Authors: Linda Verji
CHAPTER 27
Shakira woke up lying face down on some kind of hard surface whose rough fabric pricked painfully at her face. But that was the least of her pains. The massive headache she had clawed at her brains and seemingly splitting it into two. Wincing slightly, she took a breath but her lungs were immediately filled with some kind of musty smell that stung at her nostrils and clogged up her throat.
The process of opening her eyes was like prying her eyelids with a knife and when she did manage it, shadowy darkness met her. When she tried to move her body, she found herself wedged between two hard unmoving masses. To make matters worse her arms had been forced behind her back, with some kind of metal digging at her wrists and keeping them immobile, while her feet were bound together.
What the hell had happened to her?
Where was she?
It was only when she felt the soft vibrations beneath her body that Shakira realized that the floor was moving. She was in some kind of vehicle. The memories came flooding in like a waterfall then.
Karyn had kidnapped her.
I’m going to die.
Panic immediately suffused as fear streaked its way down her spine. Her heart sped up, heat flared up her body and her face and her breath locked in her throat. Her head started to whir in cycles threatening to toss her back into unconsciousness if she didn’t feed it oxygen.
Breathe, Shakira. Breathe
. She took in deep gasping breaths, forcing the air, musty as it was, through her clogged throat. She couldn’t afford to faint right now. Eventually her head began to clear again but immediately thoughts rushed to fill it. Frankly she was surprised the agent hadn’t killed her yet but the answer of why she hadn’t was clear – she wanted the thumb-drive badly.
Think, Shakira. Think. Ways to use the thumb-drive as leverage. I could... Wait, wait, wait!
First she had to figure out where the blasted thing was. Shakira racked her brain to trace her movements prior to Karyn’s attack.
Nathan was working with it last night through this morning. When he woke me up, the drive was still attached to my laptop. We went through it, got all the info on Wayne and his scam then decided to leave the hotel. Nathan snapped the laptop shut, plucked the thumb-drive, put it into his pocket and then went to the bedr…
Nathan put it in his pocket.
Oh, God!
How was she supposed to use the thumb-drive as leverage without putting Nathan in danger? No. She’d have to find a way to use it without involving him. The last thing she wanted to do was get him killed too. But how? Maybe she could lie that she’d hidden it at the house or that she’d-.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden crunching beneath her and then the car ground to a halt. Shakira tensed and her ears pricked in awareness as she waited to see what would happen. There was a whooshing sound that sounded like the driver’s door opening, some more crunching and then a slam of the door. Soon enough, the door next to her feet opened up, throwing light into the dark space. Shakira turned her head slightly to find her attacker looming at the door.
Shakira kicked out at Karyn as she unknotted the cloth she’d used to bind Shakira’s legs. The struggling had no effect whatsoever and as soon as the red-head had Shakira’s legs loose, she yanked on her handcuffed arms almost pulling them out of their sockets.
“Ow,” Shakira whimpered as she came to her knees.
“Get out,” Karyn ordered as she withdrew slightly from the car and pointed her weapon at Shakira. It was hard maneuvering herself out of the car with her arms behind her body but Shakira managed to shuffle her body backwards on her knees before gingerly stepping down.
As soon as they touched the stoned ground, Shakira’s legs almost collapsed under her. She had to prop her body against the side of the car as she waited for the blood to make its way back to her limbs.
“Let’s go.”Karyn seized her arm, squeezing on her forearm until a shaft of pain seared through Shakira back and shoulders as she pulled her away from the car and then led her along the stony path. It gave Shakira a chance to catalogue their environment. They were on a deserted estate closed off by a line of high unkempt hedges. The grass was unkempt and what could’ve once been flowerbeds were now just clumps of weeds. Up ahead was a run-down wooden cabin with all the windows boarded.
Was this where Karyn was going to kill her?
The thought was enough to send Shakira’s nerves scrambling with panic and fear and she found herself asking, “Why are you doing this?”
