That One Time by Aja Foxx

Chapter Twenty One

~ Frank ~

 

"How?" Henry asked.

I was kind of wondering that myself. "The officer said they just walked up to the house."

Henry lifted Eva up into her arms before walking down the steps to me. He reached over and brushed the hair back from Arty's eyes. "Hey, little man, how are you?"

"I want Daddy," Arty said as he burrowed into my chest.

"I know," Henry replied. "But Daddy was really tired so he went to see some friends and take a nap. Maybe we can go see him in the morning."

"Is it because of Daddy's booboo?"

Damn, Arty's words meant the kids had seen Ryan either shot or lying on the floor after he'd gotten shot. That was not a memory I wished either of them to have.

"Yes," Henry said as he shot me a look. "It's because of Daddy's booboo."

"Daddy, Daddy." Eva tugged on Henry's shirt. "That man, he told me to give this to you when he dropped us off at the park." She held out a folded piece of paper.

Geez, the park? They had walked here all the way from the park? Granted, it was only two blocks away, but they were just little kids.

Henry leaned down and set Eva on her feet before opening the paper. His brow furrowed as he read whatever was written there. "Frank."

"What's it say?"

"It's a note from Trevor. He says he never agreed to kidnap any kids, that it was all Stewart's idea. He says he's washing his hands of the whole thing. He's not going to prison for anyone, not even Stewart."

"Did he happen to mention where Stewart might be?"

Henry shook his head.

Well, at least we got the kids back.

"Martino, call Papa and have him arrange some people to...Martino?"

Martino was standing there staring at Arty as if he'd never seen a four year old kid before. There was a surprising sheen in his brown eyes.

"Hey." I waved my hand in front of his face to get his attention.

Martino jerked as if he'd just been electrocuted. "What?"

"Can you hold Arty while I call Papa? I want him to send some men down here to keep an eye on the kids until Stewart and Trevor are found."

"You want me to hold him?"

"He won't bite you, Martino."

"He might," Henry said. "He bit Eva last week when she wouldn't give him a toy he wanted."

"I stand corrected." I didn't give my brother a chance to protest. I just dumped Arty into his arms. He could either catch him or watch him fall to the ground.

Luckily, Martino caught him.

"Let's go inside. I don't want you all out here on the street." We might have the kids back, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't over.

Henry picked Eva up again and hurried inside, Martino right on his heels. I waited until they had walked away before turning to the detective. "What happened?"

"The kids just walked up to the yard," the man replied. "One of the officers spotted them and rang the alarm."

"Did they see who dropped the kids off?"

"No, but I sent some officers back to the park to look for any security cameras that might be in the area. If we can get some good footage, we might be able to see what kind of car this guy was driving and then identify him."

"I think it was Trevor Franklyn. He gave a note to Eva when he dropped them at the park and told her to give it to Henry. He said he never signed up for kidnapping kids and he was washing his hands of the entire situation."

"Do you have that note?"

"Henry has it."

"I'll need it."

I nodded. "I'll get it from Henry, but first I need to make a phone call." When the detective raised an eyebrow at me, I said, "Now that the kids are home, I want to arrange some security for them until these idiots are caught."

The detective nodded. "I can assign some officers, but I'm not sure how long they would be able to stay, so that's not a bad idea. You might also talk to Mr. Warner about upgrading his security around here. A ten year old with a nail file could break into that place."

If I had anything to say about it, Henry and Eva wouldn't be staying here long enough for that to be a problem. I wanted them home with me.

Once the detective walked away, I pulled out my phone and dialed my father. "Papa, its Francesco."

"Any news?"

"We have the kids, but Trevor and Stewart are still out there."

"Are they okay?"

"They look okay, a little scared, but I don't think they were harmed. Trevor dropped them off at a park two blocks from here."

"Well, at least they're home safe."

"And that's kind of what I needed to talk to you about. I need some security for them until Trevor and Stewart are caught."

"Say no more. I'll call our security guy and see if he has anyone out here that can help out for awhile."

