by Elisa Leigh
“He’s out of town this weekend. When he gets back, I’ll let him know you stopped by.”
“He just left Rush with you? Paul’s flavor of the week?” She screeches.
Holding my hand up, I show her my left hand that has a two-carat diamond sparkling on my ring finger and wave it in front of her face. “Does this look like a fucking flavor of the week?”
Her eyes zoom in on the ring and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. “Ryan and Paul did a great job picking it out, don’t you think? They surprised me last weekend, asking me to marry them in front of our waterfall. It was very romantic.” I gush, loving how red her face is getting while I speak.
“You’re engaged to… both of them?” She says in outrage.
I look down at my ring and let a real smile spread across my face remembering the moment.
“You’re a fucking whore! I’m not letting you raise my child, this isn’t right!”
“You’ve got no say in that now. You signed your rights away, and now we have custody. You’ll never see that beautiful boy again. Now get the hell out of my house.” I shout, knowing Rush will be waking up any minute.
She turns to walk upstairs, and I grab her hair and pull, not letting her near him. Brenna falls to the ground, and I grab the baseball bat we keep in the corner for unwanted guests. Pointing it at her face I swing, missing her by an inch. “I told you as nicely as I could to get out of here, now I’m pissed. Get your skanky ass off my floor and get out of my house or the next time I swing, I won’t miss.” I seethe, anger radiating through me.
She stands unsteadily and wobbles to the front door and walks out slamming it, rattling the walls. Five seconds later Rush is crying, and I hate that this ugliness was ever near him, even if he didn’t see it.
I lock the door and set the alarm. Checking out the window, I see Brenna pulling out of our driveway in a beat up white sedan. The car must be thirty years old. I wonder what she was doing here dressed like that but driving a piece of shit car. When I don’t see her anymore, I drop the bat next to the door and go up to Rush’s room and calm him down.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Callie
I’ve been tossing and turning all night, listening to the storm rage on outside. Ever since Brenna left here earlier this afternoon, I’ve had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. My anger got the better of me, and I showed my ass, I think I messed up.
Hearing glass shatter I jump out of bed and pull on my leggings I took off a few hours ago and ready myself to go downstairs to assess the damage. Rush is sound asleep when I peek my head in and check on him. I cover him up with his blanket and go downstairs hoping the mess isn’t that bad. My dad will help me with it tomorrow, I just need to patch it until then.
Walking into the living room, I’m not expecting the hit to my back. I fall to the ground and roll over to see Brenna holding my metal bat in her hands. “Didn’t think you’d see me again, did you bitch?” She swings, this time breaking the glass top of our coffee table, glass flying everywhere. I shield my eyes and try moving away from it.
“Couldn’t get Ryan out of my mind after I saw him with Rush.” Brenna swings again and misses hitting the ground. I get on my hands and knees and try crawling away from her, listening to her crazy talk. “I picked wrong. Ryan was the one I should have been with. I left my husband, knowing I’d be able to get Ryan back easily. He was in love with me once, I could make him fall again.” She swings, and I move out of the way just in time for her to miss my head and hit my collar bone instead. Grunting in pain, I curl up trying to protect myself.
“Rush is my son!” She screams, hitting my arms and ribs. “Do you hear me you fucking cunt? He’s mine, and so is his daddy!” She hits me again, this time in the back of the head. The last thing I see is Brenna walking upstairs where Rush is unprotected. Closing my eyes, my heart breaks knowing I couldn’t protect Rush from her.
∞∞∞
“Callie!” A familiar voice says shaking me awake. I moan in pain when I open my eyes to the morning sun. I close my eyes fast and then remember everything that happened last night. Opening my eyes, I sit up as fast as my body will let me and immediately regret it.
“Easy baby. Oh, my sweet girl, what happened?” He says, holding me close. The smell of Stetson fills my nose, and I know who it is. “Dad?” I cry holding him close.
