Dangerous Girl_An utterly heart stopping thriller

by Emma Tallon

  ‘OK,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll come.’ Her heart broke as she said it out loud, and she looked down at the carpet so that he wouldn’t see the extent of the sadness in her eyes.

  Freddie knew though, without looking. He hated himself for putting her in this position. He reached forward and pulled her to him, holding her close.

  ‘Pack a bag tonight with everything essential in and leave it in your office. Take the passports and put them in the club safe,’ he said quietly. ‘Keep anything you want to take in your bag. Because when I get the tip-off, we’ll have to leave within the hour. There’ll be no time for anything else. We won’t be able to come back here.’ Freddie buried his face into her hair and squeezed her to him.

  A solitary tear ran down Anna’s face. ‘When will it happen?’ she asked.

  ‘It still might not. But if it does, it will be in about two days. I’m still trying to sort things. I’ll do everything I can to avoid this outcome. But we must be prepared.’

  He felt Anna nod against his chest. Freddie stared out of the bedroom window at the dark, stormy clouds outside as they sat there unmoving. He would try his best, of course he would. He didn’t want to leave the life he’d worked so hard to build any more than Anna did. He didn’t want to think about what it would do to his family either. But at this point, he didn’t see there being any other outcome. The kidnapper was too clever. He knew how to keep off both the police and Freddie’s radar, and no matter what way he approached it, there was nothing to go on. Ben Hargreaves was teetering on the edge of madness and he wanted someone to take out his frustration on. Freddie wished it was anyone else but him, but it was what it was, and all he could do now was pray that they got away and out of the country before Hargreaves finally snapped.

  48

  Katherine tried to open her eyes as she heard her captor entering the room. Her eyelids felt heavy, just like the rest of her body these days. Her muscles had quickly wasted away, lying there on the foetid mattress day and night. She no longer felt cold. In fact sometimes she felt downright hot. Her mind was swimming in and out of feverish delusion. In her moments of clarity, she knew that she wouldn’t last much longer. Her body was full of infection, and she was wasting away.

  The torch was switched on and a bag of food thrown onto the bed next to one of her hands. She attempted to reach out for it but didn’t have the energy.

  ‘You need to eat.’ The robotic voice was matter-of-fact, no care behind the words.

  Katherine let a ghost of a wry smile play across her lips. ‘Oh please,’ she murmured. ‘You don’t care. How many days left now? Three?’ Katherine’s breath became laboured. Even speaking took too much effort.

  ‘Two actually.’

  She heard him move towards her.

  ‘Eat,’ he repeated. ‘I bought more penicillin.’ He paused and then picked up her arm and checked her pulse. He tutted. ‘So weak. Come here.’

  Katherine felt him pick her up as though she weighed no more than a newspaper. She probably didn’t. He sat down on the bed and pulled her so that she sat propped up against him. Holding her around the waist with one hand so that she didn’t fall, he opened the bag and pulled out the cardboard sleeve full of soggy chips. He began lifting them to her mouth, and Katherine made the effort to eat a few. She wasn’t hungry, but it would take more energy to fight him on that point.

  After a painfully slow feed, Katherine let her head loll against her captor’s broad chest.

  ‘Please,’ she uttered, ‘no more.’

  The sudden realisation hit her that this was the closest she had ever been to her captor. She hated him more than she ever thought she could hate anyone, but hate took a lot of energy, and she was too tired to pull herself away right now. Instead she asked him a question.

  ‘Why do you want my brother to die?’ She felt him tense before he answered.

  ‘That would be my business, not yours,’ he replied tightly.

  Katherine felt a sharp stab of anger run through her feeble body. It was her business. She had been made to give up her freedom and would shortly sacrifice her life for this business, so of all people she should be given the truth. She gathered what little strength she had and grasped the thick, black ski mask that covered his face. Taken by surprise, he had no time to pull it back before she’d ripped it off his head. She gasped, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw her captor’s face for the first time.

  ‘It’s you,’ she whispered in horror and confusion. Her eyes filled with tears and her thin body shook as she recognised the person who had put her through all of this torture and pain. ‘Why?’ she asked, the tears spilling down her face.

