by Ford, Mia
“He married you. He loves you.”
“Is that it?” I laugh nastily. “Because that means nothing. He might be married to me, yes, but he cheats on me all the time. He even slept with one of the nurses at the institution when he came to visit me.” Dad’s eyes widen, but I don’t even think he’s shocked. “He’s doing it all the time. And not only that, he acted threatening around me. I actually thought he was going to hit me. I was scared. He terrified me. He’s dangerous, Dad, so dangerous that I think he’s involved in Peter’s disappearance. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you and him but I’m letting you know now that I am never going back to him. I hate him.”
“You… you can’t say that.” Dad looks truly freaked out now. “You can’t leave him, Savannah.”
“Why are you saying that?” I lean in closer, silently pleading with him to be honest. “What do you know?”
Dad is silent for much too long, I can almost see the cogs ticking in his brain. He’s talking himself out of telling me the truth. I can tell by the way that his eyes are glazing over that he’s lost to me.
“Dad, if you don’t tell me this right now then I’m going to assume that you are with Bryan. If you’re with Bryan, then you’re against me. In which case, you will never see me again. You won’t see me or Peter when I get him back. You’ll be cut out of my life forever more. Don’t be a coward, just tell me already.”
But he doesn’t. He shakes his head and a tear leaks out of his eye. He’s too scared. Bryan must really have something over him. I would feel bad for him, I might even want to help him, but since he’s not willing to put himself on the line for me and Peter then I won’t help him. I would lay my life on the line for Peter, nothing would stop me. If my dad isn’t willing to do the same for me, then he’s going to be cut out forever.
“Right, fine.” I push myself into a standing position and brush a tear from my own cheek angrily. “If you don’t want to tell me, if you’re willing to lose me and Peter over this, then fine. I’ll say goodbye now.”
“Savannah,” he croaks back. “Please, go back to Bryan. It’s what’s best for you.”
I snort a sound filled with rage. “Dad, you have no idea what’s best for me and that’s why we’re done here.”
I stalk out and slam the front door loudly behind me so hard it nearly shakes the house to the ground. I want to let out a scream to set some of this frustration free, but I can’t. Everyone else has their own roles to play today and they might have had more luck than me. I can’t give in now, I need to keep on fighting.
As I get into my car and I drive away, heading back for the motel, I have to try and find a positive in what just happened. At least now I’m sure that my dad is in on something, he seems scared of Bryan, and there’s a much bigger picture in all of this. I don’t even think I’m the target really, just a pawn in the big game.
I hope Jayden and Tommy have had more success with Hank Fry. I hope they now know what the big picture is because maybe we can work with that and go smaller and smaller until we find the pin prick, the needle in the hay stack. My boy.
I’m still coming for you Peter, I think determinedly. Just hold on a little while longer.
18
Jayden
“You think this is it?” I ask Tommy, not convinced. “You think this is the Rice place?”
“I dunno, but from what those other guys said, they deal in A-list drugs, and I don’t know about you but this looks like a crack den to me. It’s gross, isn’t it? All grimy and drug-like.”
“I don’t know anything about crack dens and I don’t think you do either. Only from the movies.”
“Maybe so, but this is the address. For Billy anyway. I think I’d rather start with him than ‘Shank’.”
“Yeah, me too.” I shudder at the idea of some small time drug-dealing criminal named Shank. “But if they are brothers they might be both here. We need to be prepared for that. We also might need to get ready for more guns. If Hank had one, there’s no telling what we’re about to face here, is there?”
Tommy looks about as uneasy as I feel. Neither of us want to die today, especially not in a place like this, but we honestly don’t have any other leads. I can’t go back to Savannah with nothing. I need information.
“Right, well I suppose we don’t have anything else to wait for. Let’s do this already. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back to that motel and figure things out between us.”
