by K. C. Crowne
When we finished explaining everything, Mallory sighed and rubbed her temples, clearly thinking things through and turning them over in her mind. She remained quiet for a long time before asking to see the phone they'd called from.
“It was a blocked number,” Sawyer said.
“There are still ways to figure out where it came from, but I'd need some resources back at the station,” she said. “Have they called with instructions yet?”
“Not yet,” I said. “Besides telling me I needed to sign over the property to get her back. I'm ready and willing to do that. I just don't know if they can be trusted to hand her back over once I do.”
I side-eyed Eli. I was watching him closely for a response, any response – something to tell me that he was involved, and all was going according to plan. But, as I searched his face, he didn't look as pleased as I expected, considering I'd agreed to do exactly what he'd been wanting from me for some time.
“I can call my contact and arrange everything,” Eli said.
“Do that,” Mallory said. “And find out if Jacklyn is still okay. Insist on talking to her. We have got to have proof of life before we do anything.”
Eli nodded and reached for his phone. He dialed the number and put it on speakerphone. The room went silent, as if we were all afraid to even breathe.
“Well hello, Eli,” Bianca said on the other end of the line. “Did your brother have a change of heart?”
I balled my fists but pushed back any desire to punch something or to shout at her. Sawyer put his hand on my shoulder as if he knew the internal struggle of remaining quiet. I imagined he was battling the same thing I was in that moment.
“He has,” Eli said slowly. “We just want to make sure Jacklyn is okay.”
“She's fine,” Bianca said, chuckling as if we were silly for thinking otherwise. “Where can we meet to get the paperwork finalized?”
Eli looked to Mallory and added, “We need to verify she's okay.”
“It's not like I'm holding her hostage, Eli,” Bianca said. “She's not here with me.”
She was intentionally being vague, making sure to not implicate herself. Smart woman. She was purposely avoiding saying anything incrimination, just in case we were recording or had the police involved. If we did, there'd be little proof she had Jacklyn or had anything to do with her disappearance.
“Let us speak to her first,” he said. “Then I'll get my brother to sign the papers.”
“I'll request that she give you a call,” Bianca said. “But please, don't play any games with me, Eli. We're so close to completing a successful sale of this property and giving you everything you've always wanted.”
Eli flinched at the words. “I didn't want any of this,” he said.
“Of course you did,” she said. “Well, I better get going. Once you hear from Jacklyn, will you give me a call back, please?”
She was so polite, so calm. It was weird to imagine the woman who'd stood inside my house only the day before, being this cold-blooded kidnapper. It had been obvious that she’d been a shark in the business world, but now I could see that she was a monster. Bianca hung up the phone and we remained quiet. No one seemed to know what to say.
A second later, Eli's phone rang again. “Blocked number. Must be her,” Eli said.
He answered, again on speakerphone.
“Jacklyn?” Eli said.
A soft voice on the other end came through. “Yes, it's me.”
Her voice cracked only slightly.
“Are you okay? Have they hurt you?” Eli asked.
I wanted to reach through that phone and touch her, to tell her that I'd never let anyone hurt her again, but I stayed quiet. My eyes began to burn, but I fought them back. There was no way in hell I wanted to cry now. I needed to stay calm. Remain focused and rational. But, the pain at the thought of losing Jacklyn, of knowing she was in danger, had caused everything in me to crack. It was a pain I hadn't felt since losing my own mother.
“I'm okay,” she said. “And no, they haven't hurt me.”
Her voice still trembled. Even if she hadn't been hurt – and I wasn't sure if I could believe anything she said while there were others in the room, listening in – she was still scared. Terrified. I could hear it in her voice and that alone made me want to kill whoever was holding her hostage.
“We're going to get you out of there, Jack,” Sawyer said, his own voice cracking. “Milo is going to do what they've asked.”
“Thank you,” she said.
I knew Jacklyn loved the ranch as much as I did and that it would kill her to see it sold to developers. But even she had been broken down by the fear of losing her life over it. I hated them for doing that to her. I hated them for destroying something that brought so much joy and happiness to her life. I'd kill them if given the chance.
The line went dead. We had our answer. She was okay. The next step was getting her back.
“Alright,” Mallory said, clapping her hands together and sounding a hell of a lot calmer than I felt. “Let's come up with a workable plan to get her back.”
* * *
It felt odd to be meeting Jacklyn's captor in an office, but that's where she asked us to hand over the papers. Mallory came with us, but instead of coming inside to the meeting, she stayed outside. She said she'd find a way inside on her own, and we let her do just that. I trusted her and knew she had the skills needed to protect herself.
The place was your typical office space, albeit it did look abandoned. No signage outside, nothing to make anyone believe it was occupied. The windows were tinted so you couldn't see inside, and once inside, there wasn't much to see there either. Just a collection of random, dust-covered junk.
Bianca was waiting for us in the main lobby, and she wasn't alone. A massive, muscular bald man had let us inside, and there were two others with her. We were outnumbered, and I figured all of them were armed. They probably had some vicious weapons underneath their designer business suits. Bianca looked so small in the middle of all those men, but her grin made her look even more sinister than all three of the men with her combined.
