No Escape (Sinister Minds Quick Reads Book 2)

by D. A. Longman

She spoke in hushed tones, “Liam will be getting us taxis once we get through the terminal. Marcus, I’m going to come with you and Troy. Liam will be travelling with Roberta and Beth.”

  Liam interjected, “I’ve spoken to the local police, and they’ll be meeting us at the resort. Roberta, our first priority is reuniting you with Nadia. Beth will stay with you. Lisa and I will be speaking to the local police.”

  Marcus spoke, “I’m just going to ring Gemma and let her know we’re on our way.”

  40

  “Nadia, calm down, he’s not going to get you.”

  Nadia was screaming.

  “Come back from the window, if you keep screaming, he may see you.”

  “I can’t let him take me! I can’t let him take me!” Nadia repeated.

  Gemma turned the teenagers head, “I won’t let him take you.”

  “There is still a table blocking the front door. We are on the first floor; he is not going to find you. Please Nadia, sit down and trust me.”

  Nadia sat down, she was shaking and still crying hysterically.

  “What is he going to do?” He can’t knock on every single apartment door and even if he does, I’m not going to answer the door to anyone.”

  The door knocked.

  Gemma froze in fear. She heard the familiar sound of the key card against the entry system. The handle on the door turned.

  ...

  “Are you sure about this?” Jen asked again. “I’ve added you on Facebook now, I’ll pay you back, Lizzy.”

  “Happy to help,” Lizzy replied. “Just promise me that whatever is going on with you, that you’ll get your shit together.”

  “I will,” Jen replied.

  “The boats leave quite regularly; did you want to ring your friend again?”

  “I’ll pop her a quick message now, and I’ll log out,” Jen replied. “Thanks again, so much, Lizzy.”

  Jen quickly typed.

  “Lizzy has given me a hundred euros so I can get the boat back to Lanzarote. I’m going to the harbour now. I’ll come straight back to the apartment when I get back.”

  Jen logged out of Facebook, and handed the phone back to Lizzy.

  “One day, I’ll tell you the full story,” she said. “But for now, you have no idea how much your kindness has helped me.”

  She gave Lizzy a quick hug and walked towards the door.

  She turned before leaving, “I’ll post your dress back to you too.”

  “Keep it.” Lizzy replied. “It looks nicer on you anyway.”

  ...

  “Hello?” the cleaner tried to push against the door, which was not opening due to the table in front of it.

  Gemma breathed a sigh of relief, she pulled the table back slightly enough to make a gap.

  “No Hoy, gracias,” she said.

  The cleaner shrugged, and muttered something in Spanish that Gemma was grateful that she didn’t understand.

  As she closed the door and returned the table, her phone beeped.

  “See, no need to panic,” she smiled at Nadia.

  She grabbed her phone and read the message from Jen. As she finished reading it, her phone began to ring.

  “Marcus, Jen’s safe,” she said.

  “Thank God!” he replied. She heard him muffled as he spoke. “Troy, mate, she’s safe. Jen is safe.”

  41

  Biscuit sat on a sun lounger next to the pool. He decided that the best chance he had of finding Nadia was to lie in wait. It wasn’t all bad. Two girls, probably around eleven or twelve were messing about in the pool. One girl had long flowing blonde hair, she wore a tiny pink bikini. There were signs of her breasts starting to develop. The other girl had curly black hair, and was larger than her friend. She wore a one-piece swim suit black with red diagonal stripes. However, this darker girl had a really infectious laugh. A dirty laugh, Biscuit thought to himself. He imagined himself having a threesome with these girls. He imagined them wanting to be with him, of the blonde one sucking his cock whilst he fingered the darker one. He felt his penis start to harden and was quickly jolted back to reality.

  “Are you eyeing up my daughter, you pervert?” a dark curly haired man asked.

  The larger girl’s dad, no doubt about it.

  “Sorry?” Biscuit replied, holding his hand up to shield his eyes.

  “I said, are you looking at my daughter?” he replied.

  Biscuit thought on his feet.

  “What? No, mate, I’m looking at the bar. Trying to decide if I want a coffee or a beer. Have you got the time?”

  “It’s just after two,” the man replied. He relaxed a little but seemed perplexed.

  “Ah, beer time then,” Biscuit replied.

  He stood to his feet and walked past the man towards the bar. His erection had subsided just enough to not give him away.

  He had just sat at the bar stool when he saw a couple of local police officers enter the reception. He watched as a taxi pulled up just outside the entrance and two women and a man got out. He recognised the woman from photos on Nadia’s phone. It was her mother. The man walked up to the police and shook one of them by the hand and then the other.

  He realised that these people with the mother must be British police.

  “Fuck!”

  He casually got up from the bar stool and headed to the men’s toilets. He took out his phone and dialled Mateo.

  “British filth are here,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Mateo asked. “Where are you? Are you at the hotel?”

  “Nah, I’m in an apartment building where I thought Nadia might be. If the filth are here, it’s not safe.”

  “Get back to the hotel, grab anything incriminating and lie low,” Mateo answered.

  “Lie low?” Biscuit raised his voice. “You aren’t going to be back for days.”

