"Mommy…" Grace's teeth chattered as she scooted closer to her mother. "It's cold…"
"I know, sweetheart. I know," she replied. Eddie opened up her jacket and pulled Grace into it then zipped it up. They'd been locked in the room for a few hours now and it was starting to get cold. They both had light jackets on but they weren't working well anymore. She knew that she soon needed to find a way to get them out of here. The door didn't have any notable locks so she was tempted to go try and see if it would open. If she was honest, she was a little hesitant due to having Grace with her. She didn't want to do anything that could place her daughter in danger. But, time was of the essence and she needed to try and get them out of here one way or another.
"Grace," Eddie whispered. "I need to go see if that door will open up. If it's open, I'm going to go out and check if I can see anything. You need to stay right here and not move a muscle until I come back, okay?"
The four year old looked up at her mother in worry, "Why are you leaving?"
"I'm not leaving, honey," she reassured, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her daughter's ear. "I would never leave you. I need to find a way to get us out of here. I'm coming right back here to you. I promise."
"Okay," Grace replied gently.
Eddie unzipped the jacket and lifted Grace out of it. She took off the jacket and wrapped it around the little girl as she stood up. She sat her back down against the wall.
"Stay right here," she said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be right back."
Eddie slowly walked over to the door. She gently tugged at the handle of the door and was surprised that it easily came open. She looked back at Grace, who was staring at her mother intently. She put a finger over her lips and gave a quick nod to her daughter before peeking her head out of the room.
They were clearly in an old warehouse of some sort. There was some old metal scraps piled up in one corner and from what she could recognize, there was stacks of gun cases in the other corner.
"What the hell?" she said to herself.
She looked around again and saw that no one was around. She decided that this was her chance. She had to find them a way out. She turned around again to give a quick glance to her daughter and gave her a sign to stay put. Then, she opened the door slightly wider and stepped out.
Henry found his grandson and great grandson sleeping together in the rocking chair in Jamie's old room. He couldn't help but give a small smile at the pair, finally getting a moment of rest since this nightmare started.
He was sick with worry for his granddaughter-in-law and great granddaughter. He almost fell to his knees when he was told the news. He couldn't imagine what could be going through their minds and only hoped that they were found soon.
All of a sudden, Henry's phone started to ring. He quickly stepped away to not wake up Jamie and Conor then answered it.
"Hello?" he whispered.
"Gramps, it's Danny. Where's Jamie? Is he still there?"
He peeked back over into the room, "Yes. He's sleeping in the room with Conor. What's going on?"
"I got a lead," he said. "I got a guy who knows who took them. Wake Jamie up and tell him to meet me back at the precinct."
"I'm on it. I'll let you know when he's on his way."
"Thanks Gramps."
Henry quickly hung up the phone and made his way into the room. He carefully walked over to Jamie and Conor, then started to lift the little boy out of his father's grasp. He immediately realized that it wasn't the best way to go about it when Jamie woke up with a gasp and quickly pulled Conor back toward him.
"It's me. It's me," Henry reassured, patting his grandson's shoulder. "It's okay. Give me Conor. Danny called. You need to head back to the 29. He got a lead."
Jamie's eyes widened. He quickly but carefully passed the sleeping boy. Then, he stood up, pressed a kiss to his son's head and hugged his grandfather before quickly making his way out of the room.
Jamie made it to the precinct in record time. Danny met him at his desk then walked him over to the interrogation room. They stopped in front of the door and peered through the window.
"This is the owner of the bodega, Morin Khan," Danny began. "I went back and questioned him. He wouldn't give up anything until I told him that we could him for those illegal business dealings. That's when he started to crack."
"Has he given up a name or where they are?"
"Not yet. But he does know who took them and where. That's all I was able to get so far. I thought I'd let you do the rest. "Then, he turned Jamie toward him. "But let me just tell you… don't lose it in there. If you do, I'm going to have to pull you out. He came in voluntarily. I know I'm usually the last one who would say this but we need to be careful on how we do this. Okay?"
Jamie let out a breath and nodded, "Okay."
Danny opened the door and let Jamie through then followed in behind him.
"Morin Khan," Danny said as he shut the door behind them. "This is Sergeant Reagan. He's…"
"The father and husband of the two who were kidnapped," Jamie interjected, giving a death stare as he sat down in front of Morin. "Eddie and Grace Reagan."
Morin's eyes widened and they could tell that he was getting nervous. He fidgeted in his chair and grabbed at his collar, trying to avoid eye contact with Jamie.
"Do you have any kids?" Jamie asked with such a scary calm demeanor that it even made Danny shiver from where he was standing.
Morin nodded. "A girl and boy," he answered quietly.
"Are you married?" Jamie continued.
Morin nodded again.
"And if your wife and daughter went out one night to go watch a movie and never came home… how would you feel?"
