by Huss, JA
“My security is gone,” Ford finally admits.
“Gone? How?”
“Like they were never there. Someone infiltrated my fucking team.”
I feel little vindication over this admission. The facts don’t change. It doesn’t matter who’s at fault, the girls are still missing.
Ford paces one side of the office while I pace the other. Ronin stands in the middle, calm. Calmer than he should be since Rook is missing. “What?” I ask him as I pass by. “Why the fuck are you so calm?”
He huffs some air at me. “Because one of us has to think clearly, Spencer. Look, I don’t have all the info here, OK? You two know something I don’t. What the fuck is going on with this Drake guy, Spencer?”
“I fucking told you, Ronin, he’s the fucking son of that Boulder bastard. He was about to get cuffed back there by the little blonde cop he knocked over yesterday and I said, Paybacks are a bitch. And then he said, Yeah, or You better remember that, or some shit like that. Meaning I’m the one getting paid back.” I point to my own chest to emphasize.
“By who?”
Ford makes for the door and I grab him by the arm. “Where the fuck are you going?”
He glares at me and shakes his arm free. “We have the bot. We’re gonna find out right the fuck now who’s behind this shit. And then, I swear to fucking God, whoever took my girls will be dead by tonight.” He stops and looks at Ronin, then me. “I’m not fucking around.”
And then he’s gone.
Ronin looks over at me and swallows. “What the fuck is going on, Spencer?”
“Dude, I swear, I have no fucking idea. But Veronica’s phone has been disconnected.”
“Maybe she’s just tired of you bugging her, maybe she just got it changed?”
“No, I was with her last night, OK? We had a really good night. I told her to be patient, this shit was almost over. She was good, we were good. And now she’s missing too.”
“This just makes no sense, Spencer. Rook’s testimony, Ford’s daughter, your girlfriend. None of these things are related beyond the fact that they’re all our girls.”
I swallow and inhale deeply. “Yeah.” That hurts. So fucking bad. Because all these years I’ve been trying to protect Ronnie and now look. She might be killed because of me.
Ford comes back in, slams the bot down on my stainless steel desk, then opens his laptop and takes a seat in my chair. He types and then pulls up the bot’s memory card via Bluetooth.
We wait as the footage loads. Ford drums his fingers on the desk, refusing to look at anyone. Ronin peeks out the window facing the street. I’m frozen in place, my worst nightmare coming true.
“Here it is,” Ford finally says after many long silent minutes. “Drake came in two days ago, bitching about the theft?”
“Yeah,” I say as I go around the desk and squat down so I can see the monitor. Ronin flanks Ford’s other side, and we watch the footage run in fast-forward. It’s not the best spot for the bot to be parked—it’s got a fifty-five-gallon drum on one side of the bench it’s parked under and the guys in the garage pile shit up on the other side for a lot of the day. But every night, the shop is picked up and the camera has a clean shot of the bay that houses Drake’s bike. His schedule is annoyingly consistent, and the bot’s camera goes into sleep mode after eight minutes of no motion detection. It stays dark all night, every night until…
“Two nights ago,” Ford mumbles as his fingers type on the keyboard. “That’s after he says the bikes went missing. No fucking bikes went missing. Everything goes quiet around eight, like usual, but it comes back to life at ten thirty.” We watch the monitor as he slows it to real time. There’s three sets of feet walking by, but they are too close to the bot to see faces.
“Come on, come on,” Ronin says impatiently. “Fucking fast-forward until they move back, Ford.”
Ford obliges, and the footage gives us absolutely nothing. The screen goes blank again.
“Fuck,” Ford says. He fast-forwards again to get to the next day, which is yesterday. Same thing, there’s nothing out of the ordinary at all. Just customers, mechanics. Drake working on his bike. We keep watching in fast-forward until the screen goes black and then Ford speeds it up again.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say. “Back it up. I saw a flicker.”
Ford rewinds and yeah, sure enough, at three thirty last night the camera comes on.
And this time we can see exactly who it is.
“Bobby Mansi,” I mutter. “That guy on the left is Bobby Mansi, Ronnie’s new landlord.”
