Stolen

by S L Davies

  Benjamin nodded his head and turned towards an open door, where her guys had entered with Audrey. Branwen wasn’t satisfied with Benjamin’s answer. She knew there was more to the story, there was something else going on. She could feel it in her gut.

  Branwen entered the living room and stopped at the door. It was weird. Sitting on the couch lined up all dressed the same, the boys were all in suits and the girl was sitting in a dress staring at the door. The boys all had the same hair style and the girl looked as nervous as Audrey. It was almost cult like. Branwen glanced over at her guys. Kodiak raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave him a small head nod. Kodiak got it, this was weird, there was something wrong with this family and Branwen wasn’t sure she wanted a part of it.

  “Ah, hello, I’m Branwen, or well you might know me more as Chloe,” Branwen said pointing towards her men, “these are my partners or boyfriends, Karney, Finnbarr and Kodiak.”

  “Yes,” Audrey nodded stepping into the middle of the room still wringing her hands together. Suddenly Branwen realised that Audrey was wearing the same white linen dress as the girl, Adaline.

  “Well these are your brothers,” Audrey continued pointing to the boys that were sitting on the couch in uncomfortable looking suits.

  “I’m Harley, I’m the eldest brother,” Harley said standing from the couch and walking towards Branwen, he reached out his hand and when Branwen placed hers in his he shook her hand stiffly. Harley was the angry looking boy in the family photo that Kodiak had showed her, and something in his eye told Branwen that if she wanted information on the family, Harley was the one to get it from.

  “It’s lovely to meet you, Harley,” Branwen said with a small smile.

  “I’m Ryan,” the next boy said as he stood and walked towards her to shake her hand, “I’m the next eldest.”

  “It’s good to meet you,” Branwen replied.

  The next boy stood, “I’m Colton, the youngest brother,” he said with a smile that filled Branwen with unease. Something in the way he looked at Branwen, turned her stomach.

  Adaline stood and brushed her dress down, to make sure it wasn’t riding up before coming towards Branwen and giving her a small hug, “I’m Adaline, the daughter,” she said as she pulled Branwen in for a second hug, “please go back to Ireland, it’s not safe here,” Adaline whispered.

  Branwen’s eyes widened and she looked down into Adaline’s green eyes, she was twelve years old, and she looked terrified. It just solidified everything in Branwen’s mind. She was going to get to the bottom of what the hell was going on in this family. She wasn’t going to allow this little girl to live in the fear that she was living with.

  Branwen looked over her shoulder and noticed Karney frowning, he glanced up and caught Branwen’s eye. He gave a tiny head nod, something she was the only one to catch. It told Branwen that he had heard what Adaline whispered. They needed to save this little girl.

  “Well it’s nice to meet you Adaline, I’m looking forward to getting to know you all more,” Branwen said squeezing Adaline’s shoulders. She pulled the girl in for another hug, “I’m going to find out what is going on and I’m going to save you from this,” Branwen whispered in Adaline’s ear before pulling away.

  Adaline’s eyes were wide and looking into her eyes, Branwen saw hope.

  Chapter Twenty- Five

  The visit with Branwen’s biological family was uncomfortable and almost robotic. The kids were all well behaved. Audrey and Adaline were in a constant state of nervousness, while Benjamin was stiff and unapproachable. It reminded Branwen of some sort of strange cult, where the women weren’t allowed to speak or have a mind of their own. If that was the case, it must have killed Benjamin to know that his first-born daughter was the head of the Murphy family.

  “So, tell us about yourself, Branwen,” Benjamin said.

  “Well, I thought I was twenty years old. My Da and Uncle Dyfed estimated my age. I always celebrated my birthday on the first of January, since we didn’t know when my birthday was. I have no memory of life before Da and Uncle Dyfed found me,” she explained.

  “Where did they find you?” Audrey asked quietly, before she quickly covered her mouth and shot Benjamin an apologetic look. Branwen frowned at the interaction and sighed.

