Blackness Awaits Read online

  “Fight back you pussy!” O’Sullivan screams as he releases Kellerman’s shirt only to connect a left cross splitting the skin below his eye. Stumbling back Kellerman falls to the floor. He’s breathing hard as he stays down.

  “Who’s next?” Kellerman asks without a hint of snark. He’s really going to let the four of us beat his ass. We’ll kill him. He looks done after O’Sullivan; the three of us on top of it is too much. I have to be the voice of reason in the room as I see Aidan making his way toward him.

  “He’s had enough,” I state firmly. Aidan snaps his head back to me with a look of shock on his face.

  “You’re lettin’ him off that easy Kavanagh?” Aidan grumbles.

  “He’s gotta be able to walk through the airport.”

  “I’m not goin’ to the airport,” Kellerman mumbles spitting blood into his shirt. This sets me off.

  I pick Kellerman up by the throat and pin him against the wall squeezing as I speak, “You will get your sorry ass on a plane. Today! She’s had enough pain in this life, you motherfuckin’ piece of shit.” I squeeze harder the more I speak, because the more I speak the more infuriated I’m becoming. “If you think for a second I’m gonna let you take her from me, you’re sadly mistaken. What she’s learnin’ today about you, you dickless fuck, is gonna wreck her. Get outta this fuckin’ city today or we’re comin’ for you.” I squeeze one more time before I let him drop. He slides down the wall gasping for air, coughing and choking.

  “I’m not leavin’ her,” Kellerman gasps out. Aidan hurls forward and kicks him over and over and over in the torso.

  “You fuckin’ are!” Aidan screams as he lands his final blow. Kellerman falls to the side spitting out blood from what I’m guessing is some internal damage at this point. Maybe we are going to commit murder. This motherfucker seems intent on dying in our pool house.

  “Not,” Kellerman mumbles before he passes out.

  “What the fuck?!” Cal bellows. “Is he insane? Why’s he lettin’ this go on?”

  Aidan bends down and starts checking Kellerman’s vitals. His doctor brain must have just kicked in gear. No pun intended (maybe a little pun intended).

  “Guessin’ his spleen is damaged maybe his liver too,” Aidan explains without much concern in his voice while standing up. “We need to decide what we’re doin’ here.”

  Kellerman

  I come to in excruciating pain. These crazy motherfuckers know how to work someone over. My face is fucked. Blood dried all over and swollen based on the tightness I feel. My stomach is also fucked. Aidan must have kicked it through my spine. I push myself up to a sitting position cradling my midsection as I do.

  “Sleeping Beauty has arisen fellas,” Kav announces to the group. “Ready to pack your shit?” he asks me gruffly.

  “Nope,” I breathe out. I can barely catch a good breath at this point, but I’m not giving in. I have no clue why these guys think I need to go back to Seattle, but I won’t leave Kid.

  “O’Sullivan I think you knocked him stupid,” Cal announces as he makes his way to me. “Get up and get the fuck outta our house. I’m done playin’ games with you.” He reaches down grabbing the neck of my shirt and hauls my ass off the floor. My legs are weak so I use the wall to keep upright. Cal leans into my face. “You goin’?” he seethes. I shake my head no.

  He hocks back and spits in my face. I get the feeling they’re pissed at me for something I’m unaware I did. I reach up with my hand and wipe his spit down my battered face.

  “I’m not leavin’ her,” I state short of breath. “It’s her house and she wants me here. I won’t leave here unless she tells me.” O’Sullivan laughs a sinister chuckle from the table.

  “We’re goin’ easy on you compared to what Kid’ll do once Taylor fills her in,” he scoffs. Now I’m getting pissed. What the fuck does Taylor have to do with any of this shit?!

  “What the fuck does Taylor have to do with anything?” I implore Cal who has let go of my shirt but is still in my face.

  “He’s the one that found out your dirty little secret,” Cal fumes. Secret? I don’t have any goddamn secrets. Not from Kid and certainly nothing that would warrant this level of psychosis.

  “Can you all stop speakin’ in code and tell me what the fuck is goin’ on? I don’t have any goddamn secrets. If Taylor is in there mindfuckin’ Kid we’re gonna have problems,” I inform them. Cal’s scowl has lessened slightly as he tries to figure out if I’m lying. I look at the table to see similar looks on the guys’ faces.

