“We don’t know if they’ve already traced it back to this place,” Tony spat out. “We have to leave or we could be toast.”
“What car are we gonna use?” Fatima, Curtis’s mother, asked. “There’s seven of us, and Curtis’s friend’s car downstairs is a sports car that can only sit four.”
“I’ll drive me, Paige and my parents,” Curtis said. “Unfortunately, Tony, you, Larry and Debbie will have to go on foot.”
“Fuck that!” Tony said. “I’ve been sticking my neck out for you. I’m not the one who’s gonna be caught with his pants down.”
Paige’s breathing shallowed. Something was very wrong here.
“Paige, why don’t you pack while we discuss this?” Larry asked.
“I want to know what’s going on,” she said.
Curtis smiled grimly. “The syndicate is closing in on us and the team backing us up is not expecting this. We’re sitting ducks here, Paige. We have to leave again and go somewhere else.”
Paige shook her head, fear and suspicion closing their big, heavy hands around her heart. She’d been trying to ward off the question marks in her head regarding their stories because she trusted her parents. But Tony’s outburst was giving her reason to put aside blind familial loyalty and consider the possibility that she was being lied to by everyone in this room. Were Tony and Curtis really working for the Australian Federal Police? Or are the authorities actually after them?
“Come, Paige. Let’s pack,” her mother said, practically dragging her towards the back of the living room wall, which was the hallway to the bedrooms and the front door.
“Mum,” she said, pulling her arms from her mother’s grip as the others continued to argue loudly.
“Shh,” Debbie said, placing a finger on her lips.
Paige frowned.
“You have to run, Paige,” Debbie whispered, leading her towards the front door. “Leave while you can. This might be your only opportunity.”
The hairs on Paige’s neck and arms stood up at her mum’s words.
“There’s no time to explain,” Debbie said, glancing behind her. “I’ll tell them I went to the toilet and you left without my knowledge. I have to stay for your dad. I don’t trust Tony. I’ll grab your handbag.” Debbie ran to the room Paige was using, her footsteps muted by the thick carpet.
And all Paige could do was stare at her, stunned. Her mother had all but confirmed they’d been living with dangerous people.
Debbie was back in no time, handing her handbag to her. “Go now,” she whispered. “But don’t talk to anyone, not even the cops, until you’re out of the area.”
Tears sprung to Paige’s eyes. “I can’t leave you and Dad.”
“We’ll be fine. Go to Tristan. He’s the only person I know who truly cares for you as much as your father and I do.”
Paige’s heart skipped a beat. “So Tristan’s not a criminal?”
Debbie placed a hand on her cheek, eyes welling up. “No, darling. He’s not even suspected of being one.”
“You lied to me,” she whispered, stunned.
“I’m so sorry. But there’s no time to explain. Go to Tristan. He has private detective friends who’ll know what to do.”
“Private detective friends?” she asked still trying to process what her mother was saying to her. But Tristan was innocent! She knew it!
“Yes, Gavin Redford and Carter Garrett. I know about them. I’d done some research on Tristan’s friends. Give them the names Tony Axel and Dan Yap.”
Oh, Gavin and Carter were private detectives? She had no idea. “Who’s Dan Yap?”
“A drug lord.”
Paige gasped.
“So we’ll all take a taxi,” they heard Tony say. “We’re sticking together.”
“It might be better if we split up,” Curtis argued.
“No!” Tony insisted.
“There’s no time, Paige. Go now!” Debbie whispered urgently.
“Come with me,” Paige said, tears streaming down her face.
“It’ll be more dangerous. And I have to stay for your father.”
Paige shook her head.
“You’re going to have a baby, Paige,” Debbie said sharply. “The best thing you can do is go now and help authorities catch us. Including me and your dad. We’ll worry about the repercussions later. Go!”
Debbie opened the door and pushed Paige outside.
“I love you,” Debbie said, blowing her a kiss before closing the door.
With eyes blurred by tears, Paige trotted to the lifts. She pressed the call button repeatedly, looking back to check if Tony had come to drag her back inside. After what seemed like ages, the elevator doors finally opened.
She entered and opened her bag to look for her phone so she could call Tristan. Shit. It wasn’t there.
Argh, she couldn’t go back to get it. Would Tristan be home?
And would he ever forgive her for what she’d said and done to him?
She sniffed and shook her head vigorously. Right now, all she could do was hope.
She got to the ground floor and rushed outside. Damn it. The fireworks had just finished, and hundreds of revellers were spilling onto the streets, ready to go home. She’d never find a taxi now. And she didn’t have her phone to call an Uber. She could walk it, but it would take her at least half an hour.
She glanced back at the building she’d just left. Shit. What if they could see her from up there?
She hurriedly mingled with the crowd as she thought about how to get to Tristan. Spotting a husband and wife with a child riding on his father’s shoulders, she approached them.
“Excuse me,” she said, placing her hand on her tummy to ensure they noticed her baby bump. “I was wondering if I could borrow your phone? I need to call my husband and I don’t have mine with me.”
“Oh, sure,” the lady said. She pulled her phone out and unlocked it before handing it to Paige.
