by Paula Cox
Who were these people? Why did they hold her prisoner? What did she know that was dangerous to them? She didn’t have answers, only questions. But one thing she had in abundance was her courage. Tania sat on the bed to consider what she could to change this situation. She didn’t want to remain here for long. Her gaze fixed on the door. It was locked, of course. She’d heard the distinct click when the man went out but…
Her hand moved to her head. After the shower she’d left her hair open, but it wasn’t that way the morning she went to office for the last time. Walking into the bathroom, she picked up the two pins that she’d left on the counter. She examined their sharp points. It might just do. Tania wasn’t a wild child during her childhood days, but one of her friends certainly was. That girl, Mia, could open a locked door or window with a pin. She’d once sneaked into the principal’s office to steal the exam papers. Tania had never approved of her friend’s underhand ways, but she did spend some time learning them – one never knew when such skills would come in use.
And now, she was going to find out if she had, indeed, learnt something helpful. She took the pin to the door, sat on her knees, and studied the lock. It was an old fashioned one that used a key. Luckily, she couldn’t see the key on the other side and she could see evidence that the lock was recently removed and then put on backwards so it could be locked from outside, rather than the other way around.
“Piece of cake,” she muttered.
Taking her bobby pin, she snapped it in two. Dropping half of it on the floor, she bent the other half until it was at a ninety-degree angle, making it resemble a makeshift tension wrench. Putting the point of it inside the lock, she wriggled it around while holding it steady. Her heart pounded so loudly she thought the person on the other end, if someone were, indeed, standing there, would hear it. She heard a click and felt the pin move, almost as if she held a key in her hand.
She stood, took a deep breath, and turned the handle. The door opened without a sound. Without wasting any more time, she walked out. She stood in a narrow, dusty corridor that was no more than four feet wide. To her right was a door straight in front and another in the wall, and to her left was another door in the wall. She’d to choose which direction to take. Tania could hear a low murmur of voices coming from her right. There were at two least people in the room next to hers. She gazed at the door that stood directly opposite her and decided that it must lead outside. She could smell freedom as easily as she could scent her own sweat. But in order to get to it, she would have to walk past the room in which people lingered.
Or she could go to her left and explore the room, but if there were no chance of escape from it, she would waste precious minutes doubling back. She’d never been a nervous decision maker. Tania edged along the wall until she reached the door from where she could hear voices. Two people were talking.
“She can’t stay here for long.”
“We’ll get word regarding her soon,” said the same man who had given her food. “The high members will tell us what to do.”
“If they tell us to…”
“What must be done will be done,” said the man in a cold voice. “She is a danger to Devil’s Mafia Brotherhood and if she has to be removed, we will do so.”
What the hell were they talking about? Who was Devil’s Mafia Brotherhood? And by removing, did they actually mean that they would kill her if they thought it was necessary? Fear coursed through her veins as she realized the danger she was in. It hadn’t fully sunk in until this point. Now, she felt an overwhelming need to rush across and head for the door but if they saw her, she would be hurled back into the room and there might never be another chance like this.
“Did she eat her food? I should go get the tray back.”
Her heart skipped a beat. If the man came out now, she would be discovered. Perhaps she could go back and sit inside, but then she would never be able to lock the door from inside.
“Leave her alone for some time. I’m just waiting for that call,” growled the other man.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Someone stood and walked to the other side of the room. Taking a chance, she peeped in to take a quick look. One man was heading towards the bathroom door and the other was bent over his phone. She didn’t wait to see if this was the right opportunity. Tania seized it. She rushed towards the door and pulled at the handle. No sound came from that room. They didn’t see her. She was safe for now.
What if the door was locked?
The handle went down all the way and the door opened. She edged out and stood in the front yard of a house. The garden was bare; not a twig grew and a single tree stood against one wall, but the gate was open and she couldn’t see a lock. She knew this was her opportunity. Without wasting any more time, she rushed through it and found herself on a street she didn’t recognize. She’d never been out to the suburbs before and, looking around, she noticed the houses were all run down and dilapidated. Not a car sped by on the street.
She ran towards the nearest juncture she saw. Reaching it, she turned the corner and sped on. Any moment now, she expected someone to scream her name and rush behind her but she didn’t hear any commotion. Maybe her absence still hadn’t been detected. If so, it was indeed a lucky break. She didn’t have any money or phone, and she knew hitching a ride was definitely not a good idea, especially when she didn’t know where she was. She finally reached a busy street and took deep breaths. Her legs hurt and sweat dripped down her forehead. What could she do now?
