“I’m sorry. This is not what I wanted to happen. None of this was meant to happen. No one was meant to get hurt.” I couldn’t believe this.
“All I wanted was to get some publicity for us. She told me that with all the news focusing on your family, it would bring us to the forefront again. But I swear, man; I never wanted anyone to get hurt. She told me we were just going to mess up the house a bit. It was never about hurting anyone or taking the baby.”
Staring at the pathetic waste in space in front of me, I put as much hate into my face as I could. I held up my wrists for him to untie me. If we were going to have this one-sided chat, I wasn’t going to be tied up for it.
“She said not to untie you until she got back.”
I didn’t move. Just continued to hold my hands out to him. He looked unsure, but eventually, he slowly came forward and removed the tape on my wrists. The second the last piece of tape was removed, I swung my arm out and smashed my fist into the face of the man who helped break my family. When he went down, I followed him down. I lost count of the number of times I hit him, but when I finished, I tied him to a chair I found in the room and texted Tate and Fear. It never occurred to me to call the police. This was a family thing, and if we wanted answers, I knew we would get them faster than they would.
I heard a car pull up, and I peered out the window to make sure it was Tate and Fear before opening the door and motioning them to follow me in. The moment they came into the main room, I pointed at Wink who was still unconscious and tied to the chair.
I had already written out a text to show my brother and Tate while I waited for them to arrive.
He hit me from behind and threw me in a van with a pillowcase on my head. After we came in, he told me none of this was his idea and that she said this and she said that. He said no one was meant to get hurt. He just wanted to get some more publicity. Apparently, she told him if I was in the news they would be, too. I have no idea who she is. I didn’t ask. I lost it and knocked him out and texted you.
“Why does he look so familiar?” Fear asked.
“He is from the band Talon sang with. His name is Wink,” Tate said, never taking his eyes off the man in the chair. “You okay?” Tate asked, turning to me and pulling me down to get a look at my head. I nodded; the hit didn’t really do anything too bad. The fall did more.
“Hey, wake up, fucker,” Fear said, kicking the chair leg. Wink groaned but didn’t wake.
“Wake the fuck up,” Tate tried, this time kicking Wink’s leg instead of the chair.
“Fuck,” Wink groaned.
“Where is Raven?” Fear demanded to know.
“I don’t know. Fuck, I think my nose is broken,” Wink complained. Was he for fucking real?
“Your fucking nose? What about my sister? She may never wake up, and you’re whining about your fucking nose?” Fear roared.
“I had nothing to do with what happened to your sister. I never laid a finger on her. I was told we were only going to mess up the house. Make it look like a break-in. Maybe steal some stuff. I didn’t know she was going to do that. It was never the plan to hurt anyone. I swear,” Wink tried to explain through his panic.
“Where is the baby?” Fear asked again.
“I swear I don’t know. She never told me anything about the baby. I only said I had the baby so I could get some money to leave town. I’m not a woman beater or a kidnapper.” Wink sounded as if he was begging us to believe him.
“Who is she?” Tate asked.
“I can’t say; she’s a psycho,” Wink said. Like we were going to stop asking now.
It took two hours to get the information from him. Wink was looking a little worse for wear, and by the time we turned him into the police station and passed on the information we had, it had been almost six hours since I’d seen my dad and everyone. Fear called and explained that I was okay, but it had been a long time since I’d walked out the door this morning.
Walking up the pathway and seeing Dad and Tristan standing there waiting for me brought about a rush of emotion I hadn’t been expecting. I grabbed my family in my arms and held on tight.
“Have they caught her?” my dad asked. Not letting go, I shook my head.
“They’re out looking for her. I still can’t believe it. The crazy bitch did this all for a fucking story,” Tate answered for me.
Wink had finally admitted Alexa Murphy had come up with the plan. She wanted to get back at the family for having humiliated her on live television. The Parkers for showing her up and Emily for lying and making her broadcast her lies. He claimed he never even went inside the house. When he saw the house wasn’t empty, he wanted to leave and come back later. It was Alexa, apparently, who went into the house and then came out with the baby. She told him she was going to return the baby, claiming someone had turned her over anonymously. Not only would she be a hero, but she would be in prime position to scoop the story. A story she would use to promote the band and give them the spotlight Wink wanted.
What type of woman would hurt someone as badly as she did and then steal a baby so she could scoop a story and dish some payback at the same time?
By the time nighttime rolled around, I was shattered and wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and sleep for a year. It was impossible, though. Raven was still out there somewhere and so was the evil woman that took her.
