by Rhonda Shaw
“What did she say, D?” Big T asked.
“I don’t know…something about dance…ballet…that’s it.” I paced, refusing to put the phone down, my last lifeline to the love of my life and my baby girl.
“Dance?” Kat frowned. “What does that mean?”
Big T’s eyes widened. “He went back, D. He went back to where this all started.”
I stared at T before I understood what he was saying. “Shit! He took her back to the ballet studio.”
I sprinted out the door with everyone on my heels.
Jumping in my vehicle, I placed my gun on the console between the seats, within quick reach. When Big T was in, I raced back to the old hood. It was where everything had started, and now where everything was going to end.
Twenty minutes later, I screeched to a halt on the street outside of the old studio. The building was dark, with no signs of anyone, but I jumped out and ran to the front door, finding it locked.
Big T came up behind me. “Anything?”
Cupping my hands on the window, I tried to see in. “I don’t know. I can’t fucking see a thing.” I turned when Joe came rushing around the corner. “What’s up?”
“The back door is broken,” he said, and we all took off running down the alley.
When I got there, I pushed ahead of the rest of the guys. “Let me through.”
I stepped into the dark studio and listened, but all I heard was the heavy breathing of the group behind me. I moved, waiting for Terrell to show his face, but was blinded when the lights poured on from overhead, causing everyone to groan.
“What the fuck?” I glared over my shoulder.
“Sorry,” one guard mumbled.
Once my eyes adjusted, I saw the studio was the same, with mirrored walls in the long, narrow room. I glanced around, looking for anything, when I spotted the trail of blood leading into the waiting area. My heart caught in my throat.
I rushed over and found Gabrielle slumped on the floor with the phone by her hand.
“Gabrielle!” I cradled her head in my lap. “Wake up, baby. I’m here. I’ve got G!” I yelled to the others. “Find my baby girl, goddamnit!”
I ran my hands over her face, trying to find the source of her bleeding, which was from a nasty cut on her head. He’d bound her ankles, and the skin at her wrists was bloody and torn, evidence she’d fought hard against the binding and somehow got her hands free, so she could drag herself across the floor to the phone that sat on the desk in the tiny waiting area.
“Gabrielle, baby, please wake up.” I ran my hands over her hair, and when I got too close to her cut, she frowned and moaned. “Gabby, wake up, baby. I’m here. Wake up.”
It took a moment for her to get her eyes open and focus on me, but when she did, she tried to sit up. “Danny!” Her voice was hoarse.
“Take it easy, baby. Take it easy.”
She held her head in her hands while I worked to unbind her ankles. “Did you find Dani?”
At that moment, one of the security guards came back into the room. “Find her?”
“No, she’s not here. Neither is he.”
She clutched my shirt and forced my eyes to hers. “You came here without looking for Dani? You have to find her!” Her breaths hitched.
“Hey, hey.” I shushed her and pried my shirt out of her tight grip. “We’re going to, baby. We’re going to.”
“No! You don’t understand!” She shook her head and tears spilled down her face. “He’s going to hurt her. He didn’t want me, Danny. He wanted her. Nothing can happen to her!”
“Did he say where he was taking her?” Gabrielle was close to losing it, bordering on hysterical, which only fed my precarious hold on my anxiety, but I somehow remained composed. “Baby, you need to tell me everything you can remember. Calm down, baby. Please. You need to tell me what you know.”
“Uh…” She took gasping breaths, struggling to recall anything. “I don’t know!”
“Come on. You can remember. He must have said something.”
Everyone gathered around, waiting for her to recollect something. She took several deep breaths before trying again. “Uh, he said something about making a point and going someplace that meant something.” She struggled for more, and when nothing came to her, panic took over again and she grabbed at me. “I can’t remember anything!”
“Okay, okay. You did good.” I rubbed her back. “Making a point, and a place that meant something.” I frowned at Big T. “Mean anything to you?”
