But I’m Still Standing (Broken #2)

Prologue

Savvy

“ R eady to go?” Mia asks, entering the courtyard with Jill and Abby as Cami waddles behind them. She is seven months pregnant and over it already with this summer heat.

“Yeah, Mom is meeting us there,” I reply.

Once we get to Maspero’s, we get seated and wait for Sylvia. We go ahead and order strawberry lemonades and start looking at the menu when Mia’s phone dings. She picks it up and goes pale instantly.

“What’s wrong?” Jill asks first as we all just stare, not knowing what is going on.

She turns her phone around as a tear falls down her cheek.

Unknown: Enjoy your little brunch anniversary this year, none of you will make it to the next!

We all jump when all of our phones go off at the same time. I grab mine off the table same as everyone else. The same message from an unknown number pulls up on my phone. Sylvia walks in looking at her phone. She takes a seat masking her emotions and putting on a fake smile. I know my mother, and she looks worried for the first time since I told her I was pregnant.

“Why do all my girls look so glum?” she asks as she leans over to air kiss my cheek. She sees my phone and sighs.

“I was hoping it was only going to be directed at me. Don’t worry your pretty little head, I have already sent this to my tech guy to take care of the problem.” Sylvia gives her best smile and picks up her menu as if this is no big deal. We all just stare at her in shock.

“Mom, we all got the text. Whoever this is knows we were all involved. I think we should be concerned here. We have a lot more to think about than just ourselves now.” I explain as I put my hand on my belly, knowing I have to protect him at all costs.

“Guys, I’m pregnant. We just took the test last night. We were going to tell everyone tonight at dinner.” Mia chimes in softly as a tear slips down her cheek.

“I already sent the message to Joe. We need to get out of here and back to the guys. It’s going to be okay Mia, we will all figure this out. Congratulations.” Jill lets us know she already let the cat out of the bag with the guys, but still tries to smile for Mia.

We all look to Mia and try to smile for her and give her our congratulations, but it doesn’t last long.

“Great now Jasper is gonna be pissed I didn’t send it to him right away.” Abby throws up her hands, then grabs her phone and starts tapping away.

My phone rings making me jump again, I let out a breath when I see Sins picture and realize my husband has to be going insane at the thought of anyone trying to terrorize us again. I get up and walk outside to talk to him, answering as I get out the door.

“Hey.” My voice breaks as I walk around to the side of the restaurant. I place my hand on my little bump protectively as I let a tear escape, looking at my friends still sitting with my mom through the open doorway.

SI N

“Boys! I have some news!” Nick struts in the courtyard as if he is on cloud nine smiling from ear to ear.

“Spill, bro.” Jasper chuckles.

Nick sits down at the table, takes a sip of his coffee and blurts out, “I’m gonna be a dad! You have to act surprised tonight at dinner when we tell everyone, but I had to tell y’all.”

“Congratulations man!” Joe Slaps him on the back, making him almost spit out his coffee.

“You all realize that babies are about to take over our lives, right?” Jasper raises his eyebrows with wide eyes.

“How about we go take some celebratory shots to help wrap our heads around three babies coming in the next year. We all get up and head to the library to celebrate. Our phones all go off stopping us before we hit the stairs in the courtyard, pulling us out of our happy mood knowing babies are about to take over our home. My smile fades as I open my screen and see a picture of the girls at Café Maspero sitting at a table, all looking sad.

One by one they will pay for their sins.

“Get the car!” I yell out, looking up to find the guys all standing waiting on me to move my ass.

“Abby just sent me a message they all received. It’s from an unknown number saying

(Enjoy your little brunch anniversary this year, none of you will make it to the next!)

What the fuck is going on!” He shouts as we run to the SUV.

We all jump in and as soon as we take off towards the restaurant, I call Savvy.

“Hey.” her voice breaks as she answers, “We all got the text, even Mom.”

“Angel, we are on our way with a car and some guys to bring you all home. It’s going to be okay; we will figure this out. I need you to all stay together until we get there. Do you understand?” My voice is shaky, and I know she can hear the fear laced in my words.

“We can’t go through this again, Christian, not now! We are all so happy. Why now?” she asks, anger and sadness apparent in her voice.

“I know. It’s going to be okay; I just need you all to stay together, don’t leave each other alone.”

“Why? I had to come outside for some air, I can see the girls, their fine.” she replies, sounding annoyed just as there is a crashing sound and a small shriek.

“Savvy! Savvy! Angel, please talk to me!” I yell into the phone. I hear tires screeching as a car door slams.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them.” A female voice says before the call ends.

God no, please no! Please don’t do this to me! I throw my phone in the black floorboard of the Tahoe I was planning on surprising Savvy with tonight.

“They took her, but she said them.” I shout. Jasper hits the gas trying to get us there faster.

“Who took her? How in the fuck did this happen? No one knows what they did last year.” Nick is shaking, visibly as upset as the rest of us.

