Chapter One
I was pacing back and forth in my room as Cody took a nap, Brian watching my every move as he knew I was flustered.
âHow is it that this is even possible! Hayden said he confirmed her death! She slit her wrists in a bathtub! She canât be here!â I whisper shout.
âI have no idea Samantha, but I donât like it. They so happen to get on a flight with you, you were alone with Cody and they just walk past you like itâs nothing. They have to be planning something. Why would Lizzy even be with Craig, heâs a nobodyâ Brian grumbles, his hands rubbing over his face with stress.
âIâm calling Jayden and getting him to come get Cody, I need him as far away from her as possible. Beckâs getting in contact with Hayden to figure him out and I have no idea what they are up to!â I raise my hands in exasperation.
âSo youâre staying here?â Brian asks.
âUntil I find out what they are doing, yes. Jayden and the others will protect the kids, but I canât have them near her. Not after last time.â I say as I look over my little boy, sound asleep like an angel.
âNo one is ever going to touch him again Sammy, you donât need to worry about thatâ Brian smiles, his hand taking mine.
My phone rings as I quickly answer before it wakes Cody.
âHey babeâ I answer.
âHey, whatâs going on? Harvey said it was an emergencyâ Jayden said in a panic.
âI need you to come and get Cody, take him home and stay far from here.â I answer.
âWhy?â He asks.
âLizzy, sheâs not deadâŠSheâs hereâŠwith Craig, I donât know what they are playing at, but they were on my plane. I donât want our boy anywhere near them while I figure this out, so I need to know heâs safe. Promise me, youâll get him and keep him safe.â I say as Brian squeezes my hand in support.
âYou know I would die for him Sammy. Iâll get a flight as soon as I can. Weâll deal with this Kitten. Iâll grab one of the guys to come with me. Any preferences from the little guy?â Jayden replies.
âTaylor or Grandpa, he loves them bothâ I answer.
âDone. Weâll figure this out. Stay safe, Iâll be there as soon as I canâ
âLove you Jayâ I smile.
âLove you too Kittenâ He says as he hangs up.
âYou two are sickeningâ Brian fake gags and I laugh.
âYouâre just jealousâ I smirk shoving him playfully.
âShut upâ He groans and gets up.
âWhere are you going?â I ask.
âIâm going to see if Beckâs found anything outâ He says as I nod.
Jayden: Taylorâs coming with me, we have a flight in two hours. Hold on baby, weâre coming xx
Sammy: See you soon, be careful. Tell Taylor to head to my old house, he knows the way xx
Jayden: Your old house? The one that burnt down. X
Sammy: They rebuilt it. Itâs beautiful Jay, I canât wait for you to see it x
Jayden: See you soon, I love you both. Tell Brian he better keep my girl and little boy safe xx
Sammy: Just get here, Iâm capable of keeping us safe babe. Brianâs just a bonus gun x
Jayden: Oh I know you can handle yourself, but you donât need to do it alone x
Sammy: I know. Just get your ass here. See you soon xx
Jayden: Love you, see you soon Kitten x
âMummmâ Cody mumbles as he wakes up from his nap as I smile and pick him up.
âHave a good nap kiddo?â I ask as he clings to me.
âStill sleepy Mummyâ he mumbles as I chuckle.
âDaddyâs coming here todayâ I say as he perks up.
âDADDY!â He squeals in my ear.
âYouâre going to go home with him. I need to sort out some boring work and I canât watch you all the time, so heâs bringing Uncle Taylor here with him to get you and then youâll go home while I sort it out and then Iâll come home to you. Is that ok?â I tell him as he frowns.
âMummy stay while Cody go home?â He frowns.
âYes, but mummy will come home soonâ I reply.
âNo. Mummy come home now with Codyâ He huffs.
âCody, I canât, I have work to doâ I sigh.
âCody want Mummy to come home!â Cody screams.
âWoah there, buddy! Whatâs with the screaming?â Brian comes in quickly to see Cody grumpy in my arms.
âMummy no come home with Cody.â
âCody, I need mummy to help me with some work. But itâs not something you can be here for. Weâll be very busy. I will bring Mummy home when weâre done. I will come with her for a visit too yeah?â He says as I see Cody contemplate in his head.
âUncle Brian come with Mummy home?â Cody mumbles.
âYes, Iâll come home with mummyâ He smiles and takes Codyâs hand.
âFine, Cody go home with Daddy and Uncle Tay, but Mummy come later wit Uncle Bwian.â Cody nods as I sigh in relief kissing his head and nodding to Brian in thanks.
âHow about we go to the park?â Brian smiles as Codyâs face lights up with joy as he scrambles out of my arms and runs into Brianâs as they run off downstairs. I follow a little behind, grabbing my gun and hiding it in a holster under my jacket, just in case.
âMake sure you put a coat on him!â I shout down the stairs.
âYes MUMâ Brian laughs, and I shake my head with a smirk.
We get ready to go to the park and slowly walk there it wasnât far at all.
âMummy old park?â Cody faces me and points.
âYeah buddy, my mummy used to bring me here tooâ I smile.
I remember me and Jason playing in this park happily before our whole lives changed for the worse.
âMummy sadâŠâ He frowns and stops.
âMummy just misses her mummyâ Brian ruffles Codyâs gorgeous curly, mouse brown hair.
âMummy come play with Codyâ Cody grabs my hand and drags me with him to the swings.
I place him in the swing as he giggles when I push him, screaming to go higher as Brian takes a few photos of us all together.
