“No, we were never friends, and we never will be anything but enemies. I would leave if I were you, my husband will be back any second.” I say, staying protected behind Lionel.
Taking my hand, Lionel escorts me to the car but the man jumps at me and grabs my breast, screaming that disgusting name at me. “Remember when we were going to make a baby together – Ugerella? Remember? Your breasts feel much better now.” He continues as Lionel stares him back on his heels. “How about you and the boy come with me?” He should have left because he doesn’t see Nick coming. A jerk of his collar and the man is against the wall and shoved into the air. “What’s wrong big man, don’t like the idea I had her first!” He struggles to laugh while gasping for breath.
“You disgusting fuck! I will end your life!” Nick breathes his rage into Maynard’s face.
“Nick, not here, this is not the right time or place.” Lionel says, easing Nick down. “She needs you to think this through and handle it at a more suitable time.
“Yeah, Nick. A better time and place, like when you’re dead and I get to have her back and … hey is it boy or girl … I bet it’s a girl, you know, since we already have a boy.” Maynard smiles, sending chills to my spine.
Nick reaches over Lionel and pulls him in close, “Bet on this, I will find you and I will make you suffer.”
“Oh, well you let me know when this supposed suffering will begin – will ya? I don’t want to miss it.” He laughs, catching sight of Welch waving him over.
“Don’t worry, I will be sure to give you a signal that is very clear - even for a fool like you.” Nick watches Maynard walk away still steaming and seemingly memorizing every detail about him. When Nick returns to the car he takes a few breaths before he turns to me and kisses me, “Are you okay?” I nod but I have a feeling he knows I am lying. My hands are shaking and my breath is broken. All I can do is hold tight to my son and rest in my husband’s arms.
Nick leaves me in bed, still tired from his loaded attention most of the night. I feel so good I don’t even care that he didn’t bother to tell me where he went. The doctor called me this morning to confirm my suspicions, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know but after shopping for this child, I couldn’t hold out any longer, I had to know. Now I can tell Nick whether it is a boy or a girl. I spend half the day buying some little clues to wrap up for him, including a picture the doctor gave me. I rush home and prepare for an evening alone with my husband to celebrate the news. When I hear cars pull up, I assume the whole group must be coming back. But, when I run to the door it slams open and cops come flying in from everywhere. They start to push me to the ground but notice my pregnancy and hold back from treating me too roughly as they tie my hands and drag me out the door. My guards are yelling and fighting for me but there is little they can do. I am told they have new evidence and now the judge has revoked my bail. Looking down at my stomach I fear for the child inside me more than I do for me. I feel the tears forming in my eyes and I nearly miss the cars lining up around us. The cops don’t even notice that we are being stalked. When one car stops short another closes in on us from behind and we are quickly overrun by armed men. The supposed cops surrender and I am dragged out of the backseat and thrown into another. If I had any hope of this being a rescue, that was eliminated when they drove me to their boss – Estrella. Standing next to him with his usual superior attitude, is Welch.
Estrella smiles until he sees me fully, then his whole demeanor changes. The tan on his face fades to white and his shoulders sink down into his chest. “She’s pregnant.” He says, looking over at Welch. Welch waves him off. “Don’t dismiss me - we can’t do this!” Estrella snaps back at him.
“Why? The world will thank us for sparing them the little bastard.” Welch calmly retorts.
“You don’t get it. Have you ever met Nick Jayzon? Playing these games with him is one thing, but to give him a reason to cut my balls off and force me to eat them is another.” Welch checks his watch and barely acknowledges Estrella’s pleas.
“We have an agreement, you and I. If you want to go back on that now, then I can easily take over your organization. I will, of course, put you in a dreadfully unprotected place, somewhere where your balls won’t be the first thing on your mind. Your choice, a life of torture or one in which Jayzon might simply kill you.” Welch threatens, shutting Estrella up at once. “Don’t kill her yet. We still need her, but don’t go out of your way to make her comfortable. I will call you when you can finish her off. Here is a map to the location. No one should be able to find her there. Nice knowing you Mrs. Jayzon, too bad you decided to jump bail. We will just have to go on with your trial assuming you are guilty.” He laughs, getting into his car and leaving Estrella staring at me with weak knees.
