Chapter 24 - Flynn
FLYNN
The call connects with Antov thirty seconds after I dial and a second before I’m about to hang up from irritation.
His face floods the screen as he leans in far too close, then he snorts and leans back into his seat.
“The fuck happened to your office?”
I ignore him. “I’ll cut right to it,” I say flatly. “I have your niece and your nephew, and I want my daughter back. It’s pretty fucking simple how this is going to work, Antov, and my patience is growing pretty thin.”
“What?” The mocking fades from Antov’s face almost immediately and he leans forward, holding his hand up to someone out of sight of the camera. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Do you need me to repeat it but slower?”
“Vic,” Antov says. “Vic is dead. You killed him.”
“A slight exaggeration on my part.”
“Prove it.” Antov’s demand is almost feral and I smirk at the camera.
“You first. Everything about the future of your family resides on the state of my daughter, so prove to me that she is alive and unharmed and I’ll show you.”
Antov’s eyes dart off camera for a moment then they narrow. “You’re bluffing. I won’t fall for that bullshit. Vic is dead.”
As much as I’d prefer not to entertain him, this discussion will take far too long with a back-and-forth.
My fingers skim over the keyboard, and after a few taps, I bring up the CCTV of the bigger cell down underneath the house.
It shows a clear view of Vic against one wall, laughing, while Kaia cowers in the other corner. Just a glimpse is enough to ignite a subtle rise of concern underneath the anger that rises when I see her.
“See? Alive and well.” I close the window as quickly as I open it. “Now show me my daughter.”
“How do I know that’s not pre-recorded?” Antov snaps.
Despite his words, something about him has changed, but I can’t put my finger on it until he speaks again.
“Send me proof he’s alive with today’s newspaper. Send me that and I will be open to an exchange.”
My brows lift slightly. “Open to an exchange?”
“Do you need me to fucking say it again?” Antov snaps.
“You were more resistant when it was only Kaia in my possession. Anyone would think you value him more than her.”
Antov leans close to the camera and sneers. “Send me proof and we’ll make a deal.”
“Fine. But if there’s even a single hair out of place on Eva’s head, I’ll make sure your heir pays dearly.”
Antov rolls his eyes and the screen goes black as the call ends.
I settle back in my seat and close my eyes, listening to the wind batter against the wood sealing up my broken window.
In two days, most of the destruction has been cleaned up, and I sit at a new desk and a brand new chair, not that it brings me any comfort. All my previous demands to see Eva have been met with silence but now, suddenly that Vic is in the picture, Antov is interested in dealing?
Is this the beginning of the end? Antov has to know that as soon as Eva is back in my arms, I’m going to kill him.
I’m going to kill all of them.
But as clear as that thought is, Kaia slips back into my mind and with two button clicks, the CCTV fills my screen once more.
The lack of audio prevents me from hearing what they’re saying but given the sharpness of glares and hand movements, it looks like they’re having some kind of argument.
Kaia’s on her knees, motioning wildly and pointing at Vic, who keeps waving at her and flipping her off.
Asshole.
Sighing wearily, I stand and send a short message to one of my guards with instructions to enter the cell and take a picture with today’s paper as proof.
My restless wandering takes me through a quiet house that shifts and creaks slightly against the strong summer winds blowing across the island.
It’s far too quiet and gives my mind too much space to run with things I’d rather not think about, so when I catch a bubble of noise rising from the conservatory, I immediately head there.
Frank’s there with Angie and together they slot the last few pieces of a jigsaw into place, completing a scenic painting of a cottage.
“Yay!” Angie claps her hands together. “See, I told you the yellow was flowers.”
“My mistake,” Frank chuckles and his head lifts, giving me a brief smile in greeting.
Angie follows and when she locks eyes with me, she leaps up and sprints toward me with her arms out. “Daddy!”
“Hey darling.” I bow and catch her, sweeping her up into my arms and settling her against my side. “You finally got your jigsaw finished?”
She nods quickly. “Frank was no help.”
“That’s not true, little lady,” he groans as he climbs slowly to his feet. “I was a master of the edges.”
“The easy part!” she complains and then she faces me. “When is Kaia coming back?”
Her question catches me slightly off guard, and I swallow a sudden lump in my throat. “You…want her to come back?”
“Mhm! We were painting together, it was so fun! Is she coming back soon?” As my uncertain silence drags on, Angie pouts. “Are you mad at her because you fell in the lake?”
“No, sweetie. I’m mad at her because she took you to the lake.”
“But we go out all the time!” Her innocence melts my heart as much as it pains my gut.
“That’s true. But Kaia…she didn’t ask me first and you remember what I’ve told you?”