  “Your baby’s momma,” Kav states plainly. Well that would definitely be a secret because I don’t have kids.

  “I don’t have kids you guys,” I huff. I can’t believe they would think I would leave children behind in Seattle.

  “You will in about six months,” Aidan replies. I feel the blood drain from my face and my stomach turns more than it already was from the beat down.

  “What?” I ask in a whisper. Cassie. Fuck, Cassie’s pregnant. This shit just got a whole lot worse.

  “I can see that you’re finally startin’ to grasp what’s goin’ on here,” O’Sullivan chides. “Ready to pack now bitch?”

  “I didn’t know. She hasn’t been in contact with me since I got back,” I explain. How the fuck does Taylor know this shit and I don’t?

  “Well a wham-bam-thank you-ma’am will make them less likely to call you,” Kav taunts. “Chicks don’t like bein’ the piece on the side.” Piece on the side?

  “What the fuck are you talkin’ about Kav?” I can feel my patience running thin. Too much information coming in mixed with a lot of ball busting and an ass beating is wearing me down. Kav stands up and trades places with Cal two inches from my face.

  “I’m talkin’ about you fuckin’ that cunt while you were in Seattle after callin’ dibs on Kid,” he growls in my face.

  “Didn’t happen,” I scoff.

  “Look motherfucker I can see you’re all fucked up and I don’t wanna go to prison, but I will end you. We’ve seen the pictures. We know it happened.” He bumps his chest into mine staring me down.

  “I don’t know what pictures you saw, but I haven’t been with Cassie since I moved here. The first time,” I clarify.

  “BULLSHIT!” Kav bellows in my face. “Get Taylor now. I want this shit done!” Cal moves out the door and we all wait in silence. How is this happening? Cassie’s pregnant? She would tell me. She wants me back and made that perfectly clear when I was in Seattle last time. If she was pregnant she’d be here or blowing up my phone. The door opens and Taylor walks in with that fucking smirk on his face that makes me fantasize about wrapping my hands around his neck.

  “Don’t you look pretty?” Taylor taunts. I glare at him but don’t respond. I want those fucking pictures now. I push Kav out of my space and gingerly walk to the table where Taylor threw them down. I pick up the stack and race through them feeling sicker with each progression. I was pissed that night. I couldn’t get a hold of Kid and once I talked to Kav and he told me she was with Taylor I flipped. Not my proudest moment. Cassie was there being all sweet and innocent (a rarity), asking if she could do anything for me. I mauled her. Things got heated, but I stopped before anything happened. I didn’t fuck her that night.

  “I know this looks bad,” I state to the group. “We made out and shit got a little heavy but that’s it. I stopped it.”

  “Last I checked chicks can’t get pregnant from tonsil hockey,” Kav snarks.

  “If she’s pregnant it’s from a week before I came here. We hooked up then and that was the last time. I haven’t been with anyone since I met Kid. This,” I motion to the photos, “was a dick move on my part and I’ll make it up to Kid. I need to talk to Cassie to figure the rest out,” I say moving to the door. I will work this out with Kid. I can’t lose her.

  Taylor grabs my arm as I move past him. I didn’t fight back with the guys, but I will go at it with this piece of shit.

  “Get your fuckin’ hand off me yo
u meddling bitch,” I snarl.

  “Ooh, testy.” Taylor mocks. “Just thought you should know it was my arms she fell into when she saw those pictures. My tongue that caressed her tears away. My kiss that left her breathless. She’ll be fine without you.” I see red and pivot on him faster than he anticipates. I connect my right fist directly with his temple and he hits the floor like a ton of bricks.

  “Shit,” Aidan says under his breath.

  I move to the door, realizing I only thought these guys were my friends. I’ve been in this position before though, you think you have friends then the going gets tough and you’re on your own. I can’t believe they trusted Taylor without ever giving me the chance to defend myself.

  “Thought you guys were my friends,” I say over my shoulder. “Fuck you.”

