The Lost Sister

Chapter Four

Lloyd

Ryan and I head out to the mansion I'm currently calling home. He's silent on the ride over with a faraway look in his eyes. I'm betting he wasn't expecting me to uncover his past. Frankly, I'm annoyed I didn't unearth it sooner.

We make our way towards the foyer where I pour us a generous amount of scotch. Ryan takes a seat on the leather sofa when I hand him his drink. He downs it all before thrusting the glass out. I chuckle while pouring more for him.

I take a seat opposite of Ryan, I stare at him while silently sipping my drink. He fidgets with the glass before setting it down. I stay silent letting him figure out exactly what he's going to say. I know it all anyway, so I'll know if he's lying to me.

Ryan exhales, resting his elbows on his knees. He stares at the floor before finally talking.

"I was ten when Court killed our dad." He starts. "Nicole was five and Court was fifteen. After our mom died, Court and I were the ones who took the brunt of our dad's beatings." Twisting his  pinky ring around as he continued on. "On Nicole's fifth birthday, we threw her a small birthday party. It was just us in the living room while our dad was at work. Court and I hung up pink balloons and streamers for her. I still remember the look on her face when she walked in and saw. Court had bought her a Barbie doll. By the time our dad got home we had thrown away all the decorations because we knew it would make him angrier than he already was."

Ryan stood abruptly and started pacing in front of the window. I continued to stay silent, clearly opening up this box was equivalent to opening Pandora's box. He had this bottled up for so long and now that he can talk about it, he's getting everything out.

"Nicole was in the living room with our dad. He usually doted on her so Court, and I went to our respective rooms. If we were out of his sight, then we could have a free night without a beating. It wasn't until an hour or so later when I heard Nicole crying. I rushed out of my room at the same time as Court and ran to the living room. Nicole was on the ground, clutching her face, and our dad was raising his leg to kick her. Court tackled him to the ground before he got the chance. I remember screaming and I remember Nicole crying as Court pounded his fists into our dad."

He stopped pacing, his back to me as he looked out the window. "That night Court woke me up and told me to start packing my clothes, he said we were getting out of there. I didn't know Court was planning on killing the fucking bastard. But I'm glad he did. We just didn't expect Nicole to witness it."

Fuck. I thought. That's some fucked up shit for a five-year-old to see.

"We got to the edge of town before the police caught up to us." He laughed darkly. "A neighbor had called the police when they heard the gunshots. But they never called the police when they heard our screams from our dad beating us." He took his drink and downed the rest of it before sitting back down.

"What made you change your name?" I asked.

Ryan sighed, "When Court was arrested Nicole and I got placed in separate foster homes. I went to an all-boys home, and she was put somewhere else. I begged the foster parents to let me see her, but they refused. Then when I aged out, I was able to hack into my files and change my name. Everyone knew who I was. The brother of a murderer. I changed my name and erased everything that was related to Matthew Gentry. He no longer existed, and I wanted to keep it that way." He said while leveling me with a look that basically said, "don't speak of this to anyone else." But he didn't need to worry, I was going to keep this to myself for the time being.

I soaked in all he had to say. Part of me felt sorry for him. He was dealt a shit card because of his brother. I had no doubt he'd help take him down. But the problem was getting Nicole. I don't think he'd help with the assistance of kidnapping his own sister.

"Look, I'm gonna level with you, Ryan." I retrieved my phone from my pocket and tossed it to him. "Your brother is on the run with an asset that I need to get. My initial plan was to lure Six out with Fitz's niece, but I know he'll never just hand it over with that plan."

"So, then what is the real plan?" Ryan asks, his eyes snap to mine after staring at the picture I obtained of Nicole at the hospital.

"My plan is to take Nicole."

Ryan abruptly stands. "The hell you are!" He tosses the phone on the ground. "This is why I never told you about Nicole! I wanted to keep her safe and out of this fucking life! It's why I never allowed myself to find her." His voice cracks at the end.

"Ryan boy, it's just business. I need that asset." I say while placing my hand on his shoulder.

He swats my hand away. "I don't give a shit! Leave Nicole out of this. I'm begging you." He whispers.

I shake my head, "Ryan, Ryan, Ryan". I tsk. "What have I told you about revealing your weaknesses?"

Ryan shakes his head.

"You just revealed your hand." I leant down so we were at eye level. "Now, it's up to me to use it to my advantage."

Ryan clenched his teeth. "You really are a piece of shit, Lloyd."

I chuckle, "And yet you stay working for me." Patting him on the shoulder I stand up and refill our glasses.

"Here's what's going to happen." I say while handing him back his glass. "You and a small team are going to retrieve little Fitz. And me, well I'm going to take a little trip to Boston."

Ryan glares at me as I clink my glass with his.

"Asshole." He mumbles before downing his drink.

I raise my glass. "Let's get to work."