“The lake is dangerous,” Angie recites. “I know.”
“Exactly.” I kiss her forehead. “Kaia didn’t ask me first.”
“Well I know she’s sorry. And so are you.”
My eyes widen, and behind Angie’s head I glimpse Frank also staring in surprise. “I’m sorry?”
“Mhm. You said it’s bad to point your gun at people.” She prods my chest with her small finger. “You said it. You did.”
I laugh gently and kiss her again. “You’re so right, I did say that.”
“So you’re sorry?”
Before I can answer, Florence sweeps into the room and smiles. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were here. I came to collect this little madam for bath time.”
“No!” Instantly distracted, Angie drapes dramatically back in my arms. “I don’t wanna.”
“You have to.” I gently poke her tummy. “You’re stinky.”
“No Daddy, you’re stinky!”
“Then we can both take a bath, how about that?”
Angie groans dramatically as I pass her off to Florence who ducks away quickly with a soft laugh.
I listen to them go as Angie’s fading voice recites all the reasons she shouldn’t have a bath with the last one being something about saving her poor rubber duck from getting lost in the bubbles.
“I can’t believe how good it is to hear her talk again,” I say, rubbing at my chest where some of her warmth still lingers.
“I know,” Frank agrees. “I missed it, but never realized just how much until she was chatting away to me again. Odd how that works.”
“She raises a…tough point though.” Our gazes meet. “Kaia.”
“How did it go with Antov?”
“He wants proof they’re alive. Real-time proof.”
“Did he show you Eva?”
I shake my head. “No.” Heat fizzes at the base of my throat and I swallow hard. “I—.” The words catch and Frank’s suddenly next to me as if he already knows about the fear I’m trying to vocalize. Unable to speak at all for a moment, he fills the silence.
“He has to know Eva is the only thing keeping him alive. He won’t jeopardize that. He’s not that fucking stupid.”
“You sure?” I choke out hoarsely. “He was stupid enough to go after me in the first place. To take my daughter.”
“True…but now we have something he wants.”
“Then tell me how this ends. We do an exchange, I get Eva back, and then what? Do I sit back and let those scumbags go about their lives like they didn’t traumatize the two most important things in my life?”
“You already know the answer to that,” Frank murmurs.
“Exactly. So he has no reason to ever give her back.”
“Then we make him.”
I shake my head and step away toward the window.
“I feel trapped. I react and risk Eva’s life.
I don’t react and risk her life. I’m stuck on the edge where the slightest wrong step could get her killed while that bastard has all the power.
And then here, Kaia takes Angie from me?
” I swivel around and face Frank. “By all rights I should have killed her on the dock.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I didn’t. Because of Angie. And now…why would she do that? Why would she throw herself in front of Kaia like that?”
Frank walks closer as he mulls it over, rubbing at his chin as if it’ll help him think. “You’ve raised smart kids, Flynn. Two bright sparks. Maybe she doesn’t see Kaia as a danger.”
“She’s a child. She wouldn’t know.”
“Wouldn’t she? After everything that’s happened, I’d say Angie’s senses are pretty sharp to danger, but she trusts Kaia. And in doing so, she saved you from doing something you might have regretted. She knows you just as well.”
“She’s smarter than me then,” I say, swallowing hard around the fizzing heat inside me. “So what do I do about Kaia?”
“Do you want her dead?”
Silence falls as I mull over the pros and cons. “Yes, because she’s a Yudkin. Her and her brother and her uncle, I want them all dead.”
“But?” Frank prompts.
“But the time I’ve spent with her…she seems disconnected from everything to do with her family.
Earlier, Antov changed his tune the moment I told him I had Vic.
Before that, he didn’t seem to care much about Kaia at all.
All this time, I took her because I thought I could use her and instead, Antov tried to kill her along with me and she’s… ”
Admitting that she’s under my skin makes this all the more worse, because how can I say that about a woman who tried to kidnap my daughter?
“You have feelings for her.” Frank’s words are so gentle that they almost don’t sound like they came from him.
“I don’t.” It’s a reflex to deny.
“You do,” Frank continues. “I’ve seen how you are with her. I’m not asking you to justify or explain anything, but I know you.”
“I don’t even know myself. Feelings? I feel…she irritates me, and she’s a little rude and she’s…”
Beautiful. Kind. Sweet to Angie. Warm to talk to.
My heart skips a painful beat. “It’s just a crush.”
“I know.” Frank moves closer and pats my arm. “Talk to her. That’s all I can suggest. Find out what happened and if she truly harbors ill intentions for you and Angie then she’s making the decision for you.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll help her. The same way we helped Florence when she fled the Italians, and every other stray we’ve taken under our wing.”