Love & Redemption

by Chantel Rhondeau

  “Over there.” Ken pointed to the side of the platform where Brent leaned against a pillar. His eyes darted around desperately, likely searching for them to help him.

  As the group of people going about their day thinned some, Gavin and Ken headed Brent’s direction. Motion out of the corner of his eye caught Gavin’s attention. He looked down to see that Ken had pulled out his weapon.

  Nothing like being inconspicuous.

  They were almost to the men when a figure stepped out from behind a cement pillar, walking up behind Brent.

  “Shit,” Gavin muttered under his breath.

  “What?” Ken asked.

  “That’s Stephen.”

  Stephen had his weapon drawn as he approached. Brent clutched the bag of money tightly, looking scared, but not seeming aware that his biggest threat came from behind.

  Stephen had a big smirk on his face when he stopped even with Brent and the other man. He pointed his gun to the side. “Come on out, super slut.” His words echoed around the platform, clenching Gavin’s gut with anxiety.

  At his words, several people waiting on the platform for the next train backed away, clearing the space in front of him.

  Following the line of Stephen’s weapon, Gavin saw Shelley hunched near a Farecard dispensing machine. His heart sunk as she straightened and walked toward Stephen, giving up the pretense of being someone else.

  “Where are Emma and Rose?” she demanded.

  Gavin had to admire her for showing no fear, but that could get her killed.

  “We have to help her,” he said to Ken.

  “That’s going to be difficult,” a deep, yet familiar voice boomed from behind Gavin’s back. “Good work, Sergeant. You get to live...maybe. I never know who’ll react badly to this.”

  As Gavin turned to stare into Terrance’s dark eyes, the man wrapped his arm around Ken, placing a bit of white fabric over the officer’s mouth.

  Ken crumbled to the ground, not having time to do anything in response.

  Terrance pointed his gun at Gavin, swiftly bending to retrieve Ken’s service weapon. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the thief. This plan worked better than I expected. If Nick values your and Shelley’s lives, we’re sure to get this money and the diamonds.”

  It was a trap, just as Gavin suspected. Judging from what Terrance said to Ken, the slime ball cop had been in on it from the beginning. That just begged the question of whether Brent worked with them, too. Was his daughter even missing?

  The muzzle of Terrance’s gun pressed into Gavin’s back, shoving him forward. “Let’s go see what Stephen has going on with the traitor.”

  Traitor? Gavin found it laughable the man referred to Shelley as a traitor. Sure, she left their group when she realized it was corrupt, but the real traitors where the members of S.A.T.O. Still, it would be unwise for him to say anything. After all, they really only needed one person alive to negotiate with Nick for the diamonds. If they were smart, they already knew how much Shelley meant to Nick and Carlie, which made Gavin expendable. He was comforted knowing she was likely safe, but he wanted them to get out of this together.

  When they reached the others, Terrance let out a hearty laugh as if he enjoyed this situation immensely. “Look who I found, Stephen. It’s a big ol’ reunion down here.”

  Stephen’s feral grin left a queasy feeling in Gavin’s stomach. “Just as we planned. It’s time to get this party started.” He turned to Brent. “The money, if you please.”

  Though Brent shook his head, he did comply with the order, dropping the bag at Stephen’s feet. “Where’s Emma?”

  Ignoring him, Stephen unzipped the bag, whistling at the contents. He grabbed one of the bundles of money and tossed it to the stranger from the train. “Good work. I’ll be sure to tell Paul. After your little mess up with the bomb and almost getting our girl killed, maybe this will earn you some favor.”

  That’s where Gavin knew him from. The stranger was the man who helped carry Iris from the 110th precinct. So he was in charge of setting that bomb. Stephen’s words reassured Gavin even more that S.A.T.O. didn’t want Shelley dead. However, that begged the question of what they planned for her. There were fates worse than death.

  The man smiled and pocketed the cash. “Tell Paul I await his orders, and I’m happy to be of service.” He trotted toward the exit without waiting for a response.

