by B. B. Hamel
His smile grew broader. “I can understand.” We approached a booth and he nodded at the kid working it, who nodded back as if they knew each other. The kid turned and walked away, leaving the booth unmanned.
“Let’s play,” he said.
“Did you know that guy?”
“Friend of a friend.”
He sat down on a little stool and I sat down next to him, our thighs touching gently. I could have moved but decided not to. The game was the one where you shoot your squirt gun into a little hole to make your horse move down a fake track.
The lights came on and we started shooting our guns. For a second, I forgot that I was out with a man that wanted to kidnap me and blackmail my dad. I watched as my horse crossed the finish line inches ahead of his. I laughed and he pretended to be disappointed, although I suspected that my winning didn’t have much to do with my aim.
“So, where are you from?” I asked him as we began to play again.
“Trying to distract me so you can win again?”
“Nope. Just trying to get to know you.”
“Well, I’m from around here, actually.”
“A local, huh?”
“That’s me, local boy, born and bred.”
“I guess that explains why that kid knew you.”
“Well,” he said, laughing as I won again, “that’s more because I own this place.”
I stopped and stared at him. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Seriously. Bought it just this year. So far, not the best investment I ever made, but definitely the most fun.”
My heart skipped a beat as I realized what sort of trouble I was in. Not only was I out with the man that wanted to kidnap me, but I was in a place he owned. Still, too late for me to back out, and so I had to move forward. I reached down into the pit of anger that had been sitting in my stomach since the first time they had tried to kidnap me and harnessed that.
You have to relax, I thought to myself. He doesn’t know that you know yet. Use that anger against him.
“Best of five?” he asked after I won a second time.
“No way. Where’s my prize?”
He laughed and then stood up and grabbed me a stuffed elephant. “Good?”
“Perfect.”
What a cliché. The only prize I really wanted was to see Joshua’s face stomped on over and over.
We stood and began walking again. “So, what do you want to play now?”
“How about that game where you try and knock over the bottles?”
“Good choice.”
He led the way, winding through the crowds. We found the booth, and again the kid running the game immediately left as soon as Joshua nodded to him.
“That’s a little creepy, you know,” I said.
“Maybe, but I prefer privacy.”
“This isn’t exactly private.” I gestured at the crowd surrounding us. The place was busy, full of noise and excitement. Families of all ages milled around, plus random packs of teenagers. It was a pretty average day, all told.
“Sure it is. Haven’t you ever felt alone in a crowd?”
“Now you’re getting deep.”
He laughed again. He had a charming and disarming way about him, but I wasn’t about to get suckered by his nice manners. I was angry and I was staying that way.
“Not at all. I’m just saying, we’re only two anonymous people here.” He paused and looked at me. “Then again, you are wearing that stunning outfit.”
I smiled. “Thank you,” I said, touching his arm. I had to play into it; otherwise, I wouldn’t get what I wanted.
He paused, looking at me, and then reached under the front wall of the booth. He came back up with three softballs.
“Give it a try?”
“Prepare to be impressed.”
“I already am.”
I took one ball, aimed, and threw as hard as I could. The ball glanced off the jugs, barely knocking one over. Joshua laughed as he reset it.
“That was awful,” he said.
“Watch this.”
I wound up and threw again, this time hitting a bottom jug but hardly budging it. Joshua laughed again. “I don’t even need to reset it.”
“I have it now.” I wound up and threw again, as hard as I could, but the ball barely glanced off the jugs, tipping over the top one.
“Almost,” Joshua said. “But you know, I bet you can’t do it even with fifty tries.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s rigged, of course.”
“Seriously? People always say that, but I thought that was illegal or something.”
“Illegal or not, it’s rigged. These milk jugs are really, really heavy, and your softball is mostly made of cork.”
“So it’s really light.”
“Exactly.” He picked up a ball and threw it as hard as he could, point blank, and only managed to knock over two of the three. He turned back to me, grinning. “See?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s terrible!”
“I know.” He plucked another stuffed animal from the rack and tossed it to me. “Hopefully this will buy your silence.”
I pretended to be insulted. “A stuffed rabbit isn’t nearly enough to keep me quiet.”
“I knew you weren’t cheap.” He hopped over the wall again and leaned close to me. “What will it take?”
“I don’t know,” I said, leaning nearer to him. “You’ll have to try pretty hard to impress me.”
I took a sharp breath as he moved closer, almost as if he were going to kiss me. Instead, he reached over my head and pulled down one of the enormous bears. I laughed as he placed it down on the counter.
“How’s this?”
“Not what I had in mind, but it’ll do.”
My heart was pounding. I was sure he was going to try to kiss me, and I had no clue what I was going to do about it. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, if maybe a little intense. He was kind and funny and knew how to have some lighthearted fun. Still, he was my enemy, and I wasn’t going to let myself get sucked into his game.
I was in control here. I was full of rage.
I looked at the giant bear and then back at him. “It’ll do, if you carry it.”
