An Eye for an Eye (The Santorno Stories 2): The Santorno Stories

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Good morning.” Stefan smiled at him.

  In all the years Jordan had been married to Stefan, he never got tired of those lips or that smile.

  “Good morning. What do you have planned today?” He ran his fingers through the blond hair.

  “Foundation stuff, but I’m free later.” Stefan ran his hand up Jordan’s chest.

  “Hmmmm, maybe later we can play Dr. Youngblood and Stefano Santorno?”

  “I love that game.” Stefan smiled.

  “Yeah? I do too.” Jordan kissed him.

  “Right now I have to go be Stefan Youngblood, though.”

  “I know, and I have to be Dr. Youngblood.”

  “I’ll call you later. Whoever gets home first gets to pick the game.”

  “Done.” Jordan smacked Stefan’s ass and got out of bed.

  Stefan propped his hands under his head and watched his husband get out of bed. He was still incredibly handsome. He smiled and thought how different things could have been if he hadn’t made up his mind when he did. He had married the man of his dreams, and they were more in love now than ever. Stefan smiled. It was going to be a nice freaking day.

  Chapter 15

  Heath was jumpier than the average customer in the coffee shop was. He had responded when Lisa sent him an email, and he felt like an ass. He had wanted to tell her about Caleb in person, but he didn’t want to wait.

  Caleb was headed to work when Heath told him what was going on. Caleb just smiled and kissed him.

  “It will be okay, babe. Just be honest with her. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can, okay?”

  Now as he sat and waited, he was getting more and more nervous.

  “Heath?” Lisa stood in front of him waving her hand in front of his face.

  “Oh, hi!” Heath jumped up.

  “You can hug me, you know,” she laughed.

  “Oh, yeah. I wasn’t sure.”

  “Oh Jesus, get over yourself. I’m not mad. Confused, yes. Mad, no.” Lisa smiled.

  “I know and I’m sorry,” Heath started.

  “Look, Heath, you are who you are. We can still be friends. I do, however, want to meet the man who stole your heart.” She smiled with delight.

  “Well, he said he would be here as soon as he got off work, so it should be any time now.” Heath looked around. “How was Japan?”

  “Interesting. Fascinating. But I called my aunt and told her I want to live here with her. Jared, too. My mother is a mental case.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I started dating a much older man. Even though I’m eighteen, my mother almost had a heart attack. He works with my father, so when he got a transfer back to the U.S., I came back, too.”

  “Wow. Are you happy?”

  “Yes, I am.” Lisa smiled. “He actually knows your family. His name is Tristan O’Conner.”

  “Isabelle’s Tristan?” Heath looked shocked.

  “Well, he’s mine now.” Lisa smiled. “But yes, that Tristan. That was an interesting conversation, to say the least,” Lisa laughed.

  “Heath?” Caleb entered and called out immediately to reassure his boyfriend.

  Heath’s eyes lit up like stars. “Hey, Caleb! I’d like you to meet my friend Lisa.”

  Lisa took one look at Caleb and her jaw dropped. “Holy shit!” she whispered.

  Caleb laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” He shook Lisa’s hand.

  Lisa looked at Heath. “Oh, I so forgive you, Heath.” She laughed. “If you hadn’t snagged him I would have beaten your ass.”

  Caleb joined them and they talked for a while. Lisa said she had to run some errands, but told Heath not to be a stranger. She bent down and kissed his forehead.

  “I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thanks.” Heath smiled. He watched her leave and Caleb took his hand.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m perfect.”

  *~~~*

  Exactly six months to the day on which she had confronted Stefan Youngblood, Sophia put her plan into action. She was on the phone now, barking orders.

  “Now, this is what I want you to do.” She gave explicit instructions on how she wanted everything to go down. “When they come, you take them. No mistakes.”

  She hung up and smiled at the sight of the man between her legs. She would never have to fuck a man for money again. When she had gotten pregnant, she had considered getting an abortion. But being a God-fearing woman, she dropped off the child at the orphanage. It was sheer luck that an American couple adopted the child, and that the adoption went through Damon Santorno — a man with more money than he knew what to do with.

