by Melony Ann
Mr. Mort looks at him, terrified. “I… am not allowed to… give that information to you.” He sits on the edge of the desk. Ryan steps forward, crowding him. He reaches up and loosens his tie more than it had been. He’s clearly nervous. For the hundredth time in my life, I’m glad Ryan is on my side.
“Who…” Ryan leans down with both hands on the desk. Mr. Mort swallows hard. “Was… the… teller?”
“A-Abernathy K-Koontz.”
Ryan stands up and reaches a hand down to help me up. I take his hand, and he pulls me up. “You okay?”
“I…” I shake my head, unsure how to answer. “I don’t know.”
“You’ll be okay,” he assures me. I glance back at Mr. Mort hyperventilating on the floor as Jason and I follow Ryan out. We don’t say a word until we get to the SUV and pile in. Ryan steps on the gas and peels out. He races through the streets towards home. I watch the city blur as we drive unsure how Ryan never gets caught by the police with the way he drives.
“How did this happen?” I wonder. “How could she do this?”
“It’s what she’s wanted from the beginning,” Jason answers.
“I was just too stupid to let myself believe it,” I growl getting angrier and angrier with myself. Ryan pulls into the driveway. We all get out. I’m both dazed and pissed off. I look around, suddenly in the living room. “How the fuck did I get here?”
Ryan and Jason look at each other, then back at me. Ryan sits me down and looks at Jason. “Stay with him.”
“Got it.” Jason sits next to me as Ryan jogs out of the room. “You don’t look so good.”
I rub my temple again and lean back against the couch as nausea overwhelms me. “I started getting a headache this morning. It’s turned into a full-blown migraine. I really need to lay down.” Jason stands and helps me lay down, putting a pillow underneath my head. I close my eyes and the world fades away in seconds.
***
I groan and cough as I open my eyes. I blink a few times and feel someone sit next to me. A cold washcloth is put on my forehead, and I jerk slightly.
“It’s okay, honey. It’s just me,” mom says softly as she wipes away sweat from my forehead and face. “How do you feel?”
I try to sit up, but she gently pushes me back down. There’s no use fighting her. “Better. How long have I been out?”
“Most of the day.”
“What? Mom, I need to get up. I have to figure out what the fuck that bitch did with my accounts.”
“Your brothers and father dealt with that already.”
I look up at her. “And?”
“And… they traced your money to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. It was withdrawn from there. They had the security cameras pulled. It was Penelope. We have no way of tracking it further, and she disappeared.”
I swipe my hands over my face. “I don’t care about the money. I don’t care that she made a fool out of me. All I care about is what my family thinks of me. I fucked up.”
“Oh, honey.” Mom leans down and hugs me. “That’s not something you need to worry about.”
“You all told me to steer clear of her. I should’ve listened. Now I’m left with nothing. I don’t even feel heartbroken. I feel empty and disappointed in myself. Angry.” I bury my face in mom’s hair as she squeezes me tightly. I clench my jaw and shut my eyes to keep the tears threatening to fall from doing just that.
“Nick. You know that you could never be a disappointment to us. She obviously had an elaborate plan she’s been working on for a long time. The guy at the bank? The teller? She was working with him. The withdrawal that was made at the bank here was a woman they hired to pretend to be her. The signature didn’t match. He used that money to jump on a plane. The plane stopped in Orlando, and from there, he vanished just like she did. The woman they hired pretending to be her has vanished as well. This isn’t your fault, sweetheart.”
“It’s a lesson to never trust anyone but family again.”
“Nickolas. You can’t give up on love. Ever. When the right woman comes along, you’ll know. Until then, you’ll be careful.”
I loosen my grip on her, and she pulls away. She puts her hand on my chest, and I rest mine on top of hers. “Listen to my family. My instincts. Never ignore either.”
She smiles softly. “That would be helpful.” She cups my cheek. “We replaced the money in your trust fund.”
