Chapter Twenty-Eight

Reggie glanced at Sonja in the rear-view mirror as they drove down the highway to Baton Rouge. Sonja rubbed her slightly red wrists. Josh had done a good job securing her. If Reggie had been there, she’d have done a lot worse. Sonja would be sporting a bruise or two on her pretty, pale flesh. When Reggie left the family, she had been sympathetic toward people. The people her family hurt, the people she hurt, but after she’d been attacked—well, she learned to pick and choose where her sympathy went. Sonja didn’t deserve any of it. Tightening her grip on the wheel, Reggie focused on the road.

Josh must have sensed her tension, because he put a hand on her thigh, rubbing his thumb back and forth in a soothing manner. Reggie cursed herself. Her own anger and memories were getting in the way of this. Her situation, her tragedy already happened, and she couldn’t change that. Dwelling on it, letting those emotions overcome her, might hinder what she needed to do to save Emma. Sophie died, but Reggie planned to make sure Emma went home to her family. Josh didn’t need to feel that kind of pain. Reggie didn’t wish it on anyone, not even the moron sitting in the back seat.

A text alert went off on the phone she bought. Another burner, but one she needed to keep until this endeavor was over. She picked it up and glanced at it.

“They landed,” she told Josh. “Getting off the plane now.”

Anxiety left her hand shaking. She could face Crichton no problem, but knowing her mom was getting off the plane, that they were about to come face to face for the first time in three years—Reggie didn’t know if she was ready for their reunion.

“You okay?” Josh asked, his hand tightening on her thigh.

She laughed bitterly. “No, but I’ll do what needs to be done.”

“I’m sorry,” Sonja whispered. “I didn’t mean—“

“Please don’t,” Reggie said, barely keeping her tone even. “I have no interest in what you meant. When we have Emma back, Josh can decide if he wants to hear your apology, but I don’t give a damn.”

Sonja flinched and drew her legs up. “You have no idea what I would do for my children. The sacrifices I would make. It’s what a mother does.”

Something snapped inside of Reggie. Her eye twitched as her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Keeping the tilt-a-whirl of emotions rushing through her in check took energy. A lot of it. Sonja’s self-pitying shit tried on her nerves.

“You’d understand if you had children,” she continued.

Not having the patience for this, Reggie pulled the truck over to the side of the road and got out. As much as choking the life out of Sonja sounded like a feasible solution to the problem at hand, she thought it might not be conducive to the situation as a whole.

“Reggie?” Josh tried to grab for her, but she pulled from his grasp as she walked to the back door and opened it.

She jerked Sonja from the seat, even as she gave a cry and slammed her against the truck.

“You have no idea what a mother does.“ Anger washed every word and maybe the force of her forearm was a bit much as it kept Sonja pressed against the hot metal.

Josh got out and came over to them, but he didn’t move to intervene. Smart man.

“Mothers protect their children.” Reggie applied a bit more pressure with her arm. “They don’t do things that could intentionally harm them, like steal from a major drug lord.”

Sonja tried to shrink on herself, flinching back. “I wanted to prove—“

Using her free hand, Reggie jerked her shirt up, revealing the scar on her lower belly. “You see that? I lost my daughter before she was ever fucking born. My fiancé and I were attacked in a parking garage. He tried to protect me and they shot him in the head. I tried to curl around myself, tried to protect her. I was willing to die so she would live.”

Sonja’s eyes went wide. The blue was stark in the light. Reggie let her shirt drop and slammed the other woman again to make sure she kept Sonja’s attention. “Mothers do whatever it takes to protect their kids. So, stop your fucking sniveling, stop apologizing, and stop thinking about yourself. Start thinking about what you’re going to do to get your daughter back.”

Pushing away, Reggie tried not to notice the look on Josh’s face. There was a reason she hadn’t told him before. Something flashed in his eyes—pity, uncertainty—maybe everything combined gave him that look. But she never wanted him to have it for her.

