Have Mercy

by N. E. Henderson

  I toss my cell into the passenger seat of my truck and pull out of the parking lot, seeing Maggie jog down the stairs, heading to her car. I watch in the rearview mirror, making sure she gets in safely before I gas it, going to the one place I have no business being at.

  He better be okay. Because if he’s not . . . someone is going to pay. And I’m not talking with money.

  Fuck, Brandon. Just be okay.

  I’d rather beat his ass than him not be physically or emotionally all right.

  34

  — Jamie —

  I wasn’t so delusional that I thought I’d never step foot back into this house.

  My son lives here, so the chances were always likely that would happen, at least until he graduates and goes off to college. And it has been two months since I last walked through the door I am now. The last time I was here, a few weeks before I left to begin my band’s fall tour before Thanksgiving, it was to move all my stuff out and into my rental.

  Julia begged me not to go through with the divorce, but what was done was done. The paperwork had been filed before the start of my summer tour last year. It was only a matter of time before the documents releasing me from the last eighteen years of hell were final.

  “Jamie!” Her voice booms, forcing me to look up, seeing her walking down the stairs dressed in her fancy bedclothes—a red silk nightgown with a matching robe. A robe that’s currently open for all of her assets to be on display. Assets, like this house, I bought and paid for. Not that they did her much good. I still wasn’t interested. “Thank God, you’re home.”

  “This is your house, Jules,” I remind her. “Not mine.”

  “Brandon didn’t come home last night,” she tells me, ignoring my reiteration just like the last time I was here. “I figured he was staying out with one of his friends, and when I went to check on him this morning, he wasn’t in his bed. His truck wasn’t here either. And he isn’t answering his phone,” she adds, fat tears in her eyes.

  “Maybe he had to be at school early or . . . I don’t know, maybe he went out for breakfast,” I reason, not wanting to jump the gun like a helicopter parent would do. Like she’s doing now.

  “He would answer his phone. I’m sure of it. Unless . . .”

  “Unless what?” I ask.

  “Well, you got the papers same as me last week. Maybe our son is hurt that his dad doesn’t want to be with us anymore. That could be it, Jamie. Brandon has been so upset all these months while you were away.”

  Brandon’s overdose rushes back.

  I know Jenna said it was because Julia left him alone, but I can’t see that. There has to be another reason. There is more to it, I know that. There is a lot more Jen isn’t telling me, and until she does, I don’t know what to believe.

  One thing is clear, though, Brandon’s mom does love him. She’s worried, even if I suspect she’s also using his sudden disappearance as a reason to throw me filing for divorce and then going through with it in my face.

  There is no doubt in my mind that if I told her I wanted her back, she’d jump for joy. It’s not like I ever wanted her to fall in love with me, the same as I knew I could never love her the way she said she loved me.

  Hell, maybe Brandon is upset about our divorce. It would explain the overdose. But then . . . he didn’t look depressed Saturday night while I watched him confess, or even later that night when I showed up at Jen’s house. He seemed fine yesterday morning too. Though seeing me around another woman—one I clearly still have feelings for—well, perhaps that triggered something, and Julia is right.

  “Look,” I start. “If you’re that worried, I’ll call his brother.” I’m sure if anyone knows where Brandon is it’s him. Those two seem thicker than thieves from the little time I’ve seen both together. “Just calm—”

  “His brother?” She pulls back, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, and that’s when I realize she doesn’t know about Danny. How on earth Brandon never once mentioned it I don’t know. It’s like he’s been living a different life lately, and I don’t even know how long that’s been going on. “Brandon is an only child. He doesn’t have a brother. What are you . . .” She trails off lost in thought.

  “No. He’s not, act—”

  “I swear to God, Jamie,” she snarls. “If you got one of your little tour whores knocked—”

  “It was Jenna, okay.” I shake my head. “Elise,” I correct. “I recently found out—”

  “She had that parasite?” Her tone comes out harsh and seemingly full of hatred.

  “Para what?” Did she . . . “You knew?”