“What? Mom, you -”
“Nickolas. There’s no arguing. This wasn’t your fault. You shouldn’t be punished for someone else’s actions.”
“But had I listened, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter. It’s been done. You’re our son. That’s the end of the story. There will be no more argument.”
I know arguing is pointless so I stop. Instead, I work on fighting back the tears that threaten to fall from my eyes. Sometimes, the love this family shows is overwhelming at best. I don’t know what I did to deserve a family like this. I don’t know what I did to deserve the bond we share.
I look up and sit up slowly as my brothers and father walk into the room. They all surround me and hug me saying how much they love me, and the dam breaks. I rarely cry, but there’s no way I can hold back now.
They all stay gathered around me and hold me as I cry. Tears of joy or heartbreak, I don’t know. All I know is they are all I need.
Chapter Ten - Ryan
I stare at my dad, astonished. “You’re telling me that this Lucinio Mafia is still a fucking problem?”
“Even bigger than we thought,” dad confirms.
I sink into my chair. “You said they were taken care of. That we wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.”
“That was before they decided it would be fun to mess with your mother.”
My mouth drops open, my fists automatically clench, and, though I can’t see it, I feel my coffee-colored eyes darken to black. I clench my teeth together. “What… happened?”
“She was shopping. She was approached by a male she hadn’t seen before. She had a guard with her, but he had gone to the bathroom. The male dragged her out to an alley near the store. She was shoved against the wall of the building. Other males showed up.” Dad pauses to control his rising temper. I watch as his neck reddens. He grips the desk as hard as I’m gripping the chair.
“If they touched her…,” I growl darkly. Dangerously.
“They roughed her up. Hit her a couple times. They sent her away with a message for us.”
I glare. “What was the message?”
“That if we didn’t back out of L.A., they’d come after everyone we love and care about. She was first. It was a warning. They said next time she won’t be so lucky.”
I stand and pace. “There won’t be a fucking next time.”
“That’s not all. Sit down, Ryan.”
“No. If I sit down, I’m going to rip a hole in the chair.”
He nods. “We found evidence of… a…” My dad swallows and shakes his head as he himself stands and paces. I watch him. He kicks the wall, and then leans his head against it. “A child sex trade ring.”
I stop pacing. “A… what?”
“Yeah.” He pushes off the wall and paces his office. “Right under our noses. In our territory. It looks like it’s us running it.”
I sink to the floor and sit. “We’d never do that.”
“We know that. The police don’t. They’re after us.”
I shake my head. “No. No. I have a friend who’s the daughter of the Commissioner. She’ll help clear us.”
Dad looks down at me. “You think so?”
I stand and take out my phone. “Mia knows me. Us. She knows we’d never do that shit.” I dial her number and pace the office as dad watches me.
“Hey, Ry. Miss me?”
I can’t help but smile. “Immensely. I need your help.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
I love how she doesn’t question me. She’s ready and
willing to help. “There’s another mafia we’re dealing with. As big as us but far more… uh… ruthless, I guess. Dangerous. They’re running a child sex trade ring.”
“That’s... disgusting.”
“They’re making it look like it’s us.”
“No way. Even I know your family wouldn’t do that.”
“You may trust us, but the NYPD doesn’t.”
“You want me to talk to my dad.”
I rub my forehead as I stop pacing. “Is that too much to ask?”
“Ryan, my dad already knows. And he doesn’t believe it’s you.”
My eyes shoot to my father’s. “What?”
“I’ve heard all about it. He was talking to my mom about something you guys did, and how frustrating it was that he couldn’t catch you and prove it. Then he started talking about this underground child sex trade ring. How on the outside it looked like you, but he knew better. He said it wasn’t your style.”
“Thank God for that. It isn’t. Think he can get everyone else to see that?”
“He’s working on it, Ry. He said it would work out a lot better for him if he could get you guys to put your talent for criminal activity on the right side of the law and help him stop it instead of giving him more to do by adding to it.”
I chuckle softly. “One day.”
