Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ellory studied the random pile of items around her, frustrated. She’d built the staircase of boxes easily enough, but had been disappointed by what she’d found in the first dozen containers she’d opened. They were full of the same Christmas toys as she’d already discovered. They definitely had plenty of light now, but the repeating “Jingle Bells” song was starting to get to her. She wanted to rip the heads off the bears to shut them up, but she didn’t dare since that might mean they’d lose the light they provided.
She’d refused to give up, knowing there had to be something she could use to help her and Yana escape.
She was excited when she’d opened the thirteenth box and found dozens of travel packets of tools. A tiny hammer, two screwdrivers, and a pair of pliers were inside each folded piece of plastic. There were nails, screws, and even a couple of thumbtacks in each, as well. Then she felt stupid. The tools were pretty much useless unless someone was doing something as simple as putting up a picture frame. They were obviously made by some company thinking it was a cute thing for women or children.
But her dismay didn’t last long. Even if they were tiny and cheap, she had tools. They were still items she could use. Maybe.
Other boxes held things that weren’t as useful. Plastic flip-flops, tiny squishy frogs, and even a box full of sex toys, which grossed Ellory out.
There hadn’t been clothes of any kind so far, which was disappointing, as she wanted something softer than the metal floor of the container for Yana to lie on. She glanced at her little sister and wanted to cry. There were tear tracks on her cheeks, and she was lying on her side, holding one of the stuffed bears in her arms, sound asleep.
The pressure she was under hit Ellory hard then. If she didn’t find a way out of this box, they would both end up dead. Remembering what Brady had said, about how he’d sold her for her organs, made Ellory panic. She had to get out of here. Now . Before it was too late.
She’d thought about climbing over to the door, but after seeing how tightly packed the boxes were in the space, she didn’t think there was any way she could remove enough of them for her and Yana to be able to make it to the door. And even if they did, she wasn’t sure how they’d get out. She’d heard the padlock click closed even from where they were three quarters of the way inside the container.
She was still staring at Yana, trying to think of some way to use the batteries, tools and plastic frogs to escape, when something caught her eye behind Yana’s head.
Moving slowly, Ellory crawled over to her sister to see what it was that she’d noticed. The color of the floor was different in one spot. It was…orange. At least, she thought it was; it was difficult to tell with the flashing colorful lights from the stuffed bears.
Moving Yana slowly and carefully, so the little girl didn’t wake up, Ellory brought one of the bears closer so she could examine the spot on the floor. She touched it, and was surprised when it seemed…spongy.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed, feeling a little guilty for swearing but she figured if there was ever a time to use a bad word, this was it. “It’s rusted. The floor’s rusted!”
Excitement spread through her body as she picked at the flecks on the floor. When a piece of rusted metal came up, Ellory gasped. She wasn’t going to get too excited yet. Just because there was a little rust on the floor didn’t mean it was anything like a trap door they could escape from. But the hope that swam through her bloodstream couldn’t be stopped.
She began to poke and prod at the rusty spot, thrilled when more and more pieces of the metal broke off in her hand. Spinning around, she grabbed one of the useless little travel packs of tools and pulled out the hammer.
Slamming it down onto the weak part of the floor, Ellory winced at the loud sound that echoed in the small space.
Yana jerked awake and whimpered.
“I’m sorry, Yana. I didn’t mean to scare you. But look! The floor is weak here. Maybe we can bust through it and get out.”
“Good?” Yana asked.
“Yeah, this is good,” Ellory said. Of course, the floor being weak was one thing, making a hole big enough for her and Yana to get out of was another. And it didn’t matter how big a hole they made if the container was sitting on the ground. They could get through rusted metal, but they couldn’t tunnel through concrete or asphalt or whatever was under the container they were in. And if their Conex got stacked onto another, they were equally screwed.
They would have one chance to get out of here—when the container they were in was moved. And it was likely they’d be caught. But Ellory wasn’t ready to give up. She had to try.
“Come on, Yana, take this.” She handed her one of the little screwdrivers. “See if you can pry up the metal.” Demonstrating what she wanted the little girl to do, Ellory watched with pride as her sister didn’t even hesitate.
As Ellory hammered at the rusted metal, and Yana did what she could to pry up the loose parts, Ellory prayed as hard as she could that Ricky and her mom were on their trail. Because getting out of this box was only the first step in rescuing themselves…she couldn’t drive, had no idea where they were, and she didn’t want to run into anyone else who might be in cahoots with Brady.