  Her mouth drops and her eyes widen like a kid caught admitting something he didn’t mean to. “Well . . . I thought she lost it. I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to hurt you any more than she had already done.”

  “You knew she was pregnant with my child”—my voice rises—”and never said one fucking word?”

  She crosses her arms. “Unlike her, I love you, Jamie. So, let me repeat myself. I didn’t want to hurt you. If you recall, she is the one that tore your heart to pieces. You didn’t mean anything to her when she left you. Hell, that baby probably wasn’t even yours. She messed around with other guys behind your back. She made you look like a fool. I’m the one that healed what she damaged. Remember?”

  “Actually, she knew the day Mom was taken.” My eyes snap up, seeing Danny standing with his arms flared out, his hands wrapped around the rail above us on the second floor landing. Looking down, his eyes bore into mine until they make a slow glide to where Julia is standing a few feet in front of me. “Didn’t you?” he questions, his tone dark, coming out like a demand and sounding much older than his seventeen years.

  “My God,” Julia whispers, taking him in.

  “Where is Brandon?” Danny asks, his voice ice-cold.

  “Is he correct?” I ask, pulling on Julia’s arm to get her attention. “Did you know she was carrying my child the day she went missing?”

  “No.” She shakes her head in rapid succession. “Of course not. How is this possible?” Her eyes slide back to the stairwell where Danny is slowly descending.

  “I’m going to ask you again. Where is Brandon?”

  “She doesn’t know,” I answer.

  “Wasn’t talking to you, old man.” His jaw locks and his hands fist at his sides. “Where. Is. He?”

  “Danny—”

  “I said I wasn’t talking to you!” he shouts, stopping midway down. “I asked her,” he says, lifting his arm and pointing to Julia. “I suggest you tell me. I’m not playing here, and you don’t want to cross me. Not where he is concerned.”

  “You need to get out of my house.” Julia turns to me, her blue eyes on fire. “Get your bastard son out of my house.” Then she stills, her eyes cutting to the side. Suddenly, she whips around, her eyes lifting to Danny’s. “How are you alive?”

  “Well, obviously someone didn’t do a good job when they tried to get rid of me.” His feet descend. “But I’m not here to talk about me. And if I have to ask you where my brother is one more time, you’re not going to like what I do next, so I suggest you start opening that mouth of yours for something other than trying to get my dad back into your bed. Because let me assure you. If he knows about me, how long you think you have before he knows everything? And I mean everything.”

  “Brandon isn’t here, like I said. But if you don’t leave, don’t think I won’t call the cops. Get! Out!”

  “Go ahead,” he says. “Call them. Explain why his phone says he’s here, in this house, but isn’t.”

  “Maybe he left it here when he took off so that no one could find him.”

  “He didn’t. He also wouldn’t have taken that off,” Danny says, his finger pointing to Julia’s chest. Her hand lifts, clutching something from around her neck.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she claims, taking a step away from him, but Danny only takes a longer step forward.

  I can see she’
s lying. The question is why?

  “You’re wearing his necklace.” Danny’s eyes dip to Julia’s neckline. Then like lightning, his hand moves fast, snatching the pendant and chain from her body.

  “Ahhh,” she screams as her hand flies up to her throat.

  “Danny!” I yell. But he doesn’t pay me any attention, as though he didn’t hear me, his focus fully on my ex-wife.

  “Did you know there’s a tracking device in it? Or did you take it for a souvenir, you sick bitch?”

  “Daniel,” I bark, not liking the tone he has with her or the way he tore that necklace from around her neck. No doubt leaving marks.

  “Last chance. If you’re smart, you’ll heed my warning.”

  “No, you’ll heed mine. Now get out.”

  He shrugs, and then what he does next catches me so off guard, I’m stunned and frozen to the ground I’m standing on. He reaches out, his right hand wrapping around Julia’s neck, and then he yanks her forward. The sneer on his face mirrors the one I saw yesterday morning. It’s the same look Josh Breckett had on his face when he saw me there. Danny’s is full of hate to the point I can see the dark that lives within him. And I don’t like it. Not on my son.

