Chapter 24
Phoenix
I reached Levi seconds after he crumpled and fell to his knees. I’d already noticed the toy in Father O’s hand, but I hadn’t understood its importance until I’d seen Levi read the piece of paper Father O had handed him. I took the crumpled note from Levi’s fingers and scanned it.
“Ronan!” I called as my heart threatened to punch through my chest.
I felt Ronan take the note from my hand. I got Levi upright and then led him to the first pew and sat him down.
“Father, when was the last time you used the door this was taped to?” I heard Ronan ask.
“When I left…a couple of hours ago.”
“Levi, look at me,” I whispered. His skin was cold and I was worried he was going to have one of his episodes. Luckily, his eyes focused on mine. “We’ll get him back.”
“He’s just a baby,” Levi murmured. “T wouldn’t hurt a baby, would he?” he asked. But I knew he was asking me because he wanted me to lie to him.
Because he already knew enough about T to know the man likely wouldn’t have any issue with hurting a child to get what he wanted.
“He needs him alive to get what he wants,” I hedged. I looked up to see Ronan, Seth and Memphis surrounding us. “Memphis, can you go to Levi’s apartment and see if you can find Henry’s mother? Apartment 220.”
“Seth, I need you to go with Memphis, okay?” Ronan said. His eyes shifted to Memphis. “Call Reese for backup.”
Memphis nodded. Ronan gave Seth a quick kiss and then the pair were leaving the church.
“Levi, do you have your phone with you?” I asked.
He nodded. He was still clearly in a state of shock because his moves seemed sluggish. I listened as Ronan called Daisy and told her to prepare a trace.
“Baby, I need you to listen to me, okay?” I said. “I need your help to get Henry back.”
My words seemed to snap Levi out of it and he quickly nodded. “Yes, okay.”
“The good news is that T has no idea about us or what we’re capable of. Ronan is going to have T’s phone traced. But we can also hack the phone to see who he’s called. So even if he doesn’t have Henry with him, we’ll have a good chance of finding where he stashed him.”
“He’s at an apartment near the airport,” Ronan said as he handed me the note. “Daisy’s hacking his phone now. It will be a few minutes before we see who he’s called recently.”
I nodded and then took Levi’s phone and dialed the number. Before I hit send I said, “Levi, we just need to find out what he wants and then you need to agree to it, whatever it is. We’re just buying time, nothing more.”
“Okay,” he said with a quick nod. He took the phone from me and when I nodded, he hit send.
“Put it on speaker.”
He did as I asked and then we waited in utter silence.
T picked up on the fourth ring.
“Hello, Princess,” he said. “You got my present, I see. ”
“Where’s Henry, T?” Levi asked.
“Now, is that really how you want to start this conversation?” T asked.
“Please, T, I just need to know he’s okay. I’ll…I’ll do anything you want.”
“The little shit’s fine. He’s in good hands…it’s a step up if you ask me. That bitch mother of his probably would have sold him to me for the coke if she hadn’t been so busy offering me her pussy instead.”
“Do you have Dina?” Levi asked.
“Princess, you really do need to focus. Unless you don’t want the little squealer back.”
Levi pulled in a breath and covered his mouth briefly as if trying to get control of himself. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“I want you to go to your little old lady friend and convince her to help you buy the kid back. I’m thinking she can afford a hundred grand.”
I hit the mute button on the phone. “Don’t give in right away or he’ll get suspicious.”
Levi nodded so I unmuted the phone.
“T, she’s not going to give me that kind of money.”
“Well, you better bat them pretty little eyes at her or whatever it is you faggots do to get what you want, because the clock’s ticking for that kid.”
“Okay, okay,” Levi quickly said. “I’ll get the money, I swear. Can you…can you send me a picture of Henry? She might want proof or something.”
“Fuck, you’re one stupid shit,” T snapped. “Get the money, Levi. And next time I see you, keep in mind there won’t be anyone to interrupt me this time around when that pussy of yours is wrapped around my dick.”
