by Kady Hunt
Suddenly, there’s silence upstairs and then I hear footsteps approaching the basement door, and a group of people step inside. There are three people with the same ski masks, and when they walk right up to me, I realize that one of them is a female. The other two are male and have sturdy, muscular bodies. The female on the other hand is wearing designer clothing and the ski mask looks completely out of place on her. And then, they take off their masks and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad, but I’m guessing it might be bad.
They don’t care about revealing themselves. That means they’re going to kill you.
And then I recall the faces of two of them, including the woman.
It’s Natalie.
And one of the muscular males is Pierre.
“Hello, Jamie.” Pierre says and rips the duct tape off my mouth. He takes out the rag and tosses it aside.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing from you,” Pierre says. “So you need to relax. You’re simply leverage.”
“Leverage?”
“Your boyfriend,” Natalie says. “Holden Danvers has something that we need.”
“Holden and I broke up,” I say. “So whatever you’re planning to do, I think you’ll have to come up with something new because he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“He told you he didn’t care,” Natalie says. “Did a little breakup scene. And you believed him?”
“It was pretty convincing,” I say.
Natalie moves a manicured finger over my face. “You don’t know him at all, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
“He still cares about you, Jamie. He only did that because he thought he was protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” I say. “From what?”
“Recently,” Pierre says. “Holden has come upon some new information. And well, it’s not something you digest easily. He broke it off with you because he thought he was putting you and the baby in danger by being with you.”
I glance up at him.
“Yes,” Pierre sees the question in my eyes. “We know about the baby.”
“Everyone knows about the fucking baby!” Natalie rolls her eyes.
“Is Holden in danger?”
“Don’t you want to know if you’re in danger, honey?” Natalie says. “Because Holden is out there and you’re in here, in someone’s basement, with us.”
“Just tell me.”
“No, he’s not in danger. Not if he does as he’s told.”
“She’s right,” Pierre says. “I have no intention of harming either of you without reason.” He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone, starts filming me. “Now. I want you to say something to your boyfriend. Send him a message. Something simple.”
I hesitate.
“Well?” Pierre urges. “Go on then!”
“Holden,” I say to the camera. “I’m fine. They haven’t hurt me. And they want to let you know that they won’t hurt either of us if you just get them what they need.”
Pierre takes away the phone and pushes some buttons. “There we go,” he mumbles. “…aaaand…sent.” He turns to me. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Natalie and the other guy start walking upstairs and Pierre looks ready to do the same. I realize that I will again be all alone in this dark place.
“Now what?” I ask before they leave.
“Now,” Pierre says. “We wait for your boyfriend to respond.”
“What if…what if he doesn’t?”
Pierre laughs. “Oh sweetheart,” he says. “You really don’t want to know the answer to that.”
33.
HOLDEN
Daniel is bleeding from the head and it worries me. “We need to take you to the hospital,” I say. “That’s a head injury, Daniel.”
“They said no cops,” Daniel says. “How’re we going to keep this from the cops if we go to the hospital? They’ll be asking all sorts of questions that we won’t have an answer to. Let’s just figure out how to get Jamie back, and then we can worry about my injury.”
He pops another pain killer and I turn my attention to the road. “So you don’t remember their license plate numbers?”
“When they put her in that SUV I was almost blind,” Daniel says. “Couldn’t see anything.”
“Do you remember their message?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I remember now.”
“What was it?”
“Tell your friend if he wants to see his girlfriend alive he should do everything we tell him to. And if you so much as breathe a word of it to the cops, we’ll just send you her head in a box. Told me to be careful about what I do next, by which they meant that I shouldn’t go to the cops about the attack I guess.”
“Well,” I say. “Whatever it is that they want, I won’t think twice before giving it to them.”
“You don’t even know what they’re going to ask for.”
“No,” I say. “But I know I have to get her back.”
The phone rings.
On the screen, it says Blocked Number. “It’s them.”
Daniel takes the phone from my hand.
He attends the call and then puts it on speaker phone.
“Hello?”
“Is this Holden’s phone?”
“Yes,” I say. “This is my phone.”
“Holden, my name is Pierre Gleeson,” the man on the phone says. “I think you know me through my wife, Natalie. The two of you have had some good times together, haven’t you?”
I look at Daniel and he’s just as confused as I am.
“What can I do for you, Pierre?”
“A lot actually,” Pierre says. “Did you know that your girlfriend was missing?”
Daniel and I exchange glances and he gestures for me to stay calm. “Yes, I’m aware.”
