Pinky Promise

Chapter 14: Stressed

James

Clicking the repeat button for the 17th time, I watched as men surrounded their home with guns in their hands.

This was not a home invasion. This was a pre-planned attack. The way they dressed, the way they had covered every perimeter of the home and the weapons they brought. It only meant one thing. Dean and Lucy's parents must have had some involvement in a gang or mafia or business in connection with them.

The mafia never goes to this length to attack an innocent family. I had to get to the bottom of this because if this truly was a mafia matter, then they'd soon find out about Dean and Lucy and would hunt them down.

But I refuse to let such a thing happen. Even though they came stumbling into our lives only recently, they were now a huge part of our lives. To Isabella and I, they were now family. Even though we were expecting a child of our own, we also saw Dean and Lucy as our own children. And like a father, you always put your children's safety before your own.

I would protect Dean and Lucy no matter what. I just feared what Isabella would think. I had promised her that that life was over, but I may have to venture back into it for the sake of their safety.

Taking a swig of my warm cup of tea, I put it down and zoomed in on the man who looked to be a leader.

"Who the fuck are you?" I mumbled as I stared at his facial features watching as he laughed as him and his men left.

The only reason I had accessed this was with the help of one of the UK's most talented hackers. Whoever these attackers were had infiltrated the CCTV so the police would not be able to use it to identify them. He had deleted the footage, but I was blessed with one of the most successful men in this field of work. You couldn't hide anything from him and he had managed to recover the supposedly deleted footage.

It was 3:25am and I should be in bed with my wife, but I couldn't sleep. I was up worrying about Dean and Lucy. I was fearful of the worst, but thankfully Jay sent me a message saying he had sent me the CCTV. I owed it to Dean to find out what was going on and bring justice. But now I realised that it wasn't going to be that easy.

Suddenly in the midst of my upcoming anger, a small knock sounded from my office door. I knew it wasn't Isabella as she'd just barge in, but it was 3:25am so who could be up at this time.

Closing the lid of my laptop down, I pushed my chair back and walked over to the door.

"Dean? Hey bud, what's up?".

Dean was stood outside the office in his pyjamas with red swollen eyes.

Dean rubbed a tear that escaped out of his eye and took a deep breath.

"Can I come in?".

"Of course. Can I get you something to drink pal? A hot chocolate or cup of tea?".

Dean shook his head as he sat down on the chair opposite my desk and held his head in his hands.

My heart had completely shattered for him. He was 11 nearly 12 and it was as if he was already growing into an adult. 11 year olds should be out riding their bikes, playing with their friends and having fun. There was no evidence of that in Dean's life.

The world and it's events had robbed him of a childhood and now he was a broken person who's only thought was Lucy. I just hoped it wasn't too late to help him.

"You couldn't sleep?" I asked whilst sitting myself down.

"I haven't slept properly since everything happened".

I had worked on a few cases involving children such as domestic violence, but this case had a hold on me. I don't know if it was a paternal instinct, but I cared about these children and knew I'd always be a part of their lives. I felt an urge to protect them and keep them safe, just like parents should do. But their parents were gone and technically they were now alone.