Save Me, Daddy: Rainbow Room Book 1

by L. Michael

  Chapter 14

  Jakob

  “Lannister.” Captain Benson called as he came out of one of the conference rooms, and wore the same worried frown as Matt.

  “Captain. What the hell is going on? Matt said that…” Captain Benson glared at Matt then ushered me towards the conference room.

  “Yes, we have company. But no worries, they're not after your shield.”

  “Fuck, Captain, is that supposed to make me feel better? Cause I have to be honest, it doesn’t.”

  “Get inside, and we’ll talk.” Captain Benson led me into the conference room and motioned for Matt to wait outside. Matt was going to protest, but Captain Benson raised his hand. “Now is not the time, Matt. I appreciate your loyalty, but we need to talk to him alone first. Alright?”

  Matt and I exchanged a look. Something was not only off; it was downright weird. “Captain…”

  “I don’t have time to discuss my decisions with either of you. Take it as an order, Matt. Now, go sit down and wait.”

  Matt looked between our Captain and me and sighed. “I´ll be right here, Jakob.”

  “Thanks, Matt.” I followed Captain Benson into the conference room and stopped in my tracks when I saw all the people around the table. Four men and a woman, all smartly dressed, sat around the table. Alec Weston, Sam’s boss, was the only one at the table I recognized.

  “Jakob let me introduce Michael Rodgers, Chief of the Detective Department and First Deputy Commissioner, Jeffrey Nolan. From Internal Affairs, we have Captain Brian McNeill and Lieutenant Julie Wilkes. And you know Lieutenant Alec Weston, the Supervisor of the Cyber Crime Division. Please have a seat.”

  The only one who gave anything away was Alec Weston. He fidgeted with his pen, bit his lip, and seemed to be nervous as hell. He waited until Captain Benson closed the conference room door before he started. “We had a patrol car checking on Samuel this morning, but he wasn't in his apartment. Do you know where he is?”

  “Yes, I know where he is. He's with my dad. They are on their way to visit the Aquarium today. Why?”

  “Your father is retired, Lieutenant Andrew Lannister?” Julie Wiles asked, while her partner took notes.

  “Yes. Okay, look, this makes no sense. So, who wants to be the first person to tell me what the hell is going on? Bonus points if it is concise and to the point.”

  Michael Rodgers, Chief of the Detective Department, spoke up. “Are you aware of the circumstances behind Doctor Baker’s transfer from Boston?”

  “Yes. Captain Benson told me about it and…” I stopped. Was it safe for me to admit that I was in a relationship with Sam? He'd said that they weren't after my shield. Still, something was off, and I needed to know if I could talk freely. Captain Benson nodded and made a go on motion with his hand. “Sam told me about it.”

  “We're not here to discuss your personal life, Detective Lannister,” Jeffrey Nolan added. “At least we hope it's not going to be necessary.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “On Friday, there was a hearing with former Detective Eddie Curtis.”

  “Wait…. Former Detective?”

  “Yes.” Nolan exchanged a look with Michael Rodgers. “He has been on our radar for quite a while. I'm going to be honest with you, Detective. When we heard Doctor Baker asked for a transfer, we suggested he come here. He is the brightest young mind in Information Analysis, and it would be a boost for our department to have him here. But it was also a political decision. We wanted to show that something like that would never happen here in New York.”

  “Yeah, well, it did.” I couldn’t help myself.

  “Yes, it did. But because of that action, Curtis is out. It was his third strike.”

  “What?”

  “He's a liability for the department.” Michael Rodgers added. “We interviewed him about the incident, and he gave us no reason to believe that it wouldn’t happen again. He showed no remorse.”

  Jeffrey Nolan cleared his throat. “We gave him one last chance to go in peace.”

  “The Department offered him a deal. If he would turn in his shield and his weapon, he could keep his pension.” Jeffrey Nolan explained. “The deadline was yesterday evening.”

  The realization hit me. For a moment, I couldn't breathe. Sam. Curtis lost his job, the department giving him one last chance, and Weston’s question about Sam’s location. “Curtis has not taken that chance, has he?”

