Leverage (The Brannock Siblings)

by Wilde, Jessica

  Justin snarled and took a step closer to Lucas, "Don't worry, you'll be out of the picture completely very soon, along with your little piece of ass. Guess I shouldn't mention the chick that mauled you the morning after her father kicked the bucket."

  I smiled, remembering how I had messed up his hair from our little make out session. I couldn't stop myself from commenting. "That was me, asshole."

  Justin didn't turn my way, but he didn't have to. He was already screwing himself enough if the sight of his wavering hand was any indication.

  "You aren't very good at kidnapping either, Rains. Got a tip from patrol that you were headed this way," he said, turning his eyes to Banetti who looked furious.

  "I don't believe you!" Justin shouted. He looked like he was going to be sick.

  "Doesn't matter," Lucas muttered calmly. "Everyone knows you're the leak, asshole. I'm just glad I get to see your face when you realize how deep in shit you have buried yourself."

  Justin stepped back from Lucas, toward me, his gun now steady, and he smiled. "And I get to see your face when you realize you came here for nothing."

  Banetti, who looked every bit the calm criminal he had been since I opened my eyes, pulled out a sleek silver gun and pointed it at Lucas. He didn't look like the type of man to hesitate and I wasn't going to just sit by and let the love of my life be shot down without doing something.

  I looked around into the shadows, trying to search for anything that would give me inspiration. A slight movement behind Banetti made me blink, forcing the dark spots that had invaded my vision to fade.

  "Wait!" I shouted and watched them all freeze. I needed to buy some time for Lucas. "If I tell you where my father hid the drugs, will you let him go?"

  "Ash," Lucas warned, but I kept my eyes on Banetti, trying not to glance at the continued movement behind him.

  Frank Banetti smiled and nodded.

  Lie.

  I wasn't stupid enough to believe they would let either of us go, but I went with it.

  "Okay." I sighed and moved my eyes to Justin who was now standing to my side and trying not to look at me, but was having a hard time which is exactly what I wanted. I needed to distract both of them. "They're at my father's house. He has a compartment in his closet."

  Banetti laughed, "You are a horrible liar, Ms. Brannock."

  Lucas shook his head in amusement, which ticked me off because, seriously, now was not the time.

  "Fine then, answer me this. How the hell do you guys expect to find them if Lucas and I are the only ones who could possibly know?"

  "Don't you remember the last little while we have spent together, Aislinn?" Justin sneered. "I was being merciful. I wouldn't mind spending more time trying to get it out of you."

  Lucas growled and stepped closer to Justin, ready to beat his ass, but Banetti spoke up, "Ah ah ah, Shade."

  Then Justin made his last mistake of the night and pointed his gun at me. I ignored him and turned my eyes back to Lucas and kept them there. He was here and that's all that mattered to me. A gun pointing at my head held no importance, only Lucas did. He was here and he was trying to save me, even if that meant giving up everything else.

  Seeing that gun pointed my way must have made him snap because he lunged at Justin and knocked the weapon out of his hand before punching him in the nose and kicking his feet out from under him, sending him sprawling to the ground at my feet. Before Lucas could jump on him, though, Justin kicked him in the gut and stood quickly, pulling out another gun that had been strapped to his ankle. His arm swung around and pointed the weapon straight at my head. He was only a few feet away and I could almost smell the recently cleaned scent of metal.

  "I'll shoot her, I swear to God," he panted, blood pouring out of his now broken nose. "You let me go or I'll shoot her in the head and then what will you have?"

  Lucas looked back at me, his blue eyes telling me that everything would be alright.

  "I love you," I whispered, ignoring the pain in my lip and cheeks from speaking.

  Lucas didn't smile, but his eyes softened and his hands relaxed before he turned back to Justin. "Go ahead and leave, Rains. My business isn't with you anyway. I'll catch you later, though," he said with a smirk and I almost laughed out loud at his cheesy pun.