My eyes shifted to Levi and I saw his cheeks fill with color.
“Call me when you’ve got the money,” T bit out and then he hung up.
Levi shuddered and I took the phone from him. “What was he talking about, Levi? ”
“Nothing.”
“Levi-”
“It’s nothing, Phoenix! It’s not important.”
Understanding dawned. “That day at the store. When he gave you the bruises. Did he…”
I couldn’t even finish the thought because even the possibility made me violently ill.
“No,” Levi murmured. “He tried, but Adam, the store manager, interrupted him.”
I settled my hand on his shoulder and then kissed his temple. “I’m sorry, baby. I should have been there.”
He shook his head, but didn’t pull away from my touch. His phone beeped. I saw the text from T and opened the picture attachment. I felt the same relief as Levi when I saw a picture of Henry, unharmed and seemingly asleep in his car seat.
Ronan’s phone rang and he stepped away to answer it. Levi didn’t speak to me, nor would he make eye contact with me. He’d pulled his feet up onto the pew so he could wrap his arms around his legs and rest his forehead on his knees.
“T’s only made one call today,” Ronan said as he returned. “To a woman named Jalissa. Her apartment is at the same location where T’s phone call came from.”
“Henry’s with T,” Levi said, his voice heavy with fear.
“He’ll be okay, Levi. Trust me.”
I saw the flash of anger in his eyes before he could mask it. I hadn’t allowed myself much time to think about the damage I’d done to our relationship with my lies, but I hoped like hell he’d give me a chance to make it up to him when this was all over.
“We need to go,” Ronan said.
“Levi, I need you to stay here with Father O.”
“No!” he said as he jumped up. “I’m coming.”
“No,” I said, but Levi ignored me and pushed past me. I shot Father O a glance. “We’ll call you as soon as we can, Father.”
The man nodded. “I’ll pray for you.”
I nodded because I wasn’t above receiving some divine intervention. Not when Henry’s life was at stake .
I followed Ronan to his car. Levi got into the back seat without hesitation. As we drove, I took Ronan’s phone when Memphis called. I put it on speaker.
“Did you find her?”
“Yeah,” Memphis said, his voice heavy. “Not in her apartment though. We saw a stroller sitting by the alley when we got here. I had Seth stay in the car while I checked it out.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Levi who was listening attentively.
“I found her behind a dumpster at the back of the building. Strangled.”
I heard Levi gasp and turned to see him with his hand over his mouth.
“Did you call it in?” Ronan asked.
“Yeah, I called Declan.”
“Good,” Ronan said. “Tell him what’s going on, but make sure he knows we don’t need backup. If T sees even a single patrol car, he might panic and do something stupid.”
“Okay. Seth and I will wait here for Declan and his guys. Keep us posted.”
“We will,” I said and then I hung up. I looked at Levi again and saw he was barely holding it together.
“She…she was a shitty mom, but she didn’t deserve that,” Levi whispered.
“I know,” I responded, because what else could I say?
Once we reached the apartment, we parked a street over where T wouldn’t be able to see us.
I was torn with what to do next because I didn’t want to leave Levi in the car, but I knew Ronan and I would both need to go to the apartment to get Henry.
I got out of the car and opened Levi’s door.
I extended my hand into the backseat and waited until he took it.
I urged him out of the car and then leaned him against it, caging him in with my body.
“I know you hate me right now, and I can’t say I blame you, but I need you to do what I tell you. And not just because I don’t want to put you or Henry at risk, but because if I have to worry about you for even a second, it could get me or Ronan killed. And I don’t think you want that. ”
“No,” he quickly said. “And I don’t hate you,” he whispered.
I leaned down and kissed him. “I need you to stay in the car and lock the doors. If you hear gunshots, I need you to stay in the car. If you see T, I want you to duck down so he can’t see you.
If you are at risk of getting hurt at any time, you take the keys and drive away.
” I caught the car keys when Ronan tossed them to me.
“Please, promise me you’ll do that for me.”
“I promise,” Levi said solemnly.
