Boss Me Sweetly

by Cameron Hart

  I barely make it to the couch in time before my legs give out, unable to carry the weight of my body any longer. I put my head between my legs in an attempt to control my breathing. Fuck, the adrenaline is spiking my heartrate making me lightheaded but also ready to pounce and kill a motherfucker.

  “Get your shit together, you need to find her,” I tell myself.

  Taking a deep breath, I call Declan, needing someone here to talk some sense into me and help me come up with a plan.

  Thirty minutes later, Declan walks into my living room. Okay, more like storms in. He seems to breathe a sigh of relief when he sees me.

  “Fuck, Cooper, I couldn’t understand half of what you said over the phone, I had no idea if you were dying or what,” he growls. I know he’s not truly angry, though, just worried.

  I don’t have it in me to apologize, because it feels like I’m dying, not knowing where my kitten is. “It’s Sienna. She’s gone,” I grit out, the words digging into my already broken heart, making me wince.

  “She left you?”

  “No, she was taken. I’m sure of it.”

  “Her mom?”

  I nod in confirmation. “I have no proof, but I feel it. She’s in danger. She’s not answering her phone and hasn’t contacted me for hours. I have no fucking clue where to even start looking for her. I’m really fucking messed up right now, please just… I don’t even fucking know.”

  “Ok, alright, brother, take a breath. You’re no use to her if you pass the fuck out from hyperventilating.”

  I glare at him but try taking in more deep breaths.

  “Hey,” Declan says more softly. “I get it. When Luna disappeared on me, I lost my fucking mind. We’ll find Sienna, ok?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I nod, trying to believe him.

  “Ok. So let’s think of places her mom could be keeping her. The bakery, maybe? It’s empty right now, right? Maybe check hotels nearby too. We can contact the airport, in case they fly out.”

  “That’s good. Yeah. I’ll go to the bakery. You check out hotels.” I launch myself off the couch, energized now that I have a plan.

  “Hold up. You shouldn’t go alone. What if that Derek guy is as much of a loose cannon as Sienna said he is? What if they have a gun? You need backup. And someone should stay here in case she comes back home.”

  If I weren’t still on the verge of a panic attack, I’d take time to appreciate the fact that he referred to my place as her home. As it is, I need to get the fuck out of here and do something to get my sweetness back in my arms where she belongs.

  “So what are you suggesting?”

  “I think we need to call Ash and have him stay here and make calls to airports and hotels. You know he has some connections that might get him more information than we could get on our own.”

  “Do you think he’d do that for me?”

  “Fuck yeah. He might me jaded and cold, but he’s your brother. We’ll convince him.”

  I reluctantly agree and get out my phone. Declan grabs it from me, earning him a growl.

  “You’re a mess right now,” Declan says. “Asher is not going to respond to that. Let me talk to him.”

  “Hurry up,” I grunt.

  “Why don’t you go change out of your suit and get into something more appropriate for kicking ass while I handle this phone call. You know I don’t do well with micromanagement.”

  I grunt my agreement and change my clothes as quickly as possible. I force air into my lungs before I go back out to the living room with Declan. He’s right, I need to calm down so I can think clearly enough to find Sienna. “Hang on, kitten. I’m coming,” I whisper into the universe, hoping she somehow hears it, feels it, wherever she is.

  “Well?” I say to Declan, a little more forcefully than I mean to. I can’t help it. Every minute we stay here is another minute Sienna is unsafe, unprotected.

  “Asher is on his way. He’ll be here in ten minutes.”

  “Ten? He lives at least twenty minutes away.”

  Declan shrugs. “I told him it was urgent and that a life was at stake.”

  “Thanks,” I say, utterly surprised that not only did Asher agree to help out, but he seems to realize the importance of this situation.

  I’m pacing back and forth by the time Ash shows up. My muscles are tense, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides. Asher eyes me up and down, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes. I know I’m his least favorite brother, seeing as I have a sense of humor and never took dad too seriously. I don’t think he hates me, by any means. In fact, sometimes I think he’s a little jealous that I have the ability to detach from the job, that I’m not wholly identified by following dad’s footsteps.

