Hallie

"Where'a Marcus?" I finally asked.

"He's out," was all Vin said, but it was enough. I knew what he meant.

A shiver ran down my sprain.

"Listen. I'm going to get you away from here as soon as possible. I want you to be ready. When I come for you, you don't ask questions you follow my instructions."

I nodded.

"I'm going to give your man a call. We need all the help we can get."

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you, Vin."

He shook his head. "Just live."

I smiled at him.

"Here. Take this. Hide it," he said as he handed me a phone. Keep it on silent."

I nodded.

He pulled out his phone and made a call.

"You don't know me, but we've got to talk," Vin said. "My name is Vin"

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"She's safe."

For now, I thought to myself.

Damien

I frowned. "Who are you?"

"My name is Vin."

Vin.

"Where is she?" Is she okay?"

"She's safe," he said.

For now, I thought.

"I want to talk to her," I said.

"We don't have much time."

"Please. I just need to hear her voice," I said.

There was a pause. Silence.

I waited.

"Hello?" Her wobbly voice greeted.

"Oh thank god," I finally breathed with relief.

"Damien..."

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm okay," she answered.

"I'm sorry," she added, after a few moments.

I closed my eyes.

"I told you I would protect you," I said.

"I couldn't let anything happen to you or our kids."

Our kids. If only for that... it feels so good to hear her say our kids.

"Hallie..."

"I'm sorry, Damien. It would kill me if something happened to you m, Ty or Michy. I had to do it. I had to give in to what he wanted. He threatened you and everyone I love."

"You didn't trust me. You should have told me..."

"It isn't about trust Damien. You should know that I trust you the most," she pointed out.

There was a long pause.

"I'm scared, okay. I'm scared of losing you like I lost my mom. I couldn't let him kill someone I loved again."

"A part of me understands that, but damn it Hallie. You're fucking mine. It's my job to protect you and keep you safe."

"I love you, Damien," she said. "I'll come back to you. I promise."

Before I could respond, Vin was back on the line.

"I have a plan. I'm going to need every help I can get to make it work," he said.

"I'm listening. Tell me what you need."

And that's how it started. Our plan to bring Marcus down. To make him pay for everything he did. I know that it's not going to be easy, but if we do this and stick to the plan it might just work.

Hallie

"You have to," Vin said.

"You have to promise that it won't go that far. I can't..."

"I promise."

"I can pretend to go along with him and I can play nice, but I can't go further than that," I said firmly.

"I would never ask you to," Vin said. "But he wants you. And it's only a matter time before he tried something."

"I'd rather die than let him..." I trailed off as I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

"That's why we need to get you away from him before he even tries to get that far."

"Are you sure this will work."

"It will have to."

"If it doesn't work?" I asked.

"Then we go with your plan."

My plan. A plan Damien doesn't know.

"Then let's do this and hope that your plan works. Because if it doesn't, I won't have a choice. I'll do what I need to do to make sure that everyone I love is safe."

Damien

"Vin has all the evidence that will put him away for life. He's got it in a USB in a safe box."

"We need it to bring him down," Alan said.

"There's only one problem. Vin wants to use it in exchange for Hallie," I said.

They all frowned. "How is that going to stop Marcus from coming after this family?" Nate said.

"That's the thing. It's going to be a trap. We think we're giving it to him, but in reality, we're entrapping him," I explained.

"I don't know. That'a very risky," Dave expressed.

"What's the alternative? It's the only way we can get him where we want him. This way we control the when and where," I said.

"And you're okay with this? Is Hallie?" Nate asked.

"I'm never going to be okay with anything that puts Hallie or our kids at risk, but we can't just sit around and wait for him to do something. He's already got Hallie and no matter what he says, we all know he's not stopping until he gets Ty and Michy back too," I said. "It seems like this is the best shot we got. If we don't, then Marcus controls this whole thing. He really believes he does. He can attack whenever he chooses. But now, we have something that will matter to him. So he's got to play by our rules."

I looked around and I could see that they agree with me. But they are also right. This is risky.

"Okay. If we do this, we need to do it right. We only get one chance. If we fuck this up, it will end badly," Nate said.

I nodded, knowing full well what he means.

"Dave, I think you should retrieve the USB," Nate said.

Dave nodded. "Is it the only copy?" He asked.

"Vin has a copy, but it's too risky for us to meet with him," Damien said. "Here," I said handing him a piece of paper where I wrote down where Vin hid the USB and how to get it.

"You need to look for Hillary and tell her the password. From there, she'll take you into the safe and just enter those numbers."

"Okay," Dave said.

"We'll work out a plan and fill you in when you get back."

"Alan, can you get in touch with DeSousa? Give him a heads and tell him we'll fill him in once we've got a plan."

"I'm on it. Should we get in touch with Anton?"

"He's on an assignment, as far as I know, but if DeSouza thinks we need him then I'm sure he knows a way to get in touch with his brother."

This is it, I thought to myself as my brothers got busy finalizing the plan and making sure that there no wheels left unturned.

As I looked around, I once again felt how blessed I am to have a family who loves and protects its own. A family who would do anything and everything for each other.

"Damien? Hey, are you okay?" Nate cut in through my thoughts.

I blinked a couple of times. "Sorry, I'm fine."

He nodded.

"We'll have her back soon and your family will be complete," he said as he clapped me on the back."

Hallie

I lay in bed hoping and praying that our plan works. I can't even think of the alternative.

I closed my eyes as tears tracked down my face.

I just want everyone that I love to be safe. That's all I really want.

Suddenly, the phone Vin gave me buzzed underneath my pillow.

I took it and saw a message.

"They've got it. Plan is in motion."

I took a deep breath.

"Game on," I whispered.