“I don’t know, it was a woman’s voice.” I shout, not at anyone in particular, just because I can’t do anything else. Savvy and our baby are in danger and there is nothing I can do besides sit here and wait until we get there and hope the rest of the girls are safe.

“I called Charlie, he is almost there with the other SUV, and the place is surrounded with our guys.” Joe says calmly as we pull up to Maspero’s. He is always the calm one in every situation.

I get out of the car to be met with Sylvia in my face screaming like a lunatic, “Where the fuck is she Christian? Who took her? We came running out when we saw a big guy in black putting her in a blacked-out SUV.” Tears stream down her face, smearing her inch thick makeup. I have only ever seen her like this when Lottie died.

“I don’t know, but we need to get you all back to the house and locked in. We will figure this all out once the rest of you are safe. Joe already has a team tracking where the messages came from. Keep a level head. We are going to need all of our resources to help get her back. You get back with my dad and don’t leave his side.” I look her in the eye, letting her know I don’t have time for this before I turn my attention towards the street where she was pointing.

I know I have tears running down my face and there isn’t a damn thing that I can do to stop them. My entire world has just been taken from me and I didn’t protect them. They got to her because we let our guard down thinking we were living our happily ever after. We usher the girls into the SUV with Sylvia and Charlie drives off taking them home. We stay and look around for anything that may help us. Joe jots down some coordinates to access the cameras the city has aimed straight at the restaurant.

I walk over to the side of the building where Sylvia pointed towards where they took Savvy from. I see her bracelet that I got her for Christmas on the ground next to the last open doorway of the restaurant. I look in at the wide-open perfect view of where the girls were sitting. I drop to my knees, finally giving in to the turmoil and anger rolling through my chest.I pick up her bracelet, looking at the only charm on it. I hold the flat white gold heart in my hand. I stare at the fleur-de-lis and flip it over, rubbing my thumb across the word etched into the shiny metal. Love, for me, and the fleur-de-lis so that she knows our love is resilient.

“I found her phone.” Nick shouts from the middle of the road, down half a block. He is jogging back to where I can’t seem to move from.

“This is where she was when she was on the phone with me. This is where they took her. They took my whole life in a matter of seconds. She said them, meaning they know she is pregnant.” I lose it when my phone rings from the floorboard as the guys are ushering me into the back of the Tahoe and I see it’s from an unknown number.

I answer the phone and put it on speaker, “You fucking hurt her, and I swear I will...”

“You will what? What can you do from where you are? Nothing. Remember that when you speak to me. I have your wife and child. If you want to ever see them again, you will shut the fuck up and listen. You will also show some respect when you speak to me, or I may have to discipline your wife for your mouth.” A female voice cuts me off harshly as if she is scolding a child.

I practically growl into the phone but keep my mouth shut.

“That’s better. Now, Christian, just know, your wife will be taken care of as long as she is carrying your child. The clock is ticking. I do hope you make it in time. It’s almost as if I’ve given you a do over from your first Bennett whore. Thought you would have learned your lesson the first go around but here we are again. Will you make it in time to find this one still alive? See you soon, I hope, darling.” The bitch hangs up before I can get anything useful. Darling? That voice. It’s familiar somehow.

“How far along is Savvy?” Joe asks, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I can see the wheels turning in his head.

“Eighteen weeks tomorrow.” I let out a sob and finally crumble in my seat letting it all out, “She thinks it’s a boy, because Cami’s mom, Rose, did some kind of witchy thing she does. Apparently, she is never wrong. We are having a boy. We haven’t even told each other the names we had picked out because she wanted it to be a surprise.” I can’t hold in the torment that is wracking my chest as the tears fall freely. “I can’t lose them!”

Joe put his hand on my shoulder, “We have time. We will find her. You heard what she said man, she won’t be harmed as long as she is carrying your child. That’s significant. We will get the footage of when they took her and hopefully can track whoever the car is at least registered to if we can’t follow it with street cameras. We will get her back.”

“We all know what this is probably linked to the underground trafficking ring that we haven’t let up on since we found out about it. We have shut several down, pissing a lot of people off.” Jasper adds.

“This is more personal than that. They want blood for Bash. It’s the only sin they have ever truly committed. If we had been ahead of the girls last year, they would want us instead. They only keep referring to the girls.” I reply, having a tough time trying to suck it up and be strong for them. I have to stop blubbering. I need to focus on getting Savvy back.

Jasper pulls into our now fortress of a home. It looks like it’s being guarded by the military once we get inside. Whatever it takes.

“Let’s all take a few minutes and meet in the library. Tell the girls they are on lockdown until further notice, pregnant or not. Make them understand and keep them under control. I won’t put anyone else at risk!” I demand of them! They all give me a not so reassuring look but nod anyway.

I make my way up to our part of the house and head straight for our bedroom, needing to feel closer to Savvy somehow. I nosedive into her pillow and hit my knees next to our bed as I breathe her in. I do the only thing I know to do at this moment. I pray.