by K. J. Dahlen
They were empty.
Fear gripped his chest and held tight. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe.
Deke’s eyes narrowed as he glanced around the rest of the room. Then he spotted a pair of legs, half hidden by the changing table. Rushing over to the spot, he pushed the table out of the way.
It was a young girl laying on the floor, Kayla. There was a wound on the side of her head. Blood and shattered glass pooled around her head.
“Fuck,” Deke swore. “Get some lights on and get the nurse!” He carefully brushed the hair away from her face. Blood soaked the girl’s hair and her eyes were closed.
“What’s going on here man?” Gator knelt beside him.
Deke glanced at his friend. “I don’t know but my kids are missing.”
Gator got to his feet and spun on his heels. “Fuck!” He growled. Making his way over to the cribs, he gazed down at the empty space. Then he knelt beside the cribs and picked up something on the floor slightly under one of the cribs. It was an empty bottle of kids’ cough syrup.
Gator got to his feet and frowned as he stared at the bedding. That’s when he saw the red liquid staining the sheets. He turned and saw Sam staring at him.
Maggie rushed into the room and over to where Deke squatted. She checked out the girl’s injuries. By then, the girl was groaning and trying to get up but Maggie held her down. “Stay still sweetheart. I need to know how bad you’re hurt.”
Kayla glanced up with tears in her eyes. “Are the babies ok?” she whispered.
Maggie smiled slightly. “I don’t know yet honey, at the moment you are my concern.”
She nodded then groaned, as the movement seemed to make her head hurt.
“Easy Kayla,” Deke murmured. “Try not to move yet.”
Kayla turned her head and grimaced. “What happened?”
“We were hoping you could tell us,” Deke replied. “The kids aren’t here.”
“Oh, my god…” Kayla wailed as she closed her eyes, then she opened them again and tried to push herself up. “Sammy, Jemmia…” she called out.
“Easy girl.” Deke assisted her to a sitting position.
Kayla glanced around the room but couldn’t find what she sought. “God Deke, where are they? Where are the babies?”
Then the doors were thrown open and a man and a woman rushed inside. It was Kayla’s parents, Jumper and Donna. “Kayla,” Jumper shouted.
Deke got to his feet and motioned them over. “Over here.”
Jumper and Donna came over.
Jumper knelt and stared at his daughter. He saw the blood staining her hair and the floor. “Are you okay baby?” he whispered.
“Oh, Daddy,” she sobbed. “The babies are gone.”
Jumper frowned and glanced around. Looking up at Deke, he could see signs of strain on the other man’s face. Getting to his feet, Jumper moved to a protective mode. Stepping between Deke and his daughter he didn’t say anything, just clenched his fists. “She didn’t hurt your kids man,” he whispered. “She wouldn’t do something like that.”
Deke snapped his head around and stared at Jumper. “What the fuck are you saying man?” A growl rippled in his words. “I know she wouldn’t hurt them. I’m not blaming her for this. She was hurt herself.”
Donna got to her feet and laid a hand on Jumper’s arm. Looking from him to Deke she said, “He didn’t mean anything by that, Deke. He’s just concerned.”
Deke swung his eyes over to Donna and nodded. “I know, but I would never blame her for this. Hell, I was hoping she could tell us what happened.” He ran his fingers through his hair. He looked down at the girl and saw tears running down her cheeks. “Are you okay honey?”
Kayla glanced up and shook her head. Holding up her hand her dad grabbed it and helped her to her feet.
Brushing her hair away from her face, Jumper warned, “Be careful baby.” He helped her sit down in a rocking chair.
Deke squatted down to her level and asked, “What happened here?”
Kayla wiped the tears on her cheeks away and looked at him. “I’m not sure. I was checking on the kids when I heard footsteps behind me. I thought it was Beth coming back to keep me company then I felt something hit my head and I went down. I never saw who it was.”
Deke patted her knee. “Did you hear anything except the footsteps? Any sound that didn’t belong?”
Kayla frowned then shook her head. “I don’t think so. It happened so fast. The kids didn’t even wake up.”
Deke smiled slightly and nodded. “Okay. You let Maggie check you out.” He patted her leg again and stood. Glancing around, he saw the stunned look on his men’s faces. He knew how they felt. This was his worst nightmare. He glanced over at Sam and Gator. Making his way to where they stood, he took a deep breath then exhaled.
“Did she remember anything?’ Gator asked motioning toward Kayla.
“No. She thought she heard footsteps then lights out.”
“Where is your wife?” Sam asked worriedly. “She’s gonna freak out when she hears about this.”
Deke closed his eyes and nodded. “I know.” He glanced over at Gator. “Get me the security tapes, maybe they will show what happened. I need some answers before Cassie gets back.”
Maggie came over and removed her latex gloves. She stared at Deke. “She’s got a knot on her head but I think she’s gonna be okay. Someone slammed a lamp onto her head.”
Deke nodded and glanced over at the girl and her parents. “Where would Jumper get the idea I would blame her for this?”
