The Tower: A Dark Romance

by Lucy Wild

  I looked down at the envelope in his hand. "Who gave you this?"

  "He gave me the envelope and your photo. Paid me a grand, can you believe that? It'll help with the holiday if I can find somewhere to change it!"

  He was already walking away. I thought about going after him but already the security guards were glancing my way. Turning away from them, I tore open the envelope.

  Dear John,

  No one takes things from me without consequences. I hear a little of your reputation but you clearly do not know enough of mine. I give you a choice. Come and see your beloved in the tower. It can be just like old times, her fucking me for money, you having the shit kicked out of you while she watches. You'll beg for mercy like William did, whining like a bitch at the end, he was. That's option one. Come and play. Or, because I'm a nice guy, you can fuck off back down whatever hole you crawled out of. Call it quits. Enjoy Prague.

  I read it again. He'd known about the flight. How had he known? "George," I said out loud. It couldn't have been anyone else. The son of a bitch had betrayed me.

  The tower. He was back in the tower. When I'd last gone to it, they were still finishing off construction. He'd gone back there. No doubt in the same penthouse. Was he doing it to torment me or did he just not care? Either way, he had made one big mistake. He thought he could antagonise me into coming for her, gun me down before I got close. But he was wrong. My emotions weren't bringing me back. They were gone. This was a job. I had been doing jobs like this for years, all of them preparation for this. A smile flickered across my face. The fifteen year old me would look at me now and quail. Mr Sharp would quail too, before I executed him.

  He thought he could treat her like this? He would find out what it meant to take my love away from me. If he hurt her, if there was so much as a scratch on her when I got there, he would suffer like no man ever had. But that was emotions. Lock them down. The job. Focus on the job. First, get to George.

  I was on the next flight back, the letter in my jacket pocket. I left the luggage behind. There was no need for it where I was going. When I arrived in London it was gone nine and dark outside. I got a cab to George's cafe, surprised to find the lights out inside.

  Warily, I went in, the door unlocked. I listened. Nothing. Then a sound over by the counter. I moved quietly, stopping when I saw a figure slumped down on the floor near the till.

  "I'm sorry," George said, spitting out a tooth as he tried and failed to sit up. "I couldn't stop them."

  "It's all right," I replied, grabbing a cloth from the counter top. I pressed it to the wound on his side, doing my best to staunch the flow of blood. "Hold that there."

  "There were too many of them," he said, coughing violently.

  "Tell me what you know about the tower."

  "If you're going in there, you'll need what's in the case in the back. Bring it to me."

  There was a suitcase I recognised in the kitchen. It had been used to ferry things back and forth to William, things like the skeleton swipecard that was still in my pocket. I brought it out to him and laid it on the floor.

  "Open it."

  I did as he asked, looking at the range of things inside, recognising no more than a couple.

  "Take that, that, and that. Then go to Vincent Ellison's office."

  "Who's he?"

  "His company designed the security system for the tower."

  His face started to turn grey. "Come on," I said, getting an arm under his shoulder. "We need to get you to hospital."

  "So call me an ambulance."

  "I'm faster. Where's your car keys?"

  I got him onto the back seat of his car before climbing in and setting off. I raced through the traffic, getting him there in ten minutes. He gave me Ellison's address and talked me through how to use the things in my pockets. I skidded around a corner when we reached the hospital before coming to a halt outside A and E. I hit the horn then climbed out of the car. "Good luck," George said through gritted teeth as I started to run.

  SEVENTEEN - JOHN

  For a security company, Ellison's security was pretty lax. One swipe of the skeleton card and I was in. Then it was time to test the device in my hand. I pointed it upwards and hit the button. I'd soon know if it worked.

  I made my way to the filing room, digging out the plans for the tower and committing them to memory. I was still thinking about it when I left. I hit the button again on the way out. It seemed to have worked. No alarms had gone off, none of the cameras had tracked my movement. I'd have to thank George if I got out of this alive.

  The layout of the tower. Positions of alarms, sensors, cameras. I took them from the flat blueprint into a three dimensional model in my head, working out the best way to do things so that I had the best possible chance when I got there.

