Think, Linc
“YOU”—PUNCH—“ARE”—PUNCH—“A”—punch—“fuck up!”
I roll Roman onto his back and narrowly miss his fist. I’m about to knock his big head right off his shoulders when strong arms yank me from him. Roman is on his feet ready to charge at me when Ram bellows at him.
“Enough! Stop acting like goddamned children!”
Roman glares at me before storming off to his office. Ram slams the door of the conference room. I scrub at my face and instantly hate how I behaved. Roman and I can’t stand each other but we lost our shit, at the office of all places. Reagan is pissed at me for the whole Louie crap—that I can’t even tell her about—and now probably for fighting with her brother at her workplace as well.
“I’m sorry,” I groan and drop into one of the leather chairs.
His hard gaze softens as he sits across the table from me. “Care to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
I clench my jaw and shrug. “I can’t.”
He leans back in his chair and shakes his head. “That might fly with Reagan because she’s nice and sweet and gullible. But it does not fucking fly with me. You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on. Every bit of it. Whatever you’re hiding. Your past. All of it.”
I glare at him. “After tonight, it won’t matter anyway.”
“So, if it doesn’t matter, tell me. What is going on?”
A huff of frustration escapes me but I resign myself to spilling it to Ram.
“When I lived in New Jersey, I got involved with the wrong crowd. At first it was simple errands for this guy I knew. Pick up money from one guy and then deliver it to another guy. That guy would take it to the big boss, Louie. Easy stuff. A little too easy. I started to learn that I could skim anywhere from five hundred to two grand off each run without anyone noticing.”
Ram’s eyes widen. “Oh, shit.”
“It started out innocent enough. I just wanted to see if they would notice. I’d had all these grand ideas that I was like Robin Hood. I’d steal from them and then do things like help my mom or my sister out. Just fun. And since nobody noticed the first five thousand I took and funneled away, I kept on skimming.” I lean back in my chair and loosen the knot of my tie. I hate wearing this shit. “Before I knew it, I had nearly twenty-five thousand dollars stuffed between my mattress and box spring at my apartment. I’d been bored and lonely in New Jersey. With all the money, I felt like I could come back to North Carolina and settle down. Start over. It’s not technically stealing if you take from the bad guys, right?”
“Wrong,” he mutters. “It’s worse than stealing.”
I sigh and nod in agreement, ignoring my phone that continues to buzz. I’m sure it’s Detective Douche blowing up my phone still. “I’d barely made it out of town when my phone started ringing over and over again. My friend who hooked me up doing the money running in the first place warned me Louie had figured out I’d managed to embezzle a shit-ton of money from him. I took my piece of crap car to the dealership, traded it in and added some cash for a new one, and hightailed it out of the city. I figured Louie wouldn’t suspect I’d come here. And for months and months, everything was fine.”
“He’s here?” Ram asks, his eyes wide. “Your mob boss is here?”
“Yeah,” I groan. “I saw him awhile back. I’d evaded him but he saw me. I traded in my new car for a different one and have been lying low ever since. But don’t worry, I have a plan.”
His eyebrow arches. “A plan, huh? So who the hell has been blowing up your phone then? This mobster guy?”
I motion for my phone and he picks it up to pass it to me. “Nah, it’s this guy I call Detective Douche but really he’s a—”
“FUCK!” Ram roars as he glares at my phone. “FUCK!”
I yank it from his grip and stare down at the picture. My entire world shifts beneath my feet and spins out of control.
No.
No.
Fucking no!
“He’s got Rey.” I stare in shock at the picture of Reagan gagged and bound in the gold-leathered backseat of a vehicle with her eyes closed. The text was sent from her phone but it’s most definitely Louie. “He’s got Rey.”
Rey: No more hiding, thief. I’ve found you and I took something precious from YOU.
Ram bolts from the room, and I stand, tapping out a quick reply.
Me: Don’t you dare fucking hurt her, Louie.
The dots move as he replies.
Rey: How do you know I haven’t already? Meet me at the following address in fifteen minutes. We have much to discuss. If you comply, your pretty girlfriend might not suffer the consequences of your actions.
I don’t wait for him to text the address and I’m already running from the office. Ram calls out after me but I’m on a mission. Soon, two pairs of thundering footsteps are behind me as we run outside. Ram points at his Mustang.
“My car,” he grunts. “It goes faster.”
Roman flashes me a murderous glare as he climbs into Ram’s backseat. I take the front and barely have my door closed before Ram’s peeling out of the parking lot. The engine roars as he blasts down the road. After I rattle off the address I’ve been given, I text Detective Douche.
Me: Plans have changed. I can’t make our date later. It’s happening now.
“I knew you were trouble,” Roman snaps. “The only reason I put up with you was because you’re related to my wife.”
I jerk my head over my shoulder and snarl. “Not the time for this shit. I get it. You hate me. Big fucking deal. Right now, all I care about is getting Reagan back from New Jersey’s biggest mobster.”
