Chapter 15

"Where's Sam?" He demanded as he looked around the room, the pillows were knocked in an untidy manner and the laptop was on the floor, it didn't look like much but it was enough. "WHERE THE HELL IS SAM?!"

"I…. I don't know." Spinelli looked around the room, missing the frantic look in Jason's eyes but noticed the laptop lying carelessly on the floor. Tossing his sandwich and drink on the table behind the couch, he practically sprinted for the shiny toy that was in Fair Samantha's care. Picking it up from the ground, he dusted and petted the machine then carefully placed it on the coffee table not even registering that Jason was running through the penthouse in a panic.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'? Where is she? What were you guys doing? Did she say she was going anywhere?" Jason wasn't sure what to think, he had a bad feeling since she had left him in the hospital and now he knew that something bad happened to Sam. He could feel it.

"I…. I'm not sure….. I was in the kitchen preparing my meal while Fair Samantha was looking at video footage to find out who wounded Stone Cold and the Divine One… I… I thought I heard voices but when I came out here… no one was here, not even Fair Samantha."

"What were you looking at? Show me!" Jason demanded, maybe she had found something, maybe she found a clue. But she wouldn't go without him to face the threat… Would she? Of course she would! Especially if he was in the hospital. Damn it! He never should have let her leave his sight.

Following Spinelli, Jason went over to the desk, on his laptop was the picture of the lobby and the back doors. There were too many people going in and out, too many guards, the guy would have gone a different way. "Show me what Sam was looking at?" He demanded again thinking about the way Manny got in, as he strode to the machine sitting on the coffee table. Before sitting down, he saw a glimpse of white beneath his black boots, whatever it was, was half way under the couch. He bent over picking up the white rag, a distinct odor coming off of it, he had an idea what it was and it made his chest tighten at the thought, but hearing Spinelli whisper out despairingly "Oh no…" his worst fears became reality. His eyes immediately darted to the computer, and he couldn't control the rage that was blinding him. "That SON OF A BITCH!" He bellowed out at seeing the screen frozen, probably from when the laptop fell during an obvious struggle, none other than Aidan Devane climbing down from the penthouse roof and into his balcony. That was the bastard that drugged him and Brenda, posed us to look like we slept together and sat back and waited for Sam to come running to him. Turning to the mantle, he roared. "BASTARD!" as he swiped all the contains in his fit of rage, sending picture frames and vases crashing to the floor.

"Jason! You need to control yourself, man!" Sonny knew what his friend was feeling, the same as he had when Sam had told him earlier about what had happened to Brenda. But he never expected Aidan, Robin's cousin, to do this. Looking down at the screen he noticed that Spinelli was frantically typing away at the computer until another image popped up. "JASON! You gotta see this!"

He had Sam. Aidan had Sam and Jason was aching to get his hands on him. He could literally feel his chest compress tight as his eyes moved down to look at the screen before him. He could feel the ice seep in his blood stream, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, he could smell the odor of chloroform coming off of the rag fisted in his shaking hands making him feel sick as he stared at the image of Aidan caring Sam out the back door of the building after distracting the guards. His heart demanding he get her back but his soul demanded blood and retribution. Grabbing the coffee table with both hands, he lifted it up and flung it upside down, crashing it and all its contents to the floor. He ran to the closet and grabbed his gun from the box. "Spinelli, he's staying at the Metro Court. Call me with a room number!" Without a glance back, Jason bolted out the door with Sonny on his heels wanting a little revenge of his own.

Forgetting the fallen laptop on the floor, Spinelli stumbled over to the desk. His emotions were on high, fear and guilt warring within him, he was afraid for his partner and he felt a deep guilt set in that if he had gotten to her in the first place, none of this would have happened. Typing furiously, Spinelli vowed that he would help Stone Cold find Fair Samantha, and make it up to her somehow. He just hoped that it wasn't too late.

*******************************************

Aidan couldn't help but glance at the rearview mirror every few seconds, having adjusted it to reflect the image of the sleeping beauty that was in his back seat. He still couldn't believe that he had her, that she was finally with him. He originally went over to the penthouse to apologize to her, to maybe soften her up towards him, to see that she needed him now more than ever and that the enforcer was only going to hurt her once again. What he didn't count on, was for her to find out that he was the one that drugged Morgan, that he was the one that broke in to set everything in motion. That was his first mistake. His Samantha was not only beautiful beyond measure but she was also a smart, clever little lass. She was everything that he had ever dreamed about, not even Greenlee or Kendall could dare stand to be in comparison. Samantha was in a league all on her own, and she was finally, FINALLY with him.

His focus was too much on the woman in the backseat, so much that he failed to see a black heavily tinted SUV come up to his rear, another to his right, another to his left. When he finally looked up to the road, he slammed on his breaks as another SUV was stopped in the road ahead of him. Looking left and right, then back, Aidan cursed to himself for not paying attention. Four dark and dangerous looking SUV's had boxed him in, effectively surrounding him. It wasn't until two big men carrying guns that stepped out of each truck, total of eight men all together, too many for him to take down and at the same time making sure that Samantha was safe.

