“How am I supposed to do that…? I can’t.”
“See, if ye did what ye were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be having this problem now, would we?” Two of the men who are standing beside my father move to grab hold of me, and when they start dragging me out of the room, I fight against them as best I can.
“The clock is ticking, Frankie.” The man strolls out the door ahead of us, while I bite and thrash to get free from the brutish men who are carrying me. I feel something slide over my head, and when everything goes dark, I’m left with my other senses to try and figure out which direction we’re moving in.
I can tell when we’re in the kitchen from the way the floor squeaks under one of the men’s shoes, and I try to map out the kitchen in my head as we move toward the left. I know for sure we’re in the garage when I smell engine oil, and a scream tumbles from my mouth when I get tossed into what I assume is the back of a van.
“Help!” I scream, patting the floor beneath me with my hands to try and feel for a way out.
“We’ll be having none of that screaming.” Strong arms lock my head in a vise, and I hear a ripping noise as something wraps around the sack on my head and tightens around my mouth. There’s barely enough air for me to breathe through my nostrils, so I have to stay calm. I have to make sure I don’t panic, and I have to believe that Dev will find me and kill every man who's responsible for what's about to happen to me.
“There we are, darlin’, let's get ye nice and comfortable.” I’m placed on a bed that feels soft and much more luxurious than I expected. My eyes adjust to the light when the sack gets ripped off my head, and the grey-haired man stands in front of me, with his three men lined up behind him.
“Where am I?” My eyes flit around the room as I try to take in my surroundings. “Whatever business you think you have with my father, you need to let him go.” I try sounding calm and assertive, but I’m not fooling anyone. Each one of these men is grinning at me like they intend to devour me.
“So many questions.” The one who’s giving all the orders mocks me to his friends as he takes a seat in the corner of the bedroom we’re in. I can feel the floor swaying. At first, I thought it was my head spinning, but now I’m wondering if we’re on a boat.
“Which would ye like me to answer first, me darlin’?” He tilts his head.
“I want you to let me and my father go.” I try to keep any fear out of my voice. I heard the threat he made to my father before we left the house, and I can’t even allow myself to think that he meant it. I’ll continue to tell myself it was an idle threat until I’m proven differently.
“Yer da made me a promise, and he didn’t see it through. I’m afraid that's a punishable offense.” He leans forward to stroke my hair like I’m a child, and it makes every part of me go cold. “Sometimes, men like him forget how they got where they are.” His hand slides lower, and I close my eyes. “I want ye to remember that this is all his fault, Millie. But lessons must be learned.” He stands aside and lets the first of his men step up.
Iwish I had time to make a good impression on Frank Dawson, but I don’t. Someone back at the club will have found the girl’s body by now, they will naturally assume it was me who killed her, and an army of angry Russians is no doubt on their way to the club as we speak. I have to get Millie and take her somewhere safe until Raze finds a way to fix this.
I swear, when I find out who that murdering cunt is, I’m gonna make him suffer in the worst of fuckin’ ways.
I’m a little surprised when I pull up to the Dawson mansion and see that the gates are open; they’re always shut, and from what I can gather, Frank’s on top of security. Still, I guess it saves me some time convincing him to let me in.
I drive up to the door, frustrated that I can barely give my girl time to pack a bag. This is not how I envisioned things starting for us. I guess I never envisioned things starting for us at all. But now that I’ve let all that go, all I want is the best for her. I know this ain’t it, but I won’t take any risks. I’m getting Millie outta Long Beach, then I’m coming back to fight with my brothers and make it a safe place for her to be.
I park up outside the front door, and when I see that it’s already open, I knock before I enter..
“Millie… Mr. Dawson?” I yell through.
“Help…Please help, I’m through here.” I hear the male voice call out and see the blood on the floor, and just the thought that Millie is here and it could be hers, sets me into panic overdrive.
“Millie!” I call through the house frantically, ignoring the cries for help, and I follow the blood trail to a closed door. Pushing it open, I breathe a huge sigh of relief when I see that the bodies at the end of the trail don’t belong to her.
“Millie!” I call out to her again. This time, more desperately. There's no way the Russians could have gotten to her this fast. I came straight here.
Taking out my gun, I start heading back to the hall, following that male voice that keeps calling out.
“In here…Please…They’ve taken her. They’ve taken my daughter!” I hear the words and rush through the huge double doors where his cries are coming from.
“You…Oh, you have to help her.” Millie’s dad looks relieved to see me, his face is swollen like he’s taken a beating, and he’s tied to his desk chair.
“Who fuckin’ took her?” I slide my gun back into the holster and take out my knife, slicing the blade through the rope to free his hands.
“Quinnell; he was here. It’s all my fault.” Dawson shakes his head, looking petrified, and it does nothing to calm my fuckin’ nerves.
“Quienll was here?” I repeat, feeling that panic in my chest starting to morph into rage..
“I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t put her in danger the way he wanted me to, and now…” He closes his eyes, gripping his chest like he’s about to have a heart attack.
“Dawson, you need to breathe and tell me what you’re talking about.” I grab hold of him and force him to focus.
“Quinnell. I was…He’s been helping me with funding for my campaign. I expected him to call in some favors, but not one thatwould put my Millie at risk. I’ve done things I’m ashamed of, but I would never do that. Not to my Millie.” He cries like a helpless child.
