Chapter Twenty Two - Red Handed

One week later.

"Guys! We're moving in thirty." Griffin calls as he walks into the living room. Me and Judah glance at each other before staring at him as if he's grown two heads. He sets his phone down on the coffee table. "I've put you on speakerphone Cameron. Whenever you're ready."

"My father has found out that you guys are in Ireland. He dispatched a team from Spain an hour ago and just boarded a plane himself." Cameron speaks in a rushed manner and my eyes widen in panic.

"Alright, time for you guys to take Macy and get the hell out of here so Quintana can finally find me." Judah states as he pops open a packet of skittles.

"No! He's going to find me anyways!" I retort and match his murderous glare.

"Guys –" Griffin starts to intervene but gets interrupted.

"Macy, you're making it unnecessarily hard for at least one of us to stay alive!" Judah frowns and I yelp when he throws the candy at me. "In case you forgot we don't have time for this!"

"Exactly! We don't have time to deal with your caveman overprotective ass! I'm getting caught with you whether you like it or not so you can shove your suggestions up your ass!" I cross my arms with a huff.

"Mace –"

"End of story." I seethe but don't miss the way his eyes glint with amusement and desire.

"Fine." He grumbles before taking a seat next to me. "Let's get planning."

"Fucking finally!" Cameron snaps in annoyance which makes me jump.

"I know right?! Your sister is always arguing with me!" Judah whines and I swat his arm with a grumble.

"Sorry Cam. What's the plan?" I ask as the rest of the team enter.

"Judah, you're not really the main target anymore and neither is Alejandra. He wants Marcella. I'm moving you all to a safe house in Turkey and this will be the last time you're on the run. At six p.m. Venezuela time tomorrow the Quintana empire will be a thing of the past." Cameron states which captures my attention. "We've finally tracked down all the trafficking victims. Griffin has the flash drives full of shit on dad that'll put him in jail for a lifetime. That'll go live while Alejandra leads the FBI onto main base. It's all going to end tomorrow and then we'll be free."

"Wait a minute." Griffin frowns in confusion. "Why not have the FBI track him and let them catch him wherever he is the moment the information is out?"

"Because we can't track his private jet anymore. I'm fully sure he doesn't trust me since I couldn't bring Marcie back to him so he's taking matters into his own hands. The jet took off but then it went dark. So, I'm going to lure him back to main base by outing myself." Cameron explains and my eyes widen in horror. "My betrayal is going to anger him more and he won't care about Marcie. At least not in that moment. He'll go straight for me and I'll have the FBI waiting."

"Cam, there must be some other way." I reply hoarsely as my heart pounds over the thought of it all going wrong. "This is too dangerous!"

"We don't have time Mar and you know that." He sighs heavily and I feel helpless.

"Griffin?" I look up at him with pleading eyes while Judah holds me tight.

"I'm sorry Marcella. We had everything planned and we considered your dad going after you himself too. What we didn't plan for was him having another plane that's non traceable." He explains and I feel my body slacken in defeat. "This is our best bet in the time that we have."

"Okay." I whisper yet dread creeps up within me.

"I've sent Griffin the co-ordinates for the next house. Get out of Ireland as quickly as possible. I'll see you all on the other side." Cameron chuckles and I watch as Griffin starts ordering the team to pack up. "Griffin...can I have a moment with my sister please?"

I thank him when he hands me his phone before smiling weakly at Judah when he kisses my temple and tells me he's going to get our things. My resolve crumbles as soon as the living room is empty and hot tears brim my eyes. It takes me a second to pull myself together.

"Please be careful Cam. I can't lose you."

"Don't worry, you won't." He chuckles albeit sadly.

"What if I do? Then what do I do?" I mumble as I wipe away a traitorous tear with a sniffle. "It all sounds so dangerous Cam and this plan is last minute too."

"You have Judah Marcie. You'll be okay." I can practically hear the grin in his voice.

"But Judah argues too much with me! At least you do as I say most of the time!" I whine and he bursts out laughing. I smile at the sound before getting serious again. "You sure this will work?"

"Yes. It's last minute but the second he lands here he'll be caught. He won't even touch me. I have men all over the world waiting to catch sight of him too in case we need a change of plans." He explains and I find myself calming down a little. "Just stay safe in Turkey until this all blows over."

"Alright." I mutter unhappily, knowing that it's just a waiting game now. "Call me as soon as he's caught. Otherwise, I'll stress myself into an early grave."

"I will." He snickers and I smile in return. "One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Mom's dead." He utters quietly and my breath hitches.

"What?! How?! When did this happen?!" I ramble and feel slightly guilty for not feeling any remorse.

"She knew about dad bugging his office and saw you two fighting. After you left she listened to the recording and heard you say that dad's been cheating on her for years." He explains and I feel my heart drop.

"S-She knew right?"

