by Flora Dain
‘Stay where you are.’ Tom is standing over me. No one tries to stop him and now for the first time I feel real, raw fear.
Ryan I know but the others are strangers. To them I mean nothing, less than nothing. Their eyes are hard and cold. What am I thinking? They could do anything, anything at all. Out here no one would know …
All at once my phone rings. The merry ringtone, an opening phrase from Mozart’s Figaro, slices through the heavy silence and makes us all jump. I move to take it from my bag but the gun jerks again in my face.
Sweating now, I glance at Ryan.
‘It’s OK, let her take it.’ His eyes narrow as he stares at me. ‘And don’t try anything funny.’
It’s Billy, after news of last night’s fairy-tale ball. I think fast. If I ask her for help or say where we are chances are they’ll take me somewhere else. I doubt they’ll kill me, or not for a while. Apparently they need me alive.
‘Hi,’ I say brightly. ‘I’m so glad you rang back. Where were we when we were cut off?’
‘What? Ella? You OK?’
At her shocked reply I launch into speech before her voice gets shrill enough for them to make out the words. ‘As I was saying, to get to the motel you go out of town a little way and take the north fork. Way’s a little tricky, but you’ll be fine. Oh, and don’t forget to let my friend know. He’ll be really interested.’
Her voice lowers to a startled hiss. ‘Fuck. Ella, what’s going on? Is this something to do with Ryan?’
‘Absolutely. And warn my friend not to wait around, or he’ll miss all the fun.’
‘Enough.’ The gun jerks again in my face.
Billy’s voice sounds tinny and unreal in my ear. ‘Who was that? What’s going on? Wait, tell me –’
‘’Bye now.’ Quickly I cut the call and stow the phone back in my bag, praying they won’t ask questions. ‘Sorry, folks,’ I say brightly. ‘Friend of mine’s staying near my parents and wants help with the route.’ I smile round innocently and gulp some of the coffee.
Billy’s quick on the uptake. I was using our code, perfected when we were students and needed a quick exit from an unsuitable date. Now I can only pray she can work out what I’ve tried to tell her – to drive north and find the Forkways Motel. And if not, and if by some miracle they’ve not guessed it was a warning – they might let me keep the phone long enough to call for help.
To my relief no one seems suspicious so I finish my coffee and decide to sit it out.
As the afternoon wears on, tempers are getting frayed. They’ve shouted and threatened. I’m still holding out but I know this can’t go on much longer.
I’m a prisoner here. No one knows where I am. They could do anything. I can do nothing.
Poetry’s no help to me here.
Through a chink in the lowered shades at the side of the window I see more customers. Two large, shiny cars with blackened windows have drawn up close to mine. Across the parking lot a flashy open sports car is pulled up at a crazy angle. Leaning against it is a tourist in dark jeans and a white shirt, his face hidden under a large cowboy hat. He’s making calls on a phone – or maybe he’s texting. He seems to have all the time in the world.
I envy him his freedom. Behind him on the passenger seat I see another large hat. Maybe his girlfriend’s in the washroom and soon they’ll share a laugh and a cola and get back on the road …
I feel a sob rise in my throat at the thought that out there people are on vacation, texting their friends, having fun in the sunshine.
This can only end badly unless I give in to Ryan’s demand – badly as in painful.
At that moment my phone rings again. I glance round but no one tries to stop me this time so I answer it. I don’t recognise the number. ‘Hello?
‘Get down on the floor. Now.’
Darnley.
And then everything happens at once. Tom lunges towards me and makes a grab for the phone and I throw myself flat on the floor just as three men burst through the door, Cliff Face at their head. They seize Freda and Tom in full arm-locks.
In the confusion Ryan breaks free and makes a dash for the door. He races off along the boardwalk, his feet pounding on the planks outside the window. I hear a shout as someone races past the cabin in pursuit. There’s a crash in the bushes at the far end and then everything goes quiet.
Cliff Face towers over me as he helps me to my feet. ‘You OK, ma’am? We wanted you out of the way of any stray bullets. You hurt?’
I shake my head and he ushers me outside. I blink in the slanting sunlight and shiver.
