The Merger: The Ryan Family Books One-Three

by Loni Ree

  "Lukas, she has me scratching my head. The only explanation I can think of is she has to have time to get the money out of the account we can trace into an account that it will take us days to find, and Marta has to hold something over you until she does. She knows she has to give you Madison back first, so maybe she believes you will be willing to take the chance on sending Max with her. Holding him will guarantee her the time to get her money clear." Even as Drew is talking, he still looks completely baffled.

  Max is sitting quietly, rubbing his jaw. "Luke, you know I love you as a brother, and I'm willing to do anything to get your wife back. If you need me to, I’ll do it in a heartbeat; I'm not scared of the crazy bitch. I am way more prepared to take care of myself than your wife is, and if Marta is going to kill somebody, she will kill Madison. I really think the only choice you have is to do as she says. Make the trade to get your wife back as soon as possible."

  "Lukas, if Max is willing to do it, I say we get it set up and go for it. Somehow, Marta has been one step ahead of us the entire time. Right now, we are playing around with Madison's life and the lives of your twins. We should not waste time trying to come up with alternate solutions. She’s smart for demanding you drive yourself. She knows Wyatt is much more than a driver. My guys will brief Max, and we will try to hide a couple of weapons on him so, hopefully, someone who isn't a professional wouldn’t find them. All of our preparations should give him the best shot of trying to get away from Marta before they even get to her chosen destination. If for some reason he is unable to escape before then, we have to pray she truly does intend to stick with her end of the bargain. As quickly as she is setting the trade-off up, we will have a hard time getting the five million ready, much less trying to track it and get it back once the money has been transferred. These are the reasons for the rush and what she is banking on." Drew then grabs Max, and his crew starts briefing him on what to expect and getting him ready. Thomas, Brayden, Bradley, and I work on the money transfer and everything else.

  Thomas pulls the security footage from the garage, and we all watch as Madison gets out of the SUV and waves goodbye to Roger. She walks straight in the glass door and around the corner. The SUV then exits the view of the camera. Another camera, one floor up, catches someone, a man it appears from his size, in all black with a hood and mask on, carrying an unconscious Madison up the stairs and into the garage where a van pulls up. The person then drops Madison into the side door of the van. He gets in with her and shuts the fucking door as the vehicle pulls out of the camera’s view. The kidnapper knows where all of Sterling-Ryan's cameras are and how to avoid them best. The van, of course, doesn't have any license plates or distinguishing features, and the driver avoided the camera's view the entire time. These fuckers were toying with me.

  I can tell Bradley is shaken. He has tears in his eyes when he says, "Before you married Madison, I wanted to see you frantic about someone. Just once, I wanted to see you sweat. Now, I see it, and I’m so sorry I ever wished for it. I can tell you really love my sister, and I am so happy that the two of you have found each other. I know you both will be great parents." He leans over and hugs me, and I actually feel like he is one of my brothers, too.

  "I know I have been an asshole to everyone in the past. It took one little Angel to change me. I do love Madison, more than I can ever express. After we get her back, I’ll always put her and the babies before Sterling-Ryan, Steele Co., or any other obligations I may have. You do know your wish had nothing to do with her kidnapping. It is all due to one crazy bitch. We are going to get her back tonight," I reply, then I slap him on the back and walk over to Max and Drew.

  Max congratulates me on the twins. "Luke, I'm so happy for you. I’ll do everything I can to get Madison back for you. It is a good thing Marta does not know about the babies; she would ask for more than five million." Hopefully, he’s right, and Marta hasn’t discovered that Madison is pregnant.

