Ford Security

by Clara Kendrick

  No matter how dire the circumstances, I refuse to let them inside my head. I refuse to give in or surrender. I refuse to wave a white flag in the air. Maybe that's who I used to be, but it's not who I am anymore.

  Today I'm a different Anna Lewis than I was yesterday. No matter what happens next, there's no way I could ever go back to being the same girl anymore. There's no way I could go back to living a sheltered life after having experienced what I've been through today.

  Zane was right.

  Things like this change people. And for the first time, I feel a little bit of sympathy for people like Mitch and his cronies. Because I imagine there was a time when they weren’t completely consumed by their evil hearts. There was a time when they weren’t so jaded and focused on hurting others. They probably used to love people other than themselves but somehow, somewhere they took a wrong turn.

  Maybe it's stupid to feel the slightest bit of sympathy for my kidnappers, but that's just who I am. I have a good heart and I can't change that. Nor would I want to. A good heart is the one thing in this world nobody can ever steal from you. You can only give it away. You can always sell it. But nobody can ever, ever, ever take that away from you. Is the one thing that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

  And with this heart, I think I'm falling in love with Zane. That's why I can't bear to go out this way. If I'm going to die today, then I want to die in his arms. But that's enough thinking like that.

  I force myself to think positive, which is a little difficult given the circumstances. But I don't allow myself to think negatively anymore. I don't allow myself to get caught up in whatever or to even think about the prospect of dying.

  "I'm not going to die today," I mumble under my breath, and I mumble it again until I actually believe it. And when I do believe it, that's when I start to fight. That's when I become a warrior.

  With my hands tied behind my back and hooked around the back of a chair, I am defenseless. But that doesn't mean I have to stay that way. I look around my surroundings once more and there’s nobody in front of me, that much I know for sure. So I crane my head over my shoulder and take a look behind me and I don't see anyone there either.

  I began to struggle. Struggle against the ropes tying me in place and struggle against the wooden chair. The wooden chair scratches against the rough surface beneath me. Though I'm wearing shoes, I can estimate that the surface beneath me is concrete. Maybe that means I'm in the basement or maybe it doesn't. I don't know.

  All I know is that I have to free myself because I can't count on anyone saving me. Not even Zane. I throw all the weight of my body to the right, causing the chair to wobble on its feet. I throw myself to the left and it wobbles again. I finally throw my weight all my way backwards, sending the chair down onto the concrete with a loud thud.

  While I'm groaning out loud in pain, it escapes my mind that the chair is now broken until I'm able to wrangle my hands out from behind me and slide out of the ropes. It takes me a good few seconds to climb to my feet, and though my arms are sore from colliding with the concrete, I'm more than ready for the action. With my eyes zoned in straight ahead at the door in front of me, I'm a woman on a mission. I rip open the door and rush outside without even checking to make sure the coast is clear. Because what difference does it make? If there are people out here in the hallway, then I'm screwed either way. I'm unarmed and unskilled with my fist and body.

  Thankfully, there’s nobody out here with me. It's just me, myself, and I. And given the dire circumstances, the Anna Lewis I woke up as today would not be okay with this. But now I'm more than okay with this. Because I have to be, because I don't have a choice, not anymore. These men have ripped away any choice I've had in the matter. And though I never would have killed someone before, if it comes to it I am more than prepared.

  As I make my way down the long length of the hall, I begin thinking about how odd it is that there is nobody down here watching me. When we first came into this tower and made our first escape, there were at least fifteen men in this building with us. My question is—where are they now?

  I suppose Zane could have taken care of them and if he did, I would be cheering him on. But the last time I saw him, he was slipping away into the bathroom. For all I know, he’s still locked inside the safe room. There are a thousand different scenarios that could've happened between the time I blacked out and woke up downstairs. Hell, I could have woken up in this basement days later for all I know. However, I feel as if I would probably be a little hungrier than I am and a little more dehydrated too. Although my throat is dry, I think I would know if it had been more than 24 hours since my last sip of liquid. I come to an intersection in the hallway and peek my head around the corner. Now is the time I need to start being stealthy.

  I've managed to make it too far on my own to get caught now. The coast seems to be clear so I jump out into the intersection and make a beeline for the elevator. I reach the steel doors and press the up button causing the light to light up behind it.

  I tap my fingers nervously against my jeans as I wait for the elevator to descend. On the digital monitor beside the elevator, in red letters, it says the elevator is now descending. And it's coming from the top floor.

  I weigh my options in my head. By anyone's calculations, taking the elevator would be the quickest way to get to the top of the building. And since somebody is coming down from that particular floor right now, I feel as if that's where I need to go. However, there are other variables to take into consideration. For example, anyone could stop the elevator at anytime and get on.

  There is always the choice to take the stairwell. Now while I'm not in horrible shape, I don't think I'm active enough to be able to run up seventy flights of stairs. I don't know many people who are. In fact, the last time I tried running a marathon, for charity nonetheless, I didn't make it past the first mile.