We take purposeful strides towards the house, but I can see that Tommy’s nerves are flooding to the surface almost as much as mine. We might be in the army, we may put ourselves in dangerous situations as a part of our jobs, a psychopath’s might be an everyday occurrence, but that’s all controlled and commanded by someone else. To the pair of us this is a new territory, dangerous in a very different way, and I don’t like the ice-cold feeling it causes. There’s a definite swirling of panic in my stomach and I’m so scared that it’s going to get free.
It’s Tommy who steps forward and knocks on the door this time. He does it quietly, but loud enough to be heard, almost as if he’s been rehearsing how he’s going to do it in his head. Judging by his slightly ragged breaths he’s expecting to be shot at any moment. It makes me wonder what he’s doing here. Why is he so willing to put his life on the line for a woman he doesn’t know, and hasn’t ever liked? Although, I suppose it’s for me…
He’s a great friend, and honestly, if we make it out the other side of this I’m going to find a way to thank him. I don’t know what I’ll do, how I can make up for him doing all of this for me, it’s just so much, but I’ll try. Perhaps if I take him on a nice vacation somewhere, that will be a good start. I don’t think there’s any gift in the world that says ‘thank you for being willing to die for me…’
“Yeah?” The door pulls open a tiny crack, effectively switching off my rambling thoughts for me. A pair of eyes glare out, but no more of the person can be seen. It’s unnerving actually, it proves that this is definitely a place where drug deals happen. As quickly as we got here, I want to leave. I really do hate this.
“Are you Billy Rice?” I ask with a false confidence in my voice. “Can we speak to you, please?”
“Who the fuck are you?” he growls back. “And what do you want? You cops? If so you can fuck off.”
“No, we aren’t cops.” I dart my eyes to Tommy but he’s gone as white as a sheet. The fear has truly gotten the better of him. I suppose this is up to me now. “We’re just people working for Bryan Janssen.”
“The fuck you are.” The door pulls wide open now and I see someone who looks a little like Hank. The same terrible dress sense, but this guy is bigger. You know he could break your kneecaps easily, which I suppose is useful in the drug business when you want people to pay up. “Fucking Bryan wouldn’t work with you.”
“But he works with you?” I nod acceptingly. “I already know as much. Hank told me.”
“Fucking Hank.” His fists squeeze together in temper. “I’ll kill him.”
I don’t care about causing trouble between this gang, it’s actually what I want. That way, they’ll focus on their hatred for each other rather than coming after me. Also, they might kill one another for real and the world will be a better place for it. The less petty criminals in the world, the better as far as I can see.
“Yeah, Hank told me that you were all involved in the incident with his wife.” I watch his face contort and pinch up into a pained expression. Again, it’s obvious that I’ve hit the nail on the head. “And he also told me that it wasn’t a hit and run. More that it was a kidnapping deal.” A thick silence fills the air. The guy stiffens, his spine straightens right up, and I can see something intense flickering behind his eyes. “A little boy, perhaps.”
“I don’t know what the fuck Hank has been telling you, but it’s bullshit. Utter bullshit.”
Since no weapon has made an appearance yet, I feel more confident. “We both know that isn’t
true.”
“It… it… look, I don’t know what to tell you.” He shrugs helplessly. “I can’t say anything. I’ll end up dead.”
Tommy, and me are assuming that Bryan is obviously a much more terrifying man than he seems, he has made all these people terribly scared of him. I hate that Savannah has been with this man for a decade. It isn’t right.
“I lied about working for Bryan,” I confess. “I don’t even know why I said that. I’m not working for him at all. You can tell me whatever you want to, nothing will get back to him. I want to end this.”
He runs his eyes critically up and down me. “Yeah? And how are you going to do that? You have no idea what you’re dealing with here because if you did, you would run in the other direction like the God damn wind.”
“Who the fuck is that?” Another voice booms behind Billy. “Get rid of them already.”
