That One Time by Aja Foxx

Chapter Twenty

~ Henry ~

 

I felt as if I was going to unravel at any moment. There were all of these police going in and out of my house, people dusting for prints, and the constant barrage of questions from the detectives. It was like no one was out searching for Eva, for my baby. They were all here in my house.

It was maddening.

I wanted Eva and Arty found. My heart was breaking, splintering into a million little painful pieces, and the only one who could understand what I was feeling was currently in surgery, fighting for his life.

"Here, baby, drink this."

I automatically drank the soda Frank handed me. I didn't even question why I was drinking a soda. I didn't care.

Frank squatted down in front of me. "How are you doing?"

"I want my baby, Frank. I want Eva."

Pain glittered in Frank's deep brown eyes. "I know, and I'm doing everything I can to find her. I already have the money set up to give to Stewart when he calls."

I swallowed tightly and glanced down at my hands. "Do you think he'll give them back once he has the money?"

"I don't know."

I could hear the hesitation in Frank's voice and knew he hated saying that to me. I sent him a small smile. "Thank you for not lying to me." I glanced up when one of the detectives walked over to us. "Has there been any word? Did you find them?"

"No, not yet, but we're working on it," the man said. "I just wanted you to know the hospital called and your friend Ryan is out of surgery. The doctor says he has a bit of a recovery ahead of him, but he should make a full recovery."

"Oh, thank god." Frank caught me when I leaned into him. I closed my eyes for a moment, my relief beyond what I could handle. I'd lived with Ryan for five years. He was my best friend. When I opened my eyes, I looked back up at the detective. "Does Ryan know about Arty?"

"Not yet." The man shook his head. "He's still in recovery."

"I should be the one to tell him." I didn't want to, but it would be better coming from me than some random police officer.

"The doctor said he should be asleep for the rest of the night. I can arrange for an officer to take you up there first thing in the morning."

"Thank you."

I jumped when my phone started ringing. Frank had been carrying it his pocket, but when the police learned that this was a kidnapping as well as a shooting, they had taken it and hooked it up to a machine that was supposed to record the call as well as help track it.

Frank jumped up and ran to the table where the phone was located. I raced after him. I'm pretty sure my heart had frozen in my chest.

"Now, remember," the detective said as he grabbed a headset and held it to his ear. "Try to keep him on the line as long as you can. The longer he talks, the better chance we have of tracking him."

Frank nodded before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"I told you no cops, Frank."

"You had to know they were going to get involved, Stewart. You were the one to tell me to call an ambulance for Ryan. He was shot. The cops don't let things like that go without investigating."

"You broke a rule, Frank, and now one of these little darlings has to pay. Which one will it be? The boy or the girl? I'll let you choose."

I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep Stewart from hearing me cry out. That would just give him more ammunition.

Frank's fist clenched so hard, his skin went white. "I'll give you another five million dollars if you let them both go right now."

"Fifteen million dollars? I'll think about it."

The line went dead.

"Oh my god, he's going to kill them. I know he is, Frank. He's going to kill our baby."

I knew I had grown a little hysterical when Frank grabbed me by the arms and gave me a good shake. "He's not, Henry. I won't let him."

"How can you stop it?" I frowned when Frank grimaced. "Frank?"

He gave a slight shake of his head before looking at the detective. "Is it alright if I take Henry back to his room to lie down? I think this is getting too overwhelming for him."

"Yes, of course."

Frank didn't say anything as he led me out of the room, but he gestured for Martino to follow us as we passed him. When we reached my bedroom, Frank led me over to the bed and pushed me down onto the mattress.

"Frank, wha—" I snapped my mouth closed when Frank held up his hand.

Something was going on. I just had no idea what it was. When Martino stepped into the room, Frank told him to close the door. Once the door was closed, Frank pushed a hand through his hair and then turned to look at me.

"Okay, look," Frank said, "there is someone we can call that might be able to help us track Stewart down, but once we ring that bell, we can't unring it."

Huh?

"Are you sure you want to do this, Frank?"

"You heard him, Martino," Frank said. "He's threatening to kill one of the kids and we have no guarantee that he won't kill them both once he gets the money."

"Yeah, but—"

"He's threatening to kill my daughter, Martino," Frank snapped. "Do you get that?"

"He doesn't know which kid is yours, Frank."

I know emotions were high, but the rage that suddenly flooded every pore of my body was almost mind—numbing. I jumped up from the bed and barreled into Martino, slamming him into the wall. He was bigger than me, but I was pissed.