Brian takes Cody to the sand pit as I watch them together from the bench.
âHe looks healthyâ the bench creaks as someone joins me on the bench as I flinch.
âYou shouldnât be hereâ I growl.
âSam, please, Iâm not going to hurt him. Iâm sorryâ Lizzy says as I look at her.
âLeave. I donât want you near my sonâ I snap.
âOk. But we need your helpâ Lizzy sighs standing as I notice Brian get up, alert with Cody in his arms.
âWhy should I help you? You faked your own deathâŠYou tried to kill my sonâŠWhy should I help you?â I ask as I signal for Brian to go home.
âMummy!â Cody screams for me as Brian walks off.
âMummy will be there soon baby!â I shout as he cries in Brianâs arms, kicking and screaming.
âI wonât hurt himâ Lizzy says.
âThatâs what I thought last timeâŠLook what happened thenâŠâ I growl.
âJust promise youâll help me, and I will never ask anything of you again. I wonât go near Codyâ
âWhat do you need me for?â I ask, my eyes scouring the area.
âCraig heard about someone going up against my father. He fully backed Bryant but has managed to keep quiet all these years. No one knows who he is. Until Craig heard a few things in prisonâŠHe has a few friends inside still listening for him. This man wants to take down every mafia known. He wants total control and the Midnight Rose is one of the ones he wants. My father and you have some of the biggest mafia groups in the world. This man threatens the whole balance you want to keep. I pretended to die to go under the radar. Turns out this guy likes young blondes, heâs into everything we hate. Human trafficking, sex rings, all of it. I need your help to take him down or we could all dieâ She says as I look in her eyes, searching for whether she was telling the truth.
âWhy should I trust either you or Craig?â I ask.
âYou loved me onceâŠI owe you a huge debt after what I did. But I will not have my father killed. Heâs tried to help me so many times as Iâve failed him time and time again. Just as I failed you. Craig was in my clinicâŠWe talked heâs been helping meâŠâ She says as I laugh.
âHeâs helping youâŠThis is CraigâŠHe likes to play with women, pulled a gun on me and my GrandpaâŠHe doesnât help anyone but himselfâ I say snidely.
âJust take this. It has everything we have so far. My new number is in there. No matter what though, Cody is safe from me. Iâm better, I swear. Iâve been taking my medications and Craig talks to me. Iâm better I swearâ She says handing over an envelope.
âIâll look at it. No promises. Iâll be in touchâ I say as I begin to walk away.
âThank you Sammyâ She sighs.
âJust know Lizzy, you cross me or my family this time, thereâs a bullet with your name on itâ I growl as she nods and walks away.
âSammy! Youâre ok!â Beck drives up to me on the way back with a couple of his men in the car as they get out, looking around the area, searching for Lizzy.
âSheâs goneâ I say, and they nod at me.
âGet in the carâ Beck orders as I get in and we drive a few seconds down the road to the house. Getting out as I race into the house, hearing Cody screaming out.
âBaby, mummyâs here, Iâm hereâ I say as I kneel in front of him as his tears soak my t-shirt.
âWhat happened?â Brian asks.
I throw the envelope onto the table as he just looks at it.
Beckâs the first to grab it and open it.
âIâd heard rumours about thisâŠI didnât think it was true...â Beck said.
âSammy!â Jaydenâs voice shouted from the door as they knocked heavily.
âDaddy!â Cody squeals as I grab him and race to the door opening it.
âHey there buddyâ Jayden smiles as Cody jumps from my arms and into his.
âWhy are you wearing, we have a problem face?â Taylor asks as they enter the house.
âDaddy, uncle bwian take me from park when mummy talk to lady!â Cody grumbles angrily.
âWhat lady?â Taylor raises a brow.
âLizzyâ I answer, and he stands still in shock.
âSheâs supposed to be deadâŠâ He says.
âYeah, thatâs what we all thought. But, trust me, sheâs aliveâ I sigh as we sit in the lounge as Cody hugs into Jayden tightly.
âYou need to look at this Samâ Beck hands the envelope to me as I take out the papers inside, Taylor looking over my shoulder.
I looked at some of the images.
âHold on, thatâs one of your Grandpa Jonâs galaâs from years agoâŠLook, thatâs youâ Taylor points to me in the image, I was about fifteen in the image.
âThis one too⊠But thatâs the boarding school danceâŠThis man, he was our head masterâŠWhy is he in all of these images?â I ask looking to Beck.
âLook at the other pageâ He says as I bring out another, it describes, people, places, locations of sex trafficking rings.
Then the name of the head of the MafiaâŠ
âNo way was Mr Henderson the leader of another mafiaâ Taylor gasps.
âHold on, the headmaster of your old boarding school is the leader of some mafia? What do Lizzy and Craig have to do with this?â Jayden asks.
âDaddy whatâs a maâŠmafaâŠmafia?â Cody asks as I tilt my head back and groan.
âOh, uhh, itâs a very big family that protects people. But some arenât so nice.â Jayden answers and he seems to just take it and continue playing.
âThis is why Lizzy needs me⊠I can get close to them without suspicion, they already know me. But they donât know that I know about themâ I say.
âYouâre not doing it aloneâ Taylor says.
âYou have to go home with Cody and Jaydenâ I urge.
âNo, Brian can go with them. We went to that school together. They know we stick together like glue. We do this together. Like old timesâ Taylor says.
âI donât knowâŠâ I sigh.
âHeâs right. You both knew this man before. You could get closer to him.â Beck says.
âLooks like weâre going back to schoolâ I groan.