I snapped my phone off. Right now, as we spoke, Femi was living her greatest fear, all because I fucked up and failed to protect her.
Clark strode towards me. “What happened?”
“I was in the shower. Femi let Mari in. They walked into the bathroom when I was unarmed. Mari had her gun to Femi’s head. I got tied up, and they got past Benny.”
We took the elevator to Femi’s suite. “Did you call her dad?”
“He’s on his way.”
Benny opened the door.
Clark moved into high mode. “I want all this furniture moved. I need tables and telecom to hook up Mr. Payne’s phone in case of a ransom call. And we need to make room for at least twenty FBI agents that are on their way here.”
* * *
Two hours later, we stood and watched the FBI work. They had overtaken Femi’s suite, and we were mere guests in their production. The intel they pulled up was incredible, but none of it helped us. None of it gave us a clue as to where to search for Femi.
The FBI lead walked over to Clark and me. “Mari’s real name is Alyson. She’s a high-end con artist who typically works the long game. Her supposed brother is actually her partner and her lover. It appears she befriended Femi about 18 months ago. She persisted in the friendship. At the beginning of their friendship, every 12 texts and calls she made to Femi, Femi only returned one. But about six months ago, Femi started to respond more.”
“What else do you know?” Clark stared at the screen that showed Mari’s face.
“She has an elaborate cover that would fool the most detailed background check. We believe she’s been involved in two other international kidnapping ruses. She likes to target very wealthy, very lonely patrons.”
It damn near broke my heart to hear him call Femi lonely.
The agent continued. “The first kidnapping ruse, Mari/Alyson worked as a nanny for 18 months before kidnapping the child. The child was returned unharmed, but she made away with over 5 million dollars. The next kidnapping, we believe she played the sister of her lover. He, in turn, became the lover of a young gay man in Russia. That boy’s father is part of the oligarch. The money was taken, but the young man’s body ended up in the river, and it wasn’t recovered until three weeks after the kidnapping.”
I felt my stomach drop in cold fear.
Where the fuck was she?
“What happens now?”
“Now we wait. For the ransom call and we hope that goes well.”
“Hope that goes well?” I got into the FBI agent’s face. “HOPE THAT GOES WELL?”
“Hey, hey.” Clark stepped in between the two of us. “Let them do their job.”
“This dickwad thinks she’s only another victim. This is just another day at work for him. This is Femi.”
Clark pushed me out of the room and leaned against the wall while I paced.
“Want to tell me what is going on?”
“It’s Femi!” I yelled, too pissed off to say much else.
“Aaron.”
I pushed my hands into my hair. “It’s killing me, Clark. She’s probably scared. So fucking scared.”
“We’re going to find her, okay?”
“Okay.”
But I didn’t feel like it was going to be okay.
Chapter 27
Femi
I woke up sitting in a chair. My numb arms were tied behind my back. My head ached. Squinting, I took in the rundown motel room.
“The bitch is awake,” Mari’s brother said from his seat at the old wooden table.
Mari walked over, yanked his head back with his hair and gave him a deep-throat kiss.
“Mari, that’s your brother!” I couldn’t hide my disgust.
They both laughed.
“My name isn’t Mari, and this isn’t my brother.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “Who are you?”
“Your worst nightmare.”
I nodded, believing her.
She walked over to me and pinched my face hard. “You’re such a stupid bitch.”
I blinked, afraid to speak, afraid to argue. “What do you want?”
“We want ten million dollars. In cash.”
“Are you going to kill me?”
She tilted her head. “Not sure.”
“I’m not going to help you get any money unless you assure me that you’re not going to kill me.”
She laughed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
I shrugged. “If you’re going to kill me then I’d prefer if you didn’t get any money.”
“What is your dad’s phone number?”
“Are you going to kill me?”
She studied me, her eyes hard. “You’re safe for now.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Says the girl who was born with a set of silver spoons in her mouth. You have no gratitude for what you have, do you?”
“I do.”
“You don’t. I’ve seen how you live. The $6,000 room per night. The shoes and the clothes. The party your father planned for you. You have everything, and you don’t appreciate any of it.”
“I don’t care about that. It’s only money.”
She slapped my face. Hard. And then she put her face in front of mine. “I do.”
* * *
“I’m thirsty, and I have to go to the bathroom,” I said.
“Well, looks like you’re going to have to piss yourself,” Mari said.
“We’re ready,” her non-brother spoke.
“How much time do we have?”
“This phone call is untraceable for approximately 68 seconds, and then they can trace us, so keep the call under a minute.”
“Set the timer,” she instructed.
We watched as she dialed. It began to ring on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mr. Payne?”