  Soon, the time to head out to the airfield comes, and I'm praying to every God who will listen for everything to go as planned. I've been so caught up in all of the dissecting and planning, I haven't let myself think about what's really going on here. It hits me as we are driving through the darkened streets, if anything goes wrong tonight, I could lose my Angel, my reason for living, my whole life. Everything I look forward to, everything of real value I possess, everything I have become lately is due to her. My children are wonderful bonuses, but their mother is everything to me. Right now, I make a promise to myself and to her: WHEN I get her back tonight, I'm going to rearrange all my priorities. From now on, she is going to come before Sterling–Ryan no matter what. My brothers are going to have to pick up the all the slack, and I'm going to give Max a big promotion with a lot more responsibility because, after all of his loyalty and sacrifice, I'm definitely going to owe him my life.

  When we get to the airfield, I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I see a helicopter waiting over on the pad. Max and I get out of the SUV and stand in front of the vehicle like we were instructed, and Marta gets out of a dark car off to the side, between us and the helicopter. The light comes on in the front seat of the car, and I can see Madison slumped over against the passenger side door. Marta is holding a laptop computer in her hand and yells for me to make the transfer, but I yell back to her for her to prove Madison is alive since it is impossible to tell from so far away. She takes her phone out and videotapes for a second, and then I hear a ding. I quickly look at the video she sent me, and I can finally take a deep breath because Madison's chest is rising and falling steadily.

  I text Drew to complete the transfer. A couple of seconds later, Marta snaps the laptop closed and puts it in a backpack. She then pulls a gun out of the bag and signals for Max to follow her to the helicopter. The whole way to the aircraft, she's walking backward while pointing the gun toward Max. The pilot, who had been standing outside of the helicopter the entire time, has aimed his weapon directly at Madison. When both she and Max get to the aircraft, she handcuffs Max, and then another man who was in the helicopter pats him down and drags him into the helicopter. Marta then yells for me to drop my phone on the ground and to move slowly toward the car with Madison. I do as she says, with the pilot now pointing his gun at me.

  Once I'm standing in front of the car, the instructions were for me to stand there and wait until the helicopter takes off before trying to take Madison out of the vehicle. The sound of a gunshot scares the shit out of me, but I realize the pilot shot my cell phone on the ground. As the helicopter is taking off, I see Marta frantically typing away on the computer; she pauses and flips me off when they fly over me. I run to the side of the car, open the door, and Madison falls into my arms. She’s unconscious, but her pulse is strong and steady, and she’s breathing normally, so relief flows through me. I rush her to the SUV and drive straight to the hospital with my precious cargo. I have no cell phone to call ahead, but as planned, Drew and his crew are waiting for me when we get there.

  We are taken into an examination room as soon as we get to the hospital. The emergency room doctor thoroughly examines Madison and does a quick ultrasound. He assures me everything looks normal except for a small bump on the back of her head. They draw bloodwork and send it to be analyzed, but the doctor says it appears she was given some kind of sedative. He says so early in pregnancy, the drug should not harm the fetuses. Everything looks okay on the ultrasound, and he thinks our babies will be healthy. Now, if Madison would wake up, I would know everything is going to be fine.

  Drew is out in the hall speaking with agents from the FBI and the local police, trying to explain why we handled the situation without their involvement. He has enough friends in high places, and he should be able to smooth things over. Drake, one of his top guys, is working frantically to see if he can find anything out about Max. My guilt over trading him is eating me alive.

  Blake, Lucy, and Annie are in the waiting room patiently waiting to see Madison, but I won't allow anyone in the hospital room until
I'm sure she is out of the woods. Gramps George and Nikolas are on the company jet on their way home from California. As soon as they land, they will come straight to the hospital. I tried to get Gramps to go rest some, but he refused.

  I feel Madison's hand tense up in mine, and I look over to see her staring into my eyes. All of a sudden, tears start flowing down her cheeks. She cries, "Oh my God, Luke, I am so sorry. I am so sorry. I cannot believe Max would do something so horrible to you."

  "Wait, Madison, what are you talking about? What would Max do to me? Max traded himself to Marta so she would free you."

  Madison looks at me like I'm crazy and tries to it up in the bed, but I gently lay her back on the pillow. She keeps shaking her head no. "Lukas, you’re wrong. Max is the person who is working with Marta. He carried me into the room where I was kept. I'm pretty sure he's the one who hit me over the head and tied me up."