I kissed him again, but when I went to pull away, he grabbed my arm. “Promise you’ll come back. All three of you,” he said as he glanced over at Ronan.
“Promise,” I whispered and then I pressed a soft kiss against his lips.
“I love you,” I said, but I didn’t wait to see if he’d say it back. I was afraid he wouldn’t. “Get in the car and lock it,” I urged as I left his side and strode around the car.
As Ronan and I approached the building, I glanced at him and said, “Thank you for this.”
He nodded. “I think we both have some things we need to say to each other when this is over,” he murmured. “I fucked up. I put my fear for one family member above my trust of another.”
His words warmed me and gave me hope that maybe my friendship with this man wasn’t beyond repair.
“I’m not sure I would have behaved any differently. I understand that now,” I said. “I wouldn’t have before Levi.”
Ronan nodded and then he gave me a slap on the back. “Let’s do this.”
The apartment building wasn’t big and the neighborhood was even worse than Levi’s. The few people on the streets sent glances our way, but didn’t do anything more than quicken their strides when they saw us pulling our guns out. I suspected guns weren’t anything new for the residents around here.
“Fire escape,” I said. Daisy had given Ronan enough information to confirm there were only six apartments in the building and that Jalissa’s was on the top floor facing the street.
Like Levi’s apartment, there was a fire escape in front of the window.
But unlike the day I’d climbed up from the bottom of it to get to Henry, I needed to be quieter this time around so I wanted to climb down from the roof.
Ronan and I entered the building and took our time clearing the stairwell as we made our way to the third floor.
Ronan waited as I went to the door leading to the roof and quickly picked the lock.
It took just minutes to get to the fire escape.
I’d put in the earpiece for the communications system that would allow me to interface with Ronan through an identical earpiece he was using while I’d been in the car.
“I’m at the fire escape,” I said.
“Copy.”
I carefully climbed over the edge and tested the fire escape to make sure it would hold my weight. Fortunately, it was more solidly put together than it looked. It also didn’t make as much noise as I’d expected.
“I’m in place.”
Since I didn’t know where in the apartment T was, I waited until I heard Ronan knock on the door and announce himself as an employee for the utility company.
I hoped his ploy about investigating a gas leak would work.
I gave him a couple seconds, then dropped down to the landing just outside the window.
The glass was dirty and scratched, but I could make out T sitting on the couch in front of a TV. A woman was heading for the door.
As soon as she opened it, T jumped up and pulled a gun out of his waistband. But instead of pointing it at Ronan, he ran down a hallway. I rushed to the next window and saw T storm into an almost empty bedroom.
Empty except for the car seat sitting in the middle of it. I didn’t hesitate at all to fire right through the window. I saw T go down before he was able to get off a shot and as I kicked in the window, Ronan appeared, the woman following.
“He’s okay,” Ronan called as he approached the car seat. I kicked in what was left of the glass and stepped into the apartment and then went around the car seat. Relief flooded my system at the sight of Henry’s scrunched up face. He let out a loud wail.
It was the best sound I’d ever heard .
I knelt down and unbuckled him from his seat and lifted him to my shoulder. “I’ve got you, Henry,” I murmured as I patted his back. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the caterpillar toy and handed it to him. He settled quickly as his fingers closed around it.
“Come on, let’s go find your daddy,” I said. Even though Levi wasn’t Henry’s biological father, he’d most certainly earned the title and then some.
Ronan grabbed the car seat and, with the woman in tow, followed me from the apartment. I heard him talking on his phone, presumably to Declan Barretti, a captain in the Seattle Police Department. The man and his extended family had become close to Ronan and several of his men over the past year.
When we exited the apartment, I was glad to see that Levi wasn’t just outside the apartment building.
He’d kept his word because as we rounded the building, he was still sitting in the car.
As soon as he saw us, he jumped out and ran to us.
I gladly handed him the baby as he cried and thanked me and when he put his arm around me, I hugged him back.
I just hoped it wasn’t for the last time.