by T N Lowe
“Great. When do we leave?” I ask.
“Leave? No. I have trained mercenaries on the ground ready to move in,” Patrick answers.
“Fuck that,” Manus speaks up. “They have my brother. We have a right to be there.”
“It is not safe and some of you have children to worry about,” Patrick barks.
He’s right. What if something happens to Erin and me, then what will happen? But can I live with myself if I sit idly by and let someone else rescue my wife? No, I can’t. “I have to be there.” I plead.
“Us too,” Brenn and Carson jump in.
“Time is of the essence,” Patrick tries to reason with us.
“Yes. But since they want something from them, I doubt they will hurt them,” Maks offers.
“You know he’s right,” Dylan Love, Patrick’s brother says, walking into the office with an attractive woman on his arm.
“What the hell are you doing here? I told you to say in Turkey with Asya.”
“Sorry brother, but I have never been good at following orders,” Dylan supplies, not sounding remorseful.
“Well, it’s good to see you,” Patrick taunts, walking around his desk to hug his brother. “Asya, I’m glad you’re here too,” he assures, bending to kiss the petite, olive-skinned woman on her cheek.
Annoyed with the interruption and the need to bring my own family home, I bark, “When are we leaving?”
Patrick narrows his eyes on me, “Grab your stuff; you leave in twenty.”
I nod and leave with Cain, Manus, Brenn, and Carson following me. Taking the stairs two at a time, I race into my room, pulling my cell from my pocket, and call Riona.
She answers on the first ring with a quick, “Landon?”
“I need to speak to Jackson.”
“Just a second. Let me get him for you,” she replies.
I hear muffled talking on the other end, then, “Hi Daddy,” Jackson answers.
“Hey Buddy. Are you having fun with Grandma?”
“Yeah. Uncle Royce took us fishing yesterday.”
“That’s great buddy. Did you catch anything?”
“No,” he pouts.
I chuckle at the defeat in his voice. “Maybe next time.”
“Maybe,” Jackson says hopefully. “Are you and Mommy coming home soon?”
I swallow hard and clear my throat before answering. For a two-year-old Jackson is smarter than I give him credit for. “Soon, buddy.”
“Can I talk to Mommy?” Jackson asks.
My eyes burn and I take a deep breath to stop the tears. I can’t tell a two-year-old his mother has been kidnapped and may not come home. “Um… she’s not here right now, buddy. But I’m going to go get her, then we’ll be home soon,” I lie to my son. I have no clue where Erin is or if she will be okay; or if we’ll be home soon.
“Okay,” Jackson replies.
“Sorry, buddy. I have to go. I just wanted to say hi and tell you I love you,” I rasp.
“Love you too, Daddy.”
“Bye, Jackson.
“Bye, Daddy.”
I take a minute to compose myself. I walk quickly downstairs and then leave to find my wife.
Chapter Thirty-Five - Erin
“How long has it been?” Fi-Fi hisses from beside me.
“Two hours,” CJ answers.
“How much longer will they keep us waiting? And what’s going to happen to us when they’re done?” Fi-Fi asks.
“I don’t know Fi-Fi, but I don’t have a good feeling,” I answer, leaning into her side.
“I don’t either,” Fi-Fi repeats, leaning in me.
“Don’t worry girls. Everything will be okay,” Samuel offers, trying to keep everyone positive.
“How do you know?” I ask, trying not to sound bratty, but my nerves are shot.
“Because I have faith,” he states matter-of-factly. “When this is done, I’ll be able to kiss my daughter and grandson and hug my son-in-law. Then in seven months, I’ll meet my next grandbaby.”
“I’m with Samuel,” CJ announces while pacing. “Gwen is seven and a half months pregnant. I have faith that in a short few weeks I will get to meet my baby girl and hold her tight.”
“I wish I had your faith,” I offer. “I’ve been in a situation like this before, and it didn’t have a great ending.”
