River of sin

31. love is blind

Jacob and his family went about setting their plan in motion, under the radar, ready to strike when the moment was right. His nights were spent with even less sleep then he usually got, his family all concerned about his mental state. They hadn't seen him this bad since he returned from war.

"Jacob!" Harrison greeted him when he stepped into the house late after meeting with an asset to get them on side. The meeting not going as well as he'd hoped, he'd ended up adding more blood in the river of sin, pushing a dead body over the bridge into the river, not wanting to risk leaving them alive incase they alerted Sullivan. "It did not go well?"
"not now, Harry. I need a stiff drink or twenty and my bed" he rubbed his tired head, hanging up his coat and cap.
"You might want to hold off on that a while, Jake" Danny joined them
"Danny? What you doing here so late? Trouble?" He grabbed his gun
"In all honesty, I ain't sure. Go slow alright. Don't doing anything rash." He warned leading him into the living room.

Jacob froze to the spot, staring at a man standing holding a baby in his arms by the fire. He stared at the small pair of sleepy eyes struggling to stay open, he'd stared at those beautiful orbs everyday and night since he first saw them.
"Jacob?" Barney asked warily. Harrison having rallied the brothers together when the man turned up on the door step, not sure which way this was going to go when Jacob got home.
"Hand her over" Jacob drew his gun aiming it "now!" He yelled
"Lower it" Danny stood in front of him, his hand on his arm "Jacob, lower it. It's alright brother, lower the gun. Don't scare her."
Jacob tearfully nodded, slowly lowering it unsurely, Danny confiscating it, handing it back to Lenard.

"Maggie?" Jacob asked a tear rolling down his cheek "is that really you my little Angel?" He asked smiling "did my Evie send you? What are you doing here? I swear you touch a hair on her head..."
"Jacob, Jacob!" Danny held him back, focussing him "listen to me, you don't got long. Evie saw an opportunity. He has to leave soon."
"No! No, I won't...."
"If I go back with out Maggie.....then you don't want to know what he'll do to Evie." The man comforted the scared child "I have to take her back. I'm sorry. Really. She wanted me to leave her with you but I can't, if you love her you'll refuse also." He stepped forward offering his hand "Howard, Howard Banster. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mr Evans." He stood with his hand out stretched "Jacob, I am the one she told you of. I am an ally of Evie's...and Maggie" he kissed the baby's head, shushing her. "Jacob. It's alright" he stood with his hand still in the air, Jacob stepping forward to shake it "your Evie is a brave girl."
"That she is" Jacob nodded, not tearing his eyes from the baby

"Would you like to hold her?" Howard offered "she's tired, missing her ma. She has not seen her in a few days. She takes a bottle but prefers the breast, it doesn't settle her the same way. She has a fondness for stewed apple mind."
"Hello my little Angel, hello" Jacob smiled taking the baby "do you know me? I'm your father, your dad. I love you, my darling Maggie. So much" he kissed the baby's head walking around with her. His brothers smiling widely at him. "She is even more beautiful in person"
"She sure is brother. Those curls are adorable. Just like Betty had at that age. I see a strong Evans family resemblance now she is a little older than the photograph you have, brother." Danny came closer with the other three brothers to meet their niece, not wanting to before Jacob got there. "Bringing back memories brother. You with little Betty, she would only settle with you after ma.....you were born to be a father, you are a natural, Jacob. Despite what you think."
"I never thought....not in a million years. Hello my sweet thing. Let's be having a look at you then eh." He sat down fussing over the baby, inspecting her closely.

"He treats Maggie well Howard? I have seen the results of Evie's beatings. Does he lay his hands on my little girl too?"
"No. Short tempered with her when she's fussing, he's been known to scream close to her face when frustrated, but she is well looked after, he knows she's more than capable of bolting on her own, Maggie's the insurance that she doesn't. She cries for her ma, when he keeps them apart. He can be cruel. Locks Evie the other side of the door so she can can hear the wee ones screams. So Maggie can hear her ma but not get to her, smell her milk. He is out of control. Something snapped in his mind when he lost Marcus. He was already a dangerous man. Marcus was blind to it. adamant he didn't want Evie to live the life they once did with the Barnes family. The life they escaped. He did not want her with a family like his own, with a man of ill repute, with you. He wanted her with a good honest man, far away from this world. Yet he fell for Joseph. Evie sussed him straight away. Knew what type of man he was. He kept Marcus away from it all. Told him he'd gone straight, Marcus believed his act. They say love is blind don't they."