  The last thing she remembered when she came back round was the blow to the head as he knocked her out.

  49

  Tanya narrowed her eyes as the buzzer sounded. Her fingers gripped the handle of the knife she was using to chop tomatoes tighter as she imagined plunging it through Daniel’s lying, cheating chest. But she took a deep breath instead and, putting the knife down, plastered a pleasant smile on her face before going to open the door.

  Daniel swept in and grabbed her face, kissing her passionately on the lips.

  ‘I’ve missed you like crazy this week, my red-headed vixen,’ he said jovially. ‘It’s been far too long since I last saw you and that sexy arse of yours.’

  ‘Yes, well,’ she said, ‘we’ve both just been so busy at work. Good trip to see those potential clients this weekend?’ Tanya looked at him with innocent expectation on her face.

  ‘Yeah, yeah – it went well. Think I’ve landed us a pretty big fish after taking them golfing. Fingers crossed.’ He shot her a winning smile.

  Tanya gave him an excited grin, but as he turned to walk through to the kitchen she shot daggers into his back with her eyes. Lying snake, she thought. Her fluffy white cat strolled lazily down the hallway and gave her a quizzical look.

  ‘Oh you wait, Princess,’ she whispered conspiratorially. ‘I’m going to make sure that this is a night he’ll never forget.’

  She followed him through to the kitchen, where he was pouring them both a glass of wine.

  ‘What’s in the oven? Smells delicious,’ Daniel said. He had taken his jacket off and undone a couple of buttons on his shirt. He was ready to relax.

  ‘Mediterranean chicken, to go with the salad.’ She pointed towards the small bowl she had been preparing before he arrived.

  Daniel frowned at it. ‘There’s not much salad. Shall I put some more in?’ he asked.

  ‘No, no, there’s plenty. I’ll add to it later.’ Tanya lifted her glass to his in a casual toast. There was enough salad for one, which was all she needed. She drank deeply from her glass, never taking her eyes off him. ‘Actually, I have a little treat in store for you. A little starter, shall we say.’ Her lips curled into a naughty smile and Daniel immediately put his glass down.

  ‘Now that sounds pretty perfect to me,’ he said huskily. He moved over to her and put his hands around her waist.

  ‘Aw.’ Tanya touched his hair. ‘You look really handsome today. Let’s take some selfies. I have no decent photos of us to put up on the wall. Come here.’ Tanya pulled his face next to hers and took a picture.

  Daniel complied, feeling very happy after the compliment and thinly veiled promise of sex. He smiled and posed as she did, while she snapped away on her phone’s camera. Tanya kissed his cheek before gently turning his head to hers for a full-on snog. Daniel pulled away laughing as she took a series of photos while they kissed.

  ‘They aren’t very wall-worthy. I bet I have about five chins in that last one.’

  Tanya winked and pulled him through the house towards the bedroom.

  ‘What about,’ she purred, ‘if we made some extremely wall-unworthy pictures in here? They can keep you warm when you’re away.’

  ‘Now you’re talking,’ Daniel replied.

  Tanya stopped at the door to her room and turned to him, looking up through her eyelashes coyly.
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  ‘Now there’s one rule, if you want what I’ve got in here.’

  ‘Oh yeah?’ Daniel leaned over her, kissing her neck. ‘What’s that then?’ He was getting excited already.

  ‘You have to do whatever I say,’ she replied. ‘And I mean whatever.’

  ‘You kinky bitch.’ Daniel’s pupils were dilated as he stared at her hungrily. ‘I’m all yours. I will do whatever you say.’

  ‘Good.’ Tanya opened the door, and his jaw dropped as he saw the bed. ‘Then get naked, get on the bed and lie still like a good boy while I secure the cuffs.’

  On each of the four corners of Tanya’s metal bedframe, a set of handcuffs was attached. Candles were lit around the room, giving off an atmospheric glow, and next to the bed was an array of sensual instruments. Daniel walked in and eagerly stripped off, watching Tanya undress next to him. Underneath her clothes Tanya was wearing a red and black laced corset, pulled tight. Her breasts sat pert and full in the plunging bra at the top. His eyes slid down her body to the lacy knickers and stockings. She looked so sexy that Daniel could barely contain himself. He just wanted to grab her and fuck her hard, right there on the floor.