Maybe it was because they were alone here and Karyn felt more comfortable. Instead of her usual ‘hush’ or hit with the gun, she actually answered, “Because you have my thumb-drive.”
“I’ll give it to you, just let me go,” Shakira pleaded.
“Of course you’ll give it to me.” Karyn sneered as she twisted on Shakira’s arm sending even more pain through her body. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance. There you were lying on the floor next to Charlie. Perfect opportunity for me and I felt
sorry
for you.” Karyn spat the words, disgust dripping from her tone.
“You killed Charlie?” Shakira gasped. Cold fear iced its way in her veins as she thought of how close she’d been to being killed. “Why?”
“Why? Let’s see! Charlie was stupid, greedy and didn’t know how to follow instructions. If he was my man and not Alim’s I would’ve gotten rid of him long before that. All he had to do was reel Fenton in and let Alim take care of the rest. Instead he had to steal money from Fenton’s briefcase.” Their feet crunched against the stone path as Karyn guided Shakira away from the house’s entrance and towards the back of it. “Here I thought I’d managed to get rid of our little problem by making Fenton look dirty and Gates like a crazy cop trying to clear his guilty partner, then a few days later, the marked money appears in your account.”
“I’m sure you weren’t happy.” Shakira glared at Karyn even as she noted the cluster of trees ahead.
“No, I wasn’t.” Karyn’s eyes glittered darkly as she led Shakira towards the trees. Shakira’s heart pounded faster. Was that where she was going to be killed? No one would ever find her in there. Unaware of Shakira’s fear, the agent continued, “Gates thought you were involved right from the start but he thought Charlie was the ringleader. He and I went to interview Charlie. Charlie didn’t even know that I was running the scam and caved in quicker than a bad cake-mix. He was supposed to come in the next day and give us information on Alim but I couldn’t let that happen. I got to him first then made his body disappear. You should thank me for not putting a bullet into you that night.”
Great. Now Karyn wanted her to thank her? Shakira muttered darkly, “You’re going to put one into me now anyway.”
Karyn heard her. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
Shakira should’ve felt some sort of relief at the dangled hope. She didn’t. There was something in the other woman’s voice that made her feel like she was toying with her. “What about Wayne?”
The forest had a path cutting right in the middle of it. Shakira’s shoes sunk into the soil as they walked in. Tall trees enclosed them, their tops a canopy blocking the sun. Despite the streaks of light that managed to seep in through the heavy leaves, the forest still seemed threatening in its shadowiness.
“What about Wayne?” Karyn mimicked.
“I guess he’s the one who introduced you to all the players.”
“Wayne?” Karyn burst into laughter. “What would make you think he’d even touch something like this? The players were all me. My brother is Gerald Ruxton.”
The agent paused, her eyes glimmering, as if waiting for the name to click in Shakira’s head. Shakira shrugged. She had no idea who Gerald Ruxton was supposed to be. Sighing in disappointment, Karyn said, “He’s a pro-baseballer. He doesn’t even know that I use his events as a place to score targets. Jerry’s so stupid. I got all the brains in the family…” Her tone was suddenly scoured with jealousy as she said, “…and ended up the broke one.”
Sibling rivalry.
This was all about sibling rivalry? Honestly! For once Shakira was glad to be an only child. To her relief the darkness in the forest seemed to be easing. Her relief quickly turned to nervousness when ahead, the trees opened up to reveal shimmering water beyond them.
They emerged out of the forest onto some sort of dock. At the end of the wooden platform a pristine white sailboat bobbed on the water. The words
The Aquarium
splashed across its sleek length. The boat’s beauty didn’t quiet the icy flicks of fear licking at her belly.