  I make my way into the house to find Kid. I’m sure she’s devastated. I can fix this…I hope she doesn’t shoot me before I have the chance. I go to the office first. She’s not here. I run up the stairs yelling for her, checking our room (it feels like our room, not just hers). She’s not here. I check every bedroom and bathroom. She’s not here. I run down to the basement hoping she’s working off her anger. She’s not here. Fuck she left. I run to the garage. Her Shelby’s here. All the guys’ cars are here. I make my way back in the house. She left on foot? No way would Taylor let her leave on foot. Unless she took off while he was in the pool house. I rip my Nexus out of my pocket and hit her speed dial number. It starts ringing and I hear her BlackBerry in the kitchen. She left her BlackBerry. She left her BlackBerry? She would never leave her BlackBerry. Something’s wrong. I run into the pool house just as Taylor is coming to.

  “She’s gone.”

  Kavanagh

  My world is moving in slow motion, a torturous lethargic motion that I can’t break free from. The moment Kellerman burst through the door I knew something was wrong. I hadn’t felt right for that last half hour, but I ignored it because I was focused on Kellerman. FUCK!

  “She’s gone,” was all he said and we sprinted from the pool house. We all ran screaming from room to room. He was right, she’s gone. Now we’re in the office scouring all of the video from our state-of-the-art security system for some shred of a clue as to where she went. Kid wouldn’t just take off. Not without her BlackBerry or letting one of us know or leaving a note or leaving a text…something. This is bad. My hands are shaking. The last time I shook like this I found Kid underneath Liam thirteen years ago in my bedroom broken and lifeless. This can’t be happening again.

  “Flower delivery,” Taylor says bringing me out of my head.

  “What?” I ask.

  “There was a flower delivery. Look at the van.” Taylor points at the monitor where a large white van with a flower logo pulls into the driveway. The driver gets out but keeps his face hidden from view beneath his hat. He rings the doorbell, again shielding his face from the camera on the porch. Kid answers and takes the flowers from him. He follows her in the house. There’s no camera in the foyer so we lose visual.

  “Try the camera in the great room. Maybe there’s a view down the hall,” Cal suggests urgently to Taylor. Taylor pulls up that footage and scrolls to the correct time. It’s a shitty image, but we can see Kid put the flowers on the table and sniff. She just stands there like she’s stuck in time. A few moments later the delivery guy comes into view raising his hand up above her head and slamming it back down around her head or neck. The image is too far away to tell which.

  “FUCK!” I roar. She goes limp falling back into his waiting arms. He scoops her up, carrying her out of the house. Taylor quickly shifts back to the other footage of the porch and then the driveway. The “delivery” guy carries her hurriedly out of the house to the van. The van door slides open and a pair of arms covered in black sleeves reach out for her. As the arms lean out so does a head and neck. His head is covered in a black ski mask. He pulls Kid into his arms roughly and then retreats with her into the van. The delivery guy quickly rounds the hood, climbs in and reverses out of the driveway at a normal pace. I watch the van leave our driveway, carrying the beat of my heart with it.

  Shannon

  I’m being carried. Cradled to a firm chest encapsulated by strong arms. My eyes flutter open to see a man I’m unfamiliar with. I look to my left to realize I’m being carried onto a plane, a small private plane. I try to wiggle and push against the chest I’m pressed into but my arms are heavy and weighted.

  “Sit still,” his voice commands roughly. I look up into his face. He’s not looking down at me so I only have a view of his dark stubble covered jaw and his neck, which is thick and muscled with a tattoo on it.

  “Please,” I plead. I don’t know what I’m pleading for with that word, but it’s all that I can formulate.

  “Don’t worry,” he says clinically. Uh, bull-fuckin’-shit. He’s putting me on a plane after kidnapping me. Don’t worry? Fuck him. My limbs are so heavy and I feel foggy. I’m guessing I’ve been drugged. I try to wiggle free again to no avail.

  “You’re not goin’ anywhere,” he grumbles. He flops my limp body on a couch at the back of the plane. “Get the drugs,” he says to someone behind us.

  “No please don’t drug me. I’ll be good,” I implore. I certainly won’t be good, but I’m not going to tell him he’s about to endure the fight of his life once I can move my fucking arms. Another person approaches and I can see the needle and syringe out of my periphery.

  He nods at the syringe wielder. I feel the sharp prick in my arm and then the sting of the injection. He sits down in a chair next to me not looking in my direction. I flop my arms around myself trying to draw some comfort as the drugs take over. These arms are not my home. I’m not safe.

