by S. Van Horne
“I talked with Mari and we both agree, that yeah, it isn’t ideal. Like you said, transitions are hard on her, but if we do it then it needs to happen ASAP. You told me that night in Kansas City just how important it is for you to live in Hawaii. That it makes you feel closer to your parents. I refuse to take that away from you.” Tears start to fill my eyes that he remembered something so important to me. “She’ll adjust better since she's come to trust you. Plus, she's been to your house, which will help as well.” His green eyes meet mine and I get lost in their depths. “Thank you, for loving her.”
The kiss he consumes me with has me needing him again even though we just finished having sex thirty minutes ago. I guess it’s time to celebrate the fact they're moving to Hawaii.
Mari’s laughter draws me out of my memory. I’m grateful because getting turned on at the mall play area isn’t exactly a smart thing to do.
Looking over at the beautiful Hispanic woman sitting to my right, I smile kindly at her. When we told her of the plans she cheered and was extremely excited for us. We asked her to move with us and she declined, explaining she needed to be with her family. My heart dropped and I began to panic, until she said she had someone in mind that would probably love the idea of moving to Hawaii. Even though that was comforting, I knew it would be a challenge. It was another transition that Maddison would have to go through. Seeing the sadness that was shining bright in her eyes at the thought of not being with them again, almost has me demanding that I just move to Florida. However, I know Conti would deny my request since living in Hawaii makes me feel closer to my parents. She's been with Conti and Mads since he got custody of her. But I know that it won’t do any good, since Conti is determined they're moving.
Mari shakes her head with a smile when she hears Mads squeal again, as she whips down the slide in the play center area. Glancing back over, I spot a mom who’s giving Maddison a look of disgust.
“Is it normal to want to kick the other parents' asses who are giving her dirty looks? Don’t they realize she just wants to have fun with the other kids?” I growl loud enough for the woman to hear. Redness colors her face as she turns back to her son on the bouncy thing.
“Yes, it’s normal to want to do that, but you have to understand, most don’t see the bigger picture or at least they don’t want to. The best thing to do is ignore them, and keep doing what you’re doing,” she quietly replies.
“Am I doing it right? Am I able to take care of a child like this, Mari? I don’t know if I can do it. I wish you were moving with them. It would be so helpful.” Looking into her eyes, I continue as tears start to fall down my cheeks. “I want to be perfect for her. The thought that I won’t do the right thing or that I’ll make her worse is frightening.”
“Just love her, like you have been, Crystal. Everything else will come with time.” Her hand reaches out and squeezes mine in a comforting nature.
Swallowing down the emotions, I squeeze back then return my attention to Maddison. She rushes over to us with a huge smile on her face. My heart melts as she sits in my lap wrapping her arms around my neck.
“I’m having so much fun, C.,” she practically screams at me causing me to cringe. “I need to potty, Meme.”
“I’ll take her, Mari. I need to get away from the looks.” Mari smiles as she sits back down. “Is that okay, Mads?” I ask.
“Yes!” Mads jumps off my lap and grabs my hand. “Hurry I want to play more!”
Laughing, I proceed to walk her to the restroom which, thankfully, is completely empty so we have no lines to deal with. Quickly, we do our business before heading back out into the food court.
“Cinna, C. I want a cinna!” Mads jumps up and down and points across from us. My eyes travel the entire area looking for a movie theater, but I come up empty until my eyes land on Cinnabon which I now realize that is what she's talking about.
Chuckling, I nod and we start to head over to get her a cinnamon bun. It’s right by the exit, so I wrap my hand around hers tightly, scared she’ll get away from me.
After grabbing our order, I turn to the condiment counter to get some napkins. Before I can turn away, something pokes my back. My head whirls to the left and I spot a man standing very close to me. I go to take a step away, but whatever’s against my back is pressed even harder into me. Looking again over my shoulder and down, I realize it’s a gun. My head snaps toward Maddison and I see another guy is behind her with a gun of his own in his hoodie pocket, it’s pointing right at her.
“Come with us. Don’t let go of the girl. One sound, one wrong move and I have him shoot her,” a voice whispers into my ear.
Nodding, I gently guide a clueless Maddison out the double doors. Once we’re in the back of the van, I pray that Mads will continue to be unaware of what’s going on. The last thing we need is her to break down before we’re saved.
One hour later . . .
“Why did you take us?” I ask the guy standing in front of the only way out.
“Why not ask the other two who are in here with you?” He slams the door behind him.
Holding Maddison closer to me, I look over at the man and woman who are in here with us. They look like they're jonesing for drugs badly. When we were pushed in, they started begging for more. However, their pleas just caused the other guy to slap them. I have no fucking clue who these people are. I've never seen them in my life.
“What?” the man screeches, as he itches his arms.
“Why did they take us? Who are we to you?”
The shrug of his shoulders pisses me off and has me gently pushing Maddison off my lap. I want to fucking hit him.
“No, C. Don’t leave me!”
“It’s okay, Maddison Elaine. I’m not going anywhere, sweet girl.”
The gasp from the corner has me looking back again at the woman this time.