As the other person comes in to view, it’s very clear that this is Billy’s brother. Shank, I presume. He looks even more intimidating than his brother with tattoos covering the most part of his body and a shaved head aside from a suspiciously Nazi-like symbol created out of tufts of hair, and I’m immediately annoyed by his appearance. I was just about getting through and I’m about to be thwarted. Luckily, not by Tommy this time. He’s so quiet I don’t think he’ll say a word now. This might be too much for him, I think I’ve pushed him too far.
“This guy wants to take down Janssen,” Billy tells him. “He knows about the kidnapping, Hank blabbed.”
“Fucking Hank.” Shank shakes his head. “Not that it matters. Let this idiot try and take down the magnetic force of Bryan if he can. That prick hasn’t paid us anyway so let’s tell him everything.”
“You think so?” Billy isn’t convinced. “He will kill us if we say anything.”
“Nah, it’ll be fine. I’ll kill him first. I’m about ready to kill that dick anyway.”
“Okay, so what should I say? About the money thing with Mr. Donald?”
That’s Savannah’s father, which is exactly the sort of thing I’m looking for. “Yes, tell me that.”
“Fuck it, what does it matter anyway?” Shank calls out. “Yes, there was some thing to do with money, but what can you say about it, Billy? You don’t know anything. Mr. Donald, his daughter, the kid… they are all just caught up in Bryan’s stuff. Just like the rest of us in the fucking city.”
I part my lips to say something else, but then we hear police sirens blaring out. Both brothers immediately panic and they glare at us. I dart my eyes towards Tommy who has finally snapped into action.
“Fuck,” Tommy growls at me. “We need to get out of here and now.”
“You call the police?” Shank demands. “Is this all part of some plan?”
“Trust me, we aren’t Bryan. There isn’t any plan here. We just need to go.”
I grab hold of Tommy and we tear off to the car. I can hear Shank yelling out something at the pair of us but I don’t care. All I need to do is get out of here before the cops arrive. If they are going to the house of the Rice brothers we cannot be here. Not if the police are also under the control of Bryan which it seems like they are. We’ll end up locked away for some made up charge and then we’ll be no hope to Savannah.
If Bryan really is this crazy man and he works out that we’re onto him, Peter might not have much time. Savannah won’t be able to handle that. To know that she was so close but he died anyway…
I slam Tommy into his seat and I jump into mine. I hit the gas quickly and pull away without looking back. I drive down the beaten track we rode down not so long ago just to see cop cars speeding past us towards the house. I don’t know what’s happened, but I think they’ll be going down. That many flashing blue lights usually spells trouble. Not that I’ve ever been on the wrong side of the law myself…
“If Hank warned Bryan, then maybe he turned the Rice brothers in,” Tommy croaks at me. “He might be hot on our tail now so we need to be even more careful. Especially if he’s so capable of murder.”
I glower, not liking to think about it too much, but Tommy is right. “We need to get back to the motel quickly to check on the girls. I’m worried now, especially if he might have heard about Savannah. If he senses that something is going on, then he’s bound to check up on Savannah.”
“You’re right.” Tommy tugs his cell phone out of his pocket. “I might give them both a call.”
He listens to his phone for a while but since he doesn’t say anything I have to assume that neither of them have picked up. Tommy looks freaked out by this so it’s up to me to calm him down. There’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders here, but it’s fine. I just need to have faith that it’s all going to turn out okay in the end.
“They will be there soon,” I reassure him. “Try not to worry too much. Also, thank you for coming with me, I know that was a bit much and I’m sorry if it freaked you out loads.”
“I’m sorry I was so quiet, I just kept expecting to see a gun again. Even in our job I haven’t ever had one pointed right at my face before. It was… I don’t know, it was crazy.”
I pat his leg, hoping that the playful gesture will shake him out of his bleak mood. “Well, we’re out of there now and we can have a drink once we get back to the motel. Celebrate our survival.”