“Good,” Pierre replies. “Now, what remains is for me to tell you that I have your girlfriend. The mother of your unborn child, as it were. Now, you have two choices: You can forget she ever existed, tell me to buzz off and live your life as though nothing happened. We will kill her and send you the remains within the next two hours. But there is another option. You can do as you’re told and get me what I need, and Jamie will be unharmed. Well, mostly unharmed. The thing is, Holden, the longer she stays in my custody, the worse it will get for her, because you see my people do have tempers and they might let it out on that poor girl. So, whatever damage that might cause, is on you.”
“Just tell me what you want, Pierre.”
“First,” Pierre says. “Let me send you proof of life.”
The call ends and Daniel and I are both left staring at the screen.
I stop the car by the roadside and we both wait.
It takes forever but finally a media message tone rings and I open the video file and hold the phone in a way that Daniel can see it too. The minute it opens, we see Jamie’s face and she doesn’t look so good.
“Holden,” Jamie says. “I’m fine. They haven’t hurt me. And they want to let you know that they won’t hurt either of us if you just get them what they need.”
“I’m going to kill these motherfuckers,” Daniel says.
I feel the same way.
The video ends and we have to play the waiting game again, until Pierre calls again. “So now that you have proof of life,” he says. “I’m going to tell you what I need from you, Holden so you need to listen closely.”
“Okay.”
“Go home,” Pierre says. “And talk to your mother. Tell her about your ordeal, I’m sure she’s going to listen to reason. Tell her the only way to save Jamie and the baby, is if she gives us the Kendall River files.”
“The what files?”
“Kendall River, Holden. Your mother will know what I’m talking about.”
“Kendall River,” I repeat.
“The sooner you get us the files,” Pierre says. “The sooner you can get Jamie back.”
“I’ll get you the files, Pierre. Please don’t hur
t her.”
“I won’t,” Pierre says. “Hurting her, would be a last resort for me. And I’m hoping it won’t come to that. But if for some reason you fail to get the files, Holden, then you won’t even be able to say goodbye to her.”
“That won’t happen.”
I say but the call has ended.
“What’s going on, dude?” Daniel asks. “You breakup with Jamie, tell her you don’t give a shit about her or the baby, but now you’re willing to do anything to get her back?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” I say. “I’m still breaking up with her. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her die.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to, Holden?” Daniel says. “I know you, alright? I know when you care about someone and when you don’t care and this is you, caring a whole damn lot, so why the fuck did you break her heart?”
I don’t know what to say.
“You know she wanted to kill that baby,” Daniel says. “And she was about to do it all on her own. If it wasn’t for the fact that she needed me to get the pills, she would have done it and we wouldn’t even have known! What if something happened to her? You would have regretted it for life!”
Suddenly, I can’t take it anymore.
The breakdown that has been threatening to come ever since I found out about my reality overwhelms me. “You think I wanted that?” I yell. “I love her, Daniel! And I love that baby!”
Daniel stares at me. “So why’d you do it then?”
I feel the choking tears fighting to get out and keep them at bay somehow. “Because,” I say. “I found out some stuff about me recently, that…that could hurt her. That’s why I had to leave. I had to make her believe that I was leaving, it was the only way I could protect her!”
“Protect her?” Daniel says. “What you did, wasn’t protecting! You hurt her more than some theoretical danger in some unforeseen future!”
“I made a mistake, okay!” I yell. “I won’t make it ever again.”
“Fuck,” Daniel says. “Okay, so what’s the story?”
“What story?”
“You said you found out some stuff? That story!”
“Yeah,” I say absently. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“Just tell me,” Daniel says. “My patience is wearing a little thin.”
“I found out that my father was a mob guy,” I say. “Not just any mob guy, he was some kind of leader. Everyone loved him. And after his death, my mother has taken up that position. Naturally, she’s not as loved as he was.”
“Okay,” Daniel says. “I’m going to try to digest this. But what’s that got to do with you?”
“It’s got everything to do with me!” I say. “Apparently my father nominated me as a sole heir to the empire. And my mother’s running it without telling me has pissed some important people off and now there are two kinds of people—ones who want me dead, and ones who want me to grow a pair and stand where my father once stood.”
“Wow,” Daniel says. “My head is spinning and it’s not the painkillers.”
“Yeah. It’s a lot to process, isn’t it?”
“Holden, did you get shot because of this?”
I let out a heavy breath. “Actually,” I say. “That was my mom.”
“Your mother tried to get you killed?”
“No,” I say. “She tried to get Jamie killed. I was just in the way. The shooter made a mistake. Long story.”
“Oh,” Daniel says. “Yeah, that’s…that’s a whole lot better.”
“Look,” I say. “Let’s just get them those documents. They said they wouldn’t hurt her.”
“You believe them?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“I thought this was one of those things where a rich person gets kidnapped for something or the other, I had no idea the mob was involved!” Daniel says.
“What I don’t get is,” I say. “What’s Pierre’s role in all this? Harlow never said anything about the two of them.”
