Deadly Exchange

by Lisa Harris

  “You need to come closer to the gate,” he said.

  Kayla nodded then began moving toward him.

  She continued to talk to them with each step. The dogs were following her but showed no sign of aggression. Somehow, he needed to get the two of them out of the gate while ensuring that the dogs stayed on the inside.

  He opened the gate a few more inches, just enough to allow them to escape. “Go.”

  She slipped through the opening in front of him. A second later, he was outside the property beside her. He quickly slid the gate back into place.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She stared back at the dogs. “My heart’s racing like a jackhammer, and I’m ready for all of this to be over, but I think so.”

  “I’ve obviously discovered a new talent of yours. I think I might have to start calling you the dog whisperer. You were incredible.”

  She pulled her gloves out of her pockets and tugged them on. “I guess summers with my grandfather paid off.”

  He hadn’t remembered that about her. Along with so many other things he wanted to know.

  But not now.

  Right now, they needed to get as far away from this property as possible.

  Someone shouted from the house. He turned toward the commotion. Nicu was calling the dogs, who were now running toward the house. If they’d found the guard—which he was sure they had—then they knew he and Kayla had escaped and would come looking for them.

  “We need to get out of here now.”

  They started sprinting away from the property with no idea which direction they should be going. The dogs were barking in the background, making him grateful—not for the first time—that they were on the other side of the fence. He just hoped that they hadn’t missed anything inside the house. If Max was somewhere on the property, Levi’s gut told him Nicu wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

  But there was nothing he could do at this point. His priority had to be to get Kayla to safety. Which meant they needed to keep moving.

  Levi glanced down the road. Along the front of the property ran a thick row of trees and brush, but less than a half a mile ahead of them, from what he could see from here, the terrain opened up. Which meant it would be harder to stay hidden. And while Nicu might be searching the property right now, it was only going to be a matter of time before he and his brother realized they’d managed to escape through the gate.

  Grabbing Kayla’s hand, he slowed his pace slightly but kept them moving. “We need a way out of here.”

  “I could call someone from work, but it would take too long for them to get here.”

  “Agreed, but there doesn’t seem like a lot of traffic out here.”

  Which was an understatement. In the ten minutes or so that they’d been out here, he’d noted only one passing vehicle.

  “Do you have any idea where we are?” he asked, as the house where they’d been held started to disappear from sight.

  “I’ve spent time cycling the countryside with a couple friends, but nothing looks familiar. Which doesn’t surprise me. Holland is covered with a network of bike routes and open terrain like this.”

  Which meant all he knew to do for now was to keep moving away from the property and pray that a car would come along and take them back to the city.

  A minute later, Kayla tugged on his hand. “Levi...there’s a car coming.”

  He let out a sharp sigh of relief, but his relief was quickly overshadowed by a wave of alarm as Kayla headed for the road. A small sports car was driving their direction, but that wasn’t what had him apprehensive. A black vehicle had just turned onto the road behind the sports car. The black sedan Nicu had been driving.

  Eleven

  Kayla rushed out from the cover of the brush toward the road at the sight of the sports car driving toward them. Relief washed through her. From what she’d heard, hitchhiking wasn’t as popular as it once was, but hopefully whoever was driving the car coming toward them would feel sorry for them and offer them a ride back to the city.

  She stepped closer to the road.

  “Kayla, stop! That’s Nicu’s vehicle behind them.”

  “What?”

  Levi pulled her back into the shadows of the overgrown brush. She dropped down onto the ground and lay still beside him. The only movement was her heart pounding at the fatal mistake she’d almost made.

  But had Nicu seen them? There was no way at this point to know for sure.

  Her lungs felt as if they were about to burst. She’d known they’d come looking for them. She should have been more careful. Because if they had seen her and Levi...

  She watched the silver Porsche drive past. The knot in her stomach tightened. Nicu’s car slowed down as it came closer to them.

  Please, God...don’t let him see us.

  Kayla pressed her hands into the ground as the car passed where they were crouched in the dirt. She could see Nicu look intently into the brush where they lay, but he didn’t stop. Maybe he hadn’t seen them.

  “How in the world are we supposed to get out of here?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know.”

  She watched as the sedan continued down the road until it was almost out of sight. “You think they’re heading back to the city?”

  “Not yet. I think he’s still looking for us.”

  She knew he was right. Nicu was driving too slowly. Searching the terrain for a sign of them. She was still afraid to move. If they found her, they’d do more than simply ask her a bunch of questions this time.

  Her cell rang in her pocket. She fumbled for the phone, regretting not putting it on vibrate. But Nicu’s car just kept moving forward.

  She checked out the caller ID before quickly turning down the sound.

  The number was blocked.

  “Are you sure he can’t track us or monitor this call?” she asked.

  “If they could track us, they would have already found us.” Levi glanced at the phone. “You think it’s him?”