“Get in the car,” she said. “And if I have to hear another excuse, I maintain I’m not responsible for my actions.”

Without a word, the other woman slipped in. Reggie looked over at Josh, doing her best to keep her face stoic, but the pain of that night rushed through her like it’d been yesterday. She blinked back the sudden moisture in her eyes. Josh took a step toward her and she held up a hand. “Don’t. I can’t. Not right now. Emma is our priority.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he nodded.

She got back behind the wheel and waited for Josh to close his door before she took off toward the airport. Sonja didn’t say another word.

Dom walked out of the airport, the rush of air from the doors making his dark hair flounder in disarray. Reggie couldn’t help but laugh, her smile genuine at the sight of her brother, with his muscular physique and chiseled Italian features. Despite his hair, his suit was immaculate, pinstriped with a blue tie. He looked over, saw her, and smiled back.

“Reg!”

She hadn’t expected the joy that raced through her at seeing him. It’d been three years since she and Dom had been face to face. Having talked to him on a weekly basis, Reggie didn’t think she’d missed him as much. Not until he stood there in the flesh. Without thinking, she left Josh standing by the truck as she ran and threw herself in his arms. Dom may have been her little brother, but he was bigger than her. He caught her easily and swung her around, crushing Reggie to his chest.

“I missed you,” she whispered against him.

Setting her down, he kissed the top of her head. “Missed you too, sis.”

The doors opened with another whoosh. “Hello Regina.”

Every muscle in Reggie’s body tensed. Her mother wouldn’t approve of the freshly formed wrinkles in Dom’s jacket from her fingers tightening in the fabric. His arms wrapped tighter around her and he whispered. “You’ve got this.”

Nodding against his chest, Reggie forced herself to relax and squared her shoulders. She let go of him and Dom stepped out of the way. A lump formed in her throat and she pushed it down, unwilling to show weakness to the older, mirrored version of herself. Add a few crow’s feet, some wrinkles, and roots that needed to be dyed in order to avoid showing gray and Reggie knew what she’d look like in twenty years. Maybe not as elegant or high class. Marissa DeLuca didn’t half ass it. Something seemed off about her, though. Her hair seemed—different, like she got a new stylist. Unless Franco died, Reggie couldn’t imagine that happening. Then again, it could be the fact that her mother seemed thinner, or maybe it was the dark shadows under her eyes. The last time they’d been together, her mother had seemed fierce. Like no one could stand up to her. It’d been years, though, so maybe Reggie’s memory played tricks on her.

Angelo and Dimitri flanked her mother’s sides, broad-shouldered bodyguards that wouldn’t hesitate to shoot to protect their employer. The older man, Dimitri, had been protecting the family since before Reggie’d been born. Her father’s best friend and confidant. Angelo’s baby face hadn’t seemed to age, though. He’d grown up in the crime world, same as Reggie. His family had been close to hers for decades. Now Angelo stood up to take his role. His jaw set and something told Reggie his gaze held contempt for her from behind the dark sunglasses he wore. They’d never gotten along to begin with. Now, with her black sheep status, he probably thought her a traitor. Maybe she was.

Dimitri held a large briefcase in one hand. He winked at Reggie and she couldn’t help but smirk a bit. Gray had peppered his hair in the last few years, more so than she remembered. When she’d been little, he always snuck her sweets behind her mother’s back. Played interference for Reggie in a way that wouldn’t piss Marissa off. The man knew how to work the people around him, which is why he was much more proficient at his job than Angelo.

Reggie bit the inside of her cheek when her mother crossed her arms over her chest, the cream-colored suit somehow resistant to wrinkling, and cocked a hip. “Hi, mom.”

“You look terrible,” Marissa said. She tapped a perfectly manicured nail on her bicep.

Reggie sighed and walked over. “It’s good to see you, too.”

