I frowned. What was going on?
“Mrs. Walsh-Ruiz?” One of the nurses I hadn’t seen stepped closer to the bed.
“Don’t call her Mrs. Walsh-Ruiz. Her name is Ms. Ruiz, but she likes to be called Gia.” She adjusted her glasses, and I could see her eyes, they were red-rimmed. Something was wrong.
Why was Trish here? Where was Elliott?
“Elliott,” I attempted to say, but my voice was graveled. “Where is he?”
“He’s not here,” she replied. “He’s missing.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The nurse came in and over to my heart monitor, which was beeping. She spoke to Trish, “You’re upsetting our patient. You need to leave.”
“No, please,” I begged. “Trish can’t go. I need to know what’s going on. If I can help, I will.”
Trish stood her ground. “This is an ongoing FBI investigation. Every minute is important. I have permission to ask her questions.” She produced a paper from a folder that was in the briefcase she had on the floor. “Her doctor and the hospital administrator approved my request.”
“As long as the questions you ask don’t further harm the patient, you can ask them,” the nurse said strictly. “I know that’s written on the consent form you signed. If I have to come back in here, you’ll have to go back and get more papers to regain access to Ms. Ruiz.”
“I’m sure it won’t be long,” I said to the nurse and thanked her when she left. I then asked Trish, “Can you tell me what happened? I’ll tell you what I know.”
“We found you unconscious in the glass house with Mr. and Mrs. Olson,” she replied. “I can assure you that both are in jail now, being held without bail for your kidnapping, abuse, and drugging. Mrs. Olson was hitting you on the head with a rock. She would be charged with attempted murder.”
I frowned. “No. That can’t be… she wouldn’t do that. She was helping me.”
“You are mistaken, Gia. I saw her hit you,” Trish said sympathetically. “I pulled her off you.”
“I… I didn’t know,” I stammered absently. It had to be because she saw Thomas and was frighten of what he might do to her. There I was, trying to see good where there wasn’t any. I was still underestimating the cruelty some were capable of. Dimitri had warned me about that. Even if she started out helping me, she chose differently in the end. I shook my head.
“What do you mean Elliott’s missing?” I asked. No. He couldn’t be missing. Not Elliott. My eyes darted around. “I saw Elliott at Loren’s house.”
“Elliott wasn’t at Loren’s house,” she said. “He… he disappeared at the Los Angeles house raid. When we were searching your house, we found a weird message with Tove’s name. Tove told us he took you to Loren’s and relayed how she behaved when you were at her house. We had also found some information in Walter’s home that pointed toward a money transfer via a company set up by Thomas and Loren Olson. I got a search warrant, and that’s how the FBI found you.”
My brows lifted. They found my note. “Is Kevin okay? He was guarding me before I was taken.”
She shook his head and sighed. “Kevin's dead. His neck was slashed. A flower delivery man discovered his body in your driveway and called the police. It was too late to save him when the police got there.”
I swallowed hard. “He had been protecting me. I won’t forgive myself for that.”
“You should,” she said. ‘That wouldn’t honor Kevin. He was dedicated to his duty to protect you.”
“How long have I been here?” I asked. There had to be time to find Elliott. “A day?”
“Five,” she told me and cleared her throat. “Five days.”
My heart shattered at the meaning. Five days?? Could Elliott survive five days? Was he alive?
“I’m sorry,” she added. “But I must start asking you questions. Time is of the essence. I need to know everything Dimitri said to you, and if he mentioned Elliott.”
“Dimitri didn’t tell me much,” I choked. “He threatened me. He said he’d hurt those I care for if I left… He said Patrick hired him to get my inheritance and company. Liz is also involved. She admitted to sending the video. Loren showed up at my home. She was helping them. Thomas said he wanted to get rid of me, kill me,” I rambled, but Trish took everything I said down on her recording device.
“It’s good we found you in time,” she said and paused. “But there has to be more. Anything.”
I frowned hard trying to get my mind to cooperate and concentrate on what I remembered Dimitri telling me. “He said we were going somewhere warm,” I sucked in air. “I’m useless.”
“You’re not,” she said hearteningly. “Just tell me anything Dimitri said. Did he mention any contacts?”
“Yes,” I replied, my voice lifting. “He said he had a cleaner at my father’s home, a nurse with Dane. Are they safe?”
“Yes, they are,” she said. “We have police there. Any more contacts?”
I furrowed my brows as I tried to think. “Dimitri said one of his contacts had infiltrated the squad that accompanied your FBI team on the house raid in Los Angeles. He claimed it is a Swat member, and the person would kill Elliott. He also said he had to call them every hour. Oh, God. Please, what happened to Elliott when he went to the house?” I choked.