"Step out of the car!"

Aidan looked up to see a man waving his gun as he motioned for him to exit the car. Reluctantly he agreed after weighing his options, he came out the loser each time. If he made a run for it, they would have Samantha, and Aidan would be damned if they took her away from him. She was HIS! Opening the door slowly, Aidan stood up as he raised his arms in the air. "What the hell is the meaning of all this?"

"The Balkan wants a word with you." The same man looked to his men and signaled them over. Four men came up to Aidan, turned him around and made him place his hands on the hood of his car as they searched him and stripped him of his weapons and cell phone. That hadn't bothered him so much, but what made him struggle against the binds they were placing on him, when two other men opened the back seat and gently removed his Samantha.

"NO! LEAVE HER ALONE!" He struggled with all of his might but it was no use, they had already bound him and were placing him in the car. "What do you want from her? Your quarrel is with me! LET HER GO!" He watched in horror, sandwiched between two men with guns, as the man outside climbed into another SUV with Samantha cradled in his arms.

The guy turned around. "The boss would like a word with both of you." He flashed a set of pearly whites. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride." He laughed as he turned back around as they pulled out.

Aidan's eyes were glued on the SUV ahead of them, Samantha was in there, in another man's arms, asleep and helpless. His heart ached at the thought, no one should be touching her but him, she belonged to him, in his arms. Taking a deep breath, Aidan knew that he had to play it cool. This wasn't the first time he was taken into enemy territory. His Special Ops training were coming back to him. He was going to get them out of this, and then they would be free.

*****************************************

Jason stood back after yanking out the last drawer of the dresser, cursing profusely as it slid out easily because it was empty. Every drawer was empty, the closet was empty, every single shred of existence of Aidan Devane was gone. Not even a note littered the trash…. Nothing. When they had first arrived, he had called his men earlier, met up with Cody, Max and Milo, and couple from their own cleaning crew to tear this place apart. He wasn't stupid, he knew that Aidan would never bring Sam back here, not if he wanted to stay alive. Jason had his men search every inch of the already trashed room for any clues to help him find out where Devane may have taken Sam. So far… nothing.

Hearing his phone ring, Jason answered Spinelli's call. "Please tell me you found something."

"I'm sorry Stone Cold, the Jackal is most distressed to inform you that I haven't been able to find anything. The car they were in was driving north, and then it just disappeared. A few of the street cameras were unplugged due to construction and some others weren't in working order. I'm sorry Sto….."

"Try harder!" Jason interrupted, not really wanting to hear the kid's apology or excuses. "And I want you to dig up EVERYTHING you can find on Aidan Devane, including the time he was in Special Ops and even his family, ALL OF THEM! I don't care what you have to do to get this info Spinelli, I want it done, NOW!" He hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He turned to Sonny, seeing the question in the man's eyes, Jason answered as he shook his head. He was thankful when the other man didn't push him to say more. Turning back to work, to keep his hands busy from breaking anything he can see, he went to search in the closet for any scrap of evidence as his men searched the bathroom and desk with a fine tooth comb. He was desperate to find something, anything that can get him one step closer to Sam.

**********************************************

For the past 20 minutes, Aidan was gagged and bound to a steel chair in a dark office. When the SUVs came to a halt, he was forced from the truck, led into this dark office and was forced to sit here and wait for their employer, whoever this Balkan person was, to arrive. He had been worried sick about Samantha. He had watched with fury as they had extracted her carefully out from the SUV and taken further away from him to another room. He had no idea where they were and his worry had turned to anger just thinking about what they were doing to her. It was his fault that she was unconscious, she couldn't even defend herself. But that was what he was for. He just needed to get out of this mess. He worked frantically at the ties around his wrists when the door opened, he stopped immediately and looked up to see a big bald man in an expensive suit heading towards the massive desk in front of him.

"Mr. Devane, thank you kindly for doing my dirty work for me. I'm so glad that you could join us."

"I presume you're the Balkan. What do you want from us?"

"Oh not you my boy, it's what I want from her?" Picking up the phone, he dialed a number and spoke in a foreign language, calling for his guard. "Now, what am I going to do with you?"

"Look, just let us go… or… or let her go and I'll help you. You want Ms. Barrett right? Fine. I've gotten to her once, I can do it again. Just let Samantha go." Aidan pleaded with the man.

"I'll let her go as soon as Morgan brings me Ms. Barrett, if not, then he can just goodbye to his little girlfriend." The Balkan looked up just as his office door opened, entering the guard he had just called for. "Andre, take Mr. Devane to Ms. McCall's room, and prepare her for our trip." Picking up the phone that was found on Ms. McCall as soon as his guard exited with Devane, he searched her call log and redialed a number.

