Cherry Hill 1-A Place to Call Home

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer Dixie Lynn Dwyer Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  As they rounded the corner, Voight and Louis stepped into the darkness, and when the two figures came around, they grabbed them. They wrestled for the gun, which had silencers. Voight and Louis didn’t, but they used their military experience to take away their weapons and use them against them. Louis held the gun against the man’s head. He was Middle Eastern. “Who are you? What are you after?”

  They didn’t answer, and as they started to demand them to, shots were fired from the distance. Silencers. They ricocheted against the walls. “What the fuck!” Voight yelled out, ducked for cover, and the two guys got up and Louis and Voight shot them.

  They heard screams from the couple across the way and knew they were calling the cops. “Fucking sniper shots? What the fuck, Voight?”

  “I know. I fucking know. Let’s get the hell out of here and call Ferion, but on the burner phone. We need more help.”

  * * * *

  “We want you to contact them. We’ll need the team you have, that’s obvious. They were fucking Middle Eastern. Louis saw a tattoo on the wrist from Mussadan’s cell.”

  “Are you fucking sure? Be a hundred percent sure, Louis.” Ferion raised his voice into the phone. “He’s sure. Looks like Matias maybe got those Saudi assholes he’s doing business with to borrow some men.”

  “They’ll find her. You know that?” Ferion told him.

  “We haven’t been able to, not you either. Whatever our sister is doing, she’s smart.”

  “Let me gather some more information. See if there’s any chatter about Mussadan’s people being in Texas. If it’s the case, then I’ll call in Chase and Fox, and get Axel and Stone, as well as Divo on board.”

  “Ferion, you had men on you, we had these guys on us. We need to go completely off the radar in every aspect, or if we do find her we will lead them right to her.”

  “Burner phones, limited contact, a meet up someplace, secure, and where we’ll know if we’re all being followed. Due to the nature of the activity, of those seemingly involved with this situation, I’m contacting the commander.”

  “Understood. If these people are here in the United States, then it can be assumed that they are planning something.”

  “Or at minimum, viewing locations for future plans. I’ll be in touch. Stay safe and off the radar for now. When you get to your place be ready. You just took out two of Mussadan’s men, that may just tick someone off a bit.”

  “Fuck him, and fuck them. We know what we have to do, and finding Athena is top priority before taking out these other assholes.”

  “There are rules, Louis. Don’t you and Voight screw up your future with the agency.”

  “The last thing on our minds is a new job. Athena is out there somewhere, and now terrorist assholes are assisting Matias Garcia in finding her. She won’t stand a chance.”

  “I’ll be in touch. Stay safe.”

  Ferion ended the call and then rubbed his jaw. Things were getting more and more complicated. What the hell was Matias offering these Saudis to have them assist him in finding Athena? What?

  His phone rang, and he looked at the number and knew it was Commander Green. “Hello.”

  “Any idea about two bodies found in Dallas that are part of the Mussadan cell?” his commander asked.

  “Why? What do you got on them?”

  “I’m assuming your response means you know something. Now was it one of my guys, one of your team?”

  “There’s a lot going on right now, seems a personal situation with two future team members is taking a turn in a more complicated direction.”

  “I’ll call you back on blue.” His commander hung up and Ferion opened the desk drawer as the secure phone rang. No one could tap this line or listen in; it was that secure. “Yup.”

  “Okay, so there’s some chatter about members of Mussadan’s cell coming into Texas and New York. They were meeting up with specific businessmen at a company meeting facility in Manhattan. Intel has been gathering the names and some more specifics. Seems that that guy you’ve been looking to monitor, Matias Garcia, has been dealing with Mussadan directly with importing and exporting products. Mussadan’s men bought out a facility in upstate New York in the middle of nowhere. Local authorities have noted large tractor trailers coming in and out of the gates leading to this facility, which happens to have armed guards. The police, nor the government officials can push to know what’s going on or state any concerns because the individuals are Muslim, and Middle Eastern affiliated, and it would be against their rights.”