Should she head for a police station? What would she tell them? She’d been in such a hurry when she escaped the place that she didn’t notice the house or street number. It was doubtful she would be able to find it and even if she did so, those people might not be there. They would certainly not be there for her to bring the police on their head. She would look like a fool if she showed up there and didn’t find any evidence that she had, indeed, been kept as a prisoner.
No. It was better to head back home and count her blessings. For now, she was free and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Twelve
Riley took the needle from his arm and ignored the piercing pain that throbbed through his veins. He’d had enough of staying in the hospital. When he woke up in the morning, he tried asking about Tania, but the doctors didn’t know anything. He was found at the warehouse after it exploded and the ambulance brought him here.
He was kept under observation and treated for a wound in his leg and back. He could feel the bandages under his shoulders where he was hit by metal objects. The police questioned him, and he told them he didn’t know anything about it. He told them he’d been trying to finalize the deal, that it was finally done, but he came to inspect the property and wasn’t sure what happened to it.
Riley had his suspicions, but he wasn’t sure if he was right. He suspected the Devil’s Mafia Brotherhood to be behind it, but he didn’t want to be right. What would he do if his own club, the people who were supposed to be family, had done this to him? Before he sought those answers, though, he needed to find Tania. Where was she? Did she survive?
He refused to think something happened to her. All he recalled was diving on top of her to keep her safe right before something hit his head and he fainted. When he became conscious, he was in this place and she was nowhere to be seen.
A nurse rushed into the room. “What are you doing, sir?”
He sat, swung his legs to the side, ignored the throbbing ache that enveloped his body, and stood. For a moment, he was dizzy but he forced himself to concentrate. “I am getting out.”
“You can’t, sir. The doctors haven’t discharged you yet.”
“I’m taking a voluntary discharge,” he growled and moved towards the bathroom. Rather than making an attempt to stop him, she went out, probably to call a doctor. He didn’t care. Riley was determined to get out and find Tania. When he came back out after a shower, he’d changed into his clothes a friend had brought over in the afternoon.
Two docto
rs waited in the room. “Sir, you can’t leave.”
He ignored their edict. “Did you find any information about my friend who was with me at the warehouse? Where is she?”
The doctors glanced at each other. “Sir, we’ve checked this hospital, and I’ve talked to the ambulance driver. There was no one else on sight.”
“How can that be?” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated by their consistent answer. They told him this when he woke up, when he asked again, and even after he insisted that they check. Either they were telling lies or she’d actually disappeared. Did she get up and wander off before the ambulance arrived on scene? Was she safe in her house? He’d tried to call her, but there was no response.
He was scared. As long as he didn’t see her, he couldn’t rest. Finding Tania was his top priority and only later would he figure out the rest of this. It was beginning to seem more complicated than he had realized.
“She was there,” he insisted. “I need to find her.”
“You were also hit on the head, sir. We need to make sure that you don’t have a concussion and we need to bandage your wounds to make sure there is no infection.”
They cared and although he appreciated their effort, he couldn’t abide by their rules. He had far more pressing matters to take care of. “I’ll come in daily to change the bandages.” He moved past the doctors. One of them raised his hand as if he wanted to grip Riley’s hand, but he thought better of it. “Bye, guys.”
“Wait, sir.” He turned, ready to do physical battle if that was necessary for him to walk out but one of the doctors held a form. “You’ll have to sign it. It’s a release form that absolves us of all responsibility should anything happen to you after you get out.”
Riley signed the form without a murmur of protest and walked out. Now he could go ahead with the task at hand. Making his way from the hospital, he hailed a cab and went to Tania’s house.
Riley rang the bell but no one answered. After ringing several more times, he understood she wasn’t in. He called her cell but it was still switched off. He went to her office. Hadn’t she said that she lost her job? Shit! He blamed himself for it. He should’ve told her that his club was doing some underhand activity to procure the warehouse, but he hadn’t been sure. He still didn’t know what happened with the deal.
At her office, he was told that she wasn’t working there anymore. Now the guilt was even more so. Had she disappeared for good? Did she leave town? But where would she go? What would she do now?
Riley called Xavier, the manager of the warehouse. “Hey, man! How are you?” said the guy.
“Xavier, have you heard from Tania?”
“Tania?” the man sounded astounded. “No. Why?”
“Shit! She is…I can’t find her.”
“I don’t know anything, man.”
“What about the warehouse deal?”
Xavier cleared his throat. “The papers were signed a week ago. Didn’t they tell you?”
“I found out two days ago. The warehouse blew up. What do you know about it?”
“I don’t know anything, man. I swear to it.”
Riley had the distinct idea that Xavier knew far more but he didn’t have any idea as to how he could persuade the man to tell him something. Was he in on the secret as to why the warehouse blew up? Rather than waste his time, Riley cut the call. He called Tania’s friends, the few people he’d met while they were dating but none of them knew anything.
