“He has her, Henry!”
He breathed into the phone. “What? Who has who?”
“He has Julie!”
“What? How?”
“This morning, Lukas had information, files on you and Mitch, including pictures and addresses! He has her at your house right now! I thought he would come after you or me. Henry, I’m sorry! This is my fault!”
“What about the kids, Chloe? He better not touch my kids! I swear to God I’ll kill him!”
“I don’t know, I don’t think so, he sent a picture of only Julie sitting on your couch close to the entrance to your house. Do you think they are with your mother-in-law?” I knew my niece and nephew went to their grandparents after school most days.
“Yes, they go over there all the time. I’ll call her when I hang up with you to make sure they’re there and to tell her to keep the kids until I arrive.”
“Good idea.”
“You think she’s still alive?” he asked.
Lukas only wanted me. His son’s murderer must pay. “Yes, he wants me. I told him I would exchange myself for Julie.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m heading to your house right now so he will set her free.”
“I’m going too!”
He couldn’t go, Lukas would shoot him on site. But Henry is HPD, nothing scares him.
“Henry, are you sure about this? I mean if you go, and Lukas sees you, it could go south real quick. I can handle this alone, I can get Julie out of there.” Not really sure that I believed my words.
“I’m meeting you there and we’ll figure this out!”
I thought it over for about three-seconds. “Okay, we need a plan right now or else Julie is dead!”
He waited several seconds before answering. “I think I need to call this in Chloe. I can get SWAT to my house in no time!”
I shook my head. “No, that won’t work! If Lukas even thinks there are cops he’ll kill her!”
“Are you sure? If he did then he would die, he must realize that, right?”
Exactly, he would die. “The fact is, we don’t know, and I don’t want to take that chance.”
Henry breathed into the phone.
“We can do this. Want to meet down the street at the small park on the next block from your house?”
“What’s the plan?”
“Not sure yet, but I need to be the one to go in through the front door and maybe you can sneak inside somehow? Through a back or side window?”
“Oh shit! I know how! Yes, let’s meet at the park! I’ll tell you there!” Henry said.
“I can be there in a few minutes.”
Chapter Sixty
He Can Kill You
I stood in the middle of the block, across the street from the small park, at the end of the alley leading to the backyard of Henry’s house.
A car came towards me.
It was Henry and Mitch. My brother parked in the alley. They got out, and walked to me. The first thing Henry told me was that my niece and nephew were safe at their grandparents’ house. It helped a little to know they were safe.
I handed him the phone. “Here, look at this.” I showed him the picture of Julie Lukas texted me.
“She’s still alive.”
Mitch nodded.
He handed the phone back to me. “So, what’s the plan?”
Looking in the direction of his house, he shook his head. “I’m going to kill him.”
“What are we going to do, Henry? Lukas is expecting me any minute now.”
He looked into my eyes. “There’s no way I could go in with you right?”
“What do you mean? You go through the front door with me?”
“Yes, I would go in and you could say I was only there to take Julie there, but I could scope things out? Try to get some intel, we—”
Waving his words off, I shook my head. “No way, he’d kill you, because half the contract would be complete. I understand you want to save Julie, but if you go, he might freak out. Think about it, he can kill you and then come after Mitch later, fulfill the contract, and continue working with Uncle.”
Henry looked at him, and Mitch nodded.
I stared a hole through both of them. “What?”
Henry pointed in the direction of his house. “Look, last year, I installed a secret panic door in the closet in my bedroom. Just in case someone entered the house while I wasn’t there, Julie and the kids could escape under the house.”
He looked down the alley, in the direction of his house.
“Really?”
“Chloe, the door is there and I can get to it, get inside my house, and surprise Lukas!”
I understood he wanted to save his mate, the mother of his children, but this six-foot, two hundred pound, highly-trained, badass, was my little brother. My instincts told me to protect him.
Going into the house with Lukas wasn’t smart even for me, but this was partly my fault. I had to get Julie out of there. She was in this situation because of me.
“Can we all agree that Julie is our priority?” Mitch asked.
“Yes,” Henry and I both said robotically as if we were members of the Borg.
Gazing down the alley, Mitch nodded. “This is how we’ll do it. A three-tier attack. Okay?”
The weight of the day now sat on my shoulders, and felt heavy. “How?”
“Henry goes first, through the backyard, I’m assuming you can reach the secret door through the back, right?” Mitch asked, pointing down the alley.
“Yes, actually that is probably the easiest way to reach it,” Henry said.
“Cool, but does that mean you can actually get to the secret door open it and get inside without making any noise?” Mitch asked.
“Yes! I took that into consideration when I installed the door, it won’t make a sound.”
Chapter Sixty-One
Leaving It Unlocked
Henry Creed ran down the alley.
He ran by several of his neighbor’s backyards. There was the Becker’s backyard. They had a dog, a noisy little rat dog, a Chihuahua, named Rocko.
Then he passed the Peterson’s backyard. No dogs, but three cats. Finally, the last backyard before his own. The Lee’s, a couple who moved in last year.