  Gavin met Shelley’s eyes. It was now three against two, but both men had guns, one of which was digging into Gavin’s back. He had the pepper spray, but that seemed weak in the face of bullets.

  Shelley pressed her lips firmly together and faced Stephen. “So, this was your plan all along, huh?” She crossed her arms. “Where’s Emma?”

  “Yes,” Brent chimed in, seeming to gain courage from Shelley’s defiance. “Where’s my daughter. You promised to—”

  “Silence.” Stephen pointed his gun at Brent. “We made a deal, and I always hold up my end of bargains. You’ll get what you paid for.”

  “But will she be alive?” Shelley asked, practically spitting the words.

  Gavin wasn’t surprised at how powerful her hate was, considering what Stephen tried to do to her best friend, but he didn’t know if she handled her anger in the best manner.

  Instead of responding to her question, Stephen just smiled and turned to Brent. “It’s time you got out of here, Mr. Walker. Don’t call any cops, and I’ll see about your daughter.”

  “Oh,” Terrance added, “you might check on your brother-in-law. The station security won’t return for another ten minutes, and I’d sure hate anyone to rob the good officer before he wakes...or worse.”

  Brent scurried away, rushing to Ken’s side.

  Shelley snorted, apparently unimpressed. “So you paid off the guards to have your way with us, and you’re stealing the money without returning Emma. Why am I not surprised?”

  Stephen slung the money bag across his shoulder and then grabbed Shelley’s arm, digging his gun into her side. “What’s more, now we’ll get our diamonds back, too. Good plan, right? I figured even a self-absorbed slut like you wouldn’t turn your back on a helpless child.”

  Knowing he couldn’t let Stephen take Shelley, Gavin reached for his pocket. Maybe the pepper spray would blind the men and they could run away.

  As though reading his mind, Shelley shook her head. “Not here.” She glanced to the crowd of people milling around Ken’s fallen body. New Yorkers were normally incurious folk, minding their own business, but they all seemed fascinated by Brent’s struggle to pick him up from the ground.

  Though Gavin understood she didn’t want to put those people at risk if bullets started flying, he wondered how long before Terrance searched him and found the canister of spray. He’d be entirely defenseless then.

  “No, not here,” Stephen agreed, thinking Shelley had spoken to him. “Emma is somewhere else.”

  “And we’re taking a little trip, too,” Terrance said, pressing his gun harder into Gavin’s back. “If you behave, maybe we’ll let one of you live.”

  Gavin glanced at the other people in the station. No one seemed to notice anything except Brent and Ken. Even if someone did report strange men with guns hauling some people away, they’d probably report it to the security guards when they returned. Looked like S.A.T.O. covered everything.

  Stephen manhandled Shelley down the platform, stepping from the view of the onlookers. He stopped in front of a corrugated metal wall, tapping along the surface of it in search of something. To Gavin’s surprise, after a few taps, a crack appeared in the metal, swinging open into a tunnel beyond.

  “Wait.” Gavin glanced back at the purple tiles in the station and the crowded platform. “I know this place. Those tunnels were sealed years ago. We can’t go in there.”

  “Oh, yes.” Stephen grinned back at him. “I forgot you grew up on these streets. When your mom was stoned out of her mind, did you used to sleep down here?”

  Even though that was exactly what ha
d happened in the few years before the city kicked them all out and closed the tunnels up, Gavin looked away from Stephen. He wouldn’t give him any satisfaction about sharing details of his life.

  Stephen laughed and shoved Shelley through the entrance.

  Terrance pushed Gavin, forcing him to follow before he shut the doorway. Gavin knew it would make an invisible seal, just as it had before. No one would ever think to look beyond metal walls. How had they even created the doorway? S.A.T.O. must have many people in their pockets besides a few cops and FBI agents.

  Nick and Jenessa were their only hope. The F train had a long route. Unless Brent cooperated with the police and told Jenessa where they exited the train, she wouldn’t even know where to start looking. Even if he told her, she’d have to somehow figure out there was a doorway there. It seemed impossible.

  They had to escape on their own. Somehow.