  “In a house with drug addicts, the woman was dead from an overdose, the man, he was dead too,” she said not letting on that it was her da and Uncle Dyfed that killed him. “I was naked in the bedroom. I had been raped and molested by a paedophile ring. I was sold to paedophiles to use.”

  Audrey gasped and clutched onto Adaline’s arms. Adaline dropped her eyes to her lap, but Branwen could see that she was visibly shaking. Branwen wondered if she had experienced something similar. Branwen questioned whether she was really abducted.

  “Benjamin, I’d like to hear about the abduction, how it happened?” she asked, turning her full attention to Benjamin, who swallowed and paled slightly.

  “We didn’t know who took you, not until the police told us after you had been found,” he explained.

  “Yes, I believe that it was your brother that took me?” Branwen asked, Carter had explained to her that it was Benjamin’s brother, who was a known paedophile, who abducted her and sold her to the people in Northern Ireland.

  “Ah yes, it was,” Benjamin said clearing his throat.

  “You knew he was a paedophile and you let him near your newborn baby?” Karney asked, leaning forward in his seat.

  Branwen looked between the family members, Harley was glaring at his father, the other boys were sitting back watching, Audrey had tears in her eyes, and Adaline was trembling. Finnbarr gently reached out and touched Adaline’s arm. She flinched before forcing herself to relax and take Finnbarr’s hand. Finnbarr looked up at Branwen with a frown. It was an odd reaction to have, and it was confirming more to Branwen that Benjamin’s brother may not be the only paedophile of the family.

  “Yes, I did know he was a, lover of children,” Benjamin said.

  Branwen raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, she sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest, “a lover of children? That’s what you are going to call the dirty fucker that liked to rape children, who have no choice, no say, a fucking lover of children. He is a dirty cunt, who deserves to have his cock carved from his body,” Branwen growled, “and if he hadn’t done the job for me, I might have organised him to be wiped from the earth myself”.

  Benjamin stood and pointed towards the door, his face red, and a pulse raging in his neck, “you need to leave now, take your men and your whore mouth with you,” he roared, with spittle flying from his lips.

  Kodiak stood and pulled his gun pointing it at Benjamin, Audrey gasped and pulled Adaline to her chest. Colton stood beside his father, which prompted Karney to stand. As soon as Karney towered over the fifteen-year-old, Colton shrunk back.

  Branwen stood on her crutches and turned to Harley, “there is something not right with this family, if you want out, if you want to talk and tell me what the fuck this is, then come to me, I will fix it,” she said before handing him a piece of paper to where they were staying and her phone number written on it. Harley took the piece of paper in his hand, while Benjamin looked on incredulously, his eyes narrowed, and his face stained red. Harley gave Branwen a firm head nod.

  Branwen turned without another word and hopped her way out of the living room, Finnbarr followed after her. They were outside before Karney and Kodiak came out. There were no gunshots, so at least they didn’t kill anyone. Branwen felt sick to her stomach. She got the feeling that Adaline was being molested, there was something going on and Branwen hated that she couldn’t fix it. That little girl was terrified.

  “Back to the motel?” Finnbarr asked.

  “Yeah, I just hope that Harley comes to us, that he tells us what’s going on,” she said as she hopped towards the waiting limousine.

  “There is something wrong. That little girl is being hurt, she is terrified, something’s n
ot right,” Finnbarr said as they entered the car.

  “Yes, I agree,” Branwen said as she nodded her head and sighed, she felt helpless, there was nothing she could do without the proof or knowledge as to what was going on, “let’s organise some passports for the kids, just to have on hand, I have a feeling they aren’t going to be here much longer.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Branwen was twisted up inside for the rest of the night, her mind kept going over every little detail, every nuance, every quirk of Benjamin’s. She felt like he was the key. It was something to do with him. He was the reason for the kids and Audrey’s weird behaviour and Colton seemed to be shaping up to be just like his father. It sickened Branwen’s stomach to think what might be going on. Whatever it was, wasn’t good. And once it was exposed, that family, those kids were going to be rocked forever, as might Branwen.

