by B. B. Reid
“Because you wouldn’t let her?”
“I couldn’t even if I tried.”
“Is your guilt the reason why you pushed her away?”
“Partly, yeah. That and because I blame her for Kennedy not being home yet.”
“Why would it be her fault?”
“Because if I didn’t care so much about disappointing her, I might have found her by now.”
“That’s insane.”
“No more than you blaming Sheldon for losing Kennedy.”
“Who told you about that? Dash?”
“Q. He told me about the fight, and I know what you’re thinking.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.
“I practically raised you. All those thoughts and feelings in your head I planted there just as they did me. You’re going to kill him if he stands in the way.”
“Dash’s future is entirely up to him. Sheldon and Ken are mine. They don’t walk away unless I allow it.”
“Dash is our friend, Keenan.”
“Since when did you ever care about anything other than getting your way? It was you who taught me by any means necessary.”
“Yes, but I also didn’t run away for four years and come back and expect everyone to just fall in line.”
“Not everyone. Just Sheldon and my kid. And you forget… I didn’t come back. You brought me here, and now you’ll bear the consequences. You all will.”
I stood and left without another word or a backward glance.
* * * * *
“Hey, boss.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Well, stop being so bossy if you don’t want to be the boss.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and prayed for patience. Sometimes I felt like Di was a pain in the ass on purpose.
“Did you do what I asked, Diana?” I used her full name, knowing how much she hated it though she never said why. I never cared enough to ask.
“Yes, I did, boss man, so when should I expect you?”
“However long it takes to find her.”
“I can’t believe you have a kid.”
Yeah, me either.
“It serves you right that it’s a girl, though.”
“And you say that because?”
“Because the players always get a little girl. You’ll be beating the boys away with a bat when she’s older.” She shouted over the phone as if she had just found a pot of gold.
“Will you fucking stop yelling?” I was two seconds away from hanging up on her.
“I’m sorry, baby doll.”
“Don’t call me baby doll.”
“Why not? It fits you because you’re pretty.”
“I’m… what?” I meant it to sound more menacing. Instead, it came out as a shriek.
“I bet the poor, insecure little boy inside you is grateful for my compliment even if the douche isn’t.”
“Why do you refer to me as two different people? And I’m not insecure.”
“Oh, but you are.” She fell silent for a moment before blurting out, “Is that why you’re such a slut?”
I hung up on her.
It took everything not to make the phone a permanent part of my old bedroom wall. Instead, I clutched the phone tight, willing my anger away. I thought I would be used to her by now but had to admit that Di knew where to hit when she wanted to. She always claimed to be a good people reader, but I’d always believed it to be complete bullshit. She just never knew when to shut up.
I wasn’t the least bit insecure.
Why would I be?
I’d never had a problem catching the attention of a woman before. They would always flock to me and I would accept them because…
My ringing cell phone snapped me out of my wandering thoughts, and when I checked the caller ID, I debated not answering, but I knew I couldn’t do that to her again.
A week ago, Di had completely freaked out when she realized I had disappeared, either assuming I was dead or I had ditched her, but once she found out Keiran was behind it, the jokes haven’t stopped rolling in since—
“Does he have you chained in the basement?”
“Would I be on this call if I were?”
“It’s possible. He’s got a soft spot for you, you know.”
“No, he doesn’t. He tolerates me.”
“Well, he hasn’t cut off your hand for touching his girl yet, so I guess toleration will work” She snickered.
I knew I shouldn’t have told her about that, but one thing I realized over the years was that Di was easy to talk to. It’s too bad Sheldon never liked her. Maybe that was why I kept Di so close all these years. We could have parted ways a long time ago but never did. It was my own little pound of flesh.
“What?” I barked into the phone.
“I’m sorry, okay? I know how you feel about being a slut.”
“Di…”
“I meant being called a slut.”
My only response was almost unintelligible, but it was all she would get. Neither of us had ever been good at apologies, and if I were, the last four years would have gone a lot different.
“Just keep everything in place and stay out of trouble.” With that, I hung up and jammed my phone in my jeans pocket.
I headed back downstairs where I had left Quentin and Jesse. Jesse had been up all night digging for simple information that someone had gone through a lot of trouble to bury and keep buried.
“I found an address,” Jesse hollered as if I weren’t just three feet away. The table littered with Red Bulls might have had something to do with his high energy. “Camden is pretty big for a town. It’s bigger than this place, but I found the place. It looks like it sits on its own land. There is no one around for miles.”
“How the hell do you know all this? We’ve never even been to this place.” Quentin asked a little harsher than necessary. The vibe between the two of them was too strange for two people who had only met once, but like everything else, I kept my head low. I wasn’t planning to stick around.
“Satellite. I hacked into one that had slack security and pinpointed the location. We’re getting live video feed of the house now. It’s pretty big, and it’s completely isolated. It’s the perfect place to hide someone.”
