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Can someone answer me?
~
Please?
My texts grew increasingly desperate until I switched to calls, each of them going to voicemail after several rings. After hour seven, I began scrolling the news, horrified to hear that there had been a shootout at one of the warehouses near the docks. I walked down the hall out of earshot of the kids, pulling up one of the stations that was reporting in real-time.
The public wouldn’t be able to tell but from the descriptions, I knew exactly who they were describing.
An older gentleman and a younger male were killed in the firefight, multiple shots to the chest. There’s not a lot of details but two individuals have been taken into custody, one of them being transported to the hospital for several injuries. Three captives have been released, one of them needing medical attention. The other two as far as we know do not have extensive wounds. We will keep you updated as this story unfolds.
This was the biggest news my little city had seen in years. It would be all anyone talked about for months. I hoped and prayed that the three ‘captives’ were my men and that the one needing medical attention was merely Dmitri pulling his stitches and nothing else serious. I couldn’t even focus on the fact that Ada was in custody or whoever the mysterious other person being dragged to jail was.
My phone rang in my hand I jumped, quickly answering it when Gianni’s number rolled across the screen. “Gia?” I sobbed.
“Rhys?”
My heart dropped in my stomach at the sound of Gianni’s voice and I crumbled to the ground, “Gia. Fuck. Where’s-”
“We’re okay, baby. The police just gave me back my phone. I just… Val’s in bad shape. We had to take him to the hospital but everything will be okay.”
“I need, I need-”
Gianni cut me off. We were both crying, trying to reach each other through the earpieces. I wrapped an arm around my chest, trying to hold myself together. “I know. I know. We can’t leave because the police need to question us. One of the men we work with—Reggie—is on his way. He’ll be waiting outside to bring you to us, alright? I’ve sent you a picture of him and his car. Under no circumstances do you climb into anything different.”
“Yes, I…”
“Keep me on the phone.”
I did as he asked, wobbling over to the kids and telling them that we could see Paval’s fathers. “Something bad happened but they’re okay now. It’s over and Ada can’t hurt us anymore. None of them can.” The looming possibility that they were dead, that a corporation that had ruled my life forsix yearswas no longer a problem made me smile. Tia and Paval relaxed as I did, sprinting toward the front door to stuff themselves into their shoes.
“We’re going to see my daddies!” Paval exclaimed even as his voice wavered. Tia was right beside him, holding his hand and giving him her brightest smile. Paval smiled back as they threw their arms around each other, rocking each other back and forth.
I pulled the phone away from my ear as it dinged again. A black sedan with a blue stripe along the passenger side and a picture of a kid even younger than me popped up in the chat message. “Reggie is outside,” I mumbled into the phone.
“Alright, go on outside. Don’t dawdle, just sit inside and let him drive. Put me on speaker.”
I pried the kids apart, laughing when they kept their little fingers intertwined, and ushered them toward the car. Just as Gianni said, I opened the back door and slid in, putting the phone on speaker. The kid twisted around to greet me just before Gianni started speaking.
“Reggie?” Reggie grunted. “Good, you can hear me. You have the address. They all get there in one piece. Whatever it takes.”
I knew that the same threats we had been facing weren’t present anymore but I also knew Gianni’s apprehension.
Fifteen minutes later, I was peppering kisses all over Valentyn’s pale face, crying for him to wake up as Gianni dragged me away and into their arms. Dmitri had grabbed the kids as soon as we entered, keeping them away from the many beeping machine wires hooked up to our protector. We’d stepped into what felt like a little safe house, equipped with a small hospital unit even though it was just one of the most expensive private rooms that one could buy. I had questions but fuck none of them mattered right now.
“What happened?” I whispered as I leaned into Gianni’s chest.
“Shot. Nicked a few important parts but the doctor just said he needs lots of rest. Needs to move slowly. He’s been waking up every so often but it was touch and go for a little while.”
I clung to Gianni, burying my head in his chest. We stayed there for several moments until I was sagging against him, the exhaustion of this whole ordeal finally settling in. Gianni pressed his lips to the top of my head, “Hey, it’s over. It’s all over. Your sister and Liam are in jail. Umar and Ernest are dead. Everyone knows that they were involved with Hawk International but so much of that company is shrouded in secrecy that it will be hard to connect any of the dots. Right now, authorities think it was an internal disagreement with the company that spiraled out of control. We were unfortunately caught up in the crosshairs…”
He took a deep breath, more than likely trying to find the right words to say.
“The investigation is nowhere near done and I’m sure at least one of us will be brought in for questioning but for now, it’s over.”
What a fucking relief that was to hear.
That for the first time in weeks, I could finally fucking breathe and not have to look over my shoulder. No one was expecting a program or trying to threaten my life.
