John had laughed when she refused to sleep with Victor. But his reaction didn’t rule out the alternative, the trafficking option. This was a lot of effort to go to just to sell her on.
All Flick could assume was that Rushe had refused to do something. Speculation got her nowhere, so while the men argued about sports teams she started to count her breaths, like counting sheep. Flick would have to be at her best for what was to come, though she had no idea what that would be.
When the vehicle stopped, the doors opened then shut. The activity made her sit upright, but still without her senses Flick couldn’t anticipate what was coming. Her own car door was opened and she was hauled out onto gravel. Footsteps surrounded her, which only served to increase her disorientation as she was pulled along.
A smell of smoke filled the air, and when the crunch of gravel beneath them ceased Flick was led up some heavy stone steps. After more than a dozen stairs, they eventually got to the top, and all of the voices hushed.
For a few seconds there was no activity, then a rush of warm air accompanied the sound of a door opening. They were moving again, and the hot structure they had entered reeked of expensive perfume.
Carpet came under Flick’s feet when she was dragged up more stairs, then with a short walk another door was opened.
‘This is you,’ John said and her blindfold was removed.
Against the far wall was a four-poster bed, and flanking it were two large sets of drawers. The bed was dressed in peach colours that matched the carpet. In one corner was another doorway. But the conspicuous characteristic of this room was alarming.
John removed the gag. ‘There are no windows,’ Flick said.
‘That’s right,’ he said pushing her toward a wall.
Flick didn’t have time to ask what he was doing when he forced her bound hands to the wall to frisk her.
‘You don’t think that if I had a weapon I’d have used it by now?’
Once John satisfied himself that she had nothing to wreak havoc with, he untied her wrists.
‘You’ve got some time in here. That’s the bathroom... the other door will be locked,’ he said in reference to the door they’d entered through.
‘So I’m supposed to just sit here? Where’s Rushe?’
‘I have no idea,’ John said. ‘But a word to the wise – I wouldn’t be so eager to shorten your wait. As long as you’re in here you’re safe... you’re lucky that you were brought up the stairs. Women who go down the stairs leave by the back door – dead or alive.’
‘Are you trying to scare me?’
‘No,’ he said smiling again. ‘I don’t need to try. When you realise what goes on in this building you’ll need a whole new word to describe fear... settle in.’
John didn’t say anything else. He left the room, and the snick of the lock echoed through the cavernous space. Flick couldn’t get out of here. She didn’t even know where she was, or what they wanted, and she hadn’t seen Rushe.
Suddenly a thought struck her – Rushe might not be here at all. But that option made no sense. These people could have no use for her except to manipulate Rushe. When the timing for maximum impact arrived they would parade her out, of that she was sure.
Once again, Flick was a captive. If Rushe was here he’d be mad at her, but if he wasn’t... Flick sighed and took her feet from her shoes. For the moment, she would follow John’s instructions and settle in – this could take a while.
Her two experiences of being a prisoner were polar opposites. The ten by ten foot cell she and Rushe had shared in the shack quadrupled in size at this new location. But with so little furniture in the room most of it was just space.
The disgusting, mouldy, and mildew saturated bathroom from the shack was now a gleaming fully kitted out en-suite with a double shower and a Jacuzzi tub. Flick had ample towels and toiletries. On investigation of the drawers she’d found clothes, and underwear, all new and in her sizes. Whatever her reason for being here, Flick took their thorough preparation to mean she was expected to be here for quite a spell.
Until she saw Rushe she would be uneasy. Though Flick knew on seeing him she could end up with a whole new set of problems.
No one had come to her and she heard no sounds outside her room. Either they’d barricaded her and then abandoned her here, or this room was completely soundproofed. That in itself was worrying because it meant either they didn’t want her to hear them on the outside, or that something would happen in this room that the bad guys didn’t want anyone else to hear.
After kicking around for a few hours, Flick took a shower but chose to put her own clothes back on. Until she knew what was going on she was taking no chances. The shower was needed because being so close to Skeeve made her feel dirty.
