Between Brothers

Forgive Me Father, For I have Sinned.

Saturday

Christopher

You’d think I knew what I was doing with how I carry myself, but the truth is I’m lost. I’m finding my way through the shattered pieces of my life and I’ve only just realized that Tara is the only piece of me not jagged and rough, She’s the rushing water that’s smoothed the edges that once cut veins open. She’s missing and it’s because there’s a crazy b***h obsessed with me and honestly I don’t know why. As much as I’d like to track the number and barge in wherever they are and take Tara back, I have common sense and I know the minute I try to break bad Tara dies. 

There’s only one person I could possibly call to get this done right, only one person who can bring my baby back home. I’m terrified of the thought I’ll have to call him but there’s no other choice. Garrett f*****g hates me, may have something to do with my d**k being in not only his wife but his daughter too. But this is bigger than he and I, this is about Tara and his psycho ex-wife. 

Hearing the phone ring in my ear as I watch Daniel direct a clean up crew, causes my blood pressure to rise to unsafe levels. 

“What the f**k do you want Christopher?” He barks, not even a simple hello. Straight to the point, I can only imagine the expression on his face. 

“It’s about Tara” I say, comes out more like a whisper. 

“What about my daughter dumbass? What have you done NOW?” He grinds out, If I didn’t have his attention before I definitely do now.

“She’s… She’s missing.”

“You have less than two-seconds to explain”

“I think Gloria has her”

“How long?”

“I think I know how to get them”

“HOW f*****g LONG?” He growls through the phone. I’ve always been afraid of this man, to say you aren’t would be acknowledging you’re a fool. His anger radiates through the phone and I have a half a mind to hang up and try to figure this out on my own, but to do that I’ll definitely meet the end of his bone saw and that’s not a fate I even wish on Gloria. 

“Almost 24 hours.”

“Let me make sure I understand correctly… You are calling me to say you’ve f****d up AGAIN! You’ve lost my daughter, her mother may have kidnapped her and it probably has something to do with your rancid d**k? Is that about right?” He says. Well when you put it that way I sound pretty f*****g shitty. 

“Right,” I accept defeat.

“Stay right there, don’t move a f*****g muscle. I will clean this mess up and you’re gonna be my bait.” 

The line goes dead. 

Something tells me to skip town, but my brain reminds me I’d never make it out this f*****g building. 

I watch the masked men carry Kayleigh out in a body bag, regret is the last emotion I feel. Anger, Rage, Disdain for her is all I have left, she deserved it and so much more. Daniel is watching me, tip-toeing around the electrically charged storm that’s brewing inside of me. Julian had to go back to the station, but he has ears to the ground so we should hear something soon. 

Fuck this! I grab one of the burners and dial the number saved, I can only hope it leads me to Gloria.

It rings and rings, the sound of winding bells ring in my ear. I swear no one will answer but then theres a click and a panicked voice speaks. 

“Kay? Kay? Are you alright?” She says, voila I am good for something.

“Nope! She’s dead, but if you tell me where you’re hiding I can save you from Garrett” 

“YOU SON OF b***h!” Gloria shrieks into the phone, ah so she does recognize me. “So you think you’ve found me, never in a million years. All you had to do was leave, you could’ve stayed away forever for all I cared. But if I can’t have you no one can”

“Gloria, you delusional b***h. Tell me where Tara is and I won’t kill you”

“I have something you really, really want. Threats have no place here baby”

“And I have Garrett looking for you, we both know what that means”

“Nothing sweetie, Garrett would never hurt me. He loves me, unlike you”

“I never said I loved you psycho, We f****d that was it! Damn, I didn’t know you’d become a-dickted to it. See what I did there, a little pun.”

“You’re pathetic”

“You’re breaking my heart crazy”

“I'M NOT CRAZY”

“OH LIKE HELL YOU AREN'T! WHERE THE f**k IS TARA?”

“You’ll never know with that attitude. Call me when you can behave”

She disconnects the line. The b***h is insane. 

