Finding You

by Elizabeth Holland

  “The last we heard was that he had been taken into protective custody and was being kept safe in a house up in Scotland.”

  Sean was in Scotland. Laura tried to calm her breathing as she processed all the information. Sean was okay, and she was going to be okay too. Everything was going to be okay.

  “So are we going to Scotland now?” Laura’s mind was wandering off with thoughts of her reunion with Sean.

  “No, we’re going into hiding. We thought Wales would be an excellent choice.”

  Laura was speechless. They were going into hiding.

  Greg saw the look on her face and reached out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “It won’t be for long, Laura, I promise. We’re all in great danger at the moment, and I’m sure the top gang members will be after us. The majority of people in that warehouse were dressed in uniform, meaning they were at the bottom of the gang’s hierarchy. There will be members who are higher up the chain looking for us. Until they’re dealt with, we have to stay safe.” Greg gave Laura’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

  “Luke knew you.” Laura had too many questions to allow the conversation to end.

  “We have history.” Greg turned to look out of the window, indicating that he no longer wanted to speak. Laura knew better than to keep pushing him.

  That was it. Conversation over. Laura had so many questions buzzing around inside her head that she didn’t even know where to start. She was away from the gang. Sean was safe, and she was about to go into hiding in Wales. Where, or how, did she even begin to process all of that information?

  ◆◆◆

  “Can you point your toes forward, please?” The doctor pulled Laura from her memories with his question. He had taken the cast off of her foot. With a nod, Laura pointed her toes. She tried to focus on what she was doing, however her mind was still lingering on that day. She couldn’t forget Luke’s last glance. His eyes were filled with despair as he watched them leave. They had driven to Wales and rented a big house in the middle of nowhere for all six of them.

  Every day waking up was awful. She was still separated from Sean. She feared for his safety. After everything that had happened, the gang wouldn’t think twice about killing him. The days didn’t get any easier as Laura forced herself to go through the motions of eating, washing and sitting in front of a television, blindly staring at its screen. She was slowly going mad, trapped inside the house. Occasionally, she had thought about trying to escape, but with five police men watching her it would be impossible.

  “How does that feel?” The doctor asked as she stood up and attempted to walk. It was strange, the muscles were weak, and the absence of a heavy cast was bizarre. Yet at the same time she was ecstatic to have the use of her foot back.

  They spent a few minutes doing some exercises and Laura was given a sheet with more exercises to continue at home. Once the appointment was over, she thanked the doctor and left the room with Greg close behind her. She never went anywhere without a bodyguard these days, you never knew who was lurking around a corner.

  Chapter Thirty

  Once back at the house, Greg and Laura went their separate ways; Greg to play video games, while Laura went to make herself a coffee. She had never liked coffee much until Sean had introduced her to it. She still remembered that day as clear as anything.

  ◆◆◆

  5th January 2015,

  “Come on Laura, this is boring.” Sean whinged as he scuffed his feet on the floor. He was in a terrible mood, having been dragged around the January sales for hours.

  “Look, Sean, half price!” Laura pointed excitedly at the mixer that was standing on display, a huge sale sign above it. Sean sighed as Laura tiptoed towards the object, almost scared that it would run away from her. Sean loved Laura, but sometimes her enthusiasm for kitchen gadgets was a little overwhelming. Perhaps that was just life with a budding chef.

  “I’ll make you a deal. You can buy the mixer if we can stop for a coffee after this.” Sean held on to Laura’s hands to get her attention as he spoke. Her eyes widened as she realised she could buy the mixer.

  “Thank you! I’ll bake you a cake tonight with it.” She beamed back at him and chose the colour she wanted. Sean breathed a sigh of relief as they stood at the checkout. He could see a coffee shop in the distance.

  A few minutes later, they chose a table and put down all of their bags.

  “You stay here with the bags and I’ll order. What do you want?" Sean asked. He was finding it difficult to stay still with the promise of coffee only a few short steps away.

  “Surprise me.” Laura replied, somewhat absent-mindedly as she stared at the box holding her brand new mixer.

  Sean made his way up to the counter and glanced at the menu board as he queued. For years he had been trying to get Laura to try coffee, but each time she refused. He knew that if she would only try it, she would love it. Sometimes, he knew her better than she knew herself. Sean bought her a coffee - a caramel cappuccino to be exact - if she didn’t like it then he would just queue up again and buy her a hot chocolate.

  “Thank you!” Laura smiled as he sat back down at the table. She had finally torn her eyes away from her new purchases. "I’m sorry for dragging you around the shops for hours looking at kitchenware.”

  Sean smiled at the guilty look that had crossed her face.

  "It’s okay, I know how much you enjoy your kitchen gadgets. At least I get to enjoy the food that you make with them.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, both enjoying the rest after hours of trailing round shops with the usual January sales crowds. Despite the chaos, and the endless shopping bags, it had been a lovely day. After having spent so long with family members over Christmas, it was nice just to be the two of them again.

  Laura picked up her cup and brought it to her mouth. Her nose wrinkled as the smell of sweet coffee hit her senses. She narrowed her eyes at Sean, but she didn’t back down from the challenge. Sean watched her face as she took her first sip. Her eyes relaxed as the coffee hit her taste buds.

