“Okay. Talk.” I sound a lot cockier than I feel, but he’s not going to know that. And whoever this is, the fucker is dead.
“You’ll get a message soon. Just follow the instructions.” That’s it, he hangs up, but almost immediately a message comes through, a photo of Mel, Kiara, and Luke on an old bed.
Mel: Mayday! Mayday! Three prisoners waiting!!
FUCK!
I show it to Sean and we stare into each other’s worried eyes when the phone beeps again. I’ve had it with this guy and his fucking ‘mayday’ messages.
Mel: Mayday! Mayday! The wrong twin!!
Another photo, this time of Jackson tied to a chair, his face calm, eyes blazing and I’m sure there’s the slightest hint of a smile on his lips.
Double fuck! This guy has me by the balls and he knows it. Heat rises inside me like hellfire, but it’s not just anger, there’s a fair share of raw-set panic burning with it, trying to blaze free. Gripping my hands into fists, I strike out and hit the metal dustbin next to me, sending it flying a few meters down the parking lot. Grabbing onto the bull-bar again with white knuckles, I bend forward and gag painfully, spitting out onto the ground.
Fucker! Another message appears and taking a deep breath I slowly lift the phone to stare at the little screen, scared shitless at what I might see this time.
Mel: Next instructions at 6 pm.
As soon as we sit inside my pickup I make a phone call.
“Hi, dude.” Judging by his voice tone, Ilkay is still clueless as to the current predicament.
“Ilkay, I need you to get all the boys to your uncle’s house asap! And bring all the bikes. Include your uncle and tell him to call Garcia. I’ll explain later.”
“What the fuck?” He knows it must be serious.
“Bro, just do it. And be careful what you say over the phone, we don’t know who’s listening. It’s a matter of life and death, no fooling around.”
“Fuckit. I’m on it.”
“Oh, and Ilkay, tell your uncle we’re going to need the gear and the hi-tech stuff … that spray he was talking about.”
“Got it. See you in 30.” Next, I phone my father and tell him to get to the meeting spot with my mom and Alejandro. It’s going to be all hands on deck for this one, and my brother has training that will definitely come in useful. Hitting the steering wheel as a fresh swell of rage rises in me, I swallow down my frustration and start the pickup, my mind racing at 200 miles per hour laps in my head.
Sean is dead quiet and I let him be, not in the mood to make small talk. The song on the radio seeps into my looping mind and the words hit me with so much ferocity that I have to gulp for air.
‘Get out your guns, battles begun … Are you a saint, or a sinner?
If loves a fight, then I shall die with my heart on a trigger’
Well, if it’s a war Harry wants, it’s a war he’s going to get … and this time he messed with the wrong fucking family. Together, we have enough demons to fill half of hell and then some, demons he’s personally going to meet face to face. I smile, thinking that he might just have captured the most deadly of the Blackburn brothers as his prisoner. Like I said before, Jackson is a force to be reckoned with and partly crazy. He’s not going to take being captured lightly that’s for sure. And he would not let anything happen to Luke and the girls.
‘They say before you start a war, You better know what you’re fighting for
Well baby, you are all that I adore … If love is what you need, a soldier I will be
I’m an angel with a shotgun, Fighting til’ the wars won … ‘
I know exactly what I’m fighting for – Melaena – the girl I love, the girl I would gladly stop breathing for so she can take another breath. And today I might just have to fulfill that promise, but she’s worth it. My mind drifts again … the guy’s voice … I’ve heard it before, but where?
‘Don’t you know you’re everything I have? And I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight’
If all ends well tonight, my life is going to begin, I’m going to stop surviving and start living. I’m going to ask Mel to marry me. As soon as I can.
I pull the velvet box from my pocket and throw it in the glove compartment.
I stop at the house, seeing the bikes parked out front … meaning the guys are already waiting for me inside.
My focus moves to the black SUVs pulling in, Garcia gets out covered by at least a dozen bodyguards. Then Mom and Dad arrive with Alejandro, Noah, and Jesse. My brother puts an arm around my shoulder as we walk inside. Everybody looks at me with worried, stressed eyes, nothing of the usual playful, cockiness in sight, so I fall with the truth right through the door.
“It seems Kiara, Mel, Luke, and Jackson have all been kidnapped by Harry.” All the eyes change to anger and frustration – everyone in the room has a lot to lose.
“They will send us instructions at six, so we have just a few hours to come up with a fool-prove plan.” I send my phone around so they can see the photos.
“Fucking bastards! Again Jackson in my place.” Enrique’s fist hits the wooden wall and he starts walking up and down.
“Why take Luke?” Ilkay speculates and I think he might have a point. My father was not part of any of this … so why take Luke?
Unless … he knows who his real father is … but not even Garcia knows so how can he?
“Guys, maybe I can shed some light on that. I’ve found out a few things that might be useful,” Garcia grabs all of our attention and we circle around the heavy dark-wood table.
Mom gets busy in the kitchen and starts making snacks and coffee. I know it’s her way of keeping her mind occupied.
“Harry sent me a message earlier, he wants me to do two things – I must officially appoint his son, Darren, in my place, and I must surrender myself to him.”
“So are you going to give Harry what he wants?” Enrique asks.
Garcia’s eyes flicker with something that I’m not sure I want to analyze. He has the same cold-blooded look you can sometimes find in Jackson’s eyes.
I once watched a series about serial killers, and they mentioned killer-eyes – a look a person gets after killing someone … not accidentally but with intent. They describe it as a cold, pitiless, inhuman glare that shows nothing but a brutal, apathetic, harsh, dark soul.
After each death I’ve caused, I looked in the mirror for that look.
And I’ve seen it … not yet on me – on Jackson … now Garcia … and … my brother.
“I have to pretend at least, else he’s going to kill Luke,” Garcia says quickly glancing at my father.