He puzzled it over before shaking his head. “I don’t know, D.”
“Making a point…meant something.” I willed my brain to put the pieces together. I had to, for the sake of my daughter. There was no way I would let Terrell take her away from me.
“Is there a place around here that meant something to you guys?” Joe asked.
“Well, G used to dance here,” I said. “Wait!” I straightened and turned back to Gabrielle. “Did he say making a point, or going to the point?”
“Uh. I don’t know.”
My eyes met Big T’s, who had caught on and was nodding his head. “It’s got to be Lighter Park. G and I used to go there all the time and sit at the point. It’s got to be that.” I grabbed her arm. “Can you stand, baby?”
With a new fire lit under her, she jumped up without my help, but stumbled, and I reached out a hand to hold her steady. “We’ve got to get there, Danny. Let’s go!” She tugged on my grip, eager to leave.
We rushed out the front door and piled in the cars. Big T climbed in the back as Gabrielle sat in the passenger seat.
I sped toward the park where Gabrielle and I had spent most of our time together. I wasn’t sure what Terrell was trying to pull, but he was making a fucking production; a little trip down memory lane, intending this to be the last one for all of us.
I held my hand up over the seat. “Hand me that towel back there, T.” When Big T handed it over, I gave it to Gabrielle. “Hold this to your head to stop the bleeding, baby.”
She lifted her head and stared at me, her eyes filled with utter sadness and fear that gripped my soul and ripped it out. “Please get there, Danny.” A big tear trailed down her cheek before she grabbed the towel from me and pressed it to her temple.
“I will, baby, and I will get our baby girl back. I promise you.”
Chapter 33
~ Gabrielle ~
The caravan of SUVs raced over the bridge and the expansive park loomed ahead. Thanks to Danny’s contributions, the entire area glowed with lights, but there was so much ground to cover that I worried we wouldn’t get to Dani in time.
Danny parked, and after Big T slid out of the back, he put a hand on my arm as I opened my door.
“Please stay here. I don’t want to worry about you and Dani. It will be easier if you stay here.”
“But I want to find her,” I protested. “She’s my baby. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
“Please, baby. She’s my baby too, but I need you stay here so I can concentrate on bringing this fucker down.”
I swallowed and remained silent, before sagging against the seat and nodding. “Okay.”
“Lock the car and if anything happens, hit the emergency button on the OnStar.”
He jumped out, and my gaze followed him as he raced over to the group to distribute orders. They all took off in multiple directions before I realized I no longer saw anyone from where I sat alone in the parking lot. I glanced around at the park in front of me; a place that held so many good memories, now being replaced with horrible ones. Nothing could happen to Dani. Nothing. If anything did, I would die.
I tried not to let the panic creeping in at the edges envelope me, and evened my breath to prevent hyperventilation, but it was becoming difficult to ward off, especially with each minute that passed with no sign of Dani. I shook my head, trying to shake out the jumbled confusion of my racing mind, and when I did, something caught my attention. I peered out the side window and spotted the gaz
ebo in the distance. Or rather, where the gazebo should have been, the area now dark and forgotten. No one had gone in that direction, and I stared into the blackness, every fiber in my being telling me my daughter was there.
Throwing the towel down, the overhead light came on when I pulled on the door handle, and a flash of silver glinted from Danny’s pistol where it sat on the console, forgotten and left behind in his rush. I reached down and lifted it, the cool metal a sure, sturdy weight in my hand. I had never fired a weapon before, but I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot when it came to Dani’s safety. Not at all.
I tightened my grasp on the grip and shoved the door open, stepping into the night. A brisk wind stirred up my hair as I started toward the gazebo, shoving the pistol into the waistband at the small of my back, but I felt nothing. Not the chill in the air, not the pain in my wrists, or in my head. I didn’t feel the sting of my cuts or the ache in my ankles. I felt nothing but cold determination.