“They’ve only been here for five years,” Sam explained to his son. “From talks I’ve had with him, their other MC was really screwed up. If anything went wrong, the President blamed everyone but the one responsible, because it was usually himself that fucked up. Before they left, Jumper got blamed when the President’s kid fucked up. He told me they almost beat him to death for something that wasn’t his fault. Donna barely got him and Kayla out of there before they killed him.”
“That is so fucked up.” Deke shook his head.
Sam shrugged. “Some clubs are like that. It’s hard to trust others when you’ve been betrayed like that.”
“But she’s just a kid,” Deke protested. “I would never hurt a kid.”
The doors were flung open again, and Cassie walked in. Her eyes were frightened while her face looked pale. She stared at Deke as she made her way over to him. “Deke, what’s going on? No one would talk to me but everyone looks scared to death. Why is everyone in the nursery? Has something happened to my babies?” she whispered.
Deke’s hands framed her face and gazed into her eyes. “Baby, I need you to stay with me now. You have to stay here. Promise me you will. Promise me.”
“Okay, I promise. Now tell me, what’s going on?” she whispered.
“Someone knocked Kayla out and the babies are missing. That’s all we know at the moment but we will find them. I promise you, we’ll find them.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Earlier that morning…
Before the sun came up, Cordy shook Cricket awake.
Cricket stared at her sister for a moment then asked, “What?”
“I need you to go to the store before I have to leave or work,” she told her as she ripped the covers off the bed.
Cricket groaned. “We got food.”
Cordy glanced over at Dusty who was still sleeping, despite the voices getting louder. “In the living room, now.”
Cricket rolled out of bed and joined her in the living room. Closing the door behind her so as not to wake up Dusty she asked, “Why do I need to get more food?”
“You need to get food babies can eat.” Cordy grinned at her.
Cricket frowned and stared at her sister. “We don’t have any babies,” she stated the obvious.
“Soon, we will have two, a boy and a girl,” Cordy announced. “I’ll be picking them up today.”
“What are you going to do?” Cricket asked, suddenly afraid.
>
“You don’t need to know, now go to the store and hurry back, I have to get to work early today.”
Cricket lowered her head. “I’ll have to wake Dusty and take him with me.”
“No leave him alone. He can sleep in a while longer.”
Cricket felt nervous. “It won’t take long to get him ready.”
“I said leave him here. He’ll be fine until you get back!” Cordy yelled. “You’ll be gone and back before he even wakes up, if you hurry.”
Cricket hesitated then had to ask, “How old are these kids?”
Cordy shrugged. “Maybe about a year old why?”
“I need to know, so I get the right kind of food.”
“Just get to the store and get back.” Cordy growled. “I have a lot to do today and I need everything set up.”
“Cordy, you can’t just take his kids.” Cricket figured out what she was intending to do. “That will drive Deke crazy.”
Cordy giggled. “Don’t you see, he’ll come to me to get his kids back? He’ll dump the other woman and he’ll come back to me.”
“Yeah,” Cricket agreed. “He’ll probably come and kill you.”
Cordy grinned and it wasn’t a humorous smile. Her eyes were calculating. “He won’t kill me until he gets his kids back and he won’t do that until he talks to me. I know I can get him back if I can just talk to him. Once he finds out that I’ve loved him all these years, he’ll know we were meant to be together.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because you’ll have the kids somewhere he won’t be.” Cordy spread her hands out.
“Don’t make me part of this,” Cricket warned her. “I want no part of it. What you plan to do is called kidnapping and you can go to prison for that shit.”
“Then walk out the door and don’t come back.” Cordy growled. “But if you do, you go alone, and if you do, don’t damn well return because you have no place here anymore.”
Cricket narrowed her eyes and stared at her sister.
“Don’t worry,” Cordy scoffed. “I’m not going to hurt the brats. I just want to talk to Deke. I want him to come back to me.”
Cricket got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Let me get dressed and then I’ll go.” She went to the bedroom door but before she could open it, she heard her sister say quietly, “You’d better not betray me in this. If you do, I will take everything you love away from you. I’ll let you live with the fact that because of you, Dusty is gone from this world. His blood will stain your hands.”
Cricket closed her eyes and leaned her forehead on the door in front of her. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and disappeared inside. It only took her a moment or so to return fully dressed.
Cordy handed her the keys to the truck. When she would have walked away, Cordy grabbed her sister’s wrist and squeezed. Leaning forward she whispered into Cricket’s ear, “You don’t have to like what I’m doing but you are in this with me, all the way. Just do as you are told and no one will get hurt when this is over.”
“You don’t have to take his kids,” Cricket whispered. “Why can’t you just go up to him and talk to him?”
Cordy shook her head. “You don’t remember Deke very well, do you? You were just a kid when he left Bangor all those years ago. He’s a very stubborn man. I have to do something to get his attention and keep it while I talk to him. If I have his kids, he’ll listen to me, he won’t have a choice. He’ll sit down and really listen before he acts.” Cordy’s eyes hardened and she stared at her sister for a moment. “Why are you still here? We need to have things in place before the daylight gets here. I don’t want anyone to see you walking around. You are my ace in the hole. No one knows about you or the brat and that’s the way I want to keep it.”