He saw the wooden fence he built himself, and pulled out his keys, picking out the one that fit the lock on the gate. He turned the key, unlocking the gate and slowly opening the it.
Henry entered his backyard, and shut the gate behind him, leaving it unlocked. Mitch should be coming up the alley by now. Henry walked towards the back of his house. The window curtains were all drawn.
He grabbed and removed a section of house skirting. He laid down, and didn’t bother taking off his jacket. He crawled under his house. It was a lot warmer when he did this the last time. The ground felt like cold steel under him, and was torture on his knees and elbows.
He used a small penlight, attached to his keychain, out in front of him.
It took him a little longer than he wanted to reach the panic door. He blew warm air into his hands, warming them up. He fiddled around in the dark, finally finding the rods that came out of the bottom of the floor.
They fit snugly through the holes, and bent at the ends, holding the panic door in place. The idea was to be able to turn the rods easily, but from the other side of the door. He was able to turn the ends enough for the door to swing down.
He grinned proud of the job. A pair of Julie’s running shoes came down with the door, hitting the cold dirt floor.
It was dark in the closet.
He stood up, looking around, not seeing anything, crawling up into his house. He decided to leave the door open in case there was a need to escape this way.
He opened the closet door slowly. He had visibility, but didn’t notice anyone.
Voices emanated from the other end of the house. He moved slowly past the bedroom door. He walked down the hallway. He reached down for his pistol, but it wasn’t there!
<
br /> It must have fallen out while he crawled under the house. Should have paid attention. He crouched down, aimed the flashlight in the direction he just came from, but couldn’t see his firearm.
He decided to leave it under the house, because Chloe was inside by now, and it would take too much precious time to go back under the house for it.
Henry tip-toed to the bedroom door, placing his hand easily on the doorknob. Henry opened it slowly, voices became louder. He was about to start down the hallway towards the front of the house but remembered something—he had a bat!
Henry ducked back in the closet, grabbing his Louisville Slugger, signed by Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, a birthday gift from Julie a few years back. He went back to the door and entered the hallway. He moved slowly down the hallway, bat gripped tightly.
Julie was innocent.
No way could he lose her, he wouldn’t know what to do if she wasn’t here with him. He felt his eyes tearing up. He wasn’t going to let her die. He didn’t blame Chloe, she had no control over Lukas.
He could hear their words now but couldn’t really make out what was being said in the front part of his house. He was hopeful he would be able to use this bat on Lukas’s head.
His heart hammered loudly inside his chest—gripped the bat tighter headed down the hallway.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Shards Of Glass
Mitch walked up to the back fence, peeped through the space in-between boards.
Henry disappeared under the house. Mitch then entered Henry’s backyard.
This was so fucking undude it wasn’t funny. The plan was for him to try and sneak in through a window on the side of the house. If not he would be nearby to help take Julie out of there.
Mitch walked up and knelt next to the house. It was an older style house, on blocks. Not sure if this would work, but it was their best plan.
Chloe would go through the front door, and stall Lukas as much as she could, that is if he didn’t shoot her at first sight. Henry would go through the secret panic door and sneak inside and Mitch would find another way inside. If he couldn’t, Mitch would get a line of sight on Lukas through a window.
Henry and Chloe would focus on subduing or even killing Lukas. Mitch knew he probably had the most important job of the three, saving Julie. If there was a choice between the three, Creed, Chloe or Julie, Mitch would save Julie.
He put the skirting back in case Lukas happened to come in the back yard, not likely but why not do it. He walked around the side of Creed’s house and ducked under a window.
A fence separated the backyard from the front yard. On the other side, he spotted a window. At this angle, the window looked open. If so, he might be able to sneak in that way, but he needed to get a closer look. Mitch waited a minute, knowing that Henry needed time to crawl to and open the panic door.
He jumped over the fence like a fat alley cat with arthritis, and landed hard. Pain pulsated throughout his knees. Mitch moved slowly and quietly against the house towards the window. Then he angled his head to get a better angle of the window.
The curtains were wide open, and people talked inside.
Moved a little closer, peeked inside, and withdrew fast. Mitch saw something but couldn’t make it out.
He looked again and almost yelled out. He spotted Julie sitting next to Chloe, their right shoulders pointing towards the window he stood next to.
He ducked under the window.
BANG!
Then another gunshot.
BANG!
Mitch felt shards of glass sprinkled across his head and neck. He fell to the ground, as pain exploded in his arm.
Chapter Sixty-Three
The Metal Of The Barrel
She isn’t going to die!
I controlled my breathing as I drove from the end of the alley that led to Henry’s house, to a spot next to the curb in front of his house. I stared at the main door that led into the living room. The picture he sent me was of Julie with her hands bound and she sat on the couch.
Over the years, I had seen countless dead bodies, but I don’t think I could handle it if Julie was dead. Julie was the closest thing I had to a sister.
Henry had a few girlfriends in high school. He was popular with the girls, but when he started dating Julie, I was impressed with her the first time I met her. She was athletic and smart, smarter than Henry. I was so happy when he told me he was going to ask her to marry him.