  As if she could tell what he was thinking, Tanya wagged her finger at him. ‘Ah-ah-ahh. Not yet, big boy,’ she teased. ‘Get on the bed. You promised to do as you were told.’

  Daniel exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and moaned in sexual frustration, before climbing onto the bed and lying on his back obediently. He waited and watched Tanya as she tightly secured his wrists and ankles with the handcuffs. When she was done, her eyes glinted mischievously and she mounted the bed herself, kneeling just next to him. Leaning over his face, she allowed Daniel to suck at her breasts while she took pictures of the two of them. Moving lower down the bed, she gripped his penis and took a selfie of herself doing that too. She made sure to get an angle with his face in. Satisfied that she had enough evidence for Amanda, she threw her phone over to a nearby chair.

  ‘Now, what I’m going to do to you tonight is going to blow your mind, Mr Sharp,’ she said in a seductive voice. ‘That much I can absolutely promise you.’

  Daniel moaned, desperate for her. ‘Get on me.’

  Tanya knelt over him, hovering just above his large erection. He held his breath, praying that she would put him out of his misery. Instead she laughed and moved backward so that she was straddling his thighs.

  ‘Not yet. First I’m going to give you a relaxing massage. Lie back and enjoy. Because you aren’t going anywhere.’

  Tanya reached over into the top drawer of her bedside table and poured some lavender oil into her hand. Starting at the top of his hard chest, she slowly rubbed the oil into his skin. She leaned over him as she did so and kissed him deeply. Pulling back she ran her hands down his torso and over his muscular stomach. He really was a fine specimen, Tanya thought with a pang of hatred as she looked at his body. She made sure to keep her hands above his hips until she had rubbed all of the oil in.

  ‘Oops, run out. Let me make sure I have enough oil on my hands for the, er, main event…’ she trailed off suggestively, and Daniel groaned with delight.

  Keeping one eye on Daniel to make sure he couldn’t see what she was doing, Tanya reached back into her drawer. Ignoring the lavender oil, she picked up a much smaller bottle and tipped the entire contents into her hand. Careful not to spill any, she settled back onto his legs, locked hers around his and with both hands grasped his engorged penis. She quickly rubbed the liquid around the shaft and into the end, making sure to get as much coverage as possible. Some of it trickled down over his balls, but that just made her smile grow wider.

  The second Tanya’s hands made contact he made a sound of delight, assuming his sexual relief was finally in sight. Barely a couple of seconds later, as his nerve endings registered the heat of the Tabasco sauce, he began to scream in agony.

  Tanya steadied herself as he bucked and writhed underneath her in distress. She widened her eyes innocently and leaned towards his face.

  ‘Oh my God, what’s wrong?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he wailed. ‘Get it off! Get it off me!’

  ‘Get what off you?’ Tanya feigned ignorance, wiping her hands on the bedspread to get rid of the excess sauce.

  ‘The oil! Get it off – it’s burning! Oh fuck! Fuck, it’s burning, help me!’ His shouts were getting louder by the second. ‘Get me out of these now, Tanya!’ He strained against the cuffs, but they were strong and the bedframe was sturdy.

  ‘OK, hold on – I’ll go find the keys.’

  Tanya jumped down lightly from the bed and, grabbing her phone as she passed it, she left the room. As soon as she got into the hallway, she doubled over and began to laugh silently as he screamed. Good, she thought. He damn well deserves it. She turned her phone to silent and slipped it onto a hidden shelf under a side table in the next room. You could never be too careful.

  Pulling the key out of her bra where it had been all along, she sauntered back into the bedroom. Daniel was red in the face and crying. His penis was pretty red too and had shrivelled right up. Feigning clumsiness, she undid his cuffs as slowly as she could get away with. He almost ripped his own arm off as she undid the last one in his haste to get to the bathroom.

  Daniel jumped into the shower and turned it on, pushing the showerhead down to his red-raw privates and sobbing loudly as he tried to wash it off. Tanya stood in the doorway and pretended to feel awful.

