Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to bring you Part 3, the final installment of this utterly amazing and jaw dropping short story brought to you by my good friend and fellow DETECTIVE Melissa Tejada! I think we can all agree DETECTIVES that Melissa is such an amazing writer and I think we will expect to have many more collaborations with her, I know I definitely hope so! Anyways, let’s travel back down to the mystery shall we?
Part 3
By Melissa Tejada
Complete shock passed through my mind as I see these two men hit the floor.
“Why would you do that?” I shrieked at Jack.
“How could you do that? These men were the only ones that would have been able to help me find my mother.” I felt faint as I started to sprint towards him, feeling the weight of everything that went on that day. Then, everything goes black. I wake up to Jack sitting on the side of the bed. Hoping for some kind of explanation, and frankly numbed from fear from all of the events that seem to have aged me fifteen years, I ask with tears welling in my eyes.
“What’s happening?”
“Well, from the looks of it you found out what your dad does.” He chuckles.
“How could you be laughing at a time like this? My mother is missing, men are being killed left and right and it’s all my dad’s fault! That lying, evil asshole almost murdered me tonight, and you have the audaci-“
“What are you talking about?” He interrupts me, waving away my words to the wind.
“Your mom is not missing, and what do you mean he tried to kill you? That makes no sense why would he do that?”
“He zip tied my arms and legs, and threw me into the back of a trunk! All he tells me is that he’s sorry and can’t let me ruin all that he’s built and starts to drive me away to kill me. It seems pretty clear what his intentions were.”
“If he wanted to kill you, why not just shoot you. Considering who he is I’m sure that wouldn’t have been a problem. Alicia, your father joined this family long before even I was born. He’s not stupid. If anything he was probably trying to protect you from Maxim. What I don’t understand is how did Maxim get past all of your father’s men? There are body guards all over your house at all times.”
“Wait how do you know all this, how do you know my father?”
“I kind of inherited this job. My father worked as your father’s right hand man. Your dad is a man of integrity and love. He isolated you from this life so you would be protected. So that you wouldn’t have to endure the scars that I did with this business.” “What about my mom, where is she?”
“She’s in an isolated island your father got. She’s been overwhelmed with the waging war that’s been going on lately between your father’s clan and Maxim’s. She was going to grass him out to the FBI in order to receive a shorter prison sentence so that you can all live your lives peacefully. But your father stopped her, knowing what happens to rats, and put her over there for her protection. Should she have grassed, there would have been a target on your back and hers. They were negotiating a peace treaty today, there must have been some shady work from Maxim’s men that all this spiraled out of control.”
“This is all my fault. I was being so emotional about my parents never being around I started to talk to Maxim. He messaged me online and I just kind of leaned into it. Yesterday was our first meet up. At least that explains why everyone was so quick to go all loose cannon when I showed up.”
“If anyone’s a loose cannon girl it’s you. How could you go off with a man you barely know?” At the understanding of those words, I sink into the bed. I don’t think I’ll ever find sleep, I don’t think I’ll ever find peace. I don’t think that I’ll ever manage to forgive myself for getting my father killed.
“At least you got to be a dumb teenager,” Jack says, laughing again.
“Emphasis on the dumb,” I say to myself.
“I got him killed, Jack.”
“You set him free, Alicia.”
“We need to find my mom.” Early morning I realize that Jack has gone remote silent. No technology, not a cellphone in sight, nothing but a walkie talkie. Dad must have been trying to alert Jack so that he can take me to my mom.
“Wait, those men, who were they?”
“They were Maxim’s men. They must have been the ones that killed your body guards and took their clothing. My best guess is they found my location and were going to capture me to get to Janice. Lucky you came around and redirected them, huh?” He gives me his sideway smile again. So much pain in that smile; so much hurt. So much comfort, understanding. I’m not sure if this is because of a hero complex but, his smile makes my stomach turn. Butterflies, flying freely throughout my body, creating an electricity that I’ve never felt before.
“You okay?” He questions, looking concerned. He holds my face in his hands, observing me and I realize I was staring, and he must have thought that I was going to faint again. As he stands there awkwardly, not letting my face go, he starts to look deep into my eyes. I clear my throat, and we both come back to reality.
“Sorry about that. Anyway, back to business.” I start packing a bag with clothes Jack lent me and a few weapons. You never know. We start walking out and I see what looks to be a broken down Jeep. Jack starts removing dirt from it, taking off stickers, and I see that it’s almost brand new. Camouflage seems to be second nature to him. We hop in and head to the airport. While we drive I see tall maple leaves, I take a minute to appreciate the giddy feeling in my heart. I’ll be with my mom soon. In her arms, and I’m never letting her go. I want to jump out and scream from joy, I settle for a contempt sigh as we make our way onto a pavement road.
