The TAKEN! Series - Books 13-16 (Taken! Box Set Book 4)

by Remington Kane

  “They went out the back,” Ron said.

  “You go; but I think that Weaver is hiding in here somewhere. He wouldn’t make it far in the woods with that leg of his.”

  Ron gave Dominic a nod of agreement and then ran towards the hole at the rear. He stepped through it and headed for the trees just as Dominic spotted a possible hiding place.

  To the right of the pile of wood chips was an old wooden horse trough that was big enough to hold a man, it had a saddle blanket draped over it, and so Dominic couldn’t see down inside it.

  Dominic had followed the blood trail and it ended near the trough. He had just stepped towards it when Weaver’s head and shoulders emerged from a lower section of the wood chips.

  Weaver was panting for air, and he gazed up at Dominic with a terrified expression.

  Dominic was about to say something when more of the wood chips shifted, and a set of intense eyes blazed at him from a face that showed not fear, but instead, was broadcasting lethal intent.

  In the next instant came a flash of steel and the edge of the axe landed between Dominic’s own eyes, which crossed comically as they each looked at the blade embedded between them, and then they closed forever as Dominic fell backwards to the barn floor with the axe still buried between his eyes.

  ***

  Despite her fear, Summer gazed up at the tree house with a sense of nostalgia and wonder flowing through her.

  She had spent many hours up in the tree house with Michael when they were kids, and she marveled that it appeared not to have changed.

  “You still come here, Michael?”

  “Sometimes, and every time I did I thought about you, Buggy.”

  There were boards nailed to the rear of the tree that held the tree house, and Summer saw that they were fairly new and sturdy, and not the thin strips of wood she used to climb up as an eight year old.

  Michael had slipped the gun into a back pocket of his jeans, but as he climbed the first five rungs, the gun came loose and fell to the ground.

  “I got it,” Summer said, and slipped it into the purse hanging by a strap over her left shoulder. She then followed Michael.

  To get inside after climbing, you had to pull yourself up and onto the wooden floor. After clambering up and inside, Michael lay on his stomach, took Summer’s hands and pulled her up.

  When Michael rose to his knees, they were face to face, and Michael brushed back Summer’s fiery red hair and stared into her large green eyes.

  “Hello, Buggy.”

  Summer searched his face and saw that Michael was looking at her with love and acceptance. No one else had ever loved her unconditionally as Michael did, not even her own parents, and knowing that Michael still loved her made Summer shed tears.

  She hugged him fiercely and he cooed soft words into her ear.

  “Shh, we’ll be okay. Don’t be scared.”

  “I’m not scared, well I am, but I’m also so damn happy to be with you again.”

  Michael had opened his mouth to speak when they heard someone moving in the woods below.

  The treehouse had two oblong cutouts for windows, but there was no glass in them. Through the opening at the rear, they could see a figure moving deeper into the woods and away from them. It was Ron.

  “What happened to my brother,” Michael whispered, as he pondered what it meant that the man below had made it past the barn.

  “I’m sure he’s fine, Michael. Your brother and his wife deal with people like this all the time.”

  “They do?”

  “Yes, he’s married to Dr. Jessica White. Have you heard of her?”

  “No, but I don’t watch TV or read newspapers; it’s too depressing.”

  The sound of a shotgun blast came from the barn, and Michael let out a soft moan.

  Below in the woods, Ron stopped walking and looked back with a smile showing, as he assumed the roar of the shotgun meant that Weaver was dead. He soon turned and resumed his search.

  He had only taken a few steps when he heard the scream. It was a quick yelp of fright, but it had definitely originated from somewhere behind him. Ron turned and headed back the way he’d come, and that was when he spotted the rungs that led up to the tree house.

  “Hey up there, you’re gonna die.”

  ***

  After taking the shotgun from Dominic’s dead hands and picking the Yankee cap up from where it had fallen on the floor, White aimed the shotgun at a mound of hay and fired off a shot.

  “Why did you do that?” Weaver asked in an absent manner. He was engrossed in staring at the dead form of Dominic, but his reporter’s mind was always seeking answers.

  He replied to Weaver as he searched the right front pocket of Dominic’s pants and removed the spare shotgun shells he found there.

  “That was to make the other man think that this man had just killed you.”

  “And the hat?”

  “It may buy me some time.”

  He headed for the rear and the woods, and Weaver continued to stare at the axe protruding from Dominic’s face.

  ***

  A spider roughly the size of her fist dropped down from the ceiling of the treehouse and swung on a web in front of Summer’s face. It was a wolf spider, and its big eyes seemed to stare right at Summer.

  She instinctively let out a scream of fright as she batted at the arachnid and scampered away, but then stifled herself by covering her mouth.

  Michael risked a peek out the window and saw that Ron was headed back towards them.

  Michael moved beside Summer and whispered.

  “Stay very still, that man is headed back this way.”

  “Oh Michael, I’m so sorry that I screamed but I couldn’t help it.”

  Michael touched her on the nose with a fingertip.

  “That was a huge spider; I almost screamed too.”

  They heard Ron approach and went silent as they huddled together on the floor, in a corner of the tree house.

