Chapter Twenty-One #2
Prince nodded and connected the call on speaker. "I want to talk to Finn," he said.
"See what happens when you hang out with low-class people, you lose your manners," Roderick drawled.
"Cut the shit, Roderick," Prince growled. "I want to talk to my husband, or you will not get one dime from me."
Roderick went silent on the phone for a few seconds. "What's so special about him?"
"Why are you asking me this?" Prince looked at Chance, who signalled him to keep going.
"I need to know," Roderick said, his voice cracking on the other end.
Prince sighed, and out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Tucker texting on his phone. "He makes me happy."
"That's it, no he brings you wealth or has connections that could expand your business. But he makes you happy. I should have made sure he died in the snow."
Prince's jaw tightened, hearing Roderick's last words. "What the fuck do you mean by that?"
"Do you remember the day you dropped me off at the airport, and I was late getting to you? Well, I followed your boy to the slopes, saw that he was biting off more than he could chew, and helped him fall. I should have done more than just give him a whack on the back of his head."
"I'm going to kill you," Prince growled, his fist tightened. Lucas grabbed his arm before he could smash it on the table.
"Kill me," Roderick shouted. "You ruined my life.
Took everything my family worked hard to attain, and you think you can kill me.
You'd better hope I don't kill your boy toy and his brat first. Bring my money to the East Side docks in twenty minutes.
One second late, and I start slashing body parts. "
The phone went dead, but action started around him. The realization that Roderick had tried to kill Finn before was only now hitting him fully.
"He's on the move," Chance said, not looking away from the screen. "I'll stay here and direct you." He looked at Prince. "Don't worry, I'll clean up before I leave."
"Thanks. Really," he said, not only to Chance but to everyone else.
"No problem," Chance said.
"Alright, then we can get going," Lucas said. "Since he already went back on his word by calling early with his demands, he's not playing with a full deck."
"I already have people heading to the docks," Tucker said.
"Then we need to move. Mayson and Seth, handle that." Lucas pointed to the bloody man on the ground.
"Why can't I come with you?" Seth whined.
"Do as I say, and I'll see you on Sunday." Lucas kissed Seth on the cheek, then looked at Mayson. "Take care of my little brother."
"I always do."
Lucas looked at Prince. "Ready to go get your man?"
"I've been ready," Prince said.
Finn was pulled up from where he had been sitting.
It wasn't long ago that he had been thrown in a dark room and the metal door had slammed shut.
With his hands untied, he didn't stay sitting and went around the room searching for an opening, but found nothing.
The entire time, he kept talking to the babies and was thankful his voice calmed them.
There was a window, but it was too high for him to reach, and even if he could, he wouldn't risk it in his condition.
"Where are we going? Where are you taking me?" he asked when he was shoved into the back of the Jeep.
"You ask too many questions," the guy said, slamming the door, then got in the driver's side just as another got in the passenger side.
Neither man spoke, and Finn didn't try to strike up a conversation. He rubbed his stomach to comfort the babies and himself. It was dark, and Finn was hungry, but he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.
No more than five minutes later, both the passenger side doors opened, and Roderick got in on Finn's right when another got in on his left with a gun sitting on his thigh.
Finn glanced at the weapon, then at the man, then at the others, noticing for the first time they were all dressed in black tactical gear.
"Let's move, I don't trust that phone call," Roderick said.
"You think he called the cops?" the guy with a gun asked Roderick as the Jeep pulled out of the warehouse onto the main road.
"No," Roderick shook his head. "But who's not to say Prince didn't call some mercenaries or some shit."
"You think he could get guys like us to help him in a short time?
We've been working for the Ashford family for a long time, and everyone knows us in this business," the man snorted, and the two in the front laughed.
"There's no way anyone would work for him if we told them. And we've already spread the word."
"You worry too much, boss," the driver said. "We kept our ears to the ground, and we've heard nothing."
Roderick was silent, and Finn watched him chew on his bottom lip as if mulling over something.
As they drove, Finn recognized some of the landmarks, realizing they were heading to the East Side, and wondered if they were meeting Prince at that location.
He felt some joy in seeing his husband, but he was also worried that Prince could be walking into a trap since Roderick had armed men working for him, a thought that overtook his happiness.
Finn also found it strange that a busy highway in New York around this time wasn't crawling with traffic. There were cars on the road, but not enough to slow down the speed they were going. Finn wondered if he was the only one who found it strange.
"Call Tack and tell him to keep close tabs on Prince," Roderick instructed.
The guy in the passenger seat reached for his phone, but the driver put a hand on his arm.
"Wha..." was all he got out when the driver spoke.
"We're being followed," he said.
"What do you mean?" Roderick shouted so close to Finn's ear that Finn hissed.
Roderick turned in his seat and looked out the back window. "How do you know? Is it Prince?"
"It can't be," the guy beside him said. "He couldn't have gotten to the drop-off location already. From where he lives, it takes at least thirty minutes."
Roderick grabbed Finn by his throat and squeezed him tight, pushing him back against the seat. "You," he growled. "Do you have any tracking devices on you?"
