Flame

by Romig, Aleatha

  We listened as Andros received updates from Padre Island.

  “They left the grounds over fifteen minutes ago,” he said.

  “Fifteen minutes ago,” I repeated.

  “That isn’t right,” Marion said. “They should be to the airport.”

  Andros continued.

  “Oh my God,” I muttered.

  Marion’s brow furrowed as his blue eyes came to mine. “I don’t know what he said.”

  I could barely form the words as my cold fingers began to tremble. “Oleg is dead.”

  “Who is Oleg?” Marion asked.

  Sobs racked my chest as I slid down the wall, pulling my knees to my chest. I smoothed the soft robe over my legs as the world around me faded. I was back in a dim room. The stench of human waste hung in the air, yet there was no way to escape.

  “Madeline?” he whispered.

  The only sounds were the occasional crying of the other girls.

  A memory came back with a vengeance.

  Her name was Patty, or was it Patsy?

  I saw her face, ashen under the dim lighting. We all were pale, yet this was different. Girls began to gather around her. We weren’t allowed to speak, yet the others were, saying her name over and over.

  It was as I knelt beside her that my knees came into contact with the warm, sticky liquid.

  Had she been injured or was her miscarriage the result of our situation?

  We’d never know or be told.

  The next time Miss Warner opened the door, the girl she called informed her of our fellow cellmate’s demise. The men who helped Miss Warner entered as we all sat like obedient statues with our backs against the wall. A few minutes later she was gone. We were given two buckets filled with cold water and each handed a rag. Our instruction was to clean the floor.

  Under the single light bulb, I recognized the rag I’d been given. Moments earlier it had been Patty’s dress.

  “Madeline.”

  No. I wouldn’t lose my baby. I didn’t then. I won’t now.

  I shook my head as the stench faded and Marion’s office reappeared.

  Andros’s voice continued to reverberate through the office, yet Marion was in front of me, crouched down, with his gaze even with mine. “Madeline, talk to me. You’re white as a ghost.”

  I blinked as the memory evaporated, leaving me in a similar hell.

  Would I too lose my child?

  Madeline

  “Who is Oleg?” Marion asked again.

  “He’s been with...as long as I..he...”

  Andros’s voice stopped, filling the space with silence as if he expected a response.

  We both turned toward the speaker.

  Taking a deep breath, I slowly stood and walked to the speaker, to where Andros could hear me. There was no need to hide my emotions. Andros had seen them all. I purposely spoke in Russian. “How?” I spoke between sobs. “I’m so sorry. Oleg was always good.”

  He had been. More of an anomaly amongst the dangers of the bratva, he’d been patient and kind to a little girl and even more patient as she grew, testing the limits of her independence.

  Shot.

  Point blank.

  Back of the head.

  “Did she see?” I asked, imagining Ruby’s fear and shock.

  For only a moment, Andros and I spoke, the two of us. What happened at Club Regal no longer mattered. There were too many things that didn’t matter. Our relationship wasn’t one that little girls dreamt of having. It wasn’t always pretty and at the same time, it wasn’t always ugly.

  It was sometimes colorful and other times devoid of color.

  White and black were both capable of erasing the hues of life.

  Our one connection, from the night we met, was Ruby.

  “Andros, please find her. I’ll do anything.”

  “Madeline.” There was uncharacteristic emotion in his utterance of my name. Not rage as he’d been spouting, but remorse—an uncharacteristic show for him. “Michail and Leonid were out by the shore,” he said. “They didn’t hear or see. It wasn’t until my call...”

  I settled into Marion’s chair, aware he was listening—wanting to know what we were saying—and at the same time, not caring. “Everyone else?” My mind went to Annika, an older woman who’d shown me kindness from my first island visit. Her job was the retreat’s cook, and she always enjoyed making Ruby her special pastries.

  “Five,” he said. “That fucker murdered five of my people.”

  They were his, and in a way also mine.