"Thank you, Papa."

"Has Henry agreed to let us meet her yet?"

I winced, not wanting to hurt my father, but not really knowing that answer to his question either. "No, not yet. I don't even think he's thinking about it at the moment. Having Eva kidnapped tore him apart and that's been all he's been able to concentrate on."

Bellino sighed. "I suppose I can understand that. Your Mama and I would have been beside ourselves if something had happened to one of you."

I could understand that sentiment and I'd barely had a chance to say two words to my own daughter. I needed to change that. "I need to go, Papa. I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Alright, I'll let your Mama know Eva is safe and get some security out to you."

"You might want to let Nonna know the kids are safe, too. I called her earlier and asked her to talk to some of her contacts in the old country."

"Oh, son." I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I had to, Papa," I insisted, hoping he would understand. "This is my little girl we're talking about, and Stewart was threatening to kill her. I couldn't let that happen."

"No, of course not. I just...You know they are going to want something in return."

"And I'll give them whatever they want if it means my little girl is home safe in her own bed." I reached back and rubbed at the tension knotting the muscles at the back of my neck. "Besides, Nonna had already called them by the time I called her. Maybe whatever favor they ask for won't be so bad since the request came from her."

I could hope anyway.

"Call me if you hear anything," Bellino said. "I'll do the same."

"Thank you, Papa." I hung up and slid my phone back into my pocket. I rested my hands on my hips and tilted my head back to stare up into the night sky for a minute. My relief that the kids had been returned was great, but the threat was still there and I was at a loss as how to fix this mess.

That might actually be what angered me the most. I was always able to fix things, but I was starting to realize that throwing money at this situation was not going to solve it for me. Money is what got us into this mess in the first place.

"Mr. Galeazzi," an officer called out as he stepped onto the porch. "He's calling again."

I took off running for the house. I glanced around as soon as I got inside. "Where are Henry and the kids?"

"I had Henry take the kids to the bedroom when the phone rang," the detective said. "I didn't think it was a good idea for the kids to hear this. There's an officer in there with them."

"No, you're right." I walked to the table. "Okay, everyone ready?"

I received several nods so I hit the connect button on the cell phone. "Stewart."

"Is the jet here?" Stewart asked.

"It is," I replied. My eyes rounded a bit as I realized Stewart didn't know we had the kids back. I glanced at the detective, who made a motion with his hand for me to keep talking. "It's parked at a private hanger at the airport, fueled and ready to go wherever you want."

"And the money?"

"Ready to be wired to your account when we get the kids."

"No, no, that's not how this is going to work. I get the money and then you get the brats."

"What guarantee do I have that you won't harm them once you get the money?"

"None."

Asshole.

"Why are you doing this, Stewart?"

Stewart snorted. "For the money, of course."

"This can't just be about the money. How did you even know about my kid? I just found out a couple of days ago myself."

"You always were an idiot." Stewart's voice hardened ruthlessly. "I knew Henry was pregnant since right after you kicked him to the curb. I knew, given enough time, you'd go looking for him and I was biding my time until you did."

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?" That's what I didn't understand. I didn't like the guy, but I had never been outright rude to him. "Why kidnap my kid?"

"Because I want you to suffer the way you made me suffer," Stewart spat out. "I want your entire family to suffer with the knowledge that you couldn't save your kid, just like I couldn't save Jack."

Jack?

I glanced across the room to Martino, whose face at turned pasty white as he stared down at the phone like it was a snake coiled and ready to bite him. "You mean Jack White?"

"Jack Marcum, my brother," Stewart shouted. "He was my brother, and your family destroyed him. He was ostracized from everyone and everything after Martino made a fool of him. He couldn't get a job. He couldn't get a loan. He couldn't get anything. He died penniless and alone."

Jack's death was news to me, and I could see from Martino's dropped jaw that it was news to him as well.