He laughed again, shaking his head. “I like you, Claire Forester. You’re tough.”
“What can I say? I’m my father’s daughter.”
“I see that.” He scooped up the big bear, and I tossed the other animal behind the counter as soon as he wasn’t looking. “Where next?” he asked.
“There.” I pointed at the basketball game, and he led the way. Once there, he dismissed the worker, and we took turns taking shots.
“So what’s your father like outside the board room?”
I missed a shot horribly. “I don’t know. He fishes every morning.”
“Every morning?”
“Religiously, when we’re here at least. But he’s always working otherwise.”
“He has quite the reputation for that.”
“What else does he have a reputation for?”
Joshua missed a shot and then looked at me. “Sure you want to know?”
“Positive.”
He took another shot and made it. “Your father has a bad reputation when it comes to making local people happy. He tends to outsource everything he can, and he charges insane rates.”
“Isn’t that just good business?”
“Maybe.” He missed another shot. I made two in a row. “But business isn’t just about the bottom line. It’s about taking care of your people.”
“I can agree with that. So you’re saying my dad doesn’t take care of people?”
Joshua laughed, suddenly turning lighthearted again. For a second I thought I was seeing the real him, but he quickly bottled that up. “Who knows. It’s just a reputation. Most of it is crap anyway, or at least in our case it is.”
“You trust him, then?”
“Wouldn’t do business with him if I didn’t.”
He took a shot and made it, and I missed three in a row.
“By the way,” I said, “which place are you staying at? Speaking of my dad, he wants to see if he can comp your room, or maybe get you an upgrade or something.”
Joshua gave me a look. “I’m just staying at this cheap little motel.”
“Really?”
“Sure. I like it there. Nobody bothers me.”
“Good. What’s it called?”
“Don’t worry, Claire. I can afford my own room.”
I wanted to press, but he had made it clear that he didn’t want to keep talking about where he was staying. “I get that. Staying with my parents can be frustrating. How old are you, anyway?”
“I’m thirty-two. You?”
“Twenty-three,” I lied, wanting to sound older.
“Look at us. Opposites.”
I snorted. “Yeah, exactly.”
My heart was racing in my chest as I threw a few more shots, missing them all. We began to chat about our families, and I focused on keeping him talking. I asked about what it was like growing up in the area, what his parents were like, but I was distracted.
I was worried I had given myself up, or at least that my questioning was a little too obvious. We were chatting amiably enough, but I felt a little wedge suddenly between us, like asking about his hotel had been a huge mistake. As time went by, I began to worry that I was never going to have another chance.
“Okay,” he said finally, “I’m sick of missing. Up for one last stop?”
“Always,” I said, giving him my best smile.
I caught him glance down at my breasts, and I subtly moved my chest out, giving him a better view. Maybe hope wasn’t lost after all.
“This way.” He walked off.
“Where are we headed?”
“You’ll see.”
He wound his way through the crowd and eventually stopped in front of a large entrance with “Fun House” written in paint above it. I’d never actually been in a carnival fun house before, and I’d always assumed they were basically like haunted houses but with more mirrors.
“Can’t leave without going through here,” he said.
“It’s not scary, right?”
He gave me a look. “Have you ever been in one of these before?”
“No. Just haunted houses.”
“You’re in for a treat then. Come on.” He tossed the bear down on the ground and reached out his hand. I hesitated and then took it, following his lead.
As we went into the dark entrance, the only reason I kept walking forward at all was the thought that Nathan was somewhere behind us, watching carefully, keeping me safe.
The first thing we came to was a slide. Joshua let go of my hand and hopped on, disappearing from view. Tentatively, I got on behind him and began to slip down.
It dropped a lot farther than I would have guessed. As soon as I was ready to start yelling for help, I came out into a pit full of plastic balls.
Joshua laughed at my very ungraceful landing. I was pretty sure he saw my panties, too, considering my dress blew up around my hips. Embarrassed, I adjusted myself and stood up.
“Warn a girl next time,” I muttered.
“Why? And miss the show?”
I blushed. “Pretend you didn’t see that.”
“Nope.”
“Anyway, what’s next? Snakes?”
“Come on.”
I followed him down a narrow hall full of silly paintings and bright colors. I had no clue where we were, but I figured we were pretty far beneath the pier. There were big spinning wheels in the next room and barrels along the ground. Joshua went first, running across the barrels and barely making it across.
I did not fare so well. I fell on the second barrel onto a soft, padded floor. He laughed as I trudged across.
If he was trying to get into my pants, humiliating me was not the way to go.
“Great job,” he said, grinning. “You almost made it.”
“This is the least fun I’ve ever had.”
“Oh come on, lighten up. Last bit up ahead.”
I nodded, thankful that it was a short trip. We entered the next room and I paused. It was full of mirrors, each one distorting and odd.
“Come on,” he said, and walked ahead.
“Wait up,” I called out.
