
Benji
I had gone through a lot of things in my life, from my abusive childhood to the scraping by in the alleyways and parking garage cage fighting just so I could eat that night. But this had to be the worst thing I had ever gone through. I felt helpless, unable to do anything constructive. I wanted to punch holes in something or someone, I wanted to go out looking for Amelia myself. I wanted my daughter in my arms ASAP to know that she was okay.
Looking up, I saw Danielle hovering at the door, waiting for me to make my next move. She was just as scared as I was, her emotions all over her face. “What are my odds?” I asked, struggling to even get the words out.
“You don’t want to know that,” she said softly, her eyes watering with fresh tears. “Don’t think like that.”
“What am I supposed to think like then? Tell me, Danielle.”
“Benji,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I let out a harsh laugh, wondering what the hell I had done to deserve this. Why hadn’t they taken me instead? Amelia was an innocent child who’s only fault was who her daddy was. “Just don’t. I can’t take it right now.”