~ Danny ~
In the middle of the expansive fields, I grouped with Big T, Joe, and a few of the other bodyguards. Everyone panted hard from tearing through the park, trying to locate Dani.
“Anything?” I asked as I sucked in a breath.
“Nothing,” Joe said.
“Fuck!” I turned around, my eyes straining to pierce through the darkness to find my baby, who must be scared out of her mind. I was too, not knowing where she was and what Terrell was saying to her, doing to her. I made myself stop before I went crazy, not letting my thoughts go astray and imagining Terrell’s hands on my baby girl. If I did, the horror would paralyze me.
I spun in an agitated arch again and turned back when a shadow in the distance caught my eye. The gazebo. I’d forgotten about it in my haste, since the structure was invisible, the bright lights that lit the structure dark. My feet were moving in its direction before I even realized it.
“Where are you going, D?” Big T was right behind me, his breathing labored as he struggled to keep up.
“The gazebo,” I shouted over my shoulder, digging deep to make my legs carry me faster than I’d ever ran before in my life. “The asshole is there with her.”
I raced up the path and stopped when I reached the center of the structure. Darkness surrounded me, and I walked around, taking shallow breaths, trying to hear any telling signs. A crunching sound broke the silence when I stepped on glass. Terrell had killed all the lights by shattering the bulbs.
The sounds of multiple feet pounding the ground echoed as everyone caught up, and I waved my hand to hush them.
“Come on, Terrell. Let’s quit the game,” I called out, so certain the prick was hiding somewhere nearby, watching me. “I’m here, what you wanted.” I continued to walk out of the gazebo toward the water.
I took one step at a time, waiting for a hint to where Terrell remained hunkered down. Nothing except giant shadows of trees lined the jagged water line, but I somehow knew this was where he waited.
I glanced behind me and found my crew covering me about ten feet back, but well within striking distance. Nobody would hesitate to use force if needed.
“Terrell, come on. This is stupid. I didn’t realize you were one to hide like a pussy.”
A soft chuckle came out of the darkness to my right. I turned as he emerged from the black shadows. Alone.
I fought not to let the panic show on my face as my brain screamed out for my daughter. “Where’s my girl?”
Terrell gave a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe I know, maybe I don’t. I can’t remember a lot of things these days.” He chuckled as he tapped his temple with his finger.
I took a step toward him with my hands up. “Let her go, Terrell. You’ve got me, and that’s what you want.”
Anger glinted in his eyes. “How the fuck do you know what I want?”
“That’s what this has always been about. You and me. Not Gabby, and not my baby girl. You and me.” I held out my arms at my sides. “Well, here I am, motherfucker. Let’s finish this.”
“It’s far from finished, my man. This is just the beginning. I start with your little girl, then I move to your woman.” He leered at me, his posture smug and tight. He might have aged while in prison, thinned out, but he was still angry, and that anger outlined his whole body. “I’m going to make you watch me kill everything that means anything to you, and then you’ll be begging me to kill you.”
Even as a cold chill ran through me, I refused to show any fear. As soon as Terrell believed he had the upper hand, it was over. Until then, I needed to keep him guessing on what I would do, which wouldn’t be anything other than talk, as I didn’t have my piece on me, but he didn’t need to know that.
“What’s the point?” I asked. “Just kill me; that’s what you want, anyway. Why all this fucking drama?”
He shook his head, like I was a sad piece of shit. “It’s all about family, man. How many times do I have to tell your sorry ass? It’s all about family, and this here is your precious little family. You shunned mine. You thought you were better than all of us, so I’m going to kill yours.”
This fucker’s crazy. I tried to figure out what my next move should be. Any movement from anyone, and Terrell wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. As long as he was away from Dani and Gabrielle, that’s all that mattered. I’d keep him talking for years, if that’s what it took.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a shadow moving behind the trees at Terrell’s back, the outline too thin to be any of the guys. So that only meant it could be one person—Gabrielle.
