Jess

I hadn’t cried since I had left Misty, and I couldn’t. I would fall apart, and I couldn’t have that. Sean had told me he’d be back with Jake within the hour, and I believed him.

I had no other choice.

Some part of me still didn’t accept the fact that Misty was gone. But if something happened to Jake, I didn’t know what I would do. Didn’t know how I would survive that.

So I tried not to think about it and instead focused on keeping myself calm and making sure the house was in order for when he returned.

I scrubbed every inch of that place from top to bottom, the nervous energy coursing through my blood making it impossible for me to stand still.

Sean had tried to convince me to go to Patrick’s house, but I’d been adamant that I needed to be here. Jake needed to be in familiar surroundings and these were it.

I told myself that over and over, told myself that Jake would be fine. But when I stopped moving, the deafening silence of this place that had once been filled with life and love was too much to bear.

I collapsed on the floor and lost myself in tears.

* * *

Sean

“This is it,” I said as I looked at the house.

“You sure?” Declan asked.

“Yes. We had eyes on him and dug into his background. This is the place he would keep Jake. It’s secluded, or as secluded as you can get in the city. Not a lot of traffic. Gives him a good view to see who’s coming and going.”

“So we should go get your boy,” Declan said.

“Yes we should.”

I was almost overwhelmed with the emotion and desire to end this, but I pushed that back and kept myself calm and focused.

I got and left Declan. I walked toward the door and then grabbed my cell phone and dialed the number.

“Who the fuck is this?” he yelled.

“Walker, it’s Sean Murphy,” I said.

“How did you get this number?”

“The same way I got your address. I’m right outside the door. Come open it.”

“You’re right outside the door?” he repeated.

I heard the nervousness in his voice, could practically hear his mind scrambling, so I stepped in to keep this situation in hand.

“I am. You were going to call, weren’t you? Why not talk in person? So open the door.”

“You know I have your kid in here,” Walker said, the threat in that sentence not needing further expansion.

I bit back my anger and said, “I know. But you’re not going to hurt him.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked, some of the confidence seeming to return to his voice.

“Because you’re a businessman. You want money. And if you hurt him, you won’t get any money,” I said.

I wanted to vomit and couldn’t believe that I was discussing the unthinkable so rationally.

But I didn’t really have any other choice. It would do Jake no good if I lost my cool, and this was all about him.

I’d handle Walker later.

I banged on the door. “Now open the fucking door,” I whispered into the phone.

I hung up and then waited. Declan didn’t like me out in the open like this, no gun, no real backup. But I was convinced that this was the best approach. And when I heard the door locks turn, I knew I was right.

“You see this gun, right, Murphy?” Walker said, the weapon he held gleaming in the bright afternoon sun.

“I see it,” I said.

“So no trouble,” he said.

“No trouble,” I repeated.

And there wouldn’t be. Not until I got Jake out of here.

“Where is he?” I asked when I entered.

I tried not to look too closely at this dingy, disgusting place, and instead thought about how hard I would work to make sure Jake could put this behind him.

Walker nodded at a door down the hall and I walked to it, reminding myself that Jake was fine.

“Hey, buddy,” I said when I opened the door and saw him sitting in the corner.

“Daddy!” he said when he looked up and saw me.

I walked over and scooped him up and he threw his arms around my neck with no hesitation.

The relief I felt at holding my son again was like nothing I’d ever felt. “Aunt Jess is at home waiting for you,” I whispered, my voice brimming with emotion.

“Really?” he said.

“Yeah. She missed you a whole lot,” I said.

“I missed her too!”

“You remember Uncle Declan?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Would you mind taking a ride with him to see Aunt Jess?”

“I want to stay with you,” he said, tightening his arms around my neck.

“I’ll be home soon. I just have some business I need to handle,” I said.

“Do you promise?” he asked in a voice that was filled with far too much disbelief for a child his age.

“I promise,” I said firmly.

“Okay,” he said a moment later.

I walked him out of the room and then out of the house, stilling Walker with a gaze and a curt shake of my head.

Declan was now waiting across the street.

“Hey, Jake,” he said.

“Hi,” Jake responded bashfully.

“I’ll be home soon, okay, buddy?” I said.

“Okay,” he said, though he didn’t sound convinced.

But I watched as Declan loaded him into the car. He gave a little wave that I returned, and I watched until the car was completely out of sight.

And then I went back to Walker’s house to finish my last bit of business.