  The phone was still ringing.

  She drew in a deep breath, nodded, then answered the phone and put it on speaker.

  “Don’t think this is over or that you’ve won.” She immediately recognized Nicu’s voice.

  “What do you want?”

  “Bottom line? I believe you don’t know where Mercy is, but I also believe you can find her. Which means our old deal is back in play.”

  “We never had a deal. You kidnapped my father and now are trying to use him as leverage.”

  “Just listen carefully. I’m giving you twenty-four more hours to find her. I’ll send you a text at this time tomorrow morning, telling you where we will meet.”

  She glanced at Levi, wondering when this was going to be over.

  “If you keep your end of the deal,” Nicu continued, “I’ll let your father go. But if you go to the police or get anyone else involved, I promise you’ll never see your father again. And, Kayla...don’t forget the girl in the morgue. I’m not in the mood to play games. You might have managed to get away this time, but if you don’t do what I’ve told you, I will not only kill your father, but I will find you. And I will kill you, too.”

  The call dropped.

  Kayla’s hands shook. The vehicle turned around in the distance, then drove past them a second time.

  “We need to keep moving,” Levi said once the car had faded into the distance.

  “Once we get to the end of this grove of trees, there won’t be anywhere to hide,” she said.

  “Then we’ve somehow got to find a ride before he turns around again.”

  Her mind started automatically calculating their odds. A half a mile to the clearing, more or less. Walking four miles an hour meant they’d reach the open in less than ten minutes. They’d seen two cars pass in thirty minutes, and on top of that Nicu was
still out there looking for them.

  They started walking again, this time staying as far away from the road as possible. She shivered in the cold wind, feeling tired and hungry.

  “I can’t stop thinking about my father. I can’t shake the guilt—”

  “Kayla, look at me. None of this is your fault. There was nothing you could have done differently to stop this from happening. You’ve told me about the security precautions you and your team took.”

  “It wasn’t enough.”

  “You’re not the only one who knows what it’s like to feel guilty when everything you plan goes wrong.”

  She glanced behind them while she waited for him to continue, thankful that for the moment there was still no sign of Nicu.

  He nodded. “One of my responsibilities while I was overseas was sending convoys. Our team spent time tracking the enemy’s activity and then analyzing which route our men should take.”

  “And something went wrong?”

  “The convoy was hit and we lost two good men.”

  “What happened? Was your intel wrong?”

  “No, but sometimes you do everything you can and things still go wrong.” He stopped and brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “We’re going to do everything we can to find Max, Kayla. I promise.”

  She nodded, praying he was right. She heard a car engine and glanced back down the road.

  “Levi, there’s a car coming, but it’s not Nicu.”

  Different color. Different model.

  She waited, her heart pounding, as he stepped out into the road in order to stop the car.

  The Mercedes slid to a stop beside him, and an older woman with short gray hair rolled down her window.

  Kayla glanced back down the road. The black sedan had turned around and was headed back toward them. They had seconds at the most until Nicu spotted them.

  “Levi...”

  “Are the two of you okay?” the woman asked, in Dutch.

  “Do you speak English?” Levi asked.

  “Yes...of course. I was just noticing how you’re pretty far out in the country with no transportation.”

  “Levi, we need to go now.”

  “We’re in a bit of a hurry, but we just need a ride into Amsterdam if you wouldn’t mind giving us a lift.”

  “Well, I happen to be heading in that direction. I’m going as far as Westpoort and can take you there.”

  “That would be perfect. Thank you.”

  He held open the door for Kayla before the woman could respond and slid into the car, praying Nicu hadn’t seen them.

  Kayla’s phone buzzed again as the woman started driving. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked her messages.

  “Who was it?” Levi asked as he buckled up his seat belt.

  “It’s Mercy this time.” Kayla’s eyes were watering when she glanced up at him. “She figured out from my message that something was wrong. She’s on her way to the safe house.”

  * * *

  Levi’s fingers gripped the armrest as he glanced out the back window. They had narrowly managed to escape Nicu and had found Mercy, for which he was grateful, but they definitely weren’t out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. And while he’d prefer not to involve the Good Samaritan who’d just offered them a lift, if Nicu had seen them get into the car, it might make that move unavoidable.

  He shifted his attention momentarily to their driver. She was in her sixties and dressed as if she were headed to a party with her white gloves and fashionable hat. What had him worried, though, was the fact that she was driving at least ten miles an hour below the speed limit. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to react well to his telling her they needed to hurry because there might be a man involved in a human trafficking ring closing in behind them.

  “I know this is going to sound like an odd question,” he said, “but would you mind telling us how far we are from the city?”

  He saw her brow narrow slightly at the question as she glanced into the rearview mirror.

  “Forty minutes or so. Are the two of you okay?”

  Levi glanced at Kayla, unsure of how to answer. “We’re fine. We just need to get back to Amsterdam.”

