Jail's Bait: Time Served (Book 5)

Marquis sped up to where his father lay in the dusty corridor, skidding to a halt as Rah-Rah got groggily to his feet.  He turned back to the door- or what was once a door, now a large slab of metal.  Marquis’s eyes grew wide with horror- Grandpa and Uncle Danny are still inside the room...! 

Rah-Rah frantically began to bang on the door, producing a muted, muffled sound in the silence- the metal sounded like it was extremely thick, the way it muted the pounding. 

“Dad!!!  DAD!!!”  Rah-Rah cried out.  “Aww shyt- Danny!!!  Can you guys hear me???”  And he continued to bang on the door, then he cast about the corridor wildly for something to assist him in breaking through. 

Marquis sank to the floor in despair as Lionel came running down the hallway.  It-it’s too late… I tried to get back to warn y’all… aww, damn,” he started to sob. 

Lionel ran up to Marquis and Rah-Rah.  “Is it shut?  Who’s in there?” he frantically asked. 

Rah-Rah, his hands on the metal surface, turned to Lionel with deadened eyes.  “Your brother… and my father.” 

Lionel frowned in confusion.  “Your father…?  I thought he was dead...!” 

“So did we, Lionel.  I guess it aint a surprise that Joe lied to you, however,” Rah-Rah added with a snort. 

“Joe...?  You mean Joe’s had his own brother locked up in the West Wing all these years...?” Lionel asked with a horrified glance at the sealed door. 

Rah-Rah nodded grimly.  “Pretty much… DAD!!!” he cried out again, trying to bang on the door some more. 

Lionel reached over and helped the crying Marquis to his feet.  “We’d better get back downstairs, maybe go find out what’s in the toolshed in the barn; maybe we’ll find something that may help us… Rah-Rah, come on,” Lionel insisted. 

Rah-Rah placed both hands spread-fingered on the metal door, his face stricken.  “I cant just leave my dad in there.. I just got the man back!!!” 

Marquis wiped his tears away and reached out to his father.  “Let’s go find something then, Dad; some tools or something, make some calls... and I left my cell down in the den,” he added. 

Rah-Rah looked at his son for a second; then he turned back to the door.  “DAD, if you can hear me, we’ll be back.” And with that the three turned and headed back for the main hall. 

They turned the corner in silence and was halfway down the corridor leading to the crosspoints in the manor, when they heard something loud and brassy coming from farther into the house; like a broken radio turned to full volume. 

“What’s that sound...?” Lionel asked with a frown. 

*******

Back in the den, three seconds after the midnight chime had stopped ringing, the others couched in tension on the couches and chairs while waiting for news.  “What do y’all think happened...?” asked Regine to no one in particular. 

“Did they all get out, I wonder...?” Ranell asked aloud, also looking for no real response. 

“Lamar, where are you going?” 

Everyone turned towards the desk where Malk and Lamar sat together.  Lamar had gotten to his feet- the speaker had been Malik.  Lamar’s eyes flashed.  “To see what happened to my dad.  Don’t get in my way, Malik.” 

Malik, however, stood up, one hand held in hesitation. “Baby, you just had an attack.  Can you please just relax and let the others handle it...?  I’m sure that no one will get locked in-” 

Just then a voice resounded through the den as if from a PA system, startling everybody: 

‘Allo, zis is Jacques Re’Vanche, can everyone currently in Crimson Crest, come to ze foyer of ze main hall?  Servants too, please…’ 

There’s a intercom in this house...? Ranell asked, looking around. 

“Was that Jake...?” Kap asked with a frown. 

“Jake, your friend from college...?” Malik asked him. 

“Marquis's friend from college,” Kap corrected wryly.  “What is he doing here...?  We left him at HT.” 

“Well, let’s go see what Jake wants that’s so important that he’d show up in the middle of the night…” Lamar said, stretching his limbs and heading for the den door. 

Regine, Ranell, Malik, Lamar and Kap headed out of the den followed by the lawyers.  They headed for the great Hall, made a turn into the foyer – and froze in their tracks. 

*******

Upstairs in the West Wing, Marquis frowned.  “That sounded like Jake,” he said to Rah-Rah and Lionel. 

“Your friend from school...?” Rah-Rah asked. 

“Yeah, what’s he doing here right now?  I left him at HT,” Marquis replied. 

“We’re headed downstairs, so let’s go find out,” Lionel said; “since your friend feels the need to summon everyone in the house to the front foyer right now.” 

And with that the three of them headed through the maze of passages to the stairwell leading down… yet as soon as they got to the landing they took one look down- and stopped short. 

