by Joyce Jordan
“OMG! It’s so huge Moira. Your boyfriend doesn’t do many things in small doses, does he?” she asked. “Sorry, fiance.”
“You’re engaged?” Sam asked.
“Yep,” Moira said and walked into his open arms.
“When’s the wedding?” he asked. “And do I have to wear a tux?”
“In about two months and yes.”
“Two months?” Sere shrieked. “That’s not enough time to find a dress and plan everything.”
“Believe me, it’s better than the one week Conrad wanted.”
“One week? What’s his rush?” Sere asked. “He’s already enjoying all the benefits.”
“Sere!” Sam groaned.
Moira laughed. “I better get going. Sere, are you coming later for a swim? We could do a little brainstorming for wedding ideas then start dress shopping next weekend.”
Sere grinned. “I’ll be there. Around 3ish?”
Moira nodded and waved to Sam. She let herself out and as soon as Randy saw her, he opened the back door for her. Moira thanked him as she fastened her seat belt. They were almost home when their truck was rear ended. Moira’s belly pushed against the seat belt and she held her hands out, grabbing the back of the seat on front of her. The airbag deployed and hit her hard in her face. She was disoriented. She called Randy’s name but didn’t hear his response. Suddenly she was pulled out of the car. Moira looked at her Good Samaritan only to find them surrounded by a group of men wearing black. She screamed and immediately breathed in something foul as a cloth was held against her mouth. After that she didn’t remember what took place.
She woke up later to find herself in a small room, sleeping on a narrow bed. Moira looked around herself wondering what the heck was going on. She had taken it lightly when Conrad had told her that there were some people who could easily kidnap either of them, just so they could demand a high ransom, and still there was no guarantee that they would release them alive. She got up and took better stock of her little room. There were no windows and the door was locked. Moira sat and cried for Little Bo Peep. She couldn’t believe that her baby would never get to see the light of day, never get to see her daddy. She smiled faintly as she kicked her. Despite the accident, she seemed to be doing well. Without windows Moira couldn’t tell whether it was day or night. She didn’t know how long they had been driving to get to wherever here was. Were they even still in Miami or Florida for that matter. She dried her tears and decided to gather her strength. She may need it if she found a way to escape, so she lay back down and rested.
π
Conrad rushed to the hospital when he got the call about the accident. He found Randy sitting on a bed talking to a doctor and some detectives. “What happened?” he asked. “And where is Moira?”
“Mr. King,” both detectives and the doctor said in unison.
“You can’t be here,” the doctor said.
“You need to step outside,” one detective told him.
“Don’t get in my way,” he told them all. “Randy, tell me.”
Randy began his story from the beginning and when he got back to where he had left off, the detectives started writing in their little notepads again. When Mitch joined him, Randy had to begin his narrative again.
“I’m sorry, Mr. King,” Randy said. “She was taken while in my care.”
“Randy. That was a hit. You can’t blame yourself. But whoever took her better hope I’ll never find them,” he swore. “Mitch, where the fuck do we start looking for her.”
“I want to help,” Randy said.
“You need to be examined,” the doctor told him.
Conrad turned back. “Randy do what the doctor says. I’ll find her with the help of Mitch and the rest of the boys. I need you one hundred percent, so don’t try acting the hero now,” he said to Randy. “Send me the bill,” he told the doctor.
It was like the Italy case again. Everyone scrambling around, not knowing where she had gone. This time they were all gathered in Conrad’s penthouse. Mitch relayed the information from Randy to Sam, Lucas and Serenity and all the other bodyguards. Everyone had been called in to work.
Suddenly Conrad’s cell rang. Everybody froze wondering if it was a ransom call. It was a private number.
“Put it on speaker,” Mitch told him.
Conrad nodded and answered his phone. “King? Are you with Moira?”
“De Marco?” he asked.
“Yes, please tell me Moira is with you.”
“No, she not. Do you know something?”