Ford looks at me and shakes his head. “Well, that guy on the right? That’s Tony Fenici. Ashleigh’s dead husband.”
The door bursts open and I’ve got my gun out and pressed against Carson’s head before I even process who he is. “Fuck, Carson, you almost got yourself shot!”
“Sorry, Spencer,” he says, all out of breath. “But shit, you guys need to get over to that penthouse where Ronnie lives, because I followed the Bombshell over there after work, and dudes…” He pants a little as he tries to catch his breath. “All your women are over there with some pretty nasty-looking guys with guns!”
Ford is up before Carson even stops talking but both Ronin and I grab an arm and wrestle him back to the chair.
“Stay focused, Ford.” I point my finger down at him. “We don’t fucking rush in to anything. And right now, they’ve got your wife and baby, so the last thing we want to do is go in unprepared.”
“I’ll kill that motherfucker, Spencer. I swear, I will kill that motherfucker.”
“Understood.” I swallow hard and clap his shoulder.
“OK,” Ronin says, turning to Carson. “Tell us everything you know.”
So he does. And Carson Reed instantly jumps from prospect to Team member.
And then there’s only one thing left to do.
I get the guns.
Chapter Thirty-Three - Veronica
I dart down the hallway to an empty closet and slip inside. There’s nothing in here, no hangers to rattle and give me away. So I try to calm my racing heart. I open it a crack and push the record button on the phone just as the elevator doors open. He must have a key that makes them work.
The baby is sniffling but her crying has stopped. Rook is holding her tightly to her chest, her eyes covered with a blindfold. Her mouth is not gagged and her hands are not bound, though. She needs those to hold Kate and whisper calming words to her to keep her from wailing in protest at what’s happening.
The baby recoils in terror when the man I think is Tony leans in and talks to her. “Katelynn Fenici, you’re mine, little girl.”
“She’s not yours,” Rook growls back in protective mode. The guy belts her across the mouth. Her head snaps to the side. Blood drips down her lip and Rook spits it out on the floor. It misses the guy’s boots, but just barely. “That’s all you got, asshole?” she snarls. “You hit like a girl.” He hits her again and this time Rook stumbles to the side, her lip split open good. “You can hit me all you want, it doesn’t change a thing. This baby is not yours.”
Tony pushes a gun in Rook’s back and give her a push. “Walk forward,” he barks.
“I’m not walking blindfolded with a baby. I’ll fall and she’s the one who’ll get—”
The guy pushes Rook hard enough to make her stumble forward. I almost gasp as she begins to fall. Tony plucks the baby right from Rook’s arms and then she crashes forward, landing hard on her side. Tony leans in and says something to Rook, but I can’t hear anything over the panicked wailing of Kate.
He thrusts the child back at Rook and Rook wraps the baby in her arms protectively, bringing her close to her chest as she tries to calm her.
Tony walks over to the large windows and looks out, then turns back to Rook. “If she moves,” he says to no one, “shoot her. You hear that, Rook? You move, you take off that blindfold, you get up and try to escape, my two guys will shoot you.” He kicks her in the leg and then goes back t
o the elevator, which still has its doors open. Like it requires a command to do anything at the moment.
I can’t see Tony as he gets in, but a few seconds later the doors close and the room is quiet.
“Rook?” Amber says from across the room. I almost forgot she was here. And she’s got her gag off! If that guy had seen that—
“Don’t talk to me.”
“There’s a girl here, not two guys. She’s hiding somewhere, and she’s not going to shoot you. Come untie me.”
“Shut up!” Rook snaps. “I don’t even know who you are.”
“I’m Kate’s aunt, Amber. I’m Ashleigh’s sister. And I’m telling you, there are no guys here, just a girl who is gone. She told me I’d be OK. But right now that guy who just left is going to get my sister and then he’ll come back up here and take Kate and kill us both. He’s an animal. So if you want to live, if you want that baby to live, then you need to get your ass over here and untie me so we can escape.”