  She let her head prop against the headboard. She was going to get everything she wanted.

  *~~~*

  Heath and Caleb were headed home. They had gone out for dinner and Heath was tired. It had been a long week and he was sore — not only from Caleb’s vigorous lovemaking, but from football practice. The thought of Caleb made him smile. He planned to have him tonight.

  They were crossing the street, and Caleb was talking to one of Heath’s guards. Suddenly, a car flew out of a parking spot without its lights on.

  Caleb watched in horror as it headed straight for Heath.

  “Heath! Watch out!” Caleb raced into the street and shoved Heath out of the way. The car hit him and he rolled up the windshield and over the top, landing in the street. Then everything went dark.

  *~~*

  Damon and Tyler were walking into the warehouse club for a night of fun. Damon listened as Tyler was telling him about something that happened at school when he suddenly noticed the street lamps were out. He looked around and noticed the guards tailing him a little further behind. His gut told him something was wrong. He pushed Tyler into the building.

  “Stay in here and call my dad!” He closed the door on Tyler’s protests as he felt a hand grab behind his neck and a punch slam into his back. The air left him and he fell forward. He fought back until he couldn’t breathe, and then everything went dark.

  *~~*

  Charlie was reading in her room to kill time as she waited for Steve. A knock sounded at her door and as she went to open it, her hand stopped at the doorknob. Steve wouldn’t knock; he had a key.

  She rushed to the window and noticed the guards below. She opened the window, and then heard the door being kicked in.

  “HEY!” she screamed. She whirled to see two intruders, both dressed in black and wearing masks. She grabbed her purse as they closed in on her. She kicked one in the shin and bit the other. She heard a stream of Italian curse words as she pulled out her pepper spray. She managed to hit them both and ran. Unfortunately, one of the men grabbed her ankle and she planted face first onto the floor.

  She felt a knee on her back and then everything went dark.

  *~~*

  Isabelle was with Jacob. He had been home from maneuvers for two weeks and they were going to his room after dinner. When they rounded a corner, Isabelle stopped. There were two men dressed in black standing in front of Jacob’s room. She spun to see another man sneaking up behind Jacob. He grabbed Jacob around the neck and dragged him backwards.

  “Isabelle, RUN!” Jacob was fighting his way out of a chokehold.

  The two men by the door came after her so Isabelle ran into the stairwell. She had made it to the second floor before she felt a hand in her hair yanking her back. She broke free and ran again, but one of them grabbed her foot and she fell. She hit the first step and tried to roll herself into a ball as she began her downward trip. She landed on her stomach at the foot of the stairs before everything went dark.

  *~~*

  Heath was pacing the hospital hallway worrying about Caleb when his phone rang. Tyler was talking so quickly, Heath could barely understand him. He finally figured out that Damon had been attacked. His call waiting beeped, so he put Tyler on hold and talked to Jacob, who had heard from Steve. Thugs had gotten to Izzy and Charlie as well.

  He hung u
p the phone and looked at Marco.

  “This is wrong. Something’s not right, Marco.” Heath paced the floor again. He suddenly looked up, eyes wide. “Who’s watching my dads and Grandpa?”

  “No one — all of the guards are on you and the rest of the children.” Marco’s eyes also widened. “Call — they have been staying in touch with Antonio.”

  “Shit! Godammit, it’s a diversion! She was never after us! She’s after them!” Heath tried to call his fathers and it went to voicemail.

  “FUCK!” He called Antonio.

  “Where are they?”

  “They left, Heath. They went to the hospital.”

  “Dammit, it’s a diversion! She’s not after us kids; she wants my dads and Grandpa!” He heard Antonio swear in Italian. “We need to get everybody together, and we need to start looking for them. Send out as many of the men as you can. We have to find them.”

  Heath ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, I should have known.”

  “You could not have known, Heath. None of us could have.” Marco rubbed Heath’s shoulders.

