by KL Donn
“Well, get on with it, old man,” Case announced. “I got more meds to take.”
“You associate yourself with drug people? Such a disgrace.” Bradshaw shook his head in shame at them.
“You son of a bitch!” She started to run at him, but Dom caught her around the waist before she could get more than a foot away.
“Not yet, Princess,” he heard Dom mutter.
Hearing sirens in the distance, Bradshaw and his bodyguards looked startled and slightly worried. Dom asked, “You got permits for those weapons?”
“You’re gonna be someone’s prison bitch, Englishman!” Case sang.
His lips were getting loose.
“So crass. We’ll be leaving now,” Bradshaw announced.
“Good idea,” Dom told him.
“I’ll be in touch about what you owe me, Deidre. This is far from over,” was his parting shot. They loaded up and left before the county sheriff could get there and question them or arrest them on whatever Dom could have thought up to make stick.
“Oh, shit.” Case could feel himself falling over, the ground coming up on him faster than he could catch himself. “That hurt,” he grumbled from the dirt.
After a week of nothing happening, Case was unsurprised when Dom got a call from Dee asking about someone being at the house only to discover Brooke was there. For sure, he figured his friend’s head was about to explode in rage.
When she put him on the phone with Jax so she could deal with Brooke, he wanted to laugh at the look on Dom’s face; he really did. Figuring it’d probably end with him dead, he bit his tongue.
They careened into the driveway ten minutes later just as Jaxson’s mother was peeling away from the house. Before the truck was even in park, Dom had his door opened and ready to go to his woman. Case watched in envy as Dom pulled her into his arms, giving her shit and relishing in the fact that she was safe at the same time.
He wanted what they had. Craved it like a junky needing his next fix. Someone to love and to love him in return was something Casey had wanted secretly for as long as he could remember. Everyone thought he was this fun-loving jokester, but he was deeper than that. His loneliness was hidden behind his humor. It was how he stayed sane.
Watching Dee and Jax go into the house, he walked up to Dom saying, “I don’t trust that bitch one lick, man.”
“Me neither.”
“She’s up to something. And not just this custody bullshit.”
“I know.”
“So what the fuck are we gonna do about it?” he demanded to know.
“Have Larry tail her. Dig up everything you can on her in the last five years. I wanna know where she’s been, who she’s been working for, and what kind of oatmeal she ate for breakfast. Get me everything,” Dom told him coldly, walking towards the house…towards his life.
“You want me to call the Black brothers?” he asked before Dom could go inside.
“Not yet. Give it a few days, and if we can’t find out what she’s doing here, then I will.”
“You got it, bossman.”
He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that shit was going to hit the fan sooner than either of them thought. Pulling his cell from his pocket, he began the short walk to his home with the phone to his ear.
Two rings later, and it was answered. “Black,” was snapped at him as Creed replied.
“It’s Case. Need you out here.”
There was a slight pause before he asked, “Deidre?”
“Yup,” was all he needed to say knowing Creed would work his magic and be on his way.
Bang bang bang.
Jolting up, it took Casey a minute to orient himself.
Bang bang bang.
“Casey!” Dom’s pissed off voice penetrated the walls of his small house.
Bang bang bang.
Did it sound angrier?
“Shit, guess he knows,” he mumbled, pulling the sock for his stump on over his knee.
“Casey! Get the fuck up!”
“Hold your dick, fucker. I gotta put a fucking limb on!” He knew that’d shut Dom up for about a minute before he started pounding again.
Finally getting his leg situated, he made it to the door just in time to almost get knocked in the face. “Woo, man, cool your jets. Not everyone’s able to hop out bed without putting themselves together first.”
“You fucking called Creed,” he points out.
Duh.
“Why the fuck did you do that?”
“Dude, I know you got this shit, but you need help. More than I’ve been able to find, and more than you’ve been able to handle. Those two assholes are fucking working together, and I can’t find out how. So yeah, I fucking called Creed.” He defended himself, knowing he was right but that Dom might not see it that way.
Watching as Dom scrubbed a frustrated hand down his face, his anger and fear were easy to see. Casey might not have anything in his life nearly as important as Dee and Jax, but he knew damn well that if anything were to happen to either of them, he’d be just as devastated as Dom. They were his family. Probably the only one he’d ever have.
“It’ll be all right man. We’ll get this shit figured out, and they’ll be safe; I swear it.” He reassured his friend.
“And what if it isn’t, Case? What if they take my family from me, huh? Then what? What the fuck am I supposed to do?”
He had no answer to that because what could anyone do? It was the biggest fear they both had. Losing those two precious beings wasn’t an option, and he’d put his own life on the line to make sure that shit didn’t happen.
They spent most of the night going over possible scenario’s—what to dos, what not to dos, and Case kept coming back to the same thing.
Bait.
They needed to flush Bradshaw out, make him come to them.
Only one problem… Dom wouldn’t go for his suggestion.
“Dominic,” he called out for what felt like the fiftieth time, “it’s our only chance. She’s the only thing he wants.”