  “What do you need from me?” He asks in the same, cool tone he uses with everyone. His eyes betray his voice however. I can tell he cares. Why else would he show up?

  “Stay here in case Sienna shows up. Call the airport, find out if there’s a flight booked for—”

  Before I get a chance to finish that sentence, my phone beeps with an email notification. My first instinct is to ignore it. Obviously I have more important things going on than whatever is happening with work. But it’s almost seven at night, which is a weird time to be getting work emails. Something compels me to check it.

  “Seriously? I thought this was an emergency,” Asher says, clearly not enthused with my decision.

  He changes his tone when he sees me start to shake, the color draining from my face. The subject line is simply, Save Sienna.

  “What is it?” Asher asks at the same time as Declan.

  I’m unable to form words, but I motion for them to look at my phone with me as I open the email with trembling hands. There’s a video attachment that immediately makes my stomach sour. I don’t even read the contents of the email, I just click on the video, fearing the worst.

  What I see will forever be burned into my brain. Sienna bound and gagged while some woman in a mask, I’m assuming her mom, strikes her on the face. I tighten my grip on my phone and grit my teeth. Declan pries the phone out of my hand before I crush it. He holds it out so we can all see the rest of the video.

  I watch in abject horror as my worst nightmare plays out on the tiny phone screen. Sienna rolls on her back and I see her arm twist at an unnatural angle. Her muffled scream almost does me in, but I have to see the rest of it.

  A surge of pride mixes with the fear and adrenaline when I see her fight back. She tries kicking her mother. Her fight doesn’t last long, though. Her mom crunches a heel down on Sienna’s foot. From the restrained scream and tears flooding her eyes, I can tell the bitch probably broke something.

  “Jesus Christ,” Asher grunts. I’d agree, but I can’t say anything. I can’t even breathe.

  My kitten shows her claws once again, headbutting her mom right in the face. Sienna is so fucking strong, fighting through her injuries.

  “Thatta girl,” Declan mumbles. Despite the circumstances, my lip twitches upwards at his comment.

  Her mom steps out of the frame, and then a large man, I’m assuming Derek, manhandles her and grumbles some threat in her ear. When he releases her, the duct tape is off of her lips, revealing red marks on her beautiful face where the tape was savagely ripped away.

  My kitten looks right at the camera, and fuck, she doesn’t look scared or in pain. She looks fierce and determined.

  “Don’t listen to them, Cooper, don’t give in to their demands—”

  Derek smacks her so hard she falls over. I snarl and squeeze my fists tightly, so I can feel my nails biting the skin. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’m going to kill him. I know it. He’s living on borrowed time.

  He pulls her up by her hair and grips her throat before looking into the camera. “Five hundred million dollars, Cooper Knight. Wired to the account number attached in the email. If we don’t hear from you by tomorrow morning…”

  I watch as Sienna’s face g
rows red and then purple as his fingers tighten around her neck. She goes limp and he tosses her to the ground. The screen goes black.

  My thoughts are all over the fucking place, so much so I can’t even form words. I want to tear this whole goddamn city apart until I find her. Then I’m locking her away with me and never letting her out of my sight again.

  “Coop,” Asher’s voice pierces through my thoughts. His tone is firm, but it’s the underlying compassion that pulls me back from the edge.

  I look at him and see a fierceness in his eyes, but for once it’s not directed at me for being an annoying little shit. I see loyalty and a protective streak a mile wide in his gaze as it bores down on me. That mask of cold indifference he always wears slips a bit, letting me see a glimpse of his humanity.

  There’s hope for you yet, Ash.