“I think so. I don’t know,” Antonio swore. “It’s my crazy cousin. He has her.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, De Marco?”
“I’m on my way,” he told him. “I should land in Miami in a few hours.”
“We don’t have that much time. You know she’s pregnant. Tell me how to get her back.”
“I don’t know how unless I agree to his crazy demands. Look the jet is about to take off. I’ll have to call you later,” he said and hung up.
“Fuck,” Conrad swore.
“Conrad,” Mitch said. “The FBI is here.”
“What the fuck do they want?”
“It’s a kidnapping case. I believe Miami PD reported it,” he said.
“Let them up, but Mitch,” he said. “We do this your way.”
A group of FBI agents swarmed the penthouse and they were introduced to Special Agents Gonzalez and Trott. Trott was in charge and Gonzalez seemed to the in charge of the electronics. He paired Conrad’s phone with his machine and told him he didn’t have to put his phone on speaker, but to try and drag the conversation as long as possible. Everyone was tense, especially when a phone rang. Time dragged on with nothing happening. While the FBI found legal ways of doing things, Conrad’s boys hacked into the city camera’s and followed the trail from when Moira had been taken. They lost the trail near the docks. Some men were dispatched to go snoop around and see if anything looked suspicious. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Most of what happened at the docks looked suspicious.
Chapter Thirty Two
Conrad almost tore out Antonio’s throat when he barged into his penthouse with his entourage of bodyguards. If he wasn’t so focused on Moira he might have found it funny when the Feds scrambled around trying to get to Antonio only to be blocked by his security.
“If anything happens to Moira and our baby, I swear De Marco, you are a dead man.”
“I know. We need to talk,” he told him. “Sam you too.”
Special agent Trott stood up. “If it’s anything pertaining to the kidnaping case, I need to be part of the discussion.”
“It’s family business,” Antonio said to him. “You’ll get to know the rest.” He followed Sam and Conrad into his office.
“Are you saying the same crazy cousin who tried to kidnap you last time has Moira?” Sam asked.
“Angelo, yes. I’m not sure why he took Moira, but it seems like he thinks she’s carrying my child.”
“What does Moira’s child have to do with all this?’ Conrad asked.
“My deluded cousin is of the opinion that the eldest son should be allowed to run the company, irrespective of the parents. You see our great grand fathers were brothers. Mine started the family business and from there every son has taken over and increased the family wealth. Unfortunately things didn’t work with Angelo’s side of the family as well as they did with mine. To make matters worse, his great grandfather was the older son, his grandfather was also older than my grandfather, and so was his father older than my dad, and he is two years older than me. Now he has a son who just turned four and I guess in his twisted way he wants to run the company himself and pass the reigns over to his son.
He thinks his side of the family have been cheated all along. And this is where Moira’s child comes in. He thinks the reigns will be passed on to my son that she’s carrying, so he wants to make sure I sign paperwork relinquishing rights to the business to any oldest
child irrespective of the father.”
“What crazy kind of fuck is that?” Conrad asked.
“Well, Moira is not even carrying your child, and it’s a girl on top of that. Who’s been feeding him his information?” Sam asked.
“My guess is as good as yours Sam. But I have a feeling he could have seen those newspapers you guys saw when Moira was in Italy, and assumed she was my girlfriend.”
“So what now?” Conrad asked.
“I’ll sign whatever he needs me to sign. Moira is important to me too,” Antonio said.
“You’ll sign over your birthright?” Conrad asked.
“Not exactly. My dad and I formed a distress signature. It will never hold up, but by then Moira will be free. After that, it’s up to you to keep her in a cage where no one can ever get to her.”
Conrad laughed. “As much as that sounds appealing, I don’t think the woman being discussed will ever stand for that. But one thing for sure is that she will be guarded better than the president’s daughter.”
Conrad’s phone rang and the three of them froze. “It’s my dad,” he said in relief.
