Finding Gary (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 4) (29 page)

Clenching his teeth with his eyebrows raised high, Gary looked out into the hallway where Reggie was crouched in a tight corner.  The moment their eyes met, Gary was certain Reggie was going to turn on his heels and flee.  He looked downright terrified and, now that he’d had time to simmer in the moment, Gary was right there with him.

Then, Gary realized there would never be a right time for this.  His family was never going to be happy to see Reggie King.  He’d always be a bomb to be dropped, one that was sure to leave wounds and scars that would take years to heal, maybe even kicking up a whirlwind of nuclear radiation in the process. 

No, there would never be an easy way to do this, so even though his stomach felt as sick as he was sure Reggie’s did, Gary reached into the hallway and took the bottom of Reggie’s vest, tugging him forward.

Having had his feet planted on the floor, the yank caused Reggie to stumbled into the view of the dining room clumsily, his feet stomping to a frantic stop in an attempt to keep himself from falling on his face.

As Reggie found his footing, Gary’s wide green eyes flew back into the dining room.  For some reason, his gaze went to Val first, whose golden eyes appeared seconds from springing out of his head and falling to the floor.  Val’s ass left his seat, and Gary could see his nails digging into the white table cloth, but something in Val’s head stopped him in mid-stand.

Gary's eyes went to Roman, whose teeth were fully bared.  Bette’s jaw had slackened.  Jessica, perceptive as she was, didn’t seem the least bit surprised.  Leo’s head fell with a soft scoff.  His father had moved his eyes away completely as if he were doing everything he could to bite his tongue.

Coming full circle, Gary’s eyes landed back on Roman and Angie, who both looked like the sight of Reggie had turned their stomachs inside out.  Like they were the ones who were going to realize Reggie’s worst nightmare for dinner than evening, and retch all over the table.

Angie swallowed thickly before pressing her hands to the dining room table.  She stood without a word and then raced out of the room, using the exit on the opposite side of Reggie and Gary.

Gasping quietly, Gary watched her go, his eyes following her as she breezed through the hallway and disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door closed.

Snapping his gaze back to his family, Gary gripped Reggie’s arm and felt how badly he was shaking.  The air in the room had grown so thick that there didn’t seem to be enough to go around, and soon, every chest was rising and falling rapidly, desperate to drink in every precious breath. 

Fists became clenched, with varying degrees of tightness, all around the table.  The silence lasted so long; it was almost debilitating, the wait for someone to say the first words utterly painful.

“I know this is a surprise,” Gary said.  “But I hope you guys can understand—”

“Understand.”

The sound of Roman’s voice made everyone jolt, and Gary looked at him with wide eyes.

“You hope we understand?”  Roman said.  “What? That you’re not only fucking our worst enemy but also inconsiderate enough to bring him into our mother’s home for Sunday goddamn dinner?”

“Rome.” Gary worked to keep his voice even.  “He stood with us, didn’t he?  Turned his back on King and gave testimony that helped put him behind bars.”

Roman slammed his fist on the table, so hard that a glass dish that had been teetering a bit too close to the edge actually flew into the air and tumbled off the wood, crashing down to the floor and breaking.

“My fiancé almost died!” Roman screamed, shooting to standing, pressing his finger into the table so hard the tip turned red, oblivious to the firm hold his mother cupped around his bicep.  “My child almost died!”

Gary tightened his own hold on Reggie’s arm.  “Reggie is the one who made the phone call that saved Angie’s life,” he said, his voice weaker than before.  “If he hadn’t called Jessica and given her the heads up, Angie wouldn’t have survived the night.”

“He’s right,” Jessica said, her own voice softer than usual as well.  When Leo shot her a heated look, her shoulders instantly rose, and she gave Gary a look that let him know what a risk she’d just taken to have his back.

Gary saw it, and he gave her a soft nod, feeling the emotion in his eyes and hoping she could see it.

She shot a look to Roman, shoulders still in her ears.  “If Reggie hadn’t called me that night about the carbon monoxide in my apartment, I would’ve stayed at the hospital with Zoey.  I would’ve never known Angie was in trouble, and she would’ve died.”

“And if this coward,” Val jumped in, jabbing his fingers toward Reggie.  “Had manned the fuck up and accepted what a monster his father was years ago,
none
of this would’ve ever happened.  None of it!”  Val stood tall next to Roman, both of them looking around two seconds from leaping over that table and ending Reggie’s life.  “Angie’s life wouldn’t have been put on the line, Zoey wouldn’t have learned the truth, and I wouldn’t have a newborn son who I can only see once a week.  An infant son that my own mother has never laid eyes on.”

