by April Lust
“Where are you?” Jace demanded into the phone.
“Almost there.”
“Where? Isabella, do not go in there alone! Do you hear me?”
She responded with sobs. “I have to. I’m sorry.”
His phone beeped, telling him the call ended. What the hell? She hadn’t hung up, had she? He called back and it went right to voice mail. She’d shut her phone off. No, no. Was she nuts? He was on his feet and took two steps toward the door before the IV yanked on his arm. Pain shot through him and he cursed loudly. What a nightmare this whole thing was.
They must’ve planned this. Have him distracted with his house fire so he couldn’t protect Isabella and Sara. Keep him busy so he couldn’t go to her. Bullshit.
He peeled the tape back on his arm.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Aaron asked. He put his phone down. “I got five guys so far. They’re on their way.”
“I have to go now. Isabella is going to some farmhouse where Sara is and she shut off her phone. She’s going in there alone.”
Aaron sucked in a breath. “Where’s it at? We’ll get there fast.”
“That’s the best part.” Jace clenched his uninjured hand into a fist. “I have no fucking clue.”
Aaron picked up his phone again. “Small change of plans. I need you to go to Lionel’s HQ and beat someone to find out what farmhouse Sara is being held in where they told Isabella to go.” Aaron ended the call and looked at him. “On it. What else?”
Jace slid the needle from his arm and pressed the tape to the hole that was now spouting blood. “Tell me Daniel woke up and is just fine.”
Aaron scratched the back of his neck. “Daniel woke up and is just fine.”
Jace knew in his tone he was only repeating what he’d said because he’d told him to. Daniel wasn’t fine. Probably hadn’t woken up. “Dammit.” He punched the bed. “Someone call his wife?”
“I did myself.”
“Good on you. Let’s get out of here.”
“Don’t you need to check out or something?”
Jace glared at him. “You think we have time for that?”
Aaron turned and left the room, pausing to see that Jace was behind him.
They hurried through the halls, making sure no one had noticed they were gone. Jace pressed his good hand to the IV spot, which was still bleeding. At least it had tape over it so he wouldn’t bleed all over the place. They dashed to Aaron’s car, stuck on the top row of the large parking garage.
“Come on, come on.” Jace banged his good fist on the dash as they made their way out.
“I’m doing my best.” Aaron took the turns as fast as he could, but now he was behind a car that seemed terrified of the bends and was crawling along.
Jace almost ripped his hair from his head. He picked up his phone and called Isabella again. She didn’t answer, but in case she checked her messages, he said, “Listen to me, please. I know what they said, but they’re just going to take you, too, to get to me. Do not go in there alone, I’m begging you. We’re on our way. Please wait for us.”
“Crazy chick,” Aaron said.
“I guess when they have your kid, you do whatever they say.”
“Well, they ain’t going be saying anything at all when we’re through with them. Assuming the original plan is out the window.”
Jace looked at him with the rage and anguish raw on his face. “My only plan is for them to die. Painfully, if possible.”
Aaron nodded once. “Consider it done.” Aaron’s phone rang and he answered, “Tell me good news, man.” He paused to listen, then said, “494 Greenville Road. Head right there. Yup. Take them all out.”
He set his phone down. “You get that? That’s where the farmhouse is. GPS it.” He tossed the phone to Jace.
Jace typed in the address. Fifteen minutes away. That was an eternity. He set the phone in the holder attached to the window.
“We’ll get there in half the time,” Aaron said, and pressed the gas pedal harder. When the road cleared, he flew at twice the speed limit.
It still wasn’t fast enough for Jace. Nothing could be. He called Isabella again. No answer. She was probably there already. What could be happening right now?
“I need a gun. I only have my knife on me,” Jace said.
“Take the one in the glove compartment. It’s unregistered.”
Jace opened the compartment and took out the gun, checked the rounds. Full magazine. He had ten rounds to sink into those assholes. He tucked the gun into the back of his jeans and watched the progress on the GPS. They still had a few minutes to go.
He looked ahead on the empty road. In the distance, he saw a tall building. It grew closer. Tall and wood, the red paint chipping and the wood splintered. It looked abandoned. It looked like the perfect place to kill some people. That was probably what Lionel had thought, but little did he know he’d be the one getting killed today. Him and all his guys. Forget recruiting. Anyone affiliated with the Ghost Reapers in any way was going to die today. Hell, maybe he’d even take out their girls and kids. He was in that kind of a mood.
He saw a few bikes on the road up ahead. Aaron had called anyone who wasn’t involved in the fire at headquarters and it looked like five of his guys were there already, waiting. Aaron pulled the car over near them.
Jace got out of the car and looked at the farmhouse. Sitting off to the side was Isabella’s car. She was here. She was inside of the building. They had her. He wanted to charge in right now, but they had to be smart about it.