"I...I don't know Marcie." Cameron replies softly before sighing. "She confronted dad and got angry. Things became quite heated from what I heard and dad finally snapped and shot her."

A traitorous tear falls from my eye and the remorse I was missing hits me like a ton of bricks. "What...oh my god...Cameron I –"

"You shouldn't feel guilty and I don't blame you for her death either." He reassures me but it does very little to comfort me. "From what people heard it sounds like mom had her suspicions but dad hid it well. He admitted it out of anger and she became furious...rightly so."

"You're still going to go through with this aren't you?" I sniffle as I grab a tissue.

"I must. I'm tired Marcie and I know you are too so just let me do this for our freedom."

"Fine. I'll bring you back to life and kill you again if you die on me though!" I snap but can't hold my angry façade for long.

"Te quiero hermana." [I love you sister]

"Te quiero hermano." I reply softly but almost want to smack myself for getting all teary-eyed again.

"We should speak Spanish more. We're such a disgrace honestly."

I laugh at that and nod before I realize he can't see me. "Yeah...we'll do it more when dad is gone. And mix in some English like usual. He won't be there to stop us anymore."

"I say we visit all the Spanish speaking countries and solely speak Spanish during our time there. We'll be pros by the end of it!" He exclaims excitedly and I grin at the idea.

"I'll hold you to it."

"Is it ready?" I hear his voice fade a little before he's back. "Okay Marcie, I need to go. Have a safe flight and I'll see you soon okay?"

"Okay." I nod as my bottom lip quivers. "You be safe too and don't do anything stupid. You're not some hero."

"I beg to differ." He laughs boyishly before someone calls him in the background. "Bye Mar."

"Bye Cam." I whisper before he hangs up.

I sit there for a minute and slowly wipe my tears. I send up a prayer for my brother's safety before exhaling deeply. Time to toughen up Marcella, I think to myself. No more crying...until you see Cameron that is or you get injured again like an imbecile.

"Hey." Judah calls and captures my attention. His eyes turn soft as he stares at me while leaning against the wall. "Okay?"

"Okay." I send him a thumbs up with a shaky smile. "Just worried but it's Cam. I'm sure he'll be fine like always."

"Yes he will." He murmurs as he pulls me into his arms once I get close. "I'll help you sleep on the flight to Turkey then we'll share my bag of snacks at the safe house. It'll only take a few hours more before Cameron calls telling us it's over."

"You have it all planned out huh?" I pull away with a teasing smile.

"Dove...you're dating a genius. I always have a plan." He smirks smugly which makes me roll my eyes.

"Like your brilliant plan to get me to leave with the others and have my dad find you?" I retort sarcastically as we join the rest of the team.

Judah narrows his eyes at me for the comment and me trying to take my bag off him. "That was just a ploy to get rid of you. Going with your dad would be a blessing at this point."

I gape at him as he walks past me with a dramatic flip of his hair but am unable to stop the smile from slipping on my lips. He winks at me when I catch up to him as we leave the house and get into the car. I rest my head on his shoulder with a sigh as we back out of the driveway, hoping that everything goes according to plan and that nobody gets hurt.

***

I'm gently shaken awake by Judah who kisses my cheek when I frown up at him in confusion. "We're here."

"Oh." I mumble as I sit straight and look out the window to see us driving up to what I assume is the safe house.

"You guys know the drill. Parker will stay with you this time." Reece states before getting out of the car.

I yawn as I take off my seatbelt before cuddling up to Judah. We watch silently as Reece, Griffin and Cole disappear inside the house with their weapons drawn before the door closes. I'm dying to take a bath and then fall asleep again.

I didn't sleep on the flight because I felt too anxious about our situation as well as Cameron's. So, me, Judah and Reece watched a movie and ate snacks the entire time. I eventually fell asleep after we got in the car courtesy of Judah's help. He held me close the entire time and would lull me back to dreamland with his kisses whenever I jolted awake from my recurring nightmares.

"Any pain Marcella? How's the back?" Parker asks while we wait.

"Only a little and I still can't put too much pressure on my back yet but it's getting there. It's so annoying though." I huff which makes him laugh.

"Not long to go until the pain goes away. We'll do a check-up tomorrow morning yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds good Park – holy shit!" I exclaim when the glass of a window shatters and a man is thrown out of it.

"Fuck!" Parker wastes no time in backing out of the driveway.

Judah holds me tighter while I manage to get a glimpse of Cole fighting someone through the window. Both guys swear heatedly and I turn slightly to see multiple cars surround us with additional men running up and circling us in. I can barely see the rest of the area because of the swarm of people.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Parker yells in frustration as he tries to escape the circle somehow but quickly realizes that he can't.

"Mace...how confident are you that Cameron didn't set us up?" Judah asks quietly as he stares out of the window at the army of men.

"One hundred percent. He wouldn't do this!" I grab my gun and make sure the safety is off.

