Unraveling

by Kelley Griffin

Rising to his knees, he dug in his pocket, pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. Diving headfirst, he was inside the hole up to his waist.

  Now. Sneak out the open door. Move Kirin. She stretched one leg toward the door and pulled her body slow and quiet toward it. Faster than she thought possible, the man stashed his phone and stood. He must’ve heard her. When the click of the safety rang out, she was sure he’d find her.

  The man stood stock still. Her body trembled. Her quiet, shallow breaths made her lightheaded.

  She’d always hated hide-and-seek for this very reason. She never could hide well and the anxiety of being found always made her nauseous. His boots made a slow thudding sound as he stalked around the bed toward the door, like he circled his prey.

  At the last second, he changed trajectory. He walked toward the door, flicked off the light and turned toward the bed. From this angle she could see him from the neck down. When he spoke, his voice was a low whisper.

  “You got about one minute to get out of this room, before it’s crawling with them. I’ll walk slow.”

  Wait...What? Brandon? Couldn’t be...but, it was! He was alive! She’d never been so happy to hear Babyface’s voice in all her life. As soon as the door clicked closed, she moved—quieter than she’d ever moved before. Kirin touched the inside pocket. Cash was still there. Now, time to get out of this room.

  She crept to the door and turned the handle, slow and without noise. Opening it an inch, she peered out from the dark room into a dimly lit hallway.

  Nothing. No noise, no people. She cracked it another inch, held her breath and ran to the left. The view from the window made her think she was on the right side of the house. She assumed the great room would be toward the center of the house. This was like being in one of those backyard hedge mazes. One wrong turn and she’d be sunk. She had to find it though, to intercept them with Stacy. How the hell she’d fight unarmed, she had no idea.

  As she padded lightly down the hallway, she focused on finding the front door—only not to leave. But to find the great room. God if she only had a plan. Instead, she had zero idea what to do once she got there. If she could talk with the other cartel and somehow explain how barbaric these people were. Who was she kidding? Both sides were just as barbaric. She needed to dangle the money in front of the others and get herself, Brandon, Stacy and Sam out of that house. And Joel. Possibly him too.

  Voices. Two deep voices bounced down the hall, around the corner. Kirin darted on her toes away from them, down the hallway frantically searching for a way out. A dark alcove with a door came into view just ahead.

  She sprinted like her life depended on it.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  When Sam Neal’s luck went wrong, it went way wrong.

  Not only was he sporting a busted lip from his beautiful fiancé kicking him the night before, but now he had a matching black eye from allowing himself to be captured.

  He’d watched them force Kirin into a van. His world had stopped. In the back of his mind, he’d known they’d come after her, but he’d thought he’d be right there to defend her. But he wasn’t. He’d been too far away to stop it. And if they took her, there was no way to track her. They’d kill her for sport, and he knew it.

  For once, his heart and his mind worked together.

  Thinking at warp speed he surrendered to the nearest pimply faced idiot he could, but not before some steroid-filled jack-tard clocked him.

  Bastard.

  But that wasn’t even the worst of it. He’d been brought in and dropped at Gianna’s feet. Which, in truth, wasn’t entirely horrible. They’d played cat and mouse with each other since they were teenagers. Then again, he never knew which side Gianna was on.

  Most of the time, she was on the side of herself.

  But now...now, he stood toe to toe with the only person he hadn’t expected to see inside the enemy’s lair.

  Seth.

  His baby brother had just entered the room and stood a foot in front of him. He was an inch taller with more hair than Sam. The moment he walked in, the room’s energy changed. It always did. Even when they were competing as kids. But that was all on him, not Seth. Seth had looked up to him, wanted to emulate his every move and Sam would have nothing of it.

  He’d protected the little—now big—shit his whole life. Protected him from the snares of The Club, forbidding him to even meet the same people Sam and his father knew.

  Despite that, here he stood in the middle of a parlor of this old crumbling mansion, working for the damn enemy. And not only that but smirking like he had some sort of secret.

  All Sam’s protective maneuvers shot to shit.