  “Stay calm. Get a cab somewhere else on the island, La Santa or something. Rent a villa and wait.”

  Biscuit hung up the phone. He looked outside and could see the woman holding on to Nadia’s mother and guiding her past the pool. He had to get out, get back to the hotel and get out of there.

  42

  Gemma watched as two local police officers, a man dressed in trousers and an open shirt, and two women headed up towards the area of their apartment.

  A few moments later and the door knocked.

  “Gemma, this is DI Liam Matthews. You can open the door.”

  Gemma moved the table and opened the door. It was barely open more than a couple of inches when a tear stained woman pushed past and ran into the apartment.

  “Oh, my darling girl!” she cried as she grabbed Nadia into her arms. The woman and the teenager fell to the ground, as if neither of them had the energy to stand now that they had been reunited. They sat, leaning against the sofa, hugging and sobbing.

  “I never thought I’d see you again!” Roberta cried. She took Nadia’s face in her hands and looked intently at her daughter’s face.

  Liam touched Gemma on the arm and guided her towards the bedroom, whilst Beth stood with the local police at the door.

  “How is she?” Liam asked.

  “She’s OK, but her abductor, he was just here. Nadia saw him out of the window.” Gemma answered.

  Liam nodded and called Beth over.

  “The abductors are still in the area. Can you see if Nadia knows where she was held?”

  “Give her five minutes to see her mother at least!” Beth answered indignantly.

  “Now, Beth!” Liam replied, forcefully.

  Beth walked towards Nadia and Roberta. Nadia must have heard what was said, as she looked at Beth.

  “Hotel Sirena,” she said. “It’s not far.”

  Liam nodded, one of the police said, “We know the hotel, we will take you.”

  The police and Liam left the apartment. Gemma suddenly felt very vulnerable and alone as the four females were left, without the protection of the police.

  ...

  As they reached the e
ntrance to the apartment complex, Liam could see Lisa, Marcus, and Troy at the reception. Lisa was waving her badge at the receptionist.

  “Quick, we have to move now, Lisa. We know where Nadia was held.”

  Lisa nodded.

  “Apartment 226,” Liam said to Marcus. “Just past the pool.”

  Marcus and Troy headed past the pool. When they saw the apartment the door was open. Marcus knocked on the frame.

  Gemma saw her husband and grabbed him in an embrace.

  “You have no idea how pleased I am to see you!” she said, unable to fight back tears herself.

  She then saw past Marcus to Troy.

  “She’s getting a boat back right now, Troy,” Gemma said.

  “Where’s the harbour?” Troy asked.

  “Down the hill, left at the seafront. It’s not far,” she replied.

  “I’m heading there now,” Troy said. “Ring me if we miss each other and she comes back before me.”

  He turned and headed out.

  “He’s desperate to see for himself that she’s OK,” Marcus answered. “You can see how in love with her he is.”

  Gemma nodded, “They both deserve happiness.”

  She pulled her husband back towards her, deep in a hug. She began to feel her tension disappear, she finally felt safe again.

  43

  Troy’s mother had always told him that a real man is not afraid to show their emotions. It was something that had stayed with him. Growing up in New York, there was a perception, particularly in the mostly black neighbourhood that Troy grew up in, that boys had to be tough. It was one of the reasons why Troy never really fitted in. This coupled with his paler skin from his father and his keen desire to study.

  As an adult though, and a scientist, it was these sensitivities that made him the man he was, that made him a success. He demonstrated empathy and compassion. However, as he stood waiting for the Fred Olsen Express from Fuerteventura it was love that was his over-riding emotion.

  If the last day had taught him anything, it was that he was completely in love with Jen. In many ways, she was like his own mother. She had survived her abuse but hadn’t lost her kindness or caring nature. This demonstrated to Troy that she was strong and admirable. Troy had come to the realisation on the flight over from Bristol to Lanzarote that if he was re-united with her, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She was, without question, the one.

  He felt butterflies in his stomach as the boat began to dock. He hoped that the trauma that Jen had gone through whilst abducted by the sex traffickers wasn’t so great that she would want to stop their relationship. If it was, Troy had decided that he would support her as a friend, and he would wait until she was ready to restart their love affair. And if she was never ready, whilst Troy was sure that it would break his heart, he would still have the memories of their time together, of a time when he had met his soul mate.

  The first people began exiting the boat, and then he saw her. She looked as beautiful as she always did. She began walking up the jetty and then she saw Troy. Her face broke into the widest smile. She lifted her hand and waved at him, grinning.

  Troy could not hold in his emotions as he grinned and waved back. The tears began flowing, a mixture of relief and happiness at seeing the woman he loved. He began a little jog to reach her quicker, the need to hold her in his arms overwhelmed him.

  As they reached and embraced, neither said a word, they just held on to each other and cried. Each taking the weight of relief from the other.

  44

  The police car pulled outside the Hotel Sirena. The two officers, Lisa, and Liam got out of the vehicle and headed inside the hotel.

  They hadn’t even reached the reception desk, when Lisa spotted a man, walking from the lifts towards the exit. He was holding a large suitcase and had a backpack on his back.