‘You sure?’ He frowns but I scramble down the steps and wobble a little as I reach the ground. He steadies me by the arm and then leads me over to the tourist leaning casually against the sports car.
The tourist pushes up his hat a little way and eyes me coldly. ‘Howdy, ma’am.’
‘Darnley?’ I want to fling myself into his arms, to beat my fists on his chest in fury that he’s been out here so long, simply idling on his phone while I was upstairs and terrified. All at once it hits me that this was a meticulously planned operation carried out with military precision and I’ve not only been reckless and foolish, I’m lucky to be alive.
And what’s more Cliff Face is standing at my elbow watching.
So I do none of these things but simply stare up at Darnley, overcome and unable to speak as tears of relief spill over my lower lids and start to trickle down my cheek.
Darnley’s mouth hardens into a grim line. He eyes me sternly as he opens the passenger door.
‘Get in.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
We drive off, leaving the others in the car park. Freda and Tom are still talking to Cliff Face and his men. There’s no sign of Ryan. As we reach the interstate I gather from the crackly reports on the hands-free that Ryan has made a run for it and one of the men is still after him.
‘Keep me informed. And no violence.’
After a while I ask Darnley in a small voice how he managed to track me. He says nothing but reaches behind the seat with his free hand and tosses me the other hat. ‘Here, put this on. You’ll get sunstroke.’
‘What? I’ve just escaped some hideous death and you’re worried I’ll get sunstroke?’ I start laughing, my voice shrill. I can’t stop.
With a wrench of the wheel he pulls over, screeches to a halt at the side of the road and leans over to grab me by the shoulders. ‘Quiet.’
Cars whizz past sounding their horns. He ignores them. His eyes are locked on mine, his look stern. ‘You’re hysterical. Calm down.’
I take a couple of deep breaths and start to shiver. ‘I’m fine.’ It’s dawning on me slowly that he’s furiously angry and I’m the cause. And I’m lying. I’m not fine at all. I feel shaky and I want to cry.
After a few minutes he drives off again, still obstinately silent. He darts troubled looks at me as he eases into the traffic and finally he switches on the radio, jabbing through the stations of endless, whining steel guitar and all of a sudden the car fills with soprano voices, singing in close harmony, a lilting classical melody like waves lapping on the shore. I wait for him to flick past it but to my surprise it stays on. After a few moments I feel tears prickle again. ‘That’s lovely.’ My voice comes out in a hoarse whisper. ‘What is it?’
I see his knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. ‘Mozart. Così fan tutte.’ His sideways glance is sharp as a dart. ‘Two women are wishing their lovers a safe journey over the sea, unaware they’re planning to trick them. Sound familiar?’
He turns his attention back to the road and makes a sharp left turn to get off the highway. ‘That’s how I felt this morning, watching you drive off into the blue.’
Now we’re close to the lake. As the singing comes to an end he switches off the radio and all I can hear is birdsong and shrieking crickets. After a little he pulls off the road into a space where the thick trees crowd us in and the road is a distant murmur.
‘Get out. I need some air.’
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* * *
We don’t walk far. We find a clearing overlooking the lake from where we can see the car.
I try again, still baffled at my rescue. ‘How did you find me? Did Billy pass on my message?’
‘A garbled version of it. Too late to be much help. We were already on the way here. I had you tailed. I even picked up some of your conversation towards the end.’
‘How? That place looked too rickety for snazzy surveillance. Even the smoke alarm had cobwebs.’
His mouth twists at the corner. ‘Our newest phone app. Works a treat.’
He pauses to look over the lake and aims a stone across the water. It skips three times before sinking and then he speaks once more, his voice low. ‘From what I heard I owe you an apology. It seems you’re on the level.’
My heart gives a tiny leap, but his guarded manner warns me real trust is still some way off and I’ve yet to earn it. ‘Thanks for nothing. You might have taken me at my word.’ Try as I might, I can’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.
He frowns. ‘I’m just being careful. You’ve seen what’s at stake. Why else would they try a stunt like that? So, you talked to him?’
‘Yes,’ I sniff.
