CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

What they didn’t suspect was that Roger Rittenhauser’s phone would be pinging in Jericho. And had been stationary in that location from the day he was seen on camera in that Impala with Gloria Sinatra. And to Charles’s surprise, the phone was pinging from the inner space of the Fordham property.

“What’s the Fordham property?” Mick asked.

“Jake Fordham rents it from me,” said Charles. “I was going to evict his ass when I got the call from Hammer to get to Montreal. After I got Jenay back, I forgot all about him.”

“Why would Jake Fordham be tied up with Roger Rittenhauser?” asked Jenay. “He doesn’t even like people.”

“But he loves money,” said Charles, “and has little of it. Whereas Rittenhauser, if we’re to believe Hammer Reese, has plenty of it to throw around.”

“Then let’s get to the Fordham property,” Mick said, rising to his feet.

Over the objections of nearly everyone, especially Oz, Mick and Charles selected Brent only to go with them to Maine, because the three of them knew the territory the best, and because they wanted as small a footprint as possible. Charles didn’t like any of his children involved in anything related to Mick and his dealings, but Brent was the police chief of Jericho. He could handle himself anywhere, Charles knew, but especially in his own town.

But it took Alex Drakos physically restraining his brother from going to Jericho and to get him to realize Mick and Charles were right. They knew the town. They had to handle this alone.

Instead of Mick’s plane landing in Jericho, it landed two towns over and then they drove over to Jericho in a black Tahoe Mick’s men had waiting for him. Brent was thrilled to be on assignment with his father and legendary uncle as he drove them to the vast Fordham property. But his thrill was tempered because of why they were there: his beloved little cousin was being held captive there.

Brent parked at the back of the property and they began walking the two football fields’ distance to the main house. But as they walked, Charles remembered who he was dealing with. And he stopped suddenly.

“What is it, Pop?” Brent asked.

“Jake wouldn’t have her in the main house. Not that slick bastard. He knows that’ll be the first and perhaps only place we check.”

“There’s no other house on this property,” Brent said.

“A house, no. A shed, yes. He has her in that shed.” And Charles began walking toward the western side of the property as if he knew that was where they’d find her.

Mick’s jaw tightened at the thought of his child being held captive in some shed, but he followed his brother and nephew through high brush and poorly maintained land until a tiny shed appeared.

But Charles stopped suddenly, causing Mick to bump into him and Brent to bump into his uncle. “Back up,” Charles whispered anxiously and they backed back into the wooded area they were about to leave.

When they looked, they saw Big Jake Fordham coming out of the shed dragging a tied up Gloria behind him.

Charles looked at Brent and Brent took off running through the woods to the left side, where he could cut Jake off should he drive left. Charles took off running through the woods to the right should Jake decide to drive right. Mick cocked his rifle and headed straight for Jake. All three men were running as fast as they could because they knew, if Jake were to leave that place with Gloria, he could panic and kill her before they caught up with them again.

Mick wanted to get a shot off, but he couldn’t because Jake was shielding his own body with Gloria’s body. But just as he was about to shove her into his pickup truck, Mick knew he had to do something to stop him from putting Gloria into that truck. He couldn’t take a shot: he was too far away, and one move by Jake could cause Gloria to take the bullet.

He had no choice but to engage him. “Jake Fordham!” Mick yelled out.

Jake turned quickly. When he saw Mick with his rifle aimed at him, he placed Gloria’s body in front of his body. He already had a gun on her. He placed it to her head.

“Daddy!” Gloria cried out when she saw her father. She had nothing but terror in her voice. “ Daddy !”

“Stay back or I’ll blow her brains out!” Jake yelled back. “I ain’t playing now. Stay back!”

Mick stopped walking when he could tell how scared Jake was. He played to that fear. “Just leave my daughter and you’re free to go. I won’t even follow you. Just leave my daughter right there and you can go.”

“That ain’t gonna happen. Where I go, she go. But if you come any closer, and if you try to shoot out my tires or anything like that, I’ll put a bullet through her head, I declare I will! Now drop your weapon!”

When Mick hesitated, he fired a shot just to the right of Mick. Most men would have flinched and cowered immediately. Not Mick. Because he had taken the measure of the man. Jake was the coward. He was the flincher. But Mick also knew what he was up against. He had no options because he didn’t know the topography of that land. But he knew Charles and Brent knew it. He had to depend on them to save his child. He slowly sat his rifle down.

As soon as he did, Jake shoved Gloria into his pickup and then hopped in himself. But as soon as he hopped in and was about to speed away, Charles came running out of those woods from the right side. Brent came running out of those woods from the left side, and both of them aimed their rifles squarely at Jake’s face from the very front as they ran toward that truck.

Because Jake knew they were both positioned to put bullets straight through that windshield, which meant straight through his forehead, he quickly dropped his weapon and held up both hands.

“Get out of that truck and get out now!” Brent yelled like the police chief he was, and Jake followed orders. Mick ran up to the passenger side door as Brent and Charles grabbed Jake. Mick opened the passenger door and grabbed his daughter.