"Stewart left the choice up to us. Which kid should he kill, Martino? Frank's daughter or your son?" I knew I had no right to give away Ryan's secrets, but the situation was dire. I hope Ryan understood when he learned about the can of worms I'd just opened. "Since you seem to think this is so easy, you pick."

Martino's confusion was almost amusing. "My son?"

"Yeah, remember that one night stand you had with Ryan all those years ago? You know the one where you didn't tell Ryan you were married until after you fucked him? Well, guess what? It's a boy." I grinned maliciously. "So, which one should we tell Stewart to kill? Hmm?"

Martino's brow furrowed. "My son?" he asked again. "Arty is my son?"

"Yes, Arturo is your son."

"Why wouldn't Ryan tell me?"

"Because you're an idiot." I pushed away from Martino and walked over to sit on the side of the bed. I drew in a deep breath. "I had no right to tell you and Ryan is going to be pissed that I did, but you need to understand what is at stake here. You can't choose who lives and dies here. One kid is not more disposable than the other. They both matter."

"I think Martino's hesitancy comes from the fact that the people we have to call aren't exactly...uh...they aren't..."

"They aren't what?" I snapped. I didn't care if they were the devil themselves. If they could help us find Eva and Arty, I didn't know why they hadn't already been called.

"They're not exactly law abiding citizens, Henry," Martino said. "In fact, they are pretty much the opposite of law abiding."

"My grandmother is from the old country," Frank explained. "She has some contacts over there that have contacts over here that might be able to find Stewart and Trevor."

"If they can find our kids, I don't see the problem here."

"Favors like this aren't free," Frank said.

"So, offer them the money you have set aside to pay Stewart." Seemed simple enough to me.

"Not sure they'll want money." Frank grimaced as if he has a bad taste in his mouth. "They usually want favors in return for favors, and that opens us up to a minefield of problems."

"I don't care," I spat out.

Frank glanced at Martino, who nodded. He sighed as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialed, and then held the phone to his ear. "Nonna, this is Francesco. I need you to—" His eyebrows lifted. "You did?" He glanced at Martino. "She already called them. They have men out searching for Stewart now."

I smiled. "I always did like her."

"Yes, Nonna?" Frank said as he held the phone back to his ear. He nodded a couple of times before hanging up and looking at me. "I've been informed if I don't get my head out of my ass—her words—and bring you and Eva home where you belong, I'm might as well not come home."

I chuckled.

Frank looked at his brother. "You're basically screwed. She knows about Arturo."

"How?" Martino asked. "I just found out."

"I doubt there is much that gets past that woman," I said. I'd only spent a small amount of time in the Galeazzi household, but some of my favorite memories were having coffee with Eva in her indoor garden.

There was a knock at the bedroom door. Martino reached over and pulled it open. It was one of the officers. He glanced between all of us before his eyes settled on Frank. "The detective would like to see you, sir."

Frank instantly started out of the room. I got up to follow him. No way in hell was I being left behind if something was going on. I ran to keep up because Frank was walking very fast. When we reached the main room, the officer directed Frank to the door.

"He's out front."

Frank headed for the door. When I started after him, he pointed to the floor. "You stay here."

"Frank."

"Please, baby." Frank pressed a hand against my shoulder, keeping me from going out the door. "Let me see what the detective wants. As soon as I know anything, I'll let you know."

Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes. "Frank."

"Please, baby?"

My shoulders slumped and I nodded. Tension and anxiety balled together in my gut. I jerked when I felt someone come up behind me until I realized it was Martino.

"It's going to be okay, Henry."

I hoped so, but I wasn't holding my breath. Mostly because there was no air left in my lungs. I just couldn't seem to inhale enough oxygen. It didn't help that my heart was beating so fast it was about to leap right out of my chest.

"Henry!"

"That's Frank," I whispered as I darted for the front door. I made it out the door and as far as the front porch before I spotted Frank. I sank down onto the steps, unable to take another step. The sobs I'd been trying so hard to hold in broke free and tears began streaming down my cheeks.

Frank had tears on his own cheeks as he walked toward me, holding a kid in each arm. He was surrounded by police officers, one on each side and two behind him. The detective in charge of the kidnapping case was walking with him, talking wildly on his phone.

Frank stopped several feet from me and squatted down on the ground. "Go to Daddy, Eva."

She raced into my waiting arms. I hugged her as tight as I could before looking up at Frank. "Thank you." The words were inadequate, but they were all I had.

He'd given me my little girl back.