A little while later, we’re boarding a private jet to get to my dad’s private island. I never thought I’d experience something like this. I knew my dad made profit, I didn’t realize he was into this life to this extent. Nonetheless, I find my way onto a nearby seat, and Jack sits across from me.
“There’s wardrobe for you in the drawer over there. Your father always kept up to date clothes for you in here in case you ever needed to mount last minute.” I pounce off the seat to go running into the drawers to change out of Jack’s clothes. Coming back, I sit back down in my seat.
“You look beautiful” Jack utters, almost in a whisper.
“Alicia, I have to confess something. I’ve loved you for so long, and I know you’re just meeting me and this is kind of weird.”
I give him a questioning look, “Okay very weird, to be confessing like this but, you’ve been through so much that I at least want to let you know you have someone on your side that is here unconditionally.” I take a minute to breathe. I hold his hand in mine and rub my thumb on his palm. I sit there thinking about what to say back, and I can almost hear his heart drumming in his chest from where I’m sitting.
“While I can’t say that my feelings have fallen as deep as yours just yet, I do feel an attraction. Thank you for sharing your feelings with me. You’re right, I feel comforted knowing I have someone who truly knows me, and someone who makes me feel that I can be myself. This is the first time in my life that I feel like I have a true connection.”
“Do you want to lay down and rest?” He says, placing his hand on my face just like earlier.
“Yes”. I get up and walk over to the bedroom nearby and lay on the bed. He comes and joins me, holds me. I lay on his chest, take a deep breathe and slip into sleep. When I wake up we’re already on the island. As I start walking down, I look up at Jack and see his jaw tense.
“Everything okay?” I ask, now on high alert.
“Peachy.” We drive out to a beautiful mansion. At least 20,000 square feet, huge glass pool, marble floors, it even has our family’s coat of arms on the gates of the entrance. I’m gaping at all of the marvelous things, marvelous sightings, but I don’t see the men rushing in on us. I don’t realize Maxim’s men are here until Jack is grabbing me and we’re running into the house. I realize, we were just let in. Are my dad’s men here too? I run up the stairs looking frantically for my mom.
Jack running behind me, “This way!” I follow suit, and we switch places. I run into what seems to be my mother’s walk-in closet, and find her standing there in Maxim’s arms. Roped and tied up, bleeding from her forehead, and I think I’m going to be sick.
Jack is on him in an instant,
“Come any closer, and I will shoot her brains out. This can be an easy exchange. Janice, for Alicia.”
“Oh, please.” Jack shoots Maxim in the foot, grabs my mom pushes both of us out of the closet. He slams his gun into Maxim’s forehead, shoots him in the shoulder and pulls Maxim’s hands on his back and up to his shoulder. Keeping him in this position, he has him on the floor, screaming. I throw up into a nearby bucket and Jack is screaming.
“Alicia, I get you’re new but you need to jump on this! Grab the knife from shoe, let your mom go, and go to the safety shelter with her. She should know where it is. Now!” I do my best to do as he says.
As I look over, I see Maxim reaching for a nearby gun, “Jack, look out!” He throws himself down onto Maxim to stop him. Janice and I run off to what I thought was a shelter. My mom takes me into a room, pulls a statue and a wall of guns appears.
“I’m not leaving him to fight all those men alone. The most that can happen is we’re staking out for months and these men take my house. Let’s go kill those bottom feeders.”
My mom takes a nearby walkie talkie and says “Pack it in, it’s a 97!” We make our way back and give Jack a new gun.
“Runs in the blood I guess,” I tell Jack laughing. Adrenaline is rushing through me, and before I know it I burst a kiss on him, and run. My dad’s men rush into the area, killing all of Maxim’s intruders. We shoot, kick, and drown all the men that found their way here. I see a baseball bat nearby, and while I’m grabbing the bat in one hand and the gun in the other, I spot Maxim at a distance.
“Cover me,” I yell to Jack. I make my way to him and as I get near, I see him lifting his gun to shoot me. I pull the trigger and get his hand.
“That one’s for ramming me in the car,” I growl at him. I shoot two more in both his knees, “that one’s for tricking me when I was vulnerable.” I get close enough to him, give Jack my gun and with both hands slam his head into the side pool pavement.
“That one’s for my dad, you piece of crap.” I spit on his face, grab the gun and shoot him right where he shot my dad. I feel oddly at peace knowing I avenged him, I grab my mom, and sob into her chest as she holds me close. Jack comes in and holds us close, and I mourn all my losses. I mourn the relationship I could have had with my dad, I mourn the past life I thought I loved, I mourn the person I was, but I cry tears of relief that I can finally have my family close.
The End…
Unfortunately, DETECTIVES, we have now reached the end of this short story journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed the end of this short story, DETECTIVES. Please feel free to let me know if you want to read many more stories and have much more collaborations especially with DETECTIVE Melissa who I think can only agree has become quite an expert to send chills down our spines!
Until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!
Detective Writer 