I chuckle but Tommy doesn’t join in with me. He’s still very shocked and pale. I’ll have to find a way to drag him out of that when we get back. Maybe whatever the girls have found out will help him. Hopefully, once we put it all together it’ll make a lot of sense and we’ll have somewhere else to go. I’m hoping it will be the place where Peter is. I’m getting increasingly worried for him…
19
Savannah
Sobs rack through my body, I can’t seem to stop them. Not that I’m putting in much effort to do so. After keeping everything locked in for such a long time, it’s actually nice to let it out. My emotions run free from me, the roll over and over in waves, so it’s probably good that I’m alone to just let it all out.
My father… I can’t stop thinking about my father and how he’s basically chosen Bryan over me. Okay, so he’s scared. It’s so obvious that he’s terrified for some reason, which is pretty strange on its own because I’ve always seen him as a very formidable man, but that still makes no sense. How can he not want to do this for me? The fact that he wants me to remain with Bryan says it all. Why would he want to be unhappy? And scared?
I hear the sound of the key sliding into the motel room door lock so I bolt into a sitting position and wipe my eyes rapidly. It’s still obvious that I’ve been crying but I want to save face a bit. I don’t want to be the pathetic weepy mess, I’m sick of my identity being defined by my emotions. I’ve been the slightly unhinged wife for far too long now. It’s time for me to be stronger, to overcome all the hardship that I’ve been through.
“Hey, Savannah.” As soon as Jayden sees me he rushes to my side and throws his arms around me. “Oh, my goodness, are you okay? What the hell happened today? You look absolutely devastated.”
“I… I don’t know really.” I try to clear up my snotty face. “It was horrible though. My dad didn’t really confirm or deny anything but there’s definitely some shady business going on between him and Bryan. He tried to pass it of as something I don’t understand, but it’s something bad, I’m certain of it. Then…” I sigh loudly, knowing this part isn’t going to come across well. Not to Jayden for sure. Which of course, I totally understand since everything that happened before. “Then he basically said that he wants me to stay with Bryan because he can protect me. Like he isn’t the dangerous person here, even though we both know that he is.”
“Oh, wow.” Jayden rubs my back gently, lovingly. It feels nice. “That’s heavy. It’s hard to imagine him saying that. Did you tell him everything that’s happened with Bryan?” I nod. “That’s really crazy. I don’t know…”
“I know,” I interrupt with a semi-snort. “I don’t know either. I don�
�t know what to think about it all.”
He holds me, embracing me and making me feel safe for a moment. It’s a nice sensation, one that I haven’t had ever since the moment I first walked away from him this morning. I need Jayden more than he knows.
I peer up at him through my eyelashes and search his face for something else. I can see there’s something darting behind his eyes which intrigues me. He must have something himself…
“What did you find out?” I snap up straighter. “Did you get anything from Hank Fry?”
“I would rather tell you with Tommy. He’s in his room at the moment. And we might as well wait until Pippa is back from work too so we don’t have to keep going over the same story again and again.”
Much as impatience rocks through my system, I know that he’s right so I nod. I’ve only told my story once and I’m already emotionally exhausted at the idea of having to say it over again. “Yeah, okay, shall we wait together? Did you say that Tommy is in his room? Would it be better for us to wait there?”
“He’s actually coming here once he’s got off the phone to Pippa, so we can just wait.”
I lean into Jayden, actually enjoying this moment of just the two of us. It feels nice to be alone with Jayden, I don’t feel like I’ve had enough time to just be with him recently. Although after missing a decade of time with him, I don’t think there’s enough time in the world. I want to be with him forever.
“Thank you for doing all of this for me,” I murmur with my eyes slide closed. “I appreciate it. Peter will too when we find him. He’s going to love you for all of this.”
I allow my mind to wander and I picture Peter back by my side, in my arms, and it’s an image that fills me with bliss. Only the picture is larger now. It isn’t just me and Peter anymore. Jayden is there with us. Pippa is around too and Tommy. I don’t even know Tommy but I already adore him because I owe him my life. Him and Pippa have been as much a life saver in all of this as Jayden. But of course, Jayden is my hero.