  Chapter Thirty

  Shelley allowed Stephen to pull her down the passageway, limping alongside him. Stephen soon ducked into an arched entrance and pushed her into a new tunnel. This one didn’t have any tracks in it, seeming only partially finished. It was dusty and spooky in the semi-darkness.

  He stopped near an electric lantern hanging on a hook. “Better grab that, Shelley. You’re going to want it.” He pressed his face mere inches from hers. “But if you try anything funny, like hitting me with it, I’ll shoot your partner. Just carry the light and cooperate.”

  Fetching the lantern from the hook, Shelley held it up and turned around. Gavin stood about ten feet behind her. Terrance had complete control of Gavin, and Shelley believed what Stephen said. If she tried anything, Gavin would die. They needed her to get the diamonds. They didn’t need him. She had to figure out a way to get the focus on her and save him in the process.

  She glanced at Stephen and though her entire body thrummed with fear at the threat to Gavin, she forced a sneer on her face. “And just where do you plan to take us? Still trying to figure out how to get Carlie, huh? You know she’ll never want you.”

  Stephen’s gun smashed across her face with so much force, Shelley fell to her knee, dropping the plastic lantern to the ground.

  “Hey!” Gavin protested.

  Her cheekbone throbbed from pain and tears blurred her vision, but Shelley sprang to her feet. Stephen was intimidated by strong women. She couldn’t let him get the upper hand.

  “I bet you always dreamed of pistol whipping someone. Did it finally make you feel like a man instead of a little—and I do mean little,” Shelley held her fingers about an inch apart, “boy?”

  She heard Terrance snicker at the same time as Stephen’s gun smacked her again.

  “I’ll show you just how little I am, bitch.” Stephen shoved her against the wall, choking her with his free hand. “Even sluts can be raped. You know how I like an unwilling female.”

  She did indeed know that, remembering Carlie in this same position months ago. If Shelley hadn’t rescued her, Stephen would have raped her then. He definitely wasn’t above taking it by force, enjoying hurting women much more than he liked loving them.

  She twisted away from him, plucking his hand from her neck and twisting his thumb inward. “You forget, I’m not some helpless woman you can push around.” She applied more pressure and Stephen yelped in pain, dropping his gun to the ground as he struggled to break Shelley’s hold.

  A shot fired out, echoing around the small tunnel with deafening thunder. “Enough!” Terrance shouted.

  “You idiot,” Shelley muttered, releasing Stephen’s hand. “That bullet could have ricocheted and hit any of us.”

  “You’re right, and I don’t intend to be hit.” Terrance pointed the gun at Gavin’s head. “I could end this right now without another random shot.”

  It felt like all the air had been forced from her chest. Terrance had never been too stable to begin with and seemed worse now. She struggled to get a breath, shaking her head frantically. “I won’t cause any more trouble.”

  Dealing with criminals and fancying herself a spy had been much easier when Shelley didn’t care about anyone else. Now, too many people could be used against her. They didn’t have to hurt her—threatening Gavin was such a better option.

  “That’s what I thought.” Terrance waved his gun. “Pick up the lamp and let’s get moving. Not too much farther to your accommodations.”

  Shelley did as she was told, following along docilely when Stephen resumed walking. Her plan failed. Apparently, in spite of his crazy attitudes, Terrance wasn’t as hotheaded as Stephen. He kept his mind on his goals.

  After walking for a while longer, Stephen crossed to the right-hand side of the tunnel. When Shelley followed, her light splashed across a steel door. This must be the place. He inserted a key into the lock and swung the door outward, revealing the tiny room inside.

  Stephen grinned. “Here we are. A bit small, but it’ll keep you locked tight while we wait to hear from Nick about the diamonds.”

  Glancing into the small room, Shelley’s heart clenched with fear. A cot with a blanket took up the back wall, only about three feet from the doorway. There wouldn’t be any room in there. Her claustrophobia pressed down with a palpable force as her hands turned ice cold and hard palpitations of her heart vibrated her whole body. She couldn’t catch her breath.

  “I can’t go in there.” She hated how small and scared her voice sounded.