  Seventeen years was a long time.

  More tears came. “Please, tell me that Michail and Leonid are following Antonio.”

  “They are. If they’d have heard, but they didn’t. They’re too far behind. The car, it has a tracker... but...”

  “What happens if he takes her away?” I asked, my stomach knotting upon itself as I spoke. “How will we know where they’ve gone?”

  “I’m getting something,” Andros said. Before I could ask, the phone disconnected.

  Silence settled as Marion sat across his desk, his blue eyes set on me. “You didn’t want me to understand?”

  I shrugged. “Andros isn’t a good man. I know that. But he’s been there for me and Ruby since the night we met.”

  “What did he say?” Marion asked.

  “Five people, members of his staff, are dead. They weren’t all bad people. Oleg has been around since I first went to live with Andros...” I leaned back against the tall leather chair as pleasant memories surfaced, suddenly uncaring what Elliott knew of mine and Andros’s history. “He deserved better.”

  “What about Ruby?”

  More tears streamed down my cheeks. “Two men from the retreat were out of the house. Antonio probably didn’t know the number of staff or he and his man would have searched for them.”

  “His man? Antonio was alone when he left here.”

  “Andros has closed-circuit surveillance. There was someone with him.” I remembered what I’d told Patrick about dissension in the ranks. My fingers fluttered to my neck.

  My necklace.

  I closed my eyes, remembering that I took it off for the bath. I was afraid if I soaked, it would affect the transmission.

  “Madeline, I want you to know, I never expected this. I told you that I’ve known Antonio since he was a teenager. I trusted him to do as Andros and I wanted.”

  The phone on Marion’s desk rang, its old-fashioned jingle rattling the large wooden desk. Our eyes met.

  “It’s probably him,” Marion said. Lifting the receiver, he spoke, “Yes?”

  My eyes widened as he continued to talk through the receiver, prohibiting my hearing of Andros. This was his way to pay me back for speaking in Russian.

  Oh hell no, he was not going to do to me as I’d done to him.

  The telephone system wasn’t that advanced. I reached forward and hit the speaker button. Andros was already speaking as his voice filled the room. “...dead.”

  “What are you saying?” I asked.

  Marion responded. “What about Ruby?”

  Ruby.

  She wasn’t who was dead.

  I exhaled.

  “She’s not there,” Andros said, “but I fucking swear, we will find her.”

  “She’s part of our deal,” Marion said, his gaze going to me. “You’re not reneging. Find her.” He hung up the phone.

  “You just hung up on Andros.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement of shock.

  Marion paced before his desk, his posture growing straighter as he took deep breaths. “Madeline, I wanted to ease you into this. But now, Antonio and his man are dead along with members of Andros’s staff. Along with that, Ruby is missing. We need to be honest with one another.”

  “Were we not?”

  “I know what I said earlier, but you’re not leaving, and I’ll spare no expense to find Ruby.”

  Could she be with Patrick?

  The thought superseded whatever Marion
had said. It gave me a dawn of hope. I didn’t care that Antonio was dead. I was happy he was dead. It was Ruby who was my concern.

  Was she safe?

  Recalling the secret email on my phone, I stood, not engaged in whatever Marion was saying. “Marion, we can talk about this later. I need to get upstairs.”

  He inhaled, his chest expanding. “Andros is on his way, and I think he should know that you know.”

  I was near the door when I turned back. “That I know what?”

  Marion came closer, reached into the pocket of his jeans, and removed his hand. His fingers were balled, and then they began to open.

  My world stopped as his palm flattened, revealing a faded red satin ribbon.

  There was no way he could know about the auction. This was some strange head game planted by Andros.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Wear it tonight, in your hair or maybe as a bracelet.”

  I took one step away. “Where did you get that?”

  “I think you know. It was stunningly erotic laced on your wrists.”

  My head shook. “Why would Andros give that to you?” His last sentence penetrated my disbelief. “You saw it?”