Cricket rushed to the door and a moment later, she started the truck. Driving to the store, she wished she could keep on driving but she knew in her heart she couldn’t. Dusty’s life depended on her returning to the run down house. She hated what her sister was going to do, but she also knew she couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t even warn Deke to watch over his babies today. She had no idea where he even was.
When she returned twenty minutes later, she had several bags full of food and other things babies would need, diapers and such. The sun was barely lighting the sky when she pushed the door open. The loud screech it made when the bottom of the wood scraped against the floor announced her return.
Cricket looked up and found Cordy sitting on the sofa with an angry scowl on her face. Cricket’s eyes went to the door to the bedroom and she could hear Dusty sobbing in the other room. She brought her eyes back to Cordy to see her sister shrug her shoulders.
Cricket took the items she bought to the kitchen and began unloading the bags.
Cordy joined her and held out her hand for the keys.
Cricket handed them back without saying a word. When everything was put away, Cricket turned to go to the bedroom. When she closed the door behind her, she glanced over to the bed where Dusty was still crying. Sitting down beside him, she gathered him in her arms and held him tight. When his sobs faded, she raised his face to hers. Grimacing, she could still see the outline of her sister’s fingers on his cheek.
“I woke up early and couldn’t find you,” he whispered.
Cricket didn’t need him to finish his explanation. She hugged him close to her. “I know baby, I know.”
“Why is she so mean?” he whispered. “Why can’t she love me like you do?”
Cricket rocked him back and forth. “I don’t know, maybe she’s forgotten how to love. You and me, we’ll be okay though. As long as we stick together, we’ll be okay. I promise.”
“I love you Cricket.”
“I love you too, little buddy.” Cricket held him a moment longer then laid him down on the bed. “Come on buddy, we need to get ready for the day. She’ll be gone to work soon and we have a lot to get ready for.”
Dusty’s eyes were troubled as he followed her movements around the small bedroom they shared. He didn’t understand what was going on and he was so tired of feeling fear all the time.
~* * * *~
It had been so easy! Cordy silently smiled as she drove. She thought about what she had just pulled off and without a hitch!
When she arrived at Redemption House, she’d made her way down the hall. No one was paying any attention to her and she wasn’t trying to hide. Instead, she was trying to act like she belonged there. No one asked any questions and that suited her just fine. She’d simply followed the sound of babies laughing. Peeking inside, she found the room she was looking for.
It’d been so easy to follow her this morning. The bitch that stole Deke from her hadn’t even been aware anyone was behind her, but Cordy had been there.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched Deke’s children. Then her eyes shifted around the room, searching for a way to get out undetected. She only had a tiny window of time but she would get them both out. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of what she was going to do, but she thought the means was worth it. She would get him back by fair means or foul. For now, she would watch and wait for the right time to put her plan into place.
Cordy went back out and around the side of the building. She peeked in the windows and saw the one she would need to get out of the building. Now all she needed was something to drug the babies with, in order to get them out without them screaming and giving the game up.
She walked the three blocks to the drug store and bought what she needed. A simple cough syrup for infants. She knew it would work as she’d used it on Dusty when he was smaller.
When she came back, she parked the truck as close to the window as she could get it. She went back to Redemption House and found a place she could watch the nursery and not be seen. It was almost noon before the place settled down enough for her to try to set her plan in motion.
Everyone but one girl cleared out of the nursery. There
were only four kids in there and as they had had an early lunch, it was now nap time.
Cordy sneaked in and waited for things to settle down. Deke’s boy was almost sleeping and the little girl was asleep. The other two kids were also sleeping and the young girl was busy texting on her phone.
Cordy sneaked up behind her and slammed a lamp alongside of her head. The girl groaned and slid to the floor. Cordy sneaked over to where the boy was.
His little shirt had the name of Sam embroidered on it.
Cordy rolled her eyes. Deke had hated his dad, why would he name his kid after him? With an eyedropper, she pushed a dose of the cough syrup down his throat.
Little Sam made a face as he tasted the flavor of the cough syrup. His eyes opened briefly then closed again, as he fell back to sleep.
Cordy moved over to where the little baby girl was, also with a matching shirt that read Jemmia and slipped her a dose of the cough syrup. She fussed a bit but she never woke up completely. Cordy then moved over to the window and slid it open. Then gathering both babies in her arms, she went back to the window and slid outside. Hiking them up into her arms, she moved over to her truck and opened the door.
Propping the babies in the backseat she secured them with the seatbelts. She jumped into the driver’s seat and pulled away from the Redemption House.
Slowly making her way back to the house she shared with her sister and her son, she pulled around to the side of the house.
Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she took Jemmia into the house first. Laying her on the ratty old sofa, she went back outside and got Sammy.
When she brought him in the house, Cricket was there looking over Jemmia. She turned to Cordy and with a white face, she whispered, “What the hell did you do?”
Cordy smiled. “I told you I was going to take his kids.”
Cricket shook her head. “He’s going to kill you when he finds you.”
“He has to find me first.” Cordy tilted her head. “Don’t worry, with you taking care of the brats, they will be okay until Deke comes to me. I know you won’t let anything happen to them.”