Bette’s eyes suddenly filled with tears, and when she looked at Gary, they shone.

Gary bit his bottom lip, holding his mother’s eyes with a shake of his head. 

“I think you need to get the hell out of this house,” Tony whispered to Reggie.  Though he’d remained in his seat, his hands were clasped tight, and his eyes said the vile words he’d found the control not to speak out loud.  “Now.”

Gary clutched Reggie’s shoulder, his voice trembling.  “You guys… I… I love him.”

Roman slammed both fists on the table this time.  When he jolted and then began circling the table, every member of the family vaulted to their feet, screaming for him to stop the action he hadn’t yet put into motion, but was clear as day in his eyes.  Bette was the first to throw her body in Roman’s path, clutching his broad shoulders and begging him to calm down.  Jessica was on her feet next, but instead of going toe to toe with Roman, she crossed the room to Gary and Reggie because, predictably, Roman’s strength topped Bette’s immeasurably, and he had her out of his way—with a gentle hand at that—in mere seconds, zooming towards Gary.  Leo leaped in front of Roman in the nick of time, and this time, Roman couldn’t move Leo as easily as he had Bette.  He slammed into Leo’s chest, trying to strong-arm him out of the way, but Leo planted his feet and held him back.

“Get the fuck out of this house!” Roman roared, attempting to shove Leo out of the way while shooting daggers at Reggie’s with his icy blue eyes.  “How dare you show your face in this house!”

As the entire family closed in around Roman, no one thought to stop Val, who’d circled the table in seconds as well, passing his father, who was still hanging his head in his seat, and Jessica, whose eyes were focused on Roman, giving Val just enough room to approach Reggie and take him around the collar of his shirt.

Reggie didn’t resist, allowing Val to lug him out of the dining room and through the foyer, both of them stumbling towards the front door.

The shouting family followed them out of the dining room and into the foyer, just as Val used one hand to throw open the front door while gripping the neck of Reggie’s shirt tighter with the other, fixing to toss him out.

Before he could, however, Val felt a pair of arms around his waist from behind, forcing him backward.

When he turned and caught sight of Gary, Val nearly screamed, facing him completely before shoving him with all his might.

Gary stumbled back, lowering his eyes when Val followed him, jamming a finger in his face, his normally olive skin beet red, and words trembling with his emotion.

“What the fuck were you thinking bringing him here?”  Val closed in on Gary, shoving him again; yanking his arm away from Jessica as she attempted to grab him from behind.  “How the fuck could you bring him into this house when I can’t even bring my own son!”

Val pushed him again, and this time, Gary planted his feet and pushed back, hearing the distant wail of his mother but unable to focus on it as adrenaline swelled in his chest, leaving little room for anything but blind fury.

“We haven’t sacrificed enough for you already?” Inflamed by Gary’s retaliation, Val zeroed in on him with his arms pulled taut, biceps screaming against his black t-shirt, the beanie on his head tilted sideways and inches from falling off.  “When is it enough, Gary?” Val cried, getting his hands out of Jessica’s hold just long enough to go for Gary’s neck.

“Zoey!”

It was the only word in existence that could freeze Val solid, and it did.  His eyes flew towards the person who’d just screamed that name, and the world came back into focus. 

In seconds, every eye was trained on Jessica, who’d just got done screaming the magic word.

“Zoey,” Jessica clutched a cell phone in her hand, brown eyes soaked with horror.  Too busy trying to kill each other, the family hadn’t even noticed her take Zoey’s phone call.   She tried to find the right words, shaking the phone.  It shook so badly in her hand that it was a miracle it didn’t go falling to the floor.   “Victor King just made bail.  And Marcus is gone.”

Gary felt his heart plummet to his feet. 

Jessica motioned across the room.  “Bette, Angie, stay here.  You too, Tony, so there’s someone here to protect them.”  She waited for Tony to nod, though she could see his police instincts kicking in, his need to be a part of this fight plain in his eyes.  Regardless, he agreed, and Jessica motioned to the four brothers and Reggie.  “The five of you—With me.  Now.”

***

Minutes after hanging up the phone with Zoey, Taj looked to the passenger seat of his car.

“Hailey, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry that this happened.  That you had to go through this again.”

