Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5)

by Bernadette Marie

  Lucas.

  Where was Lucas?

  Chelsea began to feel faint. She began to scream for help. Looking at her phone, she went to dial 911, and that was when she noticed the message from Phillip.

  Her heart pained, and she grabbed her chest. “No! No! No!”

  She couldn’t lose control now. She needed to help her husband and his mother and find her son.

  Somehow she managed to dial 911, and just as the operator answered, Ben ran in from the back as Gerald ran up the ramp at the front.

  She explained what was happening as Gerald went straight to his mother.

  “Is she shot?” Chelsea asked, afraid of the answer?

  “No. They hit her in the head with the butt of the gun.” He didn’t pick it up, but he looked at it. “It’s Russ’s gun.”

  Her breath came quicker now. “Ben get a towel and press it to her head,” she ordered him, and he ran to the kitchen.

  “Russ,” she tried to shake him. “Russ, wake up.”

  She lowered her head to his face. His breathing was shallow, but he was alive. She pressed her fingers to his neck and made out his weak pulse. What could have possibly happened?

  The sound of tires on the drive had her moving from her position and running outside. Phillip ran toward her.

  “He’s gone!” She gripped his arms. “He took Lucas. We have to find him.”

  “What’s going on in the house?”

  “Glenda and Russell are unconscious. Help me get my son!”

  Now he gripped her and looked her in the eyes. “They told me you called 911. I’ve called out to all the units. They have eyes out. I’ll have them block all entrances to town from out here, and I’ll call every city that can be accessed from these roads. He’s not going to get far. All of Georgia knows he might be headed this way.”

  “Might? My son is gone, and my husband is laying in there next to his mother.”

  “You have to calm down and tell me what’s going on in the house.”

  She tried to take a deep breath, but it only made her dizzy. “He hit Glenda in the head with Russ’s gun.”

  “Why did he have a gun?”

  “He didn’t. It was in the truck the night he wrecked. It was stolen from the truck.”

  “And Russell?”

  “He’s unconscious. As if he were drugged.”

  “What did he take?”

  “I gave him Tylenol. I took them off the counter and…” Her eyes grew wide. “They weren’t the right color,” she said remembering them. “Oh, my, God! I should have known they weren’t the right things. But I was talking to Glenda and she was telling me about the nurse that came today and checked his med…” The words stuck in her throat and Phillip took hold of her shoulders.

  “Listen to me very carefully. I have to make a call. We’ll get an Amber Alert out right away."

  “Paramedics are on their way. I want you to go in and find that bottle. I’m going to attend to Glenda and Russ. Who else is here?”

  “Gerald and Ben.”

  “Okay. You go get the bottle.”

  She nodded and ran into the house. Gerald had the towel pressed to his mother’s head, and Ben was trying to wake Russell.

  She ran into the kitchen and picked up the bottle.

  The regular two-colored Tylenol had been emptied out. The pills she’d taken out were white, and she should have noticed they weren’t right. She’d drugged her own husband.

  She took the bottle and ran back to the front door. Gerald was still holding a towel to his mother’s head, and she was moaning from the pain.

  Ben had Russell lifted into a seated position, and he slipped in and out of consciousness. Phillip was on the front step on his phone.

  Glenda batted her eyes and looked toward Chelsea. “She took him. She took Lucas.”

  Chelsea knelt down next to her as Phillip walked back through the door. “She?”

  “The nurse that came earlier, when Russell was gone.”

  Chelsea looked up at Phillip, who winced at Glenda’s words.

  “I just got word that Fiona Cleary left the detox center three days ago. She just walked out.”

  Chelsea sat back on the step right behind her and put her head between her knees. This couldn’t be happening again. She wasn’t sure her heart could take it.

  Russell opened his eyes and leaned against his brother. “Silver car,” he muttered. “Sped away.”

  Phillip moved toward him. “You saw the car? Did you see Lucas?”

  Russell fought to keep his eyes open. “Where’s Lucas?”