When Heather was born, I wasn’t at the hospital. I was killing somebody. However, I was there for Hascal’s birth. Julie let me be in the room while she gave birth to my nephew. I watched Hascal come out of Julie. It was the first time for me. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life.
I sat behind the wheel, looking at my brother’s house, knowing my sister-in-law was in her own house, probably dead.
What if Lukas killed her? I chose not to think as I turned off the engine. I took a deep breath, then another. I closed my eyes, gripping the steering wheel. I got out, and walked up the driveway. The wind blew hard, I stopped, looking up at the sky, knowing it might be the last time I saw it.
I was calm, like the calm before a storm as I opened the door, and went inside.
“Ah, Rose! Oops I mean Auntie Chloe!” Lukas said, eyes glaring at me.
He was sitting on the other side of the room. Lukas was aiming his pistol. I turned my head and saw Julie. Her hands were still tied in front of her. It appeared Lukas had used an extension cord to bind her wrists together. She was working to get free. Good. Don’t give up!
“I’m here.” I turned to face him. “Let her go.”
He didn’t respond, but was highly agitated.
I turned my attention away from him, looking at her, Julie’s eyes begging me to save her.
“You have gone to a new low, Lukas.”
Lukas pointed his pistol at me. “You forced my hand, Rose. Or do you prefer ‘Chloe’ now?”
The number of times Lukas could squeeze the trigger, and hit me before I reached him was probably three. At the moment, I was in no condition to fight, but me bum-rushing him would give Mitch and Henry time to react and shoot Lukas. I didn’t care if I survived. I didn’t worry about Henry and Mitch doing what was needed in order to save Julie.
I decided to be patient, wait, and see how the next couple of minutes panned out. I decided to let the previous question slide and get down to it. “I couldn’t let Stan kill my brother,” I said. “It was the only play I saw at the moment. It wasn’t personal, Lukas.”
“You still should have told me Rose!” He waved his pistol around. He was still distraught over watching his son die like he did. Even psychos must love their children.
“I tried! But you were so hell bent on killing those cops!”
“Yes, I know that, but I didn’t know all of the facts Rose! You should’ve told me.”
I pointed at him. “Oh yeah? You saying that you would have sat down and helped me save my cop brother?” We both knew he needed the money and regardless of how much I had begged and pleaded for him to help Henry, Lukas would’ve went through with the hits.
His eyes met mine and narrowed, but he said nothing.
“That’s what I thought, Lukas. He’s my brother, and I couldn’t have any time to waste. I had to act.”
He half shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? He’s dead, and you will be in a minute.”
I sniffed. “Yeah, so it’s time to let Julie go.”
“What if I don’t want to let her go yet?”
“This was between you and me, not a mother of two. Let her go! And you and I can go somewhere and talk this over.”
The pain in his eyes was visible. “He was my son, Rose.”
Not killing Lukas, instead of Stan, was my mistake.
He glanced at Julie, his forehead wrinkled.
I turned, and realized Julie was staring out the window. Then I saw what she was staring at, Mitch Mason.
Placed my h
and on her knee, signaling her to stop staring. Turned my head to face him. “Come on! Let her go. Or you and I can…”
Lukas, he stood up. “What the hell are you looking at?” Lukas must have seen Mitch, because he raised his weapon, aimed it at me, and fired.
BANG!
Pain erupted as the bullet hit my vest. I fell to the floor, unable to breathe.
BANG! Lukas fired another shot at the window, glass shattering.
Turning my head, I caught a glimpse of my brother charging.
Another shot sounded, then a crash. Henry and Lukas landed on the floor next to me. I would have gasped if my lungs had any air.
It hurt to breathe, I couldn’t move. The impact of the bullet probably broke one of my ribs. Henry rolled over and our eyes met. Was he shot?
I spotted blood near his neck. Oh, my fucking God! Both of us glanced over at the other body that stood up.
Lukas raised his handgun and smiled. “You lose.”
Exhaling, the pain was bad. He was going to kill, and I was okay with me and Henry dying, but not Julie. My niece and nephew needed their mother most of all. “Let Julie go please.”
Lukas chuckled. “Guys, this wasn’t a bad try. I give you credit for trying, but it looks as if I win after all, Chloe. It seems I will fulfill the contract on your brother here and I’ll bet the guy outside is the other cop on the contract. I’ll find him soon and kill him. Just like I killed you and this fucking piece of shit cop and then….”
Julie’s face changed from the color of fear to the color of rage.
She stood up behind him. Pulling off the gag, Julie reared her right leg back and kicked him between his legs.
It appeared as if he raised off the floor a few inches. Lukas shut his eyes, and dropped his pistol. He grabbed his crotch, falling to his knees, moaning.
Henry grunted.
I managed a couple of breaths.
Lukas then tried to dog-walk away. Julie sized him up and took about three steps to the side, and kicked Lukas’s head like a soccer ball.
His head snapped up like a PEZ dispenser. His body fell to the floor.
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