  Seth glared at his brother for a beat and then without acknowledging Sam, he spoke over the top of his head to Gianna, “Geno’s bringing the prisoners up now. The Detroit boys caught me in the hall. They’re tired of waiting. I showed them to the formal living room.”

  His voice had deepened even more. When did that happen? Hell, he was twenty-nine, so it happened a long time ago. But it still sounded weird. Seth had been born shortly before Sam was “recruited.” A baby late in life, his mama had said. Sam wasn’t around much, but he loved his brother enough to know Seth didn’t need any part of this corruption in his life.

  When Seth finished talking, Gianna nodded. She had a damn cat-like grin painted on too.

  Obviously, she knew who he was.

  “Sam,” Joel stated as a greeting like they were old gunslinging enemies.

  “What are you doing here?” Fists balled, Sam’s angry voice shook more than he’d wanted it to.

  “Working. You?” There was a twinkle in Seth’s eye, even as his jaw muscles flexed and tightened.

  “You’re a damn fool. You have no idea who you’re working for.”

  Seth agreed.

  Gianna stalked over and snaked her arm through Sam’s, “Oh, I think he knows.”

  Sam’s mind churned. What did Gianna get out of bringing his baby brother here? She’d mentioned a replacement for him inside The Club, so that they’d let him out. Let them live happily ever after in Ohio. Like that would happen. But surely, she didn’t mean his own brother.

  And how in the hell was he gonna save his brother and Kirin and God-only-knew-who-else that got captured? He had to focus. Todd would be coming in any second and that man wanted him dead more than most.

  When Todd and one of his cronies finally showed up through a side door, Todd eyeballed Sam. The hate there had been mutual for years. Gianna stalked toward Todd and lit into him immediately.

  They weren’t very deep into their bickering when the handle on the hallway door, just a foot away from Sam and Seth, jiggled. Both brothers spun in unison, drawing their weapons, and pointing them at the door.

  That’s when Sam realized his bad luck had only begun.

  ~*~

  It didn’t take a genius to know—she’d picked the worst possible door.

  But when she’d opened it, tiptoed in, and closed it quietly behind her, she heard a click right next to her ear.

  As she turned, five pairs of eyes and one gun stared her in the face.

  The room itself was stuck in 1982 with mauve carpet, paisley bordered walls that almost looked pink. No furniture, except a table, couch, and a few random chairs.

  Todd and Gianna stood on one side of the room, toe to toe, and obviously in the middle of a heated discussion.

  The gun, safety off and shoved in her temple, was held by Sam.

  Joel stood next to Sam and upon seeing her, holstered his gun.

  The look on Sam’s face was sheer murder. Her heart lurched at seeing him. Sam grabbed her good arm, holstered his gun, and spun her around roughly to face Gianna and Todd.

  “See?” Gianna screeched at Todd, “I told you! He’s finished with her.”

  The witch wore tailored cream pants, and a matching mid-waist jacket covering a low cut tank and heels. She looked like she belonged in a boardroom, not this old house.

 
; Todd stared at Kirin like she was an alien. “Who let you out?”

  Before she could answer, Gianna pulled Todd to the other side of the room, with her back to Kirin, Sam, and Joel. Her hands were on her hips as she spoke low to him. She looked like a mom lecturing her son. Kirin strained to hear their conversation but could only hear bits and pieces. She was certain she heard the word ‘money.’

  They must know by now it was taken. She’d set this ball into motion. Now, she just prayed it worked.

  Joel slipped an arm through hers and tugged her toward him. When she glanced up, his eyes were trained on Sam, who glared right back over her head. The nonverbal fight going on between these two men was loud. She felt like a steak in the lion’s den.

  Joel stood slightly taller than Sam, and his attitude was written all over his face. Kirin was his prisoner, not Sam’s. But Sam wasn’t letting go. His body language was possessive, tight, and angry. Kirin took a long breath and tried to help.

  “Joel, this is Sam. Sam, this is—"

  Sam interrupted, “Seth, I need the truth. What the hell are you doing here?” Sam whispered quickly.

  Seth?

  “I don’t go by that name anymore and you know it. I’m a grown man. And I don’t have to run anything past you. You’re not responsible for me.”

