Dirty Deeds (Part 2 of 'No Good Deed'

Favors.

      *Holden's POV*

       Cia has been gone too long. Sometimes she gets distracted on her way to the mail and plucks a few weeks from the flowerbeds or pets Copper. So I think little of this at first. I watch dad take his fingers and make the babies' mouths move like they are talking and I grin at his antics. The little guys are putty in his hands, bubbly and cooing at him competing for his attention. 

      "HOLDEN! DADDY!" I bolt up to the door, swinging by the ebdctable drawer for my pistol as I exit. I hear dad behind me move to the stairs with the babies to guard them better. I dash towards the mailbox and her cries are farther away. I call out her name in panic.

     "BEN...GUNS..." Her words don't all carry across clearly, but I heard that much. Ben. Guns. I stumble upon something going down the bank from the mailbox as I follow her voice. My eyes widen. A dead man. Shit! Cia couldn't have killed this man. She was only in her big sleep flannel and shoes when she went out. This man was shot. I never heard a gunshot. Silencer? I keep tracking her but slow to hide along trees and brush due to her warning. 

      "Acacia!" I call out one last time. I hear nothing now. No. No. Shit! I listen and watch carefully as I advance as quickly as I can now. I roam the area advancing for azz bout 30 minutes. She's not here. They're taking her elsewhere. Reluctantly I trek back home to gather my bearings and try to locate Ben. I step over man's body and then back to kick him. This man is a hindrance.  He can't fucking reside over the bank here. I will have to move him asap for our safety. Anybody could drive by and spot him then call us in. He better be glad he's dead, I'd kill him again right now. But the big question in my mind is why did they kill him? No doubt he was in on this, his arms show signs of struggle. Why turn on their own man?

      I spot the boys' package and my heart drops. Cia was only going to the mail. She was so excited to see our babies with their new clothes. How did they know she'd be out here? How long did they wait? What would have happened had dad or I been the ones out here instead? I run my hands through my hair and cuss. Cia tried to get me to turn over that girl, to turn that footage of Ben in and be done with him. Guilt creeps into my heart at the possibility that maybe had I listened, Ben would be in prison now. I just had to have control. I just had to hold out to give him my own punishment,  which so far is nothing. Now my Cia is gone, our twins without their mama. I need to find somewhere safer for them while we go about trying to locate Cia. 

     "Where was she?" Dad peers down the stairs as I enter. His face solemn and concerned.

      "She's gone. She yelled out something to do with Ben. There's a dead man over the bank. Probably forties. I think that she meant that Ben has her, but why the fuck shoot his own man and leave him over the bank?"

     "I have no idea, but we have to find her. I think it's time we call in some favors. I will take care of finding a safer place for our boys to stay for a little bit, I trust her parents but too many people know their location and they have no security.  I'm thinking Dobrev and Elaine. About Ben, Cia mentioned that she called Colton yesterday and asked about Laura.  Colton said that night we visited that he and Ben were working to find Cia when she was 'missing'. I think we should utilize Colton.  He can contact Ben for us."

     "Cia wanted to send the evidence of Ben dumping that girl to that girl's family. She said the father was police. Do you think we could barter with Ben? The evidence for Acacia? If he goes for it we kill him after we meet. We can bullshit him somehow.  We need to know where he is though. I'll call Marvin and see if he can locate him or give us more to go from."

      "I love you boys, more than anything in the world. We are going to find mommy. She's going to be ok." I tell our sons as I lean over their bedroom crib and kiss them. I can't imagine someone trying to get in here to them. Until we figure out for sure why Cia is gone and that it is certainly Ben working alone, we need to be cautious. For all we know somebody could be using her to get to us. An idea hits me.

      "I'll be back in a moment,  guard the boys. I need a photo of that man and I'll move him. I won't be long. I need to send him to Marvin for ID."