Happiness was not the word. I was ecstatic, joyous and blissfully content. I had my son, my best friend, my brother and the love of my life. I could literally cry from happiness.

After our steamy night at the cabin, Alejandro and I had woken up to find an elderly couple watching us with happy smiles. Getting over my initial feeling of being creeped out, because who just watches people while they sleep?, Alejandro and I had apologized profusely for intruding on their home. They had waved it off and said they were happy to help us in our time of need. They had left us their numbers and said if we ever wanted to use the cabin again, to just give them a call.

We had returned home to find a puffy eyes Benjy. My heart broke knowing I had scared my little man so much, but I promptly promised to never do it again. He still walked to our room in the middle of the night to make sure we were there and hadn't left him. But it was getting better.

Alejandro and I had spent the last weeks since the cabin living life like a newlywed couple. In bed. But we still found time for Benjy and work. Often doing whatever we could to spend time together as a family. Either watching How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, that was currently his favorite movie, or he would color while Alejandro and I did some work in his office.

My family was happy. I was currently driving to Benjy's school to pick him up. He had insisted on surprising Alejandro with lunch after school. He had called it a Daddy Momma Benjy date. That little boy just melted my heart. I found an empty parking space and quickly parked the car. I grabbed my bag and got out. I made my way to Benjy's class and walked in, expecting to find my curly haired little boy but he wasn't anywhere in sight. I walked to his teachers desk and said a quick hello.

"Oh Hello ma'am"

"Hello Ms Parker. Where's Benjy?", I asked

"Oh Benjamin's father has already been here to pick him up", she informed

"Really?"

"Oh yes. They left not too long ago"

"Well okay then. I'll be leaving now. Have a great day"

"You too Ma'am"

Maybe Alejandro had some surprised of his own planned. I grinned like a little school just at the thought of him. It was like falling in love all over again. I hurries to the car and drove as fast as the law would allow, out of the parking lot and to Alejandro's office. I was there in no time.

As soon as I stepped into the lobby, a flurry of employees went out of their way to say hello to me. I took the private elevator to Alejandro's office. As I stepped in, I was greeted with the gorgeous, sexy sight of my very sexy man. He looked up at the sound of the door swinging open and immediately his face broke into a dazzling smile. He met me halfway.

"Sweetheart what are you doing here?"

"Well someone doesn't sound happy to see me"

"Don't get me wrong baby, I'm just surprised"

"Well is it a good surprise?"

"Very good", he inched his hands around my waist while placing his head in the crook of my neck. I had an idea of where this was going but with Benjy somewhere around the area, this was neither the time nor the place. I reluctantly pulled away.

"So, is there anything you wanna tell me?"

He looked at me quizzically, "Something like what?", he asked

"Oh I don't know. A surprise maybe"

"Uh, no?"

"Are you sure?", I pressed

"Baby I have no idea what you're talking about"

I never knew Alejandro could be such a damn good actor. He genuinely looked confused. "Okay I let you have your fun. I miss my baby, come on where is he?"

"Isn't he supposed to be with you?", he asked confusedly. Someone give this guy an Oscar.

"I know all about your little plans and I'm sorry I have to ruin them but I just miss Benjy so much. Where is he?"

"He's not here Diana"

"Ale. I went to the school alright. They told me you had been there to pick him up", he's refusal was starting to get frustrating, and frankly, a little frightening.

"Well that's impossible cause I've been here all morning"

"Ale. This isn't funny"

"And I'm not laughing Benjamin's not here"

"That can't be right. He wasn't in class when I got there. They told me his father had been there to lick him up"

"I've been here all day Diana. I haven't even stepped out of the office"

"Wait his father. His father-"

I was interrupted by the shrill ringing of the phone on Alejandro's rich, mahogany desk. He quickly licked up the phone and listened to the person on the line. Judging by the intense look of worry on his face, I assumed the news was terrible.

"Who was that?", I asked

"The police"

My heart dropped to my stomach. It was never good news when the police called. God please let him be ok, let my baby be ok. "What did they want?"

"Sweetheart I think you need to sit down", he helped me to the sofa on the other side of the office

"Alejandro what did they want?", I asked again. I was correct in my assumption of the news being terrible, because the words Alejandro uttered next, shocked me to the core.

"It's Michael. He broke out of jail last night"

*********************

I sat frozen in the chair with tears running down my cheeks. I couldn't even find it in me to scream or cry out loud. I felt sorely defeated. My boy, my sweet innocent little boy. Stelly stroked my hair, trying to give me the moral support I desperately needed. The police had tried to question me as soon as Alejandro notified that Benjy was missing. But between my broken sobs and hysterical crying, I doubt I was of much help. Alejandro had rapidly taken me away from them when he realized their questions only made me more distressed. I knew that usually with a missing persons case, it took some time for the case to be treated as a matter of concern. But judging by the number of police officers swarming the foyer, I guess Alejandro had a lot of friends in high places. One of the police officers walked up to me, probably to give another try.

