Reborn by Melody Anne

Chapter Twenty

Damien was still in shock at the realization that nothing in this world could truly be safe when someone as evil as Anna Miller was found not guilty. Even worse, he was sure money had exchanged hands . . . and most likely threats had been made. There was no way that jury had found her not guilty without being pushed into that decision.

The thing that was frightening to Damien was that she hadn’t been seen since she’d given her press conference, expounding on how the justice system had worked perfectly and freed an innocent woman. She’d then gone on to announce to the press how she planned to get back into the political world again after taking a couple of weeks to recuperate from her traumatizing ordeal. She’d created her campaign ad right there by telling reporters she was going to fight for all of the innocent victims who ended up on the wrong side of the law because someone had it out for them.

Damien had decided he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to give Anna Miller another moment of his time. But that all changed in a heartbeat. There was one fear above all other fears for a parent — one trauma parents prayed would never come to their lives . . .

Damien received a message from his daughter’s phone. She was staying the night at a friend’s house, so he didn’t think much of the text and didn’t look at his phone right away, but when another message came through, he looked. His heart was suddenly ripped from his chest.

There was a photo of his only child . . . tied to a chair . . . with a message on her lap that simply read, it’s you or her. The next message gave him very explicit instructions on what to do and when to do it.

Pack all of your cash and jewels and put them in a non-descript bag. If you try to place a tracking device in the bag it will end badly. Don’t call the police. Don’t attempt to circumvent any part of this. This phone will be destroyed so there’s no need to try to track it. Answer any and all calls from this moment forward. The phones will be burners so don’t bother trying to track location. Do you understand?

His only response was, I understand.

Damien rushed to his bedroom, grabbed his wife’s cell phone, and dialed Joseph, explaining everything that had just happened.

“Obviously I can’t confirm yet, but I’m sure it’s Anna,” Damien said.

“Okay. I’m calling Chad. We’ll figure out what to do,” Joseph replied.

After the brief call concluded Damien did all he could to keep his wife from exploding into a billion pieces. Her little girl was being held captive because of a psychotic maniac, and she felt as helpless as he did. In a moment of desperate frustration, she grabbed the television remote sitting on her nightstand and threw it across the room, embedding it in the wall. Neither she nor Damien said a word about the damage, letting fragmented pieces of drywall crumble into a pile of dust.

“Damien,” he answered as the screen on his phone displayed an unknown number.

A person immediately spoke. No introductions were needed.

“Good boy. The minimum amount of cash had better be at least three hundred thousand. The jewelry needs to look like a pirate’s treasure chest. I have no room for negotiations, Damien. Either you do as I say, or your daughter and I disappear . . . forever,” the digital voice said.

“You’re never going to get away with this, Anna,” Damien barked into the receiver.

“Anna? Who’s Anna?” the voice inquired.

“Stop the games. I know it’s you, you piece of shit!” Damien was at the end of his emotional limit.

“Oh, do you mean Anna Miller? This isn’t her. In fact, if you turn on the channel nine news, I believe she’s speaking at an event right now,” the voice calmly replied.

Damien took three large steps to the wall, ripped the remote from it, and smashed buttons until the television came to life. He found the local news and there was his sister dressed up and looking at ease in front of a crowd of reporters. His stomach sank, confusion ripping through him, and the capacity to figure out any next steps vanquished. Not realizing it, he dropped the phone, only his eyes working as they focused on the images on the screen in front of him.

“Damien . . . DAMIEN!” his wife called.

His cognitive abilities returned as he looked at his wife questioning what she wanted. She pushed her phone at him.

“It’s Chad,” was all she said.

“Hello,” Damien forced out.

“We’re on our way,” Chad said.

“How soon?” Damien replied.

“Now.” There was a pause and the lights suddenly went out in the house. Damien felt his heart thunder.

“Is that you?” Damien asked, hating the fear coursing through him. It wasn’t fear for himself but for his wife and for his daughter.