  “Same fucking bullshit, Meanwhile, they could be building bombs, storing artillery, and training militants.”

  “Seems all of the above is taking place there. This Garcia is smack in the middle, and apparently has been doing deals with terrorist cells for years. There isn’t quite enough evidence on him to make an inquiry, pull him in for questioning, but intel is working on it.”

  “So they know about Garcia, do they know he has men hunting Athena Monroe, Louis and Voight’s sister?”

  “They have men looking for her, as well.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Ferion, I know you discussed the possibility of Louis and Voight joining the team, and they are being investigated thoroughly, but if they come up attached to anything indicating they could be working with the—"

  “Don’t even say it. They aren’t working against the country. They have been doing everything in their power in the last year to find Athena. They thought she was dead. You know this, and how Garcia made her think her brothers were dead, so he could break her down completely.”

  “I just wanted to confirm, and I trust your judgment on this. After all, they would be under your immediate command, so you need to read this file I’m sending you as we speak. A man by the name of Frank Percou was picked up by federal agents in this joint operation, and some of the details about Athena’s treatment while a prisoner of Matias Garcia are extreme to say the least. Also, Garcia’s obsession with her is not to be taken lightly. There’s a trail of blood in the path of his search for her, and more recently her father appears to be in constant contact with Garcia.”

  Ferion was opening up the file on the computer as he spoke to the commander. “Fuck, I don’t know if Louis and Voight have been talking with their father. It was him that made them aware of Athena being alive and—"

  “Holy fuck.”

  “The file?”

  Ferion felt his heart pounding inside of his chest. He eased back in the chair, the anger, the disgust at what Garcia had done to her while she was a prisoner.

  “That’s only what that guy Frank told the feds. It was more interesting to learn of Garcia’s obsession with Athena. His control of her, and the fact that she escaped, actually got away from a man like him and his main guard, Ferno who was watching over her at the time. It hit them hard. Ferno wants blood. Frank indicated that Garcia is losing his mind over her escape, and knowing that she’s hiding out somewhere is making finding her a main part of his day. Every week he has someone, an investigator come in with updates. The guy is someone we know.”

  “Who the fuck is it?” Ferion asked.

  “Khan Mathews.”

  “Fuck, that guy used to work for the CIA. He should be locked up at minimum if not taken out.”

  “He’s being monitored, don’t worry, which is why I was able to get this information. Seems a bigger operation is going on here and it looks like Louis and Voight’s sister is caught in the middle. Garcia is working this deal with Mussadan’s men, and whatever it is, Mussadan has offered some of his guys to help search for Athena. Now that Louis and Voight killed two of his men, I think it’s safe to say they need to watch their asses and stay clear of any indicators of potential locations Athena is sighted. If we find her, she needs protection, and once the feds get a hold of her because this is their investigation, we’ll need to step back and let them finish their case.”

  “Voight and Louis will need to be by her side. They won’t leave her once they find
her.”

  “If we find her. Is there a possibility that she could be dead?”

  “There’s always that possibility, but they don’t believe so. She’s only running and hiding because she thinks Voight and Louis are dead.”

  “There’s a bit to figure out. Let’s do a bit more research, get Divo, Axel, and Stone on board. Snipe will work with me here, and then I’ll contact Fox and Chase. They got off a job a few weeks ago. Louis and Voight know them and trust them, too. They asked for their assistance and ours, and we’re going to do what needs to be done to find her. Having more manpower, more eyes and bodies looking will be key and hopefully make a difference.”

  “On the down low, Ferion. Remember that this is an active government case and investigation in process. The feds catch wind of us interfering as they might call it, and I’ll get the command to stand down. We’ll have to comply.”

  “I’m not leaving this woman to be taken again and into a worse scenario with men like Mussadan’s. We find her and she’ll be under our protection until those feds have the evidence they need to destroy these operations.”