  “I know where she is,” Asher says. His words are too shocking to believe at first. “It’s one of the properties I looked at a while ago when we were considering expanding the New York branch into Brooklyn. The neighborhood was slated to have extensive upgrades, and the property was a good price, but the building was gutted and needed far more work than it was worth. The funding project for the neighborhood got cut shortly after…”

  I glare at him, making it perfectly clear I don’t give a fuck how he knows about the building. “Let’s go there right fucking now!” I growl, storming towards the elevator once again.

  Ash grabs my arm, halting my progress. “Be smart about this. We can’t just barge in there and crack skulls. They’re not going to kill her if they think they’re getting money from you. She’s their only leverage.”

  “Typical Asher, always thinking about the bottom line. Sienna is a fucking warrior, but she’s broken and bleeding and terrified and I refuse to leave her like for another second,” I growl.

  “Damnit, Cooper!” Ash yells. “I’m trying to help. All I’m saying is if you storm in there all amped up and without a game plan, you could very well be killed, thus ensuring more harm will come to Sienna.”

  “Plus, don’t you want them to pay for what they’ve done?” Declan adds. “We have to get the cops involved.”

  “It’ll take too long. I could be halfway there by now, just shut up and let me go!”

  Asher and Declan exchange a look. “We’re going with you,” Asher says in an authoritative voice. “Declan will call the police and tell them the situation. We’ll probably get there before them, but they will be there soon enough and they can deal with those degenerates while you get your girl.”

  “You’d really do that for me?” I ask. I expect something like this from Declan, but not Ash. He nods once and then turns on his heel and heads towards the elevator.

  Asher drives us on my Lambo to a neighborhood in Brooklyn that looks like it was in the process of being gentrified before funds ran out. I suppose I heard him say something to that effect earlier, but I wasn’t super paying attention. Declan calls the police and tips them off to the location and the situation. Ash pulls the car into the parking lot of a new apartment building and I give him an odd look. Surely this can’t be the same place as the video.

  “Don’t want to tip them off. Your car is a bit… flashy,” Asher explains. At any other time, I’d think his comment on my car was funny. He’s always hated it and tells me all the time what a waste of money it is.

  We get out and Asher leads the way down one block off the main road and across the street. I can’t tell from the outside if it’s the same place from the video, but it looks just as rundown and tetanus-ridden, so there’s that.

  “I think they have her in the basement,” Asher whispers as we walk quietly along the back wall of the abandoned building. “I recognized the pipes. They are a hideous orange color and I cannot imagine why anyone—” He stops talking when Declan nudges him, reminding him once again that no one gives a fuck right now how he knew about the building.

  We turn the corner and see a rusted metal door propped open by a rotting chunk of plywood.

  Declan bends down and pics up a large rock. I quirk an eyebrow up at him until I realize he means to use it as a weapon. I search around the junkyard of sorts surrounding the building and pick up a discarded crowbar. Ash follows suit, finding what appears to be a long extension cord. I give him a look and he shrugs.

  “I’d rather restrain the mom instead of knocking her out with my fists, even if she is a monster. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel right hitting a woman, ever,” he explains.

  I nod in understanding, glad that someone is thinking through things enough to make some sort of sense.

  We approach the door, which looks like it was pried open crudely with the very same crowbar I have in my hands. We enter the building silently, though I’m positive my brothers can hear my heart cracking my ribs open with how hard it’s pounding.

  It all happens so fast.

  One minute we’re descending the stairs into a dimly lit basement, and the next minute all hell breaks loose. There’s a hand around my neck, one that could only belong to Derek. I’m slammed against the wall, but I’m able to take a swing with the crowbar. It hits him in the kneecap and he crumples to the floor, crying like the weak-ass motherfucker he is. I stomp kick him in the face for good measure, breaking his nose and knocking him out.

  I hear a shrill scream pierce the air and snap my head to the side to see Ash and Declan wrestling with Sienna’s mom. She claws Declan, but he pulls her wrist away and wrenches it behind her back while Ash ties her up.

