by K. C. Crowne
Lois's phone rang, and she muttered, “It's Samantha. One sec.”
She stepped into the dining room but wasn't gone for a minute before she started calling for us. Frank ran first, followed quickly by the two of us, and we found her shaking and laying in a heap on the floor, the phone in her hand. Her face was a mask of fear, her eyes wide, her mouth opening and closing, but no words came out. She was paralyzed with the fear running through her.
We got Lois to her feet and into a chair. Liam had darted into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, twisted off the cap, and handed it to her. With a hand trembling so bad, she almost dropped the bottle twice, she raised it to her lips and took a long swallow.
She took a couple of deep breaths and the color seemed to come back into her face. She looked at her husband and then at us, her eyes shimmering with tears.
“What is it?” I asked.
Frank knelt down to his wife's level, trying to get her to say something. All she could do was sob for a moment. When she finally spoke, her voice trembled and cracked.
“Samantha,” she said in a voice barely more than a whisper. “They have Samantha.”
“Who has her?” I asked.
“I don't know,” she said, shaking her head. “They said they'd kill her if – if...”
Her voice trailed off, so I spoke up, prompting her to continue. She didn't at first. She just looked at us with those wide, terrified eyes.
“If what?” I urged her.
“I'm calling the cops,” Frank said.
Lois grabbed his arms and stared at him as tears slipped down her face.
“No!” she practically screamed. “They said they'd kill her if we got the cops involved.”
Stay calm, Jason, I told myself. I looked over at Liam. I was having some trouble keeping it together, considering I knew the family all too well. They were practically my own family, and to see them going through this broke something loose inside of me. It was a rage beyond description.
Thankfully, Liam stepped in and took charge.
“What do they want?”
“Chris,” she said, her voice cracking. “They said they want Chris, or they'll kill Samantha along with everyone else he's ever cared about.”
“Mallory!” I said, quickly reaching for my phone.
Fuck, they were already there, in Ignacio's office. They were right under his nose. I dialed the number but got no response. It went straight to voicemail.
7
Seth
“It was great meeting with you, Mr. Santiago,” I said, rising to my feet. “Hopefully, we can find a way to work together in the future. I think it would be very mutually beneficial.”
“Oh, I think we will,” he said, a grin spreading across his face.
A dark sense of foreboding churned my stomach as I stared at that smirk on his face. It was cocky. Arrogant. Like he knew something I didn't. Something wasn't right. There was an ominous and sinister look in his eyes. Something was definitely wrong. I could feel it and I didn't like it one little bit.
We'd mostly talked about topics relevant to the financial sector up to this point. I learned that IHS mainly dealt with moving money around – which, though he never confessed to laundering money, I knew enough to know that's what he meant. Mallory's belief that they might be linked to the cartels was fresh in my mind, given that the cartels depended upon freshly laundered money. Add that to the suspicion growing in my mind that Ignacio was a very practiced liar, and I started to get a very good picture of the man I was dealing with.
“Here's my card,” I said. “If you'd ever look to possibly bring someone outside your family in, don't hesitate to give me a call.”
He took it and tossed it onto his desk. He didn't even stand up as I headed for the door. I pulled it open and felt my stomach immediately drop into my shoes.
The lobby was empty except for Rosa.
All kinds of things, each one more horrible than the last, start to flash through my mind. And superimposed on all of it was that menacing, sinister little smirk Ignacio had flashed me just a few moments ago. Was that little bit of knowledge I saw in his face him gloating over the fact that they'd taken her?
“Where's Mallory?” I said, trying to sound natural, trying to sound calm.
I checked my phone, making sure she didn't text me that she was going somewhere while I was in with Ignacio. I had one missed call from Jason along with a text message.
They took Chris's sister, they may come after Mallory. Keep her safe.
My heart stopped.
Rosa looked up from her computer and smiled.
“She just went to the restroom,” Rosa said. “She should be right back.”
I scanned the lobby, no sign of a restroom there. There was a hallway behind the desk.
“Is it back there? I have to go myself, come to think of it,” I said.
“Yeah, past the kitchen and on your left,” she said, still smiling as if there was nothing wrong in the world.
I gave her a quick smile and walked past her, quickly heading down the hallway. No sign of Mallory. My heart was beating now, heavily, and the tension was ratcheting up in my body a hundredfold with every step. I reached the bathroom and tried the handle. It was locked.
I knocked. “Mal, you in there?”
Silence, at first, then the toilet flushed.
Please be Mallory. Please, God.
The door opened, and she ran smack dab into me. We were inches apart and she cried out.
“What the hell, Seth?” she said as she smacked me in the shoulder.
“Have you checked your phone lately?” I asked.
“I did, why?” she said.
I showed her my message from Jason and her eyes grew as wide as dinner plates.
“They took his sister?” she said. “Have you heard anything else?”
“Not a peep. Not yet. I needed to find you first,” I said. “Come on, let's get out of here and head up to Harvelle.”