  The silence was my only answer.

  “Where is he now?” I asked and bristled when no one looked at me. “Oh my god. You don't know.”

  “Jakob…” Alec Weston said quietly, but I shook my head.

  “No. No! NO! You just asked me where Sam is. You know damn well that Curtis would be going after Sam, and you have done nothing!”

  “Jakob, we're on it.” Captain Benson laid his hand on my arm, but I shook it off. “He won't get away with it.”

  “With what? Not turning in his weapon or his shield? As far as I know, that's not a crime.”

  “Have you gotten any threats?” Captain Brian McNeill asked. “Anything at all?”

  “What? Are you kidding me?” I snapped. “He attacked Sam. He stood there and said that he´d love to see a video of Sam being violated! He knows the guy that beat Sam. He just got fired because of his actions. And you’re asking me if we’ve gotten any threats?” I shook my head and looked at Captain Benson. “I'm not going to stay here and listen to this. Curtis is out there with nothing to lose. Matt and I are going to look for him.”

  “No, you´re not.” Julie Wilkes spoke up. “If you interfere with the investigation, he might avoid charges. We are doing this by the book. You are too close and will not be involved with the investigation.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Matt burst in. “We got an emergency call. There’s been a car accident.”

  “Detective Carmichael, we're in the middle of…”

  “Jakob….” Matt looked at me, and my heart skipped a beat. “It's your dad.”

  The silence in the room was so thick you could feel it. Everyone was looking at Matt, waiting for him to continue.

  “A car hit his. He's okay, but…”

  Oh no. No. This was not happening. Alec Weston got up as I realized what Matt was implying. “What about Sam?”

  “Jakob…”

  “Matt, what about Sam?”

  “I don't know, but your Dad was alone in the car.”

  My phone was out, and I was calling my dad.

  “I need to call him.” My mind was racing, and I was barely functioning. They were in a car accident, and Sam could be gone. Curtis was on the run. My dad picked up the phone, and I closed my eyes in relief.

  “Jake. Thank God.” He sounded horrible, his voice weak and shaking.

  “Dad, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  “Yeah. No. I'm good. I just hit my head on the window.”

  “What happened?” A hand was moving in front of my face, and I looked up to see Alec Weston motioning me to put the call on speaker. “Dad wait a second. I’m going to put you on speaker.” I clicked the speaker button. “Ok, Dad, what happened?”

  “We were a couple of blocks away from your apartment. There was traffic back up, so I took one of the side roads. I… don´t know what exactly happened. A van came out of a side street and t-boned us. I think I passed out…” My dad groaned. It pained me to hear the pain in his voice. Luckily, Weston stepped in and asked the question that I couldn’t.

  “Mr. Lannister, this is Alec Weston. What about Samuel? Is he hurt?”

  “I… I don´t know, he's…” My dad choked on a sob. “The van hit us, and when I opened my eyes, I looked for him. He's gone. The van is gone, too.”

  “This is on you!” Alec Weston exploded, pointing his finger towards Rodgers and Nolan. “You should have told us Curtis was on the run.”

  “That's enough, Weston. Now is not the time,” Captain Benson stepped in. He was right. But at some point, we would di
scuss why nobody told Sam or me what was going on.

  “Dad, let me know which hospital they are taking you, and I’ll meet you there.”

  “I'm coming to the precinct. We need to find Sam. I'll be fine.”

  “Dad, please…”

  “I’m coming to the precinct. I’ll be there shortly.” My dad ended the call. Around me, everyone burst into action, but I couldn´t move. Sam was gone. No, he wasn't just gone. Eddie Curtis caused a car accident and took him. Without even thinking, I picked up my phone and opened the clock.

  “What are you doing, Jakob?” Matt asked quietly and sat down with me. Everyone else was gone, and the door was closed, but I could see Weston and Benson through the window.

  “I'm setting a timer. Statistically, we have twenty-four hours to find Sam alive.”

  “Don’t go down that road, Jakob. The accident was only twenty minutes ago. Curtis can't be far, and every cop in this city will be looking for him.”