Ellory smiled. Cahoots. She hadn’t ever had a chance to use that word in a sentence in everyday life. Her English teacher would be so proud. Then she sobered. Her English teacher wouldn’t know about the word usage if Ellory didn’t get out of here.
“Keep going, Yana. This is going to work.”
One thing Ricky always emphasized was the power of positive thinking. He told her that anytime he was in a situation that looked bleak, he and his SEAL teammates would never ever talk about the bad things that could happen. They knew about them, but they didn’t voice them out loud. He said that gave the bad energy in the world power to outweigh the good.
Taking that advice to heart, Ellory began to talk to her sister about all the things they were going to do when they got home. About how happy Artem and Borysko would be to see them. About how their mom would cry. Maybe Ricky too. How they’d get to eat whatever they wanted, sleep in their own beds, put on some clean clothes.
She babbled on and on as she and Yana worked, hoping against hope with every strike of the hammer that she’d be able to break through this stupid metal box before the huge cranes came to haul them away.
* * *
Addison had no idea why Ricky had brought Brady to their house. She was furious . At Ricky. At her ex. At everyone and everything. She was at the end of her rope, and all she wanted was for everyone to get out of her house and leave her alone.
But as soon as she had the thought, she felt guilty. Everyone was there because they were trying to help. The women were keeping Artem and Borysko distracted in their room, the men were doing everything in their power to gather the ransom money—and to hopefully find Ellory and Yana before they had to use the money.
A few of the SEALs were on the phone, talking to the Tex person she’d heard so much about, their commander, and Wolf and the men on his team who weren’t already at the house. Their women were actually out driving around, physically looking for any signs of the girls.
Everyone was helping—and all Addison could do was stand around helplessly.
Ricky hadn’t left her side. When he’d come back to the house with her ex in tow, he’d come straight to her and hadn’t moved since. It was as if he was…guarding her? That couldn’t be right though. Ricky wouldn’t have brought her ex here if he thought he’d hurt her…would he?
For the first time in what seemed like forever, Addison’s brain kicked into gear. Why was Brady here? He was the one who’d taken Ellory and Yana out of school without permission.
“Ricky? Can we talk?”
“Sure.”
“Alone?”
He looked around at all the people in their house, and then down at her with one brow cocked. She wanted to laugh, but she felt as if that would somehow be inappropriate considering all that was happening.
“Why is Brady here?” she whispered.
Ricky looked around, then with an arm around her waist, he pulled her down the hall toward their room. He ushered her inside and shut the door. “Are you all right? Hanging in there?”
“No, and yes. Why is he here?” she asked again, looking her husband in the eye. “I hate him. I don’t want him here.”
“I hate him too,” Ricky said, surprising Addison. “And he’s here because he knows something. I don’t know what, and he’s putting on a decent show of being a concerned father, but something’s off about him. And the only way I know how to find out what he knows is to keep him close.”
A light bulb went off in Addison’s head. “You think he might say or do something that will lead us to the girls?”
“Maybe. But I’d rather know where he is than have him out there doing God knows what.”
Addison nodded. That made perfect sense to her. “Maybe I can help. Irritate him. Get him riled up. Maybe he’ll slip up and say something useful.”
“I don’t want you to do anything that will cause you pain,” Ricky said.
Addison blinked at him. “Not knowing where my girls are is causing me pain. Not knowing if they’re hurt, or if someone is scaring them, or even if they’re…” she paused and took a deep breath before continuing, “ alive , is causing me pain. If I can antagonize Brady enough that he breaks, I’ll do it. I can’t hit him physically, like you guys obviously got to, but I can hit him with words.”
“I love you,” Ricky whispered, putting his forehead against hers.
“I love you too.”
“I’ve been scared while on a mission. When things went south and I thought I might die, or my friends might die. But I’ve never been as terrified as I am right this moment. Not knowing where our kids are? I feel as if I can’t function. I can’t think.”
“I know,” Addison soothed. Amazingly, knowing he was as scared as she was kind of steadied her. Made her feel not so alone. “Do you think he did it?” she asked.
Ricky obviously knew the “he” she was talking about. “Yes.”