“No, Casey. I won’t fucking say it again.” There was a finality to his voice that he knew he had to keep pushing through.
“If it were anyone else, you’d do the same fucking thing, Dom, and you know it.” He turned his back, hiding from the truth in Casey’s words. “You can’t hide her forever, Dom,” he tried to reason again.
“I can fucking damn well try,” his friend half-yelled back.
“Look, all I’m saying is maybe we use her. I mean Bradshaw wants something from her, and we haven’t a fucking clue what that is. What if she contacts him? Pretends like she’s doing it without you knowing, then BAM! We trap the sucker. Find out what it is, then decide whether he lives or dies. Though, I gotta say I’m thinking the latter ‘cause dude, he’s a fucking waste of skin.”
“You talk too fucking much, Case.”
“But you’re thinking about it,” he said triumphantly.
“I’ll do it.” A soft voice called from the entryway.
“Oh, hell fucking no,” Dom growled, walking towards Dee. “You’re not,” he told her. Looking to Case with a death glare, he said to him, “You’re dead.” There was menace in Dom’s voice that kept him quiet.
“But if it gets him out of our lives?” She was trying to reason with him. Good girl.
“No.”
“Dominic, you know it’s the only way.”
“No,” he repeated.
“You’re starting to sound like a broken record, man.” Casey laughed.
“Fuck you,” Dom spat.
“Dominic, I can’t just sit here and keep waiting. What if the next time, he actually hurts Jaxson?”
“The answer is no. There’s more at play than you know,” Dom finally confessed to her.
“What else is there?” she asked timidly.
Sighing, Case could hear the regret in Dom’s voice. “Brooke has had her eyes on me for a while. When she
found out about you, she went searching for Bradshaw.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t have all of the particulars yet,” Dom explained. “Creed’s coming in today. Should be here anytime actually.”
“Creed’s coming?”
She perked up at Creed’s name. Interesting, he thought in amusement as Dom carried her up to their room.
Looking to Jax, he watched as the boy took in what his parents might be doing, and why his dad lifted Deidre from the room the way he had.
“Daddy wooked mad,” he commented still staring.
“No bud, Dad’s worried.” How to explain what was happening to a three-year-old?
“Why?”
Case was a bit speechless for probably the first time in years. He had no clue how to explain what was going on. Channeling his inner three-year-old, he decided to keep it simple. “You know how your dad’s pretty awesome?”
Jax finally came to sit beside him at the table. “Yeah.”
“Well, some people have not so nice dads–“
“Wike Henwy Baker? His daddy yells at him at the feed store.”
“Yeah, sort of like that. Well, that’s how Deedee’s dad is. He’s not a nice man, and so she wants nothing to do with him.” Seems simple enough.
“But what if he just wants to be wiff her so he can be nice?” Maybe not.
“I’m afraid he’s not like that, bud,” Case told him quietly, not wanting to say too much more without Dom here to help explain better.
“He hits her?”
“I don’t know, bud.”
He was about to say more when the front door rang. “Saved by the bell,” he murmured getting up to answer.
Creed’s mug on the other side was a welcome relief.
“Hey man, how the hell are ya?” Creed asked shaking Case’s hand and pulling him in for a half-hug.
“Good. How was the flight?”
“Too fucking long. Linc wasn’t with me this time, so I didn’t have to worry about him trying to kill a handsy steward. Definitely not as bad as it could have been.” Laughter rang through his words.
“Care to explain?” Case asked, wanting to know what the hell had happened.
“Another time, man. We’ve gotta hurry if Dom wants this wrapped up quickly.”
As Case led the way to the kitchen, he debated on going upstairs to interrupt them, but he knew Dom would need as much strength as possible for what was to come. And the best way to get that was from the love of his woman.
It was finally time.
As soon as Dee made the call after more arguing with Dom, Creed’s team began to get in place. They were set up around the farm and on buildings further away to make sure nothing went wrong. Dom was positioned in a field across the road so he would have eyes on everything at all times. It was the only way they were able to get him to agree.
The horse barn was the largest and nearest building to the house, so that was where Case and another man were perched on top with only a tree in the way, which also helped to give them cover. Creed and his man Ace were on the ground of the barn for quick access to Dee should anything go wrong.
“Showtime,” Case whispered into their coms as he saw multiple SUVs roll up the highway at high speed.
“It’s them,” Dom confirmed as they turned down the gravel drive leading towards the house and where Dee stood on the front lawn.
“Keep calm, girl.” Case tried to implore his will onto her, acknowledging how nervous she must have been feeling.
They watched as she exchanged heated words with Bradshaw as he strived to blame her for her mom’s misdeeds.
A ringing had her father pulling his phone out and holding it to his ear for a quick chat before he instructed her to call Dom.
Case could already feel the knot in his stomach. He knew something was wrong. Tapping his ear mic twice, he whispered to Creed, “Something’s gone wrong.”
“I can feel it,” he confirmed.
“Fuck.” Case wanted to yell. He knew Dom would want to rush in and save the day, but they couldn’t. Things were now firmly in Bradshaw’s hands, and they were fucked six ways from Sunday if the whispered conversation between Dom and Dee was anything to go by.
