Going After What's Mine

by Weston Parker

  Pulling up my favorite playlist, I turned up the speaker on my phone and turned the shower to hot.

  I leaned my head back, letting the hot water run down my hair and face. The spray was strong and felt good against my skin. It was like getting a massage. I shampooed my hair, using my fingers to rub my scalp, trying to erase the stress of the last couple days.

  I stood under the spray, simply enjoying the feel of the water washing me clean. After a while, I felt the water turning cold and took it as my cue to get out.

  I felt a lot better after my shower. It was a huge improvement from thirty minutes ago. With my phone in hand, I walked to the kitchen in search of something to eat. I put my phone down, hit the button for the voicemail, and turned on the speaker to listen to the messages while I searched for sustenance.

  His deep voice filled the room, sending a shiver down my spine. I hated that simply hearing his voice could arouse me. I listened to his demands to call him back. At least he apologized, I thought to myself as I rummaged around in Rose’s refrigerator. The next message was more of the same, demanding I get my ass back to his house. I deleted the messages. I wasn’t ready to call him. Not yet.

  I knew it was stupid. I was being childish, but it didn’t change how I felt. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be around him. If he really had someone trying to hurt him or kill him, I wanted to know why. What had he done to bring on that kind of trouble for himself? Normal people didn’t attract the attention of assassins. He kept dodging the question, which made me believe he was guilty. What kind of relationship could I ever have with a man if I didn’t trust him? In that moment, I didn’t trust him. I didn’t think he would physically hurt me, but there was something about him that made me think twice about jumping in feet first.

  I thought about Rose’s advice. She was on my side. That made me feel a little better. I wasn’t a complete freak for not wanting to rush back into his arms. I could take another day to figure out what I wanted to do.

  I made myself a sandwich, flipped on a little daytime television, and did my best to forget all about Colton and his drama.

  Chapter 27

  Colton

  I was going out of my mind with worry. It had been two days since I’d talked to Jenna. I knew she was pissed, but she had to know this was serious. She didn’t have to come back to my house. All I wanted was to know she was okay. I had said as much in the many voicemails and texts I’d sent. When I did find her, I was going to let her know just how pissed I was.

  “Nothing?” Kevin asked, coming into the kitchen.

  I shook my head. “Nope. Do you think she’s okay? She can’t be that mad at me, can she?”

  Kevin chuckled. “I think she can.”

  “You’re a lot of help.”

  He shrugged. “We haven’t heard a word from Axel. Maybe he’s decided it isn’t worth it. He wanted to spook you and it worked. We need to go back out to that warehouse and see if they’ve packed up and left.”

  “Fine. I’m going to go by the diner one more time and see if Rose knows where she is. I convinced one of the waitresses to give me her schedule last night.”

  “I’ll stay with Abby while you do that,” he offered.

  “Thanks. I owe you big for all this.”

  “Yes, you do. We’ll settle up later,” he teased.

  “I’m sure we will.”

  Grabbing my keys, I headed out the door. I scanned the street, didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and got into my rig. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw my new back window in place. I would deal with the three stooges later. For now, they were getting a free pass while I dealt with all the other shit.

  I pulled into the diner and wasn’t surprised to discover no sign of Jenna’s car. I didn’t expect to find it. I went inside, looked around for Rose, and didn’t immediately see her, either. I checked the time. She should have been on shift. I had been told she was part of the opening crew.

  Just then, the kitchen door flew open and Rose came rushing out carrying several plates. When she saw me, she froze. I knew she knew exactly who I was. She looked away, pretending she didn’t see me.

  “Rose,” I called.

  She shook her head. “Uh uh, you two are not dragging me into your crazy drama,” she said walking past me.

  I let her deliver the plates before stepping in front of her. “Is she okay? You don’t have to explain anything, but I need to know, is she okay?”

  She looked at me and I could see her sizing me up. She was debating how much to tell me. I knew there was probably some best-friend code at play. I could be an intimidating person. But honestly, I was willing to do what it took to get information out of her.

  “Yes,” she finally answered. “She’s fine. She’s been with me the last couple days. She isn’t sure if it is safe to go home and definitely doesn’t want to go to your house. You really pissed her off,” she added, as if I didn’t know.

  “I know I did. She has every right to be pissed, but she doesn’t understand how serious this situation is.”

  “Well, of course, she doesn’t understand. You haven’t told her a thing.”

  I ran a hand over my jaw. “I know. It’s complicated. I’m just trying to keep her from the bad guys.”

  She shook her head. “Why would you need to keep her from bad guys? Do you even hear yourself? Normal people don’t have bad guys threaten their next-door neighbors simply because they have been seen eating a pastry with your daughter.”

  I looked at her with a mixture of surprise and disgust. “She told you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course, she told me. Duh.”

  “I know she has some questions. A lot of questions and I owe her an explanation. I want to give her that explanation, but it isn’t something I can do through a voicemail.”

  Rose smiled. “You are one messed-up dude.”

  I shrugged. “Probably, but I would never hurt her. I would never hurt anyone.”

  She pursed her lips, looking me up and down. “Aren’t you a fighter or something? Doesn’t that mean you hurt people?”

