by Mj Fields
���That is where you bought the engagement ring, huh?��� Brody patted his knee.
���Yes, such an interesting little shop, and they design everything in house,��� Maddox looked out the window as they sped past the little shops on the road.
���How did you know about it?��� Brody smiled.
���Just saw it while I was thinking of Harper. I walked in and knew this was where I had to buy the ring,��� Maddox laughed, ���Why?���
���I bought Emma���s there. Same thing, drawn to it,��� Brody laughed.
���You are serious?��� Collin asked shocked.
���I am,��� Brody smiled.
���Well Tessa would take that as a sign from God above,��� Collin laughed.
���I would have to agree,��� Maddox whispered as he looked out the window.
They sat on the small eight passenger plane waiting for take-off, and Maddox grabbed his phone from his wool jacket pocket.
- Coming home to you Sweetness and I will never leave you again. Yours Always���MH
The captain asked that all electronic devices be shut down and the plane began to taxi down the runway.
Maddox leaned back feeling more at ease than he had since he could remember. Everything was good. Everyone he cared about was happy or at least content. He sat back and for the first time fell asleep on a plane.
Brody felt an overwhelming amount of joy as he watched his son smile in his sleep.
He looked over at Collin, ���I���ve waited for that for years.���
���I���m so glad you didn���t lose faith. You have molded him— whether or not you can take that credit is up to you, but it���s the truth, Brody. He watches you with Emma and the girls and now that the Jazz situation has been handled, I have no doubt there is no other man I would want Harper to spend the rest of her life with.���
The plane touched down in Liverpool and Maddox woke up. He looked out the window and smiled.
���We are back,��� Brody patted him on the shoulder.
���It���s Christmas Eve,��� Maddox smiled.
Collin laughed, ���You like Christmas, huh?���
���I do, and this Christmas is going to be the best ever, well next Christmas with my son will probably top this one,��� Maddox stood up and grabbed his phone.
- Just landed cannot wait to see you���Maddox
Brody climbed into the driver���s seat of the car and Collin and Maddox got in.
Collin turned on his phone and saw the missed calls from his sons and then a message
- 911���Matthew
���How far are we from your place Hines?��� Collin tried to steady his voice.
���Ten minutes,��� Brody answered.
���Make it two, we have a problem,��� Collin���s voice shook.
���What is it?��� Maddox leaned forward in the backseat.
���I���m calling Matthew now to find out,��� Collin dialed his phone.
���Where are you,��� Matthew tried to control the rage in his voice.
���Matthew, what���s going on?��� Collin tried to speak calmly.
���Dad, get here NOW, get Tomas here, get������
���Alright Matthew, I need to know what is going on,��� Collin���s voice was a little less steady as he took deep breaths.
���Harper, Lexi, and London are gone. We came back from shopping and Emma and Mom had been attacked������
���What do you mean, Matthew?���
���Someone took them; all three of them are fucking gone!���
���Did you call the police?���
���Yes they���re here now, but they are not moving that entirely fast Dad,��� Collin heard Matthew���s voice break.
���We���ll be there in five minutes, Matthew. Are Emma and your mother alright?���
Brody���s head turned towards Collin and Collin mouthed DRIVE.
���They���re a mess Dad, beat up and scared to death,��� Matthew whispered.
���Alright Matthew I need to make some calls, we���ll be there soon,��� Collin looked at Brody and then back at Maddox, ���Someone attacked Emma and Tessa������
���Oh my God! Are they������
���And they took Harper, London, and Lexington.���
No one said a word and Brody hammered the gas pedal.
They pulled in through the gates and jumped out of the car.
There were police cars and paramedics everywhere. Brody, Maddox, and Collin ran towards the house and were immediately stopped.
���This is my fucking house you idiot, get your fucking hands������
���We need to ask you a few questions,��� one of the officers said stopping Brody, ���Where have you been for the past three hours?���
Brody pushed the officer, ���Get your fucking hands off of me.���
Collin grabbed Brody, ���We were in London and then on a plane, do your job and let us by.���
Maddox pushed past them and ran into the house, he saw Emma and Tessa clinging to each other crying. Matthew, CJ, Caroline, Maggie, Henry, and John all stood around them. He ran past the police and up the stairs. One of the officers grabbed for him to stop him and he pulled away. He heard nothing they said as he went into each room looking in closets and under beds. Brody and Collin followed him and watched him flip mattresses and searching frantically.
���Maddox.���
Brody grabbed him and held him as he shook.
���Let go, Dad,��� Maddox pulled free and ran down the stairs.
He ran to Emma, ���What happened, Mom?���
Emma looked up at him and he gasped. Her eye was swollen shut and her lip was split. He looked at Tessa who looked the same.
