“The only way to smoke Aldo out is by forcing him to see that we will destroy everything unless he hands Davey over,” Brendan growled.
“And what if you’re just pissing him off? The more property of his you destroy, the more people you kill…what if he just decides to do something…to hurt our son to teach you a lesson?” I hissed.
Brendan glared at me, with rage pouring out of every inch of his skin. I challenged him with my eyes.
“Okay, so why don’t I do what the cops are doing? Nothing. Maybe I should just kick back and relax. Wait for Aldo to get bored of Davey in, I don’t know, a couple of months with any luck.”
“I think you’re not thinking straight because of…your history.”
Brendan’s shoulders heaved. I knew I made him madder. It wasn’t helping my case. Just when things had started to improve for us, I made it worse. But I had to say something.
“You’re making this about what happened to your brother. It’s a cruel coincidence that this is happening to your son too, but don’t you think you need to think about this calmly? Rationally?”
Brendan’s mouth was set in a bitter firm line. I was afraid he would lash out. Punch a wall. Break my table.
He opened his mouth to say something but his phone rang again. We both looked at each other and then he grabbed it and answered the call.
“What?” he growled.
I couldn’t sit still. Every time the phone rang I expected the worst news. It reduced me to tears and I had to do everything in my power to not break down again.
Brendan’s eyes narrowed as he listened to the caller’s voice. I didn’t know what was being said, but by the look on his face, it seemed that he was intrigued.
“Where are you?” he asked. When his eyes met mine, I noticed the look of relief.
What did it mean? I jumped up in anticipation and he ended the call.
Slowly, he slipped the phone into his pocket, looking at me.
“What? What’s going on? Please, tell me!”
“Someone has him. Some chick called. She said she works for Aldo but managed to escape with Davey. She wants us to go pick them up. Our son is safe,” Brendan replied and I fell to the floor with tears of joy.
Twenty-Eight
Brendan
Rosalie insisted on going with us to meet the girl and Davey. This time I knew I had no chance of leaving her behind. She was determined to be there to see her son. Our son.
I called Tristian and gave him the location the girl had given me. Even though it seemed genuine, I knew there was still a chance this was all a hoax. Maybe Aldo just wanted me alone where he could make me pay for all the destruction I had caused that night. And if that was the case, then I was driving Rosalie right into the mouth of the beast.
Rosalie and I sat in silence while I drove us out of town. The location the girl had given me was that of an abandoned barn. Apparently she was hiding out there with Davey for over an hour and she wasn’t sure how much longer she had before the Barons found her.
“Brendan…” Rosalie began to say. I glanced at her and then stared back at the road.
Things seemed too complicated between us now. Neither of us seemed to know the right thing to say.
“I’m sorry about what I said back there at the apartment,” she continued in a soft voice.
I kept driving in silence. Maybe she was sorry, but she meant what she said. And I had to grudgingly admit to myself that there was some truth to it. There was always a chance that Aldo would lose his shit when he realized he was losing the battle.
“Did you hear what I said, Brendan? I’m sorry for doubting you and questioning your system. You have clearly been in this…business…long enough to know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t know everything,” I snarled bitterly.
“You were and you still are doing everything you can to bring Davey back. I was just frustrated. I didn’t know what was happening. We hadn’t…” Her voice quivered, she was upset, she was embarrassed. But she didn’t have to be.
“Rosalie,” I said firmly and she looked at me pleadingly. “Stop apologizing to me. You had an opinion and you voiced it. Stop apologizing for having an opinion,” I said.
She looked shocked at first and then a soft smile emerged on her face. She drew in a deep breath and then nodded.
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” she said so softly that I barely heard it.
That brought a smile to my face too.
We arrived at the barn at the same time that Tristian pulled up. Rosalie leapt out of the car in an attempt to go running into the barn and find Davey.
“Hold her back while I go check out the place,” I said to Tristian.
“No! I want to go in with you!” Rosalie screamed. Tristian grabbed her by the arm while I started to walk away.
I didn’t clearly hear what he told her, but it seemed effective. Rosalie stopped fighting him and trying to come after me.
I trained my gun forward while I slid open the barn door.
“Hello? Davey?” I shouted.
That was when I heard a sob. It unmistakably belonged to a small boy.
“Davey! It’s Brendan. Where are you kiddo?” I shouted.
Inside the barn it was pitch-black. It seemed like there weren’t even any windows there to let a dot of light in.
“Brendan Doherty?” A female voice called out.
“Come towards me, keep your hands up,” I shouted, swinging the gun in every direction. “Davey, come towards me, kiddo.”
He came running out of the dark when I least expected it. He was crying and threw himself at me with such force that the gun nearly went flying out of my hands. Then, into the light of the open
