As We Are | Book 2

Midnight

Chapter Thirty

Midnight

Mum barges through the front door.

"Chris, have you called the police and notified them of Jack's identity?!"

"No,"

"Chris you have to call the pol-"

"No! Mum, we have to be smart about this. As of this moment, Shane has got Desirae probably locked up somewhere for Christ's sake! It's a very risky, fucked up situation and it's crucial that we handle it with caution – or else all of us will be dead by the morning," I say marching into the backyard as she trails behind me.

"Chris don't say that!"

"Mum, I know what this person is capable of okay? We need a well thought out plan or else things will go very wrong when shit hits the fan."

"Okay so what's your plan?" she says nervously.

"As of this moment, Shane doesn't know that we know everything, that we know who he is and what he is capable of. I'm going to use his strengths and turn them into his weakness."

"How?"

"He's got Desirae, I'll ambush him if I have to,"

"Do you even know where he is, Chris?"

"The only place he's been for the past five months. Dad's pastry shop."

I walk into the shed and I grab my steel baseball bat. I've never used it to harm a person before, but I'd be honoured to have Shane be the first.

I run back inside the house with Mum at my heels, wasting no time in making my way through the house to reach the front door.

I'm surprised when my phone rings in my back pocket. It's a call from Shane.

"Who is it?!" Mum loudly whispers.

"It's him, it's Shane" I breathe heavily.

I calm myself as I stare at the phone screen, then I answer the call.

"Hello?" I answer in my most natural voice.

"Chris, hey, it's me Jack,"

"I know, I've got caller ID," I say casually and he laughs.

"I'm surprised that you even listed me as your contact," he chuckles, "I'm honoured."

"Why are you calling?"

"Just to apologise big bro. Listen, our relationship isn't going to go anywhere if we keep getting so caught up in these petty little fights. I want to make things right. With you. Is that okay Christopher?" he says sinisterly.

"Yeah... that's fine Shan-... Jack," my heart pounds uncontrollably and Mum covers her mouth in fear, "Jack... sounds good mate," I say, knowing full well, the extent of my fuck-up.

I can only hope that he didn't hear me accidently refer to him by the name of his sociopathic self, but judging by his silence, I sense that he has.

"It's good that we are on the same page... brother," he says airily.

I'm as alert and as attentive as ever, paying extra attention to the details of his tone to decipher what he could possibly be thinking.

Though it's impossible.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" I ask hastily, desperate to end the conversation so I could figure out where the hell this sack of shit of a man, has Desirae.

"I just have a question. It's quite personal, but... seeing as how we're brothers, blood-bound brothers, I feel I could ask you without overstepping my boundary."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" I say, making no effort to hide the bitterness in my voice.

"That girl of yours... Desirae,"

"What about her?" I say through gritted teeth.

"What does she mean to you?... how much does she mean to you?"

"She's my partner," I say calmly,

"I didn't mean like that," he chuckles, "if you were to put a price tag on your girl... on Desirae... if she were on a supermarket shelf... how much would you pay for her?" his sinister voice echoes through the phone and throughout my entire body, inducing me to feel a sense of fury that is inhumane.

What kind of fucking question is that?!

I see red and I ball my hands into tight fists.

My mind can't process the words coming through the phone and I struggle to string words together to answer, so I stare back at my phone screen in silence.

Shane chuckles then he hangs up the phone, leaving Mum and I staring at each other with intensity in our eyes, both thinking the same thing.

I hold tightly onto the baseball bat and I walk out the front door as Mum follows.

"Mum, I need you to stay here with Molly and Benny tonight, protect them at all costs. This Shane guy is a nutjob, he may have people, and I want you to promise, that even if he calls you or sends you pictures of him torturing me, you won't leave," I say firmly, caught up in the heat of the moment.

"Chris, Ch-Chris, please don't do this alone," she cries, "there has to be another way!"

"There isn't... it has to be me. Desirae is in trouble Ma,"

"And I don't want you to get involved in that trouble Chris. I don't want to lose you again," she tears up as the cold wind whips her hair about.

"You won't. Don't let Benny and Molly out of your sight for even a moment tonight. I'll see you later Mum. I love you."

I give her a hard kiss on her tear-stained cheek and I jump into the car, driving away as she stares after me from the window inside.

I feel a dangerous mix of emotions ranging from anger, to fear, to rage, to an overwhelming sense of calmness that I can't even comprehend.

It's like a beast has taken over my body, a brave one that is fearless and has nothing to lose – which is actually quite the contrary.

Tonight, there is a large possibility that I will lose everything, possibly even my life, but that prospect somehow doesn't scare me.

I feel like a soldier preparing for a battle ahead. 

I drive up to the city, to my father's pastry shop, thinking about how I almost allowed myself to be fooled by this sociopath. How I almost believed that we share the same father.

I stop at a red light and my phone rings again. It's Shane calling.

"What do you want?" I ask agitatedly.

"Ooh, that's not a very friendly way to greet your brother Chris," he says daftly, sounding rather drunk.

"Chris, hey Chris, I've got someone here who wants to say hi," his voice says over the phone.

Every bit of my hair stands when I hear Desirae's screams echoing in the background on the other end of my phone.

I grip tightly onto the wheels as Shane chuckles sinisterly, then hangs up.

I shake uncontrollably, speeding through the midnight streets.

My heart pounds out of my chest, I bite my lip in fury only to taste coppery blood on my tongue.

I drive down the street, as soon as I park outside of my father's café, something strange happens.

An overwhelming sense of tranquil calmness washes over me. Even though my heart, mind, body and soul should be in a state of frantic recklessness, I've never felt more in control.

In this moment, there is no fear, no anger. Just a thirst to begin what is to inevitably happen next.

I don't know what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it, I just know that I'll come out of this alive with Desirae by my side, or I won't come out at all.