“Take her there …” Estrella’s own men watch him closely as he chickens out of making a powerful move and jumps in his car, never looking back.
Chapter 36
~Nick~
“I have to say Nicky, this is the most fun I have had since we were kids. Shooting people, stealing shipments and taking possession of items that weren’t meant for us. What are we going to do next?”
I laugh with him up to the front door where Dwayne comes running at me with a look of panic. “They took Kayla. They said they revoked her bail.” Dwayne’s panicked expression is not normal for him. “They just came in and took her, they don’t do that Nick, and her attorney knows nothing about it.” I dart around Dwayne and run upstairs to our bedroom to see if she was expecting them to come, but all there is are some unwrapped gifts. Walking back downstairs, I gaze over everyone, seeing if anyone has an idea of what’s going on.
Even Simone looks shocked. “You didn’t know about this?”
“Nothing. No one at the precinct picked her up, and her bail was never revoked. Although, if they get word that she disappeared …” Simone holds tight to Lena as he breathes a heavy sigh.
A sudden ringing from my cell startles everyone. “Hello Mr. Jayzon. I thought you would like to know that your wife jumped bail. I would accuse you of helping her escape, but since I recently talked to her I will spare you from that embarrassment.”
“Where is my wife?” I yell, pushing everyone around me back on their heels.
“Please stop yelling, that won’t solve anything. What I need for you to do is give me my fiancé back. Once I have Samantha back, I will give you Kayla back. I am sending you a live video feed of her to prove she is still very much alive and worth your time to do as I say. I will be contacting you in twenty-four hours. If I don’t have confirmation that Samantha is safe and home where she belongs then I will start cutting pieces of your wife off and sending them to you. Have a good night.”
“Welch wants Samantha for Kayla.” I say, staring at Ryan as he holds himself up with a crutch and Samantha.
“No Nick!” Ryan yells at me, grimacing from the pain.
“Don’t you fucking say NO to me! If they hurt Kayla then I am going to …”
“NO, you are not touching her! You know damn well, Nick, that they are not going to simply hand over Kayla whether they have Samantha or not. They are going to kill her and Kayla. You should hear what she knows about him. She can help find Kayla.”
“Oh really? Does she have any documents, pictures, video or are we supposed to just let her accuse him and hope that people believe her over him?” I yell at him as he lets his head fall.
“Then I guess you better kill me too.” Ryan sighs.
“Nick, he is right. Handing over this girl is not going to get Kayla back.” Elijah says pushing me back from Ryan. “What we have to do is figure out where he would take her and go get her. Now, maybe if Samantha knows a lot about this Welch, maybe she has an idea of where he might take her. If you would calm down and not think about it being Kayla, then you will be able to think clearly and realize what you need to do.”
“Fine. Where do you think he might take her, Samantha?” I ask, trying not to look at her and scare her any more t
han I am sure already have.
“She is not going to tell you anything until you promise you won’t hurt her or put her in harm’s way.” Ryan states.
I stand up and look him in the eyes, “I have no interest in hurting her or letting Welch have his way. She will be kept safe - I promise.”
Ryan leans into Samantha and encourages her. “There is a place I went to with Spence a few times, he never let me out of the car. He always denied it whenever I would ask. He claimed my senses must be off because we had never left the city, he said, but I know we did. We were on the highway, then back roads. When we got there it smelled fishy and all I could hear was water flowing. It would crank and turn and crank again to let the water flow.” Samantha lowers her head with half a smile, “Spence has always thought because I can’t see that I am stupid, too.” She pauses before beginning again, “I remember growing up, his family had this farm. It was a fish farm. I didn’t think they still owned it, but I traveled with him there again a few months back. She has to be there. It’s hard to find and it is not in his name - it’s in mine, so no one would ever think to connect it to him. I knew what he was doing, but I kept copies of the deed in case he ever left me. Then I could still have something of value. I am not stupid.”