“Yes, the men are securing the premises, making sure no one is watching your house,” Chad told him. “I can hear them on the comms. So far so good. I don’t think Anna has the balls to come back to your place. I’m sure she’s assuming we’ve put security up.” Damien heard him say copy to someone, followed by, “Okay, Damien, we’re coming in. You can relax. Your place is secure.”

Damien ended the call as his front door opened and Chad walked inside with the five special ops men flanking him. The last time they’d been to Damien’s house, he’d been near death. This time it was his little girl who’d been taken. He’d give his life any day of the week to keep his daughter from going through the trauma she had to be currently enduring.

“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” Damien told the men as he shook each of their hands.

“I know you and your wife are stressed beyond measure right now, but let’s focus so we can get your daughter home. I want you to start at the beginning and tell me exactly what happened and the timeline of it down to the second,” Eyes said, stepping up and taking charge.

Damien walked the men through the texts and the phone calls, and the image of Anna on the television screen. He just wasn’t sure if she was a part of this or not. She had to be, but she couldn’t be in two places at once.

“Give me both of your phones,” Brackish demanded.

“They told me they’re using burners, so there’s no use trying to track them,” Damien said with irritation.

“That’s a myth. They’re just as easily tracked as any other phone. Trust me, I’ll get the location and then we’ll get your daughter,” Brackish said as he hooked both phones up to some technical gadgetry he’d brought with him.

Almost as soon as the connections were made Damien’s phone rang and another unidentified number came across the screen.

“Damien,” he answered.

“We must’ve been cut off when you saw Anna Miller giving her speech,” the person said in that same robot voice.

“We were.”

“Don’t let that happen again. Now, where were we? Oh, yes, we were talking about you bringing cash and jewelry to me. In one hour you’re going to be sent directions on where to go with that bag. You shouldn’t test me if you care at all about your daughter. If you have anyone with you, you’ll never see your daughter again. If you bring police, you’ll never see your daughter again. Are you willing to risk your daughter’s life? If not, do anything outside of what we ask you and you’ll see how petty I can be,” the person said and then promptly hung up.

“We’re going to have you fully covered, Damien. I promise you they’ll never know we’re there, no matter where they send you, we’ll be there,” Eyes said.

“But what if they see you? I can’t risk it,” Damien said.

“Damien, I know this is difficult, but you need to trust me. I’ve made it my life’s mission to save people and I’m damn good at my job. We’re going to bring you and your daughter home,” Eyes promised.

“That call came from a marina in Des Moines,” Brackish said flatly.

“That’s interesting,” Eyes said.

“Water escape. Major balls on that one,” Sleep said.

“Okay. This is the plan. It’s likely they feel safe at that marina, and that’s where the exchange is going to take place. Chad, drop Mrs. Whitman off at your house, then meet up with us. Damien, you’re riding with us to the center. From there we gear up and get your daughter back,” Eyes said to Damien as they started toward the front door.

As the team was pulling up to the command center, Damien’s phone rang again. They gave instructions on where to meet, and like Eyes thought, it was going down at the marina. The kidnappers gave Damien forty-five minutes to get to the parking lot at the Des Moines Marina Pier.

“Okay. Listen guys, this is all happening fast. Brackish — you’re here. Launch the entire armada into the sky. We’re going to need as many eyes feeding us information as possible. Total number of bodies, positions, radius, all of it. You don’t need me telling you what’s needed — just know we need it all,” Eyes said.

“On it,” Brackish said and then went to his office. With each step he took he quickly reached out and hit power buttons. Monitors and machines came to life behind him as he reached his chair. Brackish was far more valuable right where he was than out in the field.

“Green, get your gear — long gun and whatever else you need. I won’t be able to have a spotter for you, and, obviously, it’s going to be black out there but we’ll be able to laser them so you’ll have a sight line. If you need anything else, grab it and work with Brackish on what the best vantage point will be. We don’t know the exact location yet but you’ll need to work all of that out,” Eyes told Green, and Green was gone without a response.

