Redemption

by Ever N. Hayes

  Those shots and my scream may have been our only hope of drawing attention from Redemption. But given our current distance from the island, I knew even that was unlikely.

  Reagan now shielded both younger girls with her body, and I stood in front of the three of them. “Why, Lazzo? Why did you have to kill him?” I couldn’t contain my sobs, and my chest ached as if I’d been shot. I felt like throwing up. I could hear the girls crying behind me. Even Lazzo was wiping away tears. What is going on? Why is he doing this? This didn’t seem malicious. It seemed forced.

  “I must kill Reagan too.”

  “No!” I backed up against her, blocking her more. “No, Lazzo.” I shook my head emphatically. “You can’t need to do that. She—we—we’re no threat to you. That can’t be the only way in whatever this is.” Lazzo was looking around and rubbing the gun nervously against the side of his head. I kept talking. “I don’t understand. We’ve done everything for you. Haven’t we? What is—”

  “Hayley, shut up. Shut up!” He pointed the gun at my head again. “No more. Shut up!”

  I bit my lip.

  “Hayley, you need to move out of the way.”

  I shook my head. No way! “I won’t.”

  “Now!”

  I crossed my arms and stood my ground. He opened his mouth to yell at me but stopped. Something he saw in me made him lower the gun. He held it loosely at his side now. I spoke up again. “You’re going to have to kill me first.”

  Lazzo shook his head, suggesting he couldn’t do that. Why the hell not? Why do you need me? “No. Only Reagan.” He sounded less convinced this time. He continued to steer us toward Kauai and Waimea Bay, his head constantly on a nervous swivel.

  I pushed my luck. “Tell me what needs to happen.” I took a few steps toward him. “And why.”

  “Not another step, Hayley. You must know I’m serious—I will kill someone you love if you don’t listen to me.”

  You don’t think I know you’re freaking serious? “You already have,” I mumbled, trembling. “You’ve already killed someone I love.” I never told Sam I loved him. He said it all the time, but I never did. Not one time...

  Lazzo ignored me. “I will kill Reagan. I will kill the girls. I will kill your father, his wife, and the baby too if I must. There is a bomb on the island.” He held up a small black box with red buttons. “One push of this button and they’re dead, all of them.”

  “Lazzo, you don’t have to do this.” I realized this wasn’t impulsive. If there was truthfully a bomb planted, then he’d planned this all out. But how? “You don’t have to do this.” He’s listening…keep going. “Whatever you need … I’ll do it. Anything. What can I do?”

  He seemed to be thinking about what I said. “Sit down and shut up.” He continued guiding the boat in silence for a minute. Finally he killed the motor. “I don’t know why I’m even considering this, but if—if—I let them live ...”

  “Yes?”

  “If I let them live…you will do everything I ask? Anything I ask?”

  I stood back up, making certain I was between his gun and the other girls. “Yes, anything. Whatever you want. As long as they don’t get hurt.”

  “First, you promise no more questions.” He pointed the gun at me again. “Not why I’m doing this … not why I tell you to do something … I need you to follow everything I say.” He stared at me, as if expecting me to object, but I didn’t. “There is a van in the parking lot at the marina. All of you will walk to it and get in. I won’t tie you up. I won’t gag you. Hayley, you will drive where I tell you to drive, and then Reagan, Abbey, and Emily will go into the house.” He paused again, still staring at me, seemingly surprised I hadn’t interrupted. “What, Hayley?”

  “Nothing. I’m listening.”

  “I don’t know the people at the house we’re going to—no names, backgrounds…nothing. I only know they are African—probably all Libyan. I don’t know what they’ll do to Reagan and the girls. They will be prisoners there, but I’ve never met these Africans before. They could be evil; they could be nice. I have no assurances. But I will not hurt the girls myself if I have your word you will do all of this—that they will do all of this. It is that or I kill them now.”

  I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. “What about me? Can I at least ask that now before I agree to anything? Why do you need me?”