“I’m sorry,” Samuel offers, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I tried everything to stop him. But if I would have known what he was going to do to you and those innocent people,” he shakes his head, “I would have killed him myself.”
I pat his hand, “I know and I don’t blame you. It’s not your fault. Your father is the one who gave a psychopath a license to kill, then didn’t control him.”
“This is true, but I should have tried harder,” Samuel admits, sounding defeated, as we hear movement above us again.
The lock disengages and the door whines its protest at opening. We hear high heels hitting the old wooden stairs, then them clicking on the warn cement floor. CJ stops pacing and says, “Guess it’s time to meet our fate.”
Chapter Thirty-Six - Cain
The helicopter heads off for two miles north of the suburb and one mile outside of the five-mile radius. Jumping from the helicopter, we are greeted by Captain Josh Light, the leader of the mercenaries. He distributes flack vests and M-16s.
“Afternoon. We’re about a mile outside of the radius to prevent these assholes from figuring out that we’re coming. Now, we have seven farms to clear; four have residents and they kindly gave us permission to search their properties.”
I’m sure they informed the owners that we were searching the properties, whether they liked it or not. But seeing as my wife and sister are among those taken, I don’t give two shits about how we got permission to search; I’m just grateful that we’re here, searching.
“We are going to search each of the other farms one by one. There are several barns and outbuilding on each property that we also need to sweep. Any questions?”
We shake our heads and follow Josh to a waiting black Suburban with tinted windows. Josh takes off, driving like a bat out of hell. Even with his crazy driving, it takes half an hour to get to the first farm.
“This one is abandoned,” Josh needlessly shares. Looking at the house, you can see no one has called this place home in years. All the windows are cracked or broken out, a part of the roof has caved in, and the grass is to my hips.
“Cain, Landon, and Manus will search the house; Brenn, Carson, and I will search the barn; my men will search the remaining building. Be careful. The house and barn should have been demolished twenty years ago. Now, got to it,” Josh replies and we break into our groups.
Manus, Landon, and I slowly make our way to the house, keeping an eye out for anyone hiding in the tall grass or in the trees near the house. Manus reaches and twists the nob to the front door then gives it a generous shove; the door comes completely off its hinges and falls to the old wood floor. “Are we sure it’s safe to go in there?” Manus asks before stepping inside.
“Not sure; but let’s make it quick,” I answer.
As we walk into the house, Landon mutters, “If they are holding Erin in here, I’m going to kill them for sure.”
“Hear that brother,” I mutter.
Quickly we clear each room in the house, finding nothing. Even the rats are too scared to hide in this place. Manus opens the basement door and puts his weight on the first step, then the stair gives way under his weight, sending his foot through the board. Luckily he’d anticipated its degradation and was holding onto the door jam.
“You good?” I ask, helping him up.
“Yeah. But CJ weighs more than I do; no way he made it down these steps.”
“Good call. Let’s get out of here,” Landon says, making his way past the fallen front door.
We arrive back at the Suburban and wait for the rest of the guys, still keeping alert for any signs of activity. As they come around the house, I yell, “A
nything?”
“Nothing. You?” Josh calls.
“No one has been in that house for two decades.”
“Load up; on to the next,” Josh orders.
We do this five more times. We drive to the property; Manus, Landon, and I search through each room of the house while Brenn, Carson, and Josh search the outbuildings.
“Cain, I can’t keep doing this. They’re not here; Shauna was wrong,” Landon snaps as we wait for Brenn, Carson, and Josh to return.
“Don’t give up hope yet. We still have one house left,” I offer.
“And CJ is with them. He won’t let anything bad happen to them,” Manus tosses in.
“I know, but we’ve been through this before. The last time that fucker almost took her from me.”
“But he didn’t,” I remind him.
“No. But only by the grace of God did the mountain lions get him first.”
Manus makes a face and mouths ‘mountain lions?’ I nod.