  “He knows that and knows how we operate. We are going to be a step behind unless he screws up.” I stood up and began to pace. My sweet, precious, perfect Baby Boy, Sam, was gone. He just wanted a happy day in the aquarium, and now Curtis had him. Bile rose in my throat when I thought about how scared he must be.

  “Hey, come sit back down. You look like you're about to pass out.”

  “I… I can't. I need to do something.”

  “No. You need to sit down. Sam will need you when we find him. He´ll need his Daddy to be strong for him.”

  “What if we don't find him? What if…” I shook my head and collapsed into a chair. It was such a terrible feeling, so helpless and terrified that I could lose Sam. Losing my mom was heartbreaking, but it was nothing compared to what I was feeling now.

  ◆◆◆

  My dad rushed into the room, a large band-aid on his forehead an hour later. He looked pale and worried but ran directly to me, grabbed me, and hugged me tightly. “Dad. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah I'm fine. I just need to watch for signs of a concussion, but apart from that, I´m okay. How are you holding up?”

  Instead of answering, I shook my head. “It was more than an hour ago, and they still have nothing.”

  “I just spoke with Captain Benson and Lieutenant Weston on my way here. Weston’s team is tracking the van through the city on the traffic cameras. They're also checking Curtis’s background, and Internal Affairs is speaking with Curtis’s former partners.”

  “Talking is not going to bring Sam back,” I snapped, and the tears finally fell. “I can't sit here and do nothing, Dad.”

  “I know, Jake, but there is nothing you can do to help. It will compromise the investigation.” My dad sat us down in a couple of chairs and rubbed my back. The last time I cried like this was at my mom’s funeral. “You're in no condition to help with the investigation. Let them do their work, and you concentrate on being strong for Sam.”

  “I can’t. It's so hard.”

  “Believe me, I know.” Of course, he knew. He was at my mom’s side for two years while the sickness took her. “It's going to be okay, Jake.”

  “That's what I said to Sam when I left him this morning. I feel like I lied to him.”

  “You couldn't know what Curtis was up to.” My dad sighed. “Jake, I'm sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For not helping Sam. For not protecting him.”

  “Dad stop it. Curtis caused the accident. He still has his weapon and…” The door opened, and Captain Benson came into the room, interrupting our conversation. “Please tell me you found something.”

  “Weston’s team has footage of the van. They are following it find Curtis.” Captain Benson sat down on the opposite side of the table. “Jakob, there is something else. Your fight with Curtis last week.”

  “What about it?”

  “You accused Eddie Curtis of being homophobic because he's secretly gay.”

  “He has given me shit from time to time since I came out. But he never quoted any bible passages or called me a deviant. He acted more jealous than anything else. Why? What does that have to do with him kidnapping Sam?”

  “I don't think this is just about Sam, Jakob.” Captain Benson looked from me to my dad and back to me. “Internal Affairs spoke with Adam Rosek, but he has not heard from Curtis since they went to high school together. Rosek found it funny that Curtis got fired because of, and I quote, a little fag.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Curtis and Rosek went to high school together. Curtis left Boston after he gathered up his courage and kissed Rosek. Let's just say that it didn't end well for Curtis.”

  “Let me guess, Rosek beat Curtis up.” Benson nodded, and I sighed. “Great. I still don't get why this is relevant to the kidnapping?”

  “We´re not sure yet, but we think that this is about you as well. You have everything Curtis probably ever wanted. Not having to hide his sexuality, having a partner, and you still have the job that he lost.”

  My dad was right, because I was not in the right state of mind to be very helpful.

  “Jake, I think what the Captain is trying to tell you is that they think that Sam is still alive. Curtis is going to use Sam to get back at you.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “So, he's after both of us, great. I don’t care why he’s doing this, just find Sam.”

  Chapter 15

  Samuel

  My pounding head woke me, and I had trouble opening my eyes. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. It took me a second to realize that I was blindfolded. When I tried to reach up, I heard metal rattle against metal. Oh no. No, no, no, no. I couldn´t raise my hands or move my feet. Fear turned my blood cold, and I started to struggle against the cuffs. What the hell had happened? Andrew and I were in the car when we got in an accident. But how had I gotten here then? And where was Andrew?

