Angel Academy

Chapter Twenty-six

Niamh's POV

I stomped down the pathway to Angel Academy, grinding my teeth in anger. Without knocking, I slammed open the door to find Addaline and Corbin standing behind the counter. My eyes scanned the room, but I couldn't find Heath. They turned to me abruptly, and when they saw who it was that barged into their daycare, their faces paled.

"Niamh," Corbin said, his voice shaking a little.

I advanced on them, and slammed my hand down on the counter. "Where is my son?" When they didn't answer, I snarled with annoyance, "Where is Heath?" 

Addaline was the first to recover, and she took a deep breath. "Niamh, Heath's not here."

I scoffed, "Obviously, where is he?" I could feel the sting of tears behind my eyes, and I fought to keep them at bay. Addaline's eyes were cold as she looked at me, a small smile on her face. She knew what she was doing to me, and she was enjoying it.

Corbin stepped from behind the counter and slowly approached me. "Niamh-"

"Corbin, don't." I held up my hand to keep him from coming any closer. "Please, just give me my son. Don't make me get the cops involved. I still have total custody of my son." My voice cracked a little, and I could feel my eyes tear up.

Addaline laughed, "Your son? It takes two to make a baby." I shot her a glare, warning her to shut her mouth, but she didn't get the hint. "You don't deserve to have that boy. You are an unfit mother."

I balked at her, unable to believe what she was saying to me. "An unfit mother? Excuse me? Who has been there for him since he was born?"

"You didn't give me a chance to be there for him," Corbin argued.

"You left me there all alone! And wouldn't return my calls or texts! You didn't give me a chance to tell you," I growled, my hands balled into fists at my sides as I tried to keep the tears from falling.

"You should have tried harder," Addaline sneered.

I turned on her, glaring daggers at her and hoping maybe my stare would have the power to evaporate her. "This is none of your business. You are not his mother, his aunt, his grandmother. You are nothing to him. Now, shut up before you force me to punch a pregnant woman."

Addaline gasped and took a step back, laying a hand on her protruding belly. "This is exactly what we mean, Niamh. You don't deserve him. Now, please leave the primeses before I call the cops." When I didn't move, she reached for the phone. I grabbed it before she could and yanked it out of the wall. "Get out," she said, but her voice was less strong now. 

Corbin stepped between Addaline and I. "Niamh, you are just proving us right. I know you want what's best for Heath, so please, leave. You're acting insane. I will call you when our lawyer has set up a meeting, and we will talk this through. Please, just get out of here." The way he was protecting her broke my heart. I was not crazy. I was not a bad mother. I couldn't understand why Corbin was taking her side. She was trying to steal my son, and he was just letting her.

I shook my head, tears falling down my cheeks. "What have I ever done to you, Corbin," I asked, unable to stop myself. Addaline sneered at me, and Corbin's face was indifferent as he watched me. Clenching my fists, I glared angrily at them. "This isn't over," I snapped. "You are not taking my son from me. I won't let you."

I left the daycare and got in my truck, punching in a number furiously. I hit dial, and the phone rang a few moments before the owner of it answered. 

"Hello?" he asked, his voice groggy from sleep. It was only seven in the morning, and I almost felt bad for waking him; almost.

"Caleb, can you meet me?" My voice broke towards the end, and I could feel fresh tears well in my eyes.

His voice was instantly alert. "When and where?"

"Millie's in, say, an hour?"

"Sure," he said, and then he hung up.

~~~~~

??? POV

"So, did you get the folder?" The man that sat before him was tall and bulky, the veins in his neck popping out. His eyes were small and beady, an unnerving color of brown that seemed almost black. He nodded and dropped the folder in front of his boss, who gave him a cruel smile. "Good; good." He watched as the bulky man tore up the folder, his face red with the effort. "Did you get all of it?"

He nodded. He had gotten all of it, or at least as much of it as he could. There may have been one paper left, but what could one little paper do? Besides, he hadn't had time to grab it all before she had come home. If she saw him, then the whole thing would be a bust, and he'd have to kill her, which wasn't something he wanted to do; he didn't need another death at his hands.

"Does she suspect anything?" 

He shook his head. "No, she's oblivious." As far as he knew she was oblivious; she hadn't done anything to prove his statement otherwise.

His boss grinned, but it was an angry smile. "Good; good," he repeated. "Has she finally given up on her search?" At this question, he frowned. The answer was going to anger his boss, and he was reluctant to answer. He didn't want to be hit, or worse. "Well?" the man before him boomed, his voice angry and impatient.

"No, sir, she hasn't. She is determined to finish the case." Especially now that she's realized David possibly wasn't the only supsect, he thought, but didn't say. That would just anger his boss even more. 

He resisted the urge to flinch when his boss' fist slammed onto the table, his face red with anger. "Why won't she give up? We killed her mother. We-"

"Actually, her mother's alive."

His boss turned his angry stare onto him. "She what?"

He took a deep breath, a feeling of nervousness settling in his stomach. "Her mother survived the ordeal."

"How?" he spat.

Now he felt the feeling of angry wasps in his stomach. His hands began to feel clammy, and his heart beat picked up. His boss was not going to be happy. "Someone called the cops and she was taken to the hospital."

"Who called the cops?" His boss' voice was tight and angry, his skin a deep shade of tomato red. The veins in his neck popped out even more as he fought to gain control of his anger. 

"Nicolas," he lied easily, hoping it wasn't written on his face for the boss to see.

He took deep breaths, but they were cut short. His teeth clenched, his jaw tightening and untightening, and his breathing was ragged. He was beyong angry now. "Get me Nicolas!" he barked, and the man standing at the door raced to get him.

Within minutes Nicolas crept into the room, fear plastered on his face. "Yes, sir?"

"Get in here!" Nicolas scurried into the room, his forehead slick with sweat. "So, you're the reason that bitch's mom survived are you?"

"Sir," Nicolas asked, his voice filled with confusion. He had done his job right. He had beaten that pathetic woman's mother, and had even done things his boss hadn't asked him to do; all to be sure the bitch died.

"Her mother's alive, and I've been told you helped her!" Their boss' voice shook with fury and when Nicolas went protest, his voice was drowned out by the boss' angry shouting. "I can't have a snitch in my ranks." He turned to the man who had given him the folder. "Kill him." Nicolas' eyes bulged out of his head as he grabbed the pistol he kept on his hip whenever he was in the boss' head quarters. Without a word or a look of remorse he layed the gun on the man's head and pulled the trigger.

Either he dies, or I do. It's survival of the fittest, he thought as Nicolas' dead body crumpled to the ground.

~~~~~

This my first time with third person so I apologize if it's crappy. :P 

Who do you think is the man who stole the folder?

Any ideas?

~Jax Nicoles