“Why do they think I'm next?” she asked.
“No clue,” I whispered. “But we'll find out once I call them back.”
We walked back down the hallway, but before we got to the lobby, we heard voices and stopped. After that text message from Jason, I sure as hell wasn't going to be taking any chances. Not with Mallory's life potentially on the line.
At the other end of the hallway, I saw a sign for a fire exit. It would require walking down several flights of stairs to get to the bottom, and to the door, but suddenly, I felt like walking. Mallory seemed to be feeling the same. Without a word, the two of us turned and walked quickly down the end of the hallway.
The voices grew louder, and while they were speaking in rapid-fire Spanish, I could make out a few words here and there. I knew they were asking about Mallory – a redheaded woman. Rosa told them she was in the bathroom.
We reached the door as someone shouted from the other end.
“Stop!” his voice echoed down the long corridor.
I pushed open the door, and we flew into the stairwell. I slammed the door behind us, and Mallory took off down the stairs. She was ahead of me, running as fast as she could as if her life depended upon it – and it probably did. Thankfully, we were both in pretty good shape still, so the two of us were making headway toward the ground floor, when we heard the sound of the door on the floor we'd just left come crashing open. Gun shots rang out overhead, and that's when I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we were in deep shit.
Mallory reached into her pants and pulled out the gun she'd had hidden away. I knew she had several hidden holsters, but I always forgot how often she carried a gun. Being a cop meant she was almost always strapped and ready. Me, on the other hand, was completely unprepared for the moment. It had been a long time since I carried a gun with me everywhere I went. The world of finance wasn't usually a dangerous one.
“Go ahead of me,” she ordered.
“Fuck no,” I said. “Just keep going. Don't loo
k back.”
Mallory stopped, pressing her back to the wall and I slipped past her before I could stop myself. She yelled at me when I turned back to her.
“Go, Seth. I've got this.”
“Like hell I will,” I said. “I've never left you behind in a fight, and I'm not going to start now.”
“You're unarmed,” she whispered. “You're a liability to me.”
The footsteps thundering down the stairs drew closer and closer. There were several men coming down on us now. By my estimate, it sounded like four. At least. If we stayed where we were, we were going to be fucked.
“We can't take them all, Mallory,” I said. “Let's go.”
She looked torn. I knew my girl, she had never been one who ran from a fight. She was as tough as they came. But, even she knew we couldn't win a full out gun battle with multiple armed men – and only one weapon of our own. She slipped the gun back into her hidden holster and took off. Letting out a quick sigh of relief, I followed behind her.
We got to the bottom of the stairs and Mallory pushed open the fire exit door. Immediately, a loud wail filled the air as the alarm sounded. God, it was glorious to step into the sunlight outside though – and instantly be surrounded by people. Of course, those people could be collateral damage if the guys chasing us wanted us badly enough. I wasn't sure their motive and I didn't trust it. Which meant we needed to keep going. Judging by the look on Mallory's face as she surveyed the crowd, she agreed.
We pushed our way through a small group of people and ran toward the parking lot. I had a second to glance over my shoulder and saw that the men behind us were gone. They hadn't followed us out of the building, and the alarm had been turned off.
We got to my car, and both of us quickly climbed inside. I started the engine and we sped out of there like a bat out of hell. It wasn't until we were on the highway that Mallory finally broke down.
“What the hell was that?” she asked with a tremor in her voice.
I tossed her my phone. “Call Jason. Tell him we're on the way, and ask him for everything he knows,” I said.
She dialed the number and pressed the phone to her ear. Jason picked up right away, and I could hear his voice, loud and frantic on the other end. Mallory was somehow able to act calm as she spoke to him, like nothing had happened. Like we hadn't just been chased by a squad of goons with guns who were trying to fill us with holes. Her lack of panic had always surprised me.
“What's going on Jason?” she asked. “Why are people after us?”
She put it on speakerphone and held the phone up, so I could hear him too. His voice cracked the instant he started to speak. I could hear the emotion clear as day in his voice, but I could also hear the undeniable rage that underpinned it all.
“They want Chris,” he said. “They took Samantha and said they'll come after everyone he's ever loved until they have him. We don't know why, and we don't know who. We also can't get the cops involved or they'll kill Sam.”
“I have a pretty good idea about who,” I muttered.
Mallory didn't tell Jason about what happened – probably best not to over the phone. She ended the call with a final warning though.
“Be careful,” she said. “Get his parents and get out of there. Go somewhere where no one can find you and go now.”
“Already on it,” Jason said.
“That's my boy,” she said.
She hung up and sighed. I reached for her hand, and she let me hold it. I gave it a tight squeeze and gave her a tense smile I knew looked phony.
“It's going to be okay, Mal,” I said. “They've messed with the wrong people this time.”
“This is the fucking drug cartel, Seth.”
“And we're fucking U.S. Marines,” I said. “They ain't got shit on us.”
“Hoo-rah,” she said.
“Hoo-rah,” I replied. “Fuck yeah.”