  He nodded. “We are going to America on the ship. You will get us to Colorado. The men at the house will let Danny know I have you, and he must bring the book to Colorado to exchange for you. If he does, you will live, and you can come back and rescue these three when I have the book.”

  “Book?” All this for a stupid book? Sam’s life for a book? “What book?” Benedict Arnold’s biography?

  “That book,” Lazzo snapped, “is not your problem. This decision is your problem. You get me to Denver, and I will keep you alive. That is what you must agree to. You give me away, and I will blow up your family. You try to fool me, and I will kill your family. If I do not have that book in Denver in one month, these men at this house … they will kill your family. Is there anything—anything—not perfectly clear?”

  I was stunned. There wasn’t really a decision to be made, and he was certainly very clear. What else could I possibly say but “okay?” I didn’t know what book he was talking about, but I’d seen him shoot Sam right in front of us. This man Danny had saved, who Danny had risked his own life for several times—he’d killed my boyfriend right in front of me for this one book. What can that book possibly mean to him? I knew there was no decision to be made. If I said anything other than “okay” right now, Reagan was dead. Emily and Abbey would be dead too. If Lazzo was indeed capable of blowing up Dad’s house and killing all of them, I had no reason to believe he wouldn’t do that.

  “Okay. On one condition.” I could tell he didn’t like me saying that, but he didn’t interrupt. “When we get to this house, you tell your men—”

  “They’re not my men.”

  “Okay. You tell the men if they hurt any of these three, my brother will kill them all. You tell them you’ll pay a king’s ransom, or whatever the hell you want to say—or have to say—to make sure they’re treated well. Your men—sorry, these men—keep my girls safe, and Danny will let them live. I promise. You know Danny. He trusted you.” I paused. “I trusted you …” My voice was shaking. I took a deep breath. “We trusted you, and you’ve been good to us. If that was really you, if you’re not this monster you’re acting like right now … then you do at least that for me.”

  Lazzo nodded. “Okay.”

  I knelt beside Reagan and the girls. “Did you hear all that?”

  “Yes.” Reagan was trembling. “Thank you, Hayley.”

  “You can thank me by staying alive and keeping these two safe. We’ll come for you as soon as we can.”

  I stood up and walked toward Lazzo, extending my hand to the person who’d killed my first love. “I’ll do everything I can.” I didn’t want to touch him—certainly not this gently—but I needed him to know I was sincere. “I promise.”

  He shook my hand. “I know.”

  “I give you my word … I won’t hurt you.” I hadn’t yet let go of his hand. “But if you want to stay alive on that carrier—full of people who want to kill you—you’d better get me something to protect you with and follow my lead.”

  “Why would they want to kill me if they don’t know who I am?”

  It was a good question but I had a better answer. “Because once Danny figures out what happened—which he will—that’s going to be the instructions he gives.”

  “Okay.” Lazzo nodded and pursed his lips. “I understand.”

  He seemed to agree that was the way it would go down. I didn’t know for certain. I was merely angling to have equal input in all our future moves and decisions. I finally let go of his hand. “And one last thing …” I leaned in toward Lazzo and whispered, “No matter what happens, Danny will be coming for you.”

 
He stepped back, his face betraying a slight twinge of fear before he composed himself enough to reply, “I’m counting on it.”

  Somehow, through all the trauma and drama of mom dying and America crumbling I’d learned to tuck away my emotions—at least enough to not let them get in the way of what needed to be done. I’d gotten used to tragedy. That was a horrible reality. In this instance the loss of Sam hurt so much one second—the clutches of pain so tight on my heart—and the next second I’d shaken it off, channeling my anger and bitterness into adrenaline and motivation. I wanted to kill Lazzo—to tear his arms off and beat him to death with them, but I had to put the needs of Reagan, Abbey and Emily ahead of my wants. Their lives depended on me helping this murderer—a most unfortunate truth.

