by Kuhn, N
“How long you been a criminal Cam?” I ask him, keeping my voice placid.
“Aw, little brother, the golden child, wants to know why I chose to side with the Gessatti’s. Because brother, in this war, only one side can win. This time, I want to be on the winning side. You won’t be able to take down this family, and that’s what it is. A family. More so than you. You, mom, dad, never treated me like I mattered. I was always just the screw up you had to deal with. Well, not anymore. Now, I get the girl, the good job, the appreciation I deserve.” There’s a deep cut on his face, it looks recent. That gives me a little enjoyment, knowing someone hurt him. I remember the knife Kelli carried with her. Smiling, I stare my brother down.
“Kelli give you that?”
“Shut up. It doesn’t matter. You’ll never see her again anyways. She’s mine now.” My heart skips a beat.
“Where’s Kelli? Where is she? I know you tried to rape her, that’s why she ran all those years ago. You couldn’t get a woman on your own? You had to try to force someone?” His grin fades and his eyes turn icy.
“Kel. Yea, she got hot huh? Sure better than that scrawny girl she used to be. At least this time she has more tits to grab. Man, you try those? They’re soft. I can’t wait to taste her.” His grin returns, and I feel disgusted to call this man brother. The urge to wipe that grin off his face was too much. Slamming my head forward, I smash his nose with it. Pain radiates through my head as blood gushes down his face. Stepping back, holding his face, the blood seeps through his fingers.
An older man slowly moves through the door into the room at the sound of Cameron’s howls. He steps up next to him, his beady eyes assessing the situation.
“Cameron, why don’t you go clean that up. I think this job is a little too personal for you. You have something to do, right?” Moving his hand away from his nose, Cameron smiles, and his mouth red from the blood.
“That’s right. I get to go spend time with Kel. I’ll let you know how she tastes before I kill you Mitch. Oh, and I’ll tell mom and dad you died a hero. They can mourn the loss of their perfect son and I can torture them with the fact that their screw-up son is still here! I can’t wait to see that pain on their faces. Maybe they will feel a little of what I’ve been through.” His words sound distorted from the broken nose, but each word makes its mark. Piercing pain in my heart, like little stabs, from each remark.
“What happened that made you so bitter Cam? I’m your brother. I’ve always loved you and looked out for you.”
“Really Mitch?” He steps towards me, but the man holds him back with a hand on his arm. Cameron looks down at it, instantly calming. “Mitchell, the perfect kid, perfect in every way. Everything you did was right, every girl wanted you, you got. Penny was gorgeous and you knew I was in love with her. You had Kelli, that scrawny bitch. But you had to have Penny too and it didn’t help that she wanted you. Mom and dad offered her up to you on a platter. Why? Did you have to take everything from me?”
Hesitating, I’m not sure how to answer. No matter what I say to him, he’s going to react poorly. This whole situation is volatile.
“I didn’t take anything from you,” I tell him. “I never wanted Penny. I’ve only ever wanted Kelli. Anything between mom and dad and Penny was all their doing, not mine. I love Kelli, please, just let me know she’s okay.” Cameron stares at me, blood still falling from his face.
“I want you to hurt like I did. You thought Kelli left you for good. But she wrote you for a year. Did you know that? No, of course you wouldn’t. I stole your letters to her out of the mail, and stole hers when they came. I enjoyed seeing the pain on your face every day when you went to get the mail and there was nothing from her. That last night she was there, was supposed to be the best night of my life. I wanted to have a taste of what you had. You were holed up with Penny and I thought maybe, just maybe when Kelli is hurt by the fact you two were together, that she would turn to me. Except just like you, that bitch thought she was better than me. Well now, I’m showing you both, that I’m the better one.” He turns and stalks from the room. The older man watching him go.
“Mr. Calhoun, I’m Don Gessatti,” he finally speaks, his voice sounding cultured and business like. He certainly doesn’t sound or dress like the criminal he is. Remaining quiet, I stare at the floor.
“Mitchell, your brother is important to our organization, but he has a temper. You’re going to cooperate with me or I’m going to let him do what he’s itching to do to Kelli while you watch.” His words hit me one by one like waves. Slowly raising my head to meet his eyes, I feel the fury rising inside of me. Forcing myself to calm down, I match his stare.