  It's a difficult decision but I resolve myself to wait for the elevator. I figure I'd rather take my chances on the elevator because at least I know I stand a chance of actually reaching the 70th floor. Just as a shadow passes over my back, I feel a quick breeze of wind. I twist around on my feet instinctively but there's nobody there. My spine runs cold and shivers go down my arms. Goosebumps appear all over my body. Suddenly, it's like a temperature has dropped twenty degrees.

  "Hello?" I call out as low as a whisper and then instantly school myself mentally for behaving like a cliché girl in a horror film. Everyone knows the last thing you should do when you feel like you're being watched or stalked is to call out hello.

  I try to convince myself that it's just my mind playing tricks on me. I am in a dark space and I am facing terrifying circumstances, so it wouldn't be unjustified to be afraid of the tiniest things even. I twist around to face the elevator once more and see that it is now on the 32nd floor.

  This is taking way too long. I second-guess my choice to take the elevator.

  And then again… A shadow passes over me.

  I spin around on my feet once more, readying my fists so that they are square with my shoulders. My eyes search all around me, looking in every crack and in every corner. But there’s still nobody there. Nobody that I can see anyways.

  I take a measured step forward to try and get a better view. I take a few more steps until I'm back at the same corner I just rounded, the same corner I just came from. With one hand held steady against the wall, I crane my head around the corner to look to see if anyone's there. But again, there's nobody. I know they could be hiding in the shadows or they could be hiding behind anything and that's the thought that terrifies me.

  I retreat backwards towards the elevator, taking slow careful steps backwards. And then there it is again…

  The same shadow passing over me and a quick gust of wind. And then a hand closes over my mouth. The hand is calloused and rough and for a split second I almost believe that it's Zane. And in those brief moments, I sigh from relief against the man's hand. But as he starts dragging me backw
ards roughly, I quickly realize that it is not Zane.

  My heart just about breaks out of my chest like it an inmate breaking out of prison. My eyes search around the room, looking for something, anything that could help me out of this position I found myself in. But it's just me and this man and there’s no one here to help me, and I have no tools available at my disposal. All I've got is my body. The palm of his hand somehow slips into my mouth enough so I'm able to chomp down with my teeth.

  The man curses under his breath and groans out in pain. He recoils slightly so that his grip on my mouth loosens a little bit. I take this opportunity to make my next move. I jab my elbow backwards landing against his chest with a crack. And then I do it again.

  This time, I manage to free myself from his grip as he stumbles backwards. I spin around on my feet and arch my leg back and then kick it forward to land right at his privates. His hand drops to cup his dick and I want to feel sorry for him, but the girl who would feel sorry for him went out the window the second these people decided to kidnap me. Everything that happens now is a consequence of their very actions.

  I rush forward and knee him in the face as hard as I can. His nose cracks and blood splatters onto my knee first and then the concrete floor next. I may not be a doctor but I'm smart enough to know that he's probably going to be out of commission for the rest of the night. I drop down to my knees and search over his body, looking for anything that I could use. I find a gun, a locked phone, and another walkie-talkie.

  Knowing that his phone is probably useless unless there is an inbound call, I shove that into my front pocket. I do the same with the walkie-talkie, pushing it into my left pocket and then scoop the gun up into my hand.

  And just as I rise to stand, the elevator doors peel open.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ZANE

  Room by room, I'm doing a full sweep of the 70th floor. I've already checked at least twenty rooms and all of them have been empty so far. It's not looking good right now. And though I hate being a pessimist, it's looking more and more likely that Anna is no longer in the building.

  And that doesn't make sense to me, because if this really all goes back to the Grimm family, then they would want me. Not her. That's why my suspicions are raised.

  Red flags are flying everywhere and it's enough to make me second-guess all of the events that have unfolded today. I try to piece all of the pieces together, but I just keep coming up with an unsolved puzzle. I try to think of what they could want with Anna. The only thing that comes to mind is that they know that she's close to me. And that weighs heavily on my soul because before today we weren't that close.

  I mean, we have been associates for years but when people take hostages for ransom, it's usually a loved one, someone intimate. For all these people know, Anna and I don't have that kind of relationship. Or at least we didn't until today.

  Again, I can't help but feeling that by dragging her into this mess, I've signed her death warrant. I exit a conference room and pull the door shut behind me. And then I make my way to the next room by entering a door to my left. I flip on the lights, because at this point I don't care if they know where I'm at. I'm half considering going down the hallway screaming at the top of my lungs just so they can find me. If anyone is left in this building, that is.

  I close the door behind me and make my way to the next room on the left. But it's empty just like all of the others. When I leave that room behind I throw myself forward against the wall and punch it as hard as I can. I scream out with a potent combination of rage and sadness.

  After all of my years on the job, I've never wanted to quit. I've always seen the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I've always thought that the good that I do outweighs the bad, but then again I've never lost anybody close to me. Not since I came home from the war. Not since this all first began with Dom, the other boys, and myself.