  His lips curled upward. “I’d so hoped we could discuss this in a different setting. I have thought about it constantly since seeing you again at the tournament. You were...spectacular.”

  Acid bubbled upward from my stomach.

  I’d dined with this man, stayed at his home, played poker with him. Today we’d had a nice time on the ranch including a picnic lunch...

  And he had been there. One of those men. One of the men staring at me.

  “I was a child.”

  “You were eighteen and it wasn’t as if you were a virgin.”

  My feet moved and hand came out faster than I planned as my palm connected to his cheek. Immediately, I pulled it back, holding it to my breasts. “I’m leaving.” I spun on my heels only to have my arm seized and I was spun back.

  “You heard my story,” he said, his hand grasping my arm. “I had suffered.”

  “You?”

  “My wife and daughter, I told you.”

  “I won’t minimize your loss,” I said, my pulse racing. “It was tragic, but don’t you ever talk to me about suffering.”

  His grip didn’t loosen. “You enjoyed it. We were all talking about it, watching as your nipples hardened and you fidgeted, trying to find relief. I was the second highest bidder that night.”

  My eyes narrowed as I pulled my arm from his grasp. I could tell him that I was cold up there, standing naked for hours, or that I fidgeted because my bladder was full and I had a baby sitting on it. However, I refused to credit this conversation with more of my input.

  “Marion, I’m leaving before Andros arrives. I want your help, but by God, I will find my daughter. I, however, want to make it very clear that I never want to see you again.”

  He smoothed the front of his shirt and looked back up with a grin. “I wanted to tell you another way, but I can’t say I don’t enjoy your fight. Little lady, who you see and who you don’t is not at your discretion. I didn’t have the high bid that night. The senator accepted Andros’s as you’re aware. Yesterday, I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” He lifted the ribbon again, handing it my direction. “With you and Ruby came the ribbon. You could say it was to seal the deal. You might like to know that like a fine wine, your price has increased with age, and I’m content to pay every penny.”

  I couldn’t think, move, or speak.

  Marion came closer and reached out to my cheek.

  Closing my eyes, I flinched, yet his touch was soft. “Madeline, you and Ruby now belong to me. And if I find out that Andros pulled something to steal her out from under me, he will end up like Antonio.”

  Patrick

  I stepped into the cockpit and eased myself into the copilot’s chair. Muting the phone, I spoke to Marianne. “How much longer?”

  “We should land in just over two hours,” she said. “I wish I could go faster.”

  “I wish you could too. I’m supposed to take this call in private. Every room in the plane is occupied. Pretend you can’t hear.” The only person not on the plane was Garrett. He’d made his way back to Dallas with the Houston Sparrows to empty the hotel suite of its contents.

  She smiled and hit a switch on her earphones. “What?”

  I unmuted the phone. “Are you there?”

  “Are you alone?” the deeply pissed-off voice asked.

  “I’m in the cockpit. Marianne has headphones. I should have brought a bigger plane.”

  “I’ll keep my voice low. Fucking listen,” Sparrow said. “You went over my fucking head. I can’t believe you did that. After all these years...”

  A genuine smile came to my lips. It felt amazing to allow myself the luxury. There’d been very few real smiles since this crazy nightmare began. “I can’t believe you admitted that,” I said, still smiling. “I thought there was no ‘over Sterling Sparrow’s head.’”

  “I didn’t admit that there was, and if Marianne says differently, she’s fired.”

  There was no way he’d fire Marianne. She was as true as they came. I was probably closer to the guillotine.

  “Tell me what I was supposed to do,” I asked. “Perhaps keep a sixteen-year-old girl in a hotel room against her will? Maybe in a hotel suite with three to four grown men? That wouldn’t set off any alarms around the hotel or city. Sparrow, once Ruby was in my grasp, I knew those weren’t options.”