*******

What looked like three dozen of southern California’s meanest thuggs stood on rows of six just inside the main foyer.  Each thug was dressed in black fatigues, with black bandanas over their noses in a wild-west style, and every one of them held a shotgun, pointed straight at the Hill family, the servants and the lawyers. 

Jake stood in the vanguard, impeccably dressed in a black silk suit, white shirt and black tie, and a glittering gold chain draped around his neck, on which dangled a bright red ruby on the end.  He held a black briefcase in his hand, and he was smiling calmly as he looked around. 

”Jake, what the hell is this,” Malik in a low, wary tone. 

Jake smiled at everyone.  “Good evening, Hill family,” he proclaimed, using perfect fluent English this time- all traces of the French accent gone.  “I know it’s late, and I would have been here a while ago, but for a few last-minute snags,” he said.  “I just came to tell you all… to get the hell off my property.” 

*******

Danny and Trey remained where they were in the utter darkness for a moment; Danny couldn’t see the difference even when he tried to blink.  One hand was still gripped onto the shackle that held Trey to the wall.  Fumbling, he found a space on the bed to crawl onto, sitting down next to Trey in the absolute black.  Then he heard a clinking, and realized that Trey had placed his chained arm around Danny’s shoulders. 

“Are you okay, Danny-boy?” 

His voice was just as soothing, just as sexy and compelling as he remembered.  Being so close to Trey again, his arm wrapped around Danny’s shoulders, his voice almost inside Danny’s ear in the the dark, caused a warmth to rush through his body and settle down near his asshole, which automatically twitched in response. 

He suddenly stood up, Trey’s arm falling to the bed again.  “I-I’m fine, Trey… my god, its pitch-black in here,” he stammered, trying to make small talk.  “First things first: Did the nurse happen to keep matches for those candles over your bed in here?” 

It seemed like Trey hesitated, then his voice responded out of the darkness:  “Over in the corner there’s a chest of drawers; in the top the nurse kept the matches.  Think you can make it over there?” 

“I did have blindfold training,” Danny reminded Trey.  “I also was eidetically trained.”  He closed his eyes, recalling to himself the layout of the room.  He stood to his feet.  “I’m facing you; where in the room is the dresser-drawer from my position?” 

Trey thought about it, recalling his own police training.  “To your position, the dresser is at 5:20, 7.5 feet dead on.” 

Danny automatically turned approzimately 180 degees, walked a measured pace in a straight line, until he bumped into the chest, which stood about as high as his pecs.  “Found it,” he replied aloud. 

“Okay, check the top drawer first; there are buttons on the front,” Trey instructed. 

Feeling around, Danny found the buttons and pulled.  The drawer opened with a rasping sound… he reached in and felt about.  In seconds his fingers closed on the end of a small box that had a scratchy side.  “I found the matches… and I think something else,” Danny called out, a tone of curiosity in his voice. 

“Great; so light a match and come back over,” Trey’s voice sounded. 

Sliding the box open, he found the wooden slivers inside; picking one up, he closed the box and tried sliding it against the side.  The rasp of the match against the grain produced a bright flare- Danny blinked and almost dropped the lit match.  “Wow, that’s bright,” he said, squinting as he stumbled back across the room.  He could make out the bed, Trey and a set of candles in their sconces above the bed; he managed to lean over Trey and light one of the candles just before it burned away the part he held. 

As he bent over the chained man, Trey automatically grabbed Danny his waist with his free hand and hold on, to ground him.  Danny felt his dick rise quickly, against his will. 

“Sorry,” he grumbled as he pulled away from Trey’s hold and crossed to the other side of the bed and lighting the other candle.  “There, that’s better,” he replied, as the combined light of the candles filled the room with, at best, a shimmering gloom. 

“So what was that other thing you found in the dresser,” Trey asked as Danny came back to his side of the bed. 

“Something I hope will make all the difference,” Danny replied, as he held up a shiny object, flaring in the candlelight- a key. 

Trey’s eyes grew wide with hope.  “You don’t think,” he began, too stunned to go further. 

“Let’s see,” Danny nodded as he reached for Trey’s shackled arm, searching for a keyhole.  Sure enough, there was one just underneath the catch.  Danny murmured a silent prayer as he placed the key against the keyhole. 

It slid in easily.  Danny turned the key in the lock, and with a click, the shackle fell from Trey’s arm to clatter against the wall. 

Trey grabbed his arm with a loud whoop, massaging it- and then he turned to Danny, eyes filled with happiness.  “I’m free,” he cried out then, getting to his feet and grabbing Danny by the waist, lifting him up and spinning him around in a happy dance. 

