Chapter Thirty-Five
Silas
I called Garren immediately and told him that I had to pull out of the tour for a while. He was upset until I told him what was going on. The moment he heard that Riley was in danger, he told me that I had to go and sort it out. He seemed distraught, and I was happy to hear that he was on my side.
“I know I’ve been pushing you, Silas. It’s only because you’re talented and everyone wants to hear more from you. But this is far more important. Family and loved ones come first. And I know how much this girl means to you. But what is going on? Do you know this man?”
“I know him, and I have a package from him. Well, I just stored it at home when I left. But I have no idea what it is. I wouldn’t have taken it if I thought there was something strange going on. I know lots of people don’t like this guy, but he’s always been good to me. I guess that’s what you get for being too trusting. Listen, I have to go. Please explain to the guys for me. I’ll keep you posted and will get back as soon as possible.”
“Good luck, Silas. Let me know if you need any help. And be careful. Please. This guy sounds dangerous.”
“I don’t think he’s dangerous,” I said. “But I think maybe he’s gotten messed up in something he can’t get out of. I don’t know. But I’m going to phone my brother so that we can deal with him together. I won’t be alone.”
After that, I called Dominic up and explained what was going on. He told me that he was going to do some digging to find out what was going on and to find out where Able was. He told me to call him the moment I got back home. I called the airport and thankfully managed to get a flight out almost immediately.
The flight home wasn’t long, but it still seemed like the longest time of my life. With every passing minute, I kept wondering what was happening to Riley. I kept calling her but couldn’t get through. I thought of calling up Paisley, but I didn’t want to get too many people involved in case it worked against me. I didn’t want to anger Able any more than I had already.
“Nervous to fly?” the woman next to me said.
My legs had been shaking uncontrollably since I’d gotten into the plane. I looked at her and smiled. She reminded me so much of Annie.
“I’m okay. Just a few things I have to sort out when I’m back. I’m nervous about that. I just want this flight to hurry up.”
She patted my arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll get there soon. You’ll sort things out.”
I liked that she didn’t ask me what was going on. A simple encouragement and a nice smile went a long way. I thanked her. A little bit later, I saw her looking at me with a frown on her face.
“Everything okay?” I said to her.
“You know, you just look so familiar to me. But I can’t place it.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I just have one of those faces.”
“What’s your name, son?” she asked.
“Silas. Silas Aarons.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re that singer!” she gasped.
It was the first time someone had recognized me in public. I had dreamed of this moment my whole life, and now that it was here I didn’t care for it at all. But she seemed like such a nice lady. I smiled at her.
“Uh, yeah, that’s me.”
“Oh my darling boy, you have quite the voice on you. I heard you on the radio the other day. And then, when I turned on the TV this morning, there you were again. What a nice surprise to be sitting next to you. Would you mind if you signed something for me? My daughter thinks you’re just amazing.”
“Of course,” I said. “Actually, I have one of those Polaroid cameras. My manager gave one to me as a gift. Let’s take a photo together. I’ll sign that.”
I took the photo and waited for it to print. She squealed with delight as the photo came alive on the paper, and once it was dry, I signed it and handed it back to her.
“You’re a wonderful lad. Whatever is going on, I hope it’s not too serious.”
I sighed. “I hope so too. Well, thanks for taking my mind off it. It’s been nice sitting next to you.”
“Aren’t you just so sweet. Thank you. And look, we’re almost there!” she said.
She took my hand and squeezed it as the plane finally came to land. I wasn’t sure if she was nervous or if she just wanted to comfort me, but either way, I just let it happen. As soon as the plane landed and we got off, I gave her a hug and then rushed off to call Dominic.
“Meet us at Remo’s Café,” he said. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so. I have news.”
I jumped into a cab and told him where to go. Remo’s Café was thankfully only a short drive away. When I arrived, I saw that Dominic was already there and he was sitting with some other guys from the motorcycle club that I hadn’t seen in years. I hurried over to them and sat down.
“Hey, I got here as quick as I could. Hey, guys, I didn’t expect you to be here,” I said as I said hello to them all.
“Silas, we have some news,” Dominic said. “We’ve done some digging, and it looks like Able has been running drugs out of the motorcycle club. That box you have is more than likely full of dope.”
“What? Are you serious? Shit. No wonder he wanted it so badly. Drugs make people go a little crazy. Do you have that box? Or did you leave it in the closet?”
