Chapter 29
Ramzi’s anguished cry echoed through the air, catapulting Charity into action. Instinct had her gaze darting around, searching for anything to use as a weapon, but she saw nothing. If the Halstons had hit Ramzi, there was no time to lose and waiting for Oliver wasn’t possible. She raced to the back screen door, her fingers gripping the handle with a mixture of fear and determination. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the handle turned, and she pulled the door open.
Rushing into a cluttered kitchen, she zeroed her attention in on a large man and a thin woman grappling with Ramzi between them as they moved toward an open door on the other side of the room.
Her world was painted crimson as rage surged through her. Shoving a chair to the side, she propelled herself forward and then jumped, landing on the closest person to her, regardless of it being a man much larger than she. With a banshee cry at the top of her lungs, she screamed, “No!”
“What the fuck?” he roared, releasing Ramzi while struggling to turn to see who was on him.
Charity clung tenaciously, her arms locked around his neck and her nails clawing at his face. Her relentless scream continued, filling the room. “No! Leave him alone!” Never having been in a physical fight, she was unprepared for him to whirl and slam her back forcefully against the wall. The impact stole the air from her lungs. Grunting in pain, she dug her nails even deeper into his neck and face.
“You bitch!” Eliza yelled, letting go of Ramzi’s arm and turning toward the intruder. Before she could make a move, she stumbled over the chair that had overturned, and Charity glanced to see Ramzi had pushed Eliza down onto the floor.
Cory stepped forward and then repeated the action of slamming her back into the wall, this time with such force that her head also hit the solid surface. She grunted as the pain slammed into her ribs and her head at the same time. Her grip loosened, allowing him to break free from her grasp and whirl around, his rage brightly burning in his eyes.
“Who the fuck are you?” he demanded, wiping the blood from his cheek as he stared down at her.
Charity looked up at him, fear now gripping her body. Her legs trembled with the pain in her ribs, and spots appeared before her eyes. His arm cocked back, and she pushed off from the wall, but her legs gave way.
In a swift and unexpected move, Ramzi grabbed the wooden kitchen chair next to him and swung it with force, hitting Cory in the back of the head. Cory’s mouth dropped open as his body crumpled to the floor. Ramzi held part of the broken chair, daring Cory to rise. “Come on, you fucker!” he roared, his expression contorted with rage.
“What the fuck are you doing, boy?” Eliza screamed, jumping up from where she’d been pushed to the floor. Her gaze was pinned on Cory before shifting back to Ramzi. Eliza’s face twisted into a grimace as ugly as her soul. “You fucking shit!” With her hands raised and her long fingernails extended like talons, she stepped toward him.
Ramzi raised the chair again, daring her to come close, but Charity scrambled forward, forcing her legs to move despite their shaking. She managed to tackle Eliza to the floor. “You stay away from him!” Charity cried out, pressing down on the woman still trying to claw whoever she could reach. Shifting to kneel on Eliza’s back, Charity pressed her hands down on Eliza’s arms to keep her from using her long nails to cause damage.
The rapidly approaching footsteps sent her gaze beyond Ramzi. Several of the kids from upstairs rushed down the hall and stood looking at the entrance to the kitchen, wide-eyed at the chaotic scene.
“Stay back!” Ramzi yelled in a surprisingly authoritative tone. “I’m warning you, stay where you are!” He climbed over the chair in the way and leaned down to Charity. “Are you okay?”
Before she could answer, Cory groaned and pushed up from his prone position on the floor. He reached out and grabbed Ramzi’s leg. As the young man tried to kick out, Cory stood, now grabbing Ramzi’s arms.
“Get off her, you bitch,” Cory growled, his face twisted with anger, dragging Ramzi to the open door in the hall. Before she could move, he turned and shoved Ramzi through the doorway before charging toward her. She heard the sickening sound of his body thumping down the stairs.
“No!” she screamed, scrambling to get off Eliza.
Her movements were halted by the noise of the front door being kicked open with shouts of “police.” Cory darted through the basement doorway, slamming the door behind him. The kids in the front hall screamed, some dropping to the floor while others plastered their backs against the wall. Orders were shouted as police officers rushed in, their guns raised. The back door flew open, and Oliver and Landon rushed through.
“Oliver!” Charity cried, her voice joining the cacophony. She watched as Oliver’s gaze found hers amid the chaos. He rushed over and lifted her off Eliza’s back, swinging her to safety.
Eliza leaped up, her claws out again, but Landon quickly subdued her. She continued to spew threats as he cuffed her and shoved her toward one of the police officers.
“Ramzi! We have to get to Ramzi!” she cried. “Cory threw him into the basement!”
It was impossible to hear anything from the basement with the noise around them, but she flew out of Oliver’s arms and rushed to the door. Grateful the knob turned, she threw open the door. At the bottom of the stairs, Cory stood with his arm wrapped around Ramzi’s chest.
“No!” she cried, starting down the stairs. Oliver stopped her, pulling her back as he peered downward.
“I’ll snap his neck,” Cory growled, his voice shaking.
“Oh God, Oliver,” she whispered as he released his hold on her.
“Stay here, babe,” he whispered in return. “Do not go down there.”
He slipped away, and she heard the back screen door open again. But she didn’t watch Oliver leave… she wasn’t about to take her eyes off Ramzi as he stared up at her. His face held fear as well as anger, much the same as hers.
Only a few minutes had passed, but they felt like hours. Suddenly, a loud shot was heard, and she watched as Cory’s body jerked, his grip slipping from Ramzi, who fell forward as Cory slumped against the wall, blood covering his shoulder.