“Where’s my money Mr. Calhoun?” His voice remains steady, as if we were just discussing the weather. Staring at him, I refuse to answer.
“Have it your way then. Ricky,” he calls out. Groaning, I look towards the door and watch as the man I had hog tied earlier is now free, and carrying a baseball bat. The smile on his face says it all. This is going to hurt. Steeling myself, readying for the hit, I try to show that it doesn’t bother me. When the bat connects with my leg, I close my eyes, suppressing the scream that wants to tear out of my chest. As I start to fall to the ground, Ricky grabs me, leaning me back against the wall. I’ve learned to endure a lot of pain in the military. Even been shot a few times. Bruises, broken bones, I can handle that. Kelli being hurt? I can’t. My leg shaking and throbbing, but not broken. I raise my body back up straight and rigid. Using his fist this time, Ricky slams the meaty hand into my nose, breaking it almost as bad as Cameron’s. Spitting out the blood as it flows into my mouth, I can’t do anything to stop it. With my hands tied behind me, I can’t do much of anything at all. The next hit with the bat finds my kidney and I fall to my knees. This time he lets me. Hanging my head, I watch the blood pool on the floor beneath me.
“Where’s my money Mr. Calhoun? Make this easy on yourself and I’ll let the girl go. I’ll keep your brother away from her.” Lies, it is all lies. He’s going to kill us both, maybe even her father.
“Where is she?” I ask, blood flying with each word. Tilting my head to look up at him, I smile. “Where’s Kelli? Show her to me, then you and I can discuss this, I’ll tell you where it is.” Surprise flashes in his eyes, then anger. Smiling at him, he ignores me, Don turns and just waves his hand. Ricky tosses the bat to the ground then drags me to my feet.
“Mr. Calhoun, did you know Strappado is a form of torture that began with the Medieval Inquisition? Let’s see how long you last. You could just end this now, and tell me where my money is.” Pushing me towards the wall at the back of the room, I notice something I hadn’t before. Sticking out from the wood is a small black hook. It’s almost to the ceiling. Ricky pulls out a knife. That evil grin returns and he opens the small Swiss Army. His eyes never leaving mine, he plunges the knife into my leg. Growling, I close my eyes again, trying to push the pain out of me. He removes the blade from my leg, spinning me around so my back is to him. The pain in that movement was intense, but I grit my teeth and hold out, trying to stay standing. Cutting the ropes, Ricky pulls a set of handcuffs out of his pocket. Ripping my hands out of his grip, I raise them, dropping my heavy wrists onto his head. Though he howls in pain, he doesn’t go down or back up.
“I wouldn’t try that again if I were you,” Paul says from behind his brother. Taking a glance at him shows that he has a gun aimed at us. He’s slouched and holding his left side with his other hand. If Ricky moves, I’m a clear shot for him. Being dead won’t help get Kelli out of here, so I have to play nice enough to stay alive. Ricky lets go of his head, yanking my arms upwards. Latching the cuffs into what looks like a rock climbing cam, I’m stretched so far that my arms are taking the brunt of my weight. Standing on my tip toes, I’ve been here before. I know I have about an hour in this position before my hands start to go numb, about another forty five minutes after that until they begin to swell. Before leaving, Ricky takes a cheap shot, punching me in both
kidneys. The throbbing intense pain flares from my sides and up my back. Refusing to back down from Ricky, I stare at him, smiling.
“Have a good night Ranger Calhoun. We’ll be seeing you in the morning. Get some sleep, you’ll need it.”
