As Mia drinks her chocolate milk, happily chattering away in toddler garble, I again note how much like her father she is. Her amber eyes and dark hair are both thanks to Rex. Though I try only to see my incredible little girl when I look at her, I don’t want my heartbreak to impact her in any way. It pains me that he’ll never know his brilliant daughter. I have to remind myself that he already has a family, and introducing Mia to him would only cause her—and me—pain.
“Say, Lena, isn’t that the same car that’s been parking here all week, but they never come inside?” Big Joe says, suspiciously looking at the black sedan across the street.
“Quit being paranoid, they probably just live or work nearby,” I reply, rolling my eyes good-naturedly. This past week, Big Joe has become convinced that someone is watching the place. Why he thinks anyone would be interested in the diner is beyond me. He pays his taxes, and everything is above board.
“I’m telling you, Lena, those guys are watching us,” he says, moving closer to the window.
“Why would they? Did you rob a bank?” I kid.
“I’m more concerned that they’re casing the place to robus,” he replies.
It’s a grim thought, but hopefully one that won’t come to fruition. I look over at my daughter, blissfully ignorant, so innocent and vulnerable, and my chest tightens at the thought of anything bad happening to our haven. “Surely, there are plenty of more lucrative businesses close by for a would-be robber,” I reply, trying to convince myself as much as Big Joe.
“You’re right. I’m getting paranoid in my old age,” Big Joe says, patting my hand. I know he’s lying to comfort me, and I love him all the more for it. “Now, it’s already dark and past this little one’s bedtime. Shirley’s here, why don’t you clock out a little early and head home to put the rugrat to bed?”
Mia and I live in the apartment above Big Joe in an old house that was converted into apartment. Big Joe got us a great deal on rent, as he plays dominoes with the landlord—another thing I have to thank him for.
“Not tired,” Mia protests before a yawn gives her away.
“If you’re a good girl, maybe Pop-Pop will come in and read you a bedtime story.”
That does the trick. Mia immediately allows Big Joe to pick her up, and he carries her outside with me following closebehind as we call out goodbye to the others. Neither of us owns a car, and it’s only a ten-minute walk home down a few side streets. Alone, I’d be nervous, but with Big Joe by my side, I feel safe. He may be in his late seventies, but he’s no vulnerable old man, and he carries a pistol at his side for protection.
As we turn into a dark, empty alleyway, suddenly, a car appears under the streetlamp at the end of the road, blocking our exit. “Shit, it’s that same car,” Big Joe hisses. A man wearing a balaclava climbs out of the vehicle. “Take Mia,” Big Joe says, hurriedly handing her over to me without taking his eyes off the man and pulling his pistol from his pants. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but you’ve got until the count of three to leave or I shoot,” he warns, his voice firm and clear, betraying none of the fear that I feel. Either he’s fearless or good at hiding it.
I cling to Mia, soothing her as she fusses, not understanding what’s happening.
The man pulls his own gun, and from behind, I hear a click of a gun cocking. Another masked man has snuck up behind us. “Give us the woman, and no one gets hurt,” the man replies.
“Over my dead body,” Big Joe growls.
“Fine,” the man replies before pulling the trigger.
It’s so sudden, so unexpected, and deafening that I don’t register what’s just happened until Big Joe wildly fires off a shot that misses his mark as he falls to the floor. A red bloom slowly appears on his favorite shirt, the one I got him for Christmas last year. The scream bubbles from me as I drop to my knees, trying to stem the blood flow with one hand while still desperately clinging to my little girl with the other, trying to keep her faceburied into my chest so she doesn’t witness the horror I’m seeing.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell him, sobbing as the blood doesn’t stop flowing.
So much blood.
The men surround me, pulling Mia from my grasp, and I scream like a wounded animal, desperately clawing to try to get her back while the other man holds me firm. “Get in the car, and we’ll give her back to you. Do as we say, and neither of you will be harmed.”
I nod and stop struggling to show I’m willing to comply. I’ll do anything to protect my baby girl. I cling to her as they hand her to me and push me into the back of the blacked-out car. I try my best to comfort her as she sobs, to hide how terrified I am.
My fear only intensifies when I spot the corner of a tattoo on the wrist of the driver. I’d recognize the emblem anywhere—the Iron Vultures.
Zeke has finally found me.
Chapter 6
Rex
Our inside source at the Iron Vultures informed us that something big was gonna go down tonight. That they were planning to kidnap a woman. They didn’t know who the woman was, or why she’s so important to the Iron Vultures, but if they want her that badly that they’re kidnapping her at gunpoint, we need to get to her first.
Unfortunately, the grab happened early, and we arrived just in time to see the car speeding away. A large, elderly man lies bleeding in the street. We immediately rush over to help him. The man is alive and barely conscious.
“Where are you hit?” Doc asks, our resident medic, searching his body for the bullet wound.
He shakes his head, coughing blood. “They took Lena and Mia. You have to find them.”
