“Easy for you to say, you remember what the outside world looks like,” Hayli snips.  Snapping her head at Daniel she gripes, “Do you have to breathe so goddamn loud?”

“Do you have chew so loud?”

Normally I would snicker, but given the situation, the timing, the subject, I just don't have it in me.

Madden strolls out of bedroom shouting into the phone, “Fuck! No! I can't-just- shut the fuck up. I'll be by in a few.” As soon as he hangs up, he demands, “Drew. Let's go.”

“Where?” Drew questions. When Madden glares, he stands up, and surrenders. “Nevermind. Let's go.”

Before they're out the door, I call to Madden, surprised he's even stopped moving for this long. “Hey, Mad Man. I have an idea on how to save Jovi.”

Holding the door open for Drew to go through he bites, “I don't need your fucking ideas. I need you to just sit the fuck tight and wait for us to get something together that'll actually work.”

The pain from his lack of faith in me echoes with the slam of the door behind them.

I turn to Destin, “Will you-”

“Nope.” Destin rises to his feet. “I'm gonna grab a nap. Not much more I can do until Madden decides what it is he wants to do next.”

“But I-”

“No.” Destin strolls out of the room with his lap top.

Defeated, I slouch further down as Hayli sighs, “I want a bath.”

Daniel cocks a grin. “For two?”

She tilts her head at him. “I'm not that desperate yet.”

“Run the girl a bath and then swing by the bar to get your dick wet,” Knoxie demands entering the room.

“Love that fucking idea.” Daniel hops up. “Come on fire crotch. Let's get you wet.”

“There's so much wrong with those sentences,” Hayli grumbles following behind him the direction of the bedrooms.

Knoxie flops on the couch beside me, clearly exhausted from more than just what I've been seeing.

I've seen Madden treat her like shit before, but this is even worse.

“Wanna talk about it?” I quietly ask.

“You wanna listen to my idea about how to get Jovi back?”

She shakes her head and we enter a small stretch of silence.

Quietly I confess, “I gotta get outta here and get some air, Knox.”

“You heard your overbearing dickhead brother. He wants you to stay in the house.”

“Yeah well, he's not always right.”

Knox lifts her eyebrows. “Ain't that the fucking truth.” She rolls her head over to me. “However, I can't let you go out.”

“What if...” my sentence stops as Daniel rounds the corner.

Taking out his keys he announces, “I will be back. Full. Fucked. And feeling fantastic.”

“Just go,” Knox demands.

As soon as he shuts the door, I suggest, “What if you didn't see me go out?”

Sarcastically she tilts her head.

“What if...no one did. So no one is to blame.”

“Then we're all to blame.”

“Madden included,” I point out cleverly.

“You really think that's gonna hold up?”

“It'll hold up well enough not to let all the blame fall on you.” She folds her arms across her chest, her defenses weakening. “Come on, Knox. I'll be gone just a couple hours.”

“Where do you wanna go?”

I have a plan. It's crazy. It's insane. I think it'll work, but you've seen this whole fucking household.  No one is gonna listen to me. No one wants to hear it, but it needs to be heard. Trust me on this one. Just...go with me on it.

“Just...on a drive. I'm going insane here. This is the longest I haven't been behind the wheel of car since I was 10.”

“Aw, I remember when we let you drive the 4 wheelers.”

“This shit is killing me. Between Ben's death and Jovi's kidnapping, I need something...anything I can control.”

Knox lets out a deep sigh and shakes her head. “I don't condone this.” Standing she gives me a mischievous smirk. “I'm gonna go shower while you sit here, in a house with no big brothers to watch over you, and grieve over photos of Jovi on your phone.”

“Yes,” I lie like she wants. “Grieving over photos of Jovi.”

“Try not to make yourself too upset,” Knoxie winks and heads back the direction of her room.

The window of escape is small, but perfect. As soon as I hear her door shut, I quickly grab my keys off the bar where Madden has demanded they stay in his sight.

Yes. He's that controlling right now.

Darting out of the apartment before Knoxie can rethink her decision about looking the other direction, I start to play over and over in my head exactly what I plan to say when the chance comes.

I've got one shot to make this right. I won't fuck it up. I swear.

              After zipping up my hoodie, I cautiously jog around the corner from my car towards the one place I know I need to be even if no one agrees with me.

My side remember? You're supposed to be on my side.

Looking around constantly to insure I'm not being watched, I arrive at the front door giving it a heavy knock.

Thankfully the first face I see isn't going to bash mine in. “Merrick...”

“Nadie,” I greet her sweetly in return.

Gripping the edge of the door, she leans her face against it. “Now's not really a good time. Jovi's not here. She hasn't been here for a couple days. Actually, now that you're here, I should ask. Have you seen her? Please tell me you've seen her.”

My mouth drops to reply when the door is yanked open harshly and a face that I prayed when I finally did meet it, would be under completely different circumstances and he would be trying to figure out how to divorce us not kill me.

Oh yeah. He's gonna try to kill me.

“Who the hell are you?” The Commissioner's voice booms.

“Hello Commissioner Carter. My name is Merrick McCoy.”

“McCoy? As in-”

“The McCoys.”

“What the hell is a McCoy doing on my door step?”

“I'm your daughter's fiance-”

They shriek together. “Fiance?!”

On a deep breath I push past it. “And I'm the reason she's been kidnapped.”

Much faster than I anticipated, he wheels himself quickly around and tosses me against the wall. His large hand wraps tightly around my throat, fingers digging into my pressure points.

Fucking impressive for a guy his age. He's commissioner for a reason right?

“Nicholas!” Nadie screams banging on his arm to let me go.

I don't struggle for him to drop me. Instead I ease as many shallow breaths as I can while waiting for him to give up on trying to kill me on his front porch.

We all know I deserve much worse than this.

“You can't  kill him,” Nadie pleads.

The Commissioner crushes my windpipe tighter. “I can.”

“Nicholas!”

His hand unclenches and air rushes back to my burning lungs. As he watches me struggle for oxygen he grunts, “In my house. Now.”

Nodding rapidly I slink past him inside, looking around my surroundings once more.

Can't be too careful with what's about to happen next.

Nadie leads me around to the living room, a place I've never actually been before.

Come to think about it, besides the kitchen where Nadie made us breakfast and Jovi's amazing bed, I haven't seen much of this house. Not complaining. Right...Head in the game.

Carefully I have a seat on the couch while stroking the bruising flesh.

“I'm going to get you an ice pack,” Nadie volunteers.

The Commissioner immediate says, “No.” With an even more livid expression than he originally was wearing before, he stops in front of me and demands, “Speak.”

“My name is Merrick McCoy-”

“I heard you the first time.”

“Jovi's my fiance.”

“Heard that lie as well.”

“It's not a lie,” I cautiously argue. “Today would've been our wedding day.”