  Phillip looked at Chelsea, and now tears fell quickly. “Chels, we’re going to find them. Eric is headed to town, too. Dane is in town, and he’s driving around. Now I can tell them what to look for. All units are on the lookout, and an Amber Alert has been issued. We’re going to have him back here before bedtime, Chels. I promise.”

  She lowered her head again between her knees. This had to be a bad dream. All she wanted to do was wake up.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  There was a police officer at each end of the hospital hallway. The noises of the emergency room nearly drove Chelsea crazy.

  They’d given her something to keep her calm, and she hated them for it. How could she possibly help find her son when she drugged up seated in a chair next to her husband in the emergency room?

  Glenda had been stitched up, but they were going to keep her for observation. As horrible as it sounded, Chelsea was glad that she’d been hit with the gun, and not shot.

  It was nearly eleven o’clock at night when Russell finally stirred. They’d given him an IV and monitored him.

  “Chels,” Russell said weakly as he reached for her hand. “I’m sorry.” His voice was weak. “I couldn’t get to them fast enough.”

  “I should have been there, Russ. I shouldn’t have let him out of my sight—ever.”

  “Shhh, Phillip will find him,” he promised.

  She rested her head on the bed next to him, and he smoothed his hand over her hair.

  Before midnight, Phillip pushed back the curtain and stepped toward the bed where Russell lay. Chelsea lifted her head.

  “Did you find them? Tell me you…”

  “Not yet.”

  Perhaps it was okay they’d given her something, she thought now. Otherwise, she was sure she’d have had a heart attack.

  “The prints on Russ’s gun were Fiona Cleary’s.”

  Chelsea’s hand came to her mouth to keep the sob from escaping. “She took my son.”

  He nodded. “We’ll find them.” He stepped closer to the bed. “We confirmed she was the one who sent Wesley for the truck. She was the one at the bar who broke up your fight.”

  Russell blinked hard. “Was she there when they arrested him?”

  Phillip shook his head. “We think she might have been the one to run you off the road.”

  “Seeking some revenge?”

  “Wesley’s head was a lot clearer in the past few days.” Phillip snorted. “He suddenly knew who she was and remembered her telling him about you. Seems as though when she figured out who you were, she wanted you out of the picture.”

  “I shouldn’t have been an issue,” he said, his voice clear now. “Chelsea and I weren’t together.”

  She reached for his hand. “It was a sore spot in our marriage. I might have, on more than one occasion, mentioned to Dominic that I’d wished I hadn’t left you.”

  She expected him to be mad, but a smile crossed his lips. “So, she was taking out revenge on me?”

  Phillip nodded. “Seemed like if she could get you out of the picture, all the better. But I think her main purpose for getting the truck, was to get Lucas and head to Dominic.”

  Chelsea pressed her fingers to her temples. “I can’t believe this is happening again.”

  “He’ll be home soon, Chels.”

  ~*~

  Chelsea had fallen asleep with her head on the side of Russell’s hospital bed while she st
ill sat in the chair.

  Now that his head was clear, he wondered how she was even coping, because his heart was broken into a million pieces. He hated that he wasn’t out there, trying to find their son. Oh, and if he saw Dominic Cleary, he’d kill the man with his bare hands.

  As the nurse came in around four in the morning, she smiled at him, noticing Chelsea with her head on his bed.

  “She doesn’t look comfortable.”

  “I’m sure she’s not. I’m surprised she slept at all. This has to be killing her.”

  The nurse nodded. “They gave her something to calm her. I guess it did the trick. They have your mom on the fourth floor.” She looked at her chart. “You had elevated levels of GHB in your blood. Enough to knock you out quickly, but your bloodwork looks normal now. We’re going to start your discharge.”

  “Thank you.”

  She rested her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry about your son. I’m praying for him.”

  “I appreciate that,” he said, but he wanted to break down and cry. He wanted to get in the car and look for him. He had seen the car. He knew what he was looking for. They could be in Texas already, and the thought they might hurt Lucas ripped him apart.