There in Southern California – especially in places close to the border – we often heard rumors about the drug cartels. Hell, Mallory had had a run-in with them before. I prayed we were dealing with amateurs. Big guys with guns might have an advantage over us, even with Mallory outside. All her skill and training might not be a match for those behemoth guys.
I tried not to think about that. Better to just keep calm, play it cool. Maybe they'd just hand Jacklyn over after I gave them the papers, and we'd all go our separate ways. It seemed unlikely, but I hoped against all hope it turned out to be that easy.
“You have the paperwork?” Bianca said, steeping her fingers as she stared back at us from behind a cheap wooden desk.
She looked out of place there. It looked to be a little too low rent for her obviously champagne tastes, making me think this wasn't their standard office. I figured this was just an empty building they found and used, since it would serve their purpose. Made sense. Safer that way, especially since the other offices all appeared empty as well. If something went wrong, it would be easier to cover up.
“We do,” Eli said, reaching for the paperwork.
I handed it over without flinching. My entire life was being handed away, everything I had worked for, everything I'd poured my blood, sweat, and tears into for my whole life. But, I did it without a second thought. Only because losing Jacklyn was far worse than anything else I could possibly imagine.
“May I ask you a question?” I asked.
Bianca looked amused. “Sure, though I reserve the right to not answer.”
“Why do you want the property so badly?” I asked. “Aren't there other properties to purchase? Properties that had to be a hell of a lot easier to acquire?”
“Oh Milo,” she said, smirking in a way that felt condescending, “you, of all people, should know how hard it is to find large swaths of land in Sout
hern California. Your property is a rare gift for developers. The location is perfect for building any number of projects, and we're getting an incredible deal, I must say. Our projections show what we will triple our investment in the first year alone.”
“So it's all about money?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said. “What else would it be about?”
I wasn't entirely surprised, but I never understood the obsession with getting richer and richer. The concept of building and hoarding some mountain of money was so foreign to me that I couldn't relate to the thought process at all. It was clear from her attire she wasn't struggling, but for people like her there was always that need for more money. So much so they'd go through all this trouble to get it.
“I don't know,” I said.
“Everyone is motivated by money, Milo. Everyone,” she said. “Even you, though you try to deny it.”
“Clearly I'm not,” I said. “Or I'd have sold it much sooner and without going through all this trouble.”
Bianca shook her head but continued looking over the paperwork. I hadn't signed the last page yet, and she'd need that before we could proceed.
“I'm assuming you want to see your girl before you finish signing?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said.
Bianca motioned to one of the men at her side, and he walked down the long hallway behind them. There were several doors, all shut tight. He walked to the very end of the hallway and opened the door. I could see everything, and I held my breath, praying to see Jacklyn walk out that door unharmed.
Things were going too easy though, which set me on edge. Things never went this easy for me, so I held my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop – and then it did.
The front door of the office swung open, crashing into the wall behind it, and another large guy – this one with short-cropped, dirty blonde hair, tossed Mallory inside and onto the floor. She hit the ground with a grunt.
“Look who we found sneakin' around outside,” the blonde man growled.
Mallory stayed on the floor, not looking up. She didn't meet any of our stares and my heart sank.
“We told you not to bring any backup,” Bianca hissed.
The man at the end of the hallway slammed the door – no sign of Jacklyn. The plans had clearly changed; something had shifted in their faces and I knew the shit was about to hit the fan in a big way.
“She's a cop,” the blonde man said. “Found her badge on her.”
Everything had just gone to shit in a hurry, and I knew it. I looked at my two brothers and they had the same expression I did – we were screwed.
“You had to make this difficult, didn't you? What part of no cops don't you understand?” Bianca yelled, her tiny fists hitting the desk, causing it to shake beneath the blow.
“I'm Jacklyn's sister,” Mallory said, lifting her head up to gaze at Bianca. “I come only as her sister, not as a cop.”
Bianca scowled, but before she could say another word, there was a loud crashing sound coming from the end of the hallway. She pointed at two of the four men inside with us and they turned, running down to the end of the hallway where the crash had come from.
The blonde stayed with Mallory and the bald man remained standing next to Bianca. With two of the guys gone, Mallory stood up, disarming the blonde with one quick movement. She swiveled around, pulled his arm back and shoved him down to the floor, his gun pointed at the back of his head. The bald man rushed forward, but my brothers and I were on him. We might not be professionals like Mallory, but we were big and three against one meant the odds were in our favor.
I elbow checked the guy in the gut, while Sawyer drove into him like a linebacker taking down a ballcarrier. The man grunted and flew backwards, swept off his feet from the force of Sawyer's blow. Eli managed to grab the gun from his hand. We had him down, with a weapon to him, but there were others. Bianca reached under her desk, and I'd seen enough action movies to know what to expect.