“This is Special Agent Marcus Arthur…”
“Blah, blah, blah,” she interrupted. “Listen up, Asshole. We want ten million dollars of unmarked cash in two duffle bags. We will text you instructions. You have 4 hours. We want Aaron to do the delivery. If he fucks up or is late, we will dump Femi’s body off in some lone warehouse that will take you weeks to find, is that clear?”
“We need proof that she is alive.”
She shoved the phone in my face.
“Do what she says. They have big guns, and they mean business. They’re going to kill me…”
Mari backhanded me, and a cry escaped out of me.
“You heard her. We mean business. Stay by your phone. And send Aaron, only Aaron. If we catch a hint that there are more than one of you, all bets are off, and we will kill the bitch.”
She hung up.
I tried not to gag when she walked over to her non-brother and made out with him for a solid five minutes.
* * *
Four hours later, she lifted me from the chair.
“Can I pee?”
She rolled her eyes. “Only because I don’t want you pissing in the van.”
She held the gun to my head while I sat on the toilet. I didn’t bother resisting when she re-tied my hands. They put a hood over my face and led me down a set of stairs and into the back of the van.
I could tell by the location of their voices that she drove and he typed on a laptop.
“Okay, ready for the text message.”
“What’s happening?” I couldn’t keep the fear out of my voice.
“They have 10 minutes to meet us at the Cornell Park.”
“How is Aaron going to get there that quick?”
“If they’re smart, they’ll be waiting in the vehicle with the money.”
The engine of the van surged as she sped through the streets. And then we came to a stop.
‘There he is.”
I strained my eyes, trying to see thru the hood. I heard the van door slide open. Someone yanked me out.
Mari pulled the hood off my face. From the dark road, I could see two headlights. A lone figure walked
out in front of the car.
“I’ve got my gun trained on you.” Mari spoke from behind the door of the van. “Now walk to the car and get the two bags.”
“What if I can’t carry both?”
“Then you take two trips. Aaron has been instructed to keep his hands above his head. If he tries anything, I’ll shoot him. Now keep your hands above your head and do this quick.”
I walked towards Aaron. My eyes filled with tears at the sight of him. He held his hands up. He was so close, yet we couldn’t touch. We weren’t out of danger yet.
He stood there, his eyes trained behind me. “Are you okay?”
“I have to carry these back.”
He spoke without moving his lips. “When I say dive, you dive okay? You lie flat on the ground.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
I couldn’t lift both bags, so I staggered back with one bag.
“Hold still.” She heaved the bag into the back of the van. The boyfriend checked. “Looks good.”
“Go get the other one.” She pushed me back towards Aaron.
I walked on that cold, lonely road and stared at Aaron, wondering if she’d shoot me when I got back. Would we both die? Was this the end? I bent over the bag, struggling to lift it into my arms.
“Dive, Femi!” Aaron hissed.
Without hesitating, I dove behind the bag and covered my head.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
Bullets whizzed. I screamed into the dirt, terrified for Aaron. Terrified we’d die.
And then there was nothing but silence.
“Princess, are you okay?” I heard his voice, and I wanted to sob in relief.
“Yes.” I lifted my head.
“Stay down. Don’t move.”
Sirens screamed in the distance. I watched as he slowly moved towards the van, his gun cocked and poised in front of his line of vision.
He reached into the van, and then he holstered his gun as he walked back toward me. I staggered to my feet and ran towards him.
His big arm went around me.
“Aaron. Aaron.” His name was the only word I could say.
He gave me a hard kiss. And then he stumbled. I lifted my head from his chest. “Aaron?”
“I’m fine,” he said. And then he went down to his knees.
I screamed. My hands moved over his chest and came up with blood.
Cop cars pulled up.
“Call an ambulance,” I shrieked. Aaron slowly fell against me, his weight almost taking me down.
“Aaron, Aaron,” I begged. “Please no, Aaron.”
“Princess.” His face slumped against my chest. And then he collapsed in my arms.
Chapter 28
Aaron
I woke up to the sensation of hands touching my body.
“He’s awake.”
“Aaron, can you hear me?”
I peeled open my eyes. Unfamiliar faces peered back at me. A white curtain hung behind them. All of them had stethoscopes around their necks. We were in the hospital.
“Femi?” My voice felt as dry as if I had eaten a bag of sand. I pushed hands away and using all my strength, manage to sit up.
“Whoa, big guy, you’re not going anywhere.”
Strong hands easily pushed me back onto the bed. Weak. I felt so weak.
“She’s fine. You’re going to be fine too.” The lady in charge shone a light in my face.
“Where am I hit?”
“A bullet hit your flak jacket and fragments embedded into your rib cage. A pretty major artery underneath your left arm was nicked, but we stopped the bleeding. You’ve lost a lot of blood, but according to our x-ray, we’ve got all of the fragments out. Now we want to flush you with antibiotics and give you some plasma, and you’ll be right as rain.”
“I want to leave.”
“You’ll stay overnight. No arguments or we’ll tie you to the bed.”