“I thought it was all over with Charlie’s death. I was even trying to divert Gates away from you,” Karyn continued as her face suddenly hardened, “but of course that thumb-drive just had to appear. I didn’t even know that Charlie had it let alone that he was using you as his personal safety box. Then his hussy, Rochelle, had to turn up claiming that she knew about it and what was on it. Well, I took care of her and Gates found me the thumb-drive. If those names show up anywhere, those players will squeal like a bunch of pigs. I can’t let that happen. Do you know what they do to cops in prison?”
Shakira had an idea but she couldn’t say anything with the bile that rose to her throat the moment they stepped on the wooden dock. She didn’t do water-bodies! Lakes, oceans, rivers, swimming pools - they just did not work for her. Her stomach churned in protest as the wood swayed slightly beneath hers and Karyn’s weight and she had to stop for a moment.
“Move,” Karyn ordered harshly pressing her gun to the base of the other woman’s back. Swallowing hard, Shakira took a step forward and then another and then another. Somehow she managed to get to the end of the dock without chucking the contents of her stomach.
At Karyn’s urging, Shakira hopped across the water and to the boat’s foredeck. Her heart leapt with movement almost exiting her ribcage when the vessel rocked slightly. Gulping down her instant nausea, she concentrated on figuring out where it is they were going, as she followed Karyn’s silent urge to move further across the deck. Instead of going to the cockpit, Karyn guided Shakira towards the white glossy doors that marked the companion way.
“In.” Karyn prodded. The moment Shakira pushed open the hatch-doors, a rank smell smacked her in the face. It burned into her nose almost as if something acidic was brewing inside. Wincing she took a step back but the gun pressing into her back prevented further backward movement. Karyn repeated, “In.”
Wrinkling her nose and bending slightly, Shakira made her way down the wide dropping steps and into the cabin. The only furniture was a set of chairs around a rusty metallic table and a cot to one side. The other side had a white and opaque, plastic screen. Karyn shoved Shakira towards the plastic screen then reaching forward, she yanked the screen aside.
Shakira’s eyes widened, her mouth fell open, her knees buckled as nauseous terror rolled inside her as she gaped at Karyn’s revelation.
“Here are you options. You give me the thumb-drive and I end your misery with one bullet…” Karyn’s face tautened in a way that made Shakira ill. “…or I put you in there with him without the benefit of a bullet.”
Karyn gestured to the white tub brimming with a reddish pink fluid. Inside it half a body lounged. The liquid had already eaten up everything but Gates skeleton and head.
At that precise moment Shakira wished that she was already dead.
CHAPTER 28
An odd feeling had taken over Nathan. It was a severe mingling of love, panic and fear that felt like a hot pressure constricting his heart, and had to be the worst kind of agony any man could ever feel.
If anything happened to Shakira…
If anything happened to her…
The thought sent a hellish stab of pain in his chest and he stepped on the gas.
“Turn left at 81,” Randall ordered. The PI’s concentration was on the iPhone in his hand. That iPhone, and the blue dot on its map-like screen, was the difference between Shakira’s life and death.
Edya had been mortified that her PI was now bugging FBI agents. Even Randall’s explanation that the FBI agent had been too ‘nice’ and he just wanted to know if Karyn knew where Gates was, was not enough for Nathan’s mother. Did he know what this could do to the Landa-Hollis name and their business relationship with the government?
As far as Nathan was concerned, the Landa-Hollis name could go screw itself. FBI Agent or not, Karyn had Shakira. What if she didn’t? What if she had already killed her? The panicked tune in his pulse and heart, increased in tempo and volume until his ears rung with it. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he shook his head. No, Shakira was alive.
She’s alive.
Nevertheless he sped up.
“They’re still not moving?”Nathan forced the question through clenched teeth.
“Not moving.” Randall agreed. “Might be their final destination.”
“How far?”
“Forty minutes,” glancing at the trees and road signs flying with raised brows, Randall added, “but if you keep driving that way, thirty minutes.”
Shit.