"Mrs Delmanti, I know you're in distress right now but please if we're going to find your son any faster we need your help"

Steely fixed the burly man with a glare, "This is not the appropriate time. Gosh what is wrong with you people?, can't you see she's in pain. I should-"

"Stelly", I interrupted, "It's ok"

"Are you sure D?", I nodded. She got up and turned to walk away, but not before giving the man a warning glare. Telling him that if I ended up crying again, it was his ass on the line.

"So Mrs Delmanti, Mr Thayers is your ex husband correct?"

"Yes"

"Why did you divorce him?"

"He assaulted me. Physically and sexually. Michael was a violent man"

"Was he ever violent with Benjamin?"

"No. But sometimes he would make him watch when he beat me"

"I understand that Me Thayerd was imprisoned for other charged apart from your assault charges"

"Fraud, tax evasion, arson. You name it"

"Did Mr Thayers ever try to get in contact with you after the trial?"

"No"

"Mrs Delmanti we have reason to believe that this is a kidnap for ransom situation, so very soon you may be getting a call from your ex husband. Your phone has been connected to our computers, so as soon as he calls, you just have to keep him on the phone for as long as possible so we can pinpoint his exact location"

"Okay"

Not too long after, we heard my phone ring. I looked at Alejandro who quickly walked over to me.

"It's ok baby, you can do this. I'm right here", he encouraged.

I nimbly nodded and picked up the call, putting the phone on loudspeaker so everyone could hear what the bastard had to say. "Hello?"

"Oh sweet pea how I've longed to hear your voice"

I nearly crumbled in defeat but Alejandro's strong, sturdy arms kept me up. "Where's Benjy Michael?"

"No hey?, how are you?, you've lost your manners sweet pea. I might have to beat them into you all over again"

"Now listen here you little punk-", the venom in Alejandro's voice surprised everyone in the room.

"Ah the Italian pretty boy. How does it feel enjoying my leftovers?. You know you should me thanking me, I practically built you the perfect little bitch", he mused

"You better pray I don't find you Thayers, or I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands. Where's my son?"

"Your son?, oh this is rich. How many times did she take it in the ass to be able to get you to do that?"

"Please Michael, I'm begging you. Whatever it is you want, just please tell me where my son is"

"10 million dollars. All 5's and 10's, in stacks of a hundred. I'll send you a location, no police"

"Ok", Alejandro said, "Right aw-"

"Oh not you pretty boy. Diana"

"You must be out of your damn mind", Alejandro said

"You'll find soon enough that I'm crazy enough to mean what I'm saying Mr Delmanti", he spat Alejandro's name with such disgust, I was appalled. "Diana. No one else. If I so much as get a hint of the police or anyone else around, I will not be held responsible for what happens to the kid"

"He's your son. Your own flesh and blood. How could you?", Alejandro asked

"I suggest you get started getting my money. He's already getting on my nerves". And the line went dead. I furiously tried to choke back my sobs, not wanting to break down in front of the numerous police officers. Alejandro made a call to his secretary and asked her to go to the bank and get the money ready.

I turned to them, "How soon can I leave?"

"As soon as the money is ready", the detective answered

"You can't seriously be considering this Diana"

"Yes I can. That's my son Alejandro. You can't just expect me to sit back while I know I could do something"

"Diana think this through. He may not even let you leave", he begged

"I don't care Alejandro. That's my baby. My baby boy. If I have to sell my soul then so be it"

"No. You are not leaving and that's final"

"I can't. He's my son Alejandro!"

"He's mine too Diana. He's my son too. Don't think this is any easier on me", he turned to the detective, "There has to be another way"

"We were able to get a location Mr Delmanti but it wasn't precise. I can have my men start combing through the area"

Alejandro turned back to me, "Please dolcezza, trust me. I cannot afford to lose both my wife and son in one day. Please just trust me"

I nodded and wrapped my arms around him.

**********************

I waited for Alejandro to fall asleep. When I felt he was in deep slumber, I snuck out of bed.His secretary had delivered the duffel bag later that evening, so everything was ready. I tiptoed to the walk in closet and pulled on a pair of jeans and a black hoodie. Before I left the room, I looked at my sleeping husband once more.

"I'm sorry Ale"

I crept to the foyer, grabbed the duffel bag and snuck out the back door. I couldn't risk the officers seeing me. I hailed a taxi and told him the location Michael had texted earlier. I had refrained from showing it to Alejandro or the cops knowing that they would refuse to let me leave. Michael was a terribly unhinged man, and while my boy was his hands, I was going to do whatever I could to keep him safe. Even if it meant putting my life in danger.