"I'm sorry to hear that Jack died, but we didn't do anything to him. He did it to himself when he pretended to be someone he wasn't." I cocked my eyes a little and smirked. "Kind of like you did when you said you were carrying Martino's child so you could trap him into marriage."

I was testing out a theory here, but if I was right, it would clear up a lot of things for Martino.

"Your family is so desperate for the next generation of little Galeazzis that they'll jump at any little chance to continue the family line."

I watched as one of the technicians pumped his fist and then waved the detective over. The detective leaned in close to the screen before pulling out his cell phone and walking into the next room.

A moment later, he came out and walked over to me. "Keep him talking," he mouthed.

I nodded.

The detective made a beeline for the front door, several officers following behind him. I walked around the table until I could see the screen and then grinned. They'd pinpointed Stewart's location.

"Is that why you lied, Stewart?" I asked.

"I didn't lie."

"You were never carrying Martino's kid and you know it. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it, even Martino. Why do you think he divorced your skanky ass?"

Maybe that was too much.

"Skanky ass?" Stewart screamed into the phone. "I'll show you skanky ass."

Even through the phone I could hear Stewart's heavy footsteps. "Trevor, where are—what did you do?"

I jerked when two gunshots rang out.

A moment later, Stewart's voice came back on the line. "I guess we're back to ten million dollars now."

Wait.

"You shot one of the kids?"

When everyone in the room turned to look at me, I shrugged. I knew when this conversation had started that Stewart didn't know we had the kids back, but I was starting to think that he didn't know Trevor had returned them to us.

And I was pretty sure that Trevor had just paid for that mistake with his life.

"Pay me another five million and I'll tell you which one is left."

This guy really was an idiot.

"I'm not going to pay you one single cent until I get proof of life." That should put a bee in his bonnet.

"Maybe I'll just shoot the other one."

"No!" I don't know why I shouted that. It wasn't like he was actually going to kill one of the kids. He didn't have them anymore. Maybe it was instinct. "Get me proof of life, let me talk to the kid, and I'll send the money."

"I'll think about it."

I blew out a breath when the line went dead. I pushed my hand through my hair. "I hope I never have to deal with that idiot again."

The phone rang again.

"Fuck me," I whispered before reaching down to hit the connect button.

Stewart sounded as if he was running. He was panting heavily, his rapid footsteps echoing through the phone. "You fucking bastard!" Stewart shouted. "I will end you, and every member of your family."

I heard a couple of distant shouts, a gunshot, and then the phone went dead. I glanced at the technician. "Did they get him?"

"Hold on, I'm checking." The man quickly dialed a number and spoke to someone on the phone. "The detective said that Stewart got away, but one of the officers winged him. They also found Franklyn in a small room at the back of the house. He's been shot."

"Damn it!" I slapped my hand down on the table. "Martino, call Papa and warn them to tighten their security. Stewart is desperate. There's no telling who he might go after."

Martino nodded and then pulled out his cell phone as he walked away.

"Let me know when the detective gets back," I told the technician. "I need to go check on the kids."

I walked down the hallway without saying another word and then opened the door to the kids' room. I smiled when I saw Henry curled up with a kid on each side of him as he read them a story. It looked as if the kids had fallen asleep.

"Hey."

Henry smiled up at me. "Hey." His voice was soft and quiet as he spoke to me.

I spoke in the same quite voice when I asked, "How are they?"

"A little clingy, but that's to be expected."

I'd be a little clingy, too, if I'd been kidnapped and watched someone I care about get shot.

"How are you?" I asked.

Henry shrugged, which told me nothing and everything.

"Once those guys are asleep, why don't you come on out? I have some news." Not much news, but I wanted to keep Henry in the loop.

Henry glanced down. "I think they are asleep, but I may need help getting out of here."

Easy enough.

I walked over, leaned over Arty and picked Henry up in my arms. Arty and Eva both grumbled a little until they wiggled closer and touched each other, and then they fell back to sleep. I set Henry on his feet and then grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and pulled it up to cover both of them.

When I turned toward Henry, he had tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"