“Callie, what’s going on, where’s Rush?”
I sit up with my dad’s help and look around the room. We’re sitting on the couch, but the room is wrecked, broken glass littering the ground. “She took him, Dad. She took Rush, and they’ve been gone for a while. This happened last night. Oh my god, she has Rush.” I cry into his chest feeling like my world just stopped, my son, is gone.
Dad holds me close as I cry and explain everything that happened. Eventually, I stop crying, fucking pissed that my son was taken. Get a grip Callie, you need to get him back. You can do this, you’ll do whatever you have to and get him back home where he belongs. I go to stand, but my dad stops me.
“Watch out for the glass. Let me get your shoes, Cal.”
I stand when dad gives me my rain boots, and I put them on.
“I called the police and your men. They’re on the way right now.” He says while I take in my surroundings.
“Why didn’t they come last night? I know I set the alarm.”
“The storm last night was nasty and caused a lot of power outages.”
“Right. I’m going to clean this up and change, so I’m ready to go when everyone gets here.”
“You got it, need help up the stairs?”
I’m sore as hell, but I push through the pain, needing it to get Rush back. I shake my head and wobble my way up the stairs to Rush’s room. Everything is exactly where I left it, except Rush isn’t here.
“God damnit!” I scream, staring down into his crib. I stand there long enough that I’m lost in thought when Ryan and Paul walk up beside me. When they touch me, I flinch away, wrapping my arms around my middle. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry I let her take him. I’ll get him back, I promise you.” I go to walk out of the room when Ryan grabs my hand stopping me.
“Fucking stop Callie.”
Biting my lip, I’m trying my best to remain strong and not let the tears fall. “I fucked up, so fucking bad.”
Paul walks up to me and pulls me into his arms, and I flinch, hurting everywhere. “What the hell Callie?”
He shoves my shirt to the side, and his eyes go from concerned to angry. I’ve never seen him look this pissed before and I start shaking and fall to the floor. “Fuck!” Paul curses and lifts me in his arms, carrying me to our bedroom where Ryan follows and closes the door.
Paul takes out his pocket knife and cuts my shirt off me, so I don’t have to lift my arms. They both hiss when they look at me, and I can only imagine what they’re seeing.
“You need a fucking doctor Calliope. Ryan, get those paramedics up here now. She’s going to the hospital. I don’t care if she wants to or not.”
“It’s not that bad, I need to find Rush.”
“You’re barely able to walk. How the hell are you going to be able to find our son in the condition you’re in?” Ryan seethes through clenched teeth.
I look down at my hands ashamed I couldn’t protect him. “I should have protected him better. I thought it was the storm, I wasn’t expecting her.”
Ryan walks to me and kneels in front of me where I’m sitting on the bed. Grabbing my hands, he kisses them. “I’m fucking furious, but not at you sweetheart. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me?” I hear the sincerity of his words and a little bit of the guilt I’m carrying falls a way.
Paul pushes the hair out of my face and behind my ear. With his hand on the back of my head, he rubs his fingers through my hair and touches the spot where she hit me. “Mother fucker! Baby, you need to be checked for a concussion. You’re going to see a doctor.”
“No!” I shout.
�
��We need you better so once we get Rush back, he can have his momma ready to take care of him. Precious, you do this for Rush, okay?”
I nod. I get better for Rush.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ryan
I’m torn between wanting to be with Callie to make sure she’s okay and needing to coordinate with my team and find Rush. Fucking Brenna. I knew she was a crazy bitch, but I never expected this to happen. The paramedics just left after checking Callie over. They wanted to take her to the hospital to get some x-rays, but the stubborn ass refused to go with them. Paul convinced her to go if we took her.
Sheriff Calver came and took Callie’s statement and has sent out an Amber Alert for Rush. The police are going to be working in tandem with Panthera to find Rush and get him home as quickly and safely as possible. Every one of the founding partners of Panthera Security were on a training exercise near the compound. As soon as we got the call about Rush and Callie from Tom Reid I hung up and explained to them exactly what was going on. Everyone went to the compound and Owens got started checking traffic cams for anything he could find.