‘And?’ He turns to face me, his expression grim. ‘Look, I have to know where you stand, Ella. What did he want?’
I take a deep breath. ‘You were right. He admits he’s using the invention but he and the woman feel they have a claim on it. The application is in my name. Now he wants it back but the new ID recognition software won’t let him. He wants me to do it for him. They were planning to …’ I tail off as the full horror of what I’ve escaped starts to dawn. What did they plan? Kidnap? Torture? Murder, even? I start to tremble.
‘Hey, easy.’ He puts his arm round me, holds me tight and strokes my arm like I’m a frightened animal. ‘And will you do it?’
I lift my chin. ‘No.’
His eyes narrow. ‘Why not? You plan to sell it yourself?’
I stare at him. ‘Are you crazy? I want nothing to do with it.’
His jaw stiffens. ‘What, then? You want me to buy it back?’
‘No.’ I look away, exasperated. ‘Why does everybody think I’m some kind of crook?’
‘Must be the company you keep.’ Unexpectedly he grins. ‘I was just checking. Now I’ve a confession to make. My company’s partly responsible for the mess you’re in. We’re putting the finishing touches to our own prototype. It’s more reliable and fully tested and almost ready to launch. When it does it’ll outdate your boyfriend’s untested version and render it effectively worthless. That’s why he’s so desperate to get his hands on that paperwork. It’s his last chance to make any money out of it. Time’s running out.’
I digest this in silence. ‘So that means – in a few weeks’ time I won’t be a millionaire after all?’ I manage a feeble grin.
‘It looks that way. Disappointed?’
I shudder. ‘No way. That’s the best news I’ve had all day.’
He frowns. ‘Now you do surprise me. You really mean that?’
I don’t know what it is – delayed shock, emotional reaction – but all of a sudden I feel tears prickle behind my eyes. I turn away, ashamed.
As they spill over I dash them away with my hand. ‘I want to go back to the motel.’
His face clouds again. ‘What? Why? You’ve arranged to meet Mitchell there, when we’ve all gone?’
‘Dammit, Darnley, no. How many more times? I left my car there. I want to drive back to Dallas.’
We stare at each other. I’m tearful and starting to shiver. His face clears as he pulls me into his arms and scans my face, his eyes troubled. ‘You’re in no fit state to drive. You’ve been through a lot this afternoon. Were you – molested?’
I shake my head. ‘They hadn’t got round to that part.’ Once more I start to shake. He pulls me tighter and I press against him, gaining strength from his sturdy heartbeat.
His voice hisses in my ear. ‘Just as well. If he’d touched you –’ He breaks off with an effort and I hear his heart pound even louder. ‘The thought of you in the hands of those –’
He sounds so angry I feel a surge of alarm, and as I stare up at him the storm breaks over me like a hurricane.
‘What possessed you? After all I told you, how could you take such a stupid risk? Don’t you realise what these people are capable of?’
I touch his face, scared more for him than myself. ‘I do now. It’s OK, Darnley. I’m still here, I’m fine.’
He looks so angry I’m frightened.
‘You’re not fine and it’s by no means OK. You’re not doing that again. From now on you stay with me at all times. It’s the only way I can keep you safe.’
I lean up and kiss his jaw. I’ve no idea what makes me do it. This is a strange, unreal day and so is this. He stands very still. It feels so right I do it again, braver now. He’s looking at me in utter shock like I’m some crazy stranger.
‘What?’ I gaze up at him, inclined to giggle as reaction sets in.
His breathing is ragged like he’s been running, or in the grip of some fierce emotion. Slowly his face dips closer until his mouth captures mine. In seconds he’s pushing me back against a tree and I’m kissing him back, hungry for him, emotion and adrenalin surging through me in a rush of heat.
We hardly notice as we sink down the trunk onto the sandy patch at the foot of the tree where the roots make a low, curving couch and where the sun forms the only blanket we need. Somehow, without even noticing, I’m lying in his arms and we’re stretched out full length, me pinned underneath him. Instantly the horrors of the motel seem to vanish and all I feel is what’s happening to me right now, right this second with his hands all over me, his breath in my hair and the sun beating down all around us through the green of the leaves.