Gloria, so relieved she couldn’t stop sobbing, fell into her father’s arms. Her arms were tied behind her back, and Mick pulled out his pocket knife and untied her quickly. Then he looked her up and down. She looked terrified, but otherwise fine. “Are you okay?”

“I was so scared, Daddy. They killed all your men.”

Mick was already distressed. He nodded. “I know,” he said. “But did he do anything to you?”

Gloria quickly shook her head. “No sir. He had just got a phone call like two hours ago. He said we were leaving at daybreak. Said he didn’t like to drive in the dark. That’s why we were just leaving.”

“Who called him?”

Gloria shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Mick walked with Gloria as she was still clinging to him with both of her arms around his waist. They walked around to the driver side where Brent was putting Jake in handcuffs.

Charles went to Gloria and put his arms around her too, smoothing down her hair. “You’re alright, baby?” he asked her.

“Yes sir.” She leaned more toward her Uncle Charles, who was very nurturing, although she kept her arms around Mick, who was very protective. She needed both.

“He just got a phone call two hours ago,” Mick said to Charles.

“A call?” Charles looked at Jake. “Who called you?”

Jake at first said nothing. But his silence cost him because Charles took the brunt of his rifle and slammed it against Jake’s face so hard that blood spewed out and Jake screamed out. “You broke my nose!”

“Who called your ass?!” Charles yelled above his screams.

“Ritt,” Jake said quickly this time, terrified that crazy Big Daddy Sinatra would strike him again. “Ritt called me.”

“Who’s Ritt?” Brent asked, although they already knew.

“Roger Rittenhauser. We call him Ritt. He owns that tattoo place.”

“What would he want with you?”

“He’s the one hired me to hold the girl. Said she messed with the wrong client and she had to be punished. I didn’t know she was related to you, Big Daddy, or I would have told him no.”

“Fuck you!” said Charles. “You don’t give a damn about who she’s related to. How much he paid you?”

“Ten thousand up front. Fifty thousand when I deliver her to Philadelphia.”

Charles and Mick glanced at each other. “Where in Philly?” Mick asked.

“He said when I get in the city limits, he would call me with the address.”

“How would he know when you’re in the city limits?”

“He gave me his phone. It has a tracker on it.”

Mick looked at Charles. “What you think?”

“We can fly to Philly in an hour and a half. Be there waiting for the call and ready to go when it comes in. It takes six-and-a-half-hours to drive to Philly. That’ll give us plenty of time.” Charles looked at Jake. “Give me your phone.”

Jake gave up the phone as he continued to wipe the blood from his face and nose.

Charles gave the phone to his oldest son. “Brent, you drive his truck to Philly with his phone by your side at all times.”

“My tech team will divert the call from Jake’s phone to my phone,” said Mick, “and they’ll do it without the caller knowing it so that Jake will answer the call on cue. Then we’ll take it from there.”

Brent nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Your job is to drive to Philly, no diversions, and keep that phone on your person the entire time,” said Charles. “But if anything is out of the ordinary, you call me right away.”

Brent nodded. “I got it, Pop, don’t worry.”

Charles hated that his son was involved in this, but his knowledge of the land came in handy. He grabbed him around the neck, gave him a kiss on his forehead, and watched him get in Jake’s pickup and drive away.

“If it’s the same guy like Hammer claims, he was willing to pay everybody else four million to do their dirty work,” said Charles to Mick. “But he’s only willing to pay his ass sixty thousand?”

“Those other guys were in the game a long time,” said Mick. “They came at a premium price. You read the room and pay accordingly. He read the room, saw this Gomer Pyle-looking dick, and paid accordingly,” Mick said.

Charles laughed. But Mick had a question. “Gloria?”

“Sir?”

“Why did you get in the car with that fellow?”

“Because I knew him. I was opening up a second restaurant across town and I hired him to paint the front mural. He said it was ready and he wanted me to ride with him so that we could see it and discuss the numbers. He was a bit overbudget and we were laughing about that because I told him I don’t pay overbudget. But I never dreamed he would kill my security detail and kidnap me.”

“He’s not the guy you referred to as Aristotle is he?” asked Mick.

“The guy that’s teaching me Greek? No way. Why would you think it was him?”

“Long story,” said Mick.

“Let’s get you home to your husband and to Bella,” said Charles. “They’re worried sick about you.”

“Why didn’t Oz come with you?” asked Gloria.

“Same reason I wouldn’t allow Teddy to come. Too close to you,” said Mick. “We had to keep emotions out of this.”

But I’m close to you, Daddy , she wanted to say, and you came . But she looked at her Uncle Charles instead.

Charles shook his head. The hypocrisy of Mick’s actions always astounded him. “Don’t ask,” Charles said to Gloria, and she grinned. And then they headed with their prisoner to their SUV feeling a lot lighter, because they had Gloria back, but still concerned because their number one nemesis was still out there.