  I went to the building opposite first, climbing up to the roof via the outside fire escape. It was a long climb but I didn't stop until I reached the top. Once there, I laid down at the edge and looked across, using George's telescope to peer over the low wall and beyond. It was heat sensitive, the internal screen replacing a lens. On it I could see the positioning of everyone in the building, a blur of heat until I zoomed in to the top floor. Only one person pacing, clearly a guard, following the same range of movement around the floor space, going from room to room.

  On the floor below I found what I was looking for. There she was. Emotions started to bubble up as I matched her positioning with the map in my head. She was in a cupboard. Slumped on the floor. Was she drugged? Dead? No, there wouldn't be that much heat if she was dead. "I'm coming for you," I muttered out loud as I tracked the other people on the floor. He was there.

  I got lucky when I returned to the ground. I was watching the tower, trying to decide the best way to get inside. The door opened and out came someone I recognised. It took a moment to place him. He'd aged too, his gut more prominent than Sharp's. It was Louis, the man who'd sold her to him.

  He'd clearly been demoted at some point. He had a security guard uniform on and he looked miserable. I watched as he crossed the street and headed straight into the nearest bar. I followed.

  He was already halfway down his pint by the time I got inside. I sat in the darkest corner and waited. The rate he was drinking, it wouldn't be long. I was right.

  Five minutes later, he stood up and headed into the toilet. I followed. Two minutes later, I came out with his I.D. I'd left his body in one of the cubicles, Out of Order sign stuck on the door and he was good in there for a while. By the time they found him, I'd either be dead as well or long gone.

  The skeleton swipecard might have got me in the building but for what I had planned, this would work so much better.

  I hotwired a car a couple of streets away, driving it over to the parking garage under the tower. The security guard on the door took one look at the I.D and then waved me through. Piece of cake.

  I parked up by the vent I needed. The car blocked anyone from seeing as I pulled the grille off the vent and climbed inside. The plans showed this led up to the second floor. I crawled through, changing as I went. I stepped out in overalls with my ear glued to a phone. "Three of them and their nest," I said. "We need a bigger batch if we're going to get them all."

  The few people who'd seen me emerge looked away. I continued talking loudly about rats until I got to the stairwell. Once the door was closed behind me, I hit the button on George's device. Cameras should be off. Sensors should be shut down. I wouldn't have long. The battery on the device didn't last forever. I needed to move quickly.

  The battery lasted until I got to the top floor. I heard it fail with a ping sound and then the camera above my head began to move. I darted through the door and into the corridor beyond.

  I used the telescope to pinpoint the guard, knocking on the door just as he walked past. He pulled the door open and as he did so, I got my hand to his neck, catching it at the right angle to yank him off his feet and over my shoulder. He landed with a crunch.

  I used
the telescope again as I walked around the floor, waiting until I was directly above her. I looked around me. The vent on the blueprint wasn't there. Now what?

  Through the telescope, I could see someone was approaching the cupboard. I needed to move fast. I crossed to the nearest window, pulling it open and stepping out onto the balcony, the wind hitting me at once.

  Swinging my legs over, I didn't look down. I just jumped, landing on the balcony below with a thud. I was in front of the window I'd fallen from last time. This time, I was going in, not coming out. I stood up, tapping on the glass and getting the attention of the guards.

  They started to shoot at once. I was ready, leaping over the side, grabbing the railings and hanging down. I waited. Someone would get curious eventually. Hanging in the air, I could hear the Thames below, even with my ears ringing from their shots. The glass was covered in a spiderweb of cracks and when someone pushed it open to check, I lifted myself upwards quietly. As they leaned out, I grabbed them, sending them flying through the air, their scream fading away as they fell down to the river.

  I got through the window before it could be closed, my gun at the ready. I fired until I was empty then moved onto the remaining men.

  "Stop there," a voice boomed and the guards paused, looking behind them. I saw what they saw. Mr Sharp was holding a gun to Rebecca's head. She was wild eyed with fear as he gripped her tightly around the neck. "Drop it," he said, motioning towards the gun.

  EIGHTEEN - REBECCA

  He darted around the nearest corner, vanishing from sight.

  "There's nowhere to run," Sharp shouted after him. "Once I'm through this door, nothing can open it, securest in the whole world. You should have stayed away, John."