“You see Harlow regularly or something?”
“No, of course not. We just had a chat on the phone.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all of this was going on?”
“Honestly,” I say. “I have no idea.”
“Okay well,” he says. “Let’s just talk to your mother first. See if she’ll give us the files.”
“She has to,” I say, starting the car. “If she ever wants to talk to her son again.”
34.
HOLDEN
When Daniel and I walk into Mom’s study, she’s on the desk, signing some documents and Max is standing right next to her. She looks up when she sees me and sips from her martini glass. “Holden,” she says. “What a pleasure to see you!”
And then she sees Daniel. “You brought friends,” she says and I can see the disappointment on her face. “How are you, Daniel?”
“I’m fine,” Daniel says.
“What about you, baby?” She turns to me and puts away the documents. “Is everything okay? You never come unannounced.”
“We need to talk.”
“What’s this about?”
I decide to just launch into it without wasting time. “About the fact that you run a drug empire,” I say. “Also about the fact that dad ran it until he had that stroke. And that he nominated me, as the heir and it’s in his will but it looks like you forgot to mention all these things to me.”
She stands. “Who have you been talking to?” she says. “Who’s putting this stuff in your head?”
“Oh please, Mom! Spare me the bullshit!” I yell. “The whole world knows this but me.”
“Fine,” she says. “But do we have to have this discussion in front of him?” She gestures to Daniel.
“He is my friend, Mom. You know friends? People you wish you had, but you don’t because you’re a bitch?”
“Holden!”
“He’s my friend,” I say. “And you’re going to respect him from now on. And Daniel knows everything, whether you like it or not. Because that’s what you do, when you have a friend, you confide in them.”
“What do you want from me?” She says. “It obvious you know everything, so what’re you here for, Holden? An apology? A story about how your great leader of a father cheated on me and yet people thought it was okay, because he was a guy?”
“Mom,” I say. “We’re not here to discuss my step-father.”
“So what then?”
“I need something from you, Mom.”
“What?”
“The Kendall River files.”
She looks at me as if I’ve gone nuts.
But at least she doesn’t deny any knowledge of them.
“Get out of my office, Holden.” She says and starts going back to her desk.
“Mom,” I say. “I’m not leaving here without those files.”
She still doesn’t turn around to face me. “You don’t know what you’re asking me, Holden.”
“You’re right,” I say. “I have no freaking clue. But Jamie’s life is attached to them and I’m not leaving without getting my hands on them.”
She turns around. “Who even told you about them?”
“It was Pierre,” I tell her. “He and Natalie are working together. I don’t know what they want, but they’ve got Jamie and they’re threatening to kill her.”
“Pierre?” Mom looks surprised. “Pierre Gleeson?”
“Yes, Mom. Pierre Gleeson.”
“Why would he do that?”
“You tell me, Mom.”
“No,” she says. “You don’t understand…Pierre works for me. Why would he—” she pauses as if she has the answer. “I know who’s behind all this. Tell Pierre to shove it. He’s not getting his hands on those files in a hundred lifetimes, and neither are you.”
“You called out a hit on Jamie,” I say, hoping to come at this a different way. “You wanted to get her killed. Only I got in the way. You risked your own son’s life, Mom!”
“Look,”
she says. “This is a tough business. You have to make tough decisions in order to survive.”
“I saw you kill the shooter in that parking lot,” I say.
“So,” she says. “You’ve been contacted. I was wondering when that might start happening.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” she says. “If you know all this, you know your father nominated you the heir to his empire, then you know that people want things from you. Holden, I can explain everything. I can be your guide, we can work together now. It had to happen someday, I’m glad it’s happening now! But if you go against me, Holden you’ll ruin everything.”
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll do it. I’ll take you on as my mentor. You can be my guide, or whatever. I will forgive too, for everything. For not telling me all these years, for lying to me, for trying to kill my girlfriend and getting me shot in the process, I’ll forgive you for everything.”
She places her hands on my shirt. “Then let’s send out an official announcement,” she says, and I can see the excitement of the prospect in her eyes. “Let’s move on and begin a new life, Holden.”
“I wasn’t done talking,” I say. “I will do all that and more. I will be your son, but you have to give me those files, Mom. That’s the price.”
She let’s go of her hold on me. “What spell has that girl put on you?” she says. “That you can’t see a thing! Can’t you see that she’s blinded you?”
“I love her, Mom.”
“You’re twenty-two!” she says. “You don’t even know what love is!”
“And you do?”
“I love you, Holden.”
“Then prove it, Mom. Give me those files.”
She turns away. “That’s not going to happen,” she says and goes back to her work. Just like that, she’s done talking to me. “Feel free to live on your own, until life nails some sense into you. I will be here when you come running back.”