They slid off their bikes and gathered around him, looking for instructions from their leader. “Alright, here’s the plan. All Reapers die today. We’ll torch the place when we’re done. Scrap recruiting. I don’t want any of them. I want them all dead, and if you can make it painful, even better.”
One by one, they nodded. Alex punched his fist into his other hand. “Let’s get a move on, then.”
Chapter Twelve
Isabella could barely drive, she was crying so hard. She had been so relieved to hear from Jace and to know he was mostly okay. She felt bad that she hadn’t asked more about his house and what had happened, but they’d have time to discuss that later. She hoped. His house wasn’t totally destroyed, was it? Had anyone been hurt? As long as he was okay enough to talk to her and say he was coming. Even if he wasn’t coming. All that mattered was that he was okay. They didn’t have him and they wouldn’t get him if she was able to prevent it somehow. She’d do whatever she could to get Sara and keep Jace out of it. No reason for more people to get involved in this mess.
She had to hang up on him though. As badly as she wanted to keep hearing his voice, and she wanted to wait for him even more badly, she had no choice. The guy had been clear. No cops, no Jace. She already worried that being near the cop when she got the call had somehow messed things up. What if they had someone watching and they had seen there was a cop there? Would they rush things and kill Sara faster? Or hurt her somehow?
The thought of her being hurt made her want to throw up. The emotional damage was done. There was nothing Isabella could do about that now. They’d deal with it later. Maybe Sara would need some therapy or something. She might deal with anything from nightmares to shock. Who knew what they had done when they took her and how they were handling her now. Was it too much to hope that the person who was in charge of watching her was nice? Maybe he had kids, too? Maybe Sara thought it was all a game. Maybe somehow they’d told her that Mommy was coming and it’d all be okay.
That made her cry even harder because she knew it was so far from the truth. And the truth was too much to imagine.
She tried to focus on driving. She was getting close to the farmhouse. Just a few more minutes. What should she do when she got there? Just walk in? Would someone be outside waiting for her? How soon would she see Sara?
Then she saw it. It was a big building. An old farm. The farmhouse was wooden and red and looked like it was in disrepair. It looked abandoned or ha
unted or both. It was probably full of spiders and critters. Not that anything like that should be her concern at this moment, but she hated spiders and mice. All she’d need was to be in there, trying to get Sara, and have a mouse run across her path and scatter her thoughts. How perfect would that be.
She pulled her car up beside the building. There was no one out front. No welcoming party ready to snatch her from her car. This was the right place, right? She could barely think straight, her mind raced, and her hands were sweaty from her panic. She had to take in many breaths to steady herself.
This was madness, what she was about to do. Walk into an empty building where her daughter was being held captive by some dangerous men. Who knew what they’d do to her. She wasn’t trained to fight or protect herself in any way. She had the knife in her car, but she wasn’t going to take it in with her. Why should she? She didn’t know how to use it properly. She’d likely end up hurting herself worse than she’d hurt anyone else. So she really had nothing. No means to save Sara, no means to save herself.
Maybe she should wait for Jace. How soon would he be there? She hadn’t told him the address. At the time, it was more important for her to be there without him, but now she regretted it. Maybe she should call back and tell him? But then he’d come for sure, and he might get himself hurt. No. Enough people were involved in this already. She didn’t need to drag him into it again. Just get in there and get Sara and do it alone.
She looked up and down the street, hopeful despite herself that someone would show up and come to her rescue. There were no cars, no motorcycles that she could see.
With a trembling hand, she opened her car door. She had her purse and figured there was no benefit in taking it in with her. What was the etiquette for going to rescue your child from kidnappers? She slid her phone into her pocket and tucked her purse under her seat. Her car keys were in her other pocket.
She stepped one foot out, hitting dirt and sending a small puff of dust into the air. She turned and stepped her other foot down. She could do this. Sara needed her. Sara was right there, just on the other side of this wooden wall. She might be crying for her mommy right now. Isabella stood and closed the car door quietly. If she could somehow catch them off guard, that had to be to her benefit, right?
She walked slowly to the building. She listened hard, hoping to hear a motorcycle off in the distance, giving her a reason to wait. Something. Anything. A car? A truck? Someone happening to be passing by that she could call out to help her? As slowly as she walked, it wasn’t slow enough. No one came. She heard no one approaching.
The porch was low and looked like she would step right through it if she stomped or jumped on it. She stepped up carefully and slowly. When she got to the top and stood before the door, she turned and paused again. Nothing but stillness and a gentle breeze. It would be a nice, peaceful day if she wasn’t about to walk into chaos.
Was she about to walk into her death? Or into some sort of kidnapping situation? This probably was a very stupid thing. She was an idiot for going in alone. Jace would be mad. She should have told him where she was. At least then she could hope that he was on his way. She could have rescue fantasies of him busting in, his eyes blazing, his muscles popping, and he’d fight off the bad guys one by one, then scoop her into his arms and kiss her hard before turning to shoot another guy who came out of nowhere to attack them.