  I was dragged backwards and then a door opened. At the same time, the door on the far wall burst open and more men ran in. There were too many of them. He'd never survive this. I wished he hadn't come. I couldn't bear the thought of seeing him killed.

  "He's not here," someone shouted.

  "He has to be there," Sharp said as wounded men were helped to their feet. "Find him."

  The survivors were making their way out but a few kept moving around, joining the search for John. Where was he?

  Sharp continued moving backwards, dragging me in to the panic room he'd boasted about when it had been installed. He threw me behind him, sticking his head back out. "He can't have vanished. Where is he? You, guard this door."

  One of the men stood in front of the door, looking out, his arms folded. Sharp peered past him. "Where is he?"

  "What the fuck," someone said.

  "What? What is it?"

  He dragged a barely conscious man into view, the man was only in boxer shorts. "What's going on?" Sharp yelled. "Shit, he's in uniform. Which one is he?"

  "This one," the guard nearest the door said. His voice was familiar. Lifting his head, I realised it was John. Sharp realised at the same time, trying to get the door closed on his face. As it swung shut, John leapt in, the lock clicking into place behind him.

  "Securest door in the country," John said as Sharp tried to tug it open. "No one gets through that."

  Sharp turned and shoved him, running over to me, gun flailing. "Don't do anything stupid," he said. "I'd hate to get blood on this new suit."

  "Let her go." His gun was pointed at Sharp.

  "You think I'm stupid. You think you can just smash up my home, shoot my men, and I'll just give her to you? No, I'm going to fuck her and you're going to watch and when I'm done, I'm going to cripple you so you can watch every time I do it for the rest of your life. Now get on your knees."

  I glanced down at John's hand, saw the flick of his finger and knew what it meant. As Sharp swung the gun towards him, I shoved with both my hands. Sharp fell forwards and John was ready, snatching the gun out of his hand and tossing it behind him.

  "So it's a straight fight then?" Sharp said, rolling up his sleeves.

  They eyed each other up for a few seconds. Sharp moved first, his fist lashing towards John who ducked away. The blow hit the wall a second later. Sharp roared in pain, turning and sprinting at John. The two of them collided, John twisting away, getting to his knees and rolling to one side, sending Sharp off balance.

  The blows were too fast for me to keep track of but one thing was for certain, John was losing. He was staggering down to the corner, taking one punch after another. He glanced past Sharp at me and I realised why. I started to shuffle left, trying to do it without being noticed.

  Sharp paused, fist high in the air. "We both know I'll win, don't we, John?"

  "Do we?"

  "You're too much of a hero. You hold back. You should have shot me when you had the chance."

  "I'm out of bullets."

  "That's your problem right there. You give everything away. You should try being bad sometimes."

  "That's good advice," I said, picking up the gun at my feet and pointing it at Sharp.

  "Now listen-"

  The sound of the shot was so loud in the confined space, my ears rang. John was saying something but I couldn't hear him. I fired again. Sharp looked surprised, his hands going to his chest as a wet dark spot appeared, spreading rapidly. He slumped to his knees, mouth open. Then he fell onto his face. I scuttled backwards away from him.

  "I'd heard enough from him," I said, my ears still ringing. "Now what do we do?"

  John looked around the room. I couldn't tell what for. His eyes were running over the walls and he seemed to spot something I couldn't see. He grabbed Sharp by the wrist, dragging his body over to the far wall. "What are you doing?" I asked.

  "This," John replied, pressing Sharp's thumb to a spot on the wall. A door hissed open at once, revealing a lift out of nowhere.

  "How did you know that was there?"

  "I saw the plans for the building. No one just puts a lift in without planning it first. Now are you coming?"

  The thuds of people trying to get in were growing more violent. I stepped into the lift and John followed, his hand slipping into mine. "Is it over?" I asked.

  "Yes," he replied as the doors slid shut. "It's over."

  The lift opened into the parking garage. He led me over to a car and helped me inside. We roared out a second later, vanishing into the city traffic, leaving the tower behind us forever.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lucy Wild is a contemporary romance author. She started out writing historical spanking stories before moving to contemporary romances. She lives in Yorkshire with her partner and their border collie in a house full of books, sweets and more books.

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