“Come with me,” Tate said, taking me by the hand and leading me up the stairs and into my room. “I know that sleep isn’t an option anytime soon. And sex is more than likely the last thing you want. But I need to check for myself that you are okay.” He slowly worked his hands over my chest, around to my back, and up underneath my t-shirt.
“Can I take this off?” Tate whispered. I nodded and helped him remove my shirt. “These, too,” he said, tugging open my jeans and pulling them down my legs, leaving me standing in nothing but my boxers.
I slowly started to pull up his T-shirt, exposing his defined chest. I wanted to feel him against me. Not waiting for more prompting, he quickly removed the rest of his clothes. He truly was a beautiful man. My beautiful man. I pulled down my underwear and allowed him lay me down on the bed. He immediately followed me down and put all his weight on me.
“I was so scared,” Tate said against my lips. I didn’t wait for him to say anything else; I pressed my lips against his and savored the taste, feel, and weight of him surrounding me. “I love you so much,” he said while looking into my eyes. I could feel his heart beating against mine. I love you, too, I thought to myself. Every touch of his made my body shiver with anticipation. I hadn’t seen him reach for the lube, but his slicked finger against my quivering opening felt amazing.
He slowly and gently worked me open, his eyes never leaving mine. The moment he pushed into me with his hard cock, I was complete. His movements were slow and all-encompassing. I had never felt so connected to him.
We had just cleaned up and were lying entwined in each other when Tate said, “Love you.” We didn’t go to sleep, just enjoyed each other’s warmth.
“We’ve found her,” Detective Polpa informed us all while we were at the hospital.
“Raven?” Tristan asked.
“Unfortunately no. Ms. Murphy is currently being questioned, and I hope to have some answers for you very soon,” Polpa replied. I was worried Detective Polpa was going to have Fear, Tate, and I arrested after the shape Wink was in when we handed him over. I was grateful to be wrong. Although I did think it had a lot to do with the fact they had fucked up and lost me.
Molly’s latest scan showed improvements in her brain activity; she was still being kept in a medically-induced coma. But the news was definitely promising and gave us a spark of hope. What we really wanted, though, was to have Raven home before Molly woke up.
The detective kept his word and was back within a few hours, telling us they had a lead on Raven’s whereabouts and would be back to let us know the outcome. I didn’t want to get my hopes up; I really didn‘t. I trie
d to keep everything in perspective, but I couldn’t seem to get a handle on it.
Dad’s phone rang a couple of hours later with the news we’d been waiting for. Raven had been found and was on the way to the hospital. All of us except Tristan, who said he would stay with Molly, made our way down to the ER to wait for the missing piece of our family. The ambulance pulled in and the back door opened. We swarmed, trying to get a glimpse of the baby. Raven was rushed by us and straight into the restricted section. It felt like we were doing nothing but waiting. I was so over waiting.
A lady in scrubs came out and called out for the family of Raven Parker. I don’t think she was expecting all of us to approach her.
“I’m Kira, and I am Raven’s doctor. She is severely dehydrated and malnourished. I am not sure how long it has been since she’s eaten. With her being so young, it has brought a number of complications. All of which can be treated, but they are taking their toll on such a little body. I will keep you posted and let you know when one of you can come back.
It was decided I was the one going to stay and keep Raven company when they would let me. Dad and the rest made their way back upstairs to Molly and Tristan.
I wasn’t kept waiting too long and was soon allowed back to the NICU to sit with my baby niece.
“She looks good,” I heard from behind me. Turning, I saw my mother standing just behind my chair, looking at Raven in her incubator. The irony was not lost on me. “I’m glad she made it. I wasn’t sure she would,” she continued. I hated this woman.
I turned back around and concentrated on Raven, trying my best to block her out altogether. I guess she didn’t like being ignored because she walked around my chair and stopped directly in front of me. I didn’t know what this was all about but me and that woman alone together was never a good thing. So without any real thought behind it, I pressed record on my cell phone.
“It’s your fault, you know,” she said. I couldn’t believe she was starting this shit now inside the fucking NICU with her seriously ill granddaughter right there. I didn’t even glance at her when she’d finished speaking.
“If I’d had a better son, I wouldn’t have needed to punish my daughter.” She kept talking cryptically.
“It was fun, bringing that little bitch down a peg or five. Of course, I didn’t do anything she didn’t deserve.” Emily’s voice had almost taken on an excited tone. “It was easy really, find two pathetic lemmings who would be manipulated into doing whatever I wanted, and I found the perfect two. Talking them into a make-believe break and enter was almost shamefully easy. Idiot number one got cold feet. I thought for a second I was going to have to go it alone, but idiot number two was a nice surprise. It was even her idea to take the baby. A good touch, I thought. What do I care, right? Bastard or no bastard, makes no difference to me. Should never have been born in the first place.” I was so close to throwing up that I was scared to even move.