“Have you seen any movement?”
“Not yet. If they are smart, they will keep their heads low so it could be a while before we can confirm anyone is even there.”
“We don’t have a while. Text me the address, stay on the radar, and keep me posted on any activity. If a bird shits on the roof, I want to know about it. I’m going out there.”
“I’m going with you,” Quentin announced. I nodded once but was already on my way out the door.
* * * * *
The house was exactly how Jesse described it. Along with the address, I had him send me pictures of the house and surrounding area, so we were able to pick out a scouting spot before ever reaching the house.
Quentin convinced me to wait a couple of hours to survey the area to see if anyone was coming or going, but after forty-five minutes of nothing, I was tempted to ditch the plan and charge in with guns blazing.
It’s amazing how much I was willing to risk and how far I was willing to go for someone I’d never met.
“Keenan, your phone has been going off the last five minutes. You going to get that?”
I looked on the dash of Keiran’s car just in time to see the screen light darken. By the time I picked it up, the phone was ringing again.
“Yeah?” I answered while keeping my eyes trained on the house.
Sheldon’s frantic voice caused my heart to feel as if it were being ripped from my chest. I could barely hear her babbling over the pounding of my heart.
“Slow down, baby. What’s wrong?”
I was torn.
Torn between staying and saving my daughter or racing to comfort my high school sweetheart. I had to steel myself against the onslaught of emotions and remember that love wasn’t part of the
equation.
“I came home and found a note asking for money or Kennedy will die.”
“Fuck!” I banged my fist against the steering wheel, forgetting that Sheldon was on the phone.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone delivered a ransom note.”
A knock on my window interrupted whatever Quentin had been about to say. We both had our guns drawn quickly, but the driver’s car door was opened, and I was yanked out before I could pull the trigger.
CHAPTER TEN
KEENAN
“WHAT THE FUCK are you doing here, son?”
I brushed away my father’s—no, John’s hands and took a step back. “You seem to have selective memory. I’m not your son.”
“Have you always been this stupid or just today?”
“I don’t have time for this.” I turned back to the car, but he yanked me up by my shirt and slammed me against the side of the car.
“Then you make time, and for the record, you little shit, I don’t care what biology says. You’re my son. Question it again and I will kill you myself.”
I saw the truth in his eyes along with anger and the anguish even though I didn’t want to. “How did you find me?”
He had been missing for the last week and chose now of all times to show up.
“I found a kid in my home doing something that didn’t look the least bit legal. Do you know something about that?”
“He’s helping me find my kid.”
“What makes you think she’s here?”
“It’s the only place we haven’t looked.”
“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”
“It’s not the best time to start caring, Dad. If she’s in there, I need to get her.”
“How did you find this place?”
“Is it true?” I asked, ignoring his question. I knew he knew what I was asking. I wanted to know if his parents, my grandparents, had been living right here all this time. I’d never met them, and John had never spoken of them.
“It doesn’t matter. You have no business here. You don’t belong here.”
“You’ve got it partially right. I don’t belong anywhere.” I realized four years ago, but time changed a lot, and I eventually learned not to give a shit.
“Are we doing this?” Q asked, coming around the car. John kept his eyes on me.
“Yeah, we’re doing this.” The tension in his shoulders increased. “But not today.”
One thing I liked about Q was he didn’t ask questions.
We made the drive back in half the time when I sped all the way to Sheldon’s apartment. If there was now a ransom note, it could mean finding Kennedy safely rather than shooting blindly in the dark.
I didn’t care much for what would happen to me, but Kennedy didn’t deserve to die because of her mother and me.
“Where is it?” I asked as soon as I was through her apartment door.
Lake had her arms wrapped around a trembling Sheldon as they huddled on the couch. I made it a point to avoid looking in her eyes or going near her and not being able to comfort her.
It’s not that I couldn’t.
I just wouldn’t.
Lake seemed to pick up on my inner turmoil because she plucked the note from the floor where it lay by Sheldon’s feet and brought it to me. She quickly turned back to Sheldon but not before glaring.
I had the feeling she was beginning to think less of me these days—that is if she could think any less of me. In high school, I had made it a point to be her friend when it became obvious to me that she had nothing to do with framing my brother even when he refused to see it.
I shook off thoughts of another time that I no longer allowed to exist anymore, not even as a memory. It had all been a lie.
The notepaper crinkled in my hand reminding me of the present—
WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO DO FOR HER?
“It’s not Mitch’s handwriting,” Lake offered emotionlessly as soon as I was done reading. I turned the noted over, searching for more, but there was nothing else.
“How the hell is that possible?” I hadn’t realized I’d spoken the words aloud until I felt the rumble in my chest rise with each word. Mitch was the only person who made sense. If not Mitch, then who?
“I believe I know the answer to your question,” John said, stepping forward.