As I gaze at the woman things begin to click into place. I see the connection.
“I want my bubby,” Maddison cries out.
“I know, Mads. He’ll be here soon, sweet girl,” I try to reassure her.
Taking a deep breath, I say a quick prayer that we’re found soon. Maddison’s on the verge of a breakdown, and I don’t know how to care for an autistic teenager. I’m going to have to learn since Conti and I are now . . .
The basement door opening brings me out of my thoughts. Glancing up the narrow stairs, I spot the ropes in his hands. My gut clenches at the sinister smile on his face. He’s fixated on Maddison. My arms tighten around her as she starts to cry harder. The ringing of a phone is the only saving grace we have at that moment as it stops him from entering the room. Before he turns on his heels, he looks at me and smiles. I know right then and there that if I don’t come up with a plan, Conti won’t be seeing his sister or me again.
CONTI
Pacing the hotel isn’t helping my anxiety at all. For the past four hours I’ve been flipping my shit. When Mari called saying she couldn’t find Crystal and Mads, I immediately called in my favors to get the security footage to see where they were.
Observing two men take them both, and the calm manner they cooperated in, didn’t make any sense. It's like they knew them. Upon further inspection of the videos, we realized it was at gun point. The license plate led to a dead end, and now we’re waiting on facial scanning to see if we can find out who we’re dealing with. Thoughts of this morning rush back, and the need to find them grows even stronger.
“Come with me,” Kai murmurs to me and jerks his head toward the other room. He arrived an hour ago when I called to tell him about Crystal and Mads being kidnapped. Glancing over, I nod at my friend, Curt, who booked an emergency flight here to help work the case.
After following close behind him, I take a seat on the bed while he shuts the door.
“How by the book, red tape are you?” He stands with his arms crossed waiting for my answer.
“What do you mean by the book, red tape?”
“Are you willing to cross lines that should
never be crossed with a badge in your pocket? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get your girls back?”
“What kind of fucking question is that? You're goddamn right I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get them back.” I reach in my back pocket and pull out my badge wallet, throwing it on the ground. “That fucking thing means nothing to me if I don’t have Crystal and Maddison by my side. That’s why I work as a detective. To keep this world safe for them. Not because I have to follow some fucking rules. Especially now that Crystal’s . . .” my voice trails off. We'd decided not to tell anyone yet. However, the need to have him understand just how important it is, now that she’s expecting, has me nearing the point where I break that promise to her.
The smirk on his face tells me he knows something, and it has my blood boiling.
“Good to know. A friend’s waiting for you outside in a black SUV. I’ve got you covered here. His name–” Before he has a chance to even finish saying the name, I'm already walking out the door leaving my badge on the floor with him.
“Curt, I need air. Don’t follow.” He sits back down with a confused look on his face. I may be willing to risk my career to save them but risking a friend’s career isn’t something I'm willing to do.
Stepping out the hotel door, I spot the black SUV sitting in front. As the window rolls down, I notice the person behind the wheel. The smirk he gives me makes me clench my fist.
I swear to the gods Kai talks about that this fucker in front of me better not have taken my girls. I’ll murder him with my bare hands if he did.
“Conti.”
“Roman, what the fuck's going on? Please tell me your fucking guys didn’t kidnap them!” I roar.
“No, amigo. But I know who did and what we need to do to get them back. Come, we have no time to waste.”
Roman begins to tell me who has my girls and why. Anger fills my veins and the lines between the right and wrong side of the law fades even more.
Ten
CRYSTAL
I glance down at Mads who’s asleep on my lap. It took a bit, but she finally calmed down enough for me to have her lay down. Her head is laying right by where my child’s now growing. My eyes move back to the couple, Jeff and Katrina, who are sitting across from me. Disbelief is still ringing in my head at seeing them.
The couple in front of me are Conti and Maddison’s parents.
“Why?” is all I can say at the moment. I want to know why they sold out their children and what they hope to gain from it.
“We owe them money and then we saw Vigo on TV,” it takes me a minute to remember that’s Conti’s first name. “We knew he would do anything to get that little shit on your lap back. So we thought about having her kidnapped for ransom. But James came up with a much better plan.” The sick smile that's on Jeff’s face when he says the last sentence has me tensing up.
The ropes that were in the guy's hand flash in my mind. Shouting started shortly after he left, which led to more screaming from Maddison. Finally, she settled and then knocked out.
“What plan is that?” I ask in a calm voice. Hoping I can get information from him.
“Oh, he made a call–”
“Hush it, Jeff. James wouldn’t like you telling his secret too soon,” Katrina shrieks. “I don’t want this deal blown. Just think of the money we’re getting, and keep your mouth shut.”
The two begin to argue and my hope for information goes right out the window.
The loud bang from above has me snapping out of my daze and causes Maddison to jump. Gathering her up in my arms, I start rubbing her back again trying to soothe her as best I can.
“No, the deal is that I see the product. You know how this works, James.” A man that I don’t recognize yells out from behind the door that leads out of the basement. “Where are the girls?”