  As I sit there and stare at her in shock, a rage like I have never felt in my life comes over me. All the pieces fall into place. Now, it all makes complete sense. The reason Marta was able to stay ahead of us at all times, and how she always knew what we were going to do before we did it. She was ready for every move we were going to make. Because Max, who was present every day, for every single fucking meeting, was the one who's been stabbing me in the back all along.

  Max must have sent Madison a text to meet for dinner from my phone while I was in the bathroom. Now, I know how the text message came from ME! Before I can resist the urge, I kick the bedside tray across the room, and it slams into the wall.

  Drew and Bradley come running into the room to find out what's going on, and I'm so livid. "Max is the fucking inside guy. Max is the backstabbing son of a bitch who was helping Marta. He helped the bitch stay ahead of us from the beginning. While he was in there acting like he was my best friend and doing me the biggest favor in the world, he was shoving a knife right between my shoulder blades."

  They stand there with looks of utter horror and shock on their faces, while Madison is lying on the bed, crying her eyes out. "Man, look at your wife. You are scaring the shit out of her. Calm down, take some breaths. This situation is fucked up, but don't freak out here," Bradley reminds me as he points to Madison.

  Bradley is right, and even though I want to puke from the devastation, I tell myself to forget about the fucking shit Max pulled and take care of Madison. I walk over to the bed and sit down on the thin mattress with Madison, drawing her into my arms. After gently kissing her forehead, I hold her while she silently cries.

  Drew realizes how shattered I am and takes charge. "Lukas, you take care of Madison and your babies. Brad and I will take all the information and work on bringing both Marta and Max to justice for what they have done to you and your company. Right now, be glad no harm came to Madison or your babies."

  They leave the room, and I whisper to her, "Baby, I'm so sorry I scared you. I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world. I love you so much, more than I ever thought possible. When I found out you had been taken, the bottom dropped out of my whole entire world. All the time I've been spending trying to figure out the problems at Sterling–Ryan was such a waste. It was time I missed with you. I'll never let anything come between us again, I swear to you.”

  She continues crying, and I try to wipe the steady stream of tears. “You are everything to me. The babies are bonuses, and I love them, but you are the one who I love beyond everything. If anything had happened to you, I would have given up because there would have been no reason to go on.

  “From now on, those slacker brothers of mine are going to do real jobs. I'm going to be a real husband to you and a very hands-on father to our munchkins. Please, stop crying. My heart can only take so much today." I kiss her and run my hand lovingly over the small swell of her stomach.

  She looks up and smiles through her tears. "Right now, I'm crying because I'm happy. I love you, too. I have to tell you about what Max claimed. I asked him why he would betray you with Marta, and it was all jealousy. I hope..."

  "Baby, let me stop you right there. I’m finished talking about Max. That asshole is completely out of our lives. I'm going to let Drew and the security guys deal with all of that shit from now on. You and I can worry about our babies, and the rest will take care of itself. The only thing I want you to worry about is how you're going to decorate the babies' nursery and get round and cute and ready for our little ones. Now, let's talk to the doctor and see how long you have to stay here." I kiss her gently on the lips. My heart is finally beating regularly again, and I can relax and enjoy holding my wife close to me.

  When we get home from the hospital, we celebrate our good news with everyone, and they are all so excited. I make arrangements with Annie for Madison to work from home most of the time.

  I let my brothers and Gramps George know Sterling-Ryan is still very important to me, but Madison and our babies are my top priority. My brothers will continue and even expand their roles in the company. Gramps George agrees with me and promises to help all of us with our new family dynamic.

  I am amazed at how falling in love with one tiny little woman can change a man so completely. Let my three asshole brothers laugh now, but soon, love will come hunting for them. Boy, will I laugh my ass off then!

  Now, if I can survive Madison's pregnancy without losing my mind, I will consider it a miracle.