  A wide grin broke across Stephen’s face. “Scared of small spaces? I didn’t know that.” He shoved her inside and laughed. “That makes this even better.”

  Shelley tried to reason with herself that there was as much room in the small room as an elevator. She handled those when needed. It would be fine.

  Terrance pushed Gavin in beside her and snatched the lantern from her hand, setting it on a high ledge on the wall. “Better hope your boss actually cares what happens to you, or this place will be your tomb.”

  “Give us your cell phones,” Stephen ordered.

  It was too much to hope they wouldn’t remember to ask for those. She was actually surprised they hadn’t searched them right after entering the tunnels. Shelley stuck a shaky hand into her pocket and pulled it out, passing it across the threshold.

  Gavin glanced at her, his face drawn with creases of worry before he turned back to the men. “I don’t have one.” He shrugged. “Shelley made me toss it out after the opera.”

  “Bullshit,” Terrance said. “We know you don’t have weapons, but you wouldn’t go without a phone.” He grabbed the edges of Gavin’s suit and hauled him from the room. “Hand it over.”

  And how did they know she wasn’t packing a gun? She never went without one. Ken must have told them.

  Although Gavin sighed loudly, he went for his front jacket pocket. Shelley knew he kept his phone in his pants pocket. Part of her felt like she should stop what he was about to try, but she couldn’t spend time in this small box. She readied herself for a fight when Gavin pulled the canister of pepper spray from his pocket.

  A thin stream of liquid discharged through the air, landing on Terrace’s face. He coughed and wheezed, bending over and rubbing at his eyes.

  Before Stephen could understand what was happening and put up a defense, Shelley launched herself at him. The force of the collision knocked him back. He fell to the ground. Without pause, Shelley swung into a roundhouse kick, clipping his temple with the heel of her sturdy work boot, blocking out the pain as her right foot connected.

  The gun flew from his hand, but Stephen was trained against an attack—better trained than Shelley. He rolled toward the gun. Shelley scrambled after it, able to kick it away just as Stephen’s hand closed in on it.

  “Bitch!” Instead of going for the gun again, Stephen jumped to his feet. A smile flickered across his face in the dim light and he cracked his knuckles. “It’s time to teach you that I’m the better fighter.”

  He grabbed her hair, pulling on it. The wig came off, which seemed to confuse him. While he s
tood holding it, Shelley shoved him and then grabbed his arm. She spun around, attempting to take him to the ground again by flipping him. Stephen twisted away violently, jerking her arm as he went.

  Before she knew what was happening, his heel slammed into her already-bruised right shin. Her knee buckled backward and pain splintered through her body as she felt a sickening pop. Shelley struggled to keep her feet, though she feared her leg would be useless.

  She preferred kicking her attackers, but her hands were just as lethal. She hoped on her good leg, putting her fists up in defense.

  Stephen shook his head. “You’re done, Shelley. That leg will slow you down.”

  Behind her, Gavin screamed and there was a loud thud.

  Stephen smiled. “Looks like he’s done, too. Go back in the room and behave, and we won’t kill you.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Terrance was once again in control. Although moisture covered Terrance’s face and snot streamed from his nose, Gavin was on the ground. Terrance’s gun pointing at him stopped Gavin’s attempt to get back up.

  There was no help for it. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Fine. I won’t fight anymore.”

  Terrance growled through his discomfort. “Get in the room. Now!” He brought back his foot and launched a kick into Gavin’s side.

  With a muffled yelp of pain, Gavin scrambled to get away.

  “No standing!” Terrance’s voice boomed around the tunnel. “Crawl.”

  The stitches on the side of Gavin’s face had split back open and blood trickled down his cheek. Shelley knew his ribs must be hurting, but he didn’t appear hurt beyond that. He gave a mutinous glare at Terrance’s order, but scooted backward into the room. He never regained his feet, but he also didn’t take his eyes off his captor.

  “Give me your damn cell phone or I’ll shoot you in the head now and leave your corpse with Shelley. How well do you think she’ll handle that room with a dead man in it?”

  Gavin reached into his pocket, pulling it out and tossing it from the room.