Her eyes widened. “That can’t…be.” She stood up.
“Wait,” I said. “Who is it?”
“I’ve got to do something right now,” she said taking out her phone. “Do not tell anyone else what you told me.”
“Why?” I asked.
“We’ll let it leak to the department, but we need to make sure we have our team running checks on the whole team first. Whoever it’s might still be there or had taken off,” she replied and sighed heavily. “It gives us something to go on. Thank you, Gia.”
She packed up her stuff and was at the door when I called out to her, “Wait.”
“She turned back.
My eyes watered. For Elliott there were tears. For what we had and for what we could be. I couldn’t lose him now. “Please. If I can help. Be bait…anything for Elliott. Find him.”
She nodded quickly. “You won’t need to. We’ll find him. Now give a statement to my temporary partner. He has questions on what Dimitri told you about The Agency.”
I had been through this all before and told my story over and again. I needed and wanted to help Elliott. They kept going over the information until the nurse came in and finally chased them away. When they left, she told me that I was suffering from a poor reaction to the drugs in my system when they brought me in. I also had been given a full detox from the drugs. She told me I was delirious with the flu and concussed, all of which I didn’t remember. It wasn’t important now. Elliott was gone.
***
I was more conscious and alert the next day, though I couldn’t sleep, I had company. Dane had slipped in when he thought I was asleep. And I must have drifted off because when I awoke again, Astrid was on the other bed across from me. Both had people to care for and shouldn’t be here, though I was grateful. When Dane woke up having dozed off on the chair in the corner of the room, I called over to him. “You’re here,” I rasped.
“You’re awake,” Dane replied. He brought over his chair and took my hand. “We’re going to have to stop meeting like this.”
I sighed. “We do, but I’m glad to see you. Any news on Elliott?”
He shook his head, and I closed my eyes.
“Elliott’s tough,” Dane said softly. “He’ll be back.”
We went silent for a few minutes. I then asked him, “How are Angel and Melinda?”
“Fine, resting at Nella’s,” he replied with a smile on his lips. “The second I heard, I came for you. I understand you want to be with just Elliott now, but I’m still your friend, and I care about you. I’ll always be here for you. That, you can always count on.”
My insides warmed. “Thank you, Dane.”
“Astrid is really sweet,” he said. “Tove is
around too.”
“Best footage of the day was watching Patrick try to avoid answering questions about you,” Astrid blurted out alerting us that she was awake. “I recorded it for us to watch on repeat over drinks when you feel better.”
I coughed a laugh. That, I had to see, but there was something I wanted to do. “Could you help me find out about Kevin’s family? Please. Whatever I can do—I want to help them. I know it won’t be enough or bring him back, but…”
“I’ll do whatever I can to find out, and I promise we’ll help, but please try to rest,” Astrid said and smiled at me.
My heart swelled. “Thank you.”
Dane touched the bandage on my head. “I’m hoping Dimitri rots in jail, just like my father. All The Agency members will pay for their crimes. I will make sure of that.”
I smiled. “You sure you’re an architect?” I joked.
“Around you, I find myself in many things,” he said and kissed my cheek. “Now rest.”
I had almost missed it: Dane said he hoped Dimitri rots in jail. “Has Dimitri been found?”
“Yes,” he answered. “But that’s all I know. Please try to rest now.”
I couldn’t. I stayed up afraid to sleep. Afraid this was all a dream until my body gave out, and I fell asleep.
When I woke up again, Trish had joined Dane and Astrid in my room. She was still in the suit she had on yesterday.
Trish must have noticed that I was awake and approached the bed, “I’ll get to the point. We have who we suspect to be the mole on the SWAT team. He was on the raid and was trying to take off on an unplanned vacation when we surprised him at home. We discovered Dmitri’s cell number from checking his phone records. He’s being held for questioning, but he’s not talking, and we have little evidence to go on with.”
“But you’re here,” I said. “You must know something.”
She smiled weakly. “I see you’re a lot like me. You want to get to the point. A man collapsed at the airport with illness. And after a search through his things, the police discovered it was Dimitri and alerted us. He has an extremely rare form of heart cancer and has been admitted to the hospital here. We also found a fake passport on him with your picture.”
I tensed all over, and my stomach turned over. They had him. “What did Dimitri say? Did he tell you where Elliott is?”
“If she’s here she needs something,” Dane pointed out. His tone, curt.
“Dimitri claims he knows where Elliott is,” she said and cleared her throat. “But he said he’d only tell you, Gia.”
“No,” Dane said. “He tortured and drugged Gia. He could have killed her. I know Elliott would agree with me that you’ll need to find another way.”