With that, they are both gone. Kelli must have escaped. Otherwise, the moment I told Don Gessatti I’d tell him where the money is, he would have had her brought in here, if for no other reason than to gloat that they have her. I really hope that the cut on Cam and injury to Paul’s side he was holding is her handiwork. I feel pride thinking it’s her that did that. Unless she’s tied up somewhere too, the chance of her getting away make things a little easier for me. Maybe he’s just playing games. I strain, trying to listen to the sounds around me, I can’t hear anything. Unless someone walks near the door, it’s silent. There’s no way of me knowing if she’s still here or not. He’s not a stupid man, but Don is known for playing games. You can’t get to the top of running a large criminal organization like this without some intelligence and malicious actions. So now he’s going to have to get her back here so I can see her or run the risk of killing me during torture. I won’t give up any information unless I know for sure she’s safe. Seeing as how his sons don’t seem to be able to keep their tempers, I’d most likely be killed before I told them what they want to know. My office has greatly underestimated these men. We thought they were two bit thugs, but they are more devious than we thought. We’ve had a lot of suspicions about them, but we haven’t been able to pin a murder on them, yet. I hope Dodge can find us. He’s my last hope. Closing my eyes, I try to rest. I’ll need all the strength I can get for when they come back. That’s one of the most important things in this situation. Focusing on something that won’t sap your strength, like anger does. As time wears on, I can figure out about how long I’ve been alone by the pain I feel. When my fingers begin to tingle, I know I’ve been here about an hour. Drifting off to sleep, the door flings open, waking me, and standing there is my brother. So much for rest. The anger and rage fills my body at the sight of him and I begin to shake, forgetting the pain my entire body feels. I can’t help but antagonize him.
“I’m going to kill you,” I say to him calmly. His laughter as he exits the room echoes in my thoughts as I black out.
Chapter 12
Kelli
Mitch. He keeps running through my head. I’m just worried about him, that’s all. Just worried. He’s going to be fine. He’s trained for situations like this. I’m not. I had every right to run. Besides, I don’t even know for sure if they have him. Hiking my way down the deserted road, the sun beats down on me. By now it’s got to late afternoon. Almost twenty four hours since Mitch and I made love. No, had sex. Sex. It was just sex, I keep repeating it, hoping I’ll believe it. I haven’t seen a car on this road all morning. Keeping to the side, so I can jump into the brush if needed, I keep walking. I have no clue where I am, how far I’ve gone, nothing. If only I had told him I loved him too, or not been so brash back in the cave. He would have been there with me and we could have fought off Cameron and the Gessatti brothers. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation. I’m sure he has a girlfriend waiting for him at home, or a wife. I never even thought to ask. Just slept with him. Now what? What if he dies and it’s my fault? Will she hate me? Will his parents? I dread that conversation. ‘Hi Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun, I know we haven’t seen each other in ten years, but hey, I ran into your boys. Yea, I slept with Mitch and then Cameron killed him.’ They hated me before, they’ll hate me now. Then again, Cameron has lied to me before. So maybe he’s doing it now too. Maybe they don’t have Mitch. I don’t see how one guy could outwit Mitch. Yea, that’s it, he probably got away and is trying to locate me now. I just need to keep moving.
Hearing the sound of approaching vehicles, I dash into the brush and lie down on my stomach. My clothes are torn, bloody and dirty. The dust I kick up in my rush still lingers in the air, making me want to sneeze. The black Dodge Ram pulls to a stop about where I had been walking. Behind it pulls up two Durangos. I count ten men jumping from the vehicles. There’s ten men all together. Does Don Gessatti really need all this force for just me? Ten guys? All wearing black, heavily armed? They gather around the hood of one of the Durango’s. All of them have on black cargo pants, tight black shirts, cowboy hats and guns. Lots of guns on their waists, like some old school cowboys. The dust finally does me in and the sneeze comes and I can’t stop it. Shit, ten heads instantly turn my way. They begin to creep forward, hands at their sides. Pushing myself up, I sprint towards the trees, trying to put as much distance between me and them as I can.
“Sugar,” I hear, yelled out at my back. It stops me dead in my tracks. Mitch is the only one who calls me that. Ever. Turning around, my heart sinks to my stomach as I see Dodge standing there. Relieved, but not, it kills me to think that Cam was right and that they do have Mitch. Tears falling down my face, I turn directions, rushing into Dodge’s open arms. Crying into his shirt, he just holds me.
“Mitch?” is all I can get out between sobs. I can hear him sigh as he pushes me out to arm’s length. Cupping my chin with his big hand, he looks into my eyes.