“All Molly had to do was apologize for going against me. I wasn’t asking for much; I demand respect from my family. The first hit was the most pleasing.” Emily paused, speaking only to start laughing, “I just kept going until I felt happy. Unfortunately for Molly, it took a while.”
I didn’t want to use my phone to text anyone for help because I was too worried I would somehow stop the recording.
“I was hoping she would drop dead before now. Having to come up here daily is boring as hell. It was getting annoying having to pretend you all didn’t repulse me. It was a lot of work.” My mother’s vile words kept repeating in my head.
“Yes, there are easier ways to turn around people’s perception of you and quash an impending lawsuit. But you know me, I always say if you’re going to do something, make sure you do it properly,” she explained with a crazy smile on her face.
“I know you’re wondering why I’m telling you all of this. Surely, it would be stupid of me to reveal everything, and to anyone else, you would probably be right. But no one would believe a word out of your broken, retarded mouth. I just wanted you to know that Molly and Raven are more than likely going to die, and it is all your fault. I think you should probably end it and put us all out of our misery.” She came forward to spit in my face.
At that, the last of my composure snapped. I grabbed her arm and dragged her through the department and straight to the nurses' station. I was almost there when I saw Tate, Fear, Alfie, and Sheridan walking my way. Mom was pulling and scratching on my arm to get me to release her, but nothing short of her arm falling off was going to work.
“What’s going on?” Fear asked
I pushed Emily toward him and played them the recording. I watched as their faces went from shock to horror. Mom started to panic and tried to get away when she realized I’d recorded everything she had confessed to.
Sheridan put a stop to that by slapping her across the face. It was magnificent, a real thing of beauty. I wished I had managed to record that.
Detective Polpa was called and soon arrived, and after hearing the recording, he took my mother and cell phone with him back to the station. Another highlight was hearing my mother being read her rights. Something I won’t soon forget and wished I had recorded as well.
“I hope you’re put in a cell with Bertha, the mother of all prison mommas,” Alfie shouted as the police pulled away.
Epilogue
Talon
My mother was charged with so many crimes, I don’t think she will ever see the light of day again. Wink and Alexa were also charged and are both looking at doing a decent amount time between them.
Molly has still not woken up, but she’s starting to show signs that it could happen any day now.
Raven was a little trooper. Tate and I were taking care of her now that she had been released from the hospital. I was going to be the best uncle to that little girl.
Dad took it hard after finding out about Emily, but we were all working together to help him through it.
Tristan was a tough little shit, but we are all worried about him, too. All this was going to hit hard and soon. His mother, sister, and brother. It was a lot for anyone to deal with.
As for Hayley, John, and Max, that was a little more complicated. Hayley and John just up and left. I think they knew after the paternity test Fear demanded came back proving Max was Raven’s father, they really didn’t have a leg to stand on. Sadly, none of us put up much of fight to keep them. I think all of us just needed a break. Max, however, was actually just a gutless coward.
On getting the results confirming him as baby daddy, Max finally admitted why he’d lied. Apparently, he had gotten back with his ex-wife after the party at Alfie and Fear’s and didn’t think that claiming a child with a one-night stand would go over well when he was reconciling. Fear knocked him out and then asked him if he wanted to sign over his rights. He did, and that was that. No more Max. At least, that was one thing Molly would not have to deal with.
The rest of the band tried to reach out after everything came to light, but honestly, I really wasn’t interested.
I had just laid Raven down to have her nap when Tate came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“Love you so much,” Tate whispered in my ear.
“I...III…lo…ve y…y...ou mo...re,” I said, speaking for the first time in years. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for this man and that included opening up my deepest wounds and fears. I knew he would be there to put me back together. I was a stronger, braver, and sharper Talon.
* * *
The End.
About the Author
River Mitchelle has always been a lover of anything that allows her imagination to fly: movies, music, art, and books of all genres. The opportunity to slip away into another world and live out all sorts of fantasies is her perfect happy place.
It didn’t take long for her love of reading to transform into a desire to write a book of her own. But being dyslexic she never thought it would be a possibility. In comes a guardian angel with her unrelenting e
ncouragement pushed River to start out on a rollercoaster journey to make her dream come true.
When she’s not writing she can be found listening to rock music, delving into the life of a gorgeous alpha male, drawing and painting or trying to teach her cats, Boo Fishcake and Edward Elton, to play fetch.
Her biggest wish is that people can find their happy place in the words she creates and hopes she can inspire others to never give up on their dreams.
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Sharpening His Broken Talon (Living Art Book 2) Page 17
