Chapter 7: Rule #7: Power is Given Only To Those Who Dare.

Beauregard.

I hopped onto the jet that we kept at a small airport just outside of Greenville and flew straight to New York. The Domenico's had plenty of property, but I didn't want to waste time calling Javier again, I needed to see him face to face. Knowing Javier, he would be avoiding the main center of operation and be in the 'Small House' in Bedford, New York. He was calmer in Bedford, plus, Carlos hated Bedford, and avoided it at all costs. Which worked out perfectly for me.

'The Small House' was a simple three-bedroom home, set off the road, nestled into the backwoods. It was so far removed from the penthouses and mansions that the Domenico's preferred, but it always felt homey to me, with its bright white siding and open uncovered windows.

It wasn't as innocent as the memories of life it held inside of it. No sooner had I pulled up into the long driveway did I see the screen door open. My inkling was right, he was here after all. From this distance in the driveway, I could see the gun tucked in Javier's jeans. It was only here that he allowed himself to look relaxed, wearing jeans and a flannel. His normally tamed curls were wild and frizzy here. It was most likely the sound of the rubble under my tires as I drove in that had awoken him from his slumber. Javier didn't sleep in the city. Too much blood. Too many expectations. The city brought out the worst in all of us. But especially in Javier.

"You could have called, Gálan." He loudly spoke from the porch as I got out of the rental.

"I needed to speak to you, and I needed to get out of Greenville to do it."

Javier nodded his head, and went back inside the Small House, I left my bag inside the car, unsure how long I'd be staying at the Small House. I followed Javie inside the house, it was decorated like it had been all those years ago when Mama Domenico was alive, this house was the house she had spent her last days in when she was sick.

"Sit down," Javier said as he went to the kitchen and brought out a bottle of amber liquid for himself, and water for me. He knew that I couldn't talk and drink, he also knew he couldn't hear me talk for too long without a drink... or two. He sat down without a word and poured himself a heavy serving and waited for me to start.

"Beatrice talked, and I'm under the pretty confident assumption that Ken entered a marriage alliance with one of the four families." That caught his attention, his eyes flashed to mine.

"Who?" His spine stiffened, and he nudged his drink to the side.

"The plans changed. I'm getting her out of the contract, and I need your help to do it." I abruptly laid out my plan, spewing it all over the table in front of Javier.

After I watched my twin blossom in the dirt under the sun like the most beautiful wildflower, she wasn't the insecure, anxious person I had seen before, not at all. She was intelligent, well-spoken, and sure of herself. I found myself finding a feeling familiar with her when she spoke of her loneliness, bristled by the lies that she had been fed by the man who she should have trusted with her future, a man who kept her sheltered and sick and then allowed her to trade herself to someone to cover his greed. I couldn't stand by and let it happen, not while she carried guilt, feeling responsible for her father.

"What happened with just observing, with seeing the different perspectives, Beau?" Javier was being cautious and I didn't blame him, but time was running out, and I was going to act with or without him.

"I'm afraid if I wait we're going to miss our window. Beatrice shut down when I pressed her about her groom. Ken Halifax has her all twisted up, Javie. He has her blaming herself for my assumed death and our mother being locked away. She literally said she was given an option to see her father killed in front of her or shielding him by pleading for another option. She said she chose without hesitation because in some small way she feels like she's paying that debt back. She'd fling herself in front of any conflict, Javier if she thought it would make any difference to the sins he has her believing she's committed."

"You're getting emotional hermanito." I hated it when Javier treated me like I was a kid overreacting.

"We are talking about my sister! My sister. Who sat in the middle of a dirty patch of earth at a homeless shelter that she helped fund. That no one, mind you, knows that she uses money that gets deposited into her bank account each month, that she turns around and funnels it back into this shelter for homeless individuals and spends her Saturday's making their homes beautiful. We're talking about a woman who's so selfless that instead of crying about herself being in an arranged marriage, she made it okay for me and told me the history of arranged marriages, Javie. When I asked her questions she avoided the ones that would implicate anyone else at fault. She sat with the kindest smile on her face while making excuses for that bitch she calls friend, who literally the night before was on the phone with me telling me she was going to fake being sick to get out of helping her at the shelter and suggesting we should go to the movies instead. She was surprised to see me, Javie...genuinely surprised to see me show up there to help. She's good. She's so good and everyone she knows has used that and perverted her goodness for their selfish wants. So, yeah, yeah...I'm emotional. " I said, taking a long gulp of water.

"What do you expect me to do, Beau?" Javier leaned back in the old wooden dining room chair.

"Help me. Let me bring her here, let me hide her here safely, and let me explain everything to her here." Granted, my plan wasn't completely thought out, but it was a start.

"You want me to help you kidnap your own sister, who doesn't know she's your sister. Bring her to my mother's house. Hold her captive so you can reprogram her from the years of brainwashing she's endured so that you can what, Beau? Arm her with a weapon? What will her role in the family be? Storyteller?"

"I know, Javier, I know the plan has holes, but I can't leave her there. I can't..." My steam was running out, I came here knowing that I was taking a risk. That just by bombarding Javier with this plan was potentially putting her in danger, not to mention, myself at risk of the Domenicos finding out that I couldn't go through with my orders.

"If you bring her here you're exposing her to our world, even more than she already is! You're basing your decision on an assumption that she's marrying a man from one of the four families. If she's not, and this man is some business partner or investor of Ken's, and we abduct her, then you're putting her at risk for nothing. How does this balance out, Beau? Is it worth the risk?"

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

"I can't be associated with this. You understand, don't you? If this goes poorly, I can't be implicated. You might be willing to risk your life for your sister. But I'm not willing to risk mine for her."

"I understand." I agreed.

"You can bring her here, of course, you can have access to the smaller of the jets, keep it off the books, but something strikes me that she won't come willingly, Beau. Have you considered your options, and how they would interact with her illness?"

"She's not sick." I decided to trust Javier with the truth about my sister's illness, hoping sharing this bit of information would make him an ally. I needed him to be interested enough to change his mind and get on board with my new plan.

"What do you mean she's not sick?" Javier was a man controlled. He never lost his cool, he was trained to be in control of himself, his thoughts, emotions, and feelings, it took a lot for Javier to get angry, and I could see him growing red with fury. Which was worse than anger.

"I pulled her medical records from every surrounding hospital, hacked into every single database searching for her name. There was only one clinic that showed a patient matching my sister's name and date of birth. A Dr. Bradley. I wasn't suspicious till I dug deeper discovering my sister's blood results were clean. She's not even low on iron, Javie. Dr. Bradley is privately paid..."

"Ken..." Javier connected the dots cursing under his breath.

"He kept her sick to keep her in his control, Javier. I have this gut feeling that he's going to kill her before she can even set foot down the aisle."

"Bring her here," Javier said, pushing back from the table. "You have access to all of my resources."

My risk was worth the reward. Not only would I have a safe place to land with my sister. But now thanks to Javie's alignment, I would also have the protection and medical resources to help my sister heal and recover. I rushed out the door, and back in my car, anxious to get back to Greenville.