  Justin didn't hesitate, he turned tail and ran through the darkness, but a few seconds later there was a crash and a grunt and I knew now why Lucas didn't have a gun in his hand. There were plenty of them all around us.

  He had brought back up and must have been buying some time for them to get organized.

  "Move that gun away from her or everyone in this room will fill you full of holes. They want to bad enough. It would only take a little push," Lucas said severely, using the man's own words.

  Banetti grinned widely, the steady hand holding his weapon dropping to his side. He chuckled as if he didn't quite grasp the fact that he was now going to prison. "You are a clever one aren't you? Justin assured me he hadn't been followed and I know for a fact that no one saw him after he ditched his car."

  "We have our ways."

  "And my men?"

  "Probably in a squad car by now. I'm surprised you only brought two, and left them outside even. Not well trained either. It only took me a few seconds to get them down. You're getting careless, Banetti."

  "And my drugs?"

  "Does it matter? You already know Brannock moved them."

  "Ah, I see. Too bad you won't get to thank him for his last minute thinking."

  "He already did thank me," a voice with a slight Irish brogue said from behind me and my chest heaved. This wasn't happening.

  I saw Lucas smile when he caught the recognition on my face and I sobbed.

  Dad!

  "Yes, my beauty. It's me."

  "Daddy! You're… you're alive?" I gasped as I felt his hand touch my forearm and heard the click of the handcuffs before the pressure on my wrists was gone. My shoulder screamed when I tried to bring my arms forward, but it didn't matter. My dad was alive.

  "Yes, I'm alive. I'm sorry for deceiving you, but it had to be done. Don't move now until we get a look at that shoulder, okay love?"

  Tears were streaming down my face as he came around to face me. He looked tired and the concern in his dark blue eyes was so familiar and it nearly broke me. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and let him carry me away to safety like he had so many times when I was a little girl. He smiled at me and his eyes glistened with tears.

  "I should have known," I choked out. "You are too stubborn to leave me like that."

  "Aye, my beauty. I am," his voice strained and he cleared his throat to cover the emotion. He slowly helped me move my arms to my sides then wrapped himself around me in a hug, holding my shaking body in his arms.

  "I'll not leave you until I give you away to the man who will take care of you for the rest of your life. I had thought it would be a long time before that happened since your brothers… well, you know. But I guess it might not be too long after all," he whispered in my ear.

  I hadn't been paying attention to anything else and I realized that Banetti was now in handcuffs and being hauled away by Montgomery and a few other officers. I looked around for Lucas, but didn't see him. The room was still dark, but lights started to click on as my eyes roamed over the many faces who had come to get me. Some were familiar and others looked like they had just gotten out of the academy.

  My brothers were close by and watching me and my dad with sad grins on their faces. When they met my gaze, they tried to smile, but the devastation broke through first. I must have looked awful and I turned my face into my father's shoulder so they wouldn't have to look at me.

  "I want to kill him. I trusted that man and he put his hands on you and hurt you. I almost shot him the second I saw him."

  "I'm okay, Daddy. I provoked a lot of it," I sniffled.

  He chuckled, "Yes, I heard that, Lucas, your brothers, and I have been here for a little while. You should know better than tha
t, but I can't blame you for it. You're a Brannock, it's pretty much out of your control at this point."

  After a moment, he pulled back and started cutting through the bindings on my ankles. My brothers were at my side and both helped to lift me to my feet. My eyes darted over the faces again, looking for Lucas. My feet twitched to run to him, but I couldn't find him.

  "Let's get you to the ambulance, Ash. We need to take care of this shoulder right away."

  I nodded and started to take a step, but my legs were still a bit numb and my energy was depleted. The physical strain my body had been through had taken most of it, but the discovery that my father was still alive nearly made me collapse in exhaustion.