“Sleep, Smoke, get your swim gear, and get on a boat. I don’t care how you acquire it, but make it happen fast. We need you two on the water and near the mouth of that pier. Don’t wait for us to get down there.” He paused then looked at them with raised brows. “You two should be gone already,” Eyes finished with a command that all of them knew well. His mental juices were firing on all cylinders; this was him at his best.

Eyes switched to speaking over the comms so the rest of the men could hear his plans. “Chad and I are going to get into position a few minutes before Damien arrives. Once Brackish has his drones confirm where the kidnappers are, which will be well in advance of our arrival, we’ll go down a different dock and board a boat like it’s our own.”

“Copy,” was repeated four times through the comms and the men did what they did best. They got into position exactly as planned with all of the gear necessary to complete their operation. A rag tag group of fools wasn’t going to stop this team from saving the daughter of one of their own.

“Radio check,” a voice came over the comms. It was Brackish and he was ready to start feeding information.

“Clear,” Eyes said. There were several clicks from the other men acknowledging that they could hear.

Brackish was in his element and spoke quickly. “We have five bodies on a sixty foot white and blue yacht on the south dock at the end. Two perps are on the deck, one in the aft, and two bodies are showing below deck. There don’t appear to be any additional contacts in the surrounding area. The drones haven’t picked up any other souls or equipment. These fools have underestimated Damien, and therefore us.”

By the time Damien arrived in the parking lot all of the team members were in place and ready for a green light. Green had located a building that overlooked the entire marina but had a broadside view of the yacht. Sleep and Smoke had acquired a low-slung, sleek black boat and they were outside of the marina entrance, getting the last part of their swim gear on. As soon as they finished they dropped into the water. Chad and Eyes made their way onto a boat three docks over from the yacht and readied themselves for a water entrance as well.

“Damien, stall for sixty seconds before exiting your vehicle,” Eyes said over the comms.

“Okay,” Damien replied.

The time allowed Sleep and Smoke to slip through the mouth of the harbor and get close to the yacht. Chad was tasked to slip between the boats and under the docks until he was below the dock the yacht was attached to. Eyes made his way to the back of the yacht, staying in the shadows and ensuring he wasn’t seen.

“Damien — green light. I can hear everything you say and I’ll guide you through this,” Brackish said. He had a full view of the entire scene. He could see the heat signatures of all of the men in the water, and was surprised Green wasn’t showing up on any of the infrared detection. That man was as good as it got in the hide and seek game.

Damien slowly walked forward. His heart thundered as he thought about his daughter, Samantha. If something happened to her he’d go to the ends of the earth to seek revenge. He moved onto the dock and his step hitched when he saw Anna Miller. Of course he’d known it was her, but to truly know made his emotions boil over. How could one human being be this evil?

He gripped the bag that held the money and jewels and clenched his jaw as he fought the urge to spring forward, leap onto the boat, and strangle her to death. He knew he’d be dead before he came anywhere near the woman, but it was almost worth it to relieve some of the stress he’d been under.

“Come aboard my sweet big brother, please come aboard,” Anna yelled. The smile she wore was pure evil.

“Let my daughter go!” demanded Damien.

“Oh please. My niece is safe. She might need some ice for that lip. She does have quite the temper on her. I wonder who she got that from,” Anna said over the banister of the yacht.

“Anna, take me, take this bag that has close to one million dollars in cash and jewels, and do what you said you’d do; let Samantha go. She has nothing to do with any of this or these damn games everyone has been playing,” Damien pleaded.

As the two were talking a man covered from head to toe in black walked up next to Anna. Two other men at the aft of the yacht also appeared. All of their faces showed confidence. In their minds Damien was clearly outnumbered and they held the higher ground. They could take him out with a single bullet if they chose. From the expressions on the men’s faces, Damien was sure they were hoping their leader, Anna Miller, requested just that.

Anna whispered something to the man next to her and he disappeared. The two men at the back of the boat gave a small nod in understanding and stayed right where they were.

“One of the bodies below has just pulled up the other body as the third person entered the room. I now know which one is Samantha,” Brackish said through Damien’s comms. “She’s moving forward. Stay calm, and this will all work out.”