Dominic shrugged. “I honestly have no idea, Silas. I mean, I took a whole bunch of stuff out of your room. I almost cleared it, I might have taken a box with your stuff, but I’m not sure.”
“I shoved it in really far, so you might not have even seen it. What are we going to do? He’s got Riley. I’m going out of my mind. I have called her so many times, but she doesn’t pick up. Have you been to her house?”
“Yeah, I have. Her car is there, but she’s not. Don’t worry. We managed to track down Abel’s house. He moves around a lot, so he’s not always the easiest person to find, but we got him. We had one of the guys drive past earlier, and it was confirmed that his car was there. We’re going now. All of us. And two other guys are meeting us there just in case. Able has no idea we are coming. Don’t worry; we’re going to get her back.”
We all stood up to leave, and as we walked out, I looked at Dominic. “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry, bro. We won’t let him get away with this. Bastard. He was supposed to be one of the good guys. He’s let the motorcycle club down too. It’s taken us so long to get our reputation back up. Hopefully, this doesn’t get out.”
I sighed. The poor motorcycle club had been in a lot of trouble in the past. But it wasn’t fair because the majority of the members were very good people who did a lot for their community. But there was always someone who ruined their good name. We all jumped into the car and drove off to Abel’s house. I realized that I actually knew very little about this man. But for all the bad things I had heard about him, I had never once thought he would do something as bad as this. Drugs or not, I just didn’t think he was capable of actually holding someone ransom. How could anyone do that to Riley? I just hoped that she was still safe.
Our first stop was the house, where I ran in to get the box. It was still shoved at the top of the closet. I wanted to go straight to get Riley but we needed to make sure we arrived with the box otherwise who knew what would happen to her. We arrived at the house and climbed out. Able stayed at the end of a dingy road, in a small house that looked abandoned from the outside. I knew that he had a lot of money, so this was surprising, but Dominic reminded me that this was probably not his only house. I was glad to see that his car was parked outside. It didn’t necessarily mean that he was inside, but it was a good sign at least.
One of the guys that was with us worked as a bouncer at a very popular restaurant. He was big, and strong, and didn’t bother knocking on the door. He kicked it down, and we all walked in. As soon as we got inside, we saw Able standing in the corridor. We had caught him unawares, and I could see that he was just about to run off to get his gun or something. He’d seen the box in my hands and his eyes had widened. But Vernon, the bouncer, got to him before he could do anything and pinned him against the wall. I was just about to ask where Riley was when I saw her out of the corner of my eye. I ran to the living room where I saw that she had been tied to a chair.
“Riley! Oh my God!” I ran up to her and untied her. The moment the gag came undone, she burst into tears, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Oh, Riley! Riley! I’m so sorry,” I said. She was sobbing and trembling as I held her. I looked toward Able. “How could you do this? What kind of a sick monster are you?”
Able didn’t answer because Vernon punched him hard in the face and he fell to the ground. I watched as the men tied him up and dragged him to the car.
“We’re taking him in. Come on; we’ll drop the two of you off at home.”
Riley sat in my arms the entire way home. We didn’t say anything, but every now and again I kissed the top of her head. When we got home, I thanked everyone and took her inside. Once we were there, I took her to the sofa.
“Did he hurt you?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “No.” Her voice was soft. Almost a whisper.
“Oh, Riley. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Who was that?”
I told her everything. From who he was to how he had asked me to store the box to how I had kept in the closest. Then I told her everything that had happened at the show, and how I had been going out of my mind trying to contact her.
“You . . . you didn’t kiss her?” she said.
I shook my head. “Of course not. If you had stayed only a second longer, you would’ve seen me push her away. And you can even ask the guys. They were all there. They saw it all. Riley, I have missed you so much. So much.”
“I’ve missed you too,” she choked. “It’s so good to see you. I thought you didn’t want to be with me anymore.”
“You’re all I want,” I said.
“Are you staying?” she asked.
I sighed. I shook my head. “I’m staying as long as I can. But I have to go back. My manager . . . well, he has everything planned for me. I can’t let him down.”
She nodded. “I understand. You’ve got a whole new life now.” She looked up at me and smiled sadly. “Thank you for saving me. Thank you.”
“Can I stay a little longer?” I asked. “I don’t have to go right away.”
“Yes.”