“I wasn’t scared,” she whimpered, shaking her head.  “I wasn’t scared because I knew, Taj.  I knew you would come for me.”

“We have to leave everything behind,” Taj said, yanking the wheel of the car onto the airport exit and following the signs to LaGuardia.  “The men who took you when you were five, they never stopped looking.  They will never stop.  Now that they’ve found you here, we have to leave New York City and never come back.”

“As long as you’re with me.” Hailey took his hand over the console and squeezed. Taj squeezed back.  “I don’t care.  I’m not scared.”

“I’ll always be with you,” Taj said.  “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you, Hailey.  I’ll never let anything happen to you.  I love you.”

“I love you,” she gasped.

Taj gave her hand one last squeeze before nodding towards her, noticing she’d moved the chest strap of her seatbelt behind her back.  She’d always done that.  Ever since she was five.  He put the pedal to the floor.  “Put your seatbelt on the right way.  Our flight leaves in an hour.”

25

Cheeks stained with white residue from her dried tears; Zoey paced her foyer with her finger trapped between her teeth, eyes dashing across the room like a scanner.

She’d buzzed them up less than a minute ago, but it felt like eons.  It wasn’t until she felt herself on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pacing blisters into the balls of her feet that her doorbell rang.  She leaped high in the air and raced for the door, her breathing picking up into gasps as she threw it open and came eye to eye with the last person she’d expected to see.

She’d been expecting Jessica or Val.  Even Roman or Leo.  Anyone else.

Anyone but him.

Her eyes instantly filled when Gary stepped out of the hallway and into the open door, taking hold of her arms just as she released an animalistic scream and immediately began pummeling him with all her might, slamming her fists into his chest.  Just like that, the tears were back on her face, full force, retracing the white track marks the old ones had left, coming so quickly that they catapulted off her face and plopped onto her forearms as she sent her fists sailing at Gary.

“If anything happens to my baby,” she screamed.  “I’ll kill you, Gary! I swear to God if anything happens to him…”

Gary clenched her arms, wincing against each strike but doing nothing to stop her.  Tears threatened his own eyes, and his fight to keep them at bay was apparent in his tightly drawn face.

“I’ll kill you,” Zoey wheezed, too tired to fight another moment.  She didn’t even realize she was being pulled back until her feet left the floor completely.  Whoever had gotten her around the waist carried her across the room to the couch, and through her blurry eyes, she saw that the other brothers had come in after Gary.  She’d been too busy hyperventilating to notice.  As she took in the widened eyes of Val, Roman, Gary, and Reggie King, she concluded the man setting her gingerly to her feet, and well away from Gary, was Leo.

Once on her feet, she turned to him, taking in his golden eyes.  Eyes that were so similar to Val’s; but somehow utterly different.

She saw Leo mouthing words, but couldn’t hear anything through her pounding ears.

It wasn’t until she took several deep, careful breaths that her ears stopped pounding, and her hearing returned to normal.  She searched Leo’s eyes, noting that he appeared more and more confused by the second.

Then, she heard him.

“We’re going to find him, baby,” Leo promised, his deep voice doing nothing to soothe her anxiety the way it used to.  She wondered if it ever would again, or if this entire experience had left her so broken that even the sweetest of the four brothers couldn’t ease the hurt in her soul.

Zoey swung on her heel just in time to see Jessica coming to a stop behind her, holding out her hands.

“Taj isn’t answering his phone,” Zoey said, her voice still frantic.  “He was only supposed to be gone with Marcus for a few hours.”

“That son of a bitch,” Val grumbled from where he’d just raced into foyer.  Roman clutched his shoulder from next to him, but he didn’t acknowledge it.  “Jessica, I told you that son of a bitch was no good,” he roared.  “I told you from the beginning!”

“We can’t focus on that right now,” Roman whispered, blue eyes going back to Zoey and Jessica.

“The conversation where he mentioned the double rainbow, that was the last time you spoke to him?” Jessica asked.

Zoey nodded frantically, speaking at a rapid pace.   “At first, I didn’t think anything of it.  Then, after I hung up, I flashed back to the night he told me about his little sister.  About how she was abducted when she was five and put into sex trafficking.”  Zoey sobbed, distantly aware of Leo’s hands running slowly up and down her arms from behind.  “I just can’t shake this feeling… this feeling that he was warning me.  And he hasn’t picked up his phone!”