Collin and Brody came into the room and knelt in front of their wives who sobbed as they clung to their husbands.
Maddox looked around and saw CJ looking at him.
His saw people talking, but he couldn���t hear them, he walked into the kitchen and saw a bottle of wine. His heart, he could hear his heart beating faster. He picked up the wine bottle and looked at it.
He heard them talking, Three hours���APB���three men���hooded���London screamed and ran���Tessa lunged���Emma fought��� Harper���
Maddox looked back at the bottle and CJ walked into the room, ���We���ll find them, Maddox.���
Maddox looked at him and back at the wine bottle. He pushed through the swarms of people and opened the door to the wine cellar, his heart beat faster as he walked down the stairs. He noticed the wine rack was pulled out.
He ran to it and pulled it away and opened the door to the tunnel that had been sealed off years ago. He grabbed his phone to light up the room and shined it around.
London sat in the corner covering Lexington���s mouth, both shaking and looking terrified.
���Oh my God,��� Maddox gasped and ran to them.
London let out an ear piecing cry and he grabbed her and Lexington and held them tightly, ���Shh, shhh,��� Maddox whispered as he held them.
���Maddox,��� London cried.
Maddox held them as he looked around for Harper.
���London, is Harper in here with you?���
���No Maddox, they hurt Mommy and Tessa and Harper,��� London cried.
���Listen, there are a lot of people upstairs worried about you two. Your Mommy is alright okay? Just beat up a little,��� Maddox held her tighter, ���
�Lexington are you okay?���
���No,��� her lip quivered, ���I want to go back in there Maddox, please.���
���Dad is here, Collin is here and a lot of police officers are here too. We need to let them know you���re both okay so that we can find Harper, alright Lexi?��� Maddox���s voice cracked when he said Harper���s name.
Maddox held both girls as he walked up the stairs, ���You���re both going to be fine, alright? Dad will make sure of it.���
Maddox walked into the room and Emma looked up and cried out loud Brody, helped her to stand up and Maddox walked towards them. The police swarmed around them, again Maddox heard nothing they said— he just knew his sisters were alright and Harper was not.
He looked towards Tessa and their eyes locked. He let Brody and Emma have the girls and walked towards her, ���She wasn���t with them.���
���They took her, Maddox,��� Tessa cried, ���I tried to stop them and they took my little girl.���
Maddox hugged her as she cried, ���I promise I���ll find her and bring her back to you Tessa. If it���s the last thing I do, I���ll bring Harper home.���
Maddox opened his eyes and saw Collin looking at him.
He watched the uniformed officers and the detectives talking. He looked at Brody holding Emma and the girls as they cried.
He watched Harper���s brothers trying to hold Tessa together. Both Caroline and Maggie sat with their heads together as Maggie softly spoke; she appeared to be praying. John and Henry were both trying to hear what the detectives were saying.
Maddox���s eyes went back to Collin, he took a deep breath and walked towards him.
���We have to find her,��� Maddox looked him in the eyes.
���We will,��� Collin answered back.
���Surveillance footage, has anyone gone through it?��� Maddox scowled.
���I don���t think so���Maddox where are you going?��� Collin followed him into the hallway.
���Zach, he knows everything about this system. I know some, and Dad seems������
���I���m here Maddox, I am right here,��� Brody hugged him, ���Call Zach, have him come now. Collin, can we get the plane to him?���
���Of course,��� Collin closed his eyes.
���But what about Claire������ Maddox began, ���I will call T, he can, no Surge but he is���FUCK!��� Maddox punched the wall.
���Maddox, you���ve held your shit together for the past fifteen minutes������ Collin began.
���Fifteen minutes! It���s only been fifteen minutes!���
Brody grabbed him and shook him, ���That���s a good thing, Maddox. You found your sisters in that amount of time, we���ll find Harper.���
���Three hours���it���s been three fucking hours!��� Maddox screamed.
���I have called Tomas, have you called Clive?��� Collin asked and Brody shook his head yes, ���Maddox call Zach, and get Surge here and do it now.���
Maddox walked outside and took a deep breath and dialed his phone, ���Zach, I need your help.���
���Maddox what���s going on?��� Zach asked nervously.
Maddox gave him the condensed version and added, ���I can get T������
���Maddox,��� Zach whispered, ���Claire hasn���t come back, and she isn���t answering her phone.���
���Have you looked for her?���
���Yes, everywhere, she is gone.���
���Do you think���?��� Maddox began.
