Chapter 34 Ransom
RANSOM
It’s late at night by the time we leave the tattoo parlor after our meeting with Jonah. The three of us gather around Willow to escort her back to the car, feeling the eyes of Jonah’s people on us as we go.
Any of us are willing to take a bullet for her if we have to, but hopefully it won’t come to that.
We get back to the car without incident and start making our way back to the safe house, talking about the plan and the meeting we just had.
“Can we really trust him?” Vic asks. “We made a lot of progress tonight, but it could be a trap.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think it was. Unless Jonah’s the best actor in the world, he definitely hates Olivia and would probably rather die than help her in any way.”
“I agree,” Willow says. “He could double cross us in the end, but I really don’t think he will.”
“She could try to pay him off,” Malice points out. “That seems like her kind of shit.”
“I can’t say Jonah has integrity because I don’t know him, but he never played Olivia’s games.
Plus, the kind of anger and grief that comes from losing someone you love is a more powerful motivator than any amount of money.
Working with Olivia would just put him and his daughter in danger if Olivia decided to betray him to clean up loose ends. ”
Vic nods. “You’re probably right. Then we’ll trust him until he gives us a reason not to.”
“And hopefully he won’t,” I add. “It’d be nice to actually have something work out for once.”
We get back to the safe house, and Malice and I do a sweep to make sure nothing was compromised while we were gone. Once we know it’s clear, we all head inside, ready to decompress.
Willow drops down onto the dusty couch with a sigh, and it’s clear she’s exhausted. It feels like the attack this afternoon happened a long time ago now, but the stress of the day is probably still weighing on her.
I go over and lean over the back of the couch, running my fingers through her hair. “How’re you holding up?”
She opens her mouth to answer and ends up yawning instead, covering her mouth and blushing a little. “Sorry. I’ve been getting tired a lot easier these days.”
“No one can blame you for that. Shit’s been crazy.”
“Yeah. But I think it’s also because of the baby.”
She puts a hand on her stomach, and it hits me all over again that she’s pregnant. It’s easy to forget sometimes, since she’s not showing yet, and she hasn’t let it slow her down, but her sitting there with her hand on her belly definitely is a stark reminder.
And I can’t lie, the idea of her swollen and round with a baby turns me the fuck on.
But on the flip side of that, knowing that Troy is the father still makes me furious. At least he’s no longer alive to fuck things up or use his kid as leverage. That’s the best case scenario right now.
As I gaze down at Willow, I make a silent vow to love the hell out of this baby as an extra ‘fuck you’ to Troy.
We’ll make sure his kid turns out nothing like him, treating him or her better than Troy ever would have.
Considering that people from his world seem to exclusively think of their kids as bargaining chips and chess pieces to move around, it shouldn’t be hard to do.
“Alright, come on,” I say to Willow.
She looks at me, confused. “Where are we going?”
Instead of answering, I scoop her up from the couch, sweeping her into my arms so I can carry her to the bedroom.
“Oh my god.” She squeals, half laughing as she bats at my shoulders. “I’m too heavy for this. And I can walk just fine.”
“No, you’re not. And I know you can,” I tell her. “But I want to carry you. Let me have this.”
Willow blushes a little, but she doesn’t argue, instead leaning against me as we head for the bedroom. It’s not as nice as the one we left behind in the penthouse, and the bed definitely isn’t as big, but that’s not going to stop us all from cramming into it so that we can sleep close to our girl.
I set Willow down, watching as she takes off her shoes and changes into her pajamas. After popping into the small, dingy bathroom, she gets into bed. I tuck her in, leaning down to kiss her forehead as I do.
“Are you guys going to join me soon?” she asks, looking up at me with hopeful eyes.
“Yeah, we will. We’ve just got to start getting shit rolling on this plan to take down Olivia. The sooner we find an opening to make our move, the better.”
Willow starts to push herself up onto her elbows, trying to get up. “Then I should be out there planning with you,” she protests. “I want to help.”
“You’ve done your part for the day. Now you need to rest.”
“I didn’t even do anything.”
“Sure you did. You got Gage to listen to you and give us the information we needed, and you talking to Jonah definitely helped tip the scale on him helping us. We probably wouldn’t have been able to get them on board without you.”
Her mouth twists in a little frown that makes me want to kiss it off her face. “I guess so. It just feels wrong for me to be in bed while you’re doing all the work.”
“I think I can speak for all of us when I say we’d rather you be resting than worrying about this. It’s fine, angel.”
She makes a face but finally lies back down, snuggling up in the bed. With a smile, I turn to leave, but Willow catches my hand before I can.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I… you know how Malice said before that I wouldn’t have to be the one to kill Olivia? That you guys would do it so I won’t have to?”
“Yeah, I remember. What about it?”
“Is it bad that I kind of want to be the one to do it?” she whispers.
I chuckle, shaking my head. “I’m definitely not the right person to ask that question, seeing as I helped my brothers kill our own father.
But I don’t think it’s bad. It’s you being human and finding your strength.
Olivia has put you through hell over and over again, and it’s not wrong to want to end that yourself.
You’ve kept your heart open for so long, and I’m proud of you for that, but it’s okay to close it sometimes.
To close off people who will only reach inside and make it bleed. ”
Willow nods, smothering another yawn. “Thank you, Ransom.”
“Anytime, pretty girl.” I lean in and kiss her again before leaving her to rest so I can go plan with my brothers.
Over the next several days, we kick shit into high gear.