She drank water from the bathroom sink and explored every corner for anything that could be used as a weapon. It became clear to her that these people were well-prepared and didn’t want her defending herself. Flick just hoped she wouldn’t need to.
No one came so she ended up falling asleep, then sometime later she woke up. Without windows, or food, Flick’s body clock couldn’t regulate itself. She didn’t know what time of the day it was, so all she could do was wait.
When the lock snicked again Flick leapt to her feet. John came in with a striking blonde who looked like she’d just walked off the pages of Vogue.
‘This is her?’ the blonde asked John as though Flick wasn’t even present. ‘She’s a hideous thing.’
‘You think?’ John said to the woman who had a European accent. ‘Get saddled up for it.’
‘No,’ the woman shook her head.
‘You can’t refuse, Simone,’ John said. ‘You have time.’
‘Hmm,’ Simone pouted. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘You’re a master; you haven’t let him down yet.’
‘This is very inconvenient.’
‘But necessary,’ John said to Simone, then he came to Flick’s side. ‘Come on.’
‘Where are we going?’
John took hold of Flick and pulled her out of the room. Two bulky men walked in front of them down a golden-carpeted hallway lined with thick white and gold pinstripe wallpaper. Other doors in the corridor were ignored in deference to the dominating double doors at the end. Opened in ceremony by the men preceding them, Flick was led inside by John with Simone somewhere in their wake.
This chamber had to be twice the size of Flick’s enclosure. A large desk stood on the back wall, and on one side of the room there was an oblong table with fifteen chairs around it.
At the other side were leather couches arranged in a square around a fireplace. On that side of the room was another door that Flick assumed was a bathroom. This space had windows, or she assumed that it did. Flanking the wall behind the desk were heavy drapes that reached the floor. The curtains were closed so she couldn’t see light, and Flick began to wonder if “Victor” was a vampire.
John took Flick toward the bathroom behind the couches while Simone draped herself over one of them. When they entered the adjoining room, John didn’t close the door, but they had to move through black velvet drapes.
Flick immediately realised her miscalculation and dug her heels in. Absorbing the features of this room horrified her. Wall to wall bed dominated in here, fifteen feet of beds with cuffs lining the head wall. Two poles were in another corner on separate podiums with cove lighting all around the room.
This was a space designed for one thing, and with one thing in mind. Flick dragged in breath to scream, but John forced her forward.
‘This isn’t for you,’ he said. ‘Not yet.’
Flick tried to wrestle free, but John was far stronger so he jostled her onto the bed. ‘No!’
‘Out of interest what would you do if you got past me?’
Darting her gaze around the room from its black painted walls and ceiling, to the wipe clean floor, Flick sought escape. She caught sight of a black door on the same wall as the curtains that blended w
ith the paintwork. Flick tried to decipher her options.
‘You don’t want to go through that door,’ he said, cuffing her hands together. ‘That’s spiral stairs right down to the basement... I told you that you didn’t want a piece of that.’
‘Are you being nice to me?’
‘I’m nice to everyone.’
Having an ally might be useful, but John reeked of indifference. Whatever was going on Flick didn’t imagine the outcome would be positive for her; that suspicion was confirmed when John pulled a length of duct tape from a drawer under the bed and stuck it over her mouth.
‘You’re going to meet Victor today,’ John said, pushing her hair away from the adhesive. ‘You’re lucky; most of the girls never see him. You’re different I suppose.’
John took a seat at her side. Flick wasn’t exactly sure what they were waiting for. One minute passed and then another two. They sat here idly together like strangers next to each other at a bus stop. With the tape over her mouth, Flick couldn’t ask any questions.
All became clear when noise from the main room drifted through. The double doors were opened, and the sound of a gaggle of voices carried through to her and John still sitting here on the bed.
‘Yeah, enough,’ came a strong male voice with a vaguely Spanish accent, then an impatient huff. ‘Where are we?’
‘Ten,’ someone said.