“I know. You can’t take over fast enough. Look. Just know he’s working on it. If you could get him evidence somehow…”
“How, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know. Anonymously? It would help.”
I sit down in the chair and glance at my dad. He’s watching me curiously. “I’ll think of something.”
“I know you will. Get it to me. I’ll give it to him.”
“You can’t tell him where you got it, or he won’t be able to use it.”
“I know. I’ll keep you out of it. But if you want my help, and his, you need to be on the right side of the law. Sort of. You know what I mean.”
“I need to help the cops. Got it.”
“Not like it would be an issue for you. It’s what you want anyway, right?”
“What I want and what the boss wants are very different things.”
She laughs quietly. “I know. Get me something. And come over later. My roommate is gone for the weekend, and I’m bored.”
I smile. “You’re the only girl I’ve been with more than once.”
“I must be really good, then,” she jokes. She uses me just as much as I use her, and we both know it.
“No comment. I can’t come over later. We need to deal with this, and I need to get you that evidence.”
She sighs dramatically, and I laugh. “Fine. I guess I’ll use my trusty vibrator tonight.”
I groan. “Stop it. I’ll call you when I have it.”
She laughs. “I’ll be waiting.”
I shake my head and hang up as I look back at dad. “She said her dad knows it isn’t us. It’s not our style. But we need to get him evidence. I can bring it to Mia. She’ll get it to him.”
“You trust this girl?”
“She’s more than a notch on my bedpost. We have fun, but she’s a good friend. Yeah. I trust her.”
He nods. “I trust your instincts. Get ready to go. We’re going to get her that evidence. I won’t have some lowlife amoeba making it look like we’re doing something as sick as a sex trade ring of any kind. Let alone one involving children.”
***
Hours later, when the sun is rising, dad and I trudge into the house. I fall down onto the couch. “That was fucking exhausting. I don’t remember when the last time I slept was.”
Dad sits next to me. “It’s been a while since I pulled an all-nighter like that.”
“This week has been fucked up. First Penelope. Now this?”
“At least we have that evidence. Get that to Mia. We don’t need every law enforcement division after us. We have enough to deal with.”
“It wouldn’t be that way if you’d listen to me, and go legit.”
“We’ve talked about this. This isn’t the time to hash it over again. I’m far too tired.”
My phone rings as dad is standing. I don’t recognize the number, but decide to answer it anyway. “Hello?”
“Is this Ryan Crane?” The voice is frantic, and I raise an eyebrow. I place my hand on dad’s arm as I turn the phone on speaker.
“Yeah. Who’s this?” I look up as Blaze walks into the room. Dad puts a hand up to silence him as he begins talking.
“This is Nelson Tate. I’m a Police Commissioner with the NYPD. I… Please, I need your help.” His voice cracks.
“You’re Mia’s father,” I say.
“Yes! She’s been kidnapped!” He speaks rapidly. I can barely make out the words. “She got me a message that said to contact you. You could help. Please. Please help me find my daughter. She’s gone! Missing! I -”
“Commissioner Tate. Stop. Slow down. Tell me what happened.”
He takes a deep, shaky breath. “I got a text message from her at two in the morning. All it said was help. I texted her and called her. She didn’t answer. I’ve been searching. Tracking her phone. I know she’s in L.A., but I have nothing more. She managed to send a message to me five minutes ago. She said to contact you. You’ll help. Please. Please find my daughter.”
“Fuck. Okay. Tell me where you last pinpointed her.” My dad and Blaze are already in motion. I know they’re going to wake my brothers.
“We had her in L.A. It looks like somewhere in the Palisade Hills area. After I got that last message, her signal disappeared.”
“They may have shut her phone off. Or she sensed danger and did it herself. Your daughter is a smart girl, Commissioner.”
“I’m at the airport waiting on standby for a flight to L.A.” He chokes back what sounds to be a strangled sob. “Please help me. If she trusts you, I know I can. My daughter has a good head on her shoulders. Good instincts.”
