"Jack, we're not calling your brothers. We're not doing this."
"The cops are not going to look for them. They never look for missing kids, that's why they're always missing. I'm calling them and that's final. We're gonna handle this shit our way."
Jack pulled out his phone and went to the backyard, sliding the door shut behind him as Selena collapsed onto the couch. She buried her face in her hands, a river of tears sliding down her cheeks.
Her throat was tight and her heart was in her stomach. She didn't know what to do.
They know who did this but they don't know why and they don't know where he is. All the worst possibilities flooded Selena's mind and she didn't know how to stop it.
What if they're too late?
Jack walked back inside, shoving his phone into his pocket. "They'll be here around one tonight."
Selena looked up at him with watery eyes. "What are we supposed to do until then? Just wait?" She questioned him, clearly pissing him off when his jaw clenched for a split second.
"As much as I hate it, but yeah. We don't know what the fuck is going on yet an-"
Her eyes began to burn and her chest felt heavy as if it were filled with lead. "We don't know what's going on?" She repeated. "Our kids were kidnapped, Jack! That's what's going on!"
"He left the ring here on purpose which means he wants us to find him and that means we're gonna walk into something that's gonna get us and them killed!"
Jack watched as Selena's face fell and her breath become uneven. Small crystal beads trailed down her cheek then down her neck, and her chest only to melt into the beige sweater she was wearing.
Guilt locked in Jack's chest. He then took a seat next to her. "We're gonna get them back, I promise you that we will."
Jack opened the door to see the three of his brothers standing there with frowns on their faces.
"Hey, Cracker Jack." Bobby spoke up first, his tone opposite of his joke. He pulled him into a tight hug and patted his back.
His other two brothers did the same then set their bags down beside the door before following Jack into the living room.
"How's the wife?" Jerry asked, taking a seat on the couch next to Bobby. "She okay?"
Jack shook his. "No. She's the same way any other parent would be."
"Where is she?" Angel asked.
"She's in the room asleep. She was crying all night and eventually tired herself out."
"How you holding up?"
"Sick."
Angel squeezed his shoulder. "We're gonna get them. You have any idea where he is?"
"Yeah. He stays in an apartment in Oakland, on Grove street, in apartment twenty-one."
Bobby stood up. "It's a long drive, so let's head out now. You know how many people are there?"
Jack shrugged and looked up at Bobby. "A lot, maybe. But I'm gonna stay here with her and make sure she's okay."
Bobby nodded. "Okay...We're gonna go get your kids, little brother. We'll be back soon."
The three of them stood up and left the house as quick as they came. Jack walked upstairs and into the bedroom where Selena was still asleep.
He sat on top of the bed next to her, admiring her as she slept, not wanting to wake her up.
Her brown curls were splayed on the pillow her head rested on. Her curvy figure curled to one side as if she was protecting herself. Long, dark, thick eyelashes nearly touched her cheek as her lips were slightly parted.
She seemed so peaceful now, but all of that will fade away when she wakes up into the nightmare of her reality. Sometimes it's better when you're asleep. It's the only way to get away from life.
Then, she woke up. Fluttering her brown eyes open, she gazed up at Jack who smiled at her. "Hey." He softly spoke, beginning to caress her hair.
"Are your brothers here?"
Jack nodded. "They just left. They're going to Oakland and they're gonna bring our kids back." He told her, wrapping one of her curls around his index finger.
"I can't have anything happen to them, Jack. I don't know what I'll do." Floodgates then opened and she began to sob.
Jack pulled her close, letting her clutch onto his shirt and stain it with her tears. "It's all gonna be okay and we'll see them again and then we're gonna get that son of a bitch."
"Who in the fuck is this?" Jack asked as he walked into the entertainment room to see a man bound and gagged in the middle of the room. "Where's Dylan and Naomi?"
Bobby put his hand on the back of the chair, making the man tense. "Not sure yet. Vince wasn't there either. This goon will tell us something though. Right bitch?" He smacked him on the back of the head.
The man's groan was muffled behind the sock inside his mouth, his brows drawn together and face starting to turn red as a cherry.
Jack glared at the goon before looking at his brothers and nodding. "Okay. Put some plastic or something around the room before we get blood on anything. I'm not going back to prison over this."
After a minute of doing so, the four brothers stood around the room, glaring at the man. Jack then strides over to the goon and rips the sock out of his mouth.
His dark side instantly flipping on like a light switch.
"Are you gonna tell me something or are we gonna have to make you?" His voice dropping lower than it usually was.
"Fuck you and your kids."
Jack didn't hesitate to grab the rope off of the pool table then stand behind the chair and wrap it around the front of the goons neck, pulling as hard as he could.
He kept his foot on the chair to make sure it didn't fall back. A strangled scream leaves the man's throat as his dark eyes bulged out of his head.
Jack pulled until the veins showed on the man's purple face, his legs kicking and his body writhing for air.