Rook lifts herself up cautiously, waiting for the command to sit back down, but when it doesn’t come, she stands all the way up and coos into Kate’s ear. “You’re OK, baby. We’re gonna get out of here now, OK? Go see your mommy and daddy.” She removes her blindfold and looks around. I duck back into the closet as her eyes swipe past the room. Then she runs over to Amber and removes her blindfold.
Amber sighs with relief. “Untie me. We need to get the hell out of here before he comes back.”
Rook sets baby Kate down on the bare floor and goes to work on her bonds. When she’s done untying her, they both stand and Rook takes the baby again. “We need to get outside,” Rook says. “We can make a run for Shrike Bikes.”
They both run to the stairs and pull open the door, listening for footfalls or voices. They must not hear anything, because they both disappear inside.
I follow them. I get up, tiptoeing as silently as I can in my Chucks, and get my gun out. I check the chamber to make sure I’m ready, and then I pull the door open and follow them down the stairs. They go slowly, Rook desperate to keep Kate from crying, her pleas and Kate’s complaints dead giveaways to anyone who comes in here looking for us. I’m still two flights above them when I hear a small squeak from the door directly below me.
I freeze.
The door closes quietly. Kate is loud now, and Rook cannot contain her crying, so the man below me takes advantage and leaps down the stairs, once, then again. Rook is screaming, Amber is screaming, Kate is screaming… and I’m already standing in front of Tony Fenici, pointing my gun at him before I even have a moment to think about it.
I aim for his chest and fire. The bullet hits the wall and shatters the plaster.
He turns at me and I duck back. A bullet whizzes up the stairwell and hits the ceiling. Heavy footsteps thunder down the stairs and Kate’s cries diminish as Rook and Amber exit through the door to the garage. Tony follows them, jumping over the railing to save himself some time, and I’m right on his tail.
Fuck Bobby Mansi, I’m on Team Rook right now.
Tony slams the door open and exits and three seconds later I follow, my gun ready.
Tony grabs Rook and she loses her grip on the baby. I watch in horror as he takes possession of the hysterical child just as a car pulls into the garage. A door swings open and Ashleigh is out and running towards us.
“No!” I scream.
Tony whirls around, and Rook grabs Kate, just as Bobby takes a shot at me. I duck back inside the stairwell as the cinderblock crumbles off to the side of my head.
What the fuck was that? Am I on his team or not? And how did he miss me? He shoots that gun like he was born holding it.
“Ashleigh!” Bobby yells. “Stop right now!”
But Ashleigh doesn’t stop. She’s running full-on towards a fleeing Rook who has her child.
Until Tony turns to face her. And then her feet stop. Her face contorts in confusion. Her mouth opens. Her eyes widen. Her hands come up to her mouth as she tries to process what she’s seeing.
And then she drops to her knees and her world comes apart.
Chapter Thirty-Four - Spencer
We get over to the Mason Street condo just as a black car pulls into the garage. When they move through the gates, Ronin, Ford and I jump out and leave Carson in the truck. We book it to the gate before it closes and enter the garage just as Ashleigh falls to the ground. At first it looks like she’s hurt, and I look around wildly, trying to figure out where the threat is.
“Ronin,” Ford says in a low voice. “Kate’s on the far side of the garage with Rook. Get them. I need to speak to Ashleigh.”
“Tony, Tony, Tony…” Ashleigh’s small voice keeps repeating.
And this is when I figure it out. Ford knew. Ford knew Tony was alive and he never told Ashleigh.
Ronin takes off just as Ford enters the garage. I follow him in and even though I’m pissed he kept this secret from us, it hurts my heart to hear Ashleigh say the name of her dead lover in front of him.
Ford’s shoulders slump as he takes in the scene. And I can only imagine this is his worst nightmare. Like Ronin watching Rook take the stand and admit her part in that human trafficking ring.
Or me, after all the sacrifices I’ve made to keep Ronnie safe… to find her hurt because of my past.
Watching Ashleigh come to terms with this new reality is Ford’s version of hell. He just stands there, waiting to see how it will play out.
There’s movement on the far side of the garage—not Rook and Kate, they’ve disappeared inside the stairwell. Someone else. Another woman.