  Epilogue: Lukas

  It took a while to recover part of the five million dollars stolen by Marta and Max. The helicopter they escaped in was found abandoned several hours after we rescued Madison. They, of course, were long gone. I was so happy to have my wife and unborn children back safely, I decided to let the professionals worry about tracking them down. In the end, they only got away with a little bit of money. I knew, eventually, they would get what was coming to them.

  DRS Security, Inc. had to wade through thousands of documents and tons of erased information, but finally, Drew and his staff were able to find a trail. It led them straight to Max. Unfortunately for Marta, she chose the wrong criminal to put her trust in, and he betrayed her. Her body spent several months unidentified in a South American morgue before one of Drew's operatives traced Marta and Max to a location close to there. He made a connection between the unidentified dead American woman and Marta. It was a fitting end for such a vicious bitch.

  Max, it seems, betrayed me because he felt I slighted him. The night Madison was kidnapped, he implied I had held him back and stolen his ideas in favor of my brothers. The man is delusional; my brothers had such a small part of Sterling-Ryan at the time, it is laughable. The ironic part is I loved him like one of my brothers, and if he had asked, I would have gladly promoted him or given him more recognition. After Madison’s rescue, I was planning to offer him the CFO position at Sterling-Ryan, as thanks for all he had done for us. The bastard was such a good actor, no one had ever suspected him in any way. It really gutted me to find he was the one who had been stabbing me in the back all along. Luckily, I had my Angel to soften the blow.

  Speaking of the evening Madison was kidnapped, Max was the one who carried Madison up the stairs and placed her in the van. When we pulled security phone records, the records showed that no one from security had called Max about his car. He used the bogus call as a cover so that he would have time to abduct Madison and carry her to the van. We assume Marta was driving the van; no cameras ever got a picture of the driver. The van driver dropped Max off a block from Sterling-Ryan, and he rushed back to the meeting before we ever suspected a thing. Those assholes thought of everything.

  It took a couple more months of following the trail until Max was found living it up on my money in fucking Morocco of all places. He thought he was smarter than all of us and the authorities. Because there is no extradition treaty with Morocco, Max figured we would be unable to catch him there. Well, maybe so, when he had millions in the bank. What he didn't count on was Teddy, Drew's genius IT-slash-hacker, who drained Max's bank accounts when he found them.

>   Max was forced to flee when he no longer had access to the funds to pay off the enormous debts he had around town. Once Max fled Morocco, Drew's man quickly apprehended him and delivered him gift-wrapped to the appropriate authorities.

  Now, Max is where he belongs. If he survives and is released from the South American jail where he's being held on murder charges, he will be sent back to the US to stand trial for all his crimes here, including embezzlement, extortion, and kidnapping. Needless to say, he will either die in a South American prison or North American prison. I'm happy either way.

  We were able to recover three-point-five-million dollars of my money. Having my wife and babies alive is well worth the one-point-five-million not recovered.

  The unscrupulous competitor who started the whole theft of corporate secrets has also gotten his punishments. He was charged with multiple felonies and is now serving ten years in prison. When he is released, he owes his creditors, which includes us, hundreds of millions in restitution. We'll probably never see it, but he'll never live high and mighty again.

  Several of his accomplices within his organization are still in various phases of prosecution. I barely even pay attention anymore to how the cases are progressing. I pay Drew's company and my company lawyers so much money to pay attention and worry for me. They take care of Sterling-Ryan's interests, and I now take a more active role in my marriage.

  My brothers have really stepped up and turned Sterling-Ryan into a true family business. When Max betrayed me, the prospect of running Sterling-Ryan overwhelmed me, but my brothers have shown me how capable they are of taking on significant roles within the company. All these years, I have sheltered them and run myself ragged trying to do everything all on my own. I was alienating my brothers by refusing to trust them with more responsibility. All I saw was spoiled, overindulged playboys who lived off of their trust funds, when I was the one holding them back because of my inability to give them more responsibility at Sterling-Ryan.