  “I was a fighter, but we never hurt people for the hell of it. We wore protection. We were both paid to be in the ring. It wasn’t like I was preying on anybody.”

  It was the same defense I had given to Cara’s parents when they found out what I did. I had been forced to explain that I wasn’t a violent man. It was my job. I never used my skills outside of the ring. I could certainly defend myself, but I had never needed to—yet. That was very likely to change.

  She was watching me, still studying my every nuance. Rose was a smart woman. I liked her. I liked the way she was defending her friend and how she wasn’t least the bit intimidated by me.

  “Fine. I believe you. However, you owe her a big apology. What you said wasn’t cool. Those assholes did what they did because they are immature dicks who have never been spanked in their lives. You can’t put that on her. She defended herself. As I understand it, you stepped in and made yourself a part of the whole thing. She didn’t ask you to help her. Remember that.” Her eyes narrowed at me.

  I nodded. “I understand. I’ve apologized like a million times. I lost my temper. There was a lot of shit happening and I snapped. I took it out on her.”

  She smiled. “I get it. Don’t tell me—tell her.”

  “I’ve been trying!” I said, my frustration making my voice strained.

  Rose smiled. “I don’t know if you know this, but Jenna is really stubborn. She is very strong-willed and tough as nails. She does not take shit from anyone, including you.”

  I could already see where the conversation was going. This was the best friend defending her friend. I was the bad guy and they were aligned against me. I got it. I had seen it before. I expected Kevin to do the same for me.

  “I do know that about her,” I said. “I mean, probably not as well as you know her, but I know she’s stubborn.”

  I didn’t say it was one of the things that attracted me to her. S
he was sexy, sassy, and stubborn as hell and I loved it. I would never want a woman who caved easily or told me what I wanted to hear. I liked that she stood up to me. Most of the time. Right now, I would have really appreciated a much more malleable woman.

  She shrugged. “Did she call you?”

  “No. Was she supposed to?”

  She rolled her eyes and walked to a back corner of the diner. “I told her to call you yesterday.”

  “Why?”

  “For one, to tell you she was okay. Despite what you said, which was really not cool, I get the feeling you actually do care if she lives or dies.”

  I nodded. “Okay. And two?”

  “And two, because there was a strange car outside my apartment yesterday. The windows were really dark tint, so we couldn’t see inside, but it was really odd.”

  My blood was pumping through my body, my heart pounding as I digested the information. “A strange car? Did anyone get out? Say anything? Did you get a license plate?”

  “No. The plate had one of those dark things over it. They drove down the road really slow, stopped in front of my apartment, and then left.”

  “I need your address,” I said, my voice revealing the fear running through my veins. “She’s in real danger, Rose.”

  She reached in her pocket, pulled out her order pad and pen, and jotted down her address.

  “Be nice!” she said to my back.

  I was already headed out of the diner. I had to get to her. My instincts were screaming at me. She was in serious danger. I punched in the address to the car’s GPS and set out, breaking every traffic law there was. Thankfully, the small police force was nowhere around to catch me.

  Pulling into a spot along the curb, I jumped out and raced up the stairs. I felt my stomach drop when I saw the door was open.

  “Jenna!” I called out.

  I walked into the apartment, my guard up and all my senses focused on the room I was walking into. I took in the chair from the dining room table lying askew in the hallway. There was a vase that had obviously been full of fresh flowers shattered on the floor. There were other signs to indicate there had been a struggle.

  “Jenna!” I called out again, opening a door that ended up being a closet. There was another door. It led to the bathroom. I yanked the shower curtain back to reveal an empty bathtub.

  “Jenna!” I called again, kicking open the bedroom door, wishing like hell I had brought my gun.

  I searched under the bed and in the closet before heading to the tiny kitchen that included the dining room table. It was a small apartment. I knew I wasn’t overlooking Jenna. She was gone. Taken.

  I pulled my cell out of my pocket and called her, half-expecting to hear it ringing somewhere in the room.

  “Well, hello, Colton.” Axel Lloyd’s voice had my blood running cold. “I was wondering when we would hear from you. Much sooner than I expected. You must keep a really short leash on this one.”

  “What do you want, Axel?”

  “I think you know we have some unfinished business to discuss.”

  “I want to talk to her,” I said, hoping I sounded forceful.

  He laughed. “She’s otherwise occupied. You know Zane.”

  I wanted to vomit. I did know Zane. He was a sick human. A poor excuse for a man. “Put her on the phone Axel or we really have nothing to talk about.”

  I strained my ears to hear any sounds in the background. It was dead silent.

  “Colton?” Jenna’s high-pitched voice, filled with terror, came over the line.

  “Jenna!”

  “There, you have your proof of life. Now, let’s talk.”

  I took a deep breath in through my nose. “What do you want? I’m not going to rat you out. I don’t care what you did. That’s your business. I left Boston and all that behind.”

  “Oh, you know it doesn’t work like that. You can make this real easy on yourself, Colton. We meet, and I let your little girlfriend and your daughter live. You want to keep playing this game with me and it isn’t going to end well for them or you. In the end, you and I will talk.”