“We’re going to get him out of there, okay? He’s going to be fine. You have to trust me. We have the money the Gessatti’s are looking for. Mitch found it and hid it before he was taken.” I look at him dumbfounded. Balling my fists at my side, my fury eats at me.
“Mitch had the money the whole time and didn’t think to tell me? Are you kidding me? That sick bastard Gessatti was going to let Cam-.” I can’t even bring myself to say it. “That son of a bitch. He better hope you find him first, because I’m going to kick his ass.” Dodge and the guys around us snicker, trying to keep a straight face on, which only makes me angrier. Giving Dodge the look of death, he stops.
“We’ll find him, I’ll even hold him for you. But come on, we have to get you somewhere safe before we get up there.”
“Do they really have him?” I ask. Dodge remains silent, looking away. That’s all the confirmation I need.
“No,” I say, standing my ground. “I’m going with you. Give me a gun, I prefer Glocks.” The group of guys all go silent, looking between Dodge and I as we stare each other down, wondering who will flinch first.
“Mitch will kill me if I let you anywhere back near that place. I can’t do it. I promise I’ll bring him to you the second we’re done. We’re all Rangers, most of us Ex-Military. Please Kelli, let us do our job.” Stomping my foot, I cross my arms over my chest, silently staring Dodge down. I know I’m acting like a spoiled child, but there’s no way in hell they are doing this without me. I have to help or I’ll drive myself crazy wondering what’s happening. Besides, this is my fault anyways.
“Kelli, Mitch is going to kill me, you know that right?”
“I’m going to kill you if you don’t get me a gun so I can go take down these assholes, then find his pathetic ass right now.” The other men all took a step back, but Dodge held his ground. His eyes scanning over my body, he laughs, turning to the Ram he had gotten out of. Pulling a bag from behind the seat, he lays a Glock and a long sleeve black thermal on the bed cover.
“Shirt’s gonna be big, but I’ll be damned if I let your ass follow us in pink.” Now his turn to be stubborn, he crosses his arms, leaning against the truck watching me. Unintimidated, I stalk to the truck, stripping off my torn shirt, leaving it on the ground. The shirt is baggy on me, but anything that fits that man’s hulking form will be baggy. My knife is in my leg holster, the gun I’ll just hold. Ejecting the clip, I make sure the ammo is full and grab an extra clip from the pile I see in Dodge’s bag.
“All right boys, hope you have a plan, let’s go.” I grab the bag from the backseat, the one I had seen Mitch carrying back in the woods. That jerk had the damn money the whole time. I hike the bag of money up onto my shoulder, turning back the way I came.
“What are you doing?” Dodge shouts at me, ripping the bag from my arm.
> “I know which way I’m going, so you’re going to follow.” Both of us stare off with the other. Someone behind Dodge clears his throat.
“Sir, she may be useful. We can give her the bag and use her to distract the Gessatti’s while we try to get to Mitch.” Looking over at the tall blonde man, he looks more like an Abercrombie model than an officer of the law.
“You want to use me as bait? Are you really, truly sure they even have him? His brother and Paul had me, they only sent Ricky after him. He can take that goon with his eyes shut and one hand tied behind his back,” I shout at him. Everyone stays silent. Looking back at Dodge, I can see it written all over his face. He nods.
“Dodge, talk now.”
“We sent a local over to the Park Ranger out station that Mitch called us from. The Ranger, Mitch and Ricky were all gone. There was blood on the floor. We had someone dig into Park Ranger Drake. He’s dirty. Really dirty, and working with the Gessatti’s. We think that he turned the tables and let Ricky go, taking Mitch with them. He did tell me that the cabin you were being taken to was up this way, but didn’t know exactly where. We tracked this place down through a fake holding company that the Gessatti’s own. It’s in their mother’s maiden name. They have him, and we know it. I’m sorry. But we’re going to get him.” He looks over to the man that suggested I be bait. Drake is one of them? I told him everything. Where we were, what was going on, who we were looking for. He knew all the details. He’s how the Gessatti’s managed to find us in the first place. Guilt washes over me. It’s my fault for trusting him to help us. I brought this on us. Dodge yelling gets my attention.