Ram’s grip on the steering wheel tightens. “We need to call the police.”
“If we call the police, we’ll waste time explaining things. Louie said fifteen minutes. I don’t know what the hell he’ll do if we don’t make it in time…” My voice is raw with emotion. I won’t even allow myself to consider what he’d do to her if we didn’t show up. Louie is a bad man—someone you don’t mess with. I not only messed with him, but I fucked him over. He’s itching to teach me a lesson.
We’re all on edge, imagining the worst.
Fuck, this is all my fault.
“I’m going to get her out of there,” I vow. “And when I do, I need you guys to be ready to take her and bolt. He wants to punish me—maybe even kill me for what I’ve done to him. None of that matters as long as she’s safe.” I attempt to rub the tension from my neck. “Promise me you’ll stay out of sight. I’ll find a way to get her out of there, but if you go in with me, you’re as good as dead, too.”
Neither of Reagan’s brothers makes any promises, and I can sense their hesitation. On one hand, the last thing either of them want to do is get involved in my mess, but on the other hand, my mess has involved their sister.
Ram barrels down the street, and we eventually turn onto a road that leads to an old abandoned factory on the edge of town.
“Stay here,” I instruct. “I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
Ram throws the car into park and gives me an exasperated look. “So we just fucking wait?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what you do.” I pull my phone from my pocket. “Here, hold on to this. You’ll need it.”
He gives me a confused stare, but I don’t waste any more precious seconds. I’ve just wrenched open the door when Roman reaches past me.
“Take this with you.”
I gape at the Glock in his hand. “What the fuck? You carry?”
He growls. “Ever since that asshole Frank nearly killed my wife, I’ve been packing. You never know when you might need to use it. And apparently my hunch was correct.”
I take the gun and chamber it. “I’ll get her out of here. And if something happens to me…” I hang my head in defeat. “Let her know that living with her the past couple of months was the best time of my life. Tell her that I loved her.”
“Wait, you two were living togeth—” Roman starts.
I slam the door shut and start running down the gravel path. I untuck my dress shirt and shove the gun into the back of my pants. The road winds, but when I round the corner, I see a familiar gold Town Car parked in front of a side door of the factory. The door stands wide open, but it’s dark inside.
“Fuck,” I utter under my breath. When I woke up this morning, I did not expect to be meeting with Louie to try and trade myself for my girlfriend before lunch. This was not the plan.
“Well, if it isn’t the thieving little shit Lincoln Carter himself,” Louie’s raspy-from-cigars voice grumbles within the dark doorway. The light of the cherry on his cigar reveals his location. But it’s not his location I’m worried about. It’s hers.
Stopping dead in my tracks, I put my hands on my hips. “Where’s the woman?”
I don’t dare tell him she’s my woman, but he’s not an idiot. Still, I don’t offer any extra information.
“Your girlfriend is sitting quietly, listening to all kinds of stories I have about you.” He laughs until it becomes choked coughing. I hope he dies of lung cancer. “Why don’t you come inside and join us?”
Gritting my teeth, I step over the threshold. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see Louie standing with a gun in his hand, pointed straight at me. Beside him, one of his giant thugs holds a very limp Reagan in his grip with his hand over her mouth. Her eyes are wide and teary.
“You can have me. Just let her go. She has nothing to do with this,” I say as calmly as I can.
“Do you hear that, young lady? Your boyfriend here thinks I should let you go.” He steps over to her with his gun still pointed at me and gropes her breast through her shirt.
“Don’t touch her!” I snarl, taking several steps toward them.
He turns the gun to her temple and shakes his head at me. “Not so fast, thief. You’re not the one barking orders around here. It’s me. I’m the fucking boss.” He motions for his goon to move his hand and free her mouth. “What do you think, sweetheart? I pop him right in the skull and let you go? Win-win for everyone?”
She shakes her head in vehemence as tears roll down her cheeks. “N-No,” she slurs as if she’s been drugged. My hackles raise at that thought. “I-I’ll g-give you m-money.”
I close my eyes for a brief moment before pinning her with a serious stare. “Rey. Don’t.”
Louie presses the barrel of his gun into her temple hard enough to make her cry out. “Again, thief, this is not your show. I do the goddamned ordering around. And I want this pretty little thing to tell me what she thinks she has to offer that’ll make me forget how much money you stole from me.”
A sob escapes Reagan and she trembles. The gun at my back is useless as long as there’s one pointed at her head. He’d shoot her before I could even put my arm behind me.
“I’ll g-give y-you d-double,” she says slowly, each word as though it’s sticky on her tongue.
He smirks at me. “She’s cute. Little problem solver we have here. Just pay the bad guy back—with interest, I might add—and we can live happily ever after.” He uses the barrel of the gun to lift her chin. “That right, sweetheart?”
She nods and more tears roll out. “P-Please.”