  I land another hard blow against the wall, putting a hole in it. Seeing as how this is a bank-owned property, I know that someone is going to have to come in here and fix all of this damage before the building is actually sold. Thinking about that, I remember back when we first found the conference room and Anna had wondered out loud whether or not this place was even technically for sale. That's when it dawns on me that to figure out what is actually going on here, I need to figure out who owns this building. Which is easier said than done given that there are no means to communicate with anyone outside of this building.

  Realizing that most likely I'm not going to find Anna in this building, I resolve myself to get the hell out of here, go back to the factory, and have Marcus do some digging. And when he finds the answers I need, I will enlist the help of my brother, Dominic, and Chase. God, I wish Luke was still here but he's gone. Left without so much as saying a word to any of us. Given the bond that we all share, his sudden disappearance is more than out of character.

  I decide to check the last few rooms on this floor before I climb back into the elevator and to descend to the first floor so I can get out of here and get the help that I need.

  It's never easy to admit that you need help. Especially not for someone like me, who prides myself on my own independence. But I simply can't risk Anna’s well-being for the sake of my own ego. After I've searched the last few rooms and they've all come up empty, exactly as I expected, I march back towards the elevator with a newfound purpose and willpower to end this once and for all.

  But as I draw closer and closer to the elevator, my eyes shift to the digital panel beside the shaft doors. And I see that the elevator is climbing one floor at a time.

  Until the number reads 70.

  And the doors slide open. And for the brief second that comes between the number 70 showing up on the monitor and the doors opening, I pray silently that it’s Anna who’s about to walk through those doors.

  But it's not.

  It's two men with handguns, both aimed squarely at me. I'm not in the mood to deal with these simple henchmen, hired hands without an agenda of their own. They're only purpose in life is to make money off the misery of other people. And their employers are people like Seth Grimm and Mitch.

  But like I said, I'm not in the mood.

  I squeeze the trigger and pop the first guy in the head. His head jerks back as a bullet impacts his skull and he fumbles backwards into a sitting position, dead in the elevator. The other man fires his gun, and just as I think I'm about to die, I don't.

  He wasn't aiming at my head. He was aiming at my gun, and he hits it with perfect accuracy, sending the gun flying out of my hand. He aims the gun now squarely on my head and that's when I know I have no choice left.

  I do the unthinkable.

  I raise my hands above my head.

  And I surrender.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ANNA

  The elevator doors sling open and my heart skips a beat as I wonder if there will be anyone waiting for me on the 70th floor. My eyes search the hallway but I don't see anyone so I step out carefully. I hold my gun squarely in front of me, aim it so that if anybody jumps out in front of me, all I have to do is pull the trigger and they’ll be dead.

  With every step I take down the long hallway, my heart races faster and faster. It's haunting to me how there doesn't seem to be anyone left in the building except for the man I dispatched downstairs. Again, I have to question why there was nobody watching me. And my mind is still racing trying to figure out what happened to Zane. Could it be that he is still in the panic room?

  That would be the best case scenario, but I know that it's not likely. As soon as he realized I was gone, he would have come for me. I know him well enough to know that is true. I know him a lot better than I knew him yesterday, and I like what I see.

  I try to focus on the path ahead. I try to force all thoughts of Zane from my head because right now he's only serving as a distraction. Distraction that could likely get me killed.

  I think back to how I dispatched that man downstairs and I'm more than im
pressed with my newfound ability to kick ass and take names. But I'm not letting that go to my head because I know as soon as I do, Karma will bite me in the ass. I reach the end of the hallway and I don't see him. I don't see anyone to be precise.

  The very thought that I might be alone in this tower at this given moment is enough to send chills down my spine.

  How often is it that one person can say that they are the only person in an entire skyscraper in the middle of Los Angeles? I would imagine that number is pretty close to zero. It's just one more experience for me to check off my nonexistent bucket list. I begin to march back towards the elevator, realizing that three minute ride up to the 70th floor was probably a waste of my time.

  And although I would hate to leave Zane here, assuming he's even here, I realize that my best course of action is to probably go back to the factory and get some help. I finally make my way back to the elevator.

  And then I press the button and wait for the elevator to open, but just as the hydraulics pull the doors open, the power goes out again. And I'm left in pitch black darkness.

  It's hard for me to not panic being that I'm afraid of the dark. That's probably a ridiculous thought that a 30-year-old woman is still afraid of the dark. After all, that's just something for kids.

  After one leaves adolescence behind, they're supposed to get over their fears. Especially the fear of the dark. But that conventional wisdom is doing nothing to help me right now. I reach into my left pocket and grab the phone I took from the man downstairs, and I use it to light my path.

  I travel down the same hallway, this time looking for a stairwell. I manage to find a door that leads to the stairs at the end of the hall and to the right. I peel the door open slowly and carefully but it still manages to creak, possibly giving away my location to anyone that might be up here. I close the door gently behind me so I don’t make any more noise.