  When Ron stopped moving, he spoke.

  “Hey up there, you’re gonna die.”

  Summer eased the gun from her purse and then realized that she could see Ron through a hole in the floor. The hole was a wider section of a crack in one of the old pine planks, and was large enough to fire through. Summer pressed the gun to the hole and took aim at Ron.

  Nothing happened, as Summer found that she was unable to pull the trigger. It was one thing to have Todd do her dirty work, and quite another to do the deed herself.

  She swallowed hard, held her breath and again tried to pull the trigger.

  She couldn’t bring herself to do it, and it was a fact she found amazing. Then, Ron was firing up at them, and Summer dropped the gun as Michael pulled her into his arms.

  ***

  He’d heard the scream soon after leaving the barn and was rushing in that direction when the sound of the gunshots came.

  He spotted Ron through a gap in the trees but was still too far away to use the shotgun. After lowering his head, he called out to Ron, who was firing randomly up at the treehouse.

  “Did you get them?”

  Ron turned at the sound of his voice and stared at him. His voice was nothing like Dominic’s, and yet, he wore Dominic’s Yankee cap and was carrying the shotgun. But then, Ron realized that the man’s height and clothes were all wrong.

  Traversing the mental gap between confusion and certainty had taken Ron three seconds, and in that short space of time another gap had closed, and Ron was now in range of the shotgun.

  Ron took aim just as the shotgun roared. Steel pellets dug into Ron’s midsection and he found himself on his back and looking up at the bottom of the tree house. When he gasped, he felt a searing pain in his chest, and when he touched himself, his fingers came away red.

  The gun was still in his hand, but he only became aware of that fact when it was ripped from his grasp by the man who had shot him.

  “Am I gonna die?” Ron asked, in a voice that sounded as if it came from far aw
ay.

  The man answered his question by smashing the butt of the shotgun against his forehead, and then the world faded to black.

  ***

  “Michael! Summer! Are you all right?”

  He heard shuffling sounds from above and then Michael peeked his head out.

  “We’re okay and we’re coming down.”

  Michael helped Summer climb out and onto the top rung, and soon they both reached the ground.

  Michael gazed down at Ron’s bloody form with wide and curious eyes.

  “Is he dead?”

  “I think he’ll live if an ambulance gets here soon,” White said, and then he stared at his brother. He had never seen an adult face so devoid of guile or wariness, and for a moment, he wondered if Michael were normal.

  But then he smiled, because he knew that he would accept him no matter what. He had felt a sense of familiarity upon his first meeting with Jeffrey and he was getting that same sense of remembrance with Michael.

  Summer handed him the gun she’d been unable to use and he took it, and then cocked his head to listen.

  “I hear sirens in the distance. Let’s head back to the barn and see to Weaver.”

  The three of them walked towards the barn, and as they did so, Summer held on to Michael’s hand.

  ***

  When she arrived on the scene, the town’s Police Chief recognized both Jessica and Summer from their appearance on The Jerry Schneider Show months earlier.

  She then had a question.

  “Were these three men serial killers like that guy Numerical?”

  Weaver answered her and explained who Dominic and the Ponte brothers were.

  “I was back in Chicago the other day and I think they must have become paranoid and thought that it had something to do with them, but it didn’t.”

  It took hours to clear up the mess, fill out reports, and take statements, but once it was over, the farm became peaceful again, although the barn was taped-off as a crime scene.

  Michael was with Summer, his brother, his mother, Jessica, and her father, Dr. White. Weaver was taken to the hospital for treatment, and would be there overnight.

  Michael had recognized Dr. White and asked him if he was there to keep him away from Summer again.

  The doctor stuttered out the word “No.”, and felt a pang of guilt for his previous actions concerning them, although he still believed that he had done what was best in the past, given the situation at the time.

  In all the commotion of the aftermath of the attack by Dominic and the Ponte brothers, Amanda hadn’t had time to speak with Michael, but as they all stood together in the huge kitchen of the old farmhouse, Amanda went to her son and took his face in her hands.

  “I’m your mother, Michael.”

  Michael stared at her for long moments and then a huge grin lit his face.

  “I dream about you sometimes. You’re the hush lady.”

  “The hush lady?” Amanda said, as her smile began to falter.

  “You used to sing to me,” Michael said, and then he began singing. “Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.”

  Amanda laughed and nodded while tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.

  “That’s right, that’s right; I used to sing the three of you to sleep with that song every night.”

  ***

  As White watched his mother and brother embrace, he left Jessica’s side to stand near them. He had no hope of Michael remembering him, and his only memory of Michael had surfaced during the time he had been recovering from near fatal gunshot wounds.

  It was a memory of a mannerism that Michael had as a child, when he used to touch him on the chest and call him brother.

  As Michael and Amanda separated, Michael stared at him as if seeing him for the first time.

  “You’re really my brother?”

  He said, “Yes Michael,” and held out his hand.

  Michael looked down at the offered hand and then extended his own, but at the last moment, he reached up and laid the palm of his hand against his brother’s chest.

  “Hello, brother.”