  I’d never get over how and why Sam died that night. He was killed for being there. Lazzo was too afraid he couldn’t pull off the kidnapping with Sam around, and he knew Sam would bring the Pack after us if he let him go—so he killed him.

  It was clear as I drove toward the house that no one had heard the shots. No lights followed us. I doubted anyone was tracking us at the Hexagon and everyone at Redemption Island was paying attention to the carrier in the channel. I was curious how long it would be before someone noticed we hadn’t returned. Tara had given Emily an hour to get back to the Big House, but she and Ryan didn’t live there—and probably weren’t still up. They might not even know.

  We pulled up to a tall steel gate that opened automatically for us, and drove down a long gravel driveway—with the lights off for some reason—before cutting across the grass and pulling into a shed. I saw two men in masks come out of a trapdoor in the ground. They opened the back doors and demanded Reagan and the girls get out. Lazzo let me hug each of them, and he kept his word. He spoke rather sternly to each of the men in some African language. I didn’t understand anything they said, but he assured me they’d promised not to hurt the girls. He didn’t know what their word was worth, but Lazzo had warned them they’d never get what they wanted if any of those girls were hurt. It was, as he said, the best he could do.

  Another man hopped into the back of the van and rode with us to the marina. For some reason Lazzo didn’t say a word to him, and the man remained silent as well. I only caught a glimpse of him once, and he happened to be looking at me. I could have been wrong, but I swore he was white. What the hell? Lazzo was Libyan and he’d implied these people were like him—at least they were from the same country. I knew—from high school geography—many Libyans were of Arabic descent but their skin was more like Blake’s—more Hawaiian—a far cry from snow-white mine. This guy was snow-white.

  When we reached the marina, the other man took off with the van, presumably back to the compound. I’d gotten a better look at him and he was definitely snow-white. If he was American … I wasn’t exactly sure what the ramifications of that could be. It would definitely open up a whole new can of worms.

  Lazzo and I climbed into our small boat and headed for the USS George Washington. We made it to the carrier around 1:00 a.m. and climbed the long unguarded ladder up the side. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about pushing Lazzo off the carrier as he stepped up and off the ladder. But on the chance he’d somehow survive, or that all it took was a button push on the way down to kill my family…or even if it was because I’d promised I wouldn’t—whatever the case was—I didn’t do it.

  We dodged a few dozing guards and found a vacant bunk room in an unlit part of the carrier that apparently wasn’t being used. Best as I could, I made myself comfortable and caught a few fitful hours of sleep. Before I drifted off, I wondered if anyone even knew we were missing. Probably not.

  THIRTEEN – Baker’s Daughter (Hayley)

  ---------- (Monday. August 1, 2022.) ----------

  Aboard the USS George Washington.

  “What are you doing here?”

  The voice startled me awake. I opened my eyes and started to sit up until I noticed the rifle pointed at my head. The person holding it took a step back as I moved. She didn’t look a day over sixteen, and her hands were shaking. “Easy.” I sat all the way up slowly.

  She looked around anxiously, clearly not sure what she was supposed to do. She repeated her question. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was just looking for somewhere quiet to sleep.” I looked around the room. Where the hell is Lazzo?

  “Where’s your ID tag?”

  “ID tag?” As soon as I asked the question, I knew I shouldn’t have. If I belonged on the carrier, I would have known what that was.

  My response confirmed her suspicions. “Stand up.”

  “How old are you?” I slowly did as she’d told me.

  The girl’s voice cracked when she responded. “Don’t talk.”

  I actually felt bad for her, and she was the one holding the gun. I couldn’t miss her finger twitching near the trigger though. She was scared and maybe had never fired a gun before. “Listen to me. Please … I can explain.” She didn’t object, so I continued. “I wanted to go fight too, but my parents wouldn’t let me—”

  Her laughter cut me off. “You wanted to go fight?” She was shaking her head. “Who says that? Who wants to go fight?”

  “You don’t?”

  “Hell no,” she replied firmly. “I don’t. But I have to.”