  “A-Andrew?” I strained to hear anything, but there was nothing. No noise at all. Then I heard footsteps. “H-Hello?”

  “Not crying for Jakob?”

  “D-Detective C-Curtis?” Oh, hell, no. My heart stopped when he laughed.

  “Have you missed me?”

  “Wh-where is Andrew?” Keep him occupied. I had enough training in hostage situations that I had to get him to open up and talk about his plan. If he spoke, it would delay him. “Is he alright?”

  “Probably in the hospital. He was bleeding like a stuck pig. I don´t care about the old man. He was just collateral damage.”

  “To get m-me?”

  “Of course, to get you. Come on. You´re a Doctor. I heard you were smart.”

  “L-Look, I´m sorry that you got suspended…” I whimpered when Eddie Curtis yanked the blindfold off, pulling hair off the back of my head. A bare lightbulb was the only light in the room. Either my glasses had gotten broken in the accident, or I´d lost them somewhere because everything looked blurry.

  “You think this is because I got suspended? I got fired. You have a bad habit of getting good cops fired, Doctor Baker.”

  I was quite sure that beating up and kidnapping colleagues didn´t make them good cops, but I kept quiet. Instead, I wondered if that was the reason why Jakob had gotten called into the precinct this morning? Oh God, what if they fired him too? I must have said that out loud because Curtis laughed.

  “Lannister? No, of course not. No one would fire the perfect Jakob Lannister.”

  The slap was quick, and I yelped in pain.

  “But I have his beloved toy now, haven't I? He will get his punishment.”

  “N-not his toy.” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I bit my lip. I won’t cry. I know I’m not Jakob’s toy. I am his Little Boy, his Peanut. I bit my lip harder until I could taste blood. Jakob was my Daddy, and I missed him terribly.

  “Oh, yes, you are. Lannister has everything. A little boy toy, a career, respect even if he's gay, and I have nothing thanks to you.”

  My mind got caught on the fact that Jakob was
right. Eddie Curtis had his sexuality buried deep in the closet. “You… You c-can have that, too.”

  “Me?” Again, he laughed this weird, almost crazy laugh, and then he slapped me again. “I've lost everything, but I´m going to take you two down with me.” Another slap had my left cheek stinging, and I sobbed. “Get some rest. We are going to shoot a special video for Jakob. Just like the one we watched when he hit me.”

  With that, he got up and left the room. I couldn't stop the images from running through my head, and I started to cry. He would be doing all those terrible things to me, and Jakob would see it. Panic was rising and making me tremble, and I cried even harder. The student on the video had survived the attack, but deep down, I knew that I wouldn´t.

  “Save me, Daddy,” I whispered into the dark.

  Chapter 16

  Jakob

  Five hours. Five hours of sitting on my thumbs and feeling useless, doing nothing but looking at the timer on my phone, with my dad beside me. Matt came in from time to time to bring us more coffee and to update us with current information. Two hours ago, he told us that they had called in the FBI to help with the traffic cameras and surveillance.

  “You know what the worst part was when your mom got sick?” My dad said quietly. “I was powerless to protect or help her. Or to even make her feel safe. There were nights when she was so scared of dying, and there was nothing I could. And it was my job.”

  “Your job? You were her husband, Dad.”

  “Haven’t you ever asked yourself how I was able to figure out that you're a Daddy? Or why I'm so accepting of it? Helping you decorate a playroom, taking your Little to the Aquarium?”

  Confused, I stared at my dad, not sure what he was getting at. But he was right. I never wondered; I just knew that he would understand. Then I remembered how mom and dad were together. The way he treated her and always made sure that she was happy. The lightbulb clicked on.

  “Oh, my God. You were her Daddy.”

  “She didn’t call herself a Little, but yes, she was my Little Girl. As her husband, I did everything I could to make the situation better for her. But as her Daddy, it was my job to keep her safe, and I failed.”