Everyone who knew them knew they researched like crazy before going on an op. They wouldn’t just jump in guns blazing. Ever. Except for Kennedy.
“Who called you?” Creed asked his brother with a note of worry in his voice that even he could hear.
“Jeffries. He’s always been our UK contact. I wouldn’t take anyone else seriously.” Puzzled, he asked, “What are you thinking, bro?”
“I’m thinking this could be a setup. Everyone knew that after that Argentina job we were done. There is only one thing that would bring us back— kids. But there’s literally nothing on this girl, so what if this is one of our enemy’s ways of getting us out in the open to eliminate us? Or get to Kennedy? Everyone we have worked with knows we would do the research, find out as much as we could about the job. Children may have always been the exception to the rule for us, but we’d still research, right.”
“Yeah, but even with that, why now? And who could know about Ken? She’s a well-guarded fucking secret.” The wheels were turning in his brother’s head. “…Because they know we would do damn near anything to get her back. Fuck.”
Pulling out his phone, he was going to call her when he realized she didn’t have a phone. “Call Jeffries, use the safe word,” he growled out.
·?•? ?•?·
Ringing in his ear, Linc waited for their London contact to answer. Thinking about Kenny only got him angrier, so when Jeffries finally picked up his blood was boiling. “This is Jeffries.”
“I need fucking proof,” was all he could get out between gritted teeth.
“What? Black is that you?”
“You fucking know it is. We can’t find shit on this little girl and that tells us one thing… This is a fucking setup. In which case you’re dead. By my hand or someone else’s, I don’t give a fuck. But you can believe if it’s by mine, it will be without mercy. Are we fucking clear?”
“Yyyes,” he stuttered out, fear evident in the simple word.
“You have one chance, Jeffries, to tell me the truth. Is this a fucking setup?”
“No. The girl is real,” he insisted but Linc could still hear the fear.
“Our last mission for you we gave you a safe word in case of this exact scenario. You remember it?” Linc growled.
“Yes.”
“Do you need to use it now?”
“No. This girl is real. She is in deep trouble. I wouldn’t have called otherwise.” His voice was stronger now.
“You’re positive?” he asked one last time, looking for any hesitancy in his answer.
“Completely.”
“Then I need proof she’s missing. We will not board this fucking plane until we’ve got it,” he told the man calmly.
“How do you expect me to get that? The family was warned against going to the police. It would get her killed.”
“Then I want the fucking parent’s names because Jeffries, we can’t find jack shit on this girl in any database we’ve looked through. And Jeffries? If you screw us over, we will take everything you love away from you and make you suffer in ways you’ve never imagined; you got it?” he demanded, feeling no remorse at who he just threatened.
“Yes. Yes, I understand. I swear to you this is no hoax, no trick, this girl is in grave danger. I will text you their names.”
Hanging up without responding, he could still feel the anger in his veins. A pulse thundered in his temples signaling his state of mind. He couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to Kennedy again. If it happened because of them, he knew it would destroy them all.
Ten
As the dark clouds rolled in and the thunder beat down on the earth, Kennedy could feel her mind taking over. It was like a rush of drugs running through her with no way of stopping it. She couldn’t break free; the shadows looked like him, the wind sounded like her. In an instant she was brought back to her worst nightmare. “Help me,” she whispered before being taken under in a sea of darkness best left behind.
“Thought you could get away from me, did you?” She could hear his voice, the menace and pain he would inflict.
“Open your eyes, Red.” The woman purred in her ear.
Shaking her head no. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. This can’t be happening again, she thought. I don’t want to be here.