Obsession: Loving an Alpha Male

by S. K. Lessly

  The moment he turned to the people in the room, he calmed his breathing and realized the room was in chaos.

  The women in the room were screaming and crying, and he heard, “Get that crazy son of a bitch away from my son. I’ll have you arrested for this how dare you…”

  Josh, rage still fueling him, looked at the elder Baxter and said, “Where were you when he fucking kidnapped her, huh? Where the fuck was you when your fucking son was playing Russian roulette with her life and got off watching her struggle to breathe?” Josh moved to within inches of the old man’s face. He said with a calm he didn’t feel, “Your son is a sick fuck, and you are fucking lucky I don’t put him out of his misery right fucking now.”

  No one said a word in the room. Noah’s father simply looked down at his unconscious son then back at Josh.

  “But say something else, and I will break his fucking neck right in front of you.” Josh stared at Noah’s father until he looked away.

  “What is the meaning of this, Jim?” Kenya’s father asked.

  Josh looked his way. Misty came to him with a towel, and he wiped some of the blood from the nose he undoubted broke on Noah.

  Josh scoffed, “Wow, like you really give a fuck.”

  “Man, who are you?” Curtis asked, frustration etched in his voice.

  “You must be her brother, Curtis.” Josh replied, feeling himself calming.

  “Curtis Frost?” Misty added.

  Josh looked over at her then back at Curtis.

  “Yeah, that’s me, but who are you fucking people? Why are you here? How the hell can you help my sister, and what the fuck do you want in return?”

  Misty looked at Josh. “Since you downgraded your duties, command wants you to train two newbies under your house. They happen to be Curtis Frost and Jesse Markinson.”

  Josh looked at her stunned.

  She shrugged. “I was supposed to tell you once you got back from London.”

  Josh looked back at Curtis and eyed him more intently. He then looked at the man standing slightly behind him.

  “I take it you’re Jesse?”

  Jesse simply nodded.

  Josh looked at his brothers and shook his head. He took a few deep breaths. This was unreal to say the least. Josh decided he would explain himself to only Curtis, since in fact he had been out of the loop for a while.

  “Your sister and I met while she was living in Pittsburgh. I don’t have the patience to tell you anything further but this, she’s mine, and I’ll be the one that’s going to find her and bring her home.”

  “That’s outrageous! No daughter of mine would purposefully date a white man, especially when she’s married to that man you just beat senseless.”

  Josh frowned, disgusted with the sight of her father and didn’t have a problem with telling him, “You are a fucking disgrace as a father and a man. For you to have treated your own daughter as if she was a fucking nuisance when all she ever wanted was you to love and accept her makes you lower than the people that have her now. Someone like you should be laid to pasture and put out of his fucking misery. That sick twisted motherfucker was choking out your daughter every night for a week, and you didn’t notice. He had her locked in a basement, chained to a fucking bed, but you didn’t have a clue. You accepted that asshole because you were too fucking glad someone finally took her off your hands to care what was happening to her.”

  Kenya’s father puffed out his chest and was about to say something when the phone started ringing. Josh stopped Kenya’s father from answering it.

  Josh moved closer and said, “Do what I say and don’t fuck up. If you do, I will kill you.”

  Kenya’s mom started crying again, and Kenya’s dad cursed.

  Curtis said to Josh, “I hope you have two point five million dollars.”

  Josh looked over at Junior, but he was already on the phone. He nodded, and Josh motioned for Kenya’s father to pick up.

  The same masked man he saw on the video before came on the screen.

  “It seems you have company. Didn’t I tell you not to call the Feds?”

  “I’m not the Feds. Who I am, though, isn’t of your concern. You want two point five million dollars. I can give it to you right now for the life of the girl.”

  The man spoke in rapid Spanish, announcing to someone that wasn’t in view what he saw on his end. Josh replied in kind, asking for him to remove the mask and quit playing this fucking game. Josh could only see the eyes of the man, and he could tell he was surprised.

  “Look, I don’t have time for this shit. I want Kenya back, you want money. Let’s make a deal. You’re going to sell her anyway, why not sell her to me?” Josh barked.

  “You seem so eager to have her back. Where’s her husband? He’s the one that sold her to me to pay off a debt that he owed.” The man asked, his eyes falling on Noah’s father.

  Josh said, “She was never married. As a matter of fact, she was never his to begin with to bargain for. The intel you got was a rouse by the CIA in order for them to apprehend you. She is no one’s responsibility in this room but mine. Tell me what you want so I can get her back, the sooner the better.”

  Josh heard a voice in the background, and the man on the screen nodded, “The amount of money I will make on her is something you can’t pay.”

  “Why don’t you stop fucking talking shit and tell me how much?”

  “Five million dollars is what you will pay to get her back.”

  Josh looked incredulously. “You want five million dollars right now?”

  The man shrugged. “It’s not our fault you came to the party late.”

  Josh waited a beat as if he was thinking. He knew he had the money. That wasn’t the issue.

  He said finally, “Before I agree, I need proof of life. I saw what you did to her, and before I pay you shit I want to know she’s still alive. And you better not lay a hand on her from this moment on, or I’ll hunt each and every one of you down and kill you slowly.”