“Ashleigh,” the blonde calls out. “Stay away. Please, Ashleigh! Stay away from him!”
“Ashleigh,” Tony says in a tone one uses for children who are acting irrationally. “Come here, baby. It’s me, Ashleigh. It’s me. I’m here.” And then he opens his arms. “Please,” he begs. “We have to go.”
I walk the wall. No one is paying any attention to me. All eyes are on the girl who holds all the cards. “You’re dead,” Ash manages. Her breathing is suddenly erratic, like she’s overwhelmed with what’s happening. She clambers to her feet, swaying back and forth a little, and Ford takes a few steps forward. “You’re dead!” she repeats, louder and a little more forcefully this time. Like she needs to talk herself into it.
“No, Li Li,” the very much alive Tony replies. “No, baby. I’m not dead. It was fake. It was fake. I had to make it look real, I had to make everyone believe. It was the only way to get out of my contract.”
“What?” Her hands go to her head and she grabs fistfuls of hair, like this makes no sense to her.
Tony moves forward. But Ashleigh retreats several steps, stumbling until she backs herself against a cement pillar.
“You’re dead!” she says again, only this time she’s on the verge of hysterics. “I’m seeing things. Ford!” she yells.
“I’m here, Ashleigh,” Ford says, and then all eyes are on him, like a target.
Tony takes a shot at Ford, but it misses. A warning shot. But I duck behind a pillar, just in case. My gun is ready, but for some reason, I’m so very, very calm.
“Stay where you are, Aston, or the next one goes through your head.” He extends his hand towards Ashleigh again. “Come on, baby. Just take my hand, Ash, and we’ll get out of here and go home.”
“Home?” Ash says, like she’s confused. “You’re dead,” Ashleigh says one more time. “I saw your grave. I went to Texas. I drove in a blizzard. I went to LA. I took a very long trip to go see your grave.”
“Empty,” he says. “It was an empty grave, I made sure you knew that. I made sure there was nothing in that grave so you’d know. I told you. I told you, Li Li. I’d never leave you. And in your heart, you knew I was alive, right? You felt me, you knew I was alive. You knew it was empty. I’d never leave you, Ashleigh. Never.”
Ashleigh starts to cry and Tony moves forward again. I’m not sure if I should stop him or not. When I look over at Ford I can feel his pain j
ust by watching the expression on his face. She might walk away from him right now. He might lose everything.
She lets Tony approach this time and then he’s got her wrapped in his arms. “We’re leaving now,” he says in her ear.
“Ash,” the blonde woman I now recognize as Ashleigh’s sister calls out. “He’s a bad man, Ashleigh. He’s a bad, bad man. Please, listen to me. He’s a paid assassin, Ashleigh. He was never in the US military. OK? He was never a Navy SEAL. He’s a soldier all right, but not the kind who protects people. He’s a killer. I’ve been trying to tell you for years. Remember when I dated James? Tony’s brother? He’s bad too, but at least he knows better than to drag a woman into his world. Please listen to me, Ashleigh. Please do not let him take you, because you will sell yourself into this organization if you go. You’ll sell Kate into this organization. Is that what you want?”
Tony stares at Ashleigh’s sister like she’s the devil, and every second she speaks, I expect him to shoot. But in a weird way, he almost looks relieved. He looks down at Ashleigh, his eyes begging her to accept these things as true and still want what he has to offer.
Ashleigh starts to cry uncontrollably. “Why?” she asks, looking up at the first man she gave her heart to. “Why did you do this to me? How? How could you do this to me?”
Tony’s face hardens with her words. “I did this for us, Ashleigh. So we can be together! If I hadn’t died, then I’d still be a slave to the organization. And I’d never be able to have you and Kate.” He grabs her face and holds it steady, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “I did this for us! For our family. Say it back to me, baby. Tell me you understand. Tell me you know I did this for us!”
Ashleigh shakes her head. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m not dead, Li Li. I’m not dead. We’re together now. Everything’s OK now.”
He grabs her hand and tries to lead her away, but she plants her feet firmly on the ground and resists. She pulls her hand free. “I almost killed myself.”