  She had grown up in a family that minded their own business, and normally she would, she would just let the police deal with whatever the hell was going on. However, this was her business, these people were potentially her biological family, she still wasn’t convinced that her siblings belonged to her biologically, however, she couldn’t turn her back on them. This did involve her, even if she didn’t want it to.

  When they arrived back at the motel, Carter was sitting watching television, neighbours, of all shows, they sat and filled him in on everything they had witnessed, from the way the kids were all dressed, to Adaline’s twitchiness and her warning whispered to Branwen. Carter took it all in, frowning and asking questions to clarify points, Branwen could see that he was going into cop mode. This is what she needed. She needed him to be a cop and investigate what the hell was going on.

  “I think you’re right- something is going on. I would go so far as to say Benjamin was more involved in your abduction than what was known. I did some research and I can’t find anything about the kids being adopted or fostered to the Tomlinson’s, in fact there are no registered birth certificates for the kids at all. But what I don’t understand is why he would get rid of you, Little Raven, only to take on more kids,” Carter said once they had finished telling him everything.

  That was the conclusion Branwen had also come to. Benjamin knew more. It was his brother that had abducted her, that didn’t mean Benjamin did know more, but something in Branwen’s gut told her there was something going on between the two brothers. She couldn’t answer Carter as to why Benjamin would be involved in her abduction but then get more children, and even that opened a slew of questions. Where the hell these kids came from was one.

  “We need to dig further into Benjamin and his brother, their background, where they grew up, who their parents were, and we need to do it quietly, the last thing we want is to spook him and have him run. If something is going on, then at the very least that little girl needs protecting,” Carter said, standing and walking to where they had left their laptops.

  Carter opened the laptop that he had brought in and started to click at the keys, “right what was the brother’s name?” he asked.

  “Dennis, I don’t know any more than that though,” Branwen answered.

  She was sitting on the couch, where Karney had placed her plastered leg on a pillow in front of her. She hated this damned cast and it hadn’t even been a full week of having it. It was heavy and cumbersome, annoying to get comfortable and frustrating to move around.

  “Dennis Simon Tomlinson, he was sent to prison in seventy-six for the molestation of a child under the age of four,” Carter read out causing Branwen to shudder, “then not long after you were born he was sent back to prison for armed robbery, where he spent ten years, when he was released he was found guilty of rape of a child under sixteen and returned back to prison, where he spent until he committed suicide a few weeks back, opening this all up.”

  “Right, so he’s dead, well that’s a good thing, let the devil take care of him,” Branwen said, “Benjamin doesn’t have any record?”

  Carter continued to frown at the screen and press buttons on his laptop, before shaking his head, “no, Benjamin is clean on paper, however, his da was not so clean, his da was Eric Benjamin Tomlinson, he was sent to prison for the incestuous rape and murder of his daughter Rebecca Anne Tomlinson, she was twelve.”

  “What the fuck?” Branwen said turning in her seat, to look at the detective.

  “Yeah, apparently Rebecca was found dead in her home, where she had been tied to her bed, raped and beaten, Eric confessed that it had been him,” Carter said, his voice hitching as he read through the information in front of him, “ah Jesus.”

  “What? What is it?” she asked.

  “In the notes it said that Eric also confessed to raping all of his children and having them have sex with one another to keep the family pure. He was fuckin’ nuts, he believed that sex outside of the family was a mortal sin, Jesus, I just can’t.”

  “So, does that mean that Audrey is a sister as well?” Kodiak asked.

  Carter looked up and frowned, before looking back at the laptop and clicking on more buttons, he shook his head, “I can’t find any reference to Audrey in the notes, it only mentions, the three, Benjamin, Dennis and Rebecca. Their mother’s name was Rebecca also. I’m not sure where Audrey fits into this.”

  “Shit, this is not good, so you think that Benjamin, might be running his family the same way?” Branwen asked.

