Chapter 306 Family Pressure
Elara drove her SUV through the dark streets like a woman possessed. Nancy gripped the door handle as they took sharp turns way too fast.
“Elara, slow down!” Nancy’s voice was tight with worry. “You’re pregnant. Think about the babies.”
But Elara couldn’t think about anything except Dominic. Her hands were shaking on the steering wheel. Every minute that passed felt like hours.
“Nancy.” Her voice cracked. “I can’t lose him. I just can’t. What if they’ve already…”
Nancy reached over and grabbed her hand. “Hey, stop. Don’t go there. Dominic’s tough as nails. He’s survived worse than this.”
“Yardley’s going to find him. I promise.”
They pulled up to the Grant family house just after 7 PM.
The house was dark except for the glow of a TV through the living room window.
Elara pounded on the front door like she wanted to break it down.
Inside, Tommy was sprawled on his couch watching the Red Sox game with a beer in his hand. “Jesus Christ, who’s trying to break down my door?” He muted the TV and checked his phone. 7:15 PM. What the hell was this about?
He looked out the window and saw his niece on the front step. The porch light illuminated her face, and she looked furious. She looked ready to kill someone.
He grabbed his Red Sox hoodie from the back of the couch and opened the door. Elara’s eyes were like ice.
“Where’s Uncle Jack?”
“He’s wanted for kidnapping the Alpha King. If you’re hiding him, you’re going down as an accessory.”
Tommy’s mouth fell open. He’d been expecting maybe a family visit, not a federal crime accusation. “Whoa, hold up. Jack’s a screw-up, but kidnapping? That’s way out of his league.”
Elara laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “Is it? He’s into loan sharks for six figures. I cut him off, so he decided to get creative.”
“Cut the crap, Uncle Tommy. When’s the last time you talked to Jack?”
Tommy had never seen Elara like this. Growing up, she’d been the kid who cried when they had to put down the family dog.
This woman looked like she could hurt someone and sleep fine that night.
He ran his hand through his hair nervously. The evening air was cool, but he was sweating. “Look, I haven’t heard from Jack since Christmas. Guy’s radioactive. I stay clear.”
“Even if he did grab your husband, which sounds nuts, that’s got nothing to do with me. I’m not my brother’s keeper.”
Elara pulled a switchblade from her jacket. The blade caught the porch light and flashed silver. She pressed the sharp tip against Tommy’s throat, right where his pulse was beating fast.
“Final answer, Uncle Tommy. Any contact with Jack? Bumped into him at Home Depot? Got a drunk text at 2 AM? Anything?”
Tommy realized his niece had lost it completely.
“Christ almighty! Okay, okay! Don’t slice me up! I’ll talk!”
Sweat ran down his back. His hands were trembling as he pulled out his phone. “Tuesday, I saw him at the Stop & Shop on Route 128. He was with some gorilla I’ve never seen before. Looked like mob muscle. I snapped a pic in case I needed leverage later.”
Tommy had ducked behind the frozen foods when he spotted Jack trying to fly under the radar with a Red Sox cap pulled low. Jack was pushing a shopping cart like any normal customer, but something about his body language screamed trouble.
But Tommy recognized him right away. They’d grown up in the same house, shared the same bedroom until Tommy turned sixteen.
The guy with Jack had ’enforcer’ written all over him.
Thick neck, dead eyes, the kind of guy who probably had brass knuckles in his jacket pocket. Probably worked collections for the kind of people who break legs when you’re late on payments.
“I’m texting you the photo. Here, look. Just don’t cut my throat, okay?”
Tommy’s phone buzzed as he pulled up the image. There was Jack, clear as day, talking to a man who looked like he bench-pressed refrigerators for fun.
Elara took Tommy’s phone and sent the picture to Nancy. “Get this to Yardley. Tell him to pull every security feed in a two-mile radius.”
She pressed the knife a little deeper, drawing blood. A thin red line appeared on Tommy’s neck. “If Jack so much as breathes in your direction, you call me. We clear?”
Tommy was almost crying. His voice came out as a squeak. “Crystal clear! Scout’s honor! Whatever you need!”
Elara stepped back and put the knife away. But her cold eyes stayed on his face.
“Fantastic. Because if I find out you’ve been holding out on me, Uncle Tommy, the FBI will be the least of your worries. The pack doesn’t take kindly to people who mess with family.”