As soon as she was within reach, Marissa slapped her across the cheek. A sharp, stinging sensation flourished across Reggie’s skin and she stumbled as her head snapped to the side. She hadn’t been expecting it. Throughout her childhood, she could only remember a few times her mother struck her out of anger. Which...yeah, Reggie realized she probably should have seen it coming then. Leaving had pissed her mother off. Dom relayed the details of their mother’s rampage a few weeks later. Apparently, no one had escaped her ire, not even him. She’d thought Dom knew where Reggie was. They’d always been close, but she saw that coming and made sure Dom had no idea.

“Hey!” Josh pushed off the truck.

Dimitri and Angelo stepped forward. Reggie held up her hand, holding Josh off and rubbed her stinging cheek. “It’s fine.”

Dom shielded Josh, but the small-town dad stepped to the side, his jaw clenched. Reggie figured he didn’t understand the danger of the situation. Her mother’s security task force had no problem discreetly dragging him to an area where security cameras didn’t exist to provide any proof that a crime had been committed. Professionals went to people like Dimitri and Angelo when they wanted something, or someone, taken care of. She admired Josh’s bravado, standing up for her when he had no idea what it might mean. She didn’t have time to dwell on how that gesture made her heart swell.

Straightening up, Reggie glared at her mother. “We’ll have plenty of time for you to berate me when we get Emma back.”

That’d been the deal. Marissa agreed to help get Emma out of Crichton’s clutches so long as Reggie came home when this was all over. The fact that her mother came to make sure it happened—well, Reggie hadn’t been counting on that. It made escaping after this nearly impossible. Her mom might in turn go after Josh and the kids. Reggie couldn’t let that happen.

When this was over, for the first time in three years, she’d be going home to Chicago.

Her stomach flip-flopped.

Marissa looked past Reggie at Josh, lip curling up in a sneer. “I see your tastes haven’t improved any.”

“Mother,” Dom said. “I took the liberty of getting a car and driver for you. They’ll escort you to the hotel.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Dominic. I don’t believe the vehicle your sister drove here would suit me.”

“I didn’t think so either. Angelo, please go with my mother. Dimitri, you will accompany the rest of us and we’ll meet mother at the hotel soon.”

The men nodded, and Marissa walked by Reggie, pausing for only a moment. “Don’t think of running again, Regina. I’m tired of your games.”

Weariness sunk into her bones. “Don’t worry, Mother. I’m not going anywhere.”

Josh understood why Reggie ran from her family. Marissa DeLuca gave off nothing but animosity. The way she treated Reggie had anger so thick pulsing through his veins, he thought it might replace his blood. How Reggie had come to be such a good-hearted woman with that kind of mother as a role model, he didn’t know. He guessed her father had something to do with it, or maybe she just managed to escape the bad circumstances—maybe the circumstances changed her. Especially after losing Sophie.

He walked past Dom—her brother. Josh didn’t care about the dark gaze the man watched him with. He could go to hell with the rest of his family. What kind of brother stood by when his sister got hit? Granted, parents hitting siblings were a little different, but Reggie was a grown ass woman and had more courage than he’d ever seen in one person. If Josh’s mother had done that under similar circumstances, no way would he have sat by.

Reggie rubbed her cheek. “I’m okay, Josh.”

“Yeah. You always say that.” He pulled her hand from her cheek and inspected the damage. A tinge of red flourished on her tan skin. The outline of Marissa’s ring was a bit more prominent.

She smiled. “See. Just a little sting.”

Letting out a breath, Josh leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I see why you left.”

Reggie laughed, deep and husky. Josh wanted to pull her into his arms and keep her safe from all of this crazy that surrounded them. Once they found Emma, he hoped to find a way to help Reggie in turn.

Dom cleared his voice behind them, and Josh turned to face him. The brother. He never knew what it was like to stare down a guy that was seeing his sister. Carrie knew she liked women from a young age. Staring down, a woman had a completely different feel—one that made him feel like a bully most of the time. The first time he’d fought with Sonja over her addiction problems, she’d made him feel guilty. Like somehow the problem stemmed from him. She hated life, and it was Josh’s fault. He got her pregnant—as if it didn’t take two—and he kept her from achieving her dreams. It’d twisted Josh’s guts.