Jessica cursed under her breath and paced, pushing her fist to her mouth.  “You haven’t called the police, right?”

“No,” Zoey said, her voice hoarse.  “You told me not to.”

“Good,” Jessica said.  “King’s been convicted, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost complete control of the NYPD.  We can’t call them or they may tip him off.”

“You couldn’t have told me that King’s bail hearing got pushed up?” Zoey screamed.  “I would’ve never let Taj take Marcus out if… if…” Zoey couldn’t finish, and when Val suddenly crossed the room to her, she held a finger up, seeing it shake between them.  “Don’t…” she spat.  “Don’t touch me.”

Val didn’t listen, moving past Jessica and taking Zoey’s arms in a firm hold.  He pulled her to him even amidst her fight, cradling her to his chest where she immediately burst into tears, taking the back of his shirt in tight chunks.

“What time did he leave?” Jessica asked. 

Zoey peeked out from Val’s arms.  “Early this morning.  At least three hours ago.  He knows how paranoid I am, and he would never go this long without making contact or updating me.”

Val cursed under his breath. 

“Do you remember what Marcus was wearing?”

She sniffled.  “He was wearing his Zebra onesie.”  Her voice went high she nearly exploded into tears.

“And Taj?” Jessica asked.

Zoey pulled away from Val and tried to think, motioning to her own clothes.  “He had on a black t-shirt… and I think… a pair of jeans?  His hair was pulled back, like always…” She shook her head, cringing.

“Does Marcus have any identifying marks?  Birthmarks?  Defects?  Anything?” Jessica licked her lips when Zoey shook her head no.  “What about jewelry?”

Zoey jolted, face stunned as if a revelation had just taken her.  She pointed to her wrist, jabbing her finger.  “A bracelet,” she yelped.  The moment the words left her mouth, her eyes grew wider, making everyone in the room step closer.  “The night Taj set up the Nanny cams, he gave Marcus a bracelet.  A silver bracelet with his birthstone.  He made me promise never to take it off him.”

Jessica’s eyes were now wide as well.  “Do you know where Taj keeps the receiver for the Nanny cams?”

Zoey was already running toward the bedroom Taj had inhabited.  The moment she stepped in, her eyes flew to his desk and, to her shock, his laptop sat open, screen blazing in the dark room, displaying a black and white video of what looked to be the backseat of a car.

Zoey raced over to the desk, slapping her hands down on the wood, on either side of the computer.

Jessica was right behind her, squeezing into the space between Zoey and the desk, plopping into the chair.

“He pulled up the feed from Marcus’ bracelet on his laptop.  He knew this was going to happen.” Jessica readjusted the laptop before looking over her shoulder and catching Zoey’s eyes.  “You were right, Zoey.  He was warning you… King got to him.”

Zoey cried out again, feeling Val’s arms come around her from behind.

“This video is coming from the bracelet on Marcus’ wrist?” Val demanded.

“Taj put the camera in the birthstone,” Jessica concluded.

“He knew all along,” Gary said, from the other end of the room.

Zoey’s heated eyes flew to him.

“He knew.” Roman nodded his agreement; his fists clenched from the doorway.

Jessica frowned at the screen, her eyes dancing all over the grainy video.  Marcus must’ve been doing a lot of wiggling around because the image never stayed clear for long enough to give her a good picture.

Then, in the next instant, it happened.

Marcus shifted, and the bracelet on his wrist caught Victor King’s scowling face, dead center in on the screen.

Every soul in the room gasped, even Jessica, who actually pushed back in her desk chair at the pure evil she saw living behind Victor’s eyes.

A moment later, Victor responded to a question someone on his end of the feed asked him, and Marcus started fussing again, taking Victor’s face out of the shot.

But they still heard his voice.

“Bayonne,” was all Victor said.

And that was all Jessica needed.

She shot up out of her seat and threw her eyes across the room.  “Roman.”

Roman straightened in the doorway, squaring his shoulders.

Jessica’s chest heaved.  “Still got those guns?”

Zoey’s eyes nearly exploded out of her face.  She looked back and forth between Jessica and Roman.

Roman raised his chin, and without another word, lifted his shirt.  The handle of a glock came into view, tucked into the waistband of his slacks.  He removed it with one hand before bending down and lifting the cuffs of his slacks.  Another gun appeared, same make, and he snatched it out of the holster at his ankle.  Once he stood tall, he was fisting a gun in each hand, gaze still riveted to Jessica.