  I stumbled and my brothers caught me around the waist, trying to avoid my injured shoulder. Before I could try again, strong arms lifted me away from my brothers and cradled me against a familiar chest. His scent swarmed me and I closed my eyes and soaked it in. This is where I belonged.

  "I'll take her," Lucas muttered, his voice hoarse and quiet with all the commotion going on around us.

  My dad and brothers nodded, all showing their permission and letting Lucas carry me away from them, but they didn't let him take me too far before they jogged to catch up to us.

  I rested my head on his shoulder and wished I could lift my arm to touch his beautiful face. He was looking down at me, his light blue eyes filled with concern.

  "I'm so sorry, Ash."

  I ignored the shooting pain running down my body and the throbbing in my face and let the tears fall. "It's not your fault, Lucas. I messed up."

  He shook his head as he turned his body to maneuver us out the open door. The flashing lights on the ambulance burned my tired eyes, but I refused to close them.

  "No, baby. I should have never left you alone."

  "You didn't have a choice. You couldn't babysit me all day, Lucas."

  "I still should have -"

  "Stop!" I demanded and he froze just before reaching the back door of the ambulance. His eyes bore into mine, waiting and searching for something he was desperate to find. "I don't blame you for any of this and neither should you. It's just something that happened. You did everything in your power to prevent it, but it needed to happen or you would have lost more good people in the future. It's over now. Please, just don't torture yourself over it."

  He nodded, but there was no relief in his expression and I knew I would have to talk him down several more times before he accepted it. He carried me over to an empty stretcher and sat me gently on top of it. I cradled my arm against my body and winced at the pain.

  Lucas lifted his hand and lightly cupped my swollen and bruised jaw. "It hurts me to see you in so much pain," his eyes hardening. "I wish I would have gotten here sooner, before that bastard got the chance to…" He shook his head as his words trailed off then dropped his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. "I love you, Aislinn."

  I didn't want to move away from him. I wanted to stay there breathing the same air and feeling his touch until I withered away and died, but someone beside us cleared his throat and we both turned.

  My cousin Mark was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and an angry scowl on his face. "I hope you got a few in, Ash."

  I grinned and nodded. "Maybe not physically, but I think I hurt his pride quite a bit. That's all that matters, right?"

  He fought it, but the smile broke through and Mark chuckled, "Not surprised in the least."

  He started to clean my cuts and assess the damage that Justin had done. "We'll need to get you to the hospital as soon as possible. I'm sure your arm is going to need some major repair and…"

  I stopped listening to him and just nodded as he continued to talk. I watched my brothers and my father surround Lucas and all four of them stared at me and listened to everything Mark had to say. They all looked like they were about to renew their efforts to protect me and I had the feeling I wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom without someone standing guard, but I didn't care.

  My dad was alive. Something I still hadn't quite believed, but the more I looked at him, the more it sank in and the tears filled my eyes all over again. I hadn't lost him.

  My brothers were there with Lucas, all standing with their arms crossed over their broad chests and dangerous expressions on their handsome faces. Just like old times and I wasn't alone.

  Chapter 13

  Lucas

  It was taking everything he had not to walk over to the squad car holding Justin Rains and throw his fist into the little shit's face again. When he had first seen Ash sitting there tied to a damn metal beam, unconscious and bruised, he nearly lost it. Conall and Fergus are the only reason that bastard was still alive and the only reason they were able to finally arrest Banetti.

  Lucas had started to lunge forward when she had finally lifted her head and he saw her eyes nearly swollen shut and blood dripping from her lip. Her brothers were holding on by a thread, but they held him back and they all waited.

  The conversation was recorded and Banetti had given them enough to put him behind bars, but they still needed more to keep him there. That was something Lucas was looking forward to. Justin was going to give them everything or he would end up looking worse than Ash.

  When Lucas had seen William Brannock standing in the middle of his kitchen flanked by his two boys, he thought he was still sleeping next to Ash and the whole day had just been one horrible nightmare. Then Liam started to talk and he had gotten dizzy all over again.