  The man laughed. “That’s colorful. We can provide proof of life.”

  Josh folded his arms.

  “Show me now, and I’ll wire you half now. We then work out a swap, and I’ll forward you the rest at the same time as the exchange.”

  “No, all of the money. I show you she is alive, and we work out an exchange,” the man replied back.

  Josh shook his head. “Listen, pendejo, I really don’t give a fuck about you or what you have going on with these fucking people behind me. I want my woman back now. So if you want this money, we can do business. I don’t give a shit about the money. I need assurances you will hand her over to me and not kill her or sell her to someone else.”

  The man remained silent as he obviously was listening to someone else in the room.

  Finally he said, “Fine, wire three million now, and we’ll show you proof.”

  Josh turned and looked at Junior. Junior opened his computer and hit a few keys. He looked at Josh when he was ready.

  Josh turned to the screen, “Give me the routing numbers to the bank you want the money sent to.”

  The man read off a series of numbers, and Junior typed them in, and when he had successfully wired the funds, he looked back up at Josh.

  Josh turned back to the screen. “Check to see if you have the money. Then show me that she’s still alive. I want live feed and not some picture of her. I want to see you prove she is still breathing.”

  “Alright, we can do that as soon as we confirm we have the money.”

  Josh waited a beat, hoping that the trace they had on the money was working. He knew he kept this guy on the line long enough for Nickels to get a trace. But he would keep him on as long as possible to make this happen.

  Finally the man nodded. “Okay, ready to see your lady?” He laughed and covered the camera.

  It didn’t matter to Josh either way. He stood stock–still and waited. After a few minutes, they removed the covering, and he found a figure not moving lying on a dirt floor.<
br />
  “Hey you, are you still alive?” a voice asked.

  She didn’t move.

  “Kenya!” Josh called out. He figured there was audio still set up, and he hoped she would respond. When she didn’t, he tried again. This time he said her name louder, “Sweets, baby, it’s me!”

  He heard her moan again, and she tried to move.

  “No, Sweets, don’t move, just hold on for me, okay? I got your message, and I’m coming to get you. Did you hear me?”

  He didn’t hear a sound then the next thing he saw was a hard kick to her leg. She screamed out in pain, and it racked not only her body but Josh’s.

  He heard rapid Spanish, and this time he heard what was said, and he knew the voice wasn’t the man he’d been talking to.

  “So you see she’s alive. We will call in thirty minutes with a place to meet us. You will wire the funds the moment we call.”

  The call ended, and Josh stood there not moving. He was trying to calm his breathing. He wanted to murder them. He couldn’t wait to get his hands around their throats and watch the life leave their eyes.

  Josh turned to Junior. “Tell me you know where they are?”

  Junior didn’t answer. He kept punching keys.

  “Junior!” Josh yelled.

  “Give me a second, damn it.”

  “We don’t have a second.”

  “So what do you think you’re going to do? Go in there guns blazing?” Noah’s father scoffed.

  “If need be, yes.”

  “And how do you think that’s going to end for her. You’re out of control, and you’re going to get my daughter killed.” Kenya’s father added.

  “I agree. We will contact the police once they name where she will be dropped, and they will take it from here.” Noah’s father exclaimed.

  “The last thing you will do is, call the police. You will stay out of it and out of my way. If I said I’ll bring her home then that’s what I’m going to do,” Josh replied.

  Wayne stepped up and said to Josh, “How do you expect these people to trust you. You came in here attacking that man, dropping millions of dollars then tell her family to stay out of it. You seem to be unstable and out of your fucking mind. Why don’t you let us handle it from here? Clearly we know and love her more than you could ever do.”

  Josh’s eyes fell on Wayne. He expected to see more from the man, a presence or something, but he saw a lost soul with the same pain in his eyes as he saw in Kenya.

  Josh knew he was running out of time, so he made what he said brief and to the point.

  “The woman that you knew is still missing. She was lost to you and this family. You actually let her go. You let that son of a bitch, come here,” he pointed to Noah, “and take her without a fight. If anyone in this fucking room gave a shit about her, she would be right here with you. That useless son of a bitch wouldn’t have had the opportunity to touch her.

  “So instead of coming to you for help, she decided to run away and never speak or see you all again. How does that feel? She had to leave you in order to survive and live, and it’s crazy. No matter what she did to save herself, she’s still wrapped up in your shit, and some sick fuck has beat the shit out of her because of something you all are in. And what the hell have you done to try and get her back?” Josh pointed to Noah’s father. “You’re listening to the very son of a bitch who’s got her in this situation in the first place. All of you gave up your rights to fucking care. You didn’t fight for her, but here I am fighting for the woman that means more to me than my fucking life. I’m going to get her back and in one piece. I will not fail.”

  Josh looked at his team. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 21

  Joshua

  Just when Josh moved to leave with his team, more people arrived. Diane, Jacks and a few of her team members stood in the way of the front door.

  “You aren’t going to do anything, Cooper,” Diane barked.

  Josh didn’t look at her, instead he looked at Jacks.