  Kellerman

  “Where the fuck were you?” I bellow at Taylor after watching the love of my life being carried away.

  “Kellerman, that’s not gonna help anyone right now. Stay focused,” Cal chides me.

  “I’m fuckin’ focused. I wanna know how she’s taken from her home and her bodyguard misses it,” I sneer.

  “I’d like to know too,” Aidan pipes in. Until a few hours ago Aidan and I were on the same page regarding Taylor. I’m hoping in light of everything we’re still on the same side.

  “I was in the bathroom,” Taylor answers blankly. I don’t respond. Fighting with this fuckwad isn’t going to get us anywhere.

  “I’ll call the police,” O’Sullivan jumps up from the grey leather wingback chair he’s surely ruined gripping the arms violently.

  “They’ll just slow us down and push us off her case,” Taylor responds. “If we call them we have no control. If we work this ourselves, we determine how it goes down.”

  “We don’t have the resources, Taylor,” Kav scolds. “How are the five of us supposed to find her? We’re what, an hour behind them? We need help.”

  “I’ll call in some favors and you guys can call your families. We can do more on our own,” Taylor says while typing away on the keyboard not looking at any of us. I don’t like this. He’s in the bathroom when she’s taken and he doesn’t want the authorities in on this. What the fuck? I look over at Aidan who seems to be thinking the same thing. Neither of us comments.

  “The plates are fake. The flower company is fake. We need something to go on,” Taylor says without looking at us again. He’s in the zone. Maybe he’ll be able to find her. I don’t give a shit if this prick loves Kid, if he finds her I’ll be forever in his debt. I can’t reconcile in my head if he’s a threat or a gift. Damn it this is beyond fucked up!

  “Each of you start scouring the footage. Look for anything that’s identifying,” Taylor instructs. Aidan and I move to a laptop, Cal and Taylor work at the desktop, and Kav and O’Sullivan take another laptop. The six of us are silent. Aidan and I go through the final footage, Taylor and Cal take the indoor footage and Kav and O’Sullivan comb the beginning. I’m trying to keep my emotions in check as I see Kid’s seemingly lifeless body carried from her house
by some psycho.

  “Keep it in check,” Aidan says under his breath to me. I look at him and he’s staring at my fists. My knuckles are white from pumping my hands mindlessly. I nod but continue fisting my jeans to relieve a small amount of tension as we both go back to the footage.

  It’s been forty-five minutes and no one has found anything. We’re each looking at less than a minute of footage. If there is something to find I think we would have found it by now. I decide I’m going through it one more time and then I’m calling the cops.

  I click through the video frame by frame. I’ve looked at this so much everything is blurring together. The delivery guy leans to hand off Kid when I finally see it.

  “There,” I whisper to Aidan.

  “What?” he questions.

  “His neck. What’s that on his neck?” Aidan zooms in and takes a sharp breath.

  “Mancini,” he says barely above a whisper and all the Chicago boys gasp.

  “FUCK!” O’Sullivan roars ripping his phone out of his pocket. “Dad,” he says into the receiver. “Someone in the Mancini family has Kid.”

  Kellerman

  I don’t know who the Mancini family is, but I’m guessing by the response in the room this is bad. Strike that, this is beyond bad, it’s fucked.

  “Let’s get your face cleaned up while they figure out what to do,” Aidan says to me. I look at him like he’s insane. You think I give a flying fuck about my face right now?!

  “I’m good,” I scoff. He’s part of the reason I’m in this condition at the moment.

  “Kellerman, we’re gonna have to go after her. You need to be at your best. You can’t be out in public covered in blood with a gaping gash under your eye. Come-the fuck-on!” Aidan demands as he stands up. I follow him to the kitchen silently. I notice a large vase of flowers on the entryway table. Fuckers actually brought her flowers. The last thing she heard about me before they took her was that I basically cheated on her and got the other woman pregnant. I can’t run to her and beg forgiveness. She’s somewhere alone with men that are doing God knows what to her, and I’m sure the thought of me is bringing her no comfort. I feel bile rise in my throat for the first time. I haven’t let my mind wander yet. Wandering is painful.