The door bursts open and the guy from earlier fills the entryway. Behind him stands a man that has a face that draws me in. When my eyes meet his, all I see is nothing but black emptiness. The hair on my neck stands up and I get a feeling I’m not going to like what’s about to happen.
“Oh, look, Jeff. It’s pay day!” Katrina exclaims and jumps up from where she's sitting. “James, can we get what we came here for now?”
“Sit the fuck down before I kill you both!” James raises his gun toward the couple.
“Now, Ted. How much for both of them?” James points at Maddison and me.
Ted turns his lifeless eyes to mine and observes the way I’m holding Mads. Her cries seem louder now that it’s dead silent in the room. After a tense minute, he smirks then winks at me. Dread fills me as I figure out what’s happening.
“Half a million.” The yells of excitement from Jeff and Katrina fade from the background when Ted looks back at me. “The young one, if she doesn’t calm down will find herself dead.”
“No,” the scream is ripped out of me before I can stop it. I won’t let them kill Maddison. They'll have to kill me first.
“The older one . . . well she has spirit. They’re always the funnest ones to break.”
CONTI
Two hours prior . . .
“What the fuck did you just say?” My eyes are glued to Roman’s face as he drives down the strip heading to where the girls are being held. I swear he just stated that my drug addicted parents are the ones responsible for the kidnapping. Along with the help of their drug dealer.
“I know you heard what I said. When I got the call saying that they were looking to sell off two women, and I found out that their last name was Conti . . . well, you can imagine my shock. Kai contacted me right before I could call you, asking if I heard anything on the streets. He told me I needed to get my ass to the hotel with a plan to rescue them.”
Roman’s part of the Mexican mafia and has been working with the FBI for a while now. We met in Kansas City. He was the key factor in saving Len and Sara when they were picked up to be sold into human trafficking. Lucky for us, they called him for the sale. And apparently, lucky for me, he was called again for Crystal and Maddison.
“Which is what?”
“Your parents aren’t going to stop now that they know they could always kidnap her again to gain money. They're in deep debt with James, and he isn’t going to allow it to just go away. James also isn’t going to let Crystal and Maddison go since they now know too much in his eyes.” When he stops at a red light he turns to me. “It's time to cross those lines you normally obey, lawman.”
“Give me the game plan and stop fucking around, Roman. I want my girls.” My voice must show how fucking pissed I am at the fact that he isn’t hurrying up. “Crystal’s fucking pregnant for God's sake. There are three that . . .” I can’t even finish my sentence. I refuse to believe that I’ll lose them.
“You will stay in the SUV in the back, while I go in. I need to make a call letting him know I’m on my way so he doesn’t get spooked when I just show up. Put this ear piece in.” He hands me the small device. “When I say three . . . get your ass in there.”
“Are you going to be able to go in wired?” I ask, while putting in my ear piece.
“One of my guys is in there with them. He normally is the one who does the pat downs for James. When you get in the house, look for Keith. He’s wearing a ball cap that says Leaving Home. Don’t shoot him.” Taking a deep breath, he reaches under the seat, pulling out a hand gun, and passing it to me as he continues. “I need you to agree not to shoot anyone, Conti.”
“What the fuck do you mean, don’t shoot anyone?”
“There’s a place here that we'll use. We don’t want to leave a trace that will come back on us.” Confusion must be showing on my face as he just chuckles. “Trust me, Dino’s is a great place to kill people.”
“The older one . . . well she has spirit. They’re always the funnest ones to break.” My blood begins to boil with anger as I listen to Ted, or really Roman, say those words about Crystal. Even though he warned me he was going to do it, it still made me want to shoot
him in the ass for saying that shit about my wife.
“Half a million? That’s all you can offer? I was thinking seven hundred and fifty thousand,” a voice drowns out in my ear.
“Really? You want to negotiate with me? You know this never ends well for you, James,” Roman chuckles. “Now the offer’s three hundred thousand.”
Hearing the code, I rush into the house. Keith’s standing by a door and nods at me as I make my way towards him. He passes me a handful of zip ties. As quietly as possible, we start to make our way down the stairs. When I spot my parents, the urge to kill on sight nearly has me blowing our entire plan. However, Maddison’s whimper holds me back, and searching for her and Crystal.
Spotting them in the corner, my heart starts beating again, since it stopped the moment I got the call from Mari. I feel like I can finally breathe. Crystal continues to rub Maddison’s back as she tries keep her as calm as possible. My heart swells with love seeing that she has remained so calm so she could care for Maddison. She’s going to be one hell of a mother to not only Mads, but to our unborn child too.
“Vigo?” my mom whispers causing me to look at her again. “I don’t–”
Startled, James turns toward us, but doesn’t make it halfway around, before Roman’s on him and knocking him out. Keith then descends on my parents. Crystal yells out my name, and I toss the zip ties at Roman and rush to her side.
Holding my girls close, I say a prayer of thanks to God that they're safe and alive. It’s then I realize that your boom isn’t only your soul mate, or your one. It's also the one you love with every bone in your body. That you will cross any line you have to, just to have them in your life.