  She starts to struggle, and that shakes me out of my trance. I take a step toward them.

  “Don’t!” he yells. “Take another step and I’ll snap her neck so quick she’ll be dead before you reach her.”

  “Danny,” I reason. “Let her go. I get you’re worried about Brandon, and we’ll find him, but you need to release his mother.”

  “You keep saying that and you need to stop. She isn’t his mother. She isn’t a mother at all. She’s a—”

  “Daniel, don’t make me tell you again,” I say a bit louder, taking another step toward them. But like he promised, his hand squeezes, tightening even more, making Julia choke, I have no choice but to stop my advance.

  “You really don’t want to call my bluff, old man. I’m not playing games. I will kill her, and I won’t feel one shred of guilt for it. In fact, she deserves it.” His voice is eerily calm; too calm. “No. She deserves so much worse. Don’t you?” Danny sighs. “Tell me where Brandon is before I lose my goddamn patience.”

  “I—” Danny’s grip tightens in warning, and I fist my own hands just so that I don’t lose it and rush forward. “Marina,” she spits out and my eyes widen. “He’s at the marina.”

  Danny still doesn’t let go. “Boat number? Which marina?”

  “Don’t . . . know.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “Can’t . . . breathe. Jamie,” she calls, but I’m unable to do anything but watch.

  “Tell. Me.”

  “Ruler of the Mountain. Let . . . go.”

  “You knew where Brandon was this whole time? What the hell is our son doing at the marina?”

  “He’s not,” Danny says. “He’s at the Port of LA. Isn’t he?”

  “Jamie,” Julia cries, rubbing her neck. “I just wanted you to see that the divorce is hurting our son. Just come home. Brandon, our son, needs us both.”

  “You really are that good.” Danny eyes her, his head cocked to the side. Julia doesn’t look at him. Her blue eyes are pleading with mine. “Never understood it. And I wouldn’t have had I not seen it for myself.”

  “Seen what?” I can’t help asking, my stare not leaving my ex-wife's. It’s a school day. Brandon should be in class, so why isn’t he and why did Julia pretend he was missing?

  “She’s playing you, old man.”

  “I’m not. Brandon, my son, our son . . .” She turns to face me, turning her back toward Danny. “Isn’t handling the divorce well. He’s sad. He’s hurting, and you did that to him.”

  Until this moment, I hadn’t felt one shred of guilt about leaving her. In my head, I thought I was doing all of us a favor. I didn’t love her, never had. When I was home, we fought. That wasn’t healthy for Brandon. I needed to separate from her, to leave permanently. I waited until Brandon was almost grown. I thought he could handle it.

  “You’re right about one thing,” Danny says. “Brandon is hurting, but he”—his finger points at me—”isn’t the one hurting him. You are, and you have for a long time. Time for that to end.”

  Before Julia can react, Danny grabs her, locking his thick arm around her in a chokehold.

  “Danny, stop.” But he doesn’t, and for some reason, I can’t move to help her.

  She fights. She’s kicking and is choking, and like a pathetic man, I stand here staring at them and at a loss on who to help.

  This isn’t going to end well for my son.

  In less than a minute, perhaps less than thirty seconds, she stops moving, her body going lax in his hold.

  “What did you do?”

  “She’s not dead if that’s what you’re thinking,” he says, releasing her and allowing her body to drop to the cold, hard floor. My eyes widen once again as my stomach drops.

  “What did you do?” I repeat.

  “I knocked her out. She’ll be fine. Well, for now, she’s fine. When Mom finds out about this, I can’t guarantee her well-being then.” I stare at where her body lies. She looks lifeless, and a part of me is scared to check.

  “That was dumb. That was the stupidest thing you ever could have done. You may be seventeen, but you could face serious-ass charges for the shit you just pulled. She’s a woman, Danny. What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking about my brother. Someone you obviously don’t think enough about, because you let her abuse him, and have for years. God only knows what she was really up to or where she’s shipping him off to.”

