Avenging Laura (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Highlander was going apeshit. His wife has been missing for two fucking days and his bitch of a mother-in-law wasn’t talking. This woman, Jeannette, wasn’t helping at the moment either. Laura loved her grandmother, yet he didn’t understand why this woman wasn’t making her own daughter talk.

“Hey, Joe.”

Highlander turned around to see Shane and Pattrick Jones walking into the department followed by his parents, Sheila and Eddie Jones. Highlander couldn’t help but give a soft smile to the little sister that Laura adored more than anything, besides her brother, her team, him, and their children.

“Hey, lass,” Highlander murmured softly as he engulfed her into a hug, holding on for dear life.

“Any news?” Pattrick moved near his wife as she pulled back from Highlander’s embrace.

“Nothing. We have Laura’s mother in holding but she’s refusing to talk.” Highlander sighed, running his hands up and down his face before sliding them through his hair.

“Why? You think she has something to do with her kidnapping?” Shane glared at Highlander confused.

“She knows more than she is telling. She’s refusing to talk, and her attorney is threatening to sue us. She’s even threatening to sue me to take Cody away from me. Dominick nearly lost his shite on her when she spouted that. I had to take him out of the room.”

“It’s no secret Dom can’t stand the woman. There’s got to be a way to get her to talk,” Shane huffed as she leaned back into Pattrick.

“That’s because you aren’t asking the right questions, son.”

Highlander started at the statement as he turned to watch Laura’s elderly grandmother hobble down the hallway, dressed to the nines as always. Using her sporty cane she walked with, she headed where everyone was standing.

“Asking the right questions? What the hell does that mean?” Shane asked, stepping in front of Highlander as if to defend him.

The older woman just chuckled as she studied Shane through her glasses that seemed to be slipping down her nose. Once she got in front of Shane, Pattrick, and Highlander, she looked up at the three and smirked.

“You must be Shane. My granddaughter has told me a lot about you. So has my grandson. Since they both claim you as their sister, despite that asshole you have for a father, I’ll claim you as my granddaughter, too. Now, as I was saying, you’re not asking the right questions. You want her to talk, threaten her freedom of being able to show her face in polite society again. Inform her that you will make sure every country club in America knows that she sat by while her husband and former son-in-law beat my granddaughter. How she sat by while they threatened to sell her to the highest bidder when they were done with her,” Jeannette said, her eyes turning to fire.

“If you knew all that, then why did you sit by?” Shane questioned, anger in her voice despite knowing that Dom and Laura loved this woman.

“Because my grandmother didn’t know until I told her.”

Everyone turned to see Dominic Pratt walking into the area where everyone was standing. When he reached the group, he reached over and placed a kiss on his grandmother’s head as he stood tall next to the older woman.

“I didn’t know. I knew that my former son-in-law didn’t like my granddaughter because he considered her crippled and useless because of her hearing loss. But I never knew of all the other horrible things that happened. She nor Dominick ever told me. Had I known what was going on with my granddaughter, you can bet your cherry wine ass I would have used every arsenal I had to take both of them out of that home and put them under my roof.”

“I know you would have, Grandma. As I told you, we were worried Dad would have followed through with his threat to ruin you and we’d never see you again.”

“Humph. That waste of jizz wished he could have ruined me. He had no legs to stand on where I was concerned. The only reason he made his ranks was because of my family name. My grandfather didn’t immigrate from Ireland to the United States and sit on his arse. He served this great nation with honor and dignity. He built the family business into one of the most profitable companies in the world. It still remains that way. His arse is just upset that he wasn’t getting his filthy mitts on it. At least out of the three children I did have, two turned out pretty damn decent.”

“Wait, Kathy has siblings?” Dom and Highlander looked at the elderly woman in confusion.

“Yes. You have both an auntie and an uncle. Your aunt Ruth owns her own business, has a good husband who treats her well, and three children of her own. Your uncle Charlie now runs your grandfather’s business and does a damn good job. He and his wife, who runs the research lab of the company are damn good people. Their four kids are pretty awesome too. They both hate the fact that your mother has kept you two away. They ask about you all the time.”

“But you’ve never talked to us about them before,” Dominick responded, shock in his voice hearing that he had an aunt and an uncle.

“Do you know anything about your father’s side of the family?” Jeannette countered, staring Dominick down.

“N-no ma’am. We don’t.”

“That’s what you need to ask your mother about. She knows more than she is letting on. More than all of us put together. She knows about your father’s operation,” Jeannette insisted as she patted Dominick’s chest.

“Ye keep mentioning just my lass and Dom. Ye don’t include Maria in that scenario?” Highlander tilted his head as he looked over at Jeannette.

“No. She is her father inside and out. The perfect daughter according to that waste of jizz. I swear when the good Lord was talking about brains those two thought He said trains.” Jeannette shook her head as she wrapped her arm around Dominick’s.

“She’s right. Maria always preferred Dad over Mom. I think that is where we start.”

“Good. Then let’s get down to business. I’m tired of sitting here waiting to get my detective back. This bitch better talk today, no offense ma’am, I know she’s your daughter. But if she doesn’t talk, we go my route, and it won’t be pretty. Lawyers be damned,” Captain Kathrine Irby stated as she walked into the room, staring everyone down.

“Goodie. Let the games begin!” Jeannette clapped her hands awkwardly.