"I'm sorry. Evie told me you loved him also. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. This one brings me peace and happiness. She has his eyes, or their eyes I should say, they are twins. I feel close to him still by having them both near. Evie is like one half of him. Their bond was beyond anything I've witnessed. the way they'd finish each other's thoughts and sentences without realising, the way they'd do things at the exact same time like they were each others shadow or mirror image almost."
"Jacob is also a twin" Danny informed him "he knows what you mean. Even more so, he was an identical. It was hard to tell them apart. It was their personalities that differed. We lost Monty in the war."

"I'm sorry. I need to go" Howard checked his pocket watch
"A few more minutes, please" Jacob pleaded "shush my little one. You will be home soon, I promise. Danny I can't. I can't do it. I can't...."
"I know, but you have to." Danny gently lifted the baby from his brothers arms handing her over gently. "We'll be seeing you again soon little Maggie Evans" he kissed her head "thank you" he patted Howard's shoulder. "We won't forget this"
"My pleasure. She's gone" he smiled down at the sleeping baby on his shoulder. "Jacob?" He asked trying to get the man's attention that was looking away, resisting the urge to tackle his daughter off a man he'd only just met "if you have any doubts.....I was there. I helped her tell him the news that she was expecting your child. She was scared to do so. She pleaded with him to let her return to you. To tell you of Maggie. Said she was sure it was a sign that things were meant to be between you. She was adamant that you'd do the right thing. That you'd want to keep your child, out of more than moral obligation or guilt. Maggie is yours beyond any doubt. She has been fiercely loyal to you. He's been.....I am sure you have seen how he is with her, I am not saying she is untouched by another man, however.....she has not been with another man willingly, she certainly hasn't laid with any man but you. She says it is something she will only share with you, that it yours and yours alone. His touch repulses her. She often empties her stomach after an encounter with him. Sobs. Feels immense guilt, she fights him, Jacob, she does not just take it when not in front of public view. Maggie is your daughter, beyond any doubt. Sullivan had little to do with either Maggie or Evie before Marcus' death. I lived in the apartment with them in a sham marriage to Evie, fake papers, so I could be close to him, he only brought me along because Maggie settles with me and her crying aggravates him, also to remind me that he won the war for his heart......she love you Jacob, dearly, she is a strong woman."
"I know. Thank you. I have no doubts but thank you." Jacob nodded "she has no shame or guilt to carry, not in my eyes. She had not told me this...but I knew. From her eyes, her injuries."

"were you one of the ones that held her down? When they tried to rid her of my child?"
"No. I was the one that forced her brother to listen to her screams and pleas. He stepped outside so he didn't have to hear it. I dragged his backside into the house. as soon as he heard her he had a change of heart, we both booted the door open and stopped them."
"Then thank you, I owe you. If you want out of Sullivan's set up, we can help. You'll have a home and a job with us if you should wish it when this is done with."
"I may just take you up on that offer."

"you know the odds are against you, Jacob. The chances of getting them both out are not in your favour."
"I am aware he is a big fish to catch. Thing is I have a big net and fire in my belly that's raging."
"Be careful" Howard advised "he shows no mercy. Torture is his game, he enjoys it. It's like sport for him. He lays bets on how long a man will last. Man or woman, even children, he does not care. He murders and tortures both. If she is caught he will show no mercy. It's why I have to take Maggie back rather than go with her wish to leave her here with you. She is a mother protecting her child, but if Maggie is not there when he gets back, it is as good as signing her death certificate. He will not make it swift, he will drag it out for years. I know you do not want that as I don't. She knew when she asked me to bring her to you what it would mean, Jacob, yet she asked me anyway. She will not be happy with me when I get back. I'm sorry I couldn't get her out too, I doubt I will get this chance again, so I am sorry."
"I understand, Take care of them...please just five more minutes, one more hold" he went to take Maggie, Harrison pulling him away
"Go" Harry ordered "thank you. Now go. Before we can not stop him from stopping you. He is well aware this might be his only chance to see her." He struggled to hold his brother back. "Go! Once he calms down he will want you to go, to protect Evie. We have a plan to get them both out and we will. I promise you. If we didn't have any hope then we'd be keeping her here even if meant loosing Evie."