“Thank you so much,” Paige said, her eyes welling with relief. Good thing she had Tristan’s number memorised.
But Tristan didn’t answer. The call went to voicemail.
Oh, no. What if he was at the New Year’s Eve charity ball hosted by his friends, the Carmichaels? She remembered now that he’d mentioned it to her a few weeks ago. Well, she didn’t have a choice but to leave a message. She turned around and covered her mouth against the device so she wouldn’t be overheard.
“Tristan, it’s Paige. I’m on my way home to your place. I have to walk because it’s so busy on the streets and I won’t find a taxi. I don’t have my phone with me and I’m just borrowing one from a stranger, so you can’t contact me back on this number. I’ll try ringing you again later. Please answer your phone if it rings again. I’m so sorry for everything. Mum and Dad are in trouble. They’re with Curtis and his parents. Mum said to give Carter and Gavin the names Tony Axel and Dan Yap. Apparently, Dan Yap is a drug lord. I don’t know if Tony Axel is one too, but he’s with them right now. We have to help them, please.” She told Tristan the address of Curtis’s friend’s apartment before saying goodbye, then she returned the phone to the woman, thanking her profusely.
Gosh, she hoped she’d made sense with the message she’d left. She was so nervous that she’d rambled.
She started heading to the direction of Tristan’s apartment when rain began to pour. Damn it!
She ran into a convenience shop for shelter. She had to try contacting Tristan again. “Excuse me,” she said to a young couple. “Would you mind if I borrow your phone to call my husband? I don’t have mine with me and I really need to talk to him right now.”
The boyfriend and girlfriend ignored her and walked away.
How rude!
She looked around. The place was full of young people in groups, with some appearing drunk. She better steer clear of them.
A guy came out of what seemed to be the stock room and she approached him, asking to borrow his phone.
The guy hesitated before pulling out his
device from his pocket. “Please make it quick. I’m really busy.”
“I could give it back to you when I’m finished,” she said, not wanting to keep him from his work.
The guy smirked. “No offence, but what if you run off with it?”
She sighed. Did she look like a thief? But then again, the man was just being cautious.
She dialled Tristan’s number. And again it went to voicemail.
What should she do now? She hadn’t even made it far away enough from Tony Axel.
And what if Tristan simply refused to listen to the rest of her message once he’d heard her voice?
Chapter 19
Tristan looked around the elegantly decorated ballroom where the well-attended Carmichael New Year’s Eve Charity Ball was being held. Maybe he could go home now. He’d already won one of the items being auctioned for charity—a tennis racquet previously owned by the current World Number One. He didn’t know how the Carmichaels had managed to secure it for tonight’s event, but he was pleased he’d bid the highest for it.
Next on the program was a bachelor and bachelorette auction hosted by Marilyn. He didn’t feel like being around for that. A couple of flirty women had already asked him if he was participating and he’d said no, holding up his left hand to show them his wedding ring. Hadn’t they seen his wedding photos online and in magazines?
Fortunately, people had been buying his excuse that Paige wasn’t around because she wasn’t feeling well. He wasn’t prepared to deal with the inevitable questions or sympathetic reactions if he said he’d split up from his wife. He’d rather keep it simple. It wasn’t anyone’s business anyway.
He hadn’t been able to rest from worrying all the time. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been any new developments from his private detective buddies or their friends at the AFP, and they still hadn’t found the Land Rover.
He leaned towards his mother, sitting on his right-hand side. “I think I’m gonna go, Mum.”
“Already?” Jennie asked in dismay. “Please stay awhile, Tristan.”
“I’m really tired. I haven’t had much sleep lately.”
Jennie sighed. “Okay. But can you have dinner with me and your dad tomorrow night? We just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Sure,” he said with a smile, grabbing his jacket that he’d draped over the backrest of his chair and putting it on. He felt his phone vibrate from the breast pocket and took it out.
He frowned. His phone was giving him a reminder that he’d missed two phone calls from two unknown numbers. He tapped voicemail to check a message that had been left for him.
He stopped breathing when he heard Paige’s voice. And his heart thundered in fear at her message.
No.
He hurried to where Gavin and Carter were sitting. “Listen to this,” he said urgently, replaying Paige’s message and pressing his phone to Carter’s ear.
Carter listened, then he whipped out his own phone and called a number, relaying the names and address Paige had given, and listening intently to the response from the other end. “We have to go,” he said urgently after hanging up.
“Sorry, girls,” Gavin said to Natasha and Cassie. “We have to go with Tristan.”
“Go,” the two women said.
The three of them rushed to the car park.
“I was told by our police friends that Dan Yap is indeed a wanted drug lord and Tony Axel is known as one of his minions,” Carter said. “We have to find Paige.”
Tristan was in complete agreement. All he could think of was the mother of his child out on the streets, trying to run away from dangerous criminals in the pouring rain. He prayed he got to Paige on time, wherever she was.
They all sped towards the address Paige had given, but they didn’t get that far. The crowd heading home from the fireworks was still so thick that it was holding up traffic.