“But he marked her. He took a knife to Erin’s skin and dug his marks into her. She had to endure three plastic surgeries to make those marks disappear; and she still has nightmares. That fucker will always be a part of our lives.”
“I know,” I agree, putting my hand on his shoulder and watching as my brother-in-law falls apart. “It is different this time. Fi-Fi is with her as well as Tomas and CJ. They’ll keep anything from happening to her.”
“How the hell are you so calm right now?”
“As I said, Erin, CJ, and Tomas are with her. They will keep each other safe until they are home with us. Then I’m handcuffing her ass to me and never letting her out of my sight.” That gets me a smirk from Landon and a chuckle from Manus.
Then Josh comes into view; shakes his hand and yells, “Load up.”
As Josh navigates us to the final area and we head up the long overgrown drive, he mutters, “What the hell. This house is supposed to be empty.” Looking around, I see at least six vehicles parked on the grass outside the front door.
Josh tosses the Suburban into reverse and moves back out of sight, then stops before we reach the main road. “Could they be cleaning it up getting it ready for auction?” Brenn asks.
“Could be, but I’m not taking any chances. When we go in, I want safety’s off. I’m going to call my team and have them take the back while we take the front,” Josh informs us.
“She’s in there,” Landon whispers. “I can feel it.”
“I hope so brother, but I still have a bad feeling,” I drone.
Chapter Thirty-Seven - Samuel
As a group, we move to the staircase. CJ and Tomas in the front and Erin and Fi-Fi in the middle, as I bring up the rear. Turning the corner, we come face to face with our captor. “What the hell is going on?” I bellow.
“Don’t be like that,” Pepper White, my Vice President, mocks with a sweet smile on her red painted lips.
“What is going on Pepper?” I grit out.
“Oh, I thought it was obvious,” she taunts in a stomach-churning baby speak voice.
“Cut the shit and start taking, now.”
“Fine. But calm down before you give yourself a heart attack, Samuel. Though if you did, it would make the power exchange easier,” Pepper offers, tapping a bright red nail on her bottom lip. “Let’s sit and talk shall we?”
Erin is the first to move, pushing past CJ and Tomas. Fi-Fi follows, taking the seat next to Erin. Tomas, CJ, and I file past Pepper and take our places.
Pepper follows us and claps as she sits, “Good. This can be as pleasant or unpleasant as you make it.”
“Why don’t you start with what you want,” CJ offers. “I have a pregnant wife at home that I want to get back to.”
Pepper gives him her sweet smile, “All in due time.”
CJ stands but Tomas catches his arm, “I’m done playing your stupid game,” he shouts.
Billy and Bryan step from the shadows and point their guns at CJ. Pepper raises her hand, “It's fine.” Billy and Bryan nod as they lower their weapons but still remaining close. “And no, this is not a stupid game. This is serious and the sooner we are done, the sooner you can be with your families.”
“Hurry,” CJ mutters, retaking his seat.
“Good. Several members of The Family approached me after you declared your intent to run for President. At the time they didn’t know you had a daughter and they were concerned about who would be your successor. We all spoke at length about who might be the best to replace you; the new head of The Family had to be able to lead and make difficult decisions. And they also had to be able to work with the other mafia families without their ego getting in the way. But mostly, they also had to born into The Family.”
“Then we learned about your daughter and Patrick was contracted to marry Lena and become the leader when you became President. While it wasn’t ideal, he at least grew up in The Family. Then he began changing things and brought the Russians in; everyone knows they are nothing but trouble.”
Pepper takes a deep breath and runs her fingers through her dyed blond hair, then starts again, “Anyway, Patrick Love can no longer be our leader.”
“This is a great story, Pepper, but I was the one who brought in the Russians. Connor, Riona, and I all agreed it was time. They have changed their way of doing business. And they have connections we need,” I point out.
“Why wasn’t everyone made aware of this?”
“Because it was none of their business,” I bark. “Now let us go.”