  He took a few deep breaths. Maybe they’d take care of him until they found him. Maybe, if Fiona were with Dominic, together, they’d do what was best for Lucas. They had to have done this to have him near, not to hurt him. Russell had to believe that.

  By six o’clock, Russell was signing his discharge papers, and gratefully climbing into a wheelchair so that his wife could take him home. Phillip pushed open the curtains, as he had earlier in the night.

  Chelsea ran right to him and placed her hands on his chest. “You found him. Is he okay? You have him?”

  Phillip took her hands and held them in his. “Not yet. We’ve had sightings of the car though. I just talked to Lydia. I think you should go to her house until we have more word. You’ll be close by then.”

  They both nodded. At that same moment, Chelsea’s phone rang in her pocket. She quickly pulled it out and looked at the number.

  “I don’t know who this is,” she said, and Phillip moved in.

  “Answer it.”

  “Hello,” she said with her voice shaking. Russell watched as her eyes grew big, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. “He’s okay? Tell me he’s okay. Where are you? I want my son back!”

  Her breath shook, and her chest heaved. Phillip took her shoulders and guided her to the chair behind her before taking his phone out.

  She hung up and looked at them. “It was Dominic. They are at my house and…

  “Get the son-of-a-bitch,” Russell fired off.

  “Wait!” she yelled, and heads turned. “Phillip, he has Lucas. He has his mother restrained. He doesn’t want to scare Lucas so he wants us to go to the house and get him.”

  Russell shook his head. “This sounds like an ambush.”

  Phillip nodded. “We’ll be careful. This is what we deal with. I’ll be in touch.”

  “No,” she said again. “He said I need to come. Phillip, I trust him. You didn't hear his voice. If he said he’s going to give me Lucas…”

  “You trust him?” Russell fixed his stare on her. “How in the hell can you trust him? You’re crazy.”

  “I have to. My son’s life is on the line.”

  “Our son, and what’s he going to do if this is an ambush, and Lucas loses you?”

  “I have to go.”

  Phillip stepped in closer. “Let’s go. Both of you in my car. I have units moving into place right now. No one is getting hurt today.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  As was the way of the Walker family, Russell noticed that everyone was there to rally for them. When Phillip drove down the street leading to Chelsea’s house he saw the trucks that belonged to each of his brothers, and Gia’s car. Jake and his brother, Todd, stood on the corner a block away, and just beyond them—their sisters, Pearl, Bethany, and Audrey stood on the next corner.

  Pride swelled in his heart. If the son-of-a-bitch tried to flee, he’d feel the wrath of a Walker revenge.

  Phillip pulled up in front of the house and turned on his spotlight. Two other police cars pulled up on either side of him and pinned him in.

  He turned to Chelsea in the back seat. “Do you have that vest on?”

  She nodded.

  Russell winced at the thought. “I don’t like this. Let me wear it and go for him.”

  Phillip shook his head. “He wants to work with Chelsea. You can’t even walk that far.”

  Oh, but he would, he thought.

  “I don’t have any plans that she’s walking into that house. If he called her, he wants this to go down well, right?” Phillip reasoned. “Call him,” he told Chelsea.

  She pulled her phone out of her pocket, turned it to the speaker, and redialed the number he’d called on.

  “Chelsea, are you with the cop?” Dominic’s voice rang out in the car, and Russell bit back everything he had not to go off on the man.

  “I’m here. I want my son, Dominic.” Her voice had risen with anger.

  “You’ll get him. Let me talk to the cop.”

  “I’m here, Dominic,” Phillip said in a stern, calm voice.

  “Listen. I don’t wanna get shot. I broke parole in Texas.”

  “I know.”

  “Yeah, well I did it coz I knew my mom was going to go after Lucas.”

  Phillip exchanged glances with Chelsea. “She told you?” he asked.