Damn her. What the fuck is she trying to do? Get herself killed? But she was looking for our daughter, so I needed to keep Terrell’s attention on me.
“I didn’t shun your family, Terrell. It wasn’t for me. It was for you and I’ve nothing against that; that’s your choice, but it wasn’t for me. You knew that. You knew I was a fucking loner, and that wasn’t my thing.”
Terrell shook his head. “No, man. You said we ain’t good enough.”
“I never said that.”
“You turned your back on me, on us. On the help we gave you.”
I shook my head. “No, man. It’s what I had to do to get out of here. You know that.”
“I don’t fucking know that. We all could have gone with you. We could have made it big as a family, but no. You turned your back on us.”
“I couldn’t take everyone, Terrell!” I poked my chest. “I barely got myself out of here, let alone everyone else. I couldn’t save everyone.”
He pointed at me. “You turned your back on us. You didn’t even try to help anyone but yourself.”
“Terrell—”
“No! There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.” He glared. “This is how it’s gonna be. Dollar might be asking me to do his dirty work again, but I’m glad to be doing it this time.”
My head spun. Doing Dollar’s dirty work? Again? What did that even mean? But I couldn’t question any of it because Terrell was heading back to the trees. I saw Joe move and waved my hand, holding him off. No one could jump in on this. Anyone else, and I lost my girls for sure. If I wanted this over with for good, then it was up to me to finish Terrell off, once and for all.
~ Gabrielle ~
I rushed up the path, trying to be as quiet as possible. I wanted no one to see me, prepared to reach out and grab Dani once Terrell came out with her. But as I watched from my hiding spot, my heart stopped when he emerged without her.
Where was she? What had he done with her?
Hidden in the cover of the trees, I listened as he and Danny went back and forth. In the past, I would have panicked and raced out to stop Danny as he offered himself up, believing I couldn’t live without him. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel a trickle of fear now for his safety, but there was someone more important, more innocent, than him or me. I had to find our daughter; nothing else mattered, and because of that, I needed the distraction he provided.
I kept my ear out for Danny’s voice to keep apprised on how thing
s were going with him and Terrell as I crept low, looking for any sign of Dani. I treaded as lightly as possible, trying not to make any sound from the brush on the ground, the lapping of the water providing cover noise.
“Where are you going?” Danny yelled at Terrell, which made me stop in my tracks. I paused, holding my breath, waiting to hear what came next.
“I ain’t going nowhere,” he replied. “I ain’t afraid of your white ass.”
“Well, then get back here, you fucker,” Danny taunted him. “Why you walking away from me then?”
I had little time, either before things between them escalated, or before Terrell came back around the trees. In about twenty more steps, I would be out in the open, exposed and out of the tree line. It also meant there was no other place nearby where Dani might be. My heart pounded harder, and a fresh layer of cold sweat broke out over my skin. I refused to believe I was too late. I couldn’t be. There would be no purpose to my life without my baby.
I stopped, straining my eyes to see anything, when I spotted a faint white mass resting under a big pine tree. As I crept closer, it became clear it was a small person on her side with her knees pulled up to her chest.
I plunged underneath, a cry of relief escaping me. “Dani! Oh my God, Dani!”
He had tied her to the trunk and blindfolded her. “Mommy!”
“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you!” I wept as I tried to figure out how to untie her little wrists. I was so busy trying to find something to cut the rope with, that I didn’t register the sounds of someone crashing through the branches until I heard Danny yell.
“Gabrielle! Dani! Get the fuck out of there!”
“I can’t! She’s tied up and I’m not leaving her.”
As Terrell thrust through the last of the limbs, pointing his gun at me, I planted myself in front of Dani and faced him.
“Get away from her, bitch,” he snarled.
“No.” I raised my gun and pointed it at him. “You get away from her, and you get away from me, you dirty piece of shit.”