Before I can try to call back, my door swings open and a gun wielding mad man is now pointing a custom plated Desert Eagle in my f*****g face. I get to stare down the barrel of a black-gold plated deathmaker, why because my name is f*****g Christopher Blane. 

“I told you not to move a f*****g muscle, did I not?” Garrett says, pulling Julian through the door behind him. Looks like the gangs are all here, we’re in deep s**t. “You’ve just given the little psycho information, letting her know what we are doing. The only element you morons have is surprise, you’ll have to locate her quickly and extract. And If one hair is blowing the wrong f*****g way on my daughter's head, your heads will roll”

“Um, sir. Serious update, I’m not with Tara anymore. We broke up, so can just their heads roll,” Daniel says, f*****g dickhead. 

“Oh, Danny. I’ve always wanted to know what your blood would look like spilling from my table, thanks for the update. You’ll be the first to go” Garrett says smiling, it’s scary to see a man holding a gun so close to my damn head smiling. 

“Can we move the gun?” I ask, not making any moves. One wrong step and my brains will paint the wall behind me. I glance over at Julian, who sports a black eye. Great! We’re going to be picked off one by one. The situation we’ve found ourselves in, only makes me wonder how Tara made it out sane? Her father is a Capo for the MOB! And thoroughly enjoys his job of killing people using surgical measures, and her mother is a self-absorbed sociopath with psychotic tendencies. Tara is a complete ANGEL compared to them.

“I’m considering it. Sit down, shut the f**k up and I swear to god you make another move without permission and you’ll be learning how to breathe with a tube shoved up your pathetic ass. My daughter is stupid! Why you? Of all the idiots she could be with, she chose you lot. A crooked cop, A retarted business, and my protege. How nice?”

None of us dare to respond. I swear Daniel is pissing his pants, as tough as he acts Garrett is sinister, the look in his eyes shows no mercy. 

We watch him grab the phone from my hand, pressing the call button and we can hear it ringing. He puts it on speaker, I guess so we can all hear.

“Gloria, where’s my daughter?” He says, this man gets straight to the point doesn’t he. 

“Well, hello to you too Garrett. It’s been awhile.” She says, the seductive tone isn’t missed.

“Gloria! I’m not in the mood for your s**t, where’s my daughter?” He says, voice booming with agitation.

“She’s here and there, no one can really be anywhere can they?” She says, speaking in riddles no doubt trying to buy her some time. 

“I swear if you’ve hurt her, I will put you down like the b***h you are.” He says, words that even make us shudder. 

“Oh pipe down! She’s alive, I just needed her for insurance. I’m not going to kill her, as long as I get what I want”

“And what’s that?” He says, looking over his shoulder at us. He scoffs and shakes his head, like he already knows.

“I want Christopher. Trade me him for her and everyone gets to walk away happy.”

“I doubt that but fine, where?”

“I’ll call you in an hour with the location.”

She hangs up. 

Garrett stares at me, face contorted as if he’s trying to think really hard. The decision isn’t hard, just do the damn trade. But the look he’s giving me, says he’s not going to do that. 

I guess we have an hour to figure something out.

***

Tara

The smell of rust and old pennies have infiltrated my air supply, this dirty building is a fire hazard waiting to happen. I brush my fingers around to see if I can find any way out of these ropes, but mom must be smarter than she looks because I’m attached to the only sturdy beam here. 

I can hear her talking to someone on the phone, she sounds annoyed. Maybe her plans aren’t going to plan, maybe she’ll back out and I can go. I know, I know wishful thinking.

“Well, looks like Chrissy went and called your father. Pussy.” She says, slipping the phone in her back jeans pocket. Mom dressed like this is something to behold, I don’t think I’ve EVER seen her in jeans and boots. She’s always dressed like a soap opera actress, melodramatic and all. 

“Mom, you don’t have to do this. You can let me go,” I say, coughing because the dirt is getting into my throat. 

“You just don’t get it do you? You really are stupid” She says, cackling like an old witch.

“Then explain it because I really don’t understand.”