  “Understood. Good luck, and I’ll contact you with further details as they come in.”

  Ferion leaned back in the chair and exhaled. How the hell did she escape? Where the hell are you, Athena? Fuck, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but they would do it. She had been through enough. She didn’t deserve this, and a man like Mussadan took whatever he wanted from anyone he worked with. Garcia was money hungry and it would cost him his life when the deal was done. That was how Mussadan worked. What a fucking mess.

  He texted Snipe so he could go over the information he received and make a decision as to when to call Fox and Chase, and how to break the new information to Voight and Fox. Voight and Fox wouldn’t back down either way. This was their sister, and finding her, protecting her was the only care on their minds, not being mercenaries for the government and standing down if ordered.

  * * * *

  “You look happy,” Maya said to Athena.

  Athena was leaning against the register behind the bar, staring at her men who sat at a table with some of their friends and were enjoying some beers as they watched over her. “I am, sort of.”

  “Sort of?” Maya asked.

  Athena looked away and then exhaled, but forced a smile. “It doesn’t seem real, almost like any moment it can change, and I’ll be back to being alone, dealing with the pain from the past, and reality will rear its ugly head.”

  “Hmm, I don’t know what happened in your past, Hannah, but maybe talking to someone about it could help? It’s helped me a lot. I mean, I don’t date or anything. I’ve gotten more used to the idea of trying to, but just haven’t met the right guy yet. I talk a big talk but I’m still feeling raw. Kissing, fooling around a bit is fine, but for the big thing, hasn’t happened yet.”

  “Well, I don’t know about counseling, all I know is that I’ve had to depend on me and only me. Not another soul for quite some time. But meeting Kane and his brothers, feeling the power of this connection, and the fact that they all broke down those walls a bit says something. It’s made me think that perhaps I do have a future with them, a happiness, eventually.”

  “Eventually? Girl, you keep staring at them and they constantly are watching over you. A bystander can see and feel the power between you five. You accepted their guardianship. That’s a huge step in the right direction. It means you trust them, now give into that trust, and guaranteed it will only get better.”

  “I want to, Maya. I really, really want to. It feels so right, so perfect with them, but then there’s the fear, my past, and I get scared, too scared to let go because of the potential consequences.”

  “Maybe you need to confide in them and let them know all those secrets that are eating you up inside, and potentially ruining this perfect opportunity to be loved.”

  “Loved? Jesus, that scares me so much. I’ve conditioned myself to be independent, to be the one in power and control, and I would need to let all that go for them.”

  “They’re worth it. Just like a lot of other men around here who know how to put a woman first and to protect her and show her how real men treat a woman, not how evil men do.”

  Athena stared at Maya. “I’ve never had a close friend before, Maya. The opportunity wasn’t there because of the past, and the world I was forced to be prisoner in. No free will, no rights, no opinions unless asked and no friendships, no one to trust, or to be allowed to be close to.”

  “Well, you’re in Cherry Hill now, and not a prisoner in that life from before. You get to choose, to be free and do what you want and befriend who you want, and well, give your heart, body and soul to whomever you want to.”

  Athena smiled and then reached down and squeezed Maya’s hand. “And make a good friend, maybe a best friend for the first time in my life, ever.”

  She saw the tears in Maya’s eyes. “Damn, you’re going to make me cry.”

  They both had tears in their eyes and then started to laugh. Some other people came to the bar and they went back to work, back to making drinks and then talking about normal things. Shopping, some events in town coming up, and going to lunch together on their day off. Normal things twenty-year-old women did. She embraced it, because tonight she would have to tell her men about Matias and her past, and hope they wouldn’t change their minds about wanting her as their woman, and that she could feel their arms around her protecting her, and could actually feel love, and be loved for the first time in her life.