“I’m sorry, but that is not possible. The other members and I have met and we want to vote in Willow Thomas,” Pepper announces as Willow comes down from the staircase.
“Hello,” Willow purrs with Nikolas at her side.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demand. “You’re supposed to be in jail for kidnapping my daughter. How did you get out?”
“That was me,” Pepper admits, lifting her finger into the air. “I couldn’t stand the thought of my Goddaughter rotting away in prison.”
“And what the hell makes you think we will vote her in after what she did to Lena and what her brother did to me?’ Erin asks.
“Because, my dear Erin,” Willow chirps, walking into the circle of chairs, grabbing Erin by the cheeks and squeezes them, “like my brother, I will do whatever it takes to get what I want.”
Erin pulls away from her hold, then sneers, “Your brother was a fucking psycho.”
Willow pulls her hand back and slaps Erin.
With fury in her eyes that only a redhead could possess, Erin slowly stands. Before anyone can stop her, she suddenly lunges at Willow. They both fall the floor, Erin straddling Willow, landing punch after punch to Willow’s face. Willow is screaming and trying to push Erin off of her but Erin is not letting her off easy.
I hear CJ whisper to Tomas, “This is awesome.”
“Bitch is getting what she deserves,” Fi-Fi agrees with CJ.
“Girls! Enough!” Pepper screams.
When neither Erin nor Willow responds, Pepper nods to Billy and Bryan. They try to pull Erin off of Willow but she won’t budge. Bryan pulls his weapon and holds it to Erin’s head and growls, “Get the fuck off of her.”
Erin lands one last punch before standing and walking back to her chair.
“Fucking cunt,” Willow mutters, getting back to her feet, spitting blood on the floor. “My brother should have killed you when he had the chance.”
“Enough Willow,” Pepper, scolds her as Billy hands her a handkerchief. “Now let us move back to the task at hand. Several other higher-ranking members of The Family and I want you to remove Patrick Love as our leader and vote in Willow Thomas.”
“Never going to fucking happen,” Erin mutters, whipping her bloody knuckles on her pants.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” CJ asks. “After everything she and her family have done to us, including outing us, you want us to vote her in? Not going to happen.”
“I understand your hesitations,
but….” Pepper explains.
“No buts,” I cut in. “A woman has never led The Family. If they had allowed it, Lena would be in charge.”
“They will follow Willow. Willow and her family have been loyal members her whole life; while Lena knows nothing of our history and insists on changing our traditions. Nikolas has agreed to lead at Willow's side. As the son of a ruthless cartel leader, he knows what it takes to lead a large organization like ours,” Pepper explains.
“Well, you picked the wrong three people to convince,” CJ states.
“This is getting us nowhere,” Willow sniffs. “Billy, be a dear and hand me your gun.”
To Billy’s credit, he hesitates for a moment and looks to Pepper; she nods, then he looks to Bryan who also nods, before pulling a gun from his shoulder holster and handing it to Willow. Willow takes the gun, flips off the safety, holds it to Peppers’ head, then pulls the trigger before she can mutter a word. “Now vote me in before I shot one of your friends,” she orders with a sweet voice, wiping Peppers blood from her face.
“Honey, was that necessary?” Nikolas asks
“She was holding us back.”
“The bitch is fucking loco,” Tomas mutters under his breath.
My heart stops. Never in a million years would I have expected Willow Thomas to shoot her Godmother in the head. Since being tossed in the basement this afternoon, I think, for the first time, we may not make it out alive. I look at Erin, a loving wife and mother and Fi-Fi, also a caring wife and mother to three beautiful children; then I turn to see CJ, a devoted husband and father of three with one on the way; Tomas, in the early stages of finding his true love; we can’t let it end like this.
I look up to see Billy and Bryan staring at Pepper’s lifeless body, now slumped in the chair, blood pooling on the cement floor below her. They have no clue who they are involved with. I’m sure Pepper fed them lines about how Willow is the only one who can save us from the horrific path Patrick has started us on.
