The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

He took in Marcus, Ryan, and Luke, who was driving Ryan’s pickup, as they parked around the back of the house he’d rented. They had swung by Iris’s home, the house he’d bought for their growing family, where Luke had grabbed the black bag full of guns, ammo, and gear that Luke kept hidden beneath a floorboard under his bed. Even he hadn’t known it was there.

He was in the back seat, beside Ryan, and he took in the darkened neighborhood, the back alley, the fact that he didn’t know for sure who would be waiting for him. “If anything goes wrong, I want your word you’ll look after Brady,” he said.

Marcus glanced back to him. “He’s family. It goes without saying. You ready?”

Luke pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the door to step out. He had on a black knit hat and seemed to blend into the darkness. Ryan said nothing, but Raymond could hear him checking his gun as he closed his door.

He blew out a breath, still picturing the image that had been texted to Jenny’s phone: Brady and Alison with duct tape over their mouths, hands and feet tied, sitting back to back on the old carpet in front of the fireplace. The tears on Alison’s face and her terrified expression had gotten to him. It was that emotional attachment that would be his downfall.

These brilliant assholes would keep going after his Achilles’ heel, his family. They’d just never stop.

“Let’s go before time’s up,” he said.

Luke only nodded as he started walking with him around front.

“You think Marcus and Ryan will keep their heads together?” Raymond said.

“They’ll get the kids out. Just worry about what you need to do, and that’s it. You start focusing on everyone else, and that’s when everything goes sideways. Jack and Owen will make sure everyone back home stays put and safe. We know how to pull together.”

He took in the darkened house and wondered where they’d be when he walked in. As he took in the vehicles on the street, he didn’t see one that looked out of place.

“There’s a lot I wanted to say to each of you, but there’s no time,” he said, “so I’m going to say this: You have a chance at love, Luke. Take it. That girl you’ve been sneaking around with, Rosemary, you have your reasons for keeping her a secret, but don’t.”

He could feel Luke glance to him and then back to the house. “So you know about her. Of course you do. It’s not that easy.”

“It is that easy. The only reason you think it isn’t is because you keep telling yourself so.”

Luke didn’t answer him.

His heart kicked up. They were halfway across the front grass, and he kept walking to the darkened front door. He put his hand on the knob, taking a look back to Luke, who was pressed with his back to the side of the house not far from him. His son gestured for him to open the door.

He wished he had more time. He wished he could have said something more to each of them, especially Owen, whom he’d pulled aside before leaving. He’d told his son how proud he was of him and that he loved him. Owen had said nothing, but then, he hadn’t waited for him to say anything. He remembered the confusion that had knit his brows.

Then there was Iris. It seemed the years they’d had together were all they were going to get.

He turned the knob, seeing every one of his kids’ faces, little, grown, and then the face of his wife.

He stepped inside the house, leaving the front door open. “I’m here,” he called out, “so let the kids go.”

From the front entryway, he could see the steps that went up to the living room and the darkness of the rest of the house. He lifted his hands in the air. The kids were by the fireplace, and he could hear their muffled voices just before he felt hard steel against the back of his head.

“You have me now,” he said. “Let the kids go.”

A hand lifted his jacket and ran over him, looking for a gun, reaching for the one he had tucked at the small of his back. “Step up and call your son in,” the man said. “Come on inside, Luke. Put your gun down.”

He didn’t recognize the deep male voice. He didn’t have to look over to see that Luke was in the doorway, and as he took a step up into the living room, he felt weakness settle into his legs. The effort it took for him to step up was huge. He saw another shadow, then someone else lingering in the doorway of the kitchen. He knew the man was holding a gun, but he couldn’t see his face in the darkness.

The man behind him put a hand on his shoulder, kicked his leg out from under him, and pushed him to his knees. His hands were pulled behind his back and zip-tied, and he could feel the plastic dig into his wrists.

“Get down, you motherfucker.” The voice was raspy. “You betray your government, your people, you’ll be dragged back to face treason charges and be made an example of.”

He wished he could see his face. He heard the sound of his gun being emptied of bullets and tossed behind him on the ground.

“You have your trade, Raymond for Brady and Alison,” Luke called out. “Let the kids go.”

“First, where’s the list, Raymond?” asked the man.

How many were there? Three for sure. They wanted everything that could embarrass and expose his country, all its dirty secrets. But the minute they had it, no one would be walking out of there. He knew well that if any of what he had came to light, it would embarrass his country in a way they wouldn’t stand for: the two sitting judges who had been placed under surveillance, the presidential hopeful who had lost his nomination, the classified economic and political analysis that had been obtained for clients of a security firm that represented only the top one percent, the assassinations of scientists working in arms manufacturing…and that wasn’t even everything.

“That wasn’t the deal,” Raymond said. “The deal was me for the kids. Let them go, and then I’ll tell you where the copies are, where everything is, everything that could embarrass the prime minister. I kept everything in case a day like this happened, and I’m sure you’ve done the same. Although valuable, you’re also a liability, because you know that if any of what you’ve done comes to light, it would embarrass the country—and no one wants that. No one will stand for that. So, again, only after the kids are safe will you get anything. You got me. That’s who you wanted. Now let them go.”

Then a light flicked on in the dining room, and he realized there were four. He took in a man he hadn’t seen in years. Saul Gusterson was older now, but he was still tall, and he still had that look, as if he knew everything was about to go sideways.

Saul walked over to the kids, the gun in his hand, the silencer screwed on. He held it up and over them, gesturing with his gun to one, then the other. Alison was staring in horror, trembling, and Brady was looking to him to do something.

“Pick one,” Saul said. It was there in the sound of his voice, the killer in him. He wouldn’t hesitate. He knew what it took to pull the trigger.

Raymond yanked at his arms, feeling the bite of the plastic, but the welcome pain did nothing to free him. “No, stop! I’ll tell you where it is!” he yelled.

Just then, he felt pain explode across his chest, and everything happened in slow motion. There was the sound of glass shattering, then screams and shouts. Another shot was fired, and he was face down on the carpet now, wetness pooling across his chest.

He could hear the chaos vaguely, the screams, the yelling. But all he could see was his wife, her smile, and the way she had looked at him so long ago.

Then there was nothing else.