“He wasn’t the guy on the phone. The ransom guy.”
“Nope,” Ricky agreed, taking a deep breath. “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t hire someone to make the call.”
“And the texts? Could those be faked?”
“I think they could. That’s not my area of expertise, but Tex is doing what he can to try to figure it out.”
“So you think he took them and put them somewhere,” Addison concluded.
Ricky stared at her for a long moment. “Yeah, sweetheart. I do.”
“Why?”
“ That , I don’t know for sure. We’ve got a whole house full of people who won’t rest until they figure it out. But I’m thinking that ransom money has a lot to do with it.”
Her eyes narrowed at that. “Right. So…can I go and piss off my ex now? I’ve waited a long time to tell him off.”
Ricky’s lips twitched, but he didn’t manage a full smile. He nodded then turned to the door.
Addison didn’t waste any time. She waded through all their friends, passing Wolf, who’d obviously arrived while they were in the bedroom. Made sure Artem and Borysko weren’t in earshot—they weren’t; Remi and Maggie still had them back in their room, playing cards—and walked straight up to Brady.
“Why are you here, Brady?”
“Why? Because my daughter is missing,” he said.
“Not good enough. Why do you even care? You went almost twelve years without giving one little shit about her. You didn’t call. You didn’t contribute to her upbringing in any way, emotionally or monetarily. Nothing . So why now?”
“I’ve changed,” he retorted.
“Have you?” she challenged. “The first time you watched me change her diaper, your forehead crinkled and you made a face that communicated just how gross you thought it was. And when you found out about her Crohn’s, you made the exact same face.”
“Cut me some slack, Addison, it was a surprise.”
“It wouldn’t have been if you were there for her.”
“What do you want me to say?” he asked belligerently.
“I want you to tell me why the hell you went behind my back and lied to pick up my daughter!”
“She’s my daughter too. I should’ve been on that list in the first place!”
“Wrong. She’s not your daughter. Biologically, yes. But in every other way, no. Ricky’s done more to raise that girl than you ever have, and he’s only known her for little more than a year.”
That seemed to get to him.
“He’s not her father,” he growled.
“The hell he’s not. He’s spent countless hours with Ellory, talking to her, bonding with her, teaching her things. He listens to her. He gets her blankets and heating pads when her belly hurts. He’s more of a father than you’ve ever been in her entire life.”
“That’s not my fault!”
“Yes it is!” Addison yelled back. “You had every opportunity to be a dad. But instead, you left . Without a word. Without looking back. And now that you’re in Riverton, you think you can just step into the role of dad? You can’t. It’s not that easy.”
“That’s because you’ve been telling her lies about me. Turning her against me!”
Addison laughed, but it wasn’t a humorous sound. “No, I haven’t. Believe it or not, we don’t talk about you when you aren’t around, Brady. The entire world doesn’t revolve around you. No. You’ve turned her against you all on your own. With your incessant texts and calls. Your insensitive remarks about her Crohn’s and her size. There’s no way that Ellory would’ve contacted you if she was being bullied—and you and I both know it. So why don’t you just tell me what you did with her and Yana and this whole damn farce can end!”
She’d stepped forward and was yelling in Brady’s face by the time she was finished, but she could still feel Ricky’s hand at her back. He was letting her say what she needed to say while still right there, ready to step in if things went sideways.
And she could feel the rest of her friends there too. They had everyone’s attention in the entire room.
As if he could feel the animosity coming from each and every person staring at him, Brady began to sweat. “You’ve always been so goddamn overbearing,” he sneered. “So controlling. It’s about time you learned that you can’t control everyone and everything around you. About time it came back to bite you in the ass! You’ve always had everything . You have no idea how it feels to have to clean up after everyone. People throw shit on the floor and don’t think twice about who has to pick up their trash. You’ve never struggled, Addison. Ever .”
“That’s such bullshit,” she told him. “I’ve done nothing but struggle. You think it’s been easy, being a single mother with a kid who has a chronic disease? It hasn’t. It’s never easy—but it’s still a privilege. And everything I have, I’ve worked my ass off for. Life isn’t easy, Brady. That’s something you’ve never managed to learn because you’ve been too busy playing the victim. You’ve been looking for the easy way out your entire life!”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about me for much longer,” he told her, not backing down.
“Yeah? Why this time?” Addison pushed.