We talk to Jonah a few times and basically spend every waking moment planning how to take down Olivia. We’re looking for the perfect opening, which has meant that we had to learn more about her schedule and her routine.
And that shit has not been easy. Vic has managed to use his hacking skills to find out a little, watching her through cameras and finding her name on guests lists at various upcoming events, but it’s not enough.
Olivia still has a good amount of resources, and she basically always has some kind of security with her. That’s making it difficult.
But Vic never gives up when it comes to stuff like this. Especially where Willow is involved.
He’s got a few ins, and he’s been chipping away at it piece by piece. Working to find out what she’s got coming up and also working on figuring out the details of her security. How many people she has, who goes with her where, the kind of car she drives, and on and on.
Willow’s still been battling morning sickness, and every time she throws up in the morning, I can tell it brings up a lot of conflicting, weird emotions as she grapples with her pregnancy all over again.
But at least one of us is always there to hold her hair back, to rub her shoulders, and to listen as she processes it all, and I think that’s helping.
It’s probably also helping in a way that we’ve got so much other shit on our plate right now. She can deal with her feelings in small increments in between planning sessions, rather than having to sort through all of them right away.
One evening, the four of us are gathered in the small living room of the safe house, working on things. Vic is buried in his laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard as he looks things up and sifts through information.
Malice is on another laptop, taking info he’s being given by Vic, cross referencing shit and just serving as an extra pair of eyes on some of it.
I’m piecing together a schedule with Willow on an honest to god calendar, trying to put together a visual of Olivia’s movements so we can figure out the best time to catch her off-guard.
We’re all focused and intent on what we’re doing.
It’s been like that ever since we met with Jonah that first time.
There’s been a cloud of urgency hanging over us for the past several days, and I can tell it’s been wearing on us all.
Willow looks tired and drawn, and Malice and Vic are at their most intense and serious, both of them twin pillars of stony-faced intention.
And I know this is important, and that time is of the essence because if we miss a window or give Olivia enough time to make another attempt on Willow’s life, it might be the last chance we get…
but at the same time, it feels like we could all use a little break.
Or at least a moment of lightness in the midst of all this shit.
The silence in the room is starting to feel oppressive, so I do something to break it, reaching over and poking Willow lightly in the side.
She glances over at me, and I smooth my face into neutral lines, looking down at the calendar we’re working on. Once she looks away, going back to her work, I poke her again, this time tickling her a little in her side.
She squirms and giggles, batting my hand away, but I tickle her more intently, running my fingers over her ribs.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Lightening the mood a little,” I tell her with a grin.
She laughs, both from the comment and the tickling, but she doesn’t tell me to stop. So I keep going until she’s breathless and squirming away from me.
Willow ends up leaning back on her elbows on the floor, and I can see the lines of her body and the flushed color of her face.
She’s so fucking beautiful like this. She always is, but right now with that smile on her face and her shirt riding up, the shorts she’s wearing showing off her legs… it’s like she’s a perfect vision.
I can’t help myself. I lean over her, dipping my head to press a kiss to the soft, warm skin of her inner thigh.
Her brown eyes flare dark with heat, and she swallows hard, her legs spreading just a little wider for me.
“Fuck,” I groan. “I love doing this to you.”
“Tickling me?” she asks, arching an eyebrow.
“No. Getting you all turned on like this. The way you smell when you’re all worked up is my favorite fucking thing. I knew I’d get addicted the first time I tasted you.”
“Oh,” she breathes. She licks her lips, and the urge to chase her tongue back into her mouth is strong, but I hold back, watching her instead.
“I didn’t know I would like it so much,” she continues. “Having your mouth on me. I think I’m addicted to how it feels. You’re really good at eating me out.”
“Would you say I’m the best at it?” I ask, cocking a brow at her.
A throat clears nearby.
“Excuse the fuck outta me,” Malice butts in, his attention on us now. When I look up, he and Vic both are staring in our direction, their work seemingly forgotten for the moment. “You know there’s only one acceptable answer to that, right, Solnyshka?”
“And that answer is ‘no,’” Vic adds, nodding firmly.
I smirk. Even though I’m the youngest, Vic has less experience with sex than me or Malice. But I love that he’s gotten confident enough with Willow to be highly incensed by the suggestion that I might be better at eating her out than he is.
“Are you saying we need to be working harder?” Vic presses when Willow doesn’t answer right away.
“No!” She quickly shakes her head, speaking in a rush. “No, I love being eaten out by all of you. It always feels so good. Don’t worry.”
Malice looks mildly appeased and definitely turned on by the course of this conversation.
“That’s better,” he mutters, only grumbling a little bit.
“But it’s different with all three of you,” Willow adds. “I think that’s what I like the best. You all bring something different to it, and it’s all good.”
“Different how?” Vic asks, his analytical mind clearly intrigued by that.
Willow frowns as if she’s thinking. “I’m not sure. It’s just… different. In a good way, I mean. I just think I could tell each of you apart by your different styles, even if I couldn’t see you.”
“Even if you were blindfolded?” I ask, a challenge sparking in my mind.
“Sure.” She lifts one delicate shoulder in a shrug.
“Well, that’s good enough for me.” I scoop Willow up from the floor and get to my feet.
She yelps in surprise, holding on to me. “What are you doing?”
I tighten my hold on her, looking down at her as if the answer should be obvious.
“Come on now, pretty girl. You can’t just throw down a challenge like that without being prepared to prove it. So my brothers and I are going to have an eating contest.”