  “Why?” I tried to keep her undivided attention as I glimpsed Lazzo creeping up behind her. “Why do you have to go fight?”

  “My dad—”

  “Your dad is making you fight?” In surprise I watched her nod. “What kind of dad—”

  “The captain kind of dad.”

  “The cap—” Holy shit! Captain Baker—the guy Danny and Blake both hate? That guy has a kid? “You’re—”

  “Yes.” She paused. “I’m the captain’s daughter.”

  “Baker?” I had to ask, just to be sure. And Lazzo was almost close enough to grab her.

  “Of course,” the girl almost snorted. “You think boy wonder has a kid?”

  Boy Wonder? Did she mean Danny? Lazzo reached her at that moment and grabbed the gun, wrenching it out of her hands before she could react. He brought it up into her face, knocking her to the floor, and stood over her with the barrel pointing at the girl’s head. “No … he doesn’t.” I smiled. She had to mean Danny. “But he has a sister.” I patted my chest twice.

  “We must kill her.”

  “No, Lazzo.” Though it didn’t sound like the worst idea.

  “It’s not your decision,” Lazzo muttered in a near growl. “If we don’t kill her, she’ll tell her dad we’re here.”

  “Lazzo—”

  “Shut up, Hayley. If we don’t kill her, this place will be full of guns.”

  “If we do shoot her this place will be full of guns.” I stepped between the barrel of the rifle and the girl lying trembling on the floor. She had a split lip and tears in her eyes, but she was impressively quiet. “Now is not the time to be stupid, Lazzo. No more than you’ve already been anyway.” I stared him down.

  Anger flashed in his eyes. “Don’t push me Hayley. I’ll shoot you—”

  “Go for it.” I challenged him with my expression as much as my words. I doubted he’d throw his whole plan away now. I shook my head. “Danny should have let them kill you.”

  “Hayley—” His eyes betrayed a faint trace of hurt.

  “No, Lazzo. You killed my boyfriend tonight. You’re not killing this girl too. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Hayley, think about it. You think you can trust this kid—the captain’s daughter—to not go directly to her dad?”

  “I won’t …” the girl stammered.

  We both told her to be quiet in extremely different tones. Lazzo took a step towards her. “Then everyone on this boat will be looking for us.”

  “I can help you,” the captain’s daughter volunteered quietly.

  Lazzo’s sarcastic laugh didn’t keep me from asking, “How?”

  “We can’t tru
st you.” Lazzo laughed again.

  “Yes, you can. I promise I won’t say a word about this to my dad. I won’t tell anyone but—”

  “Lazzo, think about it.” Before he could argue, I explained my train of thought. “What if she’s telling the truth? What if she could help us somehow? Maybe at some point we’d need that.”

  “Why would she—”

  “I hate my father,” the girl spoke up boldly. “My brother and I both do.”

  That psycho has two kids? How does a man like that get two chances at fatherhood? “Your brother?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yes. My twin brother, Chase, is here too. My mother left my dad when I was ten, and then she died before the attacks. The judge made us move back in with Dad. I … we … didn’t have a choice—then or now. But we definitely don’t want to be here.”

  Lazzo clearly wasn’t buying it, but he didn’t say anything right away. I wanted to believe her, but Lazzo was right. Trusting her was risking everything before we even made it to the mainland.

  “How do we know—”

  “He used to beat us.” She clearly sensed this could be her only chance to present her case. “All the time. There were weeks when we couldn’t go to school because of the bruises. He used to beat Mom, too. She would protect us as much as she could, but he would beat her down. He was—”

  “That’s not enough.” Lazzo was shaking his head.

  “Lazzo …” I stopped myself. I didn’t know what to think. It all made sense, but maybe too much sense—if that was possible.

  The girl jumped back in then. “Look, you want proof? I’ll even leave the gun with you. I’ll tell my dad I dropped it overboard. He’ll yell at me, call me names, maybe hit me a few times, and that will be it. You’ll have a gun. No one will even—”