“Any news from the club yet, buddy?” Steve asked his colleague as the men made themselves as comfortable as they could on the uneven remains of the house.
“They’ve found something, but they’re not quite sure what.”
Steve Ratner’s massive chest puffed up and he stared over at Dan.
“So they weren’t lying,” he muttered.
“Interesting how they haven’t mentioned it to Dexter,” Dan mused. “They’re obviously holding that particular ace up their sleeves for now. I suppose it’s the only way they can bargain with him for the cash as well as the club.”
“Makes sense,” Padric agreed.
The next hour passed agonizingly slowly, but eventually a car pulled into the deserted road and a man quickly got out and opened the back door. Dan’s heart leaped when he saw Tuesday being yanked out, her hands tied behind her back, and what looked like blood running down one side of her face. The bastards! He seethed as he watched her look around nervously as she was pulled over to the alley.
The men were ushering Dexter further into the darkness before they presented the little sub to the boss. Even from this distance it was easy to tell from Dexter’s demeanor that he was shocked to see her. Dan felt even more guilty.
“What in hell’s going on?” Dexter sounded outraged. “What’s she got to do with any of this? I get that you want to hold my son to ransom, but why involve an innocent girl?”
“Innocent?” Jenner sneered. “She almost succeeded in wrecking everything for us! You don’t know the half of it, old man.”
“What do you want?” Dexter sounded choked.
“That seven million you promised us,” one of the men replied.
“But that was for my son. Where is he?” His voice trembled slightly.
“He’s here. You’ll get to see him once we’ve got the cash for this one.”
Dexter shook his head. “I want to know they’re both safe before I agree to anything.”
One of the men pulled out a gun and pointed it at Tuesday’s head. Dan couldn’t see her expression from this distance, but her body tensed up a little further. He felt sick.
“You don’t call the shots around here, old man—we do! You pay us the seven million and you get the bitch, and guarantee the safety of your precious son for a little longer.”
There was a sound of derisive laughter, which made Dan seethe. He looked over to see that Padric was just as tense as he was.
“That money was supposed to get my son back,” Dexter protested.
“You’re right, Mr. Dexter, I’m not worth it,” Tuesday called over to him. “Let them shoot me.”
Dan leaped to his feet, his heart in his mouth.
“That’s not what I said, sweetheart,” Dexter assured her. “I just want to know what these fuckers think they’ve got to gain by holding onto Bradley, that’s all.”
More jeers from the men.
“Well now, we already know he was worth seven million,” the ringleader asshat sneered. “I reckon we could squeeze you for a little more. Say another ten million?”
“I haven’t got that sort of money and you know it!” Dexter snapped. “I’d have to sell the club and even then I’d fall short.”
“Not our problem,” the guy snorted.
“They’re going to blow the club up!” Tuesday shouted to the boss.
“Bitch!” Jenner slapped her around the face and the sound ricocheted down the radio.
Nathan grabbed hold of Dan, who was about to take a step forward and give himself away. No way could he just stand there and watch them hurt his sub!
“Leave it, bro,” Nathan hissed.
Dan gritted his teeth as hot blood surged through his veins.
“I’ll fucking kill them,” he muttered.
“Join the queue,” Padric mumbled.
Dan saw how furious the young guy looked, and guessed he was feeling the same as him. Giving the game away now wouldn’t solve anything though. He nodded to Nathan to let him know that he was back in control and looked over to see what was going on now.
“How in hell am I supposed to raise the money against the club if you blow the damn thing up?” Dexter demanded angrily.
“That’s your problem, old man. I suggest you call your bank manager right now and secure the funds while it’s still standing,” one of the men jeered.
“And in the meantime you can decide whether this little runt is worth the seven million!” The ringleader laughed.
“That’s Harry Saunders,” Dan whispered, finally placing the guy.
“Sure is. His brother’s there too,” Steve concurred.
“That little girl isn’t worth seven million,” Dexter told them ruefully.
“Looks like we kill her then.” Harry sniggered and gestured for the guy to take her away.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Dan’s blood boiled and he watched Tuesday’s body slump a little, though she nodded at the boss.
As her captor turned with Tuesday in his grip, Dan caught sight of her face. She looked calm, resigned, hopeless.
He lurched forward. He didn’t care what happened—he couldn’t let them do it.
“Hold on a minute,” Dexter yelled.
Everyone stared at the older man, and Dan stopped dead in his tracks.
“I didn’t say she wasn’t worth anything!” It was clear that he was furious with them. “I simply said she wasn’t worth seven million. She’s a human being, for Christ’s sake. She’s worth a damn sight more than money! I’ll give you the damn cash right here and now if you let her go, but don’t you ever try to put a price on her life!” He hollered angrily at them and the men actually looked shocked.
Harry Saunders took a step closer to him. “You’ve got the money?”
“Of course I’ve got the fucking money!” Dexter was fuming, “How else was I going to get my boy back?”
“OK, the bitch lives,” Saunders agreed.
“You untie her first, then let her go.”
“Fuck you! Since when were you in charge?”