  I drop the crowbar with a loud clang and run farther into the dank basement in search of Sienna. When I see her slumped on the floor in the corner of the room, I run to her and drop to my knees. I see her chest moving up and down, so I know she’s alive. Thank fuck.

  My eyes roam over her tiny body, taking in the damage. I want to wrap her up in my arms and squeeze her tightly into my chest, but I know she’s in a lot of pain and I don’t want to hurt her more.

  Reaching out, I gently brush her dark hair away from her delicate face. She’s covered in bruises, the side of her head has a large cut, and her bottom lip is swollen and bloody. Rage boils up inside of me and I am torn between staying here with my kitten and returning to Derek and ending him for good. Ultimately, my desire to be near Sienna wins out.

  I search around for something sharp to cut the zip tie from around her wrists. For the first time in my life, I regret not being that guy who carries around a pocket knife. I find a piece of glass and carefully wedge it between Sienna’s soft skin and the zip tie. In one swift move, the restraint falls away, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see I didn’t cut her in the process.

  She looks so uncomfortable laying on her side with her arms still behind her back. Slowly, so slowly, I move her good arm and pull her into my lap. I resist the urge to hug her close, settling for at least being able to touch her.

  Sienna mumbles something and then her eyes flutter open. God, those eyes of hers. Despite everything going on around us, I can’t help but get completely lost in them. I see disbelief, pain, and overwhelming relief wash over her as her gorgeous eyes fill up with tears. She tries to sit up but winces against the pain in her shoulder. Or maybe her foot. Or maybe her head. Fuck, she’s hurting from so many wounds and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it right now.

  “Don’t move, sweetness,” I tell her in the most calming voice I can muster considering there’s a lump in my throat and I feel my own eyes filling up with tears.

  “Cooper?” She whimpers, her voice all scratchy. It sounds like it hurts for her to even talk. “Are you really here?”

  “Shhh, baby, you’re ok. Don’t talk if it hurts. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You’re ok now, kitten.”

  “Sir, we’ve got it from here,” a male voice booms from behind me. I was so caught up in having my Sienna with me again, I didn’t even notice the police showed up as well as an EMT crew.

  I don’t want to let her go, but I know she needs medical at
tention. Reluctantly, I let the man and his partner, a middle-aged woman, take over. The woman crouches down in front of us, not moving her just yet, and asks what hurts. Sienna answers as best she can, and I fill in what I can from what I saw in the video.

  “I’m so sorry, honey, this is going to hurt. I need to move you onto the stretcher now so we can carry you upstairs,” the woman says.

  “No, no, no…” Sienna whimpers. “Cooper…”

  “I’m right here, sweetness. Right here.” I turn to the lady who has the stretcher ready, the male EMT standing next to her. “Can I lift her? She’s already in my arms.”

  “Go ahead. Sam here will help you,” she says, nodding towards her partner.

  Sienna winces as silent tears pour down her bruised cheeks. She doesn’t make a sound though, trying to be brave. We get her strapped into the stretcher, Sienna’s eyes never leaving mine.

  “I’m right here, baby,” I reassure her as I follow them up the stairs. It takes every fucking thing in me not to rip it from their hands and carry her to safety myself, but I remind myself these two know more than I do about this stuff, and their goal is to make sure she gets the treatment she needs as quickly as possible. I don’t want to fuck that up by being a caveman.

  I float through the next few hours. It feels like one excruciating thing after another for Sienna. One of the EMT’s pops her shoulder back into place, explaining they needed to get the bone back in its socket before the joint swells so much she’ll require surgery. Some of the pain subsides once her shoulder is set. Next is her foot, which thankfully doesn’t require surgery. They had to set her bones back in place there too, which was a hundred times more agonizing than her shoulder, even after a few shots to numb the pain. They set her up with a boot to go with the sling she’ll be wearing to prevent her from moving her arm too much while her shoulder is healing. The doctors ruled out a brain bleed, but my sweetness has a nasty concussion, which means no heavy-duty pain meds since they thin the blood and could cause bigger issues.