I rushed her, before she could get at whatever she was reaching for. I grabbed her roughly and pinned her against the wall. Her small frame was no match for mine. I didn't want to hurt her, she was still a woman after all, but I pinned her arms above her head and held her there.
“Feel powerful now, tough guy?” she spat.
I didn't answer. I glanced down the hallway, to see what was happening. Sawyer was already on his way down there, but Eli called out to him. He'd be outnumbered, and we had no idea what was going on at the end of the hallway. Sawyer wasn't stopping, however. If Jacklyn was down there, Sawyer was going to get to her. Eli and I exchanged a look, but we were both trapped for the moment.
“Take her too,” I said. “She's not so tough without her bodyguards.”
Eli nodded, and I grabbed hold of Bianca's arms and swung her around. She lashed out with her leg, kicking me hard. She hit me in the knee and as the pain from her pointed heel driving into me radiated through my body, I almost went down. Almost. Gripping her wrists tighter, I slammed her against the wall again.
“Do that again and I'll forget you're a lady,” I growled. “You started this, remember.”
She spat in my face. She was a fighter, but we were three big men on a mission and she was no match for us. We walked in there outnumbered and without any weapons, but now we had the advantage. Of course, I knew that things could change in a heartbeat if we lost focus.
I yanked her around, pushing her to the ground and making her lay flat on her stomach. Eli stood over the two of them, gun in hand. While Sawyer might have looked shaken up in this position, Eli looked like a pro. Had to credit his acting career with something – you'd have never guessed the only gun he'd ever held was only a prop. He stood there, weapons pointed on them, calm and cool as a cucumber.
I was nervous leaving him there alone knowing he lacked any sort of training or experience. If shit went down, I worried he wouldn't know what to do. Then my gaze fell on Mallory.
She said, “I've got his back.”
She was still keeping the blonde guy who'd dragged her in there down, but her attention was now on Bianca as well. I felt confident leaving them together. Even if Eli was all show – and I suspected he was – Mallory could handle herself.
“Follow Sawyer,” Eli demanded.
I nodded and hurried down the hall. There was nothing but silence, which made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. My stomach churned, and I feared the worst for our brother, and for Jacklyn. Whatever that commotion was that had drawn their attention to begin with, I was about to walk right in the middle of it all.
I pushed open the door and walked into the middle of a war zone. There were four other men in addition to the two who'd been with Bianca. Sawyer was on the ground, face down, hands on his head.
I rushed into the room, having no weapon or any chance at beating these four large men with guns, but I rushed in any way. I ran to the nearest one, tackling him to the ground and hit him in the face as hard, fast, and as many times as I could. Jacklyn was in the corner, tied to a chair. Her eyes were filled with fury however, and she screamed at me.
“Guys stop!” she cried out. “They're on our side!”
I wasn't sure who she was talking to – me or them. I stopped throwing punches and stared down at the bloody face of the man underneath me. Two strong arms lifted me up, and instead of pummeling me as I expected, they helped steady me on my feet. It took me a moment to realize the four new men were also on our side. I recognized them after a second or two and suddenly felt incredibly stupid. I'd attacked the wrong guy. One by one, I remembered meeting them, though their names escaped me at that moment, nor could I remember where.
“Mallory called us in for backup,” the man on the ground with the bloody face said.
“We snuck in through a rear door and set a trap. Worked out pretty well, I think,” the giant of a man beside me said as he reached out a hand. “I'm Chris.”
“Milo,” I said.
He cracked a smile. �
��Ah, yes, the infamous Milo,” he said. “Heard a lot about you.”
“Infamous?” I scowled.
He shrugged. “Something like that. Mallory needed us to come help you out,” he said. “You and her sister.”
The guy on the ground sat up and wiped his nose, cursing under his breath.
“That's Jason,” Chris said.
He went around and introduced me to the rest of the guys – Liam and Seth. These were Mallory's guys – her group of boyfriends. Sawyer was able to get up, and Chris apologized to him.
“Misunderstanding, man,” he said. “Hard to tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys when the shit was going down.”
“Understandable,” Sawyer muttered.
The bad guys were on the ground, Seth and Liam had them pinned down. The wail of sirens could be heard in the distance and relief rushed over me, but then I remembered the reason we were there to begin with.
Running over to Jacklyn, I quickly untied her from the chair. As soon as she was free, she fell into my arms, her head resting against my chest. My entire body relaxed at once when I felt her delicate body pressed against me. When she looked up at me, her big blue eyes were filled with tears. They were filled with outright terror – and it killed me to see that look in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered, standing on her tiptoes.
Before I knew what was happening, she'd kissed me. Her lips were pressed against mine, and as our kiss deepened and grew in intensity, there was no way I wanted it to end. I kissed her back, holding her head in my hands, grateful for the opportunity to have her in my arms.
“I'd do anything for you, Jacklyn,” I whispered against her lips, pulling away only slightly. “Anything. I love you.”
The sirens grew louder, and before long, the place was swarming with police. Mallory handled them. My brothers and I curled up in the corner with Jacklyn, holding her close. Protecting her. Comforting her.