Damien needed to hear the words more than he’d thought. His little girl was on her own two feet and moving closer to him. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d get her back. These special ops men surrounding him were the best of the best and they’d never allow something to happen to a teenager, not while there was still a breath inside of them.

Anna’s team of goons didn’t know about Sleep and Smoke lurking in the black water on the aft side of the boat. After receiving confirmation from Brackish, the two men silently swam to the side of the yacht and with no sound at all pulled themselves onto the side deck. No one heard or saw a thing.

“Swimmers, hold. They’re almost to the top deck,” Brackish whispered, speaking about Samantha and her captor.

The next moment Damien’s daughter, in handcuffs with a gag pulled tight across her face, was pulled up next to Anna. Samantha looked over the rail, her frightened eyes connecting with her father’s. She nodded at him as if to tell him she was okay and she was brave enough to keep standing through this.

“Isn’t this sweet?” Anna said with a cackle. “If you could see your face right now, Damien, you’d be laughing too. It’s absolutely pathetic. It’s the reason I don’t get attached to anyone. If you have something to lose, then you’re completely and fully controllable.”

Anna turned and said something to the man in black next to her. The man pulled Damien’s daughter tightly to his side.

“I’ve done what you want, Anna. Unhand my daughter and take your damn money,” Damien said. He was sick of these monsters touching his little girl.

“You aren’t the one in control, Damien. I’d suggest you keep your damn mouth shut before little Samantha here becomes fish food,” Anna said as if she could care less either way. Damien knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she didn’t care. Both he and his daughter could be killed right then and there and she wouldn’t even blink. The woman had no soul. He couldn’t imagine what had happened in her life to make her into this person.

“Okay, Damien, now,” Brackish said.

Damien moved to the edge of the dock and unzipped the bag. He’d had enough of Anna’s games. He was more than glad to do as Brackish had instructed earlier. He was going to hold the open bag over the water. If they shot him the money and jewels would scatter. If they shot his daughter, he had nothing to live for anyway and again, the goods would scatter. Sure, it was retrievable, but not in minutes or even hours. It would take days to gather it all up, and some would be lost forever. Anna didn’t have that kind of time. She’d lost everything with the trial and the seizure of her assets. It would take a lot of time to get even a percentage of it back. That’s why she was extorting Damien right then.

“The cops will be here. You can’t think I’m such a fool as to go one on one with you,” Damien told her. “Release my daughter and bring her to my side or this goes to the bottom of the sea. I have nothing left to lose, Anna, so don’t test me,” Damien said.

“I’m the one who shouldn’t be tested,” Anna screamed. He could see the fury in her face. She didn’t like the tables turning on her. “I will kill her,” she finished as she grabbed Samantha, making his daughter cry out as Anna yanked her hair.

“We told you this would be the reaction, Damien. Anna’s forehead is in my sights. If anyone even twitches they’ll all be dead before your daughter can be injured. We need to get Samantha off of that boat. Anna needs the money in that bag. You have the power,” Brackish assured Damien through the comms.

Damien reached into the bag and pulled out a diamond and ruby necklace worth over a hundred thousand dollars. He let the sparkling showpiece dangle over the murky water.

“Last chance, Anna,” Damien said. “My fingers are getting really, really tired.” He trembled his hand as if he was going to lose the jewels. He didn’t give a shit about the jewelry, his money, or any possession he owned. All he cared about was his daughter.

“Fine,” Anna snapped. She pushed Samantha at the man who’d brought her from below deck. “She’s coming to you now. I want you to take three steps back from the water.”

“There’s no a chance of that happening, Anna. If I move, you shoot both of us,” Damien said.

“What makes you think I won’t shoot you both after I have the bag?” Anna snapped. She truly was losing her cool.

“My daughter will reach the top of the docks and be gone before I move from this place. I don’t care what happens to me then,” Damien said. An angry growl rushed from Anna. “What’s the matter, dear sister? You don’t get to kill us both? I don’t know how you became what you are, but it shouldn’t be easy for you to kill your own niece, even if you didn’t see her grow up.”