“I’m with Dane,” Astrid added. “How dare you come in here and expect Gia to do that after all she’s just been through. I will not sit here and let you retraumatize my friend.”
Trish turned to me. Her face, stricken. “Please, Gia.”
There was no way I wouldn’t help Elliott if I could. “I’ll go talk to him. Could you get a nurse in here to unhook me?”
Trish was out the door before I even finished speaking.
Astrid stopped talking. She already knew there was nothing that would change my mind.
Dane, on the other hand, wasn’t as easy. “You don’t have to do this,” he said to me. “They can find another way. Elliott would understand and, like me, wouldn’t want you anywhere near that man.”
I cared for Dane and understood where he was coming from, but I believe he was wrong about Elliott. The Elliott I came to know and love would have thought I was strong enough to handle it. He believed in me, and I wouldn’t let him down.
“I need to do this,” I said resolutely. “Elliott never hesitated to help me. He stood by me through it all. He deserves the same, and I will do everything and anything I can to save him.”
The nurse came back in with Trish, and I prepared to face off with Dimitri, who had me at his mercy again.
***
After some finagling, I was allowed a short supervised visit to Dimitri’s room with a nurse and Trish. I was ready and willing until we got to his door. I wasn’t alone, but I didn’t feel safe—he was in there.
I took a deep breath, and I let the nurse wheel me in. I could have walked, but I was still weak. Trish followed close behind us. Dimitri’s bed was angled up. Even though he was hooked up to machines, he appeared just as large and threatening as he had the moment I met him. Even more now that I know what he had done to Kevin. Yet I couldn’t fall apart. I couldn’t allow him to win. This was more than me, this was for Elliott. He needed me.
Dmitri smiled broadly. His clear eyes centered on me. “There you are, and look at you. You’re all beat up. I didn’t know Loren had all that rage in her.”
I pressed my lips together. “This isn’t a reunion. I don’t have time for this. Where is Elliott?”
His nostril’s flared. “You’re not running this, I am. You want to find out where Elliott is, you’ll obey me. The more you resist, the longer this conversation will go.”
I tensed and took in a breath. He wasn’t going to just tell me. I’d have to play his power play game. I’d have to be smart for Elliott. He needed me.
“You…you think I can believe you after what you did to Kevin?” I said. “No. You tell me where Elliott is first and then I’ll…listen to what you have to say.”
He snickered. “Oh, you already found out about that. It came down to him or me, and of course, I always choose myself.” He was enjoying this. Too much. I didn’t want to be a part of it.
“Where’s Elliott?” I demanded.
“Tell me you enjoyed being with me,” he said ignoring my question. “Tell me that you liked me touching you. I made you come so many times. I spoiled you.”
I glowered at him. My doctor told me nothing came back conclusive to support his sexual assault claim, and with his heart condition he had to be lying. Even in the few days I was there with him, sex wasn’t his ammo. He was more attracted to physical and emotional abuse. Just knowing that made my hatred for him grow. And even now, that I’m vulnerable, I held back my feelings. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction he’d get at my distress. “I’m here now, and I’ll be able to go back to my life. You’ll go to jail.”
“One more smart remark like that and Elliott dies,” he snapped. “Where I left him, he can’t survive.”
I exhaled and glanced back at Trish. Dimitri has revealed he could still be alive. Then again, he lied about Kevin. I still had to try. Staring at him, he seemed too relaxed, like he had no care in the world. Had this been his plan all along? “Are you using me in another one of your games?”
“Very good,” Dimitri said and smiled. “I’ll admit I hadn’t thought I’d get arrested, but yes. I need you to do something that will help complete your game before I agree to help you. Now ask me what you will need to do to get to the final act.”
My mouth went dry. So, I’d been right. He wants something. “How can I trust you haven’t…killed Elliott like you did Kevin?”
“You’re not running things here,” he postured. “I’m in control. You want to find Elliott, you play it my way. Same goes for you, little mouse.” He gestured toward Trish. “You’ll keep this on your recording device, so you don’t fuck it up.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “Gia will ask me the way I showed her.”
I sighed heavily and glared at him. He hadn’t exactly shown me much, but I could only assume this was a play on obedience to him. “Would you please tell me how I can find Elliott, Simon?”
He chuckled. “Good enough. Now what I want is a streaming video of Gia’s face when she discovers Elliott’s dead body.”
I tried to be calm. Though I couldn’t stop my body from trembling. “No. No. No. He’s alive.”
“Enough of that or this ends right now,” Trish yelled at him.
“No, it doesn’t end,” Dimitri
said. “You need me; I don’t need you. I could die today. This will be your one and only chance.”
“I’m not going to do it,” Trish said. “Stop playing around and tell us the address.”
“I’