  He goes to leave, but I grab him by his bicep, stopping him. “You heard her. She was just trying to get me to change my mind and come back. Brandon was never in any danger, though I get wanting to protect him and—”

  “Just shut up. Do you fucking hear yourself?”

  “I hear just fine, son, and you better curb the language. Do you know what you’ve done?”

  “I should have killed her, you know.”

  “Do not talk like that. I don’t know what Jenna has told you but—”

  “The truth for one. That’s what I know and that’s why she deserves to be sent straight to Hell where she belongs. Ughhhh,” he yells, pulling at his hair. “I don’t have time to go around in circles with you. I have to get to Brandon. Please just . . . just go find my mom and do not, and I repeat, do not under any circumstances allow her to come after me or Brandon.”

  “Allow her? What do you think is going on?”

  “When you find Mom, tell her that I told you I want her to tell you everything. She’ll do it if I ask her. Believe it or not, keeping the truth from you is killing her. It’s been killing her for years, but she thought she was protecting Brandon from the truth about her.” His head jerks, his eyes on Julia.

  “Why can’t you just tell me whatever this truth is?”

  “Because my brother’s life could be in danger. Besides, I don’t have time, and it’s not mine to tell. You want to know, go find her. But I swear to God, if you let her come after me and something happens to her, there won’t be another chance with me.” Danny’s head tips down, looking at where Julia lies. “Go to the place she took you last night. That’s likely where she is now.”

  Danny’s eyes linger for just a moment, then he turns, leaving out the front door as quick as his legs will take him.

  What the fuck?

  Julia moans from the floor and I’m rewarded with a split second of relief knowing she isn’t dead. Thank God! Something isn’t right, though, and I still need answers. Jenna keeps avoiding shit she doesn’t want to talk about, yet, she goes in circles.

  She’s about to tell me everything.

  35

  — Jenna —

  “Where the hell is she?” Josh demands, his hard but concerned eyes on his wife, though, we both know the question isn’t directed at her. If Jessica knew Maggie’s whereabouts, she would have included
that detail.

  Turning, Josh stomps over to the desk he was sitting at when I first walked in, grabbing his cell phone before either of us instruct him to do so. Like me, Josh uses the same device as I do to track Danny and Brandon, only he has hers embedded behind a Blue Topaz ring that she wears on her middle finger of her right hand.

  “That’s what I need you to find out, Josh. And now, please,” Jessica says, taking a deep breath, her eyelashes fluttering like a camera lens shutter taking photos, one right after the other. She only does that when her nerves are on edge.

  “I’ll text Danny,” I tell them, pulling out my cell phone from my back pocket.

  “Yo,” Malachi says from the hallway before he appears next to Jessica in the doorway. My eyes flick back up, not having unlocked the screen before I heard my partner’s voice. “Mags just pulled up. Thought you’d want to know.”

  “Thank God!” Jess says. Malachi turns his body, facing us from where he stands. Josh nods and Jessica’s body visibly relaxes like a ten-ton weight has been lifted from her chest—and I guess it has. Not knowing where your child is will scare the strongest of the strong, making them feel weak and helpless.

  “I need Jen to stay here. You and McKinley head to the Port and check that vessel out,” Josh orders, his eyes on Malachi.

  “Josh, I’m supposed to go with him.” It’s not that Mal and Kelly don’t handle tasks together, it’s more that I just needed to go with him right now. I need something that will take my mind off Jamie and what transpired this morning. Being here isn’t helping. I need to be in the field where my focus will be on the task at hand and nothing else.

  Josh gives me a pointed look that makes my arms break out in goose bumps. “If Maggie walked out of class and Danny didn’t call me, then something is wrong.”

  He’s right.

  “Got it, boss,” Malachi says, his head turning. “Here she is now. Call if Kells and I need to get back.” His eyes flick to mine and then down to my phone, a silent message, call Danny now. Which is exactly what I do as he disappears from the doorway.