‘Tell me you’ve finished with him.’ He stares down at me, his face inches from mine, his breath hot on my cheek. ‘Promise me.’
I look up at him wonderingly, as his eyes glitter in the darkness of his face, his hair and his glorious, jutting cheekbones etched in the brightness of the sky way overhead.
‘I told you. I wanted to hear his side of things. But you were right.’
He covers my face with kisses, his hips grinding against me, his erection hot and hard through his jeans as he shifts position so he can push it suggestively against my belly. ‘It’s quiet here. There’s no one around. We could catch up on some things.’ His voice is low, his murmur thrilling and explicit. His hand traces the waistband of my jeans round to my fastening. It springs open at a twitch of his fingers.
I arch beneath him. At last. How long have we been waiting for this? A year? For ever? ‘Have you got something?’ I sound feeble in the blast of his feverish heat but instantly he pauses, partway to my lips, and I see a flicker of a smile.
‘Back pocket.’ His mouth descends on mine once more and now his tongue takes command as I reach round to his pocket with my fingertips, lingering on the firm swelling of his taut butt, and finally extract a small foil packet. As he pulls away to lean up over me and wrench at my jeans and panties I rip it open and grin up at him. ‘Can I do this?’
He smiles, a twist at the corner of his long lips. ‘OK. Be quick. On second thoughts, be slow. Slow as you like.’
I take hold of his leaping erection, huge and hot, as he frees it and kneels up, towering over me so I can lick him. I reach up eagerly and seize it with both hands, my fingers exploring its length and its ridges and testing its silky resilience. Just the feel of it sends a surge of violent, pounding arousal from my fingertips straight to my groin, as I sense the fiery energy pulsing through its ridged, cord-like veins.
After a few seconds I dip my head to take it deep in my mouth and lick along the wide, hot glans. I taste all along the sides, making it stand proud and glossy in the bright open air. I hear him groan as I lean over and lunge forward to take it fully into my mouth, relishing it with long sweeps of my tongue, maki
ng it last for him. Finally, when I’m sure it’s good and wet I slip the condom into place and roll it carefully down his length, dressing him with eager sweeps of my soft, probing fingertips.
I’m already wet, pulsing with need just from the feel of him and from his obvious impatience. I hardly need anything further but he slips his hand deep between my legs, spreads me wide with his fingers and scowls when I writhe, arching provocatively towards him.
‘Hey. Take it easy. I say when.’
‘Say it then.’ I nip his earlobe with tiny touches of my teeth as a bluebird breaks into song far overhead and the light, hot wind rustles in the leaves.
And with a small, cruel smile he pulls my arms wide apart and pins my wrists to the rough bark of the trunk. ‘When.’ And in one glorious thrust he plunges into me. He captures my mouth at the same moment and his tongue plunges deep in a matching thrust that robs me of breath.
Now I’m gloriously filled at both ends as he invades, each thrust sending me closer to the edge as his hard root grazes the folds of my greedy sex and all his rough male edges of hairs, trouser seams and rippling muscle pound against my soft, swollen, needy places.
It could be minutes or it could be an hour. I wind my legs around his back and time stands still as we fuse together, his eyes locked on mine. Our breathing is perfectly in time and our bodies perfectly in sync. All at once he stills and pumps.
I quiver, clamped around him as his heat flares in my loins, filling me with the burning glow of his orgasm. I feel my own climax building and at the same moment I see a gleam in his eyes as he senses it too. How does he know? A flicker in my eyes? A flare of heat in my belly? The tell-tale sigh from my lips as I clutch at him while he laughs softly against my ear?
He starts to kiss me, gentler now, his lips brushing mine, light as a whisper of skin on skin, enhancing my pleasure after the violence of his thrusts with new tenderness as my softer climax swells inside me, my bud straining to burst into flower. He keeps his lips close to mine, his tongue making light, teasing touches, his hips grinding hard against me, no longer plunging for his own pleasure but lingering only for mine. In seconds I tip over the cliff and come as well, sobbing into his shoulder with relief and sheer, ecstatic rapture.