  The captain had been alive when the paramedics came in and lucky for him, Mark had been the first one to see him. He had regained consciousness for a minute while they were strapping him onto the stretcher and he had told Mark to find a way to fake his death if he survived. Told him it was the only way to keep Ash safe for a little longer.

  Mark hadn't questioned the man and the other medics didn't question Mark. They took him to the hospital under the pretense that he was in critical condition and Mark had altered his chart so he would be treated under a different name. The gunshot wound wasn't fatal, but he had lost a lot of blood and was in the hospital for several days with nobody the wiser.

  Well, except for his boys. Mark had called them immediately and told them what was going on. They had already booked their flights before Ash and Lucas even spoke with them the next morning. Ash was going to be furious when she found out.

  When Lucas asked him why he did it, his answer was simple.

  "I needed them to think they had to start from square one, buy us a little more time to find Rains. Plus, I knew you would do everything in your power to protect my girl."

  He understood why he did it. It was the same reason they had staged his arrest. To get him out of the picture and make them focus on something else.

  The man had been busy since his fake death. He had already figured out that Lucas was being set up from the very beginning. The log book down in evidence was his first clue and he connected everything else shortly after. With a leak in the department, he knew that the drugs they had confiscated were going to be taken if he didn't act soon, so he had moved them. The drugs had never left the building, but they had been hidden well. He had called his superiors while he was in the hospital and told them what was going on. They had arranged everything from the funeral to the ruse of a new captain.

  The trackers had been Liam's last attempt to make sure things were in order, but they had gotten to him before he could get one on every badge.

  "It was pure luck that I had gotten it on Justin's and I had just put it on Ash's locket when they showed up. That's why I was in her room," he explained to Lucas.

  That's when Gibbs had finally called again and told him that Ash's tracker had stopped by the port and they were in an empty warehouse. He had already called for backup and Lucas, Conall, Fergus, and Liam were in the car in the next minute, each of them loaded up and ready for a firefight. Liam didn't think it would come to that, but Lucas wasn't going to take that chance.

 
When they had finally arrived and saw Justin and Banetti talking, with Ash unconscious beside them, Lucas had felt the first sign of relief. It would be over quickly. They just needed to buy a little more time for back up to arrive so they could take Banetti down without incident.

  He remembered the happiness in Ash's eyes when she saw him as he stepped out of the shadows. He had felt like a God when she had looked at him with so much love and he had to keep telling his body to stay where he was and not take her in his arms. Then, when she had heard her father's voice… Lucas would never forget the look on her face.

  He had wanted to go to her as soon as it was over, but she needed to reunite with her father and Lucas had stepped away and gone straight to Justin. The officers holding him knew exactly what was coming and both of them turned their heads when Lucas swung a right hook into the bastards jaw and another swift punch to his stomach.

  None of his fellow officers would admit to seeing it. Justin had betrayed them all.

  Mark had just finished up his assessment and was loading her into the ambulance to take her to the hospital when Liam clasped his shoulder. "Go with her, son."

  Lucas looked at him with surprise, "Don't you think she would prefer it if you -"

  The man shook his head adamantly and chuckled. "Are you kidding me? I'm not ready for the verbal beating I'm going to get for pretending to be dead. Especially when it actually sinks in that we all lied to her. Plus, she needs you right now."

  Lucas nodded and Liam slapped him on the back and shoved him towards the open doors. "We'll meet you there."

  He held Ash's hand the whole way to the hospital as she laid on the stretcher with her eyes closed. She wasn't sleeping, but she said it hurt too much to do anything else and he felt angry all over again.

  When they got to the hospital, she was rolled away while he tried to fill out as much information as he could before her family arrived. They wouldn't let him go back at first, but when Liam showed up and flashed his badge, the nurses didn't have a choice.

  Ash was scheduled for surgery early the next morning so she was waiting anxiously when he had stepped into the room.