They watched in horror as a few minutes later, Deidre hopped in the backseat of one of the SUVs without a fight. “What the fuck is going on?” he whispered just as his phone rang. “What the fuck just happened?” he demanded of Dom.
“We were fucking naïve, that’s what. We had all these men here with us when we should have had some with Jaxson. Brooke’s fucking got him.” The emotion in Dom’s voice was so poignant it hurt.
“That bitch is good as dead,” he snapped. He should have gotten rid of her ass in the supermarket. Creed signaled him that he had his men in motion. “Creed’s calling everyone back in now. Two guys are tailing the SUVs from the fields on horseback—don’t ask, you don’t need to know.”
“Have someone at the airport, too. Did Creed find out where he was staying?”
“He’s got two possible places for the prick and is sending two men to each now,” he explained as Creed was writing everything down for him to relay to Dom. “We’ll get them both. Fucking believe it, or you’re useless to us.”
“You a fucking mind reader now?” The bite in Dom’s tone told of his distress. He needed to turn into the soldier he used to be. This version of himself would be less than useless if he couldn’t lock it down, and Case knew he was struggling. “If they lose eyes on her, I want to know immediately.”
“You got it, boss,” he responded, hanging up and running full-speed to the house.
“What the fuck happened!” Dom screamed as he slammed through the house. “How the fuck did he know where Jaxson was?”
Million fucking dollar question.
“Mother...fucker! Case, Creed, come here,” Dom called to them as he walked back outside.
“What’s up?” Creed asked looking as pissed off as they all felt.
“The day we brought Case home, Bradshaw was here waiting. I should have fucking checked sooner. What if he bugged the place?” he questioned. “We didn’t think to check. The alarm was on, and nothing was noticeably out of place. Fuck!”
Fuck.
Casey was so doped up he barely remembered the encounter. Had they not been trying to take care of him, Dom might have thought to look for it. This entire fiasco could have been avoided if not for him, and that guilt was beginning to weigh heavily on him.
“Yo, Ace!” Creed called to one of his guys.
“Yeah?” he answered walking over to them. He was a huge guy, standing over six feet and packed with more muscle than Case had seen on a man in a long fucking time.
“You got your bug detector?”
A smile crept over his face. “Oh yeah.”
“Get it,” Creed demanded.
“You got it, boss.” Ace was gone before anyone could say anything.
“You really think he planted something?” Case asked him.
“I can’t think of another reason why he would know where Jaxson is,” Dom replied absently, watching his phone. Waiting.
A ring tone had everyone jumping into action to check their phones. “Yeah?” Creed answered his. “Good, stay with them. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Hanging up, he looked to Dom. “Your girl’s good,” he smiled. “She knows they’re there, signaled that she knew. She’s waiting, man, and if I had my bet, she’s going to taunt these guys until you get there. You call that other fucking bitch so we can get your son.”
Case could see as Dom visibly wilted knowing that Dee hadn’t given up on them coming for her. With thirty men, there was no reason they couldn’t get both her and Jax.
Clapping his hand on Dom’s shoulder, he gave a reassuring squeeze as Brooke finally called back, and Creed was able to get Dee’s location.
With Dee and Jax located and found to be together, it didn’t take t
hem long to get their gear together and formulate a plan. They’d been shocked to learn Bradshaw was so brazen as to have them smack dab in the middle of Baltimore. But his narcissism probably made him feel superior. As if they couldn’t touch him.
They were about to prove him wrong.
“Yes, Captain, hostage situation. One woman, one little boy.” Case was calling in SWAT from Metro PD while they prepared to enter the hotel.
“You’re sure your men can get this done without incident?” His police contact wasn’t pleased they were going without backup.
“Positive.” Case reiterated, quickly losing his patience with the other man.
“I can’t have you guys tearing up my city, Sergeant,” he complained a-fucking-gain. “Any damages incurred by your men and you will– “
“Are you fucking kidding me right now, Cap? A defenseless woman and child are being held hostage with known drug and gun smugglers. I don’t give a fuck about damage or any other shit, we’re going in. This was just a formal warning. Get the fuck here or get the fuck over it.” Would feel real good to have a phone to slam down right now, he thought bitterly as he hung up. Turning to the group of men he told them, “SWAT’s been called.”
“Hotel’s been evacuated, and they’re none the wiser,” Ace informed them.
“Let’s rock and roll, people!” Case shouted indicating for everyone to get out of the SUVs.
One team headed straight to the roof in case they escaped and went up. One moved to the basement for the same reason. Another would be in the lobby. They had two other teams ascending both staircases on each side of the hotel, where they would meet on the top floor then storm the suite.
Dom and Ace followed directly to the penthouse as Case and Creed led the way. Once there, Creed rammed the door in while tossing two smoke grenades to mask their entry. As soon as they were inside, they could hear coughing and cursing. Creed’s men were already dropping and zip tying Bradshaw’s men before the smoke had even begun to dissipate. The element of surprise was on their side at that point.