Evander nodded in agreement. “I’m ready when you are.”
Pav held up his hands, and uttered, “Now wait a second. We’ve only got one chance at this. She sees us coming, you think she’s just gonna try to escape and move along? Nah.” His lips thinned as he shook his head. “She’s gonna take out her hostage and then herself. So we need to be smart about this. Set it up right.”
No one expected Lexi to speak, let alone say what she said. “We’ll do it your way, Luka. But I’m warning you. All of you.” A pregnant pause followed. “At the first opportunity, I’m taking her out. Me.” She turned her serious expression to me. “I get to kill her.”
I pulled back from my woman enough to look her in the eye. “You’re not coming.”
She smiled then, so serenely that my stomach cramped, and when she uttered, “You think you could stop me?” my heart sank.
Because I couldn’t stop her. Wouldn’t stop her.
And there was safety in numbers.
***
A.J.
A.J. couldn’t sleep. It was the first night she’d left him to sleep alone, and he wondered why he slept easier with her in the room. It made no sense.
He should have felt safer without her, but even a boy as young as he could see that the bad lady didn’t mean to harm him, only claim him as her own. Be a mother to him.
And so, in the dead of night, he went looking for her.
He found her quickly, sitting in front of the television, her wide eyes glued to the screen as she watched the news. Approaching quietly from behind, he stilled midstep when he focused on the television screen and watched what she was observing so intensely.
It was a photo of him.
“...day two of the search for missing school boy, Antonio Julius Falco. Footage shows the five-year-old being brazenly taken from the wreckage of one vehicle and being escorted to another by this woman.” A photo of the bad lady showed up on screen. “Ling Nguyen.” The reporter went on, “Ms. Nguyen, known leader of the nefarious Dragons, has a warrant out for her arrest for the murder of her brother, Van Nguyen, and kidnapping. If you have seen this woman or know anything about the kidnapping of Antonio Julius Falco, please contact Crime Stoppers on...”
A.J. stopped listening. He stopped listening because the bad lady was wrong.
They were looking for him.
He smiled inwardly before clearing his throat. “Mummy?” He rubbed his eyes for good measure, and when the woman hurried to switch off the television, she spun and frowned at him.
“What are you doing up, sweetie? It’s late.”
A.J. pouted his lips the way his real mother found adorable and muttered a croaky, “I can’t sleep.”
The bad lady clicked her tongue and held out her arms. He went to her willingly and allowed her to wrap her arms around him, and it was funny. When his mother hugged him, he felt warm and safe and loved. But when this woman hugged him, he felt nothing. He felt numb.
She kissed his head and rubbed his back. “How about I make us some hot chocolate?”
Anything to stay awake a while longer.
Now that A.J. knew his parents were looking for him—not that he had doubts—he needed to find a way out of here, and he could only do that if she were preoccupied.
“Yes, please,” he murmured softly.
And the smile she gave him was so wide, so sweet, that he almost forgot how bad this lady was.
Almost.
“Anything for you.” Without delay, she adjusted the robe from around her, tightening the ribbon around the waist, then moved into the kitchen. His eyes scanned his surroundings but he saw nothing. So when the woman called him into the kitchen, he went. She smiled as she pulled out a stool for him, and when he sat, his heart jerked as his soft brown eyes landed on the object in front of him.
The woman went to the fridge, pulling out the milk, and as she did, she watched his observing gaze closely.
A.J. swallowed hard before looking up at her. His voice was timid. “Is that a real gun?”
She poured the milk into a pan then turned on the gas stove. “Yes.”
Wow.
“Why do you have it?” he asked quietly.
The woman placed her elbows on the counter and leant in. “To protect you.”
A.J.’s brow knitted. He didn’t know anyone who wanted to hurt him. “From who?”
“From the people who want to take you from me.”
A.J. wondered if his father had a gun. A bigger gun than this one. He didn’t know, and not knowing frightened him.
He needed to do something, and do it fast.
So when he reached over and picked it up, his other mother tilted her head, never taking her eyes off him.
A.J. had seen people use guns, on TV, in movies.
How hard could it be?
It was heavier than he expected. Much heavier than the toy gun he had at home. But he lifted it high, putting his finger to the trigger. His other mother smiled, her eyes on the weapon he held. So A.J. closed his eyes, held his breath, and pulled the trigger.
Click.
His eyes opened and a look of confusion crossed him.
Nothing happened.
A.J. let out the breath he was holding, and before he lowered the gun, his other mother spoke kindly.
“You’re holding it wrong, sweetie. Here. Let me show you.” Over the counter, she adjusted his grip and placed his finger back on the trigger. Her soft gaze was cunning. “Now. Shoot.”
A.J. didn’t hesitate a second time.
He pulled back on the trigger and...
Click.
Nothing.
The bad lady grinned. “Oops. The safety is on.” She reached over and flicked something. “Try again, baby.”
He did.
He pulled the trigger and, this time, the gun actually fired.
Bang.
But A.J. wasn’t prepared for the force behind it, and when the gun kicked back, right into his nose, throwing him from the stool and onto the ground, his other mother laughed, walking around the counter to help him up off the cold tiled floor.
A.J.’s nose tingled and he thought it might be bleeding.
She knelt by his trembling body, took the gun from his shaking hand, and got into his space, and she was not laughing anymore. Instead, she leant in real close, held his terrified gaze with her wild eyes, and whispered, “Boom.”
And as A.J.’s body shuddered, she lifted her head heavenward and laughed openly.
One thing was for sure. This woman was scary. And A.J. was afraid of her.
She didn’t act like a mummy should. She didn’t act like his mummy did. She did everything different, wrong. She was unpredictable, and that made A.J. feel helpless. He never knew what she’d do next.
When she stopped laughing and lowered her face to his, she watched him a short while and her smile began to wane. “I get it,” she started. “You don’t love me, not yet. But I need you to know that I love you. I love you very much.” The rest of her smile fell away, as she said, “So I’m going to lock you into your room tonight, my love.” She reached out to smooth his messy hair. “Before either of us does something silly.”
Suddenly, A.J. didn’t feel so good. The words he spoke were nothing but hushed. “I’m sorry, Mummy.”
She smiled then, and the knot in his stomach loosened. “It’s okay, baby.” The woman stood and held her hand out to him. Without hesitation, A.J. took her hand and she hugged him to her side, rubbing his shoulder. “Are you okay? I know that was a little scary.”
He nodded. His nose hurt, but he was okay.
“My strong boy.” She chuckled proudly as she guided him into the kitchen. “It’s been a long day. Let’s have some hot chocolate and go on to bed. Okay?”
“Okay,” he whispered, and they sat in silence, drinking their hot chocolate, looking at each other all the while.
A.J. didn’t know much, but he knew one thing.
He needed to get his hands on that gun again.
Because if they weren’t coming for him, A.J. was going to save himself.
Chapter
FortyTwo
Thiago Dressed in black, merging with the shadows surrounding us, I looked across the lot to my sisters and gave a sharp nod.