No longer heeding Oliver’s words, she raced down the wooden steps, dropping to the dirt floor next to Ramzi. She glanced over to ensure that Cory was incapacitated, satisfied when he cried out as blood oozed through his fingers where he held his shoulder.
Oliver threw open the outer cellar door and bolted down the steps while several police officers followed her downstairs. She looked over to see a small window at the upper wall of the basement, near the outer steps. The window was opened slightly, and realization dawned that Oliver had shot Cory through the small opening.
Her attention swung back to Ramzi as he called out, “This is Cory Halston.” One of the police officers knelt over Cory as he cuffed his hands behind his back.
Oliver reached her and Ramzi, wrapping his arms around both of them. “Are you hurt?”
Charity shook her head. “Not me, but Ramzi?—”
“Help! Help!” The voice came from behind a wooden door on the other side of the basement.
“Shit!” Ramzi cursed as he leaped to his feet, wincing at the pain. “Someone is in the cell!” When he ran to the cell door, he looked over his shoulder at Oliver. “Cory has the key!”
Oliver obtained the key from the police officer searching Cory and stalked over to the door, quickly unlocking it. Throwing it open, he stepped in and then called out, “Charity!”
She raced to him with Ramzi next to her and spied a thin teenage girl with tears streaming down her face. Horrified, she reached out to the girl, hating when she flinched.
“It’s okay, Marcie,” Ramzi assured, reaching out to take the girl’s hand. He led her out, where she allowed Charity to wrap her arms around her.
Leo came down the outer cellar steps, and Charity watched as his gaze darted around the room. “Need another ambulance?” he asked, gaining Oliver’s attention.
Oliver looked at her, and she nodded. He came over and said, “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get everyone upstairs.”
The kitchen was filled with police, paramedics, a few kids, and a still screaming Eliza being held by Landon.
Agent Meckle walked in, FBI printed boldly on his jacket. He looked around and began barking orders, and Charity couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t been the first to rush into danger.
“Ramzi!” another voice yelled from the back door. Charity looked over in time to see Kofi standing in the doorway.
Kofi made his way through the crowd of people crammed into the small kitchen over to Ramzi, who flung himself into his brother’s arms.
“Are you okay?” Kofi demanded, his voice trembling with emotion.
“Yeah, just bruised, I think.”
“What the fuck were you doing here?” Kofi continued.
“I thought you were here, Kofi. I thought you’d come back, and maybe they would put you in the basement. I had to see you and make sure you were okay. ”
“But why, man?” Kofi pushed, anguish lining his expression.
“You’ve always been there for me. You’ve always taken care of me. Always.” He ignored a tear that rolled down his cheek. “You would help me be good so that Mom would be happy, and her boyfriend of the month might think we were worth having around and want to be a daddy to us. You made sure I had something to eat. Made sure I took a bath and got my homework done. At school, you made sure no one picked on me.” More tears fell, and he swiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie.
Charity’s heart ached, and she felt tears well in her eyes as she listened and watched the emotions play across the two brothers’ faces.
But Ramzi wasn’t finished. “It was never enough for Mom. She kept dating losers, and eventually, we realized that none of them wanted to be saddled with two boys. Some weren’t so bad, but some of them… well, you protected me then.”
He turned his anguished eyes toward the others in the room before settling on Charity. “I hated to realize Kofi walked out of the center today, knowing he was coming back into this. I know the FBI said they’d keep him safe, but don’t you see? Kofi has always been there for me. I need to be there for him. He’s my brother. Then I saw you, Ms. Charity, and I couldn’t let them hurt you either.”
Kofi shushed him but held him tight. A rush of emotions crashed through Charity as she watched Ramzi cling to his brother. The adrenaline pumped through her blood as she gave in to relief and gratitude.
Oliver cupped her face, dragging her attention to him as his gaze roamed over her.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she assured, seeing fear in the depths of his eyes. “Really, I am.” She erased the distance and kissed him, giving him her entire soul in the touch of their lips. Finally, separating, she spied the relief in his eyes now, and she smiled.
Turning her smile toward the brothers, she said, “Thank you, Ramzi. Thank you.” She then swung her gaze over to the other kids, who were still wide-eyed and stunned as they stood in a group, surrounded by the police officers. She stepped out of Oliver’s arms and summoned her strength even as her legs still shook. “We need to call social services.”
Agent Meckled intervened. “I want statements from all of them. We’ll take them into custody and?—”
Charity shook her head. “You’ll do no such thing. At least not until social services have been called, their identities and ages have been determined, and they have legal representation.” She walked over to the other kids and said, “My name is Charity. I’m going to make sure that your rights are protected as the police take a look to see what has been going on here. I promise that nobody’s going to haul you off to jail or do anything to you.”
The police escorted Eliza in handcuffs under the direction of Agent Meckle as a handcuffed Cory was taken to the hospital. Another policeman called for forensics to come in. Another officer was shown the room where Cory kept his computer equipment. Another one went upstairs with one of the other boys to see the rooms where the kids were kept. Slowly, the kitchen became less crowded.
Oliver walked over, clapped Kofi on the shoulder, then grabbed Ramzi by the back of the neck and pulled him in for a hug.
“We’ll talk later, but know this…” Oliver said, bending to hold Ramzi’s gaze. “You just proved to be the kind of man you’re going to be. I’m fucking proud of you.”
Ramzi blinked back tears and nodded. His lips curved slightly.
Landon walked over to Oliver once he’d arrived back at Charity’s side.
“Boys? Let’s get out of here. We can get your statements where you feel safe.”
Kofi nodded and grinned. Ramzi sucked in a deep breath and looked at Charity, Oliver, and then Agent Sommers. “I want to go back to Bright Futures. Please, take us home.”