The Lost Sister

Chapter Seven

Ryan

The smirk on Lloyd's face as I enter his office tells me I am not going to like what he has to say. I know he has something up his sleeve concerning Nicole. And he is twisted enough to use me.

I plop down in the chair in front of his desk, keeping my face neutral.

Lloyd offers a lollipop to me when I shake my head no he shrugs and pops one in his mouth. An uncomfortable silence settles over us as he stares at me while sucking on his lollipop. He is such a fucking weirdo.

Finally after five uncomfortable minutes of silence Lloyd tosses the remainder of the sucker in the trash. "We're going to a bar."

Startled, I blinked rapidly. "I'm sorry, what?" In all the years I have known Lloyd he has never once "gone out" he was more likely to hire an escort than pick one up at a bar.

Lloyd chuckled, "We're going out."

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "Why?"

He sighed and leaned back. "Because I want to reward you for working so hard for me."

"Cut the bullshit, Lloyd." I said standing and bracing my hands on the desk in front of me.

Lloyd stood slowly but his gaze never left mine. A chill ran down my spine at his murderous gaze. This man was truly a psychopath.

"You are lucky that I considered you one of my most valuable members." He sneered. "But make no mistake, if you ever raise your voice at me again I will slit your throat and make you drown in your own blood. Understood?"

My jaw clenched but I nodded.

Lloyd leaned back and fixed his shirt. "Perfect. We will leave in an hour." With one pat on my shoulder he left his office. I stared out the window as the moon began to shine through. Knowing that Nicole was somewhere in this city was fucking with my head. For years I never let myself search for Nicole in person or online. Keeping tabs on Nicole would be a weakness for me in my line of work. I could never live with myself if something ever happened to her because of me. So I stayed away and only let myself look at the one picture I kept tucked away every few months. If only Court had stayed away from Nicole then all this could have been avoided. But of course, Court did whatever he wanted. Not caring about the consequences it would have. Not a day goes by where I don't blame Court for all this mess. He didn't have to kill the bastard. We could have just left and the damn fool wouldn't have cared. In another life if Court hadn't killed our father then maybe the three of us could have had a normal life.

An hour later Lloyd and I are standing in a dark alley outside a dingy bar called Weston's. I still had no idea what we were doing here but Lloyd's grin never left his smug arrogant face. The sound of laughter forced my attention away. What I saw next took my breath away.

Nicole walked with her arms looped in between two women. The soft glow of the moonlight shined on her as if it were her own spotlight. Her laugh, her smile, her blonde hair, it was all my mother. Instinctively, I took one step towards her but a hand on my shoulder halted me. My stomach sank. This was why we were here. Because Lloyd Hansen was a sick son of a bitch.

"Go in and bring her to me." He ordered.

A knot formed in my throat but I swallowed past it and nodded. I should have known he would make me do it. I am his right hand man after all. But fuck, a small part of me is excited to be near her again.

I walk into the bar and head straight to the bar. Once I'm sitting on the farthest stool, my back to the wall I scan the area. I spotted Nicole right away. She's sitting in the middle at a high top table. Her and two other women have a beer in front of them. She's laughing and seems happy. God, she looks so much like mom when she smiles. It's almost like I am looking at a ghost.

I have no idea how I am going to pull her away from her friends. They seem like friends that won't let her go anywhere alone in a bar. Which is good, those are good friends to have but it will make my job harder.

When the bartender wanders over to me I order a whiskey neat. I need something strong to calm the nerves that are racing through my veins. Lloyd has eyes and ears everywhere so I know I can't fuck this up on purpose. The bartender sets my whiskey in front of me and I nod my thanks. Then I sit back and wait for the perfect moment.

Nicole and her friends drank their beers while talking and laughing then they moved over to the pool table. A few men tried to approach them but none of the girls were interested. The small one even hit a man, who wouldn't leave them alone, with the pool stick. I chuckled as the man hunched over in pain. It's good that Nicole has such solid friends.

By the time the bartender shouted last call I still had no fucking idea how I was going separate Nicole from her friends. And then by some stroke of luck a fight broke out in the middle of the bar and a gunshot was fired. Those who were nearby, like Nicole and her friends, scattered in opposite directions. I was on my feet faster than lighting as Nicole ran out the side door.

I was right behind her as we ran into the alley. Lloyd was waiting in the black van nearby. Nicole must have heard me approaching as she whipped around, her eyes wide. Fuck, it was now or never.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

She took a step back and raised her hands. She looked so scared it made my heart clench. But I rushed at her with a cloth and shoved it in her face. The horror in her eyes almost made me stop but when the lights of the van flicked I kept going. Nicole's eyes started to close and as she passed out I carried her to the van.

I settled her on the bench and sat next to her. My hands holding hers.

"Good boy." Lloyd said.

I shot him a glare. "Fuck off, Lloyd."

He laughed before popping a candy in his mouth.

"We'll pick up the kid on the way back to base." Lloyd said while typing on his phone.

I said nothing as I continued to stare at Nicole.

What the fuck did I just do?