  ‘Wow, Daniel, I am so sorry.’

  Tanya stared at him in wonder. There he was, a fully grown man, weeping in the shower like a baby girl. This was even better than she’d thought it would be.

  ‘What the hell was it?’ he asked, between heavy, snotty sobs.

  ‘Tabasco sauce, darling. I don’t know how the bottles got mixed up.’ Tanya looked at him apologetically and then grimaced.

  ‘It fucking kills,’ he howled. ‘It’s not going away – I think I need to go to hospital. I think this might have done serious damage. Oh God!’ He wailed in pain once more.

  ‘Hospital, good idea. Let’s go – quickly. The sooner the better.’

  Tanya nipped back through to her bedroom and shrugged a casual dress on over her lingerie. Slipping her feet into a pair of pumps, she unceremoniously shoved Daniel’s clothes and shoes into a plastic bag and grabbed the dressing gown she had bought him to keep at hers.

  ‘Here,’ she said, going back to the bathroom. ‘Just put this on for now. I have your clothes. Let’s go.’

  Daniel stood up with difficulty and let Tanya assist him in putting the dressing gown on. He waddled down the hallway and out of the front door, holding on to his ravaged manhood. Tanya pressed the button for the lift and waited patiently. It arrived with a ping, and Daniel stepped in as soon as the doors opened. He looked back at Tanya as she stood smiling in the hallway.

  ‘What are you doing? Come on,’ he whined.

  Tanya’s smile broadened. ‘I think I’ll sit this one out. You’re a big boy – you’ll be fine on your own. I’ll tell you what I will do for you though.’ The smile dropped, and her face turned cold. ‘I’ll give Amanda a call, let her and the kids know where you are. I’m sure she’ll greatly appreciate this story.’

  Tanya watched his red, agonised face pale significantly as her words hit home. She shoved the bag that held his clothes at him. The doors began to close and she waved goodbye to the dripping-wet shell of a man before slowly walking back into her flat. Shutting the door behind her, her shoulders sank and she gave Princess a sad smile.

  She had really cared about Daniel, had let him into her life and her heart, and finding out who he really was had cut her deeply. Since Amanda had confronted her in the club, she had held on to all of her anger and her thirst for revenge. But now that part was over. She had got what she needed to make sure he lost out financially. She had put him through possibly the most excruciating evening he would ever experience in his life. And now he was gone. He wouldn’t be back – she was su
re of that. Aside from the fact that he would soon know Tanya had given Amanda everything she needed for the divorce, she doubted he would ever want to risk crossing her again.

  Tanya allowed herself to feel the pain for a few moments. She pulled down the invisible walls around her heart and let it wash over her, closed her eyes and mentally said goodbye to the only relationship she had really thought was going somewhere. Then she drew herself up to full height and fluffed her hair.

  With perfect timing, the buzzer on her oven went off. Her dinner was ready. Mediterranean chicken and salad for one. Tanya walked through to the kitchen with her head held high. Onwards and upwards, as Carl would say.

  50

  Thea drove slowly up the long, narrow road full of rundown terraced houses, most of which were boarded up. Some were even condemned, big railings up outside the front. The boards tied to the railings indicated that these were all owned by the same company. Thea guessed that they would eventually pull them down and rebuild something else here instead. Probably flats or offices. That seemed to be happening everywhere now.

  She pulled into a space at the side of the road and looked around. She had lost him again. Opening the backpack she took everywhere on shoots, she pulled out a bag of crisps and began to eat. She was starving, having been out shooting nearly all day. Time seemed to run away with her when she immersed herself in her passion. Today she was following Michael, but it was proving trickier than she had accounted for. She had followed him out here a few days before but had managed to lose him then too.

  About to give up and go home, Thea suddenly spotted Michael in her side mirror. She chucked the bag of crisps onto the passenger seat and grabbed her camera. Jumping out of the car quickly she locked it using the central-locking button on her keys as she ran down the road. He had disappeared down the next side street and she didn’t want to lose him again. She reached the corner and came to a halt, peering round carefully. Her eyes searched the street and locked on to her brother. Bingo!