“Since I held the money and the club you so badly want to blow up!” Dexter snarled angrily. If he was afraid, he wasn’t showing it right now.
The men mumbled to one another.
“All right. The money first. Then we let her go,” Saunders announced at last.
“Mr. Dexter, you come get me!” Tuesday shouted over.
“Raise one more hand to her and the deal’s off!” Dexter yelled as Jenner went to swipe her.
He stopped just in time.
“You keep your mouth shut, you hear?” Tom Saunders shouted to her.
“No. Mr. Dexter’s my boss, not you!” Tuesday must have been feeling a little more confident as she yelled back at him.
Dan rolled his eyes.
The guy with the gun now pointed it at Dexter, who was slowly walking forward out of the dark alley. Harry walked back out into the street too, followed by his entourage.
Dan sighed with relief. Although it was quite dark, his eyes had adjusted and he could see better what was going on. Dexter looked surprisingly confident, and he wondered if he knew he had backup after all.
“Where’s my son?” the boss demanded.
“Fetch him!” Harry bit at one of his men, who scurried off toward the car.
“I think you should fetch him, sir,” Tuesday shouted across.
Dexter seemed surprised. “OK,” he agreed after a few seconds. “Give me the girl, I’ll leave the money here and I’ll go check on Bradley.”
“No way!” Harry sounded outraged.
“I guess you don’t want the money,” Dexter replied airily.
“If we shoot you we’ll have the money anyhow,” Harry scoffed.
“You would. But you wouldn’t get your hands on a penny more—or the club,” Dexter reminded him coolly.
Saunders huffed. “All right. Follow me.”
He led the way toward the car while the rest of the men followed them. As Dan watched, his jaw d
ropped. Three armed men emerged from the alley and followed the rest of the gang. They had been hiding there all along. Tuesday either had good eyesight or great intuition! It was clear that Dexter had no idea they were behind him.
“Fuck! That makes nine of the shitheads!” Steve seethed.
“News from the club. They’ve got the bomb. It’s set to go off at nine o’clock. Pretty neat piece of technology, it’s proving a bastard to disarm.” The voice came over the radio.
“Thanks, Dave. I owe you one.” Ratner nodded.
“One?” The voice at the other end balked.
Steve grinned. “OK, I get it.”
“She’s getting them out in the open,” Padric whispered, clearly impressed.
Dan grinned. “That’s my girl.”
“Hold your positions,” a voice came over the radio.
Dan straightened up, his heart beating a little more rapidly. He watched as they stopped and Dexter placed the case on the ground. Tuesday was practically flung toward him, her hands still tied. Damn! Dexter gave her a big hug before putting an arm around her and they both walked toward the car, several guns pointing at them still. Tuesday seemed to be filling her boss in on the events, and he looked furious.
“Open the car,” Dexter ordered as he reached it. Brad was still sitting in the back, while the driver held a gun to his head.
“No. You can see he’s OK from there,” Harry snarled, having retrieved the case with the money.
“At least let me speak to him. I want to hear from him that he’s all right.”
Someone muttered to Harry, but they couldn’t hear the words over the radio.
“Get on with it, we haven’t got much time.”
“What’s your hurry?” Dexter asked, although Dan was sure he knew the answer.
“Never you mind,” Harry snapped at him as the car window opened.
As Dexter and Tuesday were now right next to the back of the car, Dan couldn’t hear what was said between them and Brad, although they only had about a minute or so. Dexter seemed satisfied that his son was all right, and straightened up again as the window closed.
Dan checked his watch. It was almost ten minutes to nine. Those bomb disposal experts were sure cutting it close. These fuckers must have had a lot of cash to afford such fancy equipment.
“We’ll let him go once you’ve paid the money, and you’d better make it quick,” Harry shouted over. “As you can see, he’s absolutely fine. He’d better be. It cost us enough to keep him mollycoddled for you!”
“Pity you didn’t do the same for her,” Dexter reminded him as he untied Tuesday’s wrists.
“She was just a bonus,” Tom Saunders chuckled.
Dan seethed.
“Good girl. She’s staying close to Dexter,” Nathan muttered.
“I think they’ll be worried about Brad getting hit. The driver’s got a gun to him,” Steve whispered.
Dan was pleased to note that Tuesday and Dexter were still standing next to the rear door of the car. It would act as a shield if they could open it. Steve was right though, their biggest problem seemed to be the driver.
“I’ll need to make a call, get the bank to release the money,” Dexter called over calmly.
It was clear that the fuckers were getting twitchy, as they kept glancing at their watches.
“Make it quick, old man, and don’t you dare try anything stupid!”
“With all these guns around? Do I look like a fool?” Dexter sneered. “I’m going to take my cell from my pocket, that OK with you?”
“Be quick.” Harry sounded on edge, but he can’t have been as nervous as Dan when he noticed that Tuesday was holding the rear door handle of the car.
Then everything happened in a flash. Dexter put his hand into his hip pocket and pulled out a gun while Tuesday opened the car door. Straight away Dexter shot the driver while Tuesday hauled Bradley down behind the seat; she had both Dexters taking cover behind the open door as the fuckers opened fire.