Now, it was time to up the ante. He went to visit Charlie, one of the high members of the board at the biker’s club. When he rang the bell at Charlie’s house, the man opened the door and looked astonished to see Riley. “What’re you doing here?”
“I need to talk,” said Riley. He pushed past him and went inside his house before Charlie closed the door again. “Where the hell is Tania?”
“Who? What?”
“She was the woman who was talking to Xavier about the warehouse. We were dating. Where is she?”
“I don’t know, man. You were dating her?”
Riley grabbed Charlie’s collar and hurled him against the door. Enough was enough. Where Tania was concerned, he couldn’t afford to be patient anymore. “Where is she?” he shouted. “She was with me when the warehouse blew up, and now I can’t find her. What did you guys do with her?”
Someone screamed. While still holding Charlie, he looked back and saw Charlie’s wife. “I’m calling the police,” she said.
Riley was as calm as he could be. He was totally in control. Nothing could shake him until he found her. If he had to go to jail for her, he would do so gladly. “Go ahead. I would love to see him sweat when they tell him to answer a few questions.”
“Babe, go back in,” croaked Charlie. “Riley is a friend. This is just a misunderstanding. Riley, come on. We’ll talk inside.”
The woman appeared confused and scared but she followed his instructions. Riley glared into Charlie’s eyes. He saw fear, but he also saw something that made his blood chill. “What did you do to her?”
“Leave me, and we’ll talk.” He let go of the man, ready to punch him if he tried to escape but Charlie walked over to a door and opened it. “Let’s sit inside.”
It was Charlie’s study. After a brief moment of hesitation, Riley strode in. He wasn’t going to leave until he got to the bottom of this. Something was going on here and he was right in the center of it with Tania. What had they done with her? Now he was even surer that the biker’s club had something to do with her disappearance. Why would they do something so insane?
“Where is she?”
“Look, man!” Charlie ran a hand over the edge of his desk as he kept it between Riley and him as if he wanted to make sure that there was enough distance between them.
It didn’t matter, though. Riley could lunge across the desk and grab him at a moment’s notice. He wasn’t willing to take this shit anymore. If Charlie didn’t give him the answers he wanted, he would make sure he regretted it. Riley was prepared to go to the police and turn this matter over to them if he didn’t find her. She was important to him. He loved her. Now that they weren’t together, he realized that his heart was in her hands. Without her, he was nothing. She was the love of his life, and he’d already screwed up enough times. He couldn’t afford to make matters worse. When he found her, he would tell her everything he knew and beg for forgiveness.
He would tell her that she was his sun and moon, and he wanted to spend his life with her. But, in order to do that, he had to find out where she was. And Charlie was going to help him discover that, whether he wanted to or not.
“You look here now,” said Riley in a voice that brooked no argument. “If I don’t find her, I’m going straight to the police and then we’ll see what you guys know.”
“Don’t threaten me.”
Riley banged his hands on the desk. “Then don’t push me so hard. Where the fuck is she?”
“You are crazy. Why are you throwing away your career with the Devil’s Mafia Brotherhood over a woman?”
“She isn’t just a woman, Charlie. Where is she?” he yelled. “And why the hell did that warehouse blow up?”
“The board is happy with your work, Riley. You found that place. It was a good location…but our interests lay in it for other reasons. You don’t know it but the club had run into a lot of financial difficulties. We needed money, and we needed it fast. So someone came up with a scheme.”
Riley took a seat. He knew he wasn’t going to like what he heard. There was something fishy about this whole thing. He’d been feeling that way for quite some time, but it was silly of him not to trust his own feelings. If he’d asked the hard questions earlier, this might not have happened. “What’s that got to do with Tania?”
“Listen to me.” Charlie breathed a sigh of relief and took a seat opposite Riley. “Okay, I am going to tell you this straight out. We blew up the warehouse because of insurance. All the papers were signed and now we’re going to get a lot of ca
sh from the insurance company because the property is legally in our name.”
Riley felt as if his mind shut down. He couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate. He didn’t expect this. How could they do something so illegal? Had they gone mad? How desperate was the club to earn money? He never realized that this could be the problem. He had assumed that the explosion at the warehouse was an accident. “You guys are insane. We could’ve died.”
“You weren’t supposed to be there. The way we’d planned, it was empty at that time. I don’t know what you went there for, and it’s damn lucky that you both survived or else we would’ve been embroiled in a murder investigation,” said Charlie.
Riley was amazed that he could be so selfish at a time like this. “My bike didn’t survive.”