  “What do you think?” he asked. A smug feeling rising within him.

  “It’s really nice,” she begrudgingly admitted. At least now, Laura could incorporate coffee into her recipes since she knew what it tasted like.

  “I told you so.” Sean beamed back at her, laughing slightly as he took a sip of his own drink. He was also somewhat relieved to know he wouldn’t have to get up again and order her something different.

  “Yeah, yeah. You know best, don’t you?” Laura rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.

  ◆◆◆

  The kettle boiled, forcing Laura to abandon her memories and return to the task at hand. She made her coffee and then went over to sit at the kitchen table. Her leg shook slightly as she put her weight down on her foot. It would take a while for walking to feel normal again. Laura had been amazed that her ankle had healed. After all that she had put it through, she had been dreading having to have it operated on.

  "How did your appointment go?” A tall man with reddish hair sat down opposite her. His name was Jake, and he was one of her bodyguards. Well, technically, he was an undercover police officer, but Laura liked to think of them all as her bodyguards - it made her feel safer.

  “My ankle is fixed.” She smiled back at him. Some of her bodyguards were quiet and reserved, whereas Jake would often sit with her and talk.

  “That’s brilliant news!” Jake smiled back at her. Laura took a sip of her coffee and watched Jake over the top of her mug. His smile seemed strained, and he looked as though he had something he wanted to say to her.

  “What’s going on, Jake?” she asked, although she doubted she wanted to know the answer to her question.

  "It’s Sean. He’s missing.”

  Those two words rattled around Laura’s head as she allowed them to sink in. She had been happily living in the house for a while now. Being apart from Sean was difficult, not kno
wing whether he was safe. Having the confirmation that he was in danger only made things worse. Laura sat trembling as her mind considered the danger Sean could be in.

  “What happened?” Laura took a deep breath to steady her voice. She had to find out what was going on before she allowed her emotions to take over.

  “He has been watching CCTV of you in London and he saw you get hit by the bus. Apparently, he left shortly after. The officers tried to stop him but he threatened them with a knife.”

  Laura thanked Jake for telling her and then made her way up to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. It was her fault that Sean had left the protection of his safe house. She wanted to feel his arms wrap around her and to reach up on her tiptoes to kiss him and tell him everything would be okay. They’d been apart for far too long. Laura knew she had to find him, but first she would need to get away from her bodyguards.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Laura laid on her bed, moving her foot in circles. She was already starting on her exercises, knowing that she would need every bit of strength she could muster. Somehow, she had to get away from this house and her bodyguards. She had to find Sean. The only problem was, she didn’t know how to do either. Walking out the door was hardly an option, and she did not know where in the world Sean was. Despite all this, Laura knew that sitting in this house waiting to be saved was not an option. She wanted her life with Sean back and to do that she had to get it back. This had gone on for far too long. It was time something changed and nobody seemed to be doing anything about it, and so it was time for Laura to act.

  She sat up and commanded her brain to think. There had to be a way to get out of this mess. Laura wondered whether any of her bodyguards would help her. The only problem was, she could not risk asking them in case they said no. Her mind was whirling and her fists were balled up in anger. How had her almost-perfect life been so cruelly turned upside down? A knock on her bedroom door forced Laura to take a deep breath to calm down.

  “Come in!” she called, trying to arrange her face into a false smile. The last thing she wanted was to speak to someone.

  Greg entered the room, a sombre look on his face. Without saying anything, he sat down on the bed next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Greg was the kindest out of her bodyguards. He always made sure she was okay and took the time to listen to her woes.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve just heard the news about Sean.” His voice was calm but Laura suspected he was hiding some emotion behind it.

  “Greg, hypothetically, if I was considering something stupid, what would you say?” If anyone would support her in her quest to find Sean, it would be Greg.

  “I’d say, when are we leaving?” Greg’s reply took Laura by surprise. She hadn’t expected him to be so encouraging. However, her mind flitted back to the warehouse when Luke had addressed him. Greg had unfinished business with the gang. Laura had questioned Greg about it, but he had not wanted to talk to her.

  “Really?" Laura asked to check he wasn’t teasing her.

  “Laura, you’re not the only one with a family back home. As much fun as this has been, I would like to get home to my husband before he turns grey. Also, I have my own score to settle with Harry.” Greg had briefly spoken to Laura about the gang, he had been cagey but he had told Laura that he had some sort of history with the gang leader, Harry.

  “Will you help me?” Laura held her breath as she waited for Greg to respond. Talking hypothetically was one thing, but asking an officer to go against his instructions and walk into the face of danger was a whole other thing. Time seemed to stand still as Greg considered her question. Would he agree to help her or would he put her under house arrest?

  “I’ll help you.” His answer was short, but to the point.

  “Okay. We need a plan.”

  They both sat there in silence for a few minutes as they tried to conjure up a plan. Laura couldn’t envision any plan that would be successful. How on earth were they going to find Sean and protect themselves from an angry organised crime group?