  Misty walked up to Jacks and asked, “What the fuck are you doing with this bitch?”

  Jacks kept his eyes on Josh. Josh could still see the bruises left on his face. Misty however, wouldn’t let Jacks ignore her, so she punched him in the chest.

  “I went to back for you, you fucking idiot.”

  Jacks frowned and looked down at Misty. “You know damn well he’s out of control, and for what? Someone else’s wife? He’s going to get this woman killed for his selfishness. I’m here to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

  Misty shook her head and stood back and looked at Diane while saying to Jacks, “Wow, her pussy must be stellar to have you wrapped around her little pinky. But I’m going to let you enjoy her shit. When you find out the truth, you’re not fucking welcomed back, in my opinion. No matter what you feel or how fucked up a situation is, you don’t side with the enemy.” Misty looked at Josh. “Let’s go get Kenya.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere,” Diane said again. She looked at Josh. “Let us do our jobs. We will find her.”

  Josh breathed out. “We’ve already found her. And I’m going to go and get her.”

  Diane shook her head. “You don’t understand, Josh.”

  Josh, growing frustrated, said, “No Diane, you don’t understand. Your fuck up is the reason why she’s there. She got kidnapped and beaten because of you. You placed her in harm’s way when I clearly told you not to. You involved her in this shit storm, creating a fake marriage license and practically pointed them to her. Again your fuck up, and I’m going, like always, to clean up your shit.”

  Josh and his brothers moved to the exit, and some of Diane’s boys moved to meet them.

  Josh kept his eyes on one of her men and said, “Let me tell you how this is going to go, Diane. You’re going to tell your men to move and let us go, or it’s going to get messy, and you know I don’t mind messes.”

  “Josh, be reasonable.”

  “Fuck reasonable, Diane. I was reasonable back in Pittsburgh when I told you not to bring trouble her way. I was specific, I didn’t hesitate, or did I speak in a language you couldn’t understand?” Josh turned and looked at her, “Tell you what, if you get there before me, you can have who you want. But there are two that I know for sure belong to me. Now it’s your choice.”

  Junior stood. “Josh, we have to go now.”

  Josh moved to the door and just as he was about to hit the man in front of him in the throat, he moved.

  Josh and his team filed out quickly with Junior saying, “It will take us twenty minutes to get there.”

  “Hey, Cooper…”

  Josh turned around to find Curtis and Jesse running up to them.

  “I want to go save my sister.”

  Josh shook his head. “This isn’t a fight you should be getting into before you even get your feet wet in the unit.”

  Curtis frowned. “I don’t care about that shit. I care about my sister and getting her back safe.”

  Shane rolled down the window. “We don’t have time for this shit, bro, we gotta go.”

  “Fine get in. Junior, I want that phone call to come to my phone.”

  “You got it.”

  ****

  The moment they arrived where they were holding Kenya everything happened so fast. His phone rang, and he was informed where to meet and when. Josh told them the moment he saw her face he would send them the funds.

  Of course they weren’t happy with that, so he offered majority of the money to be sent then the rest once he saw her face. They reluctantly agreed, and Josh sat there waiting for any movement from the large house, and nothing happened. The meeting place was a half an hour away, and they hadn’t moved in ten minutes after the call.

  Josh called Junior. “What does the layout look like? Can you see where they’re holding her?”

  “I’m using the heat recognition satellite that the NSA just put in space. So far I can’t be certain,” Junior told him.

  “On the tape she in
dicated she was underground. She saw a few rooms but no windows. She also called out the number of guys she saw.” Josh offered.

  Curtis, who was sitting behind him said, “You heard that too? I thought it was weird when I heard it.”

  “She plays this virtual reality game with a friend of hers from college. She always asks me questions about operational strategy and tactics. I told her it’s important that if you get captured and you’re able to get a hold of someone to help you, you tell them everything you can as quick as you can to help them find you.” Josh turned and looked at her brother, “She listened.”

  “Coop, I think I found her. There’s a lone figure in the southeast corner. No one’s surrounding it though, so I don’t know if it’s her or not.”

  Junior sent picture to his cell phone.

  “It’s her. Let’s move.” Josh looked at Malcolm, and he nodded.

  One of the tactics Josh told Kenya when ambushing a building was the element of surprise. The way they hit this house was no surprise. They hit the building on three sides and hard. Josh went through the house with swiftness and without prejudice. Shooting his way inside, and after that, doing and using whatever necessary to bring anyone he came close to down. He didn’t bother with a body count as he moved, his primary focus was on one person, Kenya.

  Everyone split up in teams, and Shane went with Josh in search of Kenya according to the directions Junior gave them. Ivan, Misty, and Jesse went to the left of the house to clear that section, and Stan, Malcolm, and Curtis went right to do the same. Once Josh and Shane made it to the bottom floor of the house, they searched every room and door they could find, but they couldn’t locate her. Just when he was about to call Junior, Shane found a small door with a pad lock, and it looked to be booby trapped with C4 and a mechanism attached that Josh hadn’t seen before.

  Josh got close to the door, and it was that moment the timer on the trigger started counting down.