“Fine. One, when I was pregnant your father tried to leave me. I heard him talking a few times on the phone with someone about how he was going to get rid of me and keep the baby. I assumed it was his mother, that old b***h always hated me. But I quickly learned he was a cheating bastard and had a side-w***e, a little b***h that couldn’t keep her damn legs closed. Little did I know she was pregnant too! A little girl no doubt, she was trying to take him and all the money and glory from me.” She says, shaking her head as if she cannot believe she’s telling me any of this.

“I waited until he was out of town and paid his lover a visit. Tried to cut the baby out of her, but it was me that paid the price. I lost my baby, she was still born. I couldn’t possibly finish gutting her like a fish while I bled out on her floor now could I, so I knocked her out and called my Mama. She was old school, knew how to clean up messes and was always there for me. She fixed everything and by the time Garrett came home, the little b***h was gone and I had a baby girl.”

“So I’m not your daughter?” I ask, remember every detail of my life up to this point. She made my life hell, a b***h to me for no reason but I guess now I know. She had her reasons.

“Hell no! You’d be a lot darker if you were, so stupid. Anyway, he never questioned it but he went through a mourning period. I guess he loved the little b***h, boo hoo. The b***h was dead and I won, guess that’s that.”

“So is that why you hated Christopher being with me? It reminded you of my mother?”

“Ugh! He just had to meet you. Everything was going fine, I kept you both apart for so long for a damn reason. When you were little he’d watch over you like you were his to protect, never let you get hurt or anything. He loved you from day one but he went to jail for beating that kid half to death, which I’m the one who convinced his mother to send him away. When he came back, he was supposed to be somewhere else but no he was right there waiting for you. That ruined my plans, we were having fun. s*x with him was amazing, you know how it is you’ve f****d him. That 10 inches of steel rod is the best seat in the house and you f*****g stole it from me.”

She looks crazy, walking back and forth talking out loud holding a gun in her hand. Out of everything she’s saying, my thoughts go back to the woman she killed. That poor woman, probably in love with my Dad and lost her life behind it. I refuse to go down like that, I will make Gloria eat dirt myself for everyone she’s hurt. My mom, My dad, Chris, ME, she will pay for that. 

“You know, I promised your father I wouldn’t kill you but that was a lie. I kind of have to, you see everything I said would land me either in prison or dead. I plan to do neither, so the only way two people can keep a secret is if one of them has to die. And I pick you Tara.”

She leans down and runs the gun across my cheek, the cold steel sends a shiver down my spine. How my Dad ever touched her is beyond me? But I guess we all do stupid things for love. 

I look past her out the window, the sun is going down. It’s been about 24 hours since I’ve seen or heard from anyone, I know she’s been talking to them but do they even know I’m alive? I have to get back to them, find a way out. I refuse to f*****g die like my mom, I refuse to let her f*****g win.

***

The psycho b***h leaves me alone again, I need to find my way out of this place. I keep rubbing my arms against the beam and I feel a warm drip of blood running down my hands, success! There’s something sharp back there and if I keep rubbing I’ll cut myself loose. I can feel the rope tearing and starting to fray but I feel like I’m running the chance of cutting my wrists. 

Goddamn, this hurts. 

Working fast to get this rope broken, I can feel it starting to loosen. I hear footsteps again, the crazy b***h must be coming back. Yep, I was right. She walks toward me with a smile on her face, I guess her selfish demands are being met. 

“Let’s go princess, don’t want to keep your Daddy waiting now do we?” She says, leaning forward to undo the rope. No doubt she sees the frayed tears I’ve made against the beam, but she doesn’t say a word. Just yanks me by my hair to walk where she tells me, It’s nice to have the ropes off but I know her plans and I don’t have long. As if I’m not moving fast enough, she pushes her gun into my already sore side. Jesus, I didn’t notice how much I hurt from trying to get free. 

“We can talk this out, My dad loves you. He can get you the help you need” I say. One last attempt to beg for my life, but she’s not taking the bait. Still ignoring me as she forces me out the door onto a side street where a car sits waiting for us. She pops open the trunk and pushes me in, She smiles at me one last time before slamming the trunk closed. 

I hope whatever my Dad and the boys have planned works, because I’d really rather not die yet.