Page 40 of The Madman's Nightmare
I needed to kill those two assholes before they thought DJ and Conner could be used as pawns in their games. My sons were precious to me, and I’d do anything to ensure they were protected.
My eyes were locked with Elise’s as the elevator doors closed, and I vowed that the next time I saw her, the threat against my family would be dead and buried.
If I couldn’t keep that promise, then I didn’t deserve them or their love.
Chapter 20
Devlin
When we walked back into the conference room, I saw that Regan and Aubrey were gone and a few of Lucian’s men had taken their place. Rhys looked up from his computer and remarked, “I didn’t think they needed to be a part of this.”
“Agreed,” I returned, then asked, “What have we discovered?”
Lucian interjected first. “I took a look at the Greene family, and I found something interesting.” He began to speak as the large monitor displayed his screen for the entire room. “Mr. Greene was a trust fund brat who seemed to want to do good. But something happened about ten years before he died, and I think it’s the connection between Bradon/Michael and Kendra/Delilah.”
I took a seat and looked at the monitor as he spoke.
“He took in a young boy from the foster system when the boy was six. That would make his daughter seven, maybe eight years old.” The image flipped, and I saw records from the Tennessee Department of Child Services. “If you look here, Mr. Greene was listed as guardian of a boy named Michael Badcock for eight months. Michael told Elise he was sent away to boarding school at eight. I think the dates will match up.”
“He sent the boy to a boarding school and gave away custody at the same time?” James inquired.
“It seems like something happened inside the house, and from the report, it had to do with the Greene’s’ eldest daughter.There isn’t a lot of details, but it seems the girl was getting the boy to do more and more reckless things.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“There was a fire in the woods that nearly burned down a house at the edge of the lake. The report says the girl forced the boy to do it, but when confronted, the boy tried to take all the blame,” Lucian explained. “Again, there’s scarce information. My guess is money covered it all up and they shipped the boy off while still making sure to support him.”
“Why pay when they gave up custody?” Rhys asked.
“Guilt is my guess. If Kendra/Delilah is as crazy as I know her to be, I think she suckered that little boy into doing her bidding,” James surmised.
“So, how do we find them?” Freddie, our head of security, asked from his vantage point at the edge of the room.
I stood and looked at every man in the room before I answered. “Shock and fucking awe is how. We find the three warehouses and we raid them all at the same time.”
“What about the Rider’s Cross PD?” James threw out.
“I’ll handle that,” I remarked and picked up my phone. Dialing a number, I waited for an answer. “Sheriff Lee, Devlin Callahan.” I paused while he replied before I continued. “I have a situation and need your help, I have a tip that there’s some bad people holed up in a warehouse in Rider’s Cross. Do you still play poker with the sheriff over there?” Again, he spoke, confirming my question. “Can you give him a call and let him know I need access to the area and a blind eye from his department?” Another answer. “And, of course, Callahan Security would like to donate to the PD to help with whatever needs they may have. For the community, of course.”
James smiled and shook his head as I wrote down the address where to send our donation and when I hung up the phone, I texted the address where we would be to Sheriff Leebefore I looked at the men and explained. “We’ll have access to the warehouses, and anything we find will be ours to deal with.”
“How the fuck did you just get the cops to agree to let you do whatever you want?” Rhys questioned.
I looked at him and smirked, “I’m not a dick like you, Rhys.” Turning, I went to leave the room when I added, “And money talks.”
I took the stairs down to the armory with thundering footsteps following behind me. As I unlocked the armory and began to fill a bag with needed supplies, I saw James grabbing the first aid kit and handing it to Skid. He was a great field medic and probably should have been a doctor. He inspected the bag and zipped it up before slipping his arms though the straps and putting it on his back.
I made sure to grab extra clips, plenty of ammo, a few knives for whatever they could be used for, and on a whim, I slipped two grenades into the duffle. Handing it to James, I looked at everyone and asked, “Are you ready to go to war?”
Nods and thumbs up were returned, and without another word, I turned and walked out of the armory. Using the stairs again, we walked down to the parking garage then split up into three groups. The only way to find them was to hit all three warehouses at the same time, so Lucian led one team, Rhys took another, while James insisted on staying beside me.
I thought the bullet wound in my shoulder had made him leery of leaving me alone, and I was grateful that he, Skid, and two of Lucian’s men were joining me. Each vehicle had five men, with a combination of Lucian’s mercenaries and mine.
Regan had made GPS marks on a map for us, and James drove as we made our way to the small town of Rider’s Cross. It was about thirty minutes to the Flats and another fifteen to Rider’s Cross, and during the drive, I got a message from Sheriff Lee.
Sheriff Lee:Rider’s Cross Sheriff is aware and is on board with your request.
“We’re clear of PD,” I remarked to James, and he gave a nod as he continued through Portstill and into the Flats.
