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Chapter Six - March 11

The package arrived at seven o'clock in the morning. I intercepted the delivery man before he even hit the door. I had announced to the group of guys hunkered down in the living room that I was going out with the dogs. I had hopped the fence and squatted in a bush until the vehicle drove up. I probably would have stayed in the bush waiting all day if I had to.

I took the box in my hands. It was small, brown, and square. For one second I considered the possibility of a bomb.

"Hand it over, Nick."

Henry was at my side. I clutched the box.

"No."

"We need to run it through the scanner and make sure it's not a trap."

"I want to know what's in it," I said. Henry nodded.

"I promise."

I handed the package over.

Two hours later, Liv and I were sitting together on the couch. She refused to take any more medication. Her eyes were framed with dark purple circles. Her head fell on my shoulder. Henry opened the box. Liv let out a sob.

Two blonde pigtails were in the bottom of the box along with a bag tied shut with a piece of thread.

"Those are Brooke's," I whispered.

"Lab analysis is pending, but yes, I'm almost certain they are," Henry said quietly.

I reached over and took the bag.

"Now, the bag--"

I opened it before he could continue. Liv was crying too hard to look.

For that, I was glad.

The bag was filled with little teeth. All of the air seemed to leave the room. Hot white branding heat soared through my entire body.

"They aren't Brooke's."

I looked over at Henry.

"What?"

"Aaron was just going for a shock factor. Most of them aren't even human teeth."

I clutched the bag. My shoulder was soaked through with Liv's tears. I wrapped my arms around her and pressed my lips to the top of her head. She was the only other person in the world that shared the amount of pain and torture I felt. Her nails dug into my forearm.

"This is day four," I said quietly. "Hair can grow back, but...other things can't. I want to start working on meeting his demands."

Henry shook his head. "It would just be a trap. He'd get what he wants and keep Brooke. He wouldn't hesitate to drop the excess baggage and disappear for good."

My nostrils flared. "And how much closer are you guys to finding him?"

"We've got agents still in Key West, surrounding islands, and a few agents in Cozumel. They're taking all leads extremely seriously. We are doing all that we can."

"And what if your all isn't good enough?"

Henry sighed. "Nick, I have two kids at home. I'm not going to stop until we get Brooke back home. Okay?"

I stared right into his eyes. There was complete honestly there.

"Okay."

----------------------------

-- Aaron --

Knives are amazing things. They have so many purposes. They prepare food, create furniture, jimmie a lock...

And cut little girl's pigtails off.

At the moment I was using the knife to clean under my nails. They were dirty with grime that had accumulated from this adventure I had embarked on.

It all began two months before the jailbreak.

For the first couple years behind bars, I had been the prison bitch. After awhile, as my exterior and interior toughened, I used the same tactics that were used on me to bully some of the new bloods. Two years later, I had a small gang of five guys that followed me around like puppy dogs.

It had been a slow process, but an ingenious one. About a year ago, a new guard was assigned to my prison block. I put on my charm and made sure to chit-chat with him every day. Slowly I began to gather information. I learned that he had a little boy...a wife. That whole 'coming up roses' scenario. It made me sick.

My plan began to unfold when one of my bloods was released from prison for good behavior. He left with specific instructions. If he succeeded, I promised him he would be greatly rewarded.

Two weeks after his release, I began to bully around the guard. I told him that if he cooperated with me that there would be no trouble. He thought I was just jacking him around. One morning I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close to the bars.

"If you don't want your wife to be split in half like a human taco, I think you're going to listen to me," I hissed. I remember watching my spit fly into his face.

It would have been ideal if he had listened. He was a nice guy...not that I cared much for nice guys. But he didn't.

That was where my goon had come in. Two days and one encrypted letter later, the guard's wife suddenly went missing. He came to me one night...knelt down by the bars.

"Where is she?" he whispered.

"You help me, you get her back," I said.

And so he had. Three days later, me and my four companions escaped. It's amazing what the click of a few security camera buttons and huge carts of laundry will accomplish.

Unfortunately, I couldn't keep my promise to the guard. I was pretty sure his pretty little wife had been supper for a few thick dicked gang members.

But, that's the breaks.

All five of us had split as soon as we escaped. My goon on the outside had been waiting for me with a car. I hopped in and we sped off.

About twenty miles in, he had started to ask about his payment. That's when I had first used my trusty knife. The dumbass had left a perfectly fine knife laying out under my seat in plain view. I leaned forward, grabbed it, and rammed the thing into his neck.

From there on out I had been flying solo.

Kidnapping Brooke had been even easier than the jailbreak. For a fancy ass school, security sucked. The only thing I hadn't counted on was the little boy.

I still had the bite marks. I had almost taken him too--double the pain for my dear ass brother. But that would have been too much trouble. Too much to transport. I couldn't risk it.

I was filled with happiness. For once in my life, it was Nick that was finding out what it felt like to be in a shadow. I was the one that was running the show. He had to listen to me.

A loud sob filled the room. I glanced over to the corner. Brooke's hands and feet were tied with thick rope. Her blonde hair stuck out at jagged angles from the rough cut.

She looked even more like Nick now. My jaw tensed.

"Shut up," I growled.

"I w-w-want my daddy," she bawled.

"If you don't shut the FUCK up I will KILL your dad!" I screamed. Her eyes widened and she turned her face to the wall. Her cheeks were stained with dirt.

I was getting sick of lugging the kid around. I didn't care that she was my niece. In my mind she was just my lottery ticket. When I was finally able to cash in, she would be nothing more than just a piece of paper.

My brother's time was running out.