  “It’s him!” Lisa said, poking Liam.

  The man saw the recognition in Lisa. He dropped the suitcase and began to run for the exit.

  Lisa was faster. She quickly caught up with him. As she reached him, she pushed him hard, harder than she should have, so it was more than enough to send him off his footing, and he fell face first onto the pavement just outside the entrance.

  Lisa straddled his back, holding him to the floor.

  “A bit of help, please?” she shouted at the Spanish police.

  One ran to her side, and handed her a pair of handcuffs.

  “Gary Morris, I am arresting you on suspicion of child abduction and human trafficking.”

  Liam reached her side. He was holding the suitcase.

  “Going somewhere, Mr Morris?” he asked.

  “You’ve got the wrong person!” Biscuit answered, but his voice betrayed him. He knew his situation was futile.

  “Shall we just open this suitcase here, then?” Liam answered.

  Lisa removed the backpack, before placing Biscuit’s hands in cuffs behind his back.

  “I’m guessing we had best open the case and the rucksack down the station?” she said.

  She pulled Biscuit to his feet by his handcuffed arms and he squirmed in pain.

  “Not liking being on the receiving end of some pain, I’m guessing,” Lisa said, her voice full of venom and hatred. “I’m sure you’ll receive far worse when you end up back in Parc Prison with Ali Amrani.”

  “You can’t send me back there!” Biscuit screamed.

  “Ah, so not the wrong person, are you?” Liam said. “We can and we will send you back, on your parole violation for starters.”

  45

  One week later

  Lisa sat in the coffee shop, nervously. Her brief time in Lanzarote had served as a moment of clarity. Life was short, and terrible things could happen to decent people.

  When they had searched the suitcase and the rucksack it had sickened her. She had mostly managed to avoid child abuse cases whilst on the force. The memories of the videos and photographs that she saw would be etched on her memory forever. But she couldn’t let it dictate her life.

  It was time she started living in the here and now. Yes, she loved her job, she loved being part of the justice process, but equally she needed to have a life that was more than being married to the job.

  The door opened, and in walked Hannah. Lisa’s heart almost skipped a beat as she looked at the geeky, yet beautiful scientist. This date was far too long in the making.

  Lisa got up from a seat, ready to hug Hannah. Hannah reached her, and threw her arms around her. They hugged for a moment, as they pulled apart the electricity between them draw them back together, this time in a long and passionate kiss.

  “About time too!” Hannah said, cheekily, as the kiss ended.

  ...

  Roberta was struggling to come to terms with her daughter’s withdrawal. There were moments where there were glimpses of the Nadia that used to be. However, the new Nadia, the broken Nadia, was far more present.

  The day before, Roberta and Nadia had met with Lisa, Beth and Troy at the medical facility. Lisa had said that there was the ability to extract memories from Nadia. To help them find the other sex trafficked victims.

  Nadia had instantly agreed that she wanted to take part in the process. However, Roberta had refused. Her child had been through enough. It was not her daughter’s responsibility to rescue other people. They had caught one of the traffickers, the scum that had repeatedly raped her daughter. Why couldn’t they get him to talk?

  Whilst Nadia had known that she had been kept in a compound in Morocco, and that they had been taken to Lanzarote by boat, she didn’t know the location of where she had been kept. It made Nadia feel useless that she was unable to help. She yearned for Maxine, the one person who had looked out for her during her trauma.

  “Can we talk?” Roberta asked, speaking through the closed bedroom door.

  “Go away, Mam,” Nadia replied.

  “Please, Nadia,” Roberta pleaded. “I need you to understand.”

  Nadia open
ed the door, tear stains clear on her cheeks, her eyes puffy and swollen.

  “No, Mam. I need YOU to understand. They are raping little kids. Kids younger than Toby. I need that to sink into your brain for just one moment.” Nadia looked at her mother with sincerity. “You are stopping me from helping these children, from helping my friends. Now you’ve got your broken daughter back you don’t give a flying fuck about the others. But I do, Mam, I do.”

  Nadia broke down in tears again and closed the door. She saved her final blow for after the door was shut.

  “You are just like Mateo. You may not be a sick fucking paedo yourself, but you aren’t doing anything to stop it either.”

  ...

  “If you want to extract my memories, you can,” Jen said to Troy. “There may be something of use on my time on the boat. I may have seen something, an address, a clue.”

  “Darling, I don’t think it will help,” Troy replied. “The chances of you seeing something in the brief amount of time you were there are slim.”

  “I still don’t understand why you can’t just take the memories from that creature the police have in custody,” Jen said.

  “Neither do I, if I’m honest, Jen.” Troy replied woefully. “However, due to the secrecy and integrity of the Project Payback programme, Liam and his team would have to confirm what they are doing to the prison service and the probation service. The police have decided that it involves too many agencies and it’s pushing the boundaries of what the project is about. With Gary Morris being back in prison now, the chance has passed. Lisa said that she is hoping that Gary will tell them under questioning.”

  Jen began to cry. “I can’t stop thinking about that little boy, that little Abdul. No child should have to go through what he is going through. And then there was that trans woman. I just wish I could help.”