Separation

NOTE- I do not own the Mercers. Just saying this now, there are 3 points of view for this chapter. I'm doing it this way because I want to start bringing in the movie, this will help me set it up. So it starts in Hailey's POV, then moves to Jack's, and last it'll be 3rd person general POV. Please enjoy and I am sorry for the delay- Thank you for sticking around and coming back.

Chapter Eighteen

I really hoped that Jack and Bobby would listen to me when I asked them to let the whole encounter with Danny go; I knew it'd lead to something really bad. I'd hate myself if they ended up in prison or dead and if it was because of Danny it would be my fault. And then there's our mom, it'd kill her if she lost two of her sons while the other was still overseas and in danger; it'd be too much for her to take on and handle.

I never thought I'd see Danny again, at least I really hoped I'd never see him again I sort of knew I would at some point. I never got that lucky with anything in my life. The entire situation blew my nerves to shit, though I wanted to come off stronger then I really was. I was 18; I shouldn't need my brothers to protect me anymore. I needed to grow up and learn how to take care of myself, be an adult. But I really needed them right now, I hated that I needed them but I did. I was scared to death of seeing Danny again, there was no way I'd be able to make myself run if I ran into him on the street; I'd be paralyzed with fear, my legs wouldn't ever let me run.

"Hey kiddo," I felt a nudge and looked to see that Bobby was the one to pull me out of my thoughts. "What's going on in that head of yours?" I just shrugged in response. "Come on," He said as he sat beside me on my bed. "Tell me what's up, is it about that dick?"

"I just…I don't know what to do about him."

"Ignore him, if you see him kick him in the jewels and book it."

I laughed lightly at Bobby, loving how he tried to me this sound like it wasn't such a big deal. "Not what to do next time I see him, more about Jack and you. You realize you can't go out and kill him or beat him to a bloody pulp right? I mean I'd love to see it but there's too much risk involved, like I said to Jack I don't want to see him thrown in jail and that goes for you too."

Bobby smiled lightly. "I get it, I do. You know we're just looking out for you right? I hate what happened to you and I'd love nothing more than to rend the douches life. Now if that's how I feel, imagine how Jackie feels about it. He already thinks everything else that's happened is his fault; he thinks he could have done more to get you out of the system. You already know that though. Jack is set on doing anything to keep you safe; I've never seen Jack react that way about anything. I've seen him pushed around, shoved to the ground, dirt kicked in his face but he never reacted ever. He just sat there and took it; either Angel or me would end up jumping depending on who was there. But when that creep step toward you and the way he saw you looking at him, man there's just a pit-bull inside him waiting to break out."

"Jack wouldn't hurt anyone; he's got too much heart."

"Not when it comes to protecting you Hailey, I think he'd be scarier than me if it came down to it. Like I said," Bobby stood up from my bed and walked to the door. "A pit-bull waiting to come out."

I could still feel the adrenaline rushing through my body after coming face to face with the scumbag who not only play a huge part in making my sisters life a living hell but it cared with her for over 10 years, keeping from getting any real sleep. I was ready to jump out of a moving car a run back to rip his throat out but it was more than just what he had done to Hailey. There's no doubt in my mind that Hailey was the only one that this guys touched, but how many other kids were there? Danny Marshall is the worst kind of person, he's the kind of person who deserved to have his life ended.

But doing that would strangely enough hurt Hailey more than it would help her. The look I saw in her eyes when she asked me to basically forget it all ever happened was one you would see on a puppy who only heard the yelling and thought it was directed toward it but it was about something else. She was scared, for herself and for her brother. If I was locked up and Danny happened to still be around then who'd look after her? Bobby would be around sure but there would be no way of knowing how long he'd stick around for.

"So I do nothing then?"

"Dude, you going crazy in here?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Bobby in my doorway. "Do you ever knock?"

He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame. "No, not usually at least not when the door is wide open. It's like an invitation."

I rolled my eyes and went to lay on my bed. "It's late Bobby, I'm going to sleep."

He shook his head and walked into my room, closing the door behind him. "We need to talk about Hailey or about what you're not going to do."

"What do you mean what I'm not going to do?"

"Hailey's a fighter right? Never wants to be seen as the weakling? She's on the edge right now Jack, I can see it, she won't say anything but she's terrified of what could happen. She's afraid of what you or I might do and she's afraid of what could happen the next time she sees Danny."

