Chapter 46

Roger was on lunch at the steel plant the temporary service had assigned him to when his phone rang and Jake's contact information came across his screen. With a feeling rich in foreboding, he answered the phone.

"We need to meet up when you get off work." Jake's voice immediately responded as a greeting.

"It'll be three am. What can't wait until tomorrow?" Roger asked warily.

"Boss wants to meet up. Three am is perfect. Meet us at the bar." Jake said then disconnected the call, to inform his boss when he'll be meeting them Roger assumed.

Roger gave a long sigh of frustration. They had been getting more and more insistent on updates and wanting more damning information each time. Roger couldn't provide any of the information they had been wanting confirmed. Either Rossalyn and Josiah were playing those details really close to the vest, or the rumors that had reached Jake's boss weren't true. Either way, Roger could tell their frustration level was rising more and more with each meeting.

The remaining hours of Roger's shift went by inconveniently fast, considering he was being ordered to a meeting he didn't want to attend. He made it out to his vehicle about a quarter past three and made his way to the bar pretty quickly, considering it was in the middle of the night. He pulled up to the bar half past three and was immediately greeted by two burly men in black suits. They opened the door to the bar and gestured for him to enter without a word.

"Good evening." Came a deep, somewhat familiar voice from a table not far inside the bar.

Roger looked around and seen the older man Josiah and Rossalyn had introduced him to at their gender reveal party. Though he suspected he was the man behind the scenes of the interactions with Jake, he still stopped for a moment as if surprised. He wasn't completely surprised but somehow meeting him face to face made the whole thing much more serious and real.

"Come, have a seat." George invited, gesturing to an empty chair across from him at his table. "Are you hungry? We have some things we could cook for you if you want a bite while we discuss some things."

"I'm fine, but thanks. What can I do for you?" Roger asked, looking around them to see several men standing around as if to guard their boss.

"It has come to my attention that my investment into your sister's child may have been a waste of time." George said, his tone light and conversational but his eyes were hard as diamonds.

"Has it?" Roger asked and raised an eyebrow in an expression of inquiry.

"It has. I knew from the beginning that they were not really wanting to accept this arrangement I offered to solidify our peace. I still want to preserve the peace we've found the last six months or so." George told him.

"How do you plan on doing that? If they want to back out of the arrangement, doesn't that more or less require a response from you?" Roger asked in confusion.

"Well, you're going to help me with that. There is no way I can get my men and her out of the house without Josiah's guards dogging their every step. Josiah doesn't let her out of his or his closest men's sights. But if her brother wanted to hang out with her and say slip her out the back of a store....well then that would be a little more possible." George told him.

"If Josiah finds out I help abduct his pregnant wife, he'll kill me family or not." Roger scoffed in disbelief.

"If you refuse, Josiah will find out that you've been gambling again and been passing sensitive information to me that he wouldn't be exactly pleased about. Of course it would lead to a fight that cannot be avoided between us, but you'll be involved either way." George told him sharply.

"What will stop him from killing you the moment that he gets her back? It isn't like you think you can keep her indefinitely." Roger said.

"You leave that to me. He'll yank his leash, but he won't pull too hard so long as I have her to keep her safe. Once the baby is born I'll release her as unharmed as possible. But we will have the arrangement whether they are a willing participant or not." George informed him.

Roger stared at him in horror. He was just casually discussing the kidnapping of his sister and niece as if there was nothing wrong with the situation. Roger couldn't believe what started off as some innocent confirmations had led him all the way to the situation he found himself in. He would be forced to do this in hopes that everything went right and he had enough time to disappear with Sarah and the kids before Josiah found out about his part. If he didn't, George would tell Josiah immediately and there would be no time to try to get to somewhere safe where hopefully its a very long time before Josiah tracks him down.

"So what is it going to be?" George demanded, evidently impatient to put his plan into action.

"I think we both know I don't have a choice, George." Roger said, his voice dripping venom.

"Excellent, I expect her to be in my presence within the next 48 hours. I tire of this back and forth and pulling teeth to get information out of them about the baby." George said and stood from the table. "Oh, and Roger?" He waited until Roger looked up at him from his seat at the table before continuing, "If you're thinking of confessing your sins to Josiah and Rossalyn to gamble on their forgiveness in light of telling them of my plans. I would reconsider. Your niece or your daughter will marry my grandson." George put a polaroid picture down on the table for Roger to see.

"You bastard!" Roger exploded from his seat only to be immediately restrained by the two men who had quietly positioned themselves behind him when their boss had stood from his seat.

The picture George had placed on the table was a picture of his daughter in an unfamiliar carseat in what was clearly an SUV next to Cylvia, George's wife that he had met at the gender reveal party. So they were going to hold his daughter hostage until he fulfilled his assignment.

"How do you think this won't get back to Josiah with my daughter being taken. It isn't like Sarah isn't going to notice her gone!" Roger demanded furiously.

"Oh, Sarah won't be making any calls. She and your son are being held elsewhere. Don't worry the family will make a happy reunion when I have what I want." George said then walked out of the bar.