"Meaning Quintana somehow knew we were heading this way." Judah sighs as he draws his own.

"How the fuck are we supposed to fight them off?! They clearly outnumber us!" Parker smacks the steering wheel with a shake of his head.

"There's no place to hide." I murmur with dread before locking eyes with Judah. "We should get out now before they drag us out."

"Stay behind me." Parker orders before he slowly steps out of the car.

Judah opens his door and hops out before turning to me. Concern and protectiveness flicker clearly in his eyes. "Come here dove."

I steel my nerves before scooting over and getting out of the car. Judah holds me tightly as we stand behind Parker just as some men bring out Griffin, Reece and Cole. They look rightfully furious but choose not to fight back as they're brought over to us. But once the men let go of them Reece turns to the man who was holding her and slits his throat in a lightning-fast motion.

She turns to the rest of us with a bored look before shrugging as she wipes her blade clean. "I don't appreciate being manhandled."

"What the fuck do you want?!" Griffin thunders angrily and I suddenly make a mental note to never get on his bad side.

"Marcella Quintana." A man steps forward with a cunning smirk, outing himself as the one in charge. "Alive of course."

"Yeah...not happening buddy. I would like to volunteer to put myself in my own grave please." I raise my hand and chuckle when Judah glares at me.

"Hand her over. There's no need for blood to be shed." The man smirks albeit sinisterly and I grow uncomfortable when his eyes gleam as they roam over my figure.

"Take a hike fucker!" Judah snarls as he pulls me behind his body.

"Look...you four are his security team not Marcella's." The man points at Judah before walking over to Griffin and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let her come with us. Quintana doesn't give a shit about the Jackson boy anymore. We both get paid at the end of the day. It's a win win situation."

I smile widely when Griffin shoots him in the leg. "The only way you'll leave here with Marcella is over my dead body."

"I knew you liked me deep down in that cold heart of yours Griffin!" I exclaim to which he just rolls his eyes in response.

"Get them!" The man roars and I yelp when the ground shakes as the men run forward.

I immediately spring into fight mode and fire rapidly at anyone who approaches me that isn't the team or Judah. We all know it's a losing game since there's too many of them and only six of us but everyone fights back mercilessly. My body aches in protest from the movement but I grit my teeth as I deliver a hard punch to a guy that knocks him out cold.

"Mace! Duck!" I hear Judah yell and it takes me a second before I obey.

A man topples over me and I slam my boot into his face a few times before kicking his groin. I manage to reload my gun while he howls in pain. I kick his teeth in just as someone else knocks me down. I struggle against the woman before shooting her in the abdomen and shoving her off me. Judah races over to me and pulls me up before four more men attack us.

I turn to see the team fighting ahead of us as a first line of defense to prevent many people from getting to us at once. However, there's only so much they can do. But mid punch Cole turns to me and gestures for me to get into one of their cars that's by the end of the driveway. My eyes widen before I nod and grab Judah's hand.

"We need to get to that car!" I yell through all the commotion and he nods as we fight our way through the mob.

I notice the team moving in our direction to block anyone from stopping us. We're almost there when Judah cries out and stumbles. I look back in horror to see the man in charge pull a blade out from his back. I shoot the guy's shoulder and kneecap before kneeling beside Judah.

Acting fast I take off my jumper and tie it around him to stop the bleeding but just as I've finished tightening the knot I'm pulled back by my hair. Judah turns with a pained grunt and grabs hold of my hand to stop me. I shriek when the man's grip tightens and thrash against him while clutching at my roots to ease the pain somehow.

"Come with me or I shoot him!" He roars while pointing his gun at Judah's heart.

"Don't! I'll go with you!"

"Marcella! What the hell are you doing?!" Parker shouts when he sees me take a step forward.

"We're outnumbered!" I yell back angrily as I gesture to the chaos around us. "There's no use in fighting! We won't win!"

"Macy! Don't you fucking dare!" Judah yells as he struggles to stand.

I scream when they both shoot at each other and turn to run towards Judah but am caught before I can reach him. The man holds a gun to my head before screaming at everyone to stop. My worried gaze lands on Judah and I sigh in relief when I see the bullet only grazed his bicep.

I watch defeatedly as everyone settles and silence ensues. Reece winces as she steps forward with a hand outstretched warningly. I elbow his face with a snarl when he yanks on my hair again and he's about to retaliate when she distracts him.

"You want her alive don't you?"

I feel him shrug behind me with a chuckle. "The Russians will pay more than Quintana to have her killed."

"Seriously Mace?! How many people have you pissed off?!" Judah exclaims and I glare at him in response.

"Come on! Inside the house!" The man orders and gestures for us to move with his gun. I start walking before my heart drops at his next words directed to me. "Daddy will be here soon."

Update schedule is: once a week whenever I find time!

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