  “I have to see Caleb.”

  Heath entered Caleb’s room, gently cupped his face and kissed him. The car hit had dislocated a shoulder and broken a wrist. He had some small cuts on his face, but otherwise, Caleb was remarkably well. The doctor had relocated his shoulder and set his wrist in a cast.

  “Hey, sexy. They going to spring you?” Heath brushed Caleb’s hair back.

  “What’s wrong?” Caleb read Heath’s face. And something was wrong, very wrong.

  Heath caught him up. Caleb eased out of bed and started getting dressed.

  “What are you doing? Get back in bed.” Heath took his hand.

  “No, we have work to do. Let’s go.”

  *~~*

  Damon was at the hospital getting checked out. Doctors ran tests to be sure nothing in his throat was crushed and X-rayed his ribs. They were bruised but not broken.

  He smiled when Heath came in, and then frowned when he saw Caleb.

  “What the fuck happened to you? You get hit by a car?”

  “Yep.”

  Heath filled in his brother, and before he could finish Damon’s eyes went wide.

  “This is wrong, bro. It’s way off.”

  Heath cut him off. “I know what you’re thinking and I’m already there. She’s after the dads and Grandpa.

  “Yep.” Damon got off of the E.R. exam bed and grabbed his clothes, throwing them on. “Let’s go”

  *~~*

  Isabelle opened her eyes and saw Jacob’s head beside hers on the pillow. He was sitting in a chair pulled up to the bed, holding her hand. He looked up when he felt her fingers move.

  “Hey, honey — how are you feeling?”

  “Like I missed a few steps.” She smiled weakly.

  The door opened and the doctor looked up from a chart. “Ah, you’re awake, Ms. Youngblood. You took quite a fall. You don’t have any broken bones, but I’m sorry to inform you that you lost your baby.” She looked at her sympathetically.

  “Baby?” Isabelle whispered.

  “You didn’t know?”

  “No — I mean, I thought I just had some light periods,” Isabelle trailed off.

  “I am sorry, Ms. Youngblood. You can try again. There was no internal damage.” She looked from Jacob to Isabelle. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

  Isabelle felt the tears coming. “I was pregnant,” she whispered.

  Jacob took her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Jacob cried.

  Isabelle put her face in her hands and cried. She felt Jacob join her on the bed and wrap his arms around her. They were both sniffling when Jacob’s phone rang. He checked the caller ID.

  “It’s Heath.”

  “Take it.” Isabelle grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes.

  “Heath, what’s going on?”

  Isabelle watched his face as it became progressively angrier.

  “No, Isabelle’s still in the hospital.”

  “What is it, Jacob?” Isabelle searched his face.

  “Okay, I’ll tell her. As soon as she’s discharged we’ll be on our way.” Jacob hung up.

  He told Isabelle everything: assailants had gone after each of the kids, but Heath and Marco thought that the fathers and their grandfather were the actual targets.

  “He’s right, Jacob. None of us has life-threatening injuries. Sophia just wanted to be sure the guards were busy and none of the kids were at the house.” Rage built in Isabelle. “That bitch. I’m going to kill her.

  Isabelle’s pupils were blown with anger. Jacob had never even seen her angry — and this was way beyond angry.

  “I’m getting out of here now.” Isabelle pushed the call button, yanked out her IV and started getting dressed.

  “Isabelle, take it easy! You just lost our baby!”

  “And whose fault is that, Jacob? It’s HERS! I’m going to rip her fucking heart out!” Isabelle shouted.

  The doctor rushed back in. “Ms. Youngblood, I know you’re upset —”

  “I’m signing myself out AMA!”

  *~~~*

  Charlie opened her eyes and looked directly into a bloodshot pair.

  “Charlie! Oh thank God you’re awake!” Steve kissed her.

  “You’re okay?” She palmed Steve’s face.

  “I’m fine; just worried about you. The doctor said you’re okay, but they want to make sure. We’re waiting on the X-rays.”

  “What happened?”

  Steve told her about the men who attacked her, and about the simultaneous attacks on the other kids.

