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Chapter 26
ANNA
It had been another night, I thought. Between exhaustion, hunger, and my bruised body I could hardly hold myself up. The man, who guarded me, came down to bring me water. He brought me food for the first time. It was just a piece of bread and ham but I nibbled at the food, hoping he would just go away.
“Please help me,” I begged before he walked back up the stairs. I tried one last time. He turned back towards me, his lips twisting into a smile that was comprised of malice and amusement. The man, tattooed, with big muscles, walked over and came down to my level.
The door opened again and this time it was Quinn coming down the stairs. He gestured to the guard and held his phone out. The guard started swinging, his fists hitting my head and back, he started so suddenly I did not have time to defend myself, not that I could. I curled into a ball to protect myself. My pleas to stop fell on deaf ears, with the hits ending only upon Quinn’s order.
I heard Quinn talking to Wilder on the phone. Knowing Wilder was coming for me, that he knew where I was, I got my first feeling of hope that I would survive, that I would get out of here.
Just as soon as the hope filled my chest, I go cold when he threatens Wilder with what he would do to me if Wilder didn’t cooperate.
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Chapter 27
WILDER
It had been nonstop since I talked to Quinn; since I had heard the torture that Anna had been going through. We made a plan and put it into motion. I sat with Levi in his office, drinking. Everything happened tomorrow. I just hoped Anna could hold on until then.
“Where’s Sean now?” Levi asked.
“I sent him back to Boston. We have an idea of where they are holding Anna. It’s an old house out in the country. I use it sometimes for work.” I sipped my whiskey and stared down at my hands. “My guess is one of my guys told him about it.” Silence fell upon the room, there were no words that could be spoken that would matter much right now.
“I told her I’d leave this life. I’d get out of the family.” I confessed. “With her, I had hope for a future I didn’t know I had wanted,” I said softly.
“Man, that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you,” he said, his words carrying the weight of a long-held wish. “If everything falls into place, if this plan succeeds, you won’t even have a choice anymore. You’ll be free.”
“I know. I just hope it’s not too late.” The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on my heart, and I yearned for a chance at redemption.
* * *
Standing amidst the bustling airport, I awaited the arrival of my grandfather, Ronan Kelly, the formidable patriarch of the Kelly family, and my mother’s father. It had been years since our last encounter, back when I was just a young child. Time had aged him, and now in his mid-80s, he sported thin, silver hair and a prominent pot belly. His heavy Irish accent tugged at memories of my childhood.
“It’s good to finally see you again. It’s been years.” He shook my hand and I guided him to the car. “What is so important that you must see me in person, and without the knowledge of your father?”
I explain the situation to him, my mother’s fate, my brother, and Anna. I wanted everything out in the open, honest and direct were my best chance of pulling my plan off. Without Ronan, I didn’t have the ability to rescue Anna.
“I was led to believe my daughter had run off. If what you tell me is true, I must take action. Do you understand what will happen?”
“I understand,” I explained to him my plan to get Anna back, while also eliminating the threat from my brother and father. He agreed to give me the day to try it my way. If it didn’t work out, he would not guarantee that this would not end with a war between families.
I pulled my phone out, “Sean, let’s start.” I turned to my grandfather. “I will need a few men. Loyal to you. My men are all very loyal to the Kavanaghs and would not turn against my brother or father.”
He chuckled, his belly bouncing like I remembered from my childhood. “I don’t go anywhere without a few good men. They’re in the SUV behind us.”
I turned off the highway and down a dirt road. Please, God, let her be okay, I thought to myself.
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Chapter 28
ANNA
“Well, Miss Anna. Your boyfriend has made his decision.” Quinn stood at the top of the stairs. “And he didn’t choose you. He chose to kill our father instead. I didn’t expect him to give up on you. Truly I didn’t. ”
My stomach dropped. Wilder wasn’t coming for me.