Paul pulls me to the side. “Go to Panthera. Check and see what they have on our boy. Knowing Owens, he’ll have Brenna found within the hour and Rush will be back home by tonight. I’m taking Calliope to the hospital.”
I nod, needing to find my son. “Take care of our woman Paul.”
“You know I will.” He tells me and walks over to Callie and sweeps her up in his arms, carrying her out to his truck.
Sheriff Calver walks up to me while I watch them pull out of the drive, her dad standing beside me. “That ex of yours did a real number on Callie. I assume you’re going to be pressing charges once your son is found.”
“You’d assume right. I want her to pay for it all, breaking and entering, the assault, and the kidnapping. I want her locked up for as long as possible.”
“That won’t be a problem. Give me a ride to Panthera, and we’ll get them found. Between your resources and mine, it shouldn’t take too long.”
∞∞∞
“It’s been three fucking hours, and we’re still looking for my son! Why the fuck don’t you have something yet Owens?” I shout, pacing in the conference room where we’ve got everyone set up.
“You need to chill the fuck out Donovan. We’re all busting our asses trying to find your son, but there’s nothing to go on. You stomping around here like King Kong isn’t getting shit done!” Owens yells, getting up in my face.
Paul walks in not a second later, eyes immediately narrowing on Owens and me. I spot Callie instantly and see she’s walking with a sling around her arm, thank god it isn’t anything more serious. Giving them a chin lift, I turn back to Owens and hold out my hand. “Sorry man, I just need to find my son.”
The anger clouding his expression clears and he shakes my outstretched hand. “It’s cool man. There’s nothing I want more than to find him. Give me a minute. I might have something.”
Clapping him on the shoulder, I walk over to Paul and our woman who’s telling her dad what the doctor said. She seems to know I need her because she stops mid-sentence and pushes me to my desk and into my chair. Sitting on my lap, she holds me as tight as she is able.
“She has a broken collar bone and is suffering from a mild concussion. The woman should be resting, but she refused to go home or lay down until our son is found.” Paul grumps, resting against my desk.
“Callie, do you think you’re up for looking at some pictures. I want to get a better idea of what kind of car we’re looking for.” Owens asks.
“Of course, I can. Anything I can do to get Rush back home.”
Owens sets his laptop down on her lap. “Skim through these pictures and let me know if you find one that looks like the one you saw Brenna in earlier. If she’s driving the same vehicle, we might get a hit on the BOLO.”
Callie was able to identify the make and model of the vehicle but couldn’t tell us anything about the license plate. Sheriff Calver updated the Amber Alert, and although there have been tips, none of them have panned out.
“Ryan, get over here man,” Owens says, calling me over to his desk about an hour later. Paul and Callie follow behind me.
“So, I’ve been going through her credit card history from the past couple of days. Three days ago, she bought some prepaid credit cards. She did this in a few different locations. Anyway, I did some research and was able to get the card numbers, and I have it set up on my computer to alert me when a purchase is made using one of those cards.”
“Please tell me she used one,” I ask, finally feeling an ounce of hope.
He nods, smiling victoriously. “She bought gas in a small town in West Virginia a couple hours ago. The town is about six hours away from here.”
“She could already be hundreds of miles away by now.”
“Could be, but she also ordered room service at a hotel near there and charged it to her room.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Fuck yes! Let’s go guys, I need the hotel address and her room number. We’re going to get our son back.”
“Not without me you’re not.” Callie says, doing her best to be strong.
“Precious you need to stay here, it’s too dangerous out there especially in your condition.”
“Don’t you Precious me Paul. I’m going with you to get my son back, do you fucking hear me?”