“HEYYYYY,” Danny yelped as Trey hoisted him about.  Then Trey let him down, so that they faced each other, both chests heaving, eyes glued to each other… it was almost as if no time had passed at all between them; they were 13 years younger, strong, and in love… 

“Aww, partna,” Trey breathed, stubbled chin looking so, so sexy in the candlelight, “I missed you.” 

Danny hesitated- and then flung himself into Trey’s arms, smelling light traces of his male scent in his clothes, feeling Trey’s powerful arms around him, pulling him close… 

*******

“…Wake up, partna..” 

Danny’s eyes flickered once, twice… he blinked.  The room came into focus then, filled with candlelight, and he was laying on the softest bed he’d ever lain on in his life.  Laying next to him, perched on one elblw, eyes filled with mirth, was Ray- no, it was Trey… it was Trey, after all… 

“You fainted,” Trey explained, hands exploring Danny’s face.  “It really just hit ya then, huh,” he guessed shrewdly. 

“Trey, I thought you were dead for the past thirteen years- that’s a long, long time,” Danny murmured then, reaching out to stroke the stubble on Trey’s face.  “I thought you had left me forever.” 

“Yeah, so did I,” Trey added with a smile.  “But I guess the universe gotz other plans for such as ourselves,” he replied loftily, giving Danny a wink. 

“Right now I would really love to resurrect Joe, just to kill him off again,” Danny groaned; “I can’t believe the lengths he went through just to get some misguided revenge on me.” 

“I can,” Trey said.  “Didn’t he set you up with this impostor that has my face...?” 

Danny stopped short.  He raised his head from the bed, facing Trey.  “Aww, god,” Danny said, “Joe never told you...?” 

Told me what...? Trey asked, a puzzled look on his features. 

Danny sighed, and sat up, settling himself next to Trey.  He sighed.  “That guy, whose got your face… his name is Ray… and he’s your twin.” 

The look on Trey’s face switched from slightly puzzled to pure shock.  He got to his feet, staring at Danny.  “All I was ever told when I was a child was that I was the product of a rich man’s affair with his servant, and I was given to an orphanage to avoid any scandal.  I even knew I had a half brother out there somewhere, but no one EVER told me I had a twin...!” 

“Joe did research after you… well, after he allowed everyone to believe you were dead,” Danny explained.  There’s proof that your mother gave birth to you at that very orphanage you grew up in.  Well, somehow you two must have been separated then, maybe only one of you could be adopted at a time,” Danny speculated.  “All I know is that there was no documented evidence that there was a twin birth, so it is possible that Ray’s birth was either purposely or accidentally hidden for some reason…” 

Trey stared at Danny, a look of timeless regret on his face.  “Well, I always did believe there was a brother I just had to find out there somewhere,” he admitted with a sigh, sitting back down on the bed and staring at Danny in the candlelight.  “And you’re sure that this Ray guy is my brother...?” 

“Pretty much.  A DNA test was involved…. and for further verification, Joe just broke the news in the video-will we watched tonight; it’s all true. He has his inheritance and everything,” Danny added. 

Trey stared at Danny. “And, as usual, Joe knew about all this, huh?  And never thought to tell me?” 

“Trey, Joe kept secrets better than the government,” Danny replied.  “If there’s any justice in this world, that bastard is sitting in the ninth level of hell right now, happily burning.” 

Trey sat for a time, not saying anything.  “I have a twin brother… I can’t believe it,” he finally whispered. 

“And apparently, that’s not all,” Danny said; “it came out in the will that you have a sister too… she’s down in the den here at Crimson Crest; her name is Ranell.” 

Trey looked at Danny with fresh surprise.  “Another sibling?” 

“Yes, and it appears that she’s got twin granddaughters, and they go to the same college that Marquis attends.  He already knows them, they’re friends with his fiancée.” 

“Fiancee...?  My grandson’s getting married...?”  Trey let out a low breath.  “I’ve missed so much…  I guess that big family I’ve always wanted is actually right downstairs, waiting for me,” he said wistfully. 

“Th-There’s a whole lot more I want to tell you,” Danny slowly said then… 

Trey sensed the hesitation.  “Don’t worry about it,” he replied.  “I know that you are in a relationship with Ray. 

Danny did a double-take.  “How did you know that,” he asked in shock. 

“Earlier, he involuntarily grabbed your arm when you tried to come closer to me,” Trey said in observation.  “I’m a cop; I figured it out.” 

Danny nodded then, lowering his head. 

Trey reached over and patted his hand on Danny’s leg.  “Don’t worry about it, Danny-boy; I’ll talk to him, make him understand.” 

Danny smiled curiously at Trey.  “Understand what?” 

“Well, I was dead… and I’m back now,” Trey said brightly; “and Ray will come to understand that his presence in your bed is no longer required- now that we’re back together,” he added with a winning smile.