All hell broke loose as the cops swiftly took out the ringleaders, followed by several of the remaining members of the gang. Sharpshooters had them in their sights all along.
“Come on,” Steve yelled as he led them down to the rocky ledge, and they all jumped the rest of the way to the ground.
Dan’s heart hammered hard against his ribs as they all ran across the street to where the cops were already cuffing what was left of the fuckers.
“The club’s safe!” He heard one of them yell over the hubbub. Thank God!
He reached the car where Tuesday was still crouched behind the door. She had pulled Brad out of the way of the gunshots, and was holding his head in her arms. It was then that Dan realized that Brad was tied with his hands behind his back, and his ankles were also strapped together. He couldn’t move if he’d wanted to. That explained why they hadn’t bothered to lock the car doors. That and the fact that the driver obviously wanted to be able to get out quickly if necessary. Of course, Tuesday and Dexter would have realized that as soon as they’d got close enough to the car and seen Brad properly.
Dexter had been firing at the fuckers from his position behind the door, and it looked like they were all either fighting in the arms of the cops now, or fighting for their lives.
“It’s all right, little one.” Dan could see that her eyes were darting everywhere, and she felt rigid as he put his arms around her from behind.
Her head shot around, her eyes wide. “Master Dan!”
Nathan took hold of Brad’s torso, lifting the weight from her arms, as their boss hauled himself up with the help of the door.
“The bomb’s disarmed. No one got hurt,” Steve told the old man, patting him on the back. Dexter nodded.
“Come on,” Dan lifted Tuesday’s tense little body into his arms. She seemed frozen to the spot, her face white as snow.
“Look who’s here,” Dan whispered to her as she looked around in a daze.
“Hello, Caoimhe.”
Her glazed expression began to clear as she recognized the young man standing in front of them, and Dan felt her body slowly relax in his arms. He carefully placed her on her feet as she stared at her brother.
“Padric? Is it really you?”
“Well, it was the last time I looked. How ya doin’, titch?” Padric’s eyes twinkled as he grinned at his little sister and his arms came around to take her from Dan.
She seemed a little unsteady on her feet and still in a state of utter shock as she held on to her brother tightly. Dan patted him on the back. This was the only time he didn’t really mind letting go of her.
“She’s got some guts, that gal of yours.” Dexter muttered into Dan’s ear, taking him by surprise.
“Tell me about it,” Dan concurred with a grin.
“She’s a fucking heroine,” Brad added, having recovered himself and got untied. “I really thought we were done for.”
“Did you know about the bomb?” Dan asked them both, watching Padric slowly leading his girl away from the action. He could tell by the wracking of her back that she was sobbing and his heart wrenched.
“She told me,” Dexter replied. “She also told me she’d spoken to you. That’s how I knew it would be OK. I knew you’d have called the bomb squad right away, and that you wouldn’t be too far from us. You wouldn’t abandon that little girl.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Dan agreed, silently marveling at his boss’s intuition.
Dan sighed, shaking the old man’s hand. The boss suddenly appeared a lot older again, and not quite as confident as he had appeared from a distance.
“So, you and Tuesday…?” Brad interjected.
“We’re in love,” Dan confirmed. He knew it was true, even if his girl didn’t want to admit it just yet.
“So why’s she in someone else’s arms?” Brad frowned, looking over at her.
Dan grinned. “That’s allowed,” he told him. “Padric’s her brother.”
Brad gaped. “Well, how in hell did…?”
“Everyone OK?” Steve arrived along with one of his colleagues.
“Just fine.” Dexter smiled gratefully. “Thanks to you and your men.”
“And Tuesday,” Brad piped up.
“That goes without saying.” The old man laughed, patting his son on the back.
They moved away discreetly as Brad gave his dad a hug.
“They took out both the Saunders brothers,” Steve muttered.
“Saves me a job,” Dan replied.
“Yeah, I could see you were dying to get in on the gun action,” Nathan told him with a pat on the back.
“Can’t blame you, bro.” Steve nodded.
“Well, if we’re all done here there’s another kind of action I want to get in on,” Dan said with a wink and nodded in Tuesday’s direction.
He heard them chuckle as he walked away and was pleased to see his girl smiling over at him from the arms of her brother.
“Let’s get you checked out, little one,” Dan told her as she fell into his arms.
He hailed a medic who came over and took Tuesday into the back of a waiting ambulance.
“Thanks, mate.” Padric was a little teary-eyed as he shook Dan’s hand.
“What’s next?” Dan asked.
“I think she believed me when I told her we love her and miss her like mad.”
Dan felt himself go hot all over as he realized that Padric might well have persuaded his sister to go back home. He’d only just got her and now it looked like he might lose her again!
“I think she’s been finding it real hard coming to terms with losing our dad,” the Irish man went on.
Dan sighed. “You’re the best person to help her with that,” he conceded with a heavy heart.
Padric nodded. “I intend to.”
He sounded determined. Dan couldn’t blame him. He still didn’t want her to go though. He couldn’t lose her—not now.
“It’s just a scratch,” Tuesday announced a short while later as she emerged from the back of the ambulance with a dressing on her forehead.
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