“I don’t give a shit about her, and I certainly don’t care two cents about you,” Anna told him.

His daughter was pulled off of the boat. Damien looked at her with fear and love. “It will be okay, sweetie. Just get out of here,” he told her.

“No, daddy. I’m not leaving you,” she sobbed.

“Do it now!” he yelled. He couldn’t ever remember yelling at his daughter before. He was terrified though, and while he had utter confidence in the men who were all around him, he didn’t want a stray bullet finding his precious daughter.

Samantha sobbed as the man pushed her away toward the exit, then stood between her and Damien as Samantha walked toward the top of the docks. She was almost there.

“Now!” Anna screamed.

The man suddenly leapt toward Damien, while another man jumped off of the boat and began chasing after Samantha. Damien dropped the bag, the loaded suitcase spilling into the water just before the thug could secure it. Anna’s scream echoed through the boat docks as the man’s fists connected with Damien’s jaw.

Before the pain could even register, Damien heard Eyes as he said, go time. Smoke and Sleep stood just as Brackish cut all of the lights in the marina, plunging them into total darkness. The yacht was plugged into power via the marina but after only a couple of seconds the onboard generator would kick on. Still, it was enough of a diversion that there was no way the two men at the back of the yacht had any chance of seeing what was about to happen to them.

Chad grabbed Samantha, flung her over his shoulder, and told her she was safe as he quickly ran to safety. She sobbed as she gripped his back, thanking him, and begging him to save her father. He assured her there were five very capable men who were helping her father. She stopped struggling at those words.

The lights flashed back on and Anna looked down at Damien who was now standing alone.

“Where’s Paul?” Anna asked as her eyes frantically searched the docks.

“He must’ve fallen in,” Damien said with a shrug. His daughter was safe. He no longer cared what happened. “What are you going to do now, Anna? What’s your end game to all of this?”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Damien,” she said. She was furious, but her mask was slowly easing back into place. She might’ve lost the money, but she always had a backup plan. She didn’t know the meaning of the word lose.

“Well, Damien, I guess the plan is for you to die,” Anna said, her forked tongue dancing around her snake-like mouth. “I’ll come for your daughter again, and you’ve seen that when I set my mind on something I don’t ever give up. So just know in your final thoughts that I’m going to go after your wife and daughter, torture them, then send them to hell where you can see them again.”

“She won’t get the chance,” Brackish said in Damien’s ear. “Samantha’s secure, sitting back with a Pepsi and a donut, and driving Chad crazy as she keeps demanding he go help in your rescue.”

“I’m glad to be driven crazy,” Chad said. “But hurry it up, Damien. I forgot how much teenage girls can whine when they don’t get their way.” There was an umph at the end of his words. Samantha had obviously smacked him.

“Anna,” Damien said, smiling at this sister he hadn’t known he’d had too long ago. “Before you kill me, can you please, for the love of all that’s holy, tell me how you got a not guilty verdict from a randomly appointed jury?”

Anna laughed. She felt in control again. “Peons, all of you are absolute peons. Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, my influence and clout reaches every corner of this country? All but two of those jurors were professionals. And even if the two thought I was guilty, there are very few people who have the balls to stand up to an entire group and tell them they’re wrong. The DA had no clue what the shell game was, but we played it to perfection. If it wasn’t for that judge being one of those letter of the law types, I would’ve been out on bail and you’d be dead already.”

“Well, I’m glad she hasn’t been corrupted by insidious creatures like you,” Damien said in a casual voice he knew was ticking Anna off.

“You know, Damien, I can’t wait to get out of here. I think I’ll kill you now,” Anna said as she reached into her jacket and placed her hand on the butt of her gun. She pulled the gun out, a silencer at the end of the muzzle, and began lifting it to point at Damien.

“Damien, on three you need to drop. Don’t try to catch yourself, and whatever you do, don’t move once you’re down,” Eyes said into the comms.