  * * * *

  Fox glanced down at his cell phone and recognized the number. He stood up. “I need to take this. He looked at Chase and nodded. He got up too and followed him. Culter and Kane immediately had to know it was work. They headed outside as Fox answered the call.

  “Got something big, within the country as of right now. Involves friends and a situation they’re involved in, and I’m calling in only certain individuals. We need to discuss things ASAP.”

  “Chase is with me. We can head inside to the truck and I can put you on speaker.”

  “Okay, make sure there isn’t anyone around,” Ferion told him.

  They got into the truck, Chase started it up. “We’ll drive down the ways a bit to make sure we’re isolated.”

  “Good, let me get started by saying I’m using secure methods to discuss this with you. I’m being watched, which means they’re onto me and the team assisting our friends.”

  “Fuck. You can’t make a move?”

  “Our friends did unknowing that the ones watching them were members of Mussadan’s cell.”

  “Holy shit,” Chase said, and then put the truck into park.

  “Okay, we’re good, explain.”

  As Ferion explained about Louis and Voight and about a sister who had been abducted three years ago and somehow escaped, his chest tightened and his gut clenched. He looked at Chase and he looked just as upset.

  “A gorgeous young woman. The father caused it and Voight and Louis were on a mission when the shit went down.”

  “When she escaped, why didn’t she go to them?” Chase asked.

  “She was told they were dead by the man who held her prisoner for two years.”

  “Prisoner and what else?”

  “Just think the worse. There’s records after picking up this guy who was a guard for Matias Garcia. I’m sending you everything we have on him, on his organization, his business dealings and what I could get from the feds who have a special investigation going on as we speak. Once he moved into international theft and associating with terrorist, his name moved up on the watch list and it’s believed he’s helped establish a training and storage facility in upstate NY for terrorist activities.”

  “Holy fucking shit, and this woman, Louis and Voight’s sister, is in the middle?” Fox asked.

  “She was Matias’s interest from the start when working with her father in business, then he forcibly took her against her will, assaulted he
r several times, and from what this guy Frank said, she resisted and suffered the consequences. Broken bones, bleeding, bruising. He said Garcia is obsessed with her. Had his best men watching her around the clock.”

  “How the fuck did she escape?” Fox asked.

  “From what the feds got from this guy, she somehow jumped through a bathroom window in the hotel gym, ran through a next door kitchen restaurant, then ran several blocks to the subway terminal. From there they didn’t know and couldn’t catch her tail. She’s been running for the better part of a year. She hasn’t a clue her brothers are alive and can help. Obviously we can protect her, or because we’re being watched, I can assign men to her and a safe place, but now Garcia has Mussadan’s men helping. Voight and Louis took two of the men out last night. She’s as good as dead if we don’t find her first.”

  “What do you need us to do? Where do we look? What do you have on her as far as pictures, name she might go under, etc.?” Fox asked.

  “I’m sending you pictures now.” His phone and Chase’s went off and they opened it up as Ferion spoke.

  When the picture popped up Chase cursed, and Fox felt like he stopped breathing and his heart suddenly pounded and hurt his chest. “Ferion, she’s here in Cherry Hill.”

  “What?”

  “We’re her fucking guardians. Holy fuck, we met her three weeks ago when we returned. Our brothers were interested in her and well we…holy fucking shit,” Fox said, and looked at Chase.

  “Holy fucking shit is right. Where is she now? How the fuck did this happen? How long has she been there? She’s in Texas, too, this is insane,” Ferion said.

  “She’s going by the name Hannah Murphy. She confided in us finally this afternoon about her real name being Athena,” Chase said to him.

  “That’s right. Athena Monroe is her real name. How has she been able to hide?”

  “By taking serious precautions. It took weeks for us to gain her trust, to show her the attraction was real, and she’s been resistant, but accepted guardianship. Holy shit, no wonder she’s so resistant and fearful. That monster and what he did to her,” Fox said, rambling now and looking at Chase, who was clenching his teeth and breathing through his nostrils.