I shut my eyes. “I want to see Femi.”
“You can see her when you’re tucked in your room.”
And then everything went black.
* * *
I woke up, this time in a different room. In the corner, sat Femi’s father.
“You’re awake.”
“Yes, sir.”
I tried but failed to reach for the water jug on the table.
“Would you like some water?”
“Please.”
He poured me a glass of water, and like I was a child, he held the cup to my lips. I gratefully drank.
“You saved my daughter’s life tonight.”
“Where is she?”
“How did you know that they planned on killing her?”
“Mari was preparing to shoot when Femi walked towards me the second time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mari unrolled her window of the open door of the van. Then she rested her arms on the door and held the gun in both hands. She also took repeated views through the scope of her gun. She was preparing to shoot to kill.”
“Interpol had them listed as two of the top ten most wanted. The FBI has already cleared you.”
I didn’t give a shit about that. I wanted to see Femi. “Where is your daughter?”
He cleared his throat. “I want you to end this relationship with Femi.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m prepared to cut her off and out of my will if you persist with this.”
I shook my head. “You’re daughter won’t take kindly to that kind of behavior. She doesn’t give a shit about money.”
“Which is why we won’t tell her that it’s me. I want you to end it.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
He cleared his throat. “I know you care about my daughter, but she will be as helpless as a small child in this world without money. She doesn’t know what life is without it. She might not care about money but only because she’s had an abundance of it in her life. She’s never had a job. She tells people what to do, not the other way around. Are you prepared to be responsible for her well-being if I cut her free?”
No. Yes. Fuck. She’d be miserable in my life. “We’d work it out.”
“You make a decent soldier’s wage. But what you make in a year, she can spend in a weekend shopping. And you’re gone for months at a time? How do you think she’d fair?”
She’d hate me. Within weeks. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I’m a realist. There is no hope for the two of you, and the longer you two carry on, the harder the ending will be on her.”
I was a realist too, and this had been the very conclusion I had come to weeks ago.
“Why do I have to be the asshole?”
“Because you’re the only one who can end this. I needed you to protect her. And now the danger is gone and your time together has come to an end. This has to happen before she gets more attached.”
I knew he spoke the truth. As much as I hated him and this shit deal, I knew he was right.
“I need to use your phone.”
He nodded and passed me his phone. I dialed Clark’s number.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Aaron, where are you?”
“I’m still at the hotel with the FBI.”
“I need you to come here in four hours and bust me out of the hospital.”
“Whoa, buddy.”
“I’ll explain later. Can you pack up my shit, without Femi finding out and come here or not?”
“Yes.”
“Wake me when you get here.”
I hung up and handed the phone back to her father.
Without looking at him, I spoke. My voice sounded dead. “Tell her I passed out and that I’ll be ready to see her tomorrow morning. Force her to go home. I’ll be gone when she returns in the morning.”
“I know you love my daughter.”
“Yeah, why do you think that?”
“Because of the huge sacrifice that you’re making fo
r her.”
I shut my eyes and focused on my breathing. I heard him leave.
I could hear Femi’s voice outside.
I wanted to shout for her. To touch her. To tell her how I felt about her.
But I knew her father was right. There was no way she’d last a day without his money.
Hating my life. I shut my eyes and willed myself to sleep.
Chapter 29
Femi
I couldn’t wait to see Aaron. I didn’t think he’d like the flowers, but it didn’t stop me from buying him a giant bouquet of daisies to cheer up his room.
Last night had been a nightmare. The FBI had taken over my suite. So, the hotel moved me to yet another suite. I barely slept a wink. Guards sat outside my room, but I was no longer afraid.
Mari was dead.
I couldn’t even process that one of my supposed best friends had not been a friend at all, and she had only befriended me so that she could kidnap me for money. However, none of that mattered right now.
Only Aaron mattered.
My entire world stopped when Aaron passed out in my arms. I screamed until the ambulance guy told me that he had a strong pulse and he was breathing on his own. They wouldn’t let me go to the hospital with him, because they wanted to check me over.
Pandemonium ensued.
Aaron had shot Mari and her non-brother dead. They brought me to the hospital. Agents interviewed me. Dad showed up. My mother wailed on the phone. Aaron’s sticky blood covered my hands and stained my clothes.
Finally, I put my foot down and told them that I wasn’t going to answer another question until they let me see Aaron. In his hospital room, he laid on that bed, silent and so quiet. I cried as I held his hand, but then they pulled me out and continued to grill me. I refused to go, but my father said he’d sit with Aaron and the moment he woke up, he’d come to get me.
But he didn’t wake up. Dad said it’s because they gave him some strong drugs for pain and that the nurse said we could see him in the morning.
I needed to see him.
Touch his warm skin.
My Donut Princess: The Navy SEAL Series, Novella Page 10