“Because I’m leaving this shit hole! I’m going to go to Hawaii to sit in the sun and sand and enjoy myself for fucking once!” Brady’s face was bright red at this point. He was breathing hard, and he looked as if he wanted to haul off and hit her.
Addison laughed. “And how are you going to afford that? Hawaii’s expensive, dumbass. Milk costs triple what it does here. And an apartment? At least double.”
“I have money,” he insisted.
“Yeah? Then how about giving us some to help get your daughter back safe and sound, since you’re so concerned? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you aren’t offering a single dime toward the ransom!”
“She’s not coming back!” he yelled. “Why would I pay to get her back when she’s already gone?!”
The words exploded into the room—and Addison instinctively took a step back as she gasped in shock.
“I-I mean…”
But it was too late. He’d said the words, and everyone heard them.
It was Blink who swiftly grabbed Brady in a chokehold from behind and leaned down to whisper in his ear. Addison was standing more than close enough to hear what the usually silent SEAL said to her ex.
“We knew you had more intel than you were sharing. You’re surrounded by men who know ten ways to kill and hide a body that’ll never be found. Time to start talking, Vogel. Unless you want to spend hours being tortured for the information. Because right now? Each and every one of us would love to take a turn.”
Addison held her breath.
It felt as if the entire room held a collective breath.
Brady flicked his gaze around the space frantically, as if looking for some sort of escape. But there was none.
With his left hand, Blink reached into his pocket and took out a KA-BAR knife. The folding one all the SEALs carried with them at all times. He expertly flicked it open but instead of holding it to Brady’s neck, as Addison might’ve expected, he reached between the man’s legs and pressed the tip against his dick.
“I spent plenty of time being tortured in an Iranian prison. If you think I don’t know what I’m doing…think again.”
“Okay okay! Don’t cut my dick off! I’ll tell you where they are! But it doesn’t matter. It’s too late!”
Addison’s blood ran cold. She’d done it. She’d egged on Brady enough to break him. But hearing that it was too late? That almost broke her .
Ricky’s arm went around her waist, holding her up as he backed farther away from Brady and Blink.
“Get the women out of here,” Kevlar ordered as the men closed ranks on Brady. The table was moved to the living room, and a chair was placed in the middle of the tiled dining room floor.
Addison was aware of people moving around her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off her ex. He was going to tell them where Ellory and Yana were. What he’d done with them. She was elated and terrified at the same time.
“Come on, Addison, come with us into your room,” Julie Hurt said quietly.
“No, she stays,” Ricky said, tightening his arm around her.
Addison sagged into him. She was more thankful than she could say that he wasn’t going to make her leave. She didn’t really want to stay to see Brady tortured, but no way was she going anywhere until she had the information on her babies.
Brady was sitting on the chair now, slumped over, surrounded by big bad Navy SEALs.
“Talk, Vogel,” Safe ordered.
And he did. Without prompting, he spilled his guts. Explained everything.
When he was done telling them what he’d done, how he’d sold Ellory’s body parts and arranged for her to be shipped overseas alive, to a buyer who wanted the organs as fresh as possible, Addison wanted to vomit.
And when he admitted to hiring someone to make the ransom call, because he wanted to throw suspicion off of himself by acting like a worried father—and because he wanted to double his money—Addison wanted to kill the bastard herself.
But it wasn’t until he told them where he’d left little Yana and Ellory that true fear hit.
They’d been locked inside one of those huge metal containers, scheduled to be loaded onto a ship.
No, he didn’t know which one, only that it was blue. No, he didn’t know when the ship was scheduled to leave, only that it was soon. Yes, he’d tell them the name of his contact, but it was probably a pseudonym.
The more he talked, the more horrified and scared Addison became. This man, the father of her child, had kidnapped, sold, and as good as murdered her. And there he sat, obviously feeling more sorry for himself than worried about the life of his own daughter.
“We’ll call the cops, you guys go to the shipyard,” Wolf said.
Without a word, Ricky turned toward the door, pulling Addison with him. Once again, she was thankful he didn’t try to talk her into staying home. She needed to be where her girls were. She just prayed that they weren’t too late. That they wouldn’t see a huge container ship pulling out of its dock on its way to Asia. If that happened, she had no idea how they’d find Ellory and Yana. The clock was ticking, and she was deathly afraid it was too late.