Page 19 of Vengeful Reign

“Where’s the destination?”

“Philly.”

“Okay. I’ll be fueled and ready in an hour.” I want to be up in the air within the next two hours. Realistically, an hour isn’t possible because of city traffic. It’s going to take forever for me to get to the bloody airport. Philly’s a short flight away, but it already feels like an eternity. My hand goes to my phone and back to the picture. I zoom in, but it doesn’t focus the image any better. He’s at an angle and it’s been so long since I’ve seen my little brother, but it’s got to be him.

My heart thumps in my chest, pounding erratically. I have to know if it’s truly him and who this woman is.

Since I learned that he was alive, I’ve traveled from town to town, checking shelters, foster homes, and freed little boys from predator dens because I was searching for my brother. Every sick fuck I found in those debauchery dens paid for their sins with the end of my gun or blade. I enjoyed those kills more than anything ever. Each kill was a reminder that someone could be hurting John the same way.

Shamus calls on one of the other guards, Frankie, to drive us to the airport. We ride out to the private tarmac, and I receive another image from Giles of her license plate. I drink a bottle of water. I want a fucking whiskey, but I need a clear head. I don’t know what to do with this information because I don’t run plates, and I can’t call my sources without drawing attention to this woman. I need to be close to her first, or rather, close to John.

We land in Philadelphia around seven at night, and I want to pound on the woman’s front door, but I don’t have any of her information yet. Giles meets us at the hotel about an hour later.

“What the fuck took you so long?” I question. He knew when we’d be arriving at the airport, so he should have been ready to go. My usual cool, calm demeanor fades when it comes to this pursuit. Knowing that we finally have visual evidence of John, I can’t hold back much longer. Every moment feels like an eternity.

“Sorry, I was watching her home to see if there was any additional movement, and then I got a business call that required my attention. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“No, you’re right. Did you get any more details, photos?”

He nods. “Yes, and I dug a little deeper and went into her mailbox while she was taking the kid into the house. Her name is Nora Harrison.”

He hands me his phone, and there’s a dozen more photos; there’s no doubt that the boy in her arms is my little brother. He looks healthy and clings to this woman as if she’s his lifeline, so I know he’s being taken care of, but that’s not the fucking point. She stole him from his family, robbing him of the love and life he deserves for no damn reason. If she wanted a baby so damn bad, I would have gladly put one in her fucking belly.

Whoa, where did that shit come from?

I shake my head and hand the phone over to him. “We need to get him tonight.” My face focuses on the photos, wondering where I’ve seen her before. I don’t even know if I have, but there’s something familiar about her features. She’s beautiful without a doubt, but there’s more. I recognize her, although I can’t say from where or when.

“I think it’s best to wait. Sleep, and then you can strike first thing in the morning. Don’t you want to learn more about her before you go in?”

“How am I supposed to do that without alerting her?”

“Do you think she’s that sophisticated as to have her name flagged?”

“How about someone watches the house, and we’ll pull the records so if she tries to run, we’ll be there.”

“Sounds good, but I really don’t want to wait. I say a four a.m. attack is better.”

“A blitz attack?”

“Yeah, but then she’s more than likely going to call the police than answer the door.”

“True. I don’t fucking like any of this.” He manages to hold me off to a reasonable hour, but I can’t sleep as I wait for any report on this woman. It finally comes in, and I learn a little more about this thief. She’s a twenty-four-year-old teacher who isn’t married and has no children. No fucking children, so she shouldn’t be carrying an obvious child with her.

“Now, it’s time to get my brother and deal with this woman.” My hand raises, and I pound on the door.

Chapter Seven

Nora

June 2014

“Nora, I’m totally sorry that today was a bust. I thought you two would do good with an outing. You needed it,” Rebecca says. She’s been so supportive for the past year, and I couldn’t have done it without her.

“I did, but it was more stress than it was worth.” My head pounds as I fight back tears. It has been a rough day. John’s screams had nearly broken me, but I managed to hold it together long enough to get him out of the mall and into the car without looking like I abducted the child. Goodness, the irony of that wouldn’t have been lost on me. Yes, I have the papers saying that he legally belongs to me, but how he’d been placed in my care never felt legal.

“I told you that I would have watched him for you.” Rebecca is a saint, but I can’t rely on her generosity.

“No, I couldn’t let you do that. John isn’t good with anyone when I’m not around.” Honestly, after what happened at the mall, I knew it was better to have kept him with me. If anyone was looking for him and she had been the one watching him, Rebecca would be the target.

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