Between Brothers

How the Week-Ends

Friday

Julian

I haven’t heard anything from Tara since she left for her dress fitting, I was starting to worry so I called around to see if anyone heard anything. I made sure to put Chris dead last on my check list, because he would throw this entire investigation out the window and call Garrett. The only person he knew would kill us if something happened to his daughter, the man of darkness. 

The Good Doctor. I laugh at the name because he’s anything but, he’s a monster that hides his evil doings with a license to practice medicine. 

No one, not one f*****g soul has seen or heard from her. Daniel swears the last time he heard was a text alert that her order was delivered to the apartment but that was it. I don’t have time to ask why he wasn’t there with her later, I’m on a mission.

I scroll through my phone and find Chris’s name. I hesitate because I don’t want to call him. As I am about to press the button, I hear commotion. I look up and there he is, Chris and Daniel walking toward me. The fury burning in their eyes, would send a shiver down a normal man's spine. 

“WHERE THE f**k IS SHE DIPSHIT?” Chris asks, sliding the chair in front of my desk to the side. My partner peeks over the computer but doesn’t say anything, in fact I notice the entire precinct watching but no one speaks a word. I guess they know who owns the fuckin’ city. 

“I don’t f*****g know. Keep your goddamn voice down” I say through gritted teeth, my tolerance for his attitude is fleeting. 

“Did you find anyone who would know? Did you check the apartment?” Daniel says, eyes pleading for an answer. He looks guilty, like he did something wrong. 

“No one knows anything, I even called her damn mother but she’s not picking up” I reply, I didn’t call Gloria. We all know I didn’t but I felt right, I should’ve called her but I doubt she’d be helpful.

“YOU BETTER FUCKIN’ FIND HER! OR I WILL PERSONALLY FEED YOU, YOUR HEART MENDOZA!” He says, moving around the desk to be closer. His voice lower than a whisper, more like a sinister promise, “And we both know I know the perfect spot to do it. Let’s go”

Grabbing my keys, I tell my partner, Trevor, come on. I love my brothers, they’ve been family for as long as I can remember but Chris isn’t stable. When it comes to Tara he never uses logic, or reasoning, just action. 

We go to the apartment to check, maybe she’s just sleeping in. I approach the door and find it ajar, as if someone forgot the lock up after leaving. Hand on my glock, I enter with caution. The whole place looks like someone was looking for something, because it’s in disarray. The furniture flipped, electronics broken and blood smeared. The most disturbing is the blood on the walls, the spelling of someone's name. We all step closer and find it spells ‘Chris’. We look at him and his jaw ticks, he’s clearly pissed. 

“What the f**k did you do?” Daniel says, staring at his brother. 

“Better questions is ‘WHO DID YOU DO?’” I say, this was done to hurt him. We may have to call Garrett after all, as I am sure we’re dealing with his crazy ex-wife. “From the look of things, the blood is turning brown. So she’s been gone since probably last night, after the delivery message maybe. If this is Gloria, who are we kidding I’m sure it is, she’s on the run. We need Garrett,” I say, Chris visibly shutters at the thought of getting him involved. 

“Before calling him and getting ourselves killed, let’s pay Gloria a visit” Chris suggests, and he’s probably right. Garrett would kill us for dealing with his daughter, we knew better and we still f****d up. That f*****g b***h Gloria, when we find her I’m going to strangle her myself. We have to hurry because with each passing moment, the trail is getting colder. Trevor doesn’t say anything but pulls out his phone, and steps into the hall making a call. We all look at him, wondering who he is calling but we don’t ask. We just leave and head to Gloria’s. 

We will find you Tara. 

***

Tara

I have a pounding headache. I start to open my eyes and vaguely remember my mother beating my ass with her gun, I sit up and look around. We aren't at my apartment anymore, the exposed brick and pipes overhead I’d say an abandoned warehouse. The cold air whips past my face, drafty. Guess my mother couldn’t find a better space to hoard me, f*****g miserable b***h. 

Daddy was right, she’s insane. 

I hear footsteps, speaking of insane. 

“Ah, you’re awake” My mother hisses, her voice shrill and shaky. 

“Are you insane? What are you doing?” I ask, trying to twist the rope off my wrists. I’m sitting on the cold and dirty ground, tied to a beam with my arms behind my back. She’s not doing this alone, there’s no way she got me here all by herself. The wild look in her eyes is what scares me the most, is her obsession with Christopher that deep she wants me to die for it?

“I’m not crazy, well at least that’s what my psychologist thought before I killed him. Anyway, I figured we could have a little chat. Just the three of us” She says, the smile creeping onto her lips reminding me of Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter. 

“Three of us?” I repeat, there are only two of us here. Or does she mean Christopher? Daddy? Who is she referring to?”

“You’ll meet them soon enough, they’re just as upset as I am. But can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure, not like I’m getting out of here anytime soon.”

“Once I’m done with them, I’m going to kill them too!” She winks at me and walks away, leaving me alone in this place. I keep trying to pull my hands against these ropes, I can feel the fibers scratching up my wrists. Funny, the only thought I have is who’s going to pick up my wedding dress? 

