Family Matters

Part IV: The Kidnapping

"You did what?"

Liam was having a bad day. He'd thought getting out of prison would yield some peace and maybe further prosperity for him, but his cousins were proving him wrong.

He gripped his cell phone harder and took a deep breath before growling, "Where are you now?"

The response did not please him, as it caused him to turn and glower at Jamie who stood looking as sheepish as an ex-con with violent tendencies could.

"Do not leave the parking lot. You will wait until we get there. Is that understood?"

He ended the call and turned to Jamie, "What in the hell were you thinking?"

"She—" Jamie stopped at the look of murderous rage on his cousin's face.

"Go. Now." It seemed that monosyllabic growling was the only form of communication left to Liam at this point, so close was he to throttling his cousin in public.

With Jamie in a slight lead, they exited the building and headed for the black van in the parking lot. The "lot," just behind the fountain in front of the facility, had fewer than twenty spaces. How had they expected to get away unnoticed?

Liam shook his head. The black van Jamie was heading to was his own family van. What kind of imbeciles took their own vehicles to an art heist? What kind of morons then got skittish and kidnapped a random stranger and stored her in the same family van? Did he really share DNA with these two people?

Thank God the van passenger doors faced away from the security cameras at the museum, though he didn't doubt they would be on camera in a number of other ways.

Christ! He thought he'd been coming to stop their ill-advised art heist before it got out of hand, but now he had a whole new set of problems to address. Perhaps, if he could calmly convince their victim that this had all been a terrible mistake, maybe, just maybe he could still salvage the situation and keep his head above water with the feds.

They reached the van and Liam banged on the back door twice for Robbie to unlock it. He and Jamie climbed into the back, and Robbie began to stammer out an explanation.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." The growling was becoming permanent.

Liam blinked, willing his eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the vehicle. The victim had been trussed up with bungee cords around her hands and feet, and tied around her mouth was one of Jamie's kids' t-shirts. She was currently unconscious, and lay on her right side. She was also a tiny slip of a thing. She must have been terrified. A swath of brown hair covered her face.

He reached out to smooth it away, revealing a faint purpling and swelling beginning under her left eye.

"What the fuck did you do to her!" Staring down at her inert, battered face, he felt he was looking at all of his hopes for the future swirling down a drain of despair.

"She was fighting and kicking me! When she started to scream, I panicked! I had to shut her up!" Robbie's agitation was evident.

Liam ran a hand over his own face. How the hell could she ever trust them now? There was no way he would be able to convince her this had all been a terrible mistake. How did he explain to her that his cousins were idiots, but not generally bad people? That Robbie used violence sometimes because he grew up in a violent home? That Uncle Ewan was a heavy drinker, and when he was totally soused, he liked to use his fists? That Robbie used to take the brunt of it for his mother and sister? That he had never attacked his own wife and children, and that he kept most of his pain and rage under tight control? How could he ask for her forgiveness and expect her to believe his sincerity?