Page 35 of Coming Home

“If you have so much as even touched her, I will kill you myself.”

“Are you threatening me, Shaun? Scarlett is such a pretty little thing. It has taken me over a year to earn her trust and get her to come to me here in Boston where I could finish the job I started on her family. She was my last little piece to getting what I wanted. What your father didn’t deliver on a year ago.”

“What are you talking about?” I shout, my anger rising.

“You see, Scarlett was just a carrot I dangled to get to you. Your father denied a business deal that would have made me millions, and now I want that money.”

“You took Scarlett to get to me? You took Scarlett because you wanted our family money? Money that my father didn’t want to give you? Where is she?” I yell down the phone, my fury evident to everyone in the room.

“Shaun, you have two hours. If you want Scarlett back, I will require 50 million dollars in cash. In an hour, I will call you with the drop off location. So, the choice is now yours, Shaun; the girl or your money.”

Then the phone goes dead. Ray has ended the call holding all the cards.

“There is no way I can get 50 million in cash in two hours,” I say to Marco. “But there is also no way I am leaving without Scarlett.”

“Let me call in the banks and see what we can get in such a short time frame,'' Marco says and then walks off to make some calls.

“He doesn’t know that we have his location. We can be on him before he calls back. We have the manpower and gun power to end this right now.” Romeo looks at me, waiting for my decision. I would pay all that I have to get Scarlett back, but the deadline to do so cannot be met, something Ray should know, but he isn’t thinking straight.

I look at Marco before I look at Romeo. “Let’s go and end this fucker.”

“Get our tactical team ready. We are leaving in five minutes,” Romeo yells to everyone in the room, and the whole team hustles like there is a fire in the building.

Romeo gives me a handgun before looking at me. “Let’s go get your girl.”

I turn to Marco. “Stay put, one of us needs to be in control from here.” He nods as I follow Romeo quickly down to the garage and back into one of the escalades.

“You stay behind me until we can assess the situation,” Romeo says to me in the back of the car.

“I’m going to get my girl, Romeo, you just keep me safe while I’m doing it,” I offer back to him.

I will be careful, but I am getting my Princess back today, there is no doubt in my mind. The drive to the warehouse is quick. Half the team came with our car, the other half went a different route, and we already have a third team in place monitoring the warehouse and blocking off all known access points. Marco is managing the team back at the control room. No one is coming in or out of this place without our knowledge. From what we learned upon our quick investigation is that it is a huge warehouse. In fact, it is numerous warehouses all merged together to form one super large compound. It is somewhat of a hideaway but right in the middle of the city. Ray certainly had plans in motion for a while to have a place like this already set up, ready to use.

He may not realize his time is up, but it is. City police have been notified, and Ray is going down tonight, I just need to get Scarlett first. I am more determined than ever, but also hope that we aren’t too late. The thought of Scarlett already having been harmed, or worse, is already dead, is one I really don’t want to entertain. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.

As we pull up, a roller door opens and our cars drive in, it’s then that I see her. My Princess is black and blue and barely standing, being held up by Ray.

“Fuck!” I say to Romeo. Ray knew we would come.

We jump out and move to the front of the cars.

“Let her go,” I demand, looking straight at Ray, ready to fucking kill him with my bare hands if I need to.

“Didn’t get the money, I see. I knew you would come, always so rash in your decision-making, just like your father.” Ray is taunting me, and it is working because my blood is boiling.

“Let her go,” I demand again.

Ray laughs. “Do you think I am stupid. I will kill this fucking little slut right here, right now, in front of you, unless you go and get me my 50 million.”

“Don’t do it, Shaun.” I hear in a small voice. It is Scarlett. “Don’t give him the money. Don’t do it,” she says, which prompts Ray to slap her face and yell at her to shut up.

I clench my jaw. “Don’t fucking touch her!” I yell at Ray, trying hard not to run straight to him and end him. His gun suddenly pushes at Scarlett’s temple, and she whimpers, blood now visibly pouring from her nose and a cut above her eye.

“Don’t test me, boy!” Ray yells. It is now that I need to choose, Scarlett or my family's empire.

42

Scarlett

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