She laughed, which seemed surreal, considering the steaming pile of shit we were currently stuck in.
“It's been a long time since I've heard you talk like that,” she said. “Welcome back, Seth.”
“The Corps is always in your blood, no matter what. Even when you're working a boring office job,” I said.
I shot her a wink and then brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it. God, I was so grateful she was okay. I didn't know what I'd do without her. I loved her so much, and even though we couldn't be together, I'd do anything for that woman. I would even lay down my life for her if need be.
The idea of losing her absolutely killed me. The guys had nothing to worry about. I might be an office lackey now, but I would always be a Marine first and foremost – and no one would ever hurt Mallory. Not on my watch. Not as long as I was alive and drawing breath.
8
Liam
Lois was still crying in the backseat of the truck, her husband holding her close as we rocketed down the highway. Jason said he knew where to go, and I trusted that he had a plan. He knew this town better than I did. He knew what was at stake. We drove for a long time, leaving the city of Harvelle and kept driving until we were immersed in the flashing lights and garish decor of Vegas.
“We're going to stay in busy, public places,” Jason said. “Pick the busiest hotel on the strip. We'll lock ourselves in the room, not answer it for anyone. They'll be safe while we try to track these guys down and find Sam.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
“I still think we should call the cops,” Frank said.
“No,” Lois sobbed, shaking her head vigorously. “We can't. They said we can't. Samantha's life depends on it. They said they'd keep in touch, and if Chris contacted us, we are to let them know.”
“What sort of trouble is he involved in?” Frank asked.
I looked over at Liam. He shrugged. Neither of us had an answer for that question.
“We have no idea, Mr. Sturgeon,” I said. “I wish we did. Then maybe we could figure out who we're dealing with, but Chris hasn't mentioned any sort of trouble to us.”
“Not a single word,” Jason agreed.
We pulled into the lot at Caesar's Palace and I parked the truck. Jason told me to text Seth and Mallory with our location, telling them to meet us here. We'd been in touch a bit throughout the drive, but I couldn't handle not having them with us. I was so scared that something would happen before they arrived – or worse, that someone would find them. Seth said he wasn't stopping for anything and that he was driving straight through. It made me feel a little better.
The atmosphere in the hotel was crazy, as usual, and filled to the brim with people. Being among literally thousands upon thousands of people was the perfect place to blend in and lose ourselves.
The beeping and jangling of the slot machines rang out around us, and the room was abuzz with excitement. The air was filled with the hum of conversation, punctuated with laughter and screams of joy, as people won big.
I hated bringing potential targets into a crowded casino, especially since we weren't sure who might be coming after us. Putting innocent people in jeopardy was not something I wanted to do. Especially since those people gunning for them could be anywhere. For all I knew, they could be watching us at that very moment, and we wouldn't know since there were just so many damn people around us – not to mention the fact that we didn't even know who in the hell we should be watching out for.
Jason led our small group through the crowd while I took up the rear. I kept my eyes moving, searching for anyone who looked suspicious – or was just looking at us strangely. We hustled to the front desk, and Jason took care of securing a room for us, while I continued to watch the crowd. Everything seemed normal. Well, normal as far as Vegas goes – which meant it was an absolute fucking madhouse. “We've got two rooms, connected to one another,” he said. “Come on. We'll figure everything else out once the others get here.”
Being that it was the only plan we had, it sounded like the best plan, so I went with it.
We all marched off for the e
levators and rode them up the rooms where we would hunker down until we figured it out.
* * *
Mallory and Seth arrived a couple of hours after we'd last spoken to them, and God, what a relief it was to see them. I didn't even realize how tense I'd been about them reaching us safely until I saw their faces coming through the doorway. It immediately felt like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
Mallory hugged each of us, and I felt the tension inside of her release as well. Her body just seemed to relax and slump against mine. She held onto me for dear life, and I didn't want to let her go ever again.
That feeling of wanting to cling to her forever only intensified after they told us what had happened, and the near shootout they'd been involved with at Santiago's office building.
I never wanted to let her out of my sight again. The idea of losing her tore me apart from the inside out. I loved her, as we all did, and while I'd be just as heartbroken to lose any of the guys, Mallory was special to all of us. There was no denying that and I'm sure every one of us would have said the same damn thing. She was the glue that held us together. I knew any one of us would give up our lives for her in a heartbeat. “They didn't want you dead,” Jason said. “They wanted to hold you hostage. They wanted to use you as leverage until they found Chris. Once they had him, they may have killed you guys. I'm so thankful they didn't get you.”
“They didn't stand a chance against the two of us, right, Seth?”
She playfully slapped him on the arm, smiling brightly, though I could still see the tension deep in her eyes. Mallory was tough and never liked to let on when she was rattled, always playing it off with a joke or sarcastic crack. But, I knew she was pretending to be stronger than she was. The incident shook her up – just like it probably would have shaken anybody up. She was just good at hiding it.
“Now they've got two more standing in their way,” I said.