Morin looked down and away from him. That reaction made it hard for Jamie to try and hold his composure but he managed to.
"The last few hours have been my worst nightmare," Jamie continued. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Not even on my greatest enemy."
Then, Jamie pulled out his phone and showed Morin his lock screen. It was a picture of Eddie, Grace, and Conor on her birthday earlier this year. They had a small celebration at home with just the four of them and if Jamie was being honest, it was one of the best days they'd ever had. "All I want is to get my wife and daughter back. I want my son to have his mom and sister back. And I need you to help me do that. Can you?"
"I can't," Morin said with a small shake of his head. "I'm sorry. I really am but I can't. He said that he'd hurt my family if I told."
"Who said that?" Jamie questioned.
Morin shook his head again, "I can't."
"We can help you," Danny said as he stepped forward. "We'll make sure that your family is protected."
"You don't know what this guy can do," Morin replied shakily. "He's been threatening our neighborhood for years. No one ever speaks out about him. I've seen what he does to people who do. I can't risk my family's safety."
"And you really think I want to risk mine?" Jamie questioned with his voice rising. He stood up and pulled out his phone, then showed the picture of Eddie, Grace and Conor again. "My little girl is only four years old. She should be sleeping comfortably in her bed right now. But she's out there with some insane man and I don't know if she's safe. My wife should be home cuddling our son to sleep. I should've been able to kiss her goodnight tonight. Instead, I'm here hoping to God that they're safe and that I get to them in time."
Jamie took a few deep breaths as he sat back down, "If you just tell us who this guy is, we can find him and get him off the streets. Your family will be safe and mine will too. Morin... please."
"Okay. Okay," Morin finally said. He hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "His name is Edwin Taylor. He's been selling illegal weapons out of the room in the back of the bodega for years. He originally did it out of his home but he was close to getting caught so he moved them. He originally told me that he just sold old car parts and needed a place to put them. It wasn't until he actually started to move them to the room when I actually figured out what he was doing."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Danny asked.
"Because I'm not a snitch," Morin replied. "It was fine for awhile. The bodega wasn't doing well. We barely had any customers. But when his people started coming around to see him, they came through the bodega and were giving me business too. Before you know it, we had trouble keeping stuff in stock. It was really great... for awhile. But once he started to pull me into what he was doing, I didn't like it anymore. I tried to get him to move elsewhere but he wouldn't. He started threatening me and my family. I feel trapped by him."
"Okay... but what does he want to do with my wife and my daughter? What was the purpose of taking them?" Jamie replied.
Morin sighed, "He was targeting your wife. He knows who your family is. He's been tracking her for awhile. His business has been slowing down as of late. He's really strapped for cash. He felt like if he took your wife, he could hold her for ransom and get some money out of it. It's just unfortunate that your daughter was with her."
Jamie took some deep breaths as he tried to calm himself after hearing this new information.
Danny spoke up, "Where are they, Morin? You know exactly where they are. Just say it. Time is a luxury we don't have. We need to know where they are. We have two lives at stake."
"I don't know exactly. What I do know is that he has a warehouse in Jersey. He keeps his stash there before bringing it over to the city. But, I have heard that he has other places in Jersey too. That's all I know. You need to hurry. Edwin... he's a bad man. When he's desperate, he'll do anything."
Eddie carefully walked around the warehouse. She inspected any corner that was visible, hoping to find a way out or see something that could tell her where they were. It was dark and the only things she could see were lighted by the moonlight that was shining through the windows.
Suddenly, she spotted a door in the distance. Finally, she thought to herself. As she was making her way over to it, she was stopped dead in her tracks when someone suddenly put a hand over her mouth.
"Shhh," the unknown female voice said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. Just get back in the room. They'll be back soon and I don't want them to catch you out. Nod if you understand."
Eddie gave a slow nod.
"Good," the woman replied. "I'm going to let you go. Just get back in the room and close the door. I'll be there in a little while. Don't turn around. Just go."
Eddie quickly followed her orders and made her way back into the room and quickly shut the door behind her. Grace immediately jumped up and ran over to her mother. Eddie bent down and picked the little girl up, hugging her close.
"Are you okay, Mommy? Did you find a way out?" she asked, wiping a few stray hairs from her mother's face.
"No sweetie, I didn't," she replied honestly. "But I will. I promise."
Grace nodded. Eddie kissed her daughter's cheek and put her back down. Then, they walked hand in hand back toward the wall and sat down. Grace quickly crawled into her mother's lap and laid back against her chest. Eddie wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close.
"Mommy?" she said quietly after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes Grace?" Eddie responded.
"I miss Daddy and Conor... a lot. Do you think they miss us too?"
Eddie suddenly found herself choked up thinking about her husband and little boy. She quickly wiped a tear that fell down her cheek.
"Of course they do, honey," she replied, leaning her head down against her daughter's. "I'm sure they miss us. And I miss them too."
