Chapter 33

~ Gabrielle ~

The caravan of SUVs raced over the bridge and the expansive park loomed ahead. Thanks to Danny’s contributions, the entire area glowed with lights, but there was so much ground to cover that I worried we wouldn’t get to Dani in time.

Danny parked, and after Big T slid out of the back, he put a hand on my arm as I opened my door.

“Please stay here. I don’t want to worry about you and Dani. It will be easier if you stay here.”

“But I want to find her,” I protested. “She’s my baby. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”

“Please, baby. She’s my baby too, but I need you stay here so I can concentrate on bringing this fucker down.”

I swallowed and remained silent, before sagging against the seat and nodding. “Okay.”

“Lock the car and if anything happens, hit the emergency button on the OnStar.”

He jumped out, and my gaze followed him as he raced over to the group to distribute orders. They all took off in multiple directions before I realized I no longer saw anyone from where I sat alone in the parking lot. I glanced around at the park in front of me; a place that held so many good memories, now being replaced with horrible ones. Nothing could happen to Dani. Nothing. If anything did, I would die.

I tried not to let the panic creeping in at the edges envelope me, and evened my breath to prevent hyperventilation, but it was becoming difficult to ward off, especially with each minute that passed with no sign of Dani. I shook my head, trying to shake out the jumbled confusion of my racing mind, and when I did, something caught my attention. I peered out the side window and spotted the gazebo in the distance. Or rather, where the gazebo should have been, the area now dark and forgotten. No one had gone in that direction, and I stared into the blackness, every fiber in my being telling me my daughter was there.

Throwing the towel down, the overhead light came on when I pulled on the door handle, and a flash of silver glinted from Danny’s pistol where it sat on the console, forgotten and left behind in his rush. I reached down and lifted it, the cool metal a sure, sturdy weight in my hand. I had never fired a weapon before, but I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot when it came to Dani’s safety. Not at all.

I tightened my grasp on the grip and shoved the door open, stepping into the night. A brisk wind stirred up my hair as I started toward the gazebo, shoving the pistol into the waistband at the small of my back, but I felt nothing. Not the chill in the air, not the pain in my wrists, or in my head. I didn’t feel the sting of my cuts or the ache in my ankles. I felt nothing but cold determination.

~ Danny ~

In the middle of the expansive fields, I grouped with Big T, Joe, and a few of the other bodyguards. Everyone panted hard from tearing through the park, trying to locate Dani.

“Anything?” I asked as I sucked in a breath.

“Nothing,” Joe said.

“Fuck!” I turned around, my eyes straining to pierce through the darkness to find my baby, who must be scared out of her mind. I was too, not knowing where she was and what Terrell was saying to her, doing to her. I made myself stop before I went crazy, not letting my thoughts go astray and imagining Terrell’s hands on my baby girl. If I did, the horror would paralyze me.

I spun in an agitated arch again and turned back when a shadow in the distance caught my eye. The gazebo. I’d forgotten about it in my haste, since the structure was invisible, the bright lights that lit the structure dark. My feet were moving in its direction before I even realized it.

“Where are you going, D?” Big T was right behind me, his breathing labored as he struggled to keep up.

“The gazebo,” I shouted over my shoulder, digging deep to make my legs carry me faster than I’d ever ran before in my life. “The asshole is there with her.”

I raced up the path and stopped when I reached the center of the structure. Darkness surrounded me, and I walked around, taking shallow breaths, trying to hear any telling signs. A crunching sound broke the silence when I stepped on glass. Terrell had killed all the lights by shattering the bulbs.

The sounds of multiple feet pounding the ground echoed as everyone caught up, and I waved my hand to hush them.

“Come on, Terrell. Let’s quit the game,” I called out, so certain the prick was hiding somewhere nearby, watching me. “I’m here, what you wanted.” I continued to walk out of the gazebo toward the water.