  “My gut says that’s what is happening. But from the looks of things you are the only biological child, I don’t know, this is the most fucked up situation I’ve ever been involved in. Listen, I’m going to give the detective a ring that was involved in finding you, in the morning. Maybe he will be able to tell me more, but I don’t have jurisdiction here, I can’t make any arrests. Anything we do, we are going to have to do without the law. The minute the cops start investigating, I think Benjamin will run.”

  “Carter, are you asking me to break Australian law?” Branwen asked with a devious smile.

  Carter rolled his eyes, “just by fuck don’t get caught, you won’t be able to get out of it easily here, you don’t have cops on the payroll to protect you.”

  “Actually, we do,” Kodiak said.

  Branwen and Carter turned to face him, Branwen’s mouth dropping open in shock, Kodiak shrugged a shoulder and grinned, “the Isakov family is spread wide,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Fuck me,” Carter groaned.

  Branwen grinned, “I think Kodiak let’s get some of them cops investigating this too, that way they won’t tip off Benjamin.”

  “Good idea,” Kodiak said with a smile, before he stood and left the room, his phone pressed to his ear.

  “We need to get at the very least that little girl out of there, god only knows what has happened to her, and what might still happen to her. I couldn’t live with myself if she ended up like Rebecca Tomlinson.”

  “We will sweetheart, we will,” Carter said with a firm head nod.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  After a night of literally no sleep, Branwen was roused from her thoughts by a knock on the suite door. Karney who was up in the living area with Branwen pulled his gun and went to the door, looking through the peep hole.

  “It’s Harley,” he said quietly.

  Branwen frowned, but nodded her head, as Karney opened the door. He kept hold of his gun. Branwen had hold of hers, under the blanket that was sitting on her lap. “Harley,” she said from the couch.

  He looked over at Branwen and seemed to deflate. His blue eyes that had been so angry before suddenly looked sad. He looked like a little boy standing in the doorway, not an eighteen-year-old man.

  “Branwen,” he breathed as he stepped into the room. Karney moved behind Harley, who flinched and stiffened. He appeared that he was going to run, which was something Branwen didn’t want.

  “Harley, come and sit with me?” she asked.

  “I. I needed to talk to you,” he stammered.

  “Sure, come and sit,” she said patting the seat besi
de her. Branwen continued to clutch the gun under the blanket and noticed out the corner of her eye that Kodiak was standing in the shadows of the bedroom doorway. Karney still had hold of his gun as he guided Harley to the couch.

  “What did you need to talk to me about?” Branwen asked as he sat on the couch beside her.

  “My, well our, family,” he said with a sigh.

  “Right, what about them?” she asked.

  Harley looked up at Branwen with wide eyes, the poor kid looked terrified, the look on his face solidified everything she was thinking about Benjamin and the Tomlinson family.

  “I didn’t want to do it, I knew it was wrong, but dad, he said I needed to. He said we all needed to make money, he told us that we needed to earn our keep, that the only reason he took us was to help with the business,” Harley said, his hands in his lap were shaking.

  “What? What are you saying?” Branwen asked, as she clutched her gun tighter, she didn’t know what was about to happen, and she was prepared to shoot this kid in the face if she had to.

  Harley looked over his shoulder at Karney, who was sitting in one of the armchairs in the room, Karney looked relaxed however, Branwen could tell by the way his muscles were tensed and the click in his jaw that he was prepared to pull the trigger of the gun he had down the side of his leg. Swallowing hard, Harley cleared his throat, “he made me have sex with,” he started clearing his throat again, “with. with, Adaline,” he finished on a sob.

  Branwen hissed, while Karney closed his eyes and groaned. Harley looked between them with wide eyes and shook his head, standing quickly, “I made a mistake, I shouldn’t be here,” he said heading for the door.

  Kodiak beat him to it and wrapped Harley against him, “you are in the right place Harley, we will help you, we will make it stop,” Kodiak said quietly into Harley’s hair, as he clutched the struggling boy to his chest. Kodiak towered over Harley, who was small even for being eighteen, he was slight and was no match for Kodiak.