“No - no Samantha you are not stupid. You just outsmarted the man who is expected to run for Vice President – an Ivy League grad, I believe.” I tell her, kissing her cheek. “Do you know you shine when you smile?” I say to her causing her to smile wide.
I enjoy the good feeling moment for only a second before I look down at the tiny shoes in my hand. “We have to get her – them - out of there,” I say, holding out the little blue shoes she left for me on our bed. “She is pregnant. She can’t handle the beating she took last time. If they hurt her in any way, I will tear this entire city apart.” My hands tense as they all stare blankly at me. “We have less than twenty-four hours to find her. Let’s not waste time standing around staring at one another. Where is the deed Samantha?”
“A lockbox at the 15th Street Bank.”
The plan is simple, in that we are going to create a mass amount of distractions all over the city while I lead the attack on Welch’s fish farm. There is a game tonight, so I bought tickets for some of the boys to enjoy themselves. They do well, once the game begins they get into fights with the opposing fans and start a great deal of commotion down at the arena. The news media called it - some drunk kids out of control. No one was severely hurt and no property was damaged, mostly a lot of yelling and pushing with an eventual large amount of arrests. They will be released in the morning. On the other side of town is a club that is having similar issues. And another club where a prostitute is starting an argument with her pimp that escalates between many - girls gone wild at its best. A little further down the street, a jewelry store is being robbed – blatantly - with alarms blaring. The only thing competing with it is the high-end fur shop being trashed by would-be activists. Next – Fire. It is an amazing weapon and even more so for a series of abandon warehouses. Five car dealerships begin to sound off when a mass amount of their inventory begins driving off their lots. The one thing I don’t want to leave out is Welch’s own office. A plan so easy I paid a fifteen year old to handle it for me. Kids these days, they love to pull fire alarms but oh, how it makes a mess when they set those sprinklers off. It would seem the activists and criminals have multiplied as alarms start sounding all around the city. One after the other, chaos takes over. Another fight breaks out, a domestic disturbance and finally, strategically planned car accidents emerge. The entire city is in gridlock and no one will be going anywhere for some time. Well, except for me and my crew as were able to get out before the chaos began.
Samantha does well giving us information, we find the farm with ease. There are a limited number of men in sight, but it is hard to tell what awaits us inside. All that matters, is what is about to come at them. We debated back and forth on the best way to go about this, what would be the most effective and still keep Kayla alive and safe in the process. We decide someone has to get in and find her first without anyone knowing, and that someone is going to be me. There is no debate on that. It is obvious these men don’t have a lot to say to each other, they are miserable and ready for this to be over. I watch carefully for my opportunity, waiting until one slyly strays away from the rest and gives me ample opportunity to take him. Quietly, he backs away into the nearby woods and settles by the river’s edge where he rolls up a stress reliever for himself. Settling back after one puff he becomes easy prey. He doesn’t notice me walking up on him. He doesn’t even notice me kneeling down at his side. It isn’t until I grab his neck and cut off his air that he finally opens his eyes. “I am going to ask one question, and I better hear an answer to only that question. If I hear anything else, I will end your life right here. Do you understand me?” He nods. “Where is she?”
I slowly release my grip and he takes in a deep breath, “She is being held in the black box, the last one in the back. She has six guards on her, you won’t be able to get to her without …”
I grab his neck once again, “did I ask you for your opinion? As of this moment you work for me and there is no negotiation on this matter. Your job is to do everything I say and to make sure no one touches me. If I even feel you hesitate helping me, I will end you without another word spoken. Do you understand this?” He nods. “Good. From this point on I am your prisoner.” His eyes widen as he slowly follows my lead. With his gun against my back his hand still shakes and his voice still trembles. I have no doubt that he won’t attempt to defy me, but I only hope he picks a time that I can put him back in his place. Walking up on three other men, they suddenly become alarmed as one runs up on us.