  Kirin interrupted, “Wait...I thought your name was Joel?”

  Joel glanced down at her, “It is.”

  Sam was like a dog with a bone, he was not letting it go. “What does Jen think of you running with the mob?”

  Joel fired back, “I wasn’t running with your mob. I was hired by someone else to do a different job.”

  Sam looked perplexed. He pointed toward Gianna, “Did she know that we’re brothers?”

  Joel smiled, “Not at first. I think she does now, though.”

  Both men glanced over to ensure Gianna was still occupied by Todd. Kirin peered up from Sam to Joel. Yup. Same nose. She wondered why she hadn’t seen it before.

  “Gianna knew,” Sam said more to himself than to anyone.

  “Gianna guessed, but it was never confirmed. How about ‘thank you’ to your little brother for bringing your fiancé in without harm? And speaking of which, how did an asshat like you land somebody like her?” Kirin grinned automatically.

  “Wait. Back up...other than Gianna, who hired you?”

  Joel only shook his head, which made Sam’s face turn beet red.

  When Joel tried to pull Kirin toward him, Sam growled. Instinctively, she put her hands up like a ref stuck in between two hot headed boxers. The harsh, angry whisper from Sam made her eyebrows lift. “Let. Go.”

  Joel’s teeth gritted, “Stay out of it, Sam.”

  Todd stepped around Gianna and stomped toward them. His eyes darted from one man to the other, his voice too high. “You’re brothers?” then to Gianna, “And, of course you knew this, right?”

  Gianna waved her arms. “No harm using someone who’s already trained. And they don’t speak to each other, so it works perfectly.”

  Sam looked like he could spit nails.

  Todd scrubbed his face, “Does Nicky know this?”

  Gianna just smiled.

  Joel’s eyes never wavered from Sam. Gently he pulled Kirin from his brother and led her by her bad arm toward a chair in the middle of the room. She watched both men. Unspoken words flying between them.

  Joel locked eyes with Kirin. The tips of his lips turned up kindly when he motioned for her to turn. With a gentle touch he peeled his jacket from her waist and pulled it on. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder to sit and left it there.

  Kirin’s plan began to formulate, but for it to work, she needed to have one hundred percent faith that Joel would be on her side. She glanced up at him. His jaw tight, he tore his gaze from his brother and nodded down at her.

  The block of money inside Joel’s pocket had to be drawing his jacket down on one side. There was no way he didn’t feel it when he pulled it on. She prayed he wouldn’t give back the only bargaining chip she had up her sleeve.

  Sam’s eyes locked with hers, then with his brother.

  She’d seen that look—hell, she’d swam in it lately—jealousy.

  Gianna must’ve seen it too. “Joel, search her, now.”

  Joel zipped his jacket then took Kirin by the elbow. His eyes held an apology as he raked his hands up and down her body, then her legs. Sam’s body, just a few feet away, was rigid. She could’ve sworn she heard him growl.

  Todd began to pace, then stopped and turned to Gianna. “Now what? If she doesn’t have the fucking money, who does? G, they’ll kill one of us if we’ve brought them here and the money is gone. This pact must work. Period. It’s the only way to get back in business. They used a ton of operating cash to buy this hunk of shit house for Grandma. You know as well as I do that the business is broke.”

  Gianna stood for a beat. A sick smile played on her lips. She glanced at her expensive watch, then to Kirin.

  “It’s time. Time for the entertainment to start.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Todd wrung his hands and picked up his suit jacket. He pulled out a pistol and shoved it down the back of his pants. Then let out a deep breath as he shrugged it on.

  Sam pulled on a jacket over his stashed gun. When Gianna walked toward him with an outstretched hand, he refused to look at Kirin. He smiled warmly and took her hand. Then as their bodies were close enough to touch, he did something so personal that Kirin had to choke back a sob.

  He pulled her in and kissed her on the forehead.

  Joel had to lift Kirin out of the chair and lead her toward the door. Her legs wouldn’t move.

  Sam turned, with Gianna’s hand in his and led the way out of the room and down the long hallway.