But that was the movies and this was real life, and he wasn’t coming. He had no idea where she was. It gave her some comfort to know that if he did know where she was, he’d already be on his way. He would always come for her, always protect her. How could she ever have doubted him? Now all she wanted was to have him close and to keep him close forever. How could she have sent him away and treated him so coldly? How could she have thought he was anything like these men who’d taken her daughter? He wasn’t. He’d never do a thing like this. Not for money or for revenge. But for her, he’d do anything.
If only she got the chance to see him again, she’d kiss him and tell him she was sorry and she’d fall into his arms and be his forever. And then they’d make passionate love and she’d never have to be scared again. He’d always be there for them, to protect them and comfort them. To wrap his strong arms around her and keep her safe.
Tears came to her eyes picturing all this. She had to let the image go. She wouldn’t see him again. He couldn’t get to her; she’d made sure of that. He couldn’t protect her, no matter how badly he wanted to. She’d go in there alone and she probably wouldn’t come back out. At least she’d be with Sara. At least they’d die together.
With one last deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed open the door. She stepped inside a room. The bright light of the day blinded her and she squinted, trying to see anything in the room. The door slammed shut. She hadn’t touched it. Her heart leapt to her throat and she tried to swallow.
A hand clamped around her mouth and something hard pressed against her head. She knew this feeling. She’d just gone through this days ago. Someone was pressing a gun to her head.
“Do not scream,” a voice said.
Another man rose from a chair in the next room. “Hell, let her scream. Ain’t no one around to hear her. Might be kinda fun.”
The man holding her dropped his hand from her mouth. She didn’t scream, though. She blinked faster to see in the dim room.
The only piece of furniture was the chair the man had been sitting in. An old armchair covered in a large cloth and a layer of dirt. When he stood, a cloud of dust followed him. The rest of the place was one large series of rooms, with wide doorways connecting them. A staircase leading upstairs in front of her had several steps missing. The steps that were still there were warped and looked like they wouldn’t hold much weight. In the light coming in through the windows, she saw beams of dancing dust and layers of grime on every surface. It smelled musty and old, like the doors hadn’t been opened in years. Maybe they hadn’t been before this. It was cooler inside than it had been in the hot sun, but it was sticky and the air didn’t move. The dirt in the air already seemed to be clinging to her skin and clothing.
She looked left and right through the rooms. Where was Sara? The only people here besides her were the man holding her and the other man who had been sitting on the chair. Did they lie? Was she really somewhere else?
“Where is she?” she whispered.
“I’ll take you to her,” the man who now faced her said. “Oh, forgive me. I should introduce myself. I’m Lionel. You may have heard of me.”
She wanted to spit on him. This was the man who’d hurt Jace. Who’d tried to kill him. Who sent a man to attack her. Who’d ordered Sara to be taken. Who’d brought her here. He was the reason all of this was happening. If she had a knife, she would stab him and kill him. But she was still glad she hadn’t brought it in. She wouldn’t be able to reach it and she probably wouldn’t be able to stab him anyway. She wasn’t good enough to pull that off.
“Come on, doll, let’s go see your darling little princess, shall we?” Lionel said.
She recognized his voice. He was the one who’d called her and told her to come here.
He grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her forward. The gun fell away from her head, but the gunman pushed her from behind. She stumbled and Lionel caught her.
“Wait until I tell Jace how you came willingly and fell right into my arms.”
“Jace?”
He laughed. “Why do you think you’re here? I tried to kill him once already, but I guess you know how that went. So, I figured, why not make it a little more fun? Send him on a chase to get you. Let him walk right into my trap.”
“He’s not coming,” she said through clenched teeth. “You said not to bring him and I didn’t.”
Lionel laughed again and shoved her toward a door. “He’s coming, don’t you worry, doll. He wouldn’t dream of letting you rot away here all alone. He loves you too much to let that happen.”
He said the words mockingly, but they ma
de her heart jump. Of course, she hadn’t known him long enough for him to fall for her like that, but maybe one day he would. He could fall in love with her and she could fall in love with him, and they could live happily ever after. Was he really on his way? It frightened and excited her to think of him rushing in the house, gun aimed, ready to shoot.
She shook the fantasy away again. He pushed her through the door and into the kitchen. There, on the floor, handcuffed to a pipe under an old ceramic sink, was Sara.
Isabella leapt forward to get to her, but Lionel reached out and grabbed her.
Sara cried out. “Mommy!” She reached for her, the handcuffs holding her little arms back stopped her. Her bunny, Cuddles, was in her lap, dirty and damp, probably from her tears. Her little face had tear trails running from her eyes down her cheeks. She looked dirty and exhausted, like she’d been crying and struggling for hours.