It took all of Nathan’s self-control not to bellow his frustration or let his temper explode in a bonfire of frustration. Because Karyn had a head-start on them and his car was much faster, they’d taken it but right now it felt like his Bugatti was an ancient train plodding its way slowly up the hill. The only reason he wasn’t beating every speed limit was because he was afraid of being stopped but he was on the edge.
He released his breath explosively and he floored the car.
In twenty-five minutes they were pulling up a few miles away from where Karyn’s car seemed to have stopped. Neither of them wanted to alert her of their arrival. After calling nine-one-one to alert them of a possible kidnapping, the two men exited the car, drawing their weapons as they went. Crouching low to keep his head from being seen above the hedge, Nathan edged towards the open gate. Randall matched Nathan’s fast ground-covering pace stride-for-stride.
Nathan peeked over the gate. A solitary and worn cabin stood a few feet away. But it held no attraction for him. His eyes immediately zoomed in on the midnight black SUV parked in front of it.
They’re here.
He turned slightly to Randall who gave him a brief nod before he scrambled through the gate. His shoes crunched against the stony path as he ran for the far end of the fence where they could get some kind of cover. Though the cabin’s windows were boarded up, there was no way of telling if someone was watching them or not.
Watching the house keenly for any movement, Nathan and Randall made their way towards the cabin. There were none. They got to the cabin’s porch steps without noticing or hearing anything odd. Steeling his shoulders and nerves, and pointing his gun straight ahead, Nathan trod on the first step and it creaked beneath his weight.
The air was heavy and electric with the promise of death. And Shakira had decided a few minutes ago that if that was the price of saving Nathan then she was going to let it happen.
“Where is it?”Karyn snarled as she paced in front of the chair where she’d forced Shakira to sit as she interrogated her.
Shakira flexed her arms slightly trying to ease the discomfort of having her arms cuffed tightly behind the chair. She started, “I told y-”
Even before she finished the sentence, Karyn slammed the butt of her gun into the side of her face hard sending excruciating pain across Shakira’s face.
“Stop lying to me.” Karyn’s eyes were wild with anger.
Shakira didn’t care. The acid smell of Gates cooking body still permeated the air, working fear into her blood even more than the gun Karyn kept brandishing in her face. Despite her fear, however, Shakira was determined not to let the agent know that the thumb-drive was in Nathan’s pants. If Karyn knew that Nathan had it, she would go for it and that scared her even more than her own precarious position.
Shakira worked her jaw to ease the pain from the gun’s blow, her tongue grazed painfully against a loose tooth and she tasted her own blood. Turning her head, she spat out the tainted saliva before turning to Karyn. “I told you I hid it in the house and the only way you’re getting it is if I get it for you.”
“You think I’m stupid? You found out about the players
after
you’d left your house. So the drive isn’t there.” Karyn crouched low and yanked Shakira’s head back by the hair. Pulling hard on the kinky strands and doodling on the sensitive skin under Shakira’s chin with the cold metal, she threatened, “Tell me where it is or I’ll put a bullet in you right now.”
Then shoot me.
Shakira wanted to yell out but even she wasn’t brave enough to call out to death like that.
“Where is it?” Karyn’s breath was hot against Shakira’s face as she offered, “You didn’t leave it in your hotel room. It’s not in your bags and it’s not on you. Where is it?”
Shakira kept quiet.
“You didn’t have a chance to give it to someone else either…” Karyn’s voice trailed off and the movements of her gun on Shakira neck stilled. “…or did you?”
Please. Please. Please. Don’t realize that Nathan has it.
Karyn chuckled, her breath washing over Shakira’s cheek as she asked, “Does your boyfriend have it?”
Shakira jerked in fright.
“I guess that’s a ye-” Karyn never completed the sentence because just then the sole TV in the room flickered alive – all on its own. Both Karyn and Shakira’s gaze shot upwards as a picture of an untidy room. But it was the image of the two men creeping into the room that held the women’s attention.