  “This is wrong,” Charlie began.

  “Yeah, and before you go there, I know what you’re going to say.” He let her in on Heath’s theory and she was nodding in agreement well before he finished.

  “Let’s go.” Charlie got out of bed.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Going home to Fort Worth.”

  “Okay.” Steve knew there was no point in arguing.

  *~~~*

  Earlier in the evening

  Chaos reigned at the Youngblood home.

  Phones rang incessantly and Stefan and Jordan were in a panic. All of the kids had been targeted at once. Tyler had called screaming; Heath had called screaming; Jacob and Steve had called screaming.

  Stefan told Jacob and Steve to get to the airport as soon as Isabelle and Charlie could travel and get back to Fort Worth.

  He and Jordan were grabbing keys, checking for wallets.

  “I’ll go to the hospital. We have to get the kids to the same hospital, they can’t be separated!” Stefan went out the front door, calling out behind him. “Antonio, go get Tyler!”

  “I’ll coordinate on the girls and meet you at the hospital, Stefan.” Jordan caught up and kissed him. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”

  *~~~*

  It wasn’t.

  Stefan didn’t see Jordan for three days.

  He opened his eyes slowly. He knew he had been drugged; his mouth felt like it was full of cotton. He was duct-taped to a pole in the middle of a room. He looked around and saw Damon on the other side of the room.

  “Dad!”

  “Ah, Stefano, you’re awake.” Damon smiled wearily.

  “What the hell? Where’s Jordan?” Stefan began to struggle.

  “I don’t know. When I woke up they were bringing you in.” Damon looked around. “I think we’re in a cellar of some kind.”

  Stefan sighed. “I should have known. When all the kids were attacked at the same time, I should have known. I was so worried about them it never crossed my mind that we were the actual targets.”

  “Don’t feel bad, Stefano. I didn’t think either. I was worried about the children.”

  “Where did they grab you? I remember getting to the hospital. I got out of the car, felt pain in my neck, then nothing.”

  “On my way to the hospital as well.”

  The door opened and Jordan stumbled i
nto the room. They duct-taped him to the pole behind Stefan.

  “Jordan! Oh, thank God! Are you okay?” Stefan wiggled his fingers until they were wrapped in with Jordan’s.

  “I have a splitting headache, but yeah, I’m just freakin’ great.”

  “Hello, boys!” Sophia sauntered in. “So nice to see you all.”

  “You fucking bitch! What did you do to our kids?” Stefan shouted at her.

  “Oh relax, little Stefano.” She crouched down to his level. “As adorable as I’m sure they are, I never wanted your brats. I knew if I took them, I’d never get any ransom money. You and your people would track me down and kill me. No, I took you three instead. Now your children will have to pay a ransom. And they will pay a lot. Then I will take Isabelle where you can never find us.” Sophia smiled.

  “You sick bitch.” Jordan narrowed his eyes.

  “Mmmm, your husband seems upset, Stefano.” She ran her hand down Stefan’s chest to the waistband of his pants. “I could change you, maybe? Make you like women?”

  “Get the fuck off me.” He looked her in the eye. “You’d better hope I don’t get free.”

  “Oh, why? What are you going to do, Stefano?” Sophia searched Stefano’s eyes and at that moment, she saw the true face of Stefano Santorno and it scared her to death. Composing herself, Sophia backed up.

  “Bye-bye, boys. Enjoy your stay!” Sophia called over her shoulder.

  The heavy door swung shut and they heard a series of locks. They waited until they were sure she was gone, and then all three busted out laughing.

  “Oh my God, she has NO idea what she’s in for!” Stefan was laughing so hard he almost choked.

  “Oh, oh my God!” Jordan was trying to stop laughing but he couldn’t.

  Damon couldn’t even speak. His laughter had him doubled over.

  They finally calmed down and Stefan spoke.

  “That was nasty. I’m going to have nightmares.” Stefan’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

  “At least she didn’t kiss you.” Jordan made gagging noises.