‘Closer to fifteen.’
‘Right, I’ve got this to do.’
‘That’s Victor,’ John said with a brow wiggle when he got to his feet.
‘It’s ridiculous!’ Simone proclaimed.
‘Yeah, you’re never happy,’ Victor said. ‘You guys get working on the next shipment, and I want that pajero, Jansen over here tonight.’
‘Yes, boss.’
More noise followed then a door closed. ‘Right, can we get back to the serious business? This bullshit pisses me off,’ Victor said.
‘I have seen her, and I disagree with your assessment,’ Simone said.
‘I don’t want to hear from you,’ Victor said.
‘I am a very valuable part of your team.’
‘I think the guys would agree with that more than I do.’
‘You have always found use for me, Victor,’ she seduced.
‘I got bored with you months ago,’ Victor said. ‘I like variety.’
‘She’s been polishing Rushe’s sword,’ Skeeve said on a snorting laugh. Flick’s head came up.
‘I don’t give a fuck,’ Victor said. ‘We lost a shitload of cash when Jansen screwed us over.’
‘Yeah.’
‘The boys have figured out a way for us to get that back,’ Victor said.
‘We’ve got enforcement.’
‘Yeah,’ Victor said. ‘We’ve been in the money lending game for a long time, but it’s small potatoes, selling on these lovely ladies is a lot more fun, and lucrative.’ Various guffaws went around the room. ‘We have other things to worry about right now.’
‘What are you worried about?’
Flick recognised Rushe’s bored tone and tears pricked her eyes.
‘I’m glad you’re the one who asked that,’ Victor said.
‘Oh this is gonna be good,’ Skeeve spoke again, and Flick wished someone would smack him in the head.
‘You let one get by,’ Victor said. ‘That’s not like you.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Rushe asked.
‘Your little bit of fluff,’ Skeeve grinned.
‘If you can’t keep your mouth shut someone will put a bullet in it for you!’
‘Yes, boss.’
‘Boys did a check-up,’ Victor said. ‘Wanted to find out if the cops had been on your tail.’
Flick had made the anonymous call about the dead girl’s car, but no one had been in touch with her directly so she assumed the tip hadn’t been traced back to her.
‘Glen!’ Victor exclaimed, and the outer door opened then closed. ‘Do you know what this is?’
‘No,’ Rushe said.
‘This is salvation for all of us,’ Victor said. ‘Cash enough to get us all where we want to be, out of the country and up in the league.’
‘One card?’
‘We need your help on this,’ Victor said. ‘You’re gonna be point man.’
‘Fine,’ Rushe said. ‘What is it?’
‘You gotta be with us. No dicking around.’
‘You want me to walk, I’ll walk. I told you that. I’m sick of the fucking—‘
‘You’re staying,’ Victor said to Rushe, and Flick wondered if this was why she was here, to keep Rushe working for Victor. Rushe would certainly be an asset to any team – criminal or otherwise.
‘Maybe.’
Certainly, Rushe wouldn’t be a man who Victor would want working for the opposition.
‘You got a chance right now,’ Victor said. ‘You pull this off and you’ll be my new number two.’
Flick didn’t want to ask what had happened to his old number two.
‘What’s the job?’ Rushe asked, and she’d bet his lips never moved at all.
‘John-boy!’ Victor shouted.
John grabbed her up, and though Flick tried to pull away, he was so much stronger than her. Whatever else stood on the other side of that black curtain, Flick knew that Rushe was about to be blindsided.
Dragging her through the fabric Flick registered five people in the room. But she fixed on Rushe, and the second his eyes touched her she saw the flicker of recognition, and her tears tumbled from her lashes.
‘You remember who this is, right?’ Victor said.
Flick kept her eyes on Rushe’s, and Victor moseyed in toward Rushe. The pale brown of his skin glowed, but he had no smile in sight. Yet, something cunning in his tone made her wary.
‘Yes,’ Rushe said.
‘You said she ran off, and who cares, right?’