Jessica nodded.  “Can always count on you.”  She nodded to Leo, waiting for Roman to hand him one of the guns before going into the back of her jeans, producing her own gun and cocking it.  “It’s high time we end King once and for all.  If the NYPD won’t do it, we will.”  Jessica looked over her shoulder and met Zoey’s eyes.

Zoey straightened her spine, short of breath.

“I know where he’s taking Marcus,” Jessica said.

***

After racing out of Zoey’s apartment, the family split themselves into two cars.  Jessica, Gary, Leo and Reggie in one car, Val, Roman and Zoey in the other. 

Jessica slammed her foot down on the pedal.  The mini siren she’d placed on the hood of her car screamed out relentlessly, clearing the road in seconds as she blazed onto the highway.  Behind her, Roman’s Bentley followed close behind.

“How do you know, baby?” Leo asked, shooting her a look from the passenger’s seat.  Gary and Reggie both leaned in from the back, wondering the same thing as Leo.  “How do you know where King’s taking Marcus?”

“I didn’t want to say it in front of Zoey or Val because they’re already panicking.”  Jessica clutched the wheel.  “But the moment Zoey told me about Taj’s sister being trafficked… I knew King had gotten to him.  The FBI’s been building a case on King for years, and even though we got him on police corruption, the investigation on his involvement in sex trafficking is still ongoing.”

Leo’s jaw went slack, then his lips curled.   “Baby…”

“In that video.” Jessica heard her own voice rising with emotion.  “King told his driver to go to Bayonne.  I’ve gotten a few peeks at the files chronicling his involvement in trafficking… and there’s a shipyard in Bayonne…” She took a deep breath when a sudden wave of anxiety gripped her, making her lungs close momentarily.  When she reclaimed her voice, it was strained.  “There’s a shipyard in Bayonne where, allegedly, they take the kids to make the transfer.”

“Jesus,” Leo leaned on the passenger side window and pressed his eye shut tight, covering his mouth with his hand.

Jessica took the pedal to the floor, weaving through the traffic.  “He’s not trying to kill Marcus,” she said.  “He’s trying to make him disappear.”

Through the rearview, she saw Gary collapse in the backseat, pushing his fingers into his hair.  Next to him, Reggie seemed astounded, which was amazing for a man who’d experienced King’s wrath firsthand.

“Taj’s sister got lucky. Because most of the time?… Once these kids disappear?” Jessica whispered, shaking her head.  “They never come back.”

***

Gray clouds moved in during the frantic drive to the wharf; shading the sun and dimming the sparkling waters of the Hudson River.

Jessica’s car came to a skidding halt along the edge of the Bayonne shipping dock, the tread of her tires nearly losing a battle with the ground, slick with runaway dew from the river.  She had the car in park before it had even stopped moving, and hopped out of the driver’s seat just as Val pulled his car to a park behind her.  In seconds, every member of the family was behind her as she faced the colorful shipping boxes that lined the dock for miles each way.  They all craned their necks to take in the towering crates the stretched on for ages, so vast and expansive it was utterly intimidating.

“This place looks like a maze,” Leo whispered while coming up next to her, his eyes drinking in the forty-foot tall shipping boxes.

Jessica barely heard him, frowning as she studied her tablet.  She heard Val’s voice next to her, as well as Zoey’s.  She could hear the desperation in their voices, quickly growing impatient when she gave them no response, but her lack of response was because she was focused on the tablet in her hand.  And the task at hand.  She was focused on getting Marcus back.

“They’re here,” Jessica said, feeling the body heat of every brother as they leaned into her from every angle, looking over her shoulder as she pointed at the tablet screen.  She’d transferred the feed from Marcus’ bracelet from Taj’s laptop to her tablet, and it was currently displaying one colorful shipping crate after the other, a new crate coming every minute as they moved.  “Do you see all the crates?  They’re here.  They’re moving.”

“Let’s go,” Val spat, already holding his hands out.  “What the hell are we waiting for? Why are we still standing here?”

“Because we have no way of knowing where they are.  Leo’s right; this place is like a maze. There are people employed here that still struggle to navigate this place without an Atlas. Crates for miles each way.  King and Marcus are here, and they’re moving, but we need to get an idea of which direction they’re going so we’re not just scrambling around like chickens with our heads cut off.  Now keep your voice down.  King may be close enough to hear us, and the last thing we need is to spook him.  Not when he has your kid’s life in his hands.”