  “Two fucking options ruled out out of how many? Say...a million.”

  I shook my head. “You and I both know that there’s no place safer in this world than our tower. Araneae offered her mother’s house, and while I’m certain the good judge would be thrilled to help hold a young adult—who may or may not try to run—captive indefinitely, I thought it may be a lot to ask. Until we have Madeline back, this is technically kidnapping.

  “The paternity test is happening first thing.”

  “I’m fine with that, but I don’t need it. This girl is my daughter. No fucking test will tell me otherwise.”

  “It’s not negotiable.”

  “I don’t give a shit as long as she’s safe. As we both know, security and safety work two ways. In our tower, no one can get in, and if we set the elevator locks, no one gets out.”

  “I said no. Do you remember that?” he asked. “The first fucking night, I said no.”

  Though he was giving me hell, I heard the resignation in his voice. I can only imagine the conversation he had with his wife.

  “I do. You said no to Madeline. This is Ruby. Would you believe me if I said this whole thing with Araneae was an accident? You see, I accidentally hit Araneae’s number instead of yours.”

  “Accidentally?”

  “Yes, and you know how she is. I told her that I meant to call you but that in all my confusion with finding my lost daughter and all, I hit the wrong number. I offered to let her go and call you. She said this thing about telling her what was happening. I believe she mentioned that you’d once said—”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  Leaning back in the copilot’s seat, I continued my momentary state of contentment.

  Calling Sparrow’s wife’s number instead of his wasn’t done in confusion. On the contrary, it was done in desperation. Once we had Ruby on the airplane and Millie reassured her that despite the numerous scary-looking large men, she was safe, I knew I couldn’t allow the plane to stop in Dallas. I couldn’t keep Ruby hidden in the city that Elliott practically owned and where Ivanov would soon arrive.

  We knew Ivanov rushed out of Detroit the moment Hillman double-crossed him.

  We had eyes.

  In killing Hillman, we possibly did Ivanov a favor, stopping Hillman’s plans for a coup. That said, it was also a favor to the Sparrows. Hillman had been the one who had been networking our men. Also, wars were easier won between two factions, not three or more.

>   The reality hit me as Marianne prepared to take off. My options with Ruby were limited. Unlike Sparrow who had a cabin in the middle of the wilderness of Ontario and Mason who owned a massive ranch in nowhere Montana, I was fresh out of alternative housing.

  A quiet house in the suburbs with a picket fence continued to come to mind, but no matter the future, that wouldn’t work. The only neighbors I was willing to live nearby were the ones I already did.

  What would work, what was feasible, was the safest place I knew. The place my family and neighbors called home.

  The scene from a few hours ago came back to me.

  An SUV headed toward us as Christian, Romero, Garrett, and I approached in one car and the two Houston Sparrows followed closely behind.

  “Don’t back down,” I said as we passed the entrance to the airport that held Hillman’s chartered plane. We braced ourselves as we continued full speed toward their oncoming SUV.

  At the last possible second, Christian spun the wheel; the SUV clipped our back fender sending both of us into a spin. The driver of the SUV slammed on his brakes as the second car of Sparrows came at it.

  The next few minutes will replay in my head for years to come.

  The cars came to a squealing halt.

  Airbags deployed.

  Doors flew open.

  Men screamed profanities.

  Bullets shattered glass and ricocheted off metal.

  When it was done, when Hillman and his man were dead, and only one Sparrow was wounded—Romero, and he’s currently on the flight with a bandaged arm assuring us he’s fine—I approached the SUV.

  There’d been a short but steady firestorm of bullets. My heart fell to my stomach and my mouth lost all moisture as I stepped closer.

  What if Ruby was hit by one of the bullets?

  After all of this, she couldn’t be hurt.

  How could I tell Madeline?

  The front two doors were open with deployed airbags. I reached for the handle of the back door.

  Holding my breath, I opened it.

  Crouched in the back seat was my daughter.