Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 159

McKenzie

I didn’t know what else to do. I stood in front of my father’s bed, arms wide, putting myself between Ike and him.

Will did the same, only he moved to the other side of Mom’s bed to stand in front of all of us. “What do you want?” he growled.

Ike laughed. “My aren’t we prickly. Don’t panic. I’m not here to hurt anyone.”

“As opposed to blowing up the safehouse?” Dad said pointedly.

“That was a terrible tragedy,” Ike lamented. “You never know what people will do nowadays. Or how far they’ll go to get what they want.”

“Which brings me back to, what do you want, Ike? Or rather, what does he want?” Will asked.

Ike shrugged. “His freedom, of course. I’m here with a proposal. Caleb, you and Jacey will return to the Masterson Estate to recuperate and kindly decline any more silly requests to testify. You won’t get into trouble. In fact, I think we’d have an excellent case against the government for being so poorly equipped to keep you safe. On multiple occasions. You should really sue. I can help.”

“You can’t be serious.” Dad scoffed. “I know once we get back into the estate there’s no getting out. We’ll be there forever.”

“In the lap of luxury, with your daughter,” Ike said. “Not a bad trade-off.”

“I have a counter offer,” Dad replied. “Will, McKenzie, Jacey, and I all disappear. You never see or hear from us again. We don’t fucking testify, and you leave us the fuck alone!”

I noticed the strain it was putting on Dad’s body to shout at Ike. I touched his arm in the one spot that wasn’t bandaged. “Dad, you need to calm down,” I whispered.

“I’ll calm down when this fucker is gone,” he said, glaring at me then at Ike. “That’s a take-it-or-leave-it offer.”

“Then I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave it. Mr. Masterson has big plans for Will.” Ike examined his nails. “Though, perhaps, I could convince Mr. Masterson to let the three of you go… in exchange for not testifying. Naturally, we would be keeping an eye on you at all times. But then, we always have. Surely you’ve realized that by now.”

I snorted. There was no way I was going anywhere without Will.

“Yes. I have realized that.” Dad looked up at me. “You’d let the three of us go?”

What?! I couldn’t believe my father was even considering it! “Dad….”

“They accept,” Will said.

WHAT?!!! “They most certainly do not!” I yelled.

Ike laughed. “Now there’s going to be trouble in paradise. Why don’t we start with bringing you back to the estate and getting you both healthy? Then we can discuss the details of your freedom.”

“We’re not falling for that trick,” Dad said. “Once he has us, we’re at his mercy.”

“Hm. True. Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice.” Ike made a motion.

It was only then that I saw his bodyguard outside the door with a gurney.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Ike?!” Will snapped as Ike’s bodyguard wheeled the gurney inside, accompanied by two men in scrubs.

“My job. Stand aside, Will.” Ike waved a hand as though swatting a fly.

Will stood firm. “Hey, FBI! I’d like to report a kidnapping in progress! HELLO!!!”

Ike rolled his eyes. “Your constant faith in the goodness of mankind is quaint.”

No one came.

“Hey!” Will tried again, getting between the gurney and Dad’s bed.

“Horacio.” Ike sounded bored.

The bodyguard moved the gurney aside and went after Will.

“Stop!” I grabbed Horacio’s arm as the two of them grappled. Will was strong, but Horacio had clearly trained with the marines or something because he knew the moves to subdue him.

“McKenzie, I really wouldn’t get involved,” Ike warned me.

I didn’t let go. “Help! Help us!”

Two FBI agents came in.

Relief washed over me. “Masterson’s goons are trying to kidnap my parents! You have to stop them!”

Will was struggling in Horacio’s grasp, making loud sounds of frustration.

Horacio got tired of me hanging on him and finally threw me aside. I crashed into one of Dad’s monitors.

The FBI agents did nothing.

“Help us!” I said again.

The agents glanced at me briefly then went over to Horacio, who was having a hard time with Will. I wanted to cheer my man on. But I wasn’t sure what was happening.

One of them took out a syringe.

“Hey! Hey, stop! What do you think you’re doing!” I screamed, stepping forward. My head throbbed.

I turned and realized I’d broken the screen on the monitor. I put a hand to my head and it came back bloody.

“McKenzie!” Mom cried.

“McK—!” Will started then sagged in Horacio’s arms.

The FBI agent pulled the now empty syringe back. “These people are a real pain in the ass.”

“Tell me about it,” Ike grumped. “The doctor and his team are already set up at the estate. I suppose he’ll have to look at you, too, now.”

“What the hell is happening here?!” I asked, desperately looking around.

“The inevitable, McKenzie. Now, sit down by your mother and stop making this difficult. We want to make this as painless as possible for your father,” Ike said.

Horacio dumped Will next to my mother on her bed.

At the same time, the FBI agents secured the gurney next to Dad’s bed and began lifting him carefully from one to the other.

I took the opportunity to push past Ike and run to the door. “Help!” I yelled, running to the nurses’ station. “Help, call security! Call somebody!”

The nurses at the station looked away, pretending I wasn’t there.