My heart is drumming away in my chest, causing me to panic. Who’s her accomplice? Does Christopher even know I’m missing? Julian? Hell even Daniel at this point. I refuse to die this way, I refuse to go down without a fight. My stomach grumbles and I start to feel sick. I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning because a crazy person kidnapped me before my food arrived. 

I pray someone finds me before I die, I haven’t told Christopher that I love him. I haven’t told Julian we can’t be together because my heart is with Christopher, forever and always. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m sitting here in a warehouse and I’m tied up but my heart pangs at the thought I may never see him again. I’ve lost him once and I refuse to do it again.

***

Christopher



My name was written in blood, I know exactly who did it. Gloria is going to get her neck snapped when I f*****g find her. How could she do this to her own daughter? She birthed her into the world only to cause her the most pain, f*****g miserable b***h! 

She’s going through this because of me, because pain I felt and shared with a psycho still haunts me. I need to figure this out before I call Garrett. He promised me he’d kill me if I ever hurt his daughter, and here she’s being hurt because of me. I will accept that fate if there’s nothing I can do. 

Riding in the car with Daniel, we go back to my house to find Kayleigh packing her bags. She jumps as if I dropped a heavy book onto the floor and it startled her. 

“Oh God! Chrissy, I didn’t hear you come in.” She says, panting with her hand on her chest. Slowly returns to packing her bags, I’d like to say this is a good thing but I find this way too convenient. 

“Where are you going Kay?” I ask, stepping into the room and closing the door. 

“Well, since we’re divorcing there’s no need to stay now is there?” She replies, trying hard to brush me off as if I’m annoying her. She’s right, there isn’t a reason for her to stay but she’s not putting up a fight. Why now? Why does she suddenly want to separate now? She’s full of s**t and I can f*****g smell it in the air. 

“You know, you’re right. Get the f**k out” I say, taking off my jacket. She tries to sound appalled but I know she’s faking it. She grabs her suitcase and tries to storm past me, I grab the bag and throw it on the bed. “I think you have somethings that belong to me in here love, I’m taking a peek” I whisper in her ear, holding the luggage in one hand and her arm in the other. She tries to wiggle free but I just tighten my grip.

“I don’t have any of your s**t Chrissy, get your damn hands off me!” She bellows. 

Kayleigh watches me take the bag to the bed and dump the contents out, she’s holding her breath like she’s hoping I don’t find something. I reach down to pull the knife out of my boot and slit the fabric at the seams. And there’s the prize I’ve been looking for, sneaky little b***h. 

All of the contents of my fuckin’ deposit box from the bank, close to $30,000 dollars and several burner phones. I look at her smiling because I know she’ll try to lie, which I really hope she does. I crook my finger guiding her to come closer, she slowly makes her way across the room. I slide my arm around her waist, pulling her in front of me so we’re both facing the bed. 

“Sweet, sweet Kay. What’s all this? Looks like you were about to hit the road?” I say, pulling her closer so I can lightly kiss her collarbone. She shivers from my touch, light kisses and tap dancing my fingers up and down her arm. 

“I just took the stuff from the vault at the bank, didn’t think you’d miss it.” She says, her voice small and shaky. She’s scared.

“Why baby?” I ask.

“Because of that damn iron clad divorce settlement, you literally refuse to give me a penny.” She says, getting her voice back I see. She thinks I’m stupid.

I slide my hand around her throat, turning her slowly so she can look me in the eyes. Her cheeks are wet from the tears that dare to fall from her red-rimmed eyes. She’s been caught and probably freaking out, don’t worry baby this won't take long. 

“Sweetie, you’re lying to me. I hate liars. Why’d you try to transfer Fifteen million dollars to an offshore account?” She didn’t think I’d miss that, did she? “Better yet, let me ask a question you need to answer quickly. Where’s Gloria?” She stares at me, as she’s lost. But this needs to be answered, though I have no proof this has Gloria all over it. She doesn’t answer, just starts to sob. My hands still wrapped around her throat, I start to clamp down. 

“WHERE IS SHE?” I say through gritted teeth in her ear. Her tears still rolling, voice trembling, she finally says something I can hear. 

“I didn’t know this was the plan, no one was supposed to get hurt Chrissy. I just didn’t want to lose you and Gloria promised to help me keep you if we got rid of Tara” she rambles, tears still going. The anger boiling over, I press my thumb down on her windpipe and crush her under the pressure. She’s clawing at my hand and arm, begging for me to let her go but this betrayal will not go unpunished. I grip her throat harder and slam her down onto the bed, leaning down to whisper in her ear. 

“You could’ve f*****g asked for more money, but hurting someone I love. Unforgivable. Say hi to my grandmother for me” I say, as I watch the color drain from her face. She’s sputtering, her kicking stops and the tears stop rolling. She isn’t moving, she’s lying on the bed like a rag doll. I don’t give her a second look, I grab the phones that lay next to her head and go out to the kitchen. 

Goodbye Kayleigh. 

“Where’s Kay?” Daniel asks. 

I ignore him and glance over to the door, I scroll through the phones finding only one number programmed in all of them. Finally a lead. 

I’m coming to get you baby.