Trott knocked on the door and walked in. “Gentlemen.”
Conrad answered his phone and let Antonio deal with the agent. He told him that Moira had gone missing again, but this time had been kidnapped. He hung up as his dad said he was on his way.
“Look officer,” Antonio began.
“Special agent Trott,” he corrected him.
“Okay, sorry. All I know is that it’s possible my cousin took her, thinking she was my girlfriend…” His phone rang and he quickly answered it.
“Cousin. Come and pick up your girl. Alone. If I see you with your bodyguards or law enforcement, you’ll never see her alive again. Start driving north and I’ll call in ten minutes,” Angelo said and hung up.
“King, I need your fastest car,” he said. “He called, and said I should come and pick her up.”
“I’m coming with you,” Conrad said.
“No, the FBI will send someone. This is risky business,” Agent Trott interjected.
“Everyone shut up,” Antinio said. “I don’t have time to sit and argue. I know my cousin and when he says come alone, he means ALONE. King, if you want to see Moira again, you’ll give me the keys and make sure nobody follows me.”
“Sir, I can’t let you go alone,” his head of security said. “Lady Jane would skin me alive.”
“Fuck Lady Jane. You can tell her Moira’s life was in danger,” he told him.
“Now King.”
Conrad looked over to Mitch who gave the slightest nod. “Someone will guide you to it,” he said as he threw him a set of keys and Antonio ran out of the room into the elevator.
The room was silent before Trott started speaking and letting them know how unhappy he was with the turn of events. He cited how civilians always mess up cases and people end up dead.
“You better shut up while you still can,” Conrad threatened. “As much as I hate De Marco’s guts, I trust him implicitly with my fiancee’s life. I know he would give up his life over hers. So yes, we didn’t do it according to your strict guidelines, but if anyone has the best chances of recovering Moira, it’s him.”
Nobody said a word for the next half an hour as they all waited for word of Moira. As they reached the hour mark since Antonio had left, Conrad’s cell shrilled in the silence. He answered afraid of what he would hear. It was dark outside. He wondered if Antonio had even known where he was going, or if he was being led into danger or not.
“Hallo,” he said into the phone.
“I have her. I’m taking her to the hospital. University of Miami hopsital. I’m ten minutes away.”
Conrad heard the phone cut and shouted Mitch’s name. They ran out with everyone trying to fit into the elevator at once. Conrad swore. “Lucas, take over control. And bring Sere with you. Sam, let’s go. The rest of you can take the stairs or wait for the elevator to come back up.”
As soon as they reached the first floor, the elevator shot back up. Conrad and Sam ran behind Mitch. Some of his body guards who had been in the control room followed and they were soon on their way to the hospital.
Conrad jumped out before the SUV had come to a complete stop. He charged in looking for De Marco. He found him raising hell with the nurses and doctors. He ignored him and went straight for Moira. “Baby?”
“Conrad?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s me. Are you okay?”
“I am now,” she said as tears slid down her cheeks and further down her throat.
“Moira?”
“Sam? Oh I’m so happy to see you.”
“Why are your eyes closed? Did something happen to them?”
“I was kept in the dark for so long, the bright light hurts my eyes,” she told them.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I should have assigned more people to you.”
“Nobody knew Antonio’s crazy cousin would come looking for me. I’m just happy he finally believed that I wasn’t carrying Antonio’s baby and released me.”
“Did he mistreat you? Are you in any pain?” Conrad asked holding her belly. “you can open your eyes now. Sam switched the lights off,” he told her.
Moira opened her eyes slowly. She quickly adjusted to the dark. “No, I’m fine. I think the baby is fine too otherwise the machines would be beeping like crazy.”
“Sam can you go and keep Antonio calm before he’s arrested?” Moira asked.
Conrad chuckled. “He probably deserves a night in there. But because he brought you back to me, I’ll be a better man and not wish him ill.”