"But she never said any of this, so how could you know for sure?"

"Come on Jack, you can't be that stupid." Bobby moved across my room, pulling out the chair at my desk. "She brought up how she's feels like we're going to do something about him, how she doesn't was anything to back fire on us and get us thrown in jail or worse. Honestly we don't know a damn thing about this guy, we have no idea who he knows or who would come after us if we ended him. Jackie she's freaking out about all this and she has every reason to be. She knows how we are, I need you to promise me that you won't do anything stupid."

"Me? What about you, you're more likely to do something stupid then I am."

"You're probably right, I'm going to have to use a lot of restraint here, but you weren't there when I talked to her just now, the idea that something could happen to us is driving her insane. She's already blaming herself for it and nothing's happened yet. I know I won't seek this dick out, I'm not going out of my way to end his life but if I see him waiting outside the house or outside her school that'll be a different story. All I'm asking her Jack is for you to do the same, for her. Do go looking for him, asking around about him, just leave it all alone. If he comes near her it'll be fair game but we need to both be in this together, Hailey's not the only one who could get hurt here. Angel is in Iraq right now, mom has enough to worry about without one or both of us having to get put in the ground or be seen through a plate of glass."

"Great, not only are you pulling the "do it for your sister" card but you're throwing mom in there too. Bobby this guy he…need to pay for what he did to my baby sister when she was still a baby! What was she 5 or 6? Who the hell does that Bobby!"

"Jack lower your voice! Man I know you're pissed, you think I'm not? But this is just something we have to do for her."

"This guy should be dead, he deserves to be dead and you know it just as much as I do. And do you think Hailey was the only one? Think about that for a second will you, think about all the other little girls he took advantage of while he was out of jail. Who says he's not back to doing what he was before he was thrown in jail? I'd bet every single dime I'll ever make that he is doing just that."

I could see that Bobby was speechless. "I…Never even thought about that."

"Still think we need to back off? Hailey went through hell and I couldn't do a damn thing about but that doesn't mean I can't do something to help another kid, keep them from the shit head."

"That's what this is all about, this is you're guilt coming up. Jack there wasn't anything you could do; we did everything to find her. Mom knew how much it had meant to you before you ever even said anything; she tried to find Hailey after she saw your file and saw you had a little sister. You were just a kid; I don't know how many times we all have to say this to you. Everything that happened was out of your control. We aren't just trying to make you feel better about it or make excuses for you, we're trying to get this in your head but you just aren't getting it. She's doesn't blame you and you know it,"

I sat there silently, knowing Bobby was right but I still couldn't help but feel the guilt I felt over her childhood. No matter what I was still her brother and it was and always will be my job to keep her safe.

He stood at the head of the table, fuming, all his lackeys tense with fear. He was silent, but that didn't take away from the red hot rage radiating off his body; it was just the calm before the storm and everyone near him knew it.

"Why is it that we run every new construction job, every dealers corner, and every street but we can't get passed some old lady for a luxury condo complex? It's one job, this woman has to be in her 70's and you're all sitting here tellin' me you can't get by her?" No one answered, smart enough to know the question wasn't meant to be answered. "You're all pathetic! I want this Mercer bitch out of the way now! Get it done, clean and quick!"

"Hey Sweet." A tall built man stood in the doorway. "You got problems with a little old lady man? You must be gettin' softer in your old age. Stealin' candy for kids now too?"

Victor Sweet grin and barked a deep throaty laugh. "Danny-boy what you doin' here?"

"Came to check on my friend, see how things were going. Did I hear that name right?"

"Hm? What name?"

"Mercer?" Danny inquired, sounding extremely interested.

"Yeah. We got this guy Jerry looking to put up some condos and shops, course I'm lookin' to get a bit of it for myself but wasn't biting. Finally when he was almost ready to deal his momma comes along and talks to the cops."

"And she's Mercer? Well would you look at that, I think we have a problem with the same people. You know I have problems, I think to do whatever possible to eliminate the problem. What about you Vic? What do you do with your problems?"

"In cases like this? I get someone on the outside to take care of them, no trail back to me."

"I think we need to search some good guns."

TBC

A/N: Finally updated, awesome. Starting to get a lead into the events of the movie, couple ideas in my head so we'll see how it all works out.

READ. REVIEW. ENJOY. =D

-Jenna