"You think if I did, I would tell you?" he said, struggling for breath. He knew he was playing with his life, but he had to keep Roderick off his game. Finn didn't know if it was really Prince, but right now, he didn't care.
"You get on my nerves." Roderick squeezed hard, and Finn was certain he was going to black out any minute from lack of oxygen.
"Boss, release him. We have more things to worry about right now," the guy next to him said.
Roderick didn't let him go right away, and his fingers tightened even more. Finn didn't struggle once and continued to stare Roderick down. Was it foolish of him? Maybe, but if he was going to die, he would not let Roderick be satisfied with his death.
But his defiance and Roderick's determination were thrown out of the window when their Jeep was hit from the back so hard that Roderick was thrown into the back of the seat in front of him.
Finn instantly curled to protect his belly as he felt the Jeep spin out of control until the driver steadied the wheel.
"What the fuck?" Roderick shouted. "Is he trying to kill us?"
"Hold on," the driver shouted.
Finn didn't uncurl his body. He didn't know what was happening, but he was certain the people following them were not Prince.
His husband wouldn't try to hurt him and their babies.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Finn heard gunshots hitting the car.
He covered his ears and kept his head down.
The hope of seeing his husband turned into fear that he and his babies were about to die, and it was all Roderick Ashford's fault.
"We got trouble," Lucas said next to Prince.
"What kind of trouble?" Prince asked, not liking the look on his friend's face.
"I just got word that Finn's vehicle is caught up in a shootout," Lucas explained.
"What?" Prince was so angry that he hit the side of the door so hard that he was sure he had broken something inside it.
"Our team is at the location, but there are civilians in the way, so they can't intervene without harming them," Tucker said.
"And what about Finn?" Prince shouted. "Is he supposed to get hurt so others don't?"
"Prince, calm down," Lucas said. "We're assessing the situation and the best way to attack."
"Don't tell me to calm down, Lucas. If it were Tucker or your kids, would you be calm?" He glared.
"No, I'd be acting the same way as you, ready to jump out of this truck and find them.
But we're almost there, and you can go as badass as you want.
You might not have officially joined Seekers, but your father's rank still stands, and you can use it to enact your own kind of justice. Neither one of us will bat an eye."
Prince didn't care about all that. He just wanted his family back and safe.
"Who's shooting at them?" Prince asked, trying to calm down.
"A rival mercenary faction," Lucas said.
"Who hired them?" Prince asked. "Are they going after Roderick?"
"We don't know. Just that they have a bone to pick with the guys Roderick hired," Lucas answered. He was silent for a few minutes. "They abandoned the Jeep; right now, they’re on foot."
The clicking of a gun had Prince glance at Tucker. "Get ready. Leave no man standing."
"Aren't you an FBI agent? Shouldn't you be telling me to do the right thing and let the law handle it?"
"Who says this isn't lawful?"
"We're here," Lucas said.
Prince looked out the window, noticing they had parked within walking distance of the docks.
They got out of the car and split up. Prince walked straight ahead, Lucas to the right, and Tucker to the left.
It was dark, and there were no cars or people around.
The water was calm, and what could have been a nice and peaceful night ended with someone dying, and as long as it wasn't the people he loved, Prince couldn't say he cared.
The docks were filled with trees, pallets, and many areas where people could hide.
The closer he got to the docks, the more he noticed blood on the ground.
He tried not to hold onto his worry, but Prince gave up fighting and started running.
Just before he got to the entrance of the docks, he had to jump back when a bullet hit the ground in front of him.
From behind the stack of pallets emerged Finn, being held by a man Prince had never met before, holding Finn by the throat and a gun pressed to his temple.
Prince immediately aimed his gun, but his eyes stayed on Finn, scanning him quickly, but his heart almost stopped beating when he saw blood covering Finn's right side.
"It's not my blood," Finn said as if knowing what Prince was thinking, setting Prince's heart at ease.
"Shut the fuck up," the man growled. Prince saw his fingers tighten around Finn's throat. "Unlike the boss, I have no problems killing you."
"Where's Roderick?" Prince asked, drawing the man's attention back to him.
"He's dead," the man answered. "Did you bring the money?"
Out of the corner of Prince's eyes, he saw a familiar figure moving slowly, creeping up on Finn and the man. Tucker's eyes met Prince's, and he got the signal to keep the man talking.
"I don't believe you," Prince said. "No deal until I talk to him."
"What the fuck don't you understand?" the man shouted. "He's fucking dead."
Prince looked at Finn, who blinked once, and he knew the guy was telling the truth.
"I'll ask once more, and the answer better be yes, or I will put a bullet in his head. Did you bring the money?"
"I did, but you have to let Finn go first," Price said, watching as Tucker got closer to the man and Finn.
"You have no fucking room to negotiate," the man growled. "This was supposed to be an easy job. Capture and release for money. Now my brothers are dead, and the feds arrested everyone else. If I hadn't gotten out with him, I would have been dead too. So quit fucking playing."
While the guy was spilling his guts, Tucker moved up behind and, in one swift motion, grabbed him by the neck. The guy shoved Finn, and Prince dropped his gun and was already running to catch him.
"You finally came," Finn said, and collapsed in his arms.