After he felt Jerry's hand touch his shoulder, he let go of the rope then threw it on the ground as the man desperately breathed for air, coughing every few breath he took.
Angel stepped forward. "Where's the kids?" He tone aggressive and enough to send chills up the goons spine.
Bobby pushed off the pool table and grabbed the man's hair, almost pulling the strands out. "And you better not get smart before I light your ass up like a Christmas tree." He threatened.
The man managed to get a few words out from his hoarse voice. "Vince sold them..."
All four brothers exchanged a mixture of curious and enraged looks before fixing their eyes back on him.
"What do you mean sold?" Jerry asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Vince swallowed hard. "He gave them to a rich couple for some crack."
Jack scoffed and took the eight ball off of the pool table and said as causally as he could, "I'm gonna bash your head in with this if you don't tell me where they are..." He then gritted through his teeth, "Stop lying to me."
"I'm not lying...They live in Beverly Hills. They're a rich couple who can't have kids and they can't adopt cause the husband just got out of prison for murder. Believe what you want, they're your kids."
Jack was at a loss for words and he didn't know what to do. He wanted to lash out on the man, but what good would that do?
"What's the address?" Angel asked.
The goon shrugged hard. "I don't fucking know. They live on Clarkson street and their house is white and blue and they're the only house that has a fountain in the middle of the yard. That's all I can tell you."
Jack nodded. "Alright." His voice is cold and distant, just like his eyes. "Let's get rid of him."
Selena dragged herself out of the bedroom, rubbing her red and swollen eyes. She nearly stumbled when she hit something solid and strong.
She blinked her eyes a few times and looked up to see Jack, exhausted. "Hey." He said.
Selena then took in the person in front of her. And she thought she was still dreaming, cause this was something she never seen before.
Jack's white shirt was stained with tears and soaked with blood. Small red flecks painted his face and even his knuckles were bloody.
Selena became nervous and started to babble. "Jack, what's going on? Where's Naomi and Dylan? Are they back yet? What's that on your face? Is that blood?" She started to tremble and cry for the tenth time today, completely stunned with the scene in front of her.
Jack took a small step forward, his hands shaking, anxious to grab her, but to scared to touch. He doesn't say anything, he only stares at his red covered hands.
After what seemed for hours, Jack averts his gaze from his hands to Selena, seeing how frightened she was by his presence.
It's so much blood.
"They weren't at the house. We know where they are now and that's all that matters." He takes another look at his shirt and hands. "I'm gonna go clean up."
"But- "
Jack flashed an innocent smile that clashed with the blood painted on him. "Don't worry...I'm an expert on getting bloodstains out."
Jack walks into the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving her completely horrified and struck dumb.
She never seen Jack like that. That one time he beat Ethan to death wasn't the same as this. And she was barley conscious when he did that, everything was a blur that night.
But now, she seen the other side. The blood was enough to tell her what happened. And then he smiled and laughed it off like it was a joke, like it didn't matter.
Like someone's life didn't matter.
And then again, he did it twice, so maybe he was used to it, but Selena could see for a split second, he couldn't even realize what he had done.
Selena's heart drummed in her ears as she began to walk downstairs and into the entertainment room where three of the Mercer brothers seemed in deep conversation until Bobby noticed her.
"Look, one of two of my favorite sister in laws." Bobby shot Angel a playful smirk as Angel only glared back at him, Jerry chuckling.
"Hey, girl." Bobby hugged her tight. "Everything's gonna be okay. We're gonna get this bitch and we're gonna get those kids."
"Thank you." She choked up, still shocked by everything going on. Angel and Jerry hugged her tight as well, saying the same thing, but she paid no mind. She tried to examine the room to find anything weird, but nothing seemed out of place.
The only thing that stuck out was Bobby's and Angel's knuckles, bloody and bruised like Jack's.
Jerry was the only one clean though - she still doubted that he didn't have anything to do with it cause she knew he did.
He wasn't always the one to kill someone, but he always stood behind his brothers, no matter what the decision was and he wasn't against killing anyone who did them dirty.
"Let's go."
Selena turned around to see Jack in new clothes, clean as if nothing happened. He was standing in the doorway, the keys circling his index finger.
His brothers then walked out of the room with him, Selena following behind. "Jack, where are you going?"
He turned around as his brothers continued down the hallway, waiting by the front door. "I'm going to get the kids. I'll be back." He began to walk towards the door.
"I'm coming with you."
Jack shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous." He began to turn back around, but Selena grabbed his wrist.
"Those are my kids too." Putting a hand on his cheek, she pushed everything she had just seen aside and gazed into Jack's blue eyes, seeing the man she always known. "And you're my husband and we're a family...You aren't going without me."
She then leaned up a bit, pressing her lips to his for the first time in a week. He savored the taste of salt on lips from the tears she'd been crying as she tasted copper on his.
Jack pulled away, stroking her hair, he gazed into her deep brown eyes that were nearly red. "I love you. Now, let's go get them."