  “Fine. What do you want?”

  “There’s an old warehouse on the outside of town, headed west. Why don’t you go ahead and come on out, so we can have a little chat face to face?” His voice made me want to kick his ass even more than I already did.

  “When?”

  “I suggest you make it sooner rather than later. I’m not interested in playing any more games. If I think something is amiss, it’s your daughter I’m taking next.”

  He hung up the phone. I was left standing in the torn-up apartment, holding my phone, my hands shaking.

  I had fucked up. Axel had gotten to Jenna. I turned over the information in my head several times, trying to figure out my next move.

  Abby. I had to protect Abby at all costs. She was my priority.

  Chapter 28

  Jenna

  I didn’t think I’d lost consciousness, but I couldn’t say for sure. I did have a killer headache and assumed I had a nasty goose egg to go with it. I couldn’t check because my damn hands were tied to the back of the hard chair I’d been forced to sit in.

  Wishing I had listened to Colton was all I could think as I watched two men chat with each other. They were about twenty feet away and talking in low voices, low enough that I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I had no idea if they were plotting how they were going to kill me or something far worse. I kept telling myself I could survive this. I was a strong woman. No matter what they did, I would survive.

  This was up to me. Colton would look out for himself and his daughter. He had to keep Abby safe. When the man, Axel, had answered my phone and demanded Colton show up, I had hope. That had been hours ago. But Colton never showed and the men who were holding me captive were growing restless.

  I could feel something was about to happen. I thought about everything I wished I had told my mom. I hated to leave her alone in this world, but I was grateful she had Mr. Peters. He would help her through the grief.

  I sighed, looking around the empty warehouse and staring out the windows that were high on the wall. It was getting dark out. I assumed it had to be after seven. That explained why I had to pee so badly. I had been kidnapped ten hours ago and not been given the luxury of a bathroom.

  Damn him. Damn my own stupidity for getting mixed up with a guy I didn’t know. I had hoped he would show up and be my cavalry. That hope had slowly been evaporating throughout the long day.

  He wasn’t coming.

  Axel had taken a lot of pleasure in reminding me of that fact. Telling me he expected more of his ex-employee. As if any of that mattered. Somehow, I didn’t think Colton was really all that concerned with getting a good job reference from the man.

  I closed my eyes, trying to picture myself on a beach, soaking up the sun with a strawberry margarita in my hand. I imagined the smell of the sea and the wind blowing through my hair.

  “Hey!” I heard one of the men shout.

  I opened my eyes and saw him race out the door. More shouting and what sounded like a gunshot followed by a man screaming.

  “Oh shit,” I gulped down the bile in my throat. “Oh shit.”

  I wasn’t ready to die. I thought I was, but I was wrong. I began to furiously yank and pull at the restraints cutting into my wrists.

  “Please, oh God, please,” I whispered as I struggled to free myself. Whatever was happening outside was bound to spill over inside at some point. I didn’t want to be shot. I didn’t want to be hurt. I wasn’t that brave.

  “Jenna!” Colton’s voice snapped my head up.

  “Colton?” I croaked, afraid to believe what I was seeing.

  He was next to me in a flash. A mean-looking knife stained with wet blood was in his hands and then cutting the ropes that bound me.

  “Let’s go. Can you walk?”

  Standing on shaking legs that had gone to sleep hours ago was difficult. I did my best to put one foot in front o
f the other. The blood started to flow the more I moved.

  I shrieked when a man came through the door.

  “It’s Kevin,” Colton assured me. “You’re okay now. We need to get out of here though.”

  I let him pull me across the floor of the warehouse, taking me outside where he began to jog down the road, pulling me with him. His Tahoe was parked in the middle of a cornfield. I shook my head, thinking about how pissed the farmer was going to be.

  Colton put me in the backseat before jumping in the driver’s seat and speeding down the road.

  “Are you hurt?” Kevin asked, turning to face me from his front-seat position.

  I reached up and felt my head. I had taken a hit to the face in the struggle and probably had some bruises on my arms from the manhandling, but I felt fine.

  “No.”

  “Okay, we’ll get you back to the motel and you can get cleaned up,” he said, his voice soft and his eyes kind.

  “Cleaned up?” I murmured, looking down at my arms and bare legs. I could see dried blood from some scratches. I didn’t even remember getting those.

  “You’ll be okay,” Kevin assured me.

  I looked to the rearview mirror. Colton’s blue eyes were cold and dangerous as he looked at me. “Where’s Abby?”

  “She’s with Rose at a hotel outside Lincoln.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Did you get them all? Is it over?”

  I met Colton’s eyes in the mirror again, but he quickly looked away. It was Kevin that answered.

  “Not all of them, but we’re safe for now. We’ll deal with Axel later.”

  “The men that were at the warehouse, are they—” I stopped, not saying the word.

  Colton looked at me. “Yes. It was the only way.”

  I leaned my head back against the leather seat, accepting his words for now. I wasn’t a violent person and couldn’t believe I was actually relieved to be in a vehicle with two men who had just killed four other men. If I let myself think about it too hard, I was going to go crazy.