After a roughly 30 minute drive, the cab driver pulled up to an abandoned building in a rather sketchy neighborhood. He gave me a questioning glance. Probably wondering what I was doing in a place like this. I ignored his stares and paid him. I got out of the cab and looked up at the slightly dilapidated structure.

I'm coming baby.

I should have known something was wrong as soon as I stretched my hand and was met with the cold feel of the sheets. I had a fitful, restless night. My mind filled with images of what my little man could be going through. Sleep did not come easy but the extreme fatigue I felt slowly pulled me under.

I jumped out of bed, rushing to the bathroom, trying to convince myself that she was here somewhere.

But I knew. As soon as I realized that she was not in bed, I knew she had gone to get our son. I picked up my phone and hurriedly called the detective and informed him of the situation at hand. He was at the house in record time.

« Mr Delmanti did your wife leave any indication whatsoever of where she was going? », he asked

« No. But I know she went to meet up with that bastard. The duffel bag is missing »

« We will try to hasten our search and find them sooner »

I ran upstairs to the room, looking for anything that could point me in the direction she went. I was about to give up when I noticed her phone on the floor. I had probably fallen in my haste to tear the room apart. I quickly typed in the password, remembering it as a mixture of Benjy and I's birthdays. I went to her messages and found what I was looking for. I rushed down and showed the detective. In a matter of minutes, we were on the road. I was antsy. The driver was probably fed up with the number of times I had told him to speed up. We stopped in front of the building and took in it's run down state. The cops jumped out and started to suit up. When they were done and started walking into the building, I followed but was roughly pushed back by the detective.

« Hold up Mr Delmanti. I understand your uneasiness but you gotta leave this to the professionals »

« Professionals my ass », I retorted, "That's my wife and son in there. My family »

He probably realized I was going to let up and told one of the rookie cops to hand me a vest. We ended the building and checked all the floors. We were already losing hope, thinking that Michael had already run off with them, when we heard yelling. We followed the sound of bellowing and found Diana trying to fight off Michael while Benjy sat in the corner huddled and crying. Michael's back was to us so he didn't notice us creeping up behind him.

But Diana did. As soon as she saw us, her eyes widened. This proved to be a bad move, as Michael turned, noticed us and then pulled Diana to him, pointing the gun at her head.

Benjy tried to run over to me but was stopped by Michael's loud voice, "Just move an inch kid, I dare you. And I'm gonna make good on that promise of a beating"

"Michael", I reasoned, "It doesn't have to end like this. You can just let them go and we can forget all this ever happened"

"I give the orders here lover boy. Now here's what's going to happen. I'm going to walk out of here with the money, my whore and my kid", he licked at her face. It took everything in me not to lunge at him. "We're going to be a perfect family aren't we sweet pea?"

Tears flowed freely down Diana's eyes and Benjy wasn't going to stop crying anytime soon. I felt like a total failure. It was my job to protect them, but I had failed terribly. But I saw the resolve in Diana's eyes. She wasn't going doing without a fight. She leaned her head down and snapped it back up. Hitting Michael's face with enough force to break his nose. Enough force to leave him disoriented. At the sound of crunching bone, everyone sprung into action. I rushed to Benjy, making sure he was ok. When I had assured that he was fine, I hastily handed him over to one of the rookie cops and returned to find Michael in a tussle with one of the detectives. Both hd their hands on the gun, but neither was relenting their efforts. Michael delivered a mean sucker punch to the cops abdomen which left him crunched up on the floor. I dove in and quickly took his place. We fought mercilessly, each one trying to subdue the other.

Diana climbed onto his back and tried to poke at his eyes but he shifted back and hit her against the wall. As soon as she was up on her feet, he smacked her so hard she fell to the ground. This was a blessing in disguise as the gun fell out of his hands. I lunged at him once more and threw as many punches as I could. But Michael was a strong man, a strong man who wasn't scared to take a life.

We rolled around the dirty floor and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Diana with the gun in her shaking hands. Aimed at us. "Diana take the shot!", I screamed. We were rolling around so much she couldn't get a clear shot. My heart stilled at the fact that she could pull the trigger andI could end up dead, but I wanted this man as far away from my family as possible, I wanted him dead. Suddenly, dying didn't seem like such a bad idea. "Take the shot baby. I trust you ok?. Take the shot!"

Bang!!!!

'Wow. This is it', I thought, 'I'm never going to watch Benjy play baseball again, never going to teach him about girls, never going to make love to my beautiful wife anymore'. But then I heard Michael groaning and felt him being pulled off me. He bled profusely from his abdomen. The detectives rushed insides, trying to stop the blood flow while simultaneously calling the paramedics. I was ok. I was alive. I sent a prayer full of thanks to the Big Man above. Grateful that I had survived this ordeal. That we had survived this ordeal.

I found my little family, hugging each other. I walked over and hugged then to me.

We were fine.

We were fine.