****************************************

After what seemed an endless search, Jason and his crew found nothing, nothing that could help him find out where Aidan was taking Sam. The only clue Spinelli gave him was that they were heading north, but that was no help either. He could be anywhere right now and the bastard had Sam. Hearing his phone ring, he hoped it was Spinelli, but the caller ID gave him an immense amount of hope. "SAM!"

"Mr. Morgan, it's about time we had a little chat."

Jason pulled the phone from his ear and looked at the caller ID again, completely confused why it would say Sam's name, unless… his blood ran cold with the next words.

"Did you lose something Mr. Morgan? I must say that I was in complete shock when I find out that someone else had the same idea as I did."

"What the hell have you done with Sam?!" Jason growled out as he paced back and forth the Metro Court room, suddenly the space was too tight for him. He raked his hands through his hair with agitation. "Was Devane working for you?"

"I'm afraid not. I just acquired his services a few moments ago when we followed him from your building carrying an unconscious Ms. McCall. She's quite beautiful, but I'm sure you already know that."

"What do you want?" Jason was prepared to give him anything for Sam's safe return in his arms, even if it meant giving up his own life.

"Meet me at the private airstrip in exactly one hour, and bring Ms. Barrett with you. It's simple Mr. Morgan, I get Brenda and you get Samantha back. One hour." He stressed then hung up.

Jason was ready to toss the phone across the room, but he couldn't, that was his only link to Sam. Looking up at Sonny, Jason already knew what the answer was going to be, because if it was reversed, there was no in hell he would give up Sam so Sonny could have Brenda. He repeated the conversation to the other men in the room, Sonny was already shaking his head and Jason was losing all hope. He understood how Sonny felt, hated it with every fiber in his being, but he understood.

"I have an idea…" Max spoke up through the silence. He wasn't happy at all with the way things were turning out, not happy at all to hear that Sam was kidnapped first by this Aidan guy and now by the Balkan. He knew what Brenda meant to Sonny, but Sam meant so much more to him and the rest of the guys including Jason. When all eyes turned to him, he spoke up. "I say we send a team in there now. Set up snipers on the surrounding buildings, get them ready. We can have Ms. Barrett with us and when the exchange is to be made, we come out. First protect the girls, then take the Balkan down. We can have Dante and Lucky there to make sure that our bases are covered." Seeing the hesitation in his boss' eyes and desperation in Jason's, Max pressed on. "Come on Mr. C, you know I'm an excellent shot with the sniper. I'll take the Balkan out myself personally before he can get to Ms. Barrett." He looked back and forth between the two men. "We have to help Ms. McCall."

Jason could barely hold on to his emotions, Max, his employee was fighting for him, was fighting for Sam and Jason couldn't have been more grateful. Seeing the rest of the men nod and stand by him, Jason finally had a sense of hope that he was going to get Sam back.

****************************************

Seeing Samantha lying there so peaceful, Aidan was awestruck once again with her beauty. She was sleeping, it didn't matter that it was a drug induced sleep, he was just thankful that she had no idea what was happening around them. Thinking up a quick plan to get them out of there, a soft voice broke through his thoughts. "Mmmm…" Came a soft gentle moan, it flowed over his skin like a warm breeze, warming him up heating him from the inside out. He bent down and gently petted her hair as he kissed her warm soft cheek. "Shh…. Just sleep Samantha, I'll get us out of here."

Standing up, he went to the door and began to pound. "HELP! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER! SHE'S NOT BREATHING!" He stood back, behind the door and prepared himself as the door suddenly swung open and a guard came rushing through. Raising his arm up, using the training they beat into him at Special Ops, he clenched his fist and smashed it to the back of the guys head, effectively knocking him out. Grabbing the fallen guard's gun and cell phone, he scooped Samantha up in his eager arms again and ran out the door.

After hot wiring one of the SUVs, Aidan hit the gas and drove them out of the Balkan's lair. He adjusted the rear view mirror again, his eyes going back and forth to watch the road ahead and to watch his lovely Samantha sleeping. The drug in her system should be wearing off soon. He needed to get to his car and get to his supply, she needed a much stronger dose. Hearing a cell phone break the silence, Aidan pulled it out of his pocket, it was the phone that he swiped from the guard. Assuming that it was the Balkan, Aidan pulled over next to a busy coffee shop to answer. "Pizza, pizza." He was a smart ass, he could admit to that.

"I'm not very amused Mr. Devane."

Aidan smiled, relishing in the fact that the older man was annoyed. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn! Look, I have no illusions on what you do and how much power you have and honestly I don't feel like looking over my shoulder ever minute to see when you'd be coming for me, I already have Morgan filling up that slot. Now, I have an idea where we can both get what we want." He said just as he caught the sight of a petit brunette smiling at him. He loved brunettes.

"Alright, I'm listening."