I took one step at a time, waiting for a hint to where Terrell remained hunkered down. Nothing except giant shadows of trees lined the jagged water line, but I somehow knew this was where he waited.

I glanced behind me and found my crew covering me about ten feet back, but well within striking distance. Nobody would hesitate to use force if needed.

“Terrell, come on. This is stupid. I didn’t realize you were one to hide like a pussy.”

A soft chuckle came out of the darkness to my right. I turned as he emerged from the black shadows. Alone.

I fought not to let the panic show on my face as my brain screamed out for my daughter. “Where’s my girl?”

Terrell gave a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe I know, maybe I don’t. I can’t remember a lot of things these days.” He chuckled as he tapped his temple with his finger.

I took a step toward him with my hands up. “Let her go, Terrell. You’ve got me, and that’s what you want.”

Anger glinted in his eyes. “How the fuck do you know what I want?”

“That’s what this has always been about. You and me. Not Gabby, and not my baby girl. You and me.” I held out my arms at my sides. “Well, here I am, motherfucker. Let’s finish this.”

“It’s far from finished, my man. This is just the beginning. I start with your little girl, then I move to your woman.” He leered at me, his posture smug and tight. He might have aged while in prison, thinned out, but he was still angry, and that anger outlined his whole body. “I’m going to make you watch me kill everything that means anything to you, and then you’ll be begging me to kill you.”

Even as a cold chill ran through me, I refused to show any fear. As soon as Terrell believed he had the upper hand, it was over. Until then, I needed to keep him guessing on what I would do, which wouldn’t be anything other than talk, as I didn’t have my piece on me, but he didn’t need to know that.

“What’s the point?” I asked. “Just kill me; that’s what you want, anyway. Why all this fucking drama?”

He shook his head, like I was a sad piece of shit. “It’s all about family, man. How many times do I have to tell your sorry ass? It’s all about family, and this here is your precious little family. You shunned mine. You thought you were better than all of us, so I’m going to kill yours.”

This fucker’s crazy. I tried to figure out what my next move should be. Any movement from anyone, and Terrell wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. As long as he was away from Dani and Gabrielle, that’s all that mattered. I’d keep him talking for years, if that’s what it took.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a shadow moving behind the trees at Terrell’s back, the outline too thin to be any of the guys. So that only meant it could be one person—Gabrielle.

Damn her. What the fuck is she trying to do? Get herself killed? But she was looking for our daughter, so I needed to keep Terrell’s attention on me.

“I didn’t shun your family, Terrell. It wasn’t for me. It was for you and I’ve nothing against that; that’s your choice, but it wasn’t for me. You knew that. You knew I was a fucking loner, and that wasn’t my thing.”

Terrell shook his head. “No, man. You said we ain’t good enough.”

“I never said that.”

“You turned your back on me, on us. On the help we gave you.”

I shook my head. “No, man. It’s what I had to do to get out of here. You know that.”

“I don’t fucking know that. We all could have gone with you. We could have made it big as a family, but no. You turned your back on us.”

“I couldn’t take everyone, Terrell!” I poked my chest. “I barely got myself out of here, let alone everyone else. I couldn’t save everyone.”

He pointed at me. “You turned your back on us. You didn’t even try to help anyone but yourself.”

“Terrell—”

“No! There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.” He glared. “This is how it’s gonna be. Dollar might be asking me to do his dirty work again, but I’m glad to be doing it this time.”

My head spun. Doing Dollar’s dirty work? Again? What did that even mean? But I couldn’t question any of it because Terrell was heading back to the trees. I saw Joe move and waved my hand, holding him off. No one could jump in on this. Anyone else, and I lost my girls for sure. If I wanted this over with for good, then it was up to me to finish Terrell off, once and for all.

~ Gabrielle ~

I rushed up the path, trying to be as quiet as possible. I wanted no one to see me, prepared to reach out and grab Dani once Terrell came out with her. But as I watched from my hiding spot, my heart stopped when he emerged without her.

Where was she? What had he done with her?