“I agree. She’s a good girl. A good friend.”
“I’ll do whatever you want. Please help me find her.”
“You don’t need to do anything for me. Mia is a good friend. We’re already mobilizing. We’ll meet you at JFK in ten minutes.”
“You’ll never get through security in ten minutes!” he says confused.
“Go to gate A. Tell them you’re with Ryan Crane. By the time you get there, they’ll have orders to board you on my jet.”
He lets out a shaky breath. “Okay.”
“Ten minutes. We’ll be there.” I hang up as my brothers come down the stairs with dad. Mom follows.
She walks directly to me and hugs me. “Be careful.”
I hug her back tightly. “We will.”
She pulls away, and Jason hands me a duffle bag. “Your gear. Let’s get out of here. End this fucking thing once and for all.”
“Chopper’s parked on the roof. Jas, I need you to fly. I have orders to give and calls to make.” We all head to the roof as I take out my phone. I bark out orders to my flight staff and call in my flight plan. Jason flies us to the airport while I mobilize a team in L.A. By the time we get there and land, my jet is gassed up on the tarmac and ready to go.”
“What do we do with the chopper?” Nick asks.
“I’ll take care of it,” one of the people from the airport says behind us.
I nod as the staff grabs our gear and brings it to the jet. “Commissioner Tate on board?”
“Yes, sir,” the staff member says.
“Captain ready to go?” I ask.
“He’s doing his pre-flight check. He said five minutes.”
“Good. Thank you.” I jog up the stairs. Jason, Nick, my dad, and several guards are already on board and strapping in. Commissioner Tate watches everyone from a seat in the back corner of the plane. I make my way to him and offer a hand. “Commissioner. I’m Ryan Crane.”
He hesitantly stands and shakes my hand, keeping an eye on all of the activity as everyone settles. “Mr. Crane th
is is all…”
“I know.” I let go of his hand. “Overwhelming. I get it, but I’m not the bad guy here.”
“This time anyway.”
I give him a tired smile and nod. “Yeah. This time. Look. I like Mia. My relationship with her means a lot to me.” I gesture to my family. “My brothers and my dad will do whatever it takes to help. I know you and I are on different sides of the line here, but Mia is important to me. You may not trust me or my family, but you can trust that I’ll find her. I’ll do whatever it takes to find your daughter.”
“I already said if she trusts you then I do.” He looks up at me as he sits down. “I’ll do whatever needs to be done to find my daughter and bring her home safe. I hope we aren’t too late.”
I sit next to him and begin explaining what’s going to happen when we get to L.A. as the plane takes off. When we’re in the air, we all gather and formulate a plan of attack.
By the time we land, we all know our roles and what needs to be done. We have no time to do any surveillance ourselves and will need to rely on what I’ve sent our team in L.A. to do. I hope it’s enough, but that little voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that we’re too late.
Chapter Eleven - Ryan
“I don’t know how you’re going to do this,” Jason says as I yawn. “You haven’t slept.”
“Simple,” I say. “I’m going to sleep right now. We’re going to trust our team to do what they need to do.”
“That’s blind trust if I’ve ever heard it.”
“Jas, we have no choice.” I lay back on the bed and close my eyes. “It’s no different than any other mission. We rely on our team to get us intel. We’re relying on them just as much now. Maybe more.” I open one eye. “Go to sleep. You need to be ready. We all do.”
“How big is this mafia, Ryan? I need to know.”
I sigh and open both eyes. “They’re big, Jas. But we aren’t going into this blind. We have our surveillance team out there right now gathering intel. By the time we get there tonight, we’ll have more than enough information to go in and make intelligent decisions.”
“I’m scared, Ry. I’m always a little nervous going into missions. I’ve never been able to be calm and cool and collected like you and Nick, but I’ve never been scared. I’m terrified going into this. I’ve got so many bad feelings about this that my bad feelings have bad feelings.”
