Bad Seed

by Rye Hart

  “What was that?” he said.

  “I'll go with you,” I said. “I'll make it easy for you. I won't resist.”

  I took a deep breath and walked toward the door, pulling Rory's attention away from the whimpering baby. Trying to keep him distracted and his focus on me, rather than on Jack.

  “Just promise not to hurt me,” I said. “Please.”

  Rory grinned at me, a creepy look that sent chills down my spine. “I promise to not hurt you until Killian says it's alright. Once he gives me the green light though, all bets are off, baby. Once Killian says we're all good, I'm gonna hurt you in ways you didn't even know you could hurt. And I'm gonna enjoy the fuck out of it. Now let's go.”

  I stepped outside, Rory hot on my heels, and closed the hotel room door behind me, grateful that he'd been too distracted to even notice Jack. Still, there was more than one baby I had to think about in this whole fucking mess – like the one growing inside of me.

  I told myself to just move slowly, to think everything through, and avoid doing anything stupid. Avoid doing anything that would set Rory off. I couldn't afford to have him out of his mind with rage. If I cooperated and didn't piss him off, I just might come out of this alive. For right now though, I knew I had to protect Jack.

  CHAPTER NINE

  DECLAN

  Carrying the sack of burgers and fries and trying to balance the tray with the drinks in it, I managed to get the door unlocked. I pushed it inward and stepped into the small, cramped motel room. It was no luxury suite – not like we could've afforded that anyway – but it was fine for what we needed. Besides, it was pretty much the only place we saw when we decided to pull over to get a little sleep.

  “Honey, I'm home,” I called, laughing to myself at my joke.

  There was no answer as I set the food I was carrying down on the small table and turned around. Jack was in his little crib when I walked over and looked down at him. He looked back up at me with wide, bright eyes, gurgling and cooing, something like a smile on his face.

  “Hey, how are you doing little man?” I said and smiled.

  I reached down and stroked his soft cheeks, relishing the feel of his warm skin. Standing back up, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. It was so strange to think that this baby was my baby. My son. Because of him, my whole world had changed. But, standing there looking down at him, I couldn't imagine him not being in my life. “Hey, Kara,” I called over my shoulder. “Food's here.”

  When I got no response, I turned to look at the bathroom door and cocked my head, not quite processing what I was seeing. It was standing open just a crack and there was no light on inside. I walked over to the bathroom and pushed the door all the way open. It was empty, everything still in place just as it had been when we'd checked in – and no Kara. “What the fuck?”

  I turned back to the room and irrationally looked at the bed. Like I wouldn't have seen her when I walked in if she were in it, but I felt compelled to look anyway. Not there. Next, I looked in the small closet, for some stupid reason like she was hiding in there ready to jump out at me. Not there either. She was nowhere to be found. Vanished. Like a puff of smoke on the breeze, Kara was just gone.

  Jack let out a noise, so I picked him up and held him to my chest, bouncing him a little like I'd seen women do, as I paced around the hotel room. Having his small, warm body pressed to mine gave me a feeling of comfort. It helped clear my mind and focused my thoughts a little more. Thoughts, at the moment, that were consumed by the fact that Kara had apparently disappeared without a trace.

  I looked at the cellphone sitting on the dresser, and quickly dismissed the idea of trying to call her. She didn't have a phone on her. The knots in my stomach constricted painfully as I ran through a dozen scenarios in my mind, each one raising a hundred thousand questions.

  Had Killian gotten ahold of her somehow? Had he snuck into the room and taken her? No, if they'd found us and broken into our room, at the very least, I would have gotten a beating. If they'd found us, more than likely, the maids would be cleaning up a corpse later today. If Killian had managed to track us down to middle of nowhere Missouri, they more than likely would have waited for me to give me what I deserved for running, rather than taking Kara and vanishing like ghosts. They would have wanted to make an example out of me. The most certainly wouldn't have left Jack here either.