Tristan swerved to park the car at a bus stop and hopped out. They could tow it away for all he cared. He needed to find Paige.
He battled his way through the throng of happy revellers getting soaked in the rain. How the hell would he find her in this chaos?
Tears blurred his vision as he desperately looked around. Paige, please call me again. Please.
He went into pubs and restaurants that were open, raking his hair in frustration. There were too many people!
He went back out in the rain when he felt a vibration against his heart. He hurriedly grabbed his phone, his hand shaking as he answered it. “Hello?”
“Tristan,” Paige said with relief.
He closed his eyes in gratitude. “Paige. Where are you?”
“I’m in a bathroom of a convenience store.” Paige told him which one.
Tristan’s knees almost buckled under him. That wasn’t very far from where she’d escaped from. “Stay there. I’m coming to get you.”
“Please hurry.”
“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” he promised.
He contacted Carter to update him while he ran to Paige’s location.
“Cops are approaching the address Paige has given,” Carter said.
“Okay. Please let me know what happens. I’m taking Paige away from the area once I find her.”
“Will do.”
Tristan was panting hard and dripping wet when he got to the convenience store.
“Hey, man, you’re creating puddles on the floor,” the shop assistant behind the counter complained.
“Sorry. Where’s your bathroom?”
“We don’t have a public bathroom here. You should use the one in the nearest pub.”
“My wife’s in there.”
“In where?”
“Your bathroom.”
The guy snickered. “Our bathroom?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Look. She is there. I need to know where it is.”
A second shop assistant came out of a door.
“Hey,” the man behind the counter said. “This guy claims his wife is in our bathroom.”
The other worker eyed him. “Yeah, you look like Tristan. She showed me a picture of you.”
Tristan grinned his relief.
The helpful assistant motioned for him to go through a door. “Bathroom’s over to your right.”
“Thank you.” He hurried to it, heart hammering in anticipation. “Paige? I’m here.”
He heard a latch being unlocked and the door opened.
His breath hitched at seeing his wife, damp from the rain and eyes red.
Paige flung herself into his arms. “Thank you for coming for me,” she said, sobbing softly.
Tristan’s chest heaved. Paige was safe. And her belly felt bigger against him. He pulled back to look at her face. “Are you okay?”
Paige nodded.
“And Tanner?” He touched her stomach, his throat closing up.
“He’s fine. Tristan, my parents… they’re still with Tony—whoever he really is. I don’t know what they’d done, but Mum said for us to help arrest them.”
He gave her a grim smile. “Tony Axel works for Dan Yap. And yes, Dan is a drug lord.”
Paige’s eyes rounded in horror.
“The police are already at the address you gave me. Let’s hope they find your parents safe. But let’s wait for news at my place. You need to get out of those wet clothes.”
“I can’t believe this,” Paige whispered. “But from how Mum acted when she helped me escape, it sounded like they’re there out of fear.”
Tristan merely nodded. He didn’t know the truth, but for Paige’s sake, he hoped she was right in her assumption.
“And Curtis and his parents are involved in this too. I just hope they all take care of each other and stay safe,” Paige said with a sob.
Tristan inhaled sharply at the lancing pain that attacked his heart. Clearly, Paige cared about Curtis.
He looked away, unable to stop his eyes from pooling. Damn it, this wasn’t the time to get emotional!
“We better get out of here,” he said brusquely, escorting her out of the store’s back room.
He grabbed one of the umbrellas being sold in the shop and left a hundred-dollar bill, telling the man who’d kept Paige safe to keep the change.
He led Paige back to his car, glancing around surreptitiously for signs of anyone following them. It was impossible to tell with the crowd, but hopefully, the throng of people also worked in their favour.
“It’s still there,” he said with relief at finding his vehicle still parked at the bus stop. “It didn’t get towed away.”
Paige chuckled. “I’m so glad. I wasn’t looking forward to walking all the way to your place in this rain.”
Tristan locked the doors once they were inside and called Carter for an update.
“They weren’t in the apartment when the cops got there,” Carter said with a sigh.
“Fuck,” Tristan muttered under his breath.
“It’ll be helpful if the police could question Paige for clues. The sooner the better.”
Tristan glanced at Paige, who nodded her head in agreement.
“Okay. But we’re going home first. Paige and I are wet from the rain.”
“I’d advise against that. The first thing the thugs would have thought after finding Paige missing was that she’d contact you. Why don’t you go to our place? I’m on my way home myself, and I can arrange for the police to come and interview Paige there. Cassie still has some maternity clothes that Paige can wear and you should fit in my stuff.”
“Okay, thanks, bro. We’ll do that. See you there.”
Tristan started driving to Carter and Cassie’s.
“Tristan?” Paige said softly.
“Yeah?” He didn’t glance at her. His fear had abated, now that she was safe by his side. But hurt had taken over his heart once again. And looking at her magnified it even more.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure.”
“I know you’re angry at me—”
He cut her off. “Can we not talk about it right now? It’s not the time. But I’m glad you’re safe.”
They drove in silence, with Paige’s soft sobs the only sound either of them made.
The Unexpected Husband (Captured by Love Book 8) Page 16