Hidden in the cover of the trees, I listened as he and Danny went back and forth. In the past, I would have panicked and raced out to stop Danny as he offered himself up, believing I couldn’t live without him. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel a trickle of fear now for his safety, but there was someone more important, more innocent, than him or me. I had to find our daughter; nothing else mattered, and because of that, I needed the distraction he provided.

I kept my ear out for Danny’s voice to keep apprised on how things were going with him and Terrell as I crept low, looking for any sign of Dani. I treaded as lightly as possible, trying not to make any sound from the brush on the ground, the lapping of the water providing cover noise.

“Where are you going?” Danny yelled at Terrell, which made me stop in my tracks. I paused, holding my breath, waiting to hear what came next.

“I ain’t going nowhere,” he replied. “I ain’t afraid of your white ass.”

“Well, then get back here, you fucker,” Danny taunted him. “Why you walking away from me then?”

I had little time, either before things between them escalated, or before Terrell came back around the trees. In about twenty more steps, I would be out in the open, exposed and out of the tree line. It also meant there was no other place nearby where Dani might be. My heart pounded harder, and a fresh layer of cold sweat broke out over my skin. I refused to believe I was too late. I couldn’t be. There would be no purpose to my life without my baby.

I stopped, straining my eyes to see anything, when I spotted a faint white mass resting under a big pine tree. As I crept closer, it became clear it was a small person on her side with her knees pulled up to her chest.

I plunged underneath, a cry of relief escaping me. “Dani! Oh my God, Dani!”

He had tied her to the trunk and blindfolded her. “Mommy!”

“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you!” I wept as I tried to figure out how to untie her little wrists. I was so busy trying to find something to cut the rope with, that I didn’t register the sounds of someone crashing through the branches until I heard Danny yell.

“Gabrielle! Dani! Get the fuck out of there!”

“I can’t! She’s tied up and I’m not leaving her.”

As Terrell thrust through the last of the limbs, pointing his gun at me, I planted myself in front of Dani and faced him.

“Get away from her, bitch,” he snarled.

“No.” I raised my gun and pointed it at him. “You get away from her, and you get away from me, you dirty piece of shit.”

“Gabrielle!” Danny emerged from the trees, but then stopped in his tracks and held up one hand. “G, put the gun down.”

“No.” I didn’t take my eyes off Terrell and his smug grin. “No, I won’t let him continue to do this to us.”

Terrell chuckled with a casual glance over his shoulder. “It’s all right, D. It’s not like the little priss is gonna pull the trigger. She’ll hurt herself before she hurts—”

A loud bang interrupted him, shock passing over his face before he dropped his gaze from me to the bullet hole in his chest. He stumbled to the right before crumbling down to the ground, a gurgling noise coming from him…and then there was nothing.

~ Danny ~

I ignored Terrell and the others filing in behind me, and stepped toward Gabrielle, keeping my eyes trained on her. She was ghastly white, and her entire body shook as every emotion overtook her. She kept a death grip on the gun as she stared in disbelief at Terrell’s body a few feet away.

I laid my hand on hers and pushed the pistol down to her side. “It’s okay, baby. Look at me.” I waited until her wild eyes found mine, her breaths coming in short, hard pants. “It’s okay. I’m here. Give me the gun, baby.”

Her gaze flew to Terrell again and back. “I killed him.”

“Yes, you did. Give me the gun, baby.”

She let go, and I held on to her as her knees gave out. Lowering us to the ground, I wrapped myself around her as she trembled violently. I continued to cradle her, while leaning over to kiss Dani’s forehead as she bawled.

“It’s okay, baby. We’ve got you. You’re safe,” I said, trying to keep a hold on my emotions even though my eyes watered. “Someone get over here with a knife to cut some rope.”

Gabrielle sobbed as she draped herself around Dani, while I embraced them both, finally letting my tears fall. My family was in my arms and they were safe, and that’s all I ever wanted.