  The pain in Kirin’s chest felt like someone had shoved a hot knife in her heart. It stung deep. Especially when Gianna intertwined her fingers with his and kissed him on the cheek.

  A forehead kiss in Sam’s world meant love. He’d been forced too many times to show physical affection to get whatever The Club wanted, but Kirin knew those forehead kisses were genuine and real. Her eyes filled with tears. He loved Gianna.

  But maybe it was just their shared past. Or maybe it was more. She’d like to think that he’d done it out of a sense of pity. But what if he’d finally answered her texts about sleeping together?

  Kirin closed her eyes for a second. Tears streamed down her face and she let them fall. She tried not to watch them but couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away.

  Walking next to her and holding her by the arm, Joel cleared his throat. She cut her eyes up at him as Joel narrowed his. He shook his head as if to say stop watching.

  Damn, she wished she could.

  The only good thing...if Sam was pretending he was done with her, she wouldn’t need to use Steve to break up with him. If Steve was even still alive.

  As they came closer toward an open arched doorway, Nicky announced Todd’s entrance and that the meeting was about to start.

  Crossing the threshold into the room, Kirin took a quick look around.

  Two hefty men dressed in black sat on the couch. One held a bloody towel covering most of his face, while the other had an eye that was so swollen, he needed an eye patch to cover his permanent blink.

  Must be team two.

  Just beyond them a figure was tied to a chair. She gasped. Wearing only her underwear, but now with one bra-strap snapped, was Stacy. Her make-up smudged under puffy eyes like she’d been crying. Her hair was all a mess with a look of sheer brokenness on her face.

  Kirin let out a scream and came unglued on Joel—shoving, kicking and clawing to get to her friend. When Nicky, clearly embarrassed, cleared his throat, Joel reached out and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off the floor.

  “Stop. Stop.” He ordered in her ear.

  Kirin stilled. More thick tears ran down her face. Stacy glanced over at the commotion with a blank, detached look in her eyes. Kiri
n wasn’t even sure her friend knew she was there.

  They’d shattered her.

  Nicky pointed to a chair with rope tied to it and plastic underneath. It was then, she noticed Stacy’s chair had plastic underneath as well. They were both set to die in this room.

  Joel carried her to the chair and sat her down, then pulled her arms behind her and tied them to the chair.

  After a beat Todd cleared his throat, “Gentlemen, we have business to discuss, but first these two women have been a thorn in our side. They’re not family. Both are traitors as far as we’re concerned and need to be terminated.”

  Kirin followed Todd’s line of sight to see three men standing on the opposite side of the great room. Two body-building thugs, each the size of a commercial double-door fridge flanked a flamboyant thin man with dark slanted eyes and perfectly manicured eyebrows. He wore a long white fur coat, black pants and women’s boots. His short fingernails were painted black as well.

  The look on Mr. Fur-lined’s face was that of boredom. The two fridge-men, both with their chins high and wearing sunglasses, looked as if they could take out the whole room in their sleep. The barrel of an AR hung down the back of one of the men’s legs.

  Nicky’s eyes, filled with hate, never moved from Kirin’s face. His greasy smile unfolded when Todd announced, “Bring ‘em in.”

  Nothing could’ve prepared Kirin for what she saw. The short-haired woman, who she saved in the airplane hangar walked into the room holding the arm of a blindfolded boy.

  She knew instantly.

  Her boy.

  When the woman ripped the blindfold off him, he blinked and blinked. His eyes were swollen like he’d been crying.

  “No...” Kirin’s voice was tiny.

  Sam took a step toward Will, but Gianna yanked him back.

  “Mom?” Will’s voice shook as their eyes locked. She could barely see him through her tears. God no. Please no. Joel’s grip on her shoulder tightened. Kirin mouthed to Will—"stay still. It’s gonna be okay. I love you.”

  Frantic she glanced at Sam. But Gianna’s watery eyes and horrified look on her face told Kirin instantly, this wasn’t Gianna’s idea, nor did she know about it. Nobody was that good of an actress. Sam was beet red with fists balled down at his sides. At one point, he mouthed something to Will too, but she couldn’t tell what.