“Josh, this is my brother Dominic,” she smiled. “And Dimitri.”

The larger man scoffed. “Just Dimitri? No longer Uncle?”

Reggie laughed again and walked over, hugging the man, leaving Josh in an awkward staring contest.

Dom stuck out his hand. “It’s good to meet you. Reggie spoke highly of you.”

Josh shook his hand. “Didn’t realize she was talking about me at all.”

He shrugged. “Usually she keeps the details vague when she checks in. This time, she had to give a little more information.”

Josh looked over. Reggie was smiling, catching up with Dimitri, but she kept glancing back at them as if she wanted to make sure they were getting along. If Emma wasn’t missing, Josh might think this is how it felt when someone new was introduced to the family. To everyone passing by, he imagined that’s exactly how it looked.

“She’s good at keeping secrets.” Josh didn’t mean for that to come out bitter, but it had.

Dom clenched his jaw. “She does what she has to do. Including giving up her freedom to get your daughter back.”

Reality settled in. She didn’t have to do this. She could have gone on, pretending to be Reggie Dennis, escaping her family. The instant she’d realized his daughter was in danger, she gave up everything she had built in the last three years. Reggie made the choice to give up everything to go back to something he figured she considered hell on Earth. For him.

For Emma.

Reggie made a decision for the good of his kids, without a second thought to the consequences for herself. In the week that he’d known her, she’d been more of a mother to his kids than Sonja had been in nine years. And he suddenly felt like a shit for having such contempt for Reggie’s secrets. After meeting Marissa, could he really blame her?

Dominic put his hands in his pockets and walked over to Reggie.

Josh sucked in a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t know what he thought. She’d managed to steal his heart in such a short period of time. They’d laughed, made love, had serious conversations, and damn it, Josh knew he was falling for her. He’d wanted her to stay, and she’d considered it. Until she thought she’d been found. Everything was upside down and backwards. He wanted to love Reggie, but he didn’t know if he could let this sort of danger into his life, not with the kids. He didn’t have time to dwell on it. Maybe that was shitty of him, and unfair—but they had to get Emma.

“All right,” Reggie said, gesturing for Josh to come over. “The meeting with Crichton is in a few hours. We’ve got the money Sonja owes him, plus interest.”

“How much is that exactly?” Josh asked.

“We brought forty thousand,” Dimitri said. His voice carried more of an Italian accent than Reggie’s mother. “More than enough to pay him back and get the girl.”

Josh nearly stumbled. “Fuck! But I don’t understand. She only took ten thousand.”

“Yes,” Dominic said. “But Crichton will want retribution money.”

“And ransom money,” Reggie added. “And we needed extra to keep Sonja alive. We’re going to have to negotiate this very carefully. Crichton thinks he has a chance to make it seem like he’s one upped the DeLuca’s.”

Dimitri scoffed. “Not likely.”

“Reggie’s right. Crichton is known for his ego.” Dom clasped his hands in front of him. “If he can gain a notch or two, he’ll look for that opportunity.”

“What does that mean?” Josh asked.

Reggie put her hands on her hips and looked at him. “It means if he can find a way to screw us over, he’s going to take it.”

“And kill Emma,” Josh said in realization. He clenched his fists at his side, ready to kill Crichton with his own bare hands. Sonja right along with him. None of this should have happened, and maybe if he’d paid more attention, it wouldn’t have.

Dominic nodded. “Yes.”

“But we’re not going to let that happen,” Reggie assured him. “If Crichton makes the wrong move, he’ll have a war on his hands and he doesn’t have the man power for it.”

A drug lord, a mob boss, and small-town landscaper—one of these things was not like the others. “Fuck!” Josh rubbed his face. “What’s our next step?”

“Now,” Reggie said with a frown. “We get ready to play our parts.”