  “Yeah. She was going to head to me in my truck, but she said she hit something.”

  “She did,” Phillip kept him talking. “Is your mother with you now?”

  “Yeah,” he said and they could hear her yelling at him. “I have her tied to a chair in the kitchen until you take her in. Listen, like I said, I wasn’t in on this. My mom has lost her mind I tell ya. Lucas is pretty scared.”

  Chelsea covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Dominic continued, “She didn’t hurt him. You need to know she just wanted to be with him. She figured it was our turn to take care of him, but this ain’t the way to do it.”

  Phillip rested his hand on her shoulder before speaking again. “Do you have any weapons?”

  “Just one. It’s a gun. It’s not mine,” he clarified. “I took it from her when I ambushed her.”

  Phillip's eyes widened. “You ambushed your mother?”

  “Yes, sir. I don’t want to be the one in trouble here, and I don’t want the kid hurt.”

  “Did your mom hurt him?”

  Russell took Chelsea’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He was fighting everything he had inside him not to run into that house.

  “No. She would never hurt him. She’s always thought she should raise him and not Chelsea. She’s not right, sir. But she wouldn’t hurt him.”

  “Okay, Dominic, let’s make a plan. I have armed police out here, and they’ll do what I tell them to. Now, they have to take you in since you broke parole.”

  “I know. Like I said, I did it so she wouldn’t hurt the kid.”

  Russell winced every time he called him the kid.

  “Where is Lucas?”

  “I put him in his crib and shut the door. He’s crying a lot.”

  “And your mother is in the kitchen?”

  “Yes, sir. Tied to a chair.”

  He motioned for officers to walk toward the car. Nearly silently, he instructed two officers to go to the bedroom and directed the other two to the back of the house, to the door to the kitchen.

  “Dominic, I have my men instructed not to shoot. I want you to walk out of the house with your hands on your head.”

  “I want to see Chelsea first. I want to know she’s here.”

  “We don’t want to see her hurt, Dominic.”

  “No, sir. I would never hurt her—again. This is for Lucas’s sake. I don’t want him going to anyone else. Like I said, he's scared.”

  “I’m
going to step out of the car with the phone. Chelsea will be right behind me.”

  Russell stepped out of the car, opened her door, and she slid out and stood next to him.

  “Okay, I have Chelsea. Now I want you to come out with your hands on your head.”

  “I need to get Lucas.”

  “No,” Phillip kept talking to him. “Lucas will be fine. Come on out.”

  “Okay,” he said, and they heard the phone drop.

  Chelsea’s heart had stopped and so had her breath. She waited for a shot to come from the door and hit her in the chest where she wore the vest, but she wasn’t so sure it would protect her.

  The door opened, and the lights from the cars flooded the doorway.

  Dominic Cleary walked out, just as Phillip had told him to, with his hands on the top of his head. He walked to the middle of the sidewalk, lowered to his knees, and then to his chest.

  Three officers ran to him, cuffed him, and moved him toward a waiting car.

  He turned his head and looked at her. “She’s crazy, Chels. I never would have done this to him,” Dominic called out as they put him in the back of one of the other cars.

  A few moments later his mother was brought through the front door with two officers who struggled with Fiona Cleary. Her hands were cuffed behind her and she fought against the officers.

  “She shouldn’t have that baby,” she hollered and it twisted in Chelsea’s gut. “She’s the one that stole him from us.”

  The officers took her to the other waiting car.

  Phillip handed Chelsea her phone. “I’m going in for Lucas. Keep that phone with you. I’ll pick up Dominic’s inside. Lucas is going to want to hear your voice.”

  Chelsea stood there behind the car door, and Russell moved, and slid out of the car to stand behind her.

  She listened as Phillip entered the house. Then she heard him pick up the phone. “Are you there.”

  “Yes. Is he okay?” she sobbed into the phone.

  “I don’t have him yet. I’m walking down the hall to his room.”

  She could hear him screaming for her, and it was tearing her heart into pieces.