  I could only come to one other conclusion. “She left us,” I said, holding Jack a little tighter. “Up and left us without so much as a goodbye.”

  I paced around the room, my baby in my arms, feeling a complex tangle of emotions swirling around inside of me. Anger and hurt at being abandoned being the most prominent. I couldn't believe that Kara would have just bailed on us like that. After everything we'd been through and the connection I thought we were developing between us, I didn't want to believe she'd just up and walk out like that. Not like her father had done to her. I didn't want to believe she'd do that to us. I didn't want to believe she'd do that to Jack.

  But, what other answer could there be?

  Something about this didn't feel right. I just couldn't put my finger on what it was. Carrying Jack close to my chest, I stepped outside the room and looked up and down the hallway. A maid's service cart stood next to a room down the hall, so I walked toward it. She was just coming out of the room when I drew near and gave me a warm, friendly smile.

  “Hi,” I said. “Sorry to disturb you, but I'm staying down in room 248, and – ”

  “Your baby is precious,” she said. “An angel.”

  “Thank you,” I replied. “Listen, I – ”

  “Your wife is beautiful as well,” she said. “And always so friendly.”

  “Actually, I was hoping you'd seen her today?”

  The woman nods. “I did,” she said. “Just a couple of hours ago, actually.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “A couple of hours ago?”

  She nodded. “I only saw her from a distance down in the parking lot,” she says. “I thought she was with you, actually. I saw the man with the red hair and just assumed – ”

  I felt my stomach plummet down into my shoes at the same time my heart jumped into my throat. A red-haired man. That could only mean one thing. Shit. My body hummed with an energy born of fear for Kara. If Killian had her – I didn't even want to think about it.

  “Oh, right,” I say, trying to play it off. “My brother must have picked her up without telling me. Got our wires crossed. I'll just give him a call. Thanks, I appreciate your help.”

  I turned and practically sprinted back to the room. Stepping inside, I closed the door and threw the locks before settling Jack back down in his crib. He fussed and squirmed a little bit, but soon quieted down and went back to sucking on his fingers.

  I paced the room, running a hand through my hair, my stress level rising with each step I took. I had no way of knowing at that point if Kara was even still alive. I could only hope Killian had come for her himself, rather than sending Rory to get her. Killian was a prick, but he was a businessman. If there was money to be had, Kara would be okay. For now. If Rory had gotten hold of her, all bets were off. Rory was a wild card and could be unpredictable. Even if Killian had ordered him to not touch her, I couldn't be sure he'd actually obey, regardless of how scared of our brother he was.

  “Son of a bitch,” I muttered. “How the fuck did they find us?”

  I racked my brain for a moment, trying to figure it out. Ultimately though, it didn't matter. They'd found us. Somehow, someway, they'd found us out in the middle of nowhere Missouri. We'd been so careful, I just didn't understand it.

  Looking at the phone on the dresser, I knew that I could stand there asking questions of myself all day or I could start getting answers. With a long sigh, I picked up the phone and punched in Killian's number. My stomach roiling and my heart thumping hard, I pressed the phone to my ear and waited for the call to go through. I didn't have to wait long.

  “Brother,” Killian's voice was anno
yingly bright and chipper. “We've been waiting for your call. How are you today?”

  “Where is she?”

  “What, no greeting for your big brother? Just right down to business?”

  “Stop fucking with me, Killian,” I growled. “Where is Kara?”

  “Oh, she's here,” he says. “Not happy about it, but she's here.”

  “What the fuck do you want?”

  “The same thing I've always wanted – the money I'm owed.”

  I resumed pacing as I spoke. “She doesn't owe you shit, man,” I said. “She doesn't have any money. Your beef is with her father, and – ”

  “That's true. But, the only way I'm going to settle my beef with her father is through her,” he says. “It's not ideal, but few things in this life are.”

  “Let her go.”