  He gave Michael a strange look and then gazed down at the hand pressed over his heart. An instant later, he took Michael in a fierce hug as he laughed, and it was the sound of pure joy.

  CHAPTER 21

  While Michael talked with his brother and mother privately, Jessica took a walk outside with Summer.

  “Am I right to assume that your hostility towards me stems from the dislike you hold towards my father?” Jessica asked.

  Summer stopped walking and looked back at the house, where Dr. White sat on the porch.

  “I hated that man for years for keeping Michael and me apart, and yeah, I guess I took it out on you because you followed in his footsteps.”

  “My father only did what he thought was right, you do know that?”

  Summer nodded, although it was with reluctance.

  “I can see that now, but when I was eight, it was like the world ended and I lost my only friend.”

  “But you and Michael reconnected, when was that?”

  “It was today, Jessica. Robert Weaver tracked Michael down for my book and we arrived here just before you came.”

  Jessica looked confused.

  “But you and Michael seem so relaxed and natural with each other; I thought that you might even be lovers.”

  Summer grinned.

  “Michael is like a big brother to me and he hasn’t changed at all. He’s taller and older, but he’s still my Michael... and I care about him.”

  Jessica held out her hand.

  “Can we call a truce and be civil to each other?”

  Summer hesitated, but then shook her hand.

  “You’re part of Michael’s family now, and so we should be friends for his sake.”

  Jessica looked at Summer carefully. Despite the talk of thinking of Michael as a brother, Summer did have strong feelings for him, and Jessica wondered if someday their friendship might turn into something else. She hoped not, because she didn’t like Summer, nor did she trust her.

  ***

  In the basement of the farmhouse, Michael was showing his brother and mother his workshop.

  There were tools everywhere and some appeared to be ancient, but Michael spent most of his time at a small table where he hand-carved the pieces for the custom chess sets he created.

  The sets were exquisite, and each of the kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns were carved from alabaster. Michael also created the chessboards and tables, and they too were works of art and fine craftsmanship.

  Above the table was a corkboard filled with pictures of the custom chess sets he had created over the years, and when White looked at a sheet that held blank invoices, he realized that he recognized the name on it.

  “Michael, you’re the owner of Pawn Storm Chess Sets? I’ve bought three sets from you over the years, two as gifts.”

  Michael grinned.

  “Which sets were yours?”

  “The set I have at home is your standard set, but Jessica ordered a custom civil war set for her father, and last year I ordered a custom set for a friend who’s a professor of economics. His name is Tyler Davidson.”

  Michael nodded.

  “Ah, the economists, I didn’t like that one much, they all looked so stuffy and serious.”

  Amanda picked up a pawn. It was the exact likeness of the famous writer Edgar Allan Poe.

  “Michael, you’re an absolute artist, and do you mean to tell me that you two have done business in the past?”

  “Grandma ran the business side for me,” Michael said. “I’ve tried to keep up, but I forget things easily and paid several bills late. The power company even cut off the lights last month.”

  “Do you need money, Michael?” White asked.

  Michael smiled and waved a hand at that.

  “I’ve got money; I just don’t have a head for it.”

  “Are you s
ure, Michael, because we don’t mind helping you out,” Amanda said.

  Michael slid open a drawer and took out a bank statement for his company, Pawn Storm Chess Sets. After he handed it to Amanda, her mouth dropped open.

  “You’re doing well, very well.”

  “I’m not surprised,” White said. “The three sets we bought from Michael all cost several thousand a piece, but maybe you should hire an assistant to help you.”

  “Or,” Amanda said. “He could come and live with us, or at least near us.”

  Michael looked back and forth at them.

  “I guess, and I can’t stay here because of that um, domain thing, which just means that the state is kicking me off the land.”

  “I know that you’ve lived here most of your life, but consider it, Michael, please?” Amanda said.

  “Does Summer live near you?” Michael asked, “Because I’d like to live near her.”

  “I’m not sure where Summer is staying right now,” White said. “But I do know that she was living nearby.”

  “At least come for a visit soon, all right?” Amanda said.

  “I’ll do that, and I want to see that niece and nephew you said I have. I love kids.”

  Amanda moved forward suddenly and took Michael in her arms.

  “Oh, my sweet boy, oh Lord it’s so good to have you back.”

  Michael kissed her on the cheek and then smiled at his brother.

  ***

  After everyone else had left the farm, Summer stayed behind.

  Rather than find a hotel room for the night, Summer took Michael up on his offer to use one of the spare bedrooms.

  It wasn’t until the two of them were alone that Summer wondered if he would ask to sleep with her, but then she remembered that Michael never thought of her that way, and she grew relaxed again.

  Summer had nothing modest to wear as a nightgown since she generally slept in the nude. So after showering, she changed into a pair of white shorts and a yellow sweatshirt and joined Michael out on the front porch, where she sat across from him in a wooden Adirondack chair.

  “It feels odd to be back here after so many years,” Summer said.

  “Why didn’t you come back to see me sooner?” Michael asked, and Summer could hear the hurt in his tone.

  “Oh Michael, I wasn’t trying to stay away from you, it’s just that I was always so afraid that you would have changed or forgotten me completely.”