I saw a security guard, but he also wouldn’t look at me.

A doctor came walking down the hall, and I ran to him, grabbing him by the front of his white coat. “Help! They’re trying to take my dad away, and he’s not in any condition to leave!”

The doctor peeled my hands away. “He’ll be fine.”

“He’ll be—what kind of doctor are you?!” I shouted in his face.

“One with student loans,” he replied. Then he pushed me away from him, turned on his heel, and walked away.

A hand fell on my shoulder, and I whipped around, coming face-to-face with Ike.

“McKenzie, are you finished now?” he asked like a father gently correcting his child.

I could feel my lower lip starting to tremble. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’d defeated me. Instead, I punched him in the face.

Ike winced, but that was all I got out of him. He grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back. Then he used his other hand to take a handkerchief out of his pocket and dab his split lip. “You really do have your father’s spunk. All I can say is that it’s a good thing he’s incapacitated because he’d probably be even more of a problem than Will.”

“When he’s feeling better, he’s going to kick your ass. Both of them are,” I promised.

He chuckled. “I don’t think so, but I like your spirit. Now, let’s go.” He marched me back ahead of him toward my parents’ hospital room.

Horacio had magicked up another gurney so the two FBI agents wheeled both Dad and Will into the hall. Mom had changed out of her hospital gown into something I could only assume Ike provided her. She’d probably had to change in front of the strange men.

I felt hatred for all of them boil deep inside me. But most strongly for Ike. And Masterson.

“Back entrance?” Ike asked one of the agents.

“Ambulance dock. We’ll get them out in two ambulances,” the agent replied.

“Excellent.” Ike turned to me. “Do I have to keep your arm twisted all the way home?”

No one was coming to help. No one. “No.”

He released my arm, and I rubbed it instinctively. “You’re going to get into the ambulance with Will and me. Horacio will be in the ambulance with your parents. We are all going back to the estate. Once everyone has calmed down, we can have a discussion about the future.”

“What discussion? You’re just going to tell us how it’s going to be,” I said bitterly.

“See? Now you’re getting it.” He smiled, not even seeming to notice his split lip.

I felt bile rise in my throat, and I knew it had nothing to do with my concussion. I didn’t answer him.

We took the elevator down to the ambulance dock. Two ambulances were already sitting, back doors open, waiting for us.

“You know, McKenzie, when you stop fighting the inevitable, life becomes quite easy. Just think of it like fate or destiny. You’ll thank Mr. Masterson and me later,” he went on as Will was loaded in one ambulance and my dad in the other.

I got into the ambulance after Will. One of the two EMTs offered me a callused hand to help me inside.

“Thank you,” I said glumly, only to look up into his face and gasp in surprise.

“Shh,” Shep whispered, giving me a wink.

“What’s the hold up?” Ike asked, peevish.

I scooted onto the bench next to Will. “Nothing. Sorry. I stubbed my toe.”

Ike rolled his eyes. “Bleeding from the head and now stubbing your toe? You’re just one walking catastrophe, aren’t you?”

The sound of a gun cocking answered better than I ever could. “I’m going to give you to the count of five to get your crew away from these ambulances. If you don’t, I’m gonna blow your brains out. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “Horacio, I think we and our friends need to take a little breather.”

Horacio popped his head out of the other ambulance. “Sir?” He saw the gun and went for his jacket.

Shep pulled a shotgun from behind the ambulance door and pointed it right at Horacio. “I suggest you get to steppin’.”

Horacio dropped his hand and then held both up, backing away from the ambulance slowly. “Cooper. Erdman. You need to get out of the ambulance. Slowly.”

“Why the—oh.” Cooper swallowed. They both held up their hands and followed Horacio, moving away from the ambulance.

“Now, just so you don’t do something stupid and call the police….” Dolly took a pair of zip-tie cuffs off her belt and cuffed Ike. “We’ll let him go when we’re good and ready.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Horacio said.

“Now, be a good little spineless asshole and throw your phone on the ground.” Dolly’s expression brooked no argument.

Ike slowly reached into his jacket pocket and then tossed his phone to Horacio. “Anything else?”

“Just one thing.” Dolly knocked him hard on the back of the head.

For such a small woman, she was quite strong, catching Ike as he went down like a sack of potatoes.

I got out of the ambulance to help her haul him inside while Shep kept the shotgun trained on the others.

“All right, then. I’ll see you soon, son.” Dolly patted Shep’s cheek and got into the driver’s seat of the ambulance that held my parents.

“McKenzie?” Mom asked, poking her head out.

“They’re friends.” I smiled at her, a tear rolling down my cheek. “Oh my God, someone actually came!”

Mom grinned back. “Those are the best days.” She stood and shut the ambulance doors.

Dolly took off while Shep still had the shotgun on the other three. Then he handed it to me and pointed the barrel down to Ike’s temple. “If they do something stupid, or he does something stupid, shoot,” he told me. Then he shut the doors and got in the driver’s seat.

I looked down at Ike with raw hatred as we sped off. “Please do something stupid,” I murmured.