  “Yeah, I'm not going to do that, Declan,” he said. “In fact, I've got a new beef because of this whole melodrama. Can you guess who that beef might be with?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Right on the money,” he said, his voice turning low and cold. “You certainly gave Meredith a good scare – not to mention my children – and I don't appreciate that. Not in the least. You and I have some issues to settle.”

  “Fine,” I said. “I'll trade myself for Kara. When I get there, you let her go.”

  “That's not the way this works,” he said and sighed. “No wonder you aren't running the family business. You're just not very good at it.”

  “Then you're not giving me a lot of incentive to show up there, are you?”

  He laughed softly. “I have the only incentive you need, brother,” he said. “I know you care for the girl. I know you care for her a lot, which, is surprising since the only person you've ever cared about before is yourself.”

  I looked over at Jack and felt my heart swell. Killian wasn't wrong in that assessment. I knew I'd been selfish throughout my life. I was living my life for me and fuck anybody who thought to tell me otherwise had always been my attitude. But, when Jack – and then Kara – came into my life, that all started to change. Suddenly, I was thinking about other people and how what I did impacted their lives. Suddenly, I was thinking about the future. Things that were inconceivable to me just three weeks ago.

  “What the fuck do you want, Killian?”

  “I want your ass back here, brother,” he said. “We need to have a discussion. And I want you to bring Jack. Meredith has grown quite attached to him and is really upset that you took him from her.”

  “He's my son.”

  “He'll be better off raised by my wife,” he says. “In a good, loving home with parents who are around and can provide for him.”

  “You talk like you're just going to kill me when I show up,” I say.

  “I would prefer things not go that way,” he replied. “But, nothing is off the table at this point. Trust me when I say though, that my preference is to bring you back into the family. To have you be a productive member of the business. I know father would have wanted that.”

  “Like I give a fuck what the old man would have wanted.”

  He laughed softly. “Yes, you've made that quite clear throughout your life,” he said. “Get back here, Declan. Come to the pub and we'll talk when you get here. We'll be waiting for you.”

  Killian clicked off the line and I was left staring at the phone. Jack cooed and burbled in his crib, completely oblivious to the drama unfolding around him. Completely oblivious to the fact that in a few hours, he could well be an orphan.

  I turned and stared at myself in the mirror. Stared into a face that was drawn and eyes that were haunted. Going back to Chicago could very well be the end of me regardless of what Killian had just told me. I'd disappointed him, and he was going to make an example out of me in front of his men. I would be the lesson in the price they'd pay for disloyalty.

  Walking over to the crib, I looked down at Jack. He stared at me with those eyes, so full of life. So full of trust. Reaching out, I let him wrap his little hand around my finger, listening to the happy little noises that came out of his mouth. My heart swelled with a love and a joy I'd never known before or thought myself capable of.

  “I'm going to get us out of this, little man,” I said. “You, me, and Kara. We're all getting out of this shit and we're going to have a good life somewhere. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off, but I'm making that promise to you now. Daddy’s gonna fix this.”

  Jack looked up at me and even though I knew he didn't understand a damn word I'd just said, I felt like I had to say it. As if speaking my promise out loud would make it come to life. I had no idea of what I was going to do or how I was going to do it, but I was bound and determined to first get Kara away from Killian, and then get her to Jack. If nothing else, the two of them could run and start a new life somewhere.

  I would fulfill my vow at all costs – even at the cost of my own life.

  ~ooo000ooo~

  “Thank you, Charlotte,” I said. “I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate this.”

  She waved me off with a smile. “Don't think twice about it, hon,” she says. “After all you done for me over the years, it's the least I can do. I gotta say though, you're the last person I ever woulda figured would turn up on my doorstep with a baby.”

  A rueful smile touched my lips. “Yeah, that makes two of us,” I said. “I'm the last person who should be thought of as father material.”

