Page 71 of Deadly Secrets

“…not right now,” I hear. “Wait until we land.”

“He deserves to know,” Havoc grits.

“That’s my call, not yours,” Stone retorts back.

“What’s going on here?” The brothers see me coming and part to make an opening for me.

“Show. Him,” Havoc snarls.

The look of rage on Stone’s face could level the room.

“Show me what?” I ask and look between Prez and Havoc. Stone starts to scrub his face furiously and a boulder drops to the pit of my stomach. Oh, God. It’s about Remi and Ryder. “Show me,” I demand.

The last thing I want is to be treated like a kid who can’t handle his shit.

“Brother, let’s wait until Bishop calls me back with some more info,” Prez tries to placate, but I’m having none of it.

“Show me,” I order, not caring how I speak to the president of our club.

Stone opens his phone and a video is pulled up on the screen. He taps the play button and Juan José appears on the screen. He’s in a white button up shirt and matching fedora hat.

“Hello, Mr. Stone,” he says in a thick accent. “It is unfortunate that we meet like this again. We could work so well together.”

He stands from behind a desk and walks out of his office, down the hall passing a few doors. The video shows him opening the door to an empty room except for a table and chair in the middle.

He motions to someone and says, “Bring them in.” He turns back to the camera then says, “This could’ve all been avoided.”

A few moments go by, but then another door opens on the far side of the room and in walks a tall man who guides my son to the chair behind the desk. He forcibly shoves him down and I watch Ryder winch. I grunt and vow to sever those hands that touched my boy.

Remi argues loudly as she comes on screen, tussles with another large guy that’s almost twice her size. I’ve never been prouder of my woman and her ability not to take shit off of anyone. The closer she comes into view the more I can see her jersey has been ripped opened and she has several bruises forming on her face next to a split lip. My blood that was boiling is now on fire.

They take her to the corner of the room right behind Juan José and hold her against the wall.

“You stole from me. You owe me millions of dollars,” the head of the Colombian cartel says. His voice is getting louder and more and more annoyed. “You killed my only heir. Now I will avenge him and take a son for son.”

Someone hands Juan José a handgun and he starts to walk over to the desk.

“What are you doing?” Remi starts screaming in the corner and struggling against the man holding her. “Leave him alone! He’s just a boy!”

The video doesn’t fully show Ryder but you can see him trying to wrestle against his captor like his mom is doing.

“Stop! No,” I find myself roaring as though I’m in the room with them. “Don’t do it motherfucker.”

My heart is beating so fast as Ryder’s detainer tips the chair back. Juan José kicks the back legs out and my son and the chair land with a loud thud. He is out of view now, but Remi is screaming and begging. All I can do is watch in slow motion as Juan José takes the gun and points at the floor where he just threw my son.

“MOM!” We hear my son cry out for his mother.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the earth-shattering scream that erupts from Remi as the gunshots echo out of the speaker. The bone chilling sound makes my knees buckle but I’m caught by someone before I can hit the ground. Hollering bounces off the walls of the cabin on the plane and I realize that it’s me shouting.

Juan José comes back into view and he wipes his forehead with a handkerchief, like nothing significant just happened in his world. But mine… mine is shattered.

“Bring me back my cocaine by tomorrow evening or I’ll send her head to you in a box,” he says to the camera and then the video ends.