  “So are you the new owners?”

  “I’m sorry,” Kayla said. “The new owners of what?”

  “Of the Brouwer estate, of course. Normally I don’t pick up strangers off the road, but when I saw you walking in front of the property, I figured your car must have broken down. And since we’re neighbors, I couldn’t just drive on by. But I had no idea foreigners had bought the place.”

  “We were just...guests, actually,” Kayla said.

  “From where, then? Let me guess—you’re Canadians? Americans?”

  “Americans,” he said, hoping to leave it at that.

  “I’m Beverly Meijer,” she said.

  Levi and Kayla introduced themselves as well, trying to sound more like they were simply on a drive through the countryside and not running from a couple of crazed kidnappers.

  “I was born in Texas, actually,” the woman rattled on, apparently not noticing the edge to his voice. “Met my husband during a semester abroad. My parents thought I was insane when I told them what I planned to do. We were married four decades until he passed away last year. Lived here my entire adult life. Now I can’t imagine not living here.”

  “This is a beautiful area,” Kayla said.

  “The Brouwer place used to be one of these beautiful country estates,” the woman continued in her singsong voice. “I’ve dropped by a couple times trying to meet whoever moved in, but no one ever answers the gate. I finally decided the owner is a wealthy hermit, though I suppose I can understand one’s need for anonymity. When my husband and I retired, we chose to move away from the city for a bit more peace and quiet. Though I admit there are days I imagine I’d prefer the convenience of the city to the isolation of the country.”

  “You knew the previous owner?” Kayla asked.

  “Of course. The grounds were immaculately kept, and the house itself was like a museum. Cobus Brouwer held the best parties every summer. I never missed them. He’d bring in local musicians and set up a large buffet for his guests. But then his wife died and the parties stopped, and he never seemed to be the same again. He eventually passed away as well, which is what started that ridiculous dispute between his heirs. Not that either of them would have sunk a dime into fixing up the place. Though if you know the new owners of the house, I’m sure you’ve heard all about the drama and how the house was eventually put up for auction. And by the way, if the new owners happen to be looking for someone to redecorate the place, I have a friend who did my house. She’s a bit expensive but has an eye for detail that’s unbelievable...”

  The woman’s voice faded as Levi glanced out the back window. A vehicle was following them, but it wasn’t close enough for him to determine the color or make. Coincidence? He simply wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to be paranoid, but neither could he be 100 percent certain Nicu hadn’t seen them getting into the car.

  Kayla gripped his hand. “Do you think he’s behind us?” she whispered.

  “Honestly, I don’t know.”

  “He has no reason to come after us. Why give us another twenty-four hours just to follow us?”

  He wanted to reassure her she was right and that Nicu had no reason to follow them. That Nicu was going to keep his word and let them find Mercy on their own. Except he didn’t believe any of that. Already the man had managed to stalk her to ensure she was following their explicit instructions. And he’d bugged her phone. Calling her could have easily been nothing more than his trying to trace her phone and secure their location.

  “If they are behind us,” he said, “which I’m pretty sure they are, we’re going to have to tell her what’s going on.”

  “I know.”
>
  He glanced out the window again. If it was Nicu, what was his plan? Biding his time until they stopped? Planning to run them off the road?

  “Is everything okay?” The woman’s words broke into his thoughts as they finally approached the city. “The two of you seem...on edge.”

  Levi glanced at Kayla, whose face had paled. “We’ve had a rough couple days, but we’d rather not get you involved, ma’am.”

  “Fiddlesticks. My husband was a Hoofdcommissaris—in English you’d call him a chief commissioner. He conducted the day-to-day management of the police force. Anyway, he always used to tell me that he didn’t want me involved, which I always thought was ridiculous. The day I married him I was involved.”

  Kayla squeezed Levi’s hand. “We need to tell her. If it is him...”

  He knew she was right, but the last thing they needed was more collateral damage.

  “We weren’t actually guests at the estate like we implied,” Levi said finally, then as briefly as possible he explained what had happened over the past twelve hours, including their kidnapping from outside the tram to their eventual escape from the property that had landed them in Beverly’s vehicle.

  “I knew something fishy was going on at that estate. In fact, I told my best friend Angela just last week, mark my words, we’re going to discover one day that something illegal is going on in that house, with all the comings and goings in the night these past few weeks. I can see car headlights as they pull into the drive shining in my bedroom window. And those dogs...they never stop barking when people show up.”

  Kayla leaned forward and rested her arm on the top of the seat in front of her. “Did you ever see who was coming and going?”

  “They mostly came at night, so no. But every couple weeks the dogs start barking and I know they’re back. But human trafficking? I never imagined something like that. No wonder you’re in a hurry to get to the city.” She started digging in her purse. “My cell phone’s in here somewhere. You can call the police.”