  She shrugged. “I can tell you love this kid. It shows in your eyes, Declan,” she said. “That's half the battle right there – knowing you'd do anything for your child. That count for a lot.”

  I gave her a grateful smile but couldn't meet her eyes. Charlotte was an old friend of mine who lived just outside Chicago. She knew my family history, knew what they were all about, and she was one of the few people I trusted in this world – and one of the fewer still I'd ever trust enough to leave Jack with. She took him from me and smiled wide at him.

  “Well, ain't you just the cutest thing ever?” she cooed at him.

  Jack looked back at her with that smile on his face and made a noise when she lightly pinched his cheeks. Charlotte had kids of her own, but they lived with their father most of the time because he lived in a better school district and she wanted the best for them. She was a good mom and her relationship with her kids was a good one, which was just another reason I trusted her with Jack. “I really don't know how this is going to go,” I said. “This could get sideways on me really fast.”

  She nodded. I'd filled Charlotte in on everything and had let her in on the half-assed plan I'd put together on my way back to Chicago. She knew what I was walking into and what the stakes were. She knew there was a chance I might not be coming back. Yet, despite knowing all that, she agreed to take Jack for me.

  “If there's anybody I'd bet on coming out of that damn viper's nest, it'd be you, Declan,” she said.

  “I hope you're right,” I said and glanced at my watch. “I should probably get going.”

  She gave me a warm smile and handed Jack back to me. I took him in my arms and kissed his forehead. I didn't know how this was all going to play out or if I was ever going to see my son again. I was going to fight like hell to get back to him, but the truth of the matter was, I didn't know if I'd be able to keep my promise to him. My brother was a ruthless son of a bitch and I had no idea what I was walking into.

  All I knew was that until I put an end to this, none of us would ever be safe. Ever. We'd have to live our lives on the run, always looking over our shoulders. We'd have to spend our lives waiting for the other shoe to drop and that was no way to live. I wasn't going to live that way and I damn sure wasn't going to force my son to live that way. If I didn't make it back, at least I knew he was going to be in good hands with Charlotte. Hidden. Safe. Nobody would ever find him. More than that though, I knew he would have a good life and be raised well.

  “I'll see you soon, little man,” I said, hoping I sounded more convinced o
f it than I felt.

  I handed Jack back to Charlotte and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She took hold of my hand and gave it a tight squeeze, the look in her eye earnest.

  “You will get through this and come back for your boy,” she said. “I know you will.”

  I squeezed her hand in return and gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “I'll see you soon, Charlotte,” I said. “And thank you. For everything.”

  She nodded. “Go handle your business.”

  “On my way.”

  ~ooo000ooo~

  After being patted down by his men, they led me to the basement of the pub where Killian was waiting for me. There were boxes and other supplies needed to run the bar stacked all around, but my eyes immediately fell upon Kara, who was tied to a chair, her eyes burning with hatred. When she saw me though, her face softened, and I could see her fighting back the tears. She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. That's my girl. A core of steel.

  In that moment, I wished I felt half as strong as she looked. My plan was hopefully coming together, but there were so many variables and moving parts, I wasn't sure if it was going to come to fruition the way I'd hoped. Inevitability something always got fucked up and that old saying about man planning and the gods laughing, flashed through my mind. But, I'd had no other choice. I'd had to roll the dice and now, I was stuck hoping for the best possible outcome.

  “The prodigal son returns,” Killian said with a chuckle. “Welcome home, brother.”

  I looked around the room. Including the one who'd escorted me down, he had four big goons standing around, all of them eyeballing me with clear hostility in their eyes. Rory was sitting on a table near the corner just behind Killian, a wide, shit-eating grin on his face.

  “Kara, you okay?” I asked.

  She nodded. “I'm fine.”

  Rory chuckled to himself, a dry, grating sound that made me want to punch him. Not that I didn't have a shortage of reasons for wanting to punch him.

  “Something funny, Rory?” I asked.