‘Right,’ Rushe said, and Flick saw she’d been right about his stationary lips.
‘I agree,’ Victor said. ‘She’s the bitch who came into Dell’s.’
‘Right.’
‘Wouldn’t have wasted time on it.’
Flick saw that Victor was holding a card that looked suspiciously like a driving licence. Then she saw her purse on the desk. The purse she’d lost at Dells; apparently the bad guys had picked it up.
‘But?’ Rushe asked, taking the card from Victor.
‘The boys checked her out; made sure her boyfriend wasn’t a cop or nothing... but they found out something else about your horny bitch.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Her father’s worth a couple hundred million bucks.’
Flick’s eyes closed. She hadn’t been brought here to coerce Rushe – maybe that was just a bonus feature of the plot. The Hughes family had money. They were old money. But that hadn’t factored into her thoughts. The Hughes hadn’t been in her life for so long, and Flick wasn’t that person anymore. She’d learned to live without them, to separate herself. But her mental disconnect had left her vulnerable.
‘So?’ Rushe asked.
‘How much do you think they’d pay to have their youngest daughter back?’
‘The family aren’t interested,’ Rushe said pocketing her licence. ‘They want nothing to do with her.’
‘That what she told you?’ Victor asked with a grin. ‘Couldn’t hurt to drop her papi a line... you think? She’s here now, and you know the end of this.’
Rushe said nothing, and she imagined that he cursed his forethought for not coming up with this scenario.
‘Ok,’ Rushe said. ‘I’ll deal with it.’
‘Put a plan together,’ Victor said. ‘I’ve gotta sort out this crap with Jansen.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Breakfast. Take John, and you know Shiv’s deal.’
‘Yeah. Move.’
With a sideways nod Rushe went for the door and John dragged her along too. Whatever Shiv’s deal Flick knew it couldn’t be good. Any hope that she might have about Ru
she’s leadership giving her a fighting chance wasn’t corroborated by the tension he carried in his angry shoulders, which Flick followed down the hallway; she wouldn’t put money on his leniency.
Rushe stopped next to a door that John unlocked, and only then did Flick realise that the two bulky black guys that had escorted her and John had followed them. Having four men covering her seemed excessive, but maybe she should consider it flattering.
John gave her a shove back into the bedroom she’d spent the night in. No one came in immediately after her, but the door remained open an inch. Flick sat on the bed, and a second later Rushe marched in, closing the door at his back.
He didn’t speak; he paced back and forth in front of the door balling and flexing his fists.
‘It would serve you right,’ he said, and stopped pacing. ‘You’re a magnet for trouble. I told you that you wouldn’t get out of this alive. I should’ve known getting rid of you wouldn’t be that easy.’
Flick still had her hands cuffed and her mouth taped. Rushe wasn’t this vocal when they’d first met, but she recognised those bullet black eyes.
‘Do you know what they do to women in this building?’ he asked, stopping in front of her. ‘Do you?’
Whether the question was an attempt to find out what she’d already been through, or to scare her, both had the same answer, more tears.
‘Stop crying like that,’ he said. ‘I can’t get you out of this one. It doesn’t matter if your daddy coughs up. You’re going out through the back door.’
John had alluded to that too, but Flick still couldn’t speak. Rushe snatched her arm and hauled her to her feet. Freeing her hands, he threw the key and the restraints aside. Flick took her hand toward her covered mouth, but Rushe intercepted it to stop her from removing the duct tape.
‘This is my fault,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t clear in my instructions. I told you to walk away but I didn’t tell you not to walk back.’
Rushe now ripped off the gag himself causing her own hand to leap up to the stinging pain.
‘Speak,’ he growled.
‘I missed you.’
His chest rumbled but he stole her up, right off her feet, and flung her down onto the bed. Rushe appeared over her as quickly as he had that first time they’d kissed. His tongue delved into her mouth, and her nails dug into his tee-shirt, her fingers clenching into such tight fists in the fabric that she wished they’d merge and never part.
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