* * * * *
I had no time for this. After four hours, I was more impatient than ever. I was in a race against time and losing meant my daughter’s life.
John had led Sheldon and me out west. He had insisted we drive together, but I insisted harder that we drive separately, and when Sheldon attempted to drive herself, I put an end to that, too. If being near me unhinged her as much as I thought it did, then it would be exactly what I would do.
Lake, Quentin, and Jesse stayed behind. Quentin and Lake offered to pick up the search while Jesse kept watch on the house in Camden. Each of us attempted to convince Lake to stay behind knowing Keiran wouldn’t like her putting herself in danger, but her anger towards him made her pigheaded.
My anger towards my brother wouldn’t allow me to care.
“What is this?” I asked when we pulled up to a building that resembled a hospital. The sign we passed read Summit Rehabilitation for Cancer Survivors.
John hadn’t given much explanation for the reason for this trip across state. “Just trust me,” was all he bothered to give.
I didn’t trust anyone, least of all him.
A blast of cool air hit as soon as the automatic doors slid open, allowing entrance into the facility. Sheldon had managed to remain silent, but I could tell she was feeling as anxious as I was. We approached the large receptionist’s desk where three women who looked like nurses bustled around each other in some sort of harmonized frenzy.
“Good evening, Mr. Masters,” a nurse close to John’s age greeted. “I’m sure you are aware that visiting hours are almost over.”
“It’s nice to see you again, Suzy.” John’s monotonous greeting was as empty as his expression though his eyes seemed to bore into her. “This won’t take long,” he half-heartedly assured.
The nurse didn’t respond but, instead, pursed her lips in disapproval. I read the sign on the desk and realized that visiting hours weren’t over for another thirty minutes so what was her problem? When John moved away without another word, I decided it wasn’t important. His heavy footsteps led us down a long hallway. He took a quick right and came to a stop at the first door down the corridor.
Sheldon still had yet to say anything but continued to check her phone repeatedly.
Time was running out.
The chance of a victim of kidnapping being found alive or at all after the first twenty-four hours was slim. Kennedy had been missing for over a week now.
“Look, son, when I open this door, I want you to keep your cool.”
“Who the hell is in there, and what do they have to do with my daughter?”
John didn’t bother to answer. After giving me a stern look, which I ignored, he turned the knob and entered slowly. I stepped inside and looked around cautiously before my eyes settled on a figure that appeared to be sleeping.
Five seconds was all it took for me to realize who it was that I was seeing. He was hooked up to a machine with many wires running in and out of his body. His form was no longer as large as I remembered. Instead, he looked frail and weak.
A compassionate person would have seen a man who needed healing.
All I saw was an opportunity.
I didn’t realize I was charging until my father locked me in a chokehold. Sheldon stood in the corner appearing shocked and more than a little frightened. An accidental glance in the mirror next to the bed revealed just how savage and dangerous I must have appeared to her.
“Keep your head, son. He can’t hurt you.”
“But I can hurt him.”
What did this mean? Here lay Mitch, who barely looked able to walk much less kidnap or orchestrate
a kidnapping.
“You’ve been keeping him here?” I roared. “You’re protecting this motherfucker?”
Sheldon’s gasp drew my gaze to her, but the sight of Mitch’s eyes open wide and staring at me stopped me.
“Oh, my God,” Sheldon cried. She bent over in half and used her arms to clutch at her stomach as she began to dry heave.
The primal desire to protect reared its misguided head, but I ignored my instincts and focused on the shit unraveling in front of me.
This situation had just graduated from bad to seriously fucked up. If Mitch didn’t have our daughter, then it could mean anyone with nothing to gain by keeping her alive was responsible.
The memory of the ransom note, even though it wasn’t much of one, was the only thing keeping me sane at this point. Kennedy had to still be alive. I just needed to figure out what the note meant.
“I’m not protecting him, but he is my brother. I didn’t have any other choice.”
“You always have a choice, John, or did you just forget he had my mother killed by his own son?”
“Believe me. I haven’t forgotten. I never forget. It’s all I can think about every minute of every day.”
“So how did you find him?”
“I didn’t. He came to me.”
“When?” I didn’t bother keeping the disgust from my voice. All the anger and hatred building quietly inside forced its way to the surface.
“About a year after you disappeared and Keiran left for college.”
“This is so fucked up.” I hadn’t realized I was pacing until I bumped into Sheldon. I peered down at her shivering form, but my heart was just as cold as my mood. “Move,” I barked down at her. Surprisingly, she moved without a word, but if looks could kill…
“Keenan, I need you to promise me one thing.”
“Are you serious? Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m asking you to. I know I have no right to ask you for anything, but I need you with me on this.”
“What?” I growled through my clenched teeth.
“Your brother. He, uh…” When John’s face paled, I knew. I fucking knew.
“Son of a bitch…” My gaze traveled back to Mitch, who continued to stare. “He doesn’t know he’s here, does he?”