“Well, well, well! Look who just came in.” Karyn clucked her tongue as she tilted Shakira’s face until they were face to face. A cruel smile lit up hers as she added, “Looks like I don’t need you anymore.” She yanked Shakira upwards by her arm.
“Ugh!” Shakira screamed as the joint at her right shoulder tore away from the muscle there with a pop.
The pain was excruciating – like having her arm amputated without the benefit of anesthesia. She could feel it in her shoulder, her neck, her throat, her stomach…everywhere. It seized her nerves, pricked them with invisible needles and then twisted them unbearably. Blinded by it, Shakira fell from the chair and to her knees with another cry as her cuffed arm flopped uselessly behind her back.
Indifferent to Shakira’s cries, Karyn grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and began dragging her towards the screen. Breathing rapidly from exertion and her face set and furious, the agent inched Shakira closer and closer to Gate’s chemical grave. Shakira felt every inch of that floor; every bump and every knot, as it agonizingly scoured her frontal body.
Despite her pain, she was not ready to die. Fear faded to be replaced by an even baser instinct: survival. She flipped onto her back with a suddenness that shocked Karyn enough that her gun went off in an explosion of sound. The shot reverberated through the cabin and started a ringing in Shakira’s ears. Ignoring it, she shot her foot out and putting all her strength into it kicked Karyn’s leg hard.
With a shriek, Karyn tilted forward. With a sickening thud, the red-head’s body met the floor face-first. She didn’t move.
Was she unconscious?
Was she dead?
Shakira didn’t care. The lapse in the agent’s defenses was all she needed. With agility she didn’t even know she possessed, Shakira sprung from the floor already racing for the steps. Gritting her teeth against the pain waves her arm was insistently sending, she bolted up the stairs and through the hatch.
Blinking to accustom her eyes to midmorning sun’s rough and blinding welcome, she turned, running along the deck towards the bow. She came to a screeching halt at the edge of the bow when she realized that the sailboat had drifted a small distance away from the pier. The rope connecting the two solids was stretched tight across the strip of water. She would have to pull on it to drag the boat closer.
She tried.
Ignoring her stomach’s automatic revolt at the sight of so much water, she turned her back and tried to grip it. But the resulting pain was crippling enough to almost cause Shakira to black out. Grunting, she turned once more to face the dock.
She’d have to jump.
“It’s not that far,” Shakira muttered aloud as she mentally girded herself. “You can do this.”
A loud blast sounded from below deck. Damn it! Karyn was alive and shooting. It was enough to get Shakira moving. She backed away from the edge of the boat and then took off at a run. Using the momentum, she jumped towards the dock – and missed.
Legs flailing, she fell straight into the water.
Intense fear engulfed her almost at the same time the icy water did. She gasped for breath just as her head sunk below the surface. Holding her breath, she struggled to kick herself upwards.
It worked – for a moment.
Her head bobbed above the water for just a second allowing her to take another gasp of air but also swallow some water before she sunk in again. Her cuffed arms and the clothes clinging to her body were like anchors weighing her down. Her lungs were burning with the urge to release the carbon-dioxide and water she was holding and take in some oxygen. She tried kicking upwards again but this time didn’t even break the surface. The murky waves were intent on sucking her into her watery grave.
Someone help me.
Please.
Nathan.
Her mind screamed but no one grabbed her hand to pull her out of the water. In that moment her life flashed before her eyes. Nathan, Eve, London. She would never be able to see them again. She was going to die. Triplet feelings of hopelessness, sadness and loneliness engulfed her and she stopped fighting.
Her mouth and nose started to fill with water. The ringing started in her ears like a fire alarm signaling the end. Intense cold took the place of blood in her limbs seeping into her bones and immobilizing them. Her mind numbed and her thoughts faded into nothingness. Slowly she went limp as a soothing peace blanketed her.
Closing her eyes, Shakira let the water take her.