Moira smiled in the dark. “Thank you. It must have been hard for you to work with him. How did you manage?” she asked with a small laugh.
Conrad gritted his teeth. “He came very close to being shark meat when he walked into the penthouse. Luck was on his side since he was the only one who knew your abductor; and the fact that the room was full of FBI agents; and him being the godfather. All those three reasons probably played a part in his not so early demise.”
“Thank you for not killing our child’s godfather.”
“Anything for you Moira.”
“Why are you guys in the dark?” Sere asked from the door.
“Sere? Come in,” Moira cried out to her friend.
“The light is hurting her eyes right now,” Conrad told them. He saw Lucas and his dad right behind them. And later saw the agents hesitate at the door.
“Ms. Peters. I’m Special Agent Trott, and this is my partner Special Agent Gonzalez. Can you tell us what happened today?” he asked.
The specialist that Antonio had been screaming for finally walked in. “Please clear the room while I consult with the patient,” he said. “I’ll let you know once I’m done.” He walked further into the room. “Ms. Peters. I’m Dr. Ali Hansel. I just talked to Mr. De Marco about your case.”
“Moira, please. This is my fiance, Conrad King. I’m sorry about the lack of lighting.”
“We can use the one by your bed. Close your eyes for a while and I’ll do a quick check,” he told her.
Moira closed her eyes as the doctor switched on the head lamp and the fluorescent light to her right. She was glad to hear that her baby didn’t seem to be in distress. Little Bo Peep had apparently survived the half a day that she had been kidnapped. And whatever she had breathed in the cloth at the time they had taken her from the car, hadn’t done any damage.
“If everything looks good tomorrow morning, I’ll release you,” he told her as he switched the lights back off. “By tomorrow your eyesight should be fine,” he assured her.
Everybody trooped back in. Moira finally relayed the news of how she had been interrogated for hours by Angelo, and managed to convince him that Antonio was not the father or her baby. When he heard that she was also carrying a girl he had been pissed. That had been the last straw and he finally agreed to release her. He told her he didn’t have any use for her. Moira had been so
glad about the news, but didn’t want to believe it could be true until she saw Antonio walk towards where she had been sitting beside Angelo.
“I’m tired,” she said to Conrad who immediately chased the agents away. The rest of her friends and family said goodnight and promised to come and see her the next day when she was released. “Hold me Conrad,” she said once they were alone.
Conrad removed his shoes and slid into bed behind Moira. He made sure not to disturb the wires attached to her belly.
“Conrad,” Moira said waking him up.
He quickly woke up thinking she was in pain. “What’s wrong Moira? Is it the baby?”
“In a way yes,” she said. “Can you get me a burger?”
“What the fuck Moira? You said it was the baby and it’s two thirty in the morning.”
“Little Bo Peep doesn’t know that and she’s hungry,” she huffed at him.
“Where am I going to get food at this time of the night?” he asked.
“A burger,” Moira corrected.
“Whatever. Are you allowed to even eat?” he asked. He kissed her cheek. “Hold on while I consult with the nurses.” He walked out and asked the closest nurse who looked at Moira’s chart and confirmed she could eat anything. He had to ask one of his bodyguards to find a 24 hour fast food place close to the hospital. He was surprised to find out that there was one right on the first floor of the hospital. Conrad shook his head thinking of all that greasy food. “Get both beef and chicken, fries and a coke too. I’m not sure what she wants.” He gave him some money and then went back into Moira’s room.
Jimbo was back so fast Conrad could only assume the place was empty at this time of the night.
“Moira, your food is here,” he said and helped her sit up. “Can I try the light?” he asked.
“The headlamp I think,” she replied. She blinked but soon adjusted to the light. She chose the beef burger and removed everything besides the patty, then bit into it and moaned in delight. “Thanks,” she said as she took some fries and shoved them into her mouth. “This is great,” she told him and offered him a bite. “Your loss,” she told him when he declined.