  “Should we involve anyone else?” Laura had been wondering whether to ask any of the other men to help them, but she wasn’t sure.

  “I don’t think they’d be happy about it, Laura, and they might try to stop us from going.” Greg presented a good argument, they had to be careful who knew their plan. It would just be the two of them.

  “Okay, that’s one aspect of the plan sorted. It’s just the two of us. Where do we go?” It was one thing sneaking out of the house without being caught, but then where would they go? There was no point blindly driving around the country trying to hunt people down.

  “I’ve got some contacts. I’ll contact them and see whether they have any information.” There was something about the way Greg spoke that reminded Laura of Luke. However, she shook her head and forced herself to cast the thoughts aside. Greg was nothing like Luke. Laura was worried that she was being stupid by placing her trust in someone else. However, it was that or sit around waiting for someone else to make the first move.

  “Tomorrow is our best chance of escaping. Jake and Sam are going food shopping so there’ll be less of us. The others will probably just be playing games, so if we can get ourselves ready tonight, we’ll leave tomorrow.” It sounded silly, undercover officers going out to the supermarket, but it was a necessity - they couldn’t risk having any online activity linking them back to this location. Today, however, Laura was very grateful that they had to go food shopping. At least it would be fewer officers to deceive.

  “What do we need?” Laura asked, mentally making a list.

  “Pack yourself a bag of clothes, maybe see if you can get some food from the kitchen. Can you shoot?” Greg’s question caught Laura by surprise, but it was a valid point. They would need to protect themselves.

  “I can, Sean taught me.”

  “I’ll sort us some weapons, but you have to promise me you’ll only use it if you absolutely have to. I could get in a lot of trouble for this.”

  “Are you sure about this, Greg? I’m happy to go on my own. All I ask is that you don’t tell the others until I’ve got a head start.” Laura meant what she said, she didn’t want to drag other people into this mess.

  “No, I want to help you. How could I sleep at night knowing I let you go on your own? I want to help you, and I want to help stop this gang. The sooner we do it, the sooner I can be back home with my family. Besides, I have a history with Harry and I’d like to see his face when he realises his time is up.”

  They finalised their plans, and both went their separate ways. Laura set about packing her bag. She had accumulated several toiletries and clothes from the officers’ trips to the supermarket. Laura chose two outfits and folded them as small as possible into her bag. Once done, she tiptoed downstairs to steal some food from the cupboards. She would have to be careful not to raise any suspicions.

  Chapter Thirty Two

  The following morning, Laura watched from her bedroom window as Jake and Sam left in the white mini van to do the food shop. Her bag was packed, and she had just finished doing her daily foot exercises. Laura suspected there was going to be a lot of walking, and so she needed her foot to co-operate. A soft knock on the door made Laura jump. It was time. With a quick glance around the room, she grabbed her bag and headed to the door. Despite everything, she would miss this house. She had grown strangely attached to it. It was the first place she had been truly safe in over a year.

  “You ready?” Greg whispered, careful not to draw attention to their conversation. The others were downstairs in the backroom playing video games.

  “What’s the plan?” Laura asked as she began her descent down the stairs, careful not to step on the one third from the bottom that squeaked.

  “We’re taking the other car. That way, even if they realise we’ve gone, they won’t be able to catch us until the others are home from shopping.” It was a good plan. Shortly after arriving in Wales they had realised they would need a second ca
r and so the police arranged for a car to be delivered to them. Now all they had to do was to get outside and into the car, without anyone noticing. As Laura stepped onto the last step, her ankle give way and she fell. Quickly, she put her hand across her mouth to muffle her cries of pain.

  “Laura, are you okay?” Greg asked her as he helped her back up. They both stilled, waiting to see whether anyone had heard. Would someone come and see what the noise was? They waited a couple of minutes, but nobody came.

  “I’m fine. Just adjusting to using both legs again.” The pain was slowly easing, and she could put some weight on her ankle. "Let’s go.”

  Together, they made their way over to the door, opening it as quietly as possible, and slipping outside to where the car was waiting. Greg took Laura’s bag from her and threw both bags in the backseat before he climbed into the front. It took Laura a little longer to get into the car, but once she was in they both shut their doors at the same time, Greg started the car and was out of the driveway before Laura could even put her seatbelt on. He had wanted to get away quickly in case the sound of the doors shutting drew any attention to them.

  They both held their breath as they drove away from the house, checking the mirrors to see whether anyone had followed them. There was nobody around.

  Laura took a few minutes to relax. Her foot was still throbbing, but hopefully the pain would ease as they drove. Speaking of driving, she didn’t know where they were going.

  “Did you hear back from your contacts?” she asked, hoping that someone might have been able to give Greg some information on where Sean was.

  “He was spotted in Manchester, back at your flat. They sent officers to the address, but by the time they had arrived he had left. Their guess is that he had gone back for clothes. Apparently, the flat has been trashed, most likely by the gang. I think they went there after we escaped the warehouse. We’re going to head to Manchester and see whether we can pick up a trail.” Laura sighed, her beautiful flat had been trashed, again. She still remembered the day they had moved in.