Louie flashes me a dark, wicked smile. “Now that’s more like it. Mario,” he says to his goon, “what do I love most?”
“A beggar.”
“That’s right. I love to see you useless people begging and groveling at my feet. I’m the god and you’re my fucking minions. I control you all. Right, pretty little thing?”
Her eyes flit to mine and terror flickers in her stare. “I, uh, p-please…”
“So hot,” he murmurs as he plucks at her top two buttons.
“Stop,” I thunder, my hands fisted in rage. “Just let her go and fucking kill me already. This is bullshit. She didn’t do anything.”
He shoves the gun against her stomach hard enough that she starts coughing in pain. “You. Are. Not. In. Charge. Here.” His face is screwed up in anger.
I clench my jaw and wait for my moment. The next time he turns away, I’m going to shoot him in the goddamned face. His eyes remain fixed on me, though, as he continues to unbutton her shirt with the gun pressed against her belly. The moment her shirt falls open to expose her lacy bra, I nearly lose my shit.
Be smart, Linc.
Don’t go fucking wild and get her killed.
Think.
“You need me,” I bark out, startling both Louie and myself with that statement. “If I could skim the money right out from under your nose, imagine what else I could do. I’m slick and smart and people trust me.”
“I don’t fucking trust you,” he snarls, his nostrils flaring.
“Not yet. I’ll do anything for you if you’ll just let her go. Need me to rob the goddamned Federal Reserve? I’ll do it. Just name your fucking price and it’s yours. If your price is my head, then fine. Let her go, though.”
He snorts with laughter. “Can you believe this guy, Mario? Fuckin’ balls, this one.”
I grit my teeth and stare at Reagan with every ounce of love I have for her. A look that says, I’m sorry. A look that says, I love you more than anything. A look that promises, I will get you out of here, no matter what.
She nods. She fucking loves me too. And she believes me. Trusts that I’ll do exactly as I promise.
Think, Linc.
“I’m your guy,” I continue as I slide my hand to my hip. “I’ll do whatever you need me to, man. Just release her and let’s talk.”
Louie glowers at me. “I’m not one of your little cons, thief. You can’t waltz in here and avoid the inevitable by running your stupid mouth. This isn’t a negotiation, and I don’t fall for tricks.” His lip curls up in an evil way. “I know exactly how to punish you. You can watch me as I put my fat cock inside your little girlfriend. Watch her scream as I split her right open. And when she can’t take anymore, I’ll cut her throat. She’ll bleed out with her panties around her knees and her bloody ass in the air. It’ll be all your fault.”
I growl and ease my hand behind me underneath my shirt. “You’re a dead man.”
“No,” he snaps. “You’re the dead man. Before the life has even left her eyes, I’ll tie you to a chair and peel your flesh straight from your body until you’re begging to join your cunt girlfriend in the afterlife. But it won’t be so easy, will it?” He laughs harshly. “No. I want you to suffer. You can watch while Mario fucks her dead body as I carve out your organs one by one and feed them back to you.”
My grip tightens around the metal. “Not on my fucking watch.”
His eyes go wide when he sees me swing the gun around. He’s standing slightly in front of Mario, who has Reagan still in his tight grip. I’m not a good enough shot to not accidentally hit her instead. I take a chance at his knee, though, to distract him.
Pop!
He howls in pain.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
I’m able to squeeze off one shot but Louie manages three. What feels like punches of fire on my chest instantly immobilizes me. Reagan screams at the top of her lungs as I clutch my rapidly bleeding wounds. I fall to my knees, my breath wheezing from me.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Those shots don’t hit me though.
I pray to fucking God they don’t hit her either.
Voices. Yelling. More gunshots. Scuffling.
Falling forward, I’m barely able to catch myself from landing face first by throwing my palm out in front of me. My eyes jerk to find her running clumsily toward me, stumbling over her own feet. But she’s free. Fucking free.
“Linc!”
Her warm scent envelops me a second before her loving arms do. I crash forward and land on my shoulder, my cheek slamming against the concrete floor. The pain is excruciating and blackness swarms around me. Her perfect hands are running all over me as she shrieks out words that I can’t seem to comprehend.
“I l-love you. Oh m-my God, Linc. I love y-you. P-Please don’t leave m-me.”
Blinking away the darkness, I latch onto those words. They’re still slurred but she’s with me. She’s safe, I think.
“Rey…”
“Linc,” she sobs.
“I..I…”
“Shhh. Don’t talk.”
“L-Love…”
“I know. I know. Linc, I know.”
“Y-You.”
The room spins, and it’s like I’m falling in a black hole.
A dark, never-ending hole where the sun doesn’t exist.
Hell.
Any place without my fucking Rey of sunshine is hell.
I don’t want to go without her.
Goddammit, I can’t leave without her.
“Rey…” I call out in the darkness. I reach for her. “Rey…”
She’s gone.
She’s fucking gone.
And where the fuck am I?
Black. Black. Black.