���Do you?���
���No, no I don���t, she was fine, she was good, she wouldn���t������
���As soon as the cops know Maddox, they���ll write it off, no one else will be suspected. I have some friends going over street cameras now. I can���t leave here. Keep that phone charged, anything I think of, any advice I can give, anything I can do to help you bring Harper home I will do, Maddox. I need the same from you, any information, leads, anything— this can���t be a coincidence. I also don���t think Claire has anything to do with it. She loves you and wants you to be happy.���
Maddox took a deep breath, ���I���ll call you every hour.���
���More, if you need to.���
Maddox looked at Collin and then looked quickly away. He didn���t want them to know anything if it could be helped.
He saw Collin walk to the officer holding a cell phone, Harper���s phone. He walked quickly to them, ���May I see it, please?���
Maddox saw the last text he���d sent, it was unread. He thumbed through the texts and saw Blake had sent one to her that she did not reply to.
���Find Blake,��� he sneered at Collin.
���If there are any leads, we need to handle them,��� the officer looked at Maddox.
���What have you done so far?��� Maddox yelled at him.
���We have taken prints, secured and searched the property������
���Failing to find two scared little girls in the fucking process! If you think we���re going to allow you to FUCK this up������
Collin put his hand on Maddox���s shoulder, ���Let them do what they need to, Maddox.���
���I need the phone, Mr. Hines,��� the officer put his hand out.
���Go fuck yourself!���
���Maddox, give him the phone,��� Collin raised his eyebrow.
���They are going to fuck this up mark my words,��� Maddox growled, ���Do you have kids officer?���
���Yes I do������
���If my fianc��e, who is carrying my child, does not come home, I will fucking tear������
Collin grabbed Maddox and dragged him away, ���Do you want to end up in jail Maddox?!���
���No I want them to do their fucking job! I want her home, I want her safe, and in my arms. I want them to find her!���
Maddox screamed into the clouds and walked away, he felt his emotions swell up inside his chest, and it burned. The heat crept to his throat as he started walking down the driveway, away from the swarm of people. He made it to the gate and saw that news crews were starting to show up. He turned to walk back to the house, and rage overtook him.
Maddox stormed towards them and he heard Brody and Collin yelling behind him. He didn���t stop; he walked to the gate and pushed the button.
Camera���s flashed and reporters fired questions at him.
Collin ran and stood in front of him, ���I want her home just as much as you do, Maddox. I need my little girl home DAMN IT! This is NOT the way to handle this!���
Brody stopped the reporters from coming through the gate and shut it. He grabbed Maddox and started walking towards the house. He looked back and saw Collin standing glaring at the gate.
He let go of Maddox and walked back towards Collin, ���Let���s go Collin.���
���No, No, NO!��� Collin���s voice echoed through the air.
He walked towards the gate, ���My name is Collin Abraham. My daughter Harper was taken by three men in a black Volkswagen van approximately three hours and thirty minutes ago. She���s my little girl. Anyone with information leading to her safe return ���I beg you to call the police department. She has long wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. She is five foot eight and weighs about a hundred and thirty pounds. She has…��� Collin dug for his wallet, ���FUCK!���
; Maddox stood beside him and held up his phone, ���Zoom in on this. Harper is…fucking beautiful, perfect, and the kindest gentlest person I have ever met. She���s my fianc��e,��� Maddox���s voice broke. ���WHEN she is returned, she will be returning to people who love her and will never let this happen to her again. I love you, Sweetness, if you can hear me, I love you so much.��� Maddox stopped and cleared his voice, ���I���m offering a two million dollar reward for her safe return, or information leading to her safe return. To whoever has my���Harper— you need to understand that none of the three men you see here, all of whom love her, will stop until she is safely home. I fear nothing except a life without her. I���ll walk through hell to bring her home. Consider this your warning— when I find out who has her I will rip everyone you love apart, limb by limb as you watch, just like my sisters watched their mother and Harper���s mother be brutalized by you sick fucks! I will not stop until she is safely home to me������
���Maddox let���s go,��� Brody whispered.
���LET. HER. GO, that is your final warning,��� Maddox turned and walked away with Collin and Brody.
���Wait,��� Maddox stopped and nodded to the police, ���I need to tell you something I don���t want those fuckers to know.���
Collin pulled her SIM card from his pocket, ���I���m not as trusting in them as you think Maddox, but they need to think we are.���
���Claire never came home, she���s missing as well. Zach is looking into it but he thinks that if they������
���If they think it���s her, they won���t look into any other suspects,��� Collin said in agreement.
���Blake— he called and texted her several times today, I want to talk to that������
���You can Maddox but he wouldn���t hurt her,��� Collin scowled down at the ground.
���I don���t buy it; there is something about him that I don���t trust. I���m sure you did all sorts of background checks on him but I need to know������
���Maddox, he is out of town, back in the United States with his family for Christmas,��� Collin looked him in the eye, ���I���ve already spoken to him, he said he wanted to wish her a Merry Christmas and he seems to be������