“What is this? Where did he come from?”
“I a … I a … was …well, I thought I saw something so I went to check it out and then I found this guy.”
“Good work, Egbert.” Egbert? I look back at Egbert to look him over. “What is your name?” The man stands on his toes as he talks to me.
I move to look him in the eyes, “Well it isn’t Egbert.”
He backs away from me, and uses his phone to take a quick picture of my face, to send back to Estrella I imagine. Unfortunately for him, Eddy is blocking their communication. “Take him in and chain him up until we find out who he is.”
Egbert leads me into a disgusting smell. It’s loud and the grate platforms are difficult to walk on. As we approach six other men, Egbert pushes me towards them, “Boss said for you to chain him up with the other one and watch him.” He barely gets out his last word before he is trying to run from me. I take a quick step backwards and slam him into a wall, knocking him out. Thanks Egbert, you were a big help, but I can only trust you when I can see you. Three men hold me down and quickly decide it is best to chain me up quickly. They open the door and I see Kayla lying on the ground. She slowly leans up and opens her eyes to me. I shake my head before she can break a full smile. I put up a respectable fight as they drag me to an overhead pipe and chain me to it. And, just like I wanted, they lock me up in the room with Kayla.
Chapter 37
~Kayla~
I have been lucky so far, most of the men here leave me alone. I assume it is because Welch said he didn’t want any visible marks on me while they are sending Nick live pictures of me. I am sure all that will change once Welch gets what he wants, whatever that may be. They haven’t bothered to supply much food for me and barely any water. Already exhausted from being pregnant, I can barely walk two feet. I have analyzed every possible way I can to get out of here, but they have me chained in a metal box with multiple guards watching every move I make. My eyes are heavy, but I am not giving up. When the door opens I slowly lift my head and watch as Nick walks in. It seems too good to be true until he is chained up next to me.
Once our guards leave, Nick turns to me with a smile. “Hi Princess, are you okay?”
“So far. What are you doing here?” I smile, want
ing to hug him but can only reach the edges of his leg.
“Rescuing you.” He says positively.
I laugh, “Forgive me sweetheart, but it looks as if you are just as much in need of rescuing.”
“You think so?” I nod. He laughs and then pulls himself up onto the pipe above and plays with the lock on his wrists before jumping back down, free of his chains. His warm hand brushes gently against my face, “What do you think now?”
“You are always the one with a plan.”
“Always, Princess. Now, let me get that lock for you. I only like to kiss you when you can wrap your arms around me.” I lift my wrists to him and he fumbles with it for a bit before releasing me. Nick rubs the scratches on my hands before pulling me into his arms. His lips are soft and warm and have never been more comforting than right now. “You feel weak, can you walk?”
“Not far. They haven’t been real gracious with their food and water.” I say as Nick’s mind starts to go.
“So you are saying you want to have dinner in bed with me tonight?” Nick jokes. “Alright, well I guess I better get you out of here then. Do me a favor and lie down, close your eyes and don’t move until you see the signal.”
“What’s the signal?”
“You’ll know it when you see it.” Nick says wrapping the chain around my wrists before hanging himself back up on the pipe. “HEY! HEY! There is something wrong with this chic! HEY! I think she’s dead! I don’t want to be in here with a dead body! Hey!” The door swings open and I feel a presence hovering over me.
Someone nudges my side with his foot, “Lady, wake up! If she is dead, can we just kill this guy and go? This place stinks. Ahk!” The man’s scream startles me and I open my eyes to see Nick strangling him with his legs before pushing him into another and causing him to fall on the ground near me. I quickly take my chains, wrap them around his neck and pull as hard as I can. Two other men run in so I grab the man’s gun and shoot. Nick follows shooting two more coming at us. Nick pushes the body off me and uses him as a shield for us both as he shoots everything coming at us until we finally hear silence.