He turned a corner. When I followed, he was gone. My own image was reflected everywhere, distorted and strange in some places, normal in others.
“Joshua?” I called out. “Joshua!”
There was no answer as I walked through the room. My heart was hammering as I moved slowly, taking the twists and the turns. The only thing I saw was my own reflection, spread out in the half dark. I felt lost and disoriented, and I had no clue where I was or where Joshua had gone.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” a voice said suddenly.
The voice was loud, too loud. I covered my ears as it echoed in the mirrored space.
“What? Joshua?”
“You made a mistake, and you will pay for it.”
Terrified, I began to backtrack. I stumbled into a few mirrors, desperately trying to get out. I already planned on climbing back up the slide, maybe screaming for Nathan. He had to be nearby, had to be ready to come get me.
I was so angry I could barely think. Joshua knew. Joshua knew what I was doing, and he had brought me into a trap. My own grotesque, distorted body and face came back at me, reflected over and over as I moved, my head spinning, terror gripping my chest.
There were too many twists and turns, each one full of my own image. It looked as if I were laughing at myself, mocking my own fear and rage.
I turned a corner. There was another image reflected in front of me: a large man wearing a black ski mask. His clothes were dark and rumpled, a T-shirt and jeans.
I opened my mouth to scream, but the man’s reflection reached out and grabbed me.
The next thing I knew, there was darkness.
18
Nathan
It was hard watching that asshole flirt with her.
At first, when the whole thing started, I thought it was going to be no problem. Besides, Claire wasn’t exactly the best at flirting, which was actually something that I loved about her. But as soon she tried to turn it on with that scumbag, it instantly made me jealous. My blood boiled, and all I wanted to do was break his jaw into a thousand pieces.
Which was stupid, because I knew she was only flirting on my orders. It was all part of the operation, all part of my plan. Still, it made my rage come up to the surface.
I kept my distance from them. As far as I could tell, Joshua didn’t have anyone tailing them, although it was hard to tell in the mass of people. He clearly had sway with the carnival people, considering the way they deferred to him, but that wasn’t unusual with prominent local people like him. I was being cautious anyway, keeping my distance, watching but staying focused.
Or at least as focused as I could be. I had to keep bringing myself back into my Zen battle mode, clearing my thoughts and breathing deeply until I could see the world more clearly. The anger threatened to overwhelm everything.
Otherwise, the operation was straightforward. I wasn’t a spy or anything like that, but I had training in stealth and follow skills, and I put all that training to good use.
And Claire actually seemed like she was doing a good job. They were talking and laughing like they were having a good time. She had looked nervous as hell at first, and for a few brief moments here and there, but for the most part she was absolutely flawless.
People’s heads turned when she walked by. She was overdressed for the carnival by far, though that was on purpose. I had to admit that I was a little proud of her incredible, sexy body, and I couldn’t wait to get her back home and unpeel that dress from her. It looked like that was going to happen sooner than I expected.
Until suddenly they entered the fun house.
I cursed, moving to follow, but stopped short. I couldn’t get
in there without being spotted, and if Joshua had backup, I’d definitely be giving myself up.
Cursing my stupid luck, I quickly went around the building, looking for the exit. I found it soon enough, down some stairs and built into the bottom of the pier. I perched against a stoop far off but still close enough to make people out and waited.
For ten minutes, I waited patiently. When they didn’t emerge, a stone sank into my gut.
Something had gone wrong. Every instinct I had was screaming it loud and clear.
I tipped my hat low over my face, took out my phone, and opened up my maps app. It loaded after a second and showed my position as a blue dot, another red dot moving away down a nearby street.
I didn’t think, I just began running. All protocol was forgotten as I broke my cover and booked it toward that red dot. All I could think about was Claire. I careened around a corner, narrowly avoiding running directly into a family of four, and spotted a dark van making a right into traffic. I checked my app and knew it instantly: she was inside that van.
Stupid, dumb fucking mistake to let her get involved. I hated myself, anger overwhelming any semblance of calm as I ran back toward the car. I couldn’t hold it back anymore as the anger flowed through me. I was thankful that I had planted a tracking device on her earlier when we had hugged, since I knew she probably would have said no, and that her father had given me the cash to buy some extra spy shit.
But I had let her get taken. I had to move fast to catch up with them. I was reasonably certain they wouldn’t hurt her, or at least they wouldn’t until they got back to wherever they were going. And I wasn’t about to let them hurt her, not a single hair on her fucking head.
I made it to the car, jumped in, started the engine, and pulled out fast. I flew into traffic, cursing, not caring about laws or rules. I kept my eye on that red dot, speeding toward them. They had a good head start on me, but I was driving like a maniac.
Thoughts of them stripping her naked and torturing her kept playing in my mind. That sick fuck Joshua would probably do anything to threaten Jonathan’s business, including hurting Claire. She was a fucking innocent girl, was a fucking virgin not too long ago. She didn’t belong involved in any of this shit.