“Who?” Immediately I snap my eyes everywhere. I half expect to see a gun trained on my head, but I get nothing. “Who’s watching me? What’s going on? Where are you? Do you have Jordan? Is he okay?”
Michelle says nothing to my stream of questions, but I can hear her crying now. I’m about to fucking freak out that something really bad has happened to my child. I can’t imagine anyone harming a baby, but it happens. It’s one of those things that you hear about, but you don’t think it’ll ever happen to you.
“Michelle,” my tone is warning now. “I need to know. Is Jordan okay? I can’t stay in this car otherwise.”
“He’s okay,” she finally tells me in a small voice. “He’s fine. I have him here.”
“And are you inside the laundry place? Can you at least tell me that? Will is going nuts out here…”
There’s a murmuring on the other end of the line. I have a feeling that Michelle is being told what to say. I sit tight, about to explode from anticipation while I wait for her to speak again. All of this waiting is killing me, I’m on the edge of my seat, clawing at the material, wanting to scream to let this all out.
“Cici, you just need to stay where you are. In the car. That’s what I’m being told. We’re coming out.”
Who does she mean by ‘we’? Does she include my son in that? Much as I want to burst from this car and run for the hills, the thought that it might cause Jordan any trouble is the only reason that I don’t. It kills me, I can feel every fiber in my body tugging and pulling at me to act, but I don’t. I do what Michelle commands.
I see Will suddenly stop. The yelling ceases and his body freezes. It must be happening now. I brace myself, roiling my shoulders upwards while I try to work out what he can see. I wish I could be in his eyes.
As a disheveled Michelle staggers forwards, like she’s been pushed, my heart flies with nerves. She’s holding onto a bundle of something that better be my child, my maternal instincts are screaming that he’s there, but I don’t want to get to confident just in case. The way that this day is going, absolutely anything is possible.
Just wait, I warn myself. Don’t do anything rash. Don’t act until it’s absolutely necessary.
Will’s gun lowers, his defenses going with it, and he leans forwards to have an intense conversation with Michelle. While they talk, I flick my eyes everywhere trying to find him. I don’t think Kingpin would bother to go through all of these theatrics to not turn up himself. That’s what all of this has to be about, doesn’t it? What else can it be for? I’m sure, even if he intends to kill Will, he wants him to see who he is first.
Chapter Twenty Eight – Will
“What the fuck is happening?” I ask Michelle as she staggers over to me. “Why have they let you out?”
I go to take Jordan from her, to hold him to my chest again so I can feel him. I’m so fucking glad that he’s okay, but the fact that he’s been sent out worries me. If it isn’t about him, then why are we here? But before I can grab my son, Michelle holds him tighter to her. “I’m not allowed to hand him over to you, I’m sorry.”
“What?” I demand angrily. “What do you mean? Why not? He’s my child, why can’t I hold him?”
“They said I’m not allowed to hand him to you. I need to take him to Cici so she can put him in the car.”
“Cici?” I automatically turn around, and surprise, surprise, there’s her car, sitting not far behind me. “Oh my God, what the hell is she doing here? I told her to stay at the police station. Now she’s in danger too.”
“You didn’t honestly think that she’d wait patiently while you come and save her child?” Michelle cocks her head and gives me a curious look. Even with all the trauma that she’s been through, she’s more switched on than me. “Well, she wouldn’t, would she? And you should be glad because now Jordan will be safe.”
I lightly grab onto her arm as she walks away. “Did you see his face? Do you know who it is?”
“I didn’t see any of them,” she whispers back. “They kept balaclavas over their faces the whole time.”
Well, if my experience in the law has taught me anything, it’s that they haven’t got any intention of killing Michelle, which is good. If they’d shown her their faces then she’d really have to worry because they’d have to keep her quiet. Now, she can say what she wants to the police, but she won’t know anything for sure. I highly doubt I’m about to get the same treatment. If Jordan is safe then I’m sure I’m not.
“And did you see anything in there? Are they doing any of the drug stuff inside that building?”
“Honestly? I think that’s just where they keep all their weapons. They have bombs, Will, it’s scary.”
Oh God, there’s no way of telling which way this will go now. This isn’t a major city, we aren’t used to lots of high crime, which is why this has been so difficult. There’s no need for all this drama. It
’s theatrics for the sake of it. Kingpin is playing out a performance and this will be his grand finale. Or more likely, mine.
“Right, well you get Jordan to the car and make Cici get out of here. I don’t want her distracting me.”
Michelle gives me a guilty look. “So, you already know that he’s told me you must stay.”
“I don’t need you to tell me.” I cock my gun by my side. “I already know how this asshole works.”
As Michelle walks away from me, holding my son like the precious little being that he is, I can see the pain in her eyes. She assumes this is the last time that she’ll ever see me alive and she’s sad that I didn’t get to say goodbye to my son properly. But I’m not as worried. I don’t think I’ll be the one who comes out dead from this situation. I have enough rage to get me through anything. I’m not going to be the dead one here. I don’t say anything for a while, even if I have plenty of things to yell, because out the corner of my eye I’m waiting for the car to go first. I need to be certain that my family is safe before the next step. It takes a while, I’m sure that Cici is arguing with Michelle about going and leaving me here, but thankfully in the end common sense wins out and the car engine rumbles away. The tight knot of stress loosens in my chest once I’m alone.