“One, two, three . . .” Eyes let out and then there were two shots fired. One was at close range, only a few yards away. The other was from a much bigger caliber weapon and carried a boom that bounced around the boats, the echo not fading for some time.

The shot from the big gun did its job to perfection. The smaller one that hit Anna wasn’t a fatal shot. While she did lose control over the weapon she’d been holding, she was moving quickly away from the railing.

Anna found her gun and turned toward Damien to finish what she’d started but the man who was her brother by DNA rushed up the plank of the boat and straight at her and a struggle ensued on who’d be able to maintain enough strength and balance to take control of the gun. The two of them rose to their feet, slowly spinning and pushing at each other as they drew dangerously closer to the railing.

“You’re going to die, you bastard,” Anna said through clenched teeth, blood starting to seep from her mouth.

“Not today, and definitely not by you,” Damien replied and then saw his move.

Since the shooting Anna had been favoring her right side and when Damien saw this he quickly reacted. He spun her so her right side was closest to the rail, then he trapped her right leg on the ground while lifting up on her torso. The balance was unequal, and her fight or flight reaction changed in an instant as their momentum started pushing them over the rail.

Damien stopped thinking about the consequences of harming someone and continued his movement, lifting her higher and pushing harder. Just as he got Anna over the rail a shot went off, hitting him directly in the chest. Anna went over the rail, and as she fell twenty feet down he could see her smiling at getting the last laugh, shooting him before she dropped.

The impact her torso made as it hit the side of the boat while her legs slapped the deck of the yacht was almost grotesque. For a moment she looked at Damien above her, smiling at fulfilling the promise to her mother that she’d destroy the offspring of the man who’d traumatized them so much. The last thing Anna’s earthly eyes saw was Damien pulling off his shirt to expose a bulletproof vest which had worked flawlessly in stopping the round that was meant to kill him. Anna Miller died in agony. Both physically and mentally. Her reign of terror on Damien and his family was over.

Damien stared down at the lifeless form of Anna Miller. She’d died with a smug grin on her lips. Even in her final moments she hadn’t relented, hadn’t had a moment of mercy or regret. He couldn’t move for several moments, not believing this whole thing was over so quickly.

“Damien,” Brackish said through the comms.

Damien didn’t respond. He was quickly going into shock.

The special ops men exited the water, then slowly approached Damien knowing he was unpredictable in his shock. Sleep put his hand on Damien’s arm. “It’s over, Damien. Let’s get you to your daughter.”

Those words finally snapped Damien out of his shock. “Yes please. I need to hold my daughter.”

They made their way up the ramp and when Damien reached the top, Samantha came flying out of nowhere and launched herself into her father’s arms. “Daddy, I was so scared I wouldn’t see you again,” she sobbed as she buried her head against his neck.

“It’s okay, baby girl, it’s okay,” he assured her, wondering if everything truly was okay.

“I know it is. I knew you’d come. I was just so afraid you wouldn’t walk away,” she sobbed.

“I’d never voluntarily leave you or your mother,” he assured her.

“Let’s go home,” she begged.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do,” he said. He kept Samantha wrapped tightly at his side as they walked to Chad’s vehicle. He climbed in the backseat with his daughter unwilling to let her go.

It was over. It was truly over. The bad guys were all gone now. No one was coming for Damien or his family. He told himself that the entire drive to where his wife was pacing as she waited for her family to be reunited again.

While Damien was getting reunited with his family Brackish called Sheriff McCormack about some bad men who needed to be picked up who just so happened to be tied up with a nice little bow on top for him. Brackish told the sheriff there was video evidence of exactly what had occurred minus the presence of five special ops men, of course. When McCormack asked what had happened, the men did what they did best when it came to the law, they played dumb. How it had happened, or what had happened, was unknown.

Anna Miller’s legacy would never be what she’d hoped for, and for all intents and purposes the exact opposite. She’d died alone and weak just as how she’d lived her entire life. She wouldn’t leave behind a legacy, she’d just leave the world — and the world was a better place without her in it. The world was a better place all together because of a team of five men who never gave up.