“Donovan, Spader, it will be fine. Momma bear can come, Rush is going to need her after this ordeal. There will be enough of us there.” Kingston tells us and walks out of the room.
“We’re taking the helicopter. Be ready in ten, we’re heading out in fifteen. I’ve got a few things I need to get done before we can leave.” Logan announces and walks to his desk.
“I’ll call a buddy of mine at the FAA and get your flight plan fast tracked.” Sheriff Calver tells Logan.
“I was going to ask forgiveness, instead of begging for mercy. I like your plan better Calver. You’re a good man, ya’ know?” Logan says laughing on the other side of the room.
“Yeah, why don’t you tell your husband that then, he keeps kicking my ass on poker night.”
“Logan can fly?” Callie asks anxiously.
“He got his license in the Marines. It comes in handy for situations like this.” Owens tells Callie while typing away on his computer. Standing up he grabs some papers off the printer and walks over to Logan giving him the coordinates of the hotel.
“Come on baby, let’s get you ready to go. I need this done, we should have our son in our arms within an hour.”
“Thank god,” Paul growls.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Paul
Logan got us to town about ten minutes ago, landing us on the roof of a neighboring building. We’re on our way over to the hotel on foot, plan in place. I wanted to just break down the door and get Rush out of there, but Callie reminded us how crazy Brenna seemed.
“What if she does something to Rush? I think Ryan should go in and knock on her door. Act like he wants to be with her or something. When she was attacking me, she kept talking about how she made the wrong choice and that she wants you back Ry.”
“That’s actually a great plan. You go in and calm her down, then give us a signal when she’s subdued, and we’ll come in and grab Rush.” Owens says from beside me.
Sheriff Calver called ahead and let the police in West Virginia know what is going on. They’ve had eyes on her room since we left Tennessee. Walking into the hotel she’s staying at, the front desk clerk points to the elevator, and I give him a nod.
Reaching her floor, we all hang back except for Ryan who walks to her door and knocks. He’s wearing a blue tooth device so we can hear his signal, ready to move immediately and get our son back.
“I figured you’d show up eventually. I just wanted you far
enough away from your fiancé to give us some time to talk.” She says in a bored tone as if she ha
s no care in the world.
“Got your message loud and clear Brenna. I’m here, let’s talk.” He tells her with more patience than I could muster for the bitch who beat my woman and stole my kid.
Brenna lets him into her room and closes the door behind him.
“I know he’s your son Ryan, but he’s mine too. I deserve to have a relationship with him. I should get a say in who is let into his life.” She whines, and I hear Callie curse under her breath.
“I’m confused, I thought you didn’t want him, that’s why you gave him to me isn’t it.”
“I was wrong Ryan, I made the wrong choice when I chose Gary over you. We could fix that though, pretend the last year and a half didn’t happen. We could move somewhere and start fresh. You, me, and Rush could be a family like you always wanted.” She says changing her tone, sounding like the woman I met when they first started dating.
“Well, a boy does need his mother,” Ryan says, and that’s our que.
“I swear to god I’ll cut a bitch-” Callie starts, and I cover her mouth with my hand. “Easy Precious, you’ll get your chance as soon as we’re in.”
The cops give us the key to the room they got from the concierge when they arrived. Logan uses the key card and opens the door, and the guys storm in ready to get this shit over with.
“Clear” is shouted from the room and I guide Callie in by the arm, worried she might lose focus and deliver a can of whoop ass on Brenna for everything she’s done.
As soon as we’re in Callie stops dead in her tracks when she sees Brenna shoved against the wall and the police handcuffing her.
When Rush starts crying it breaks the spell and she goes to him, not worried about anyone else.
“I’m here sweet baby. Momma’s here.” She coos, rubbing his back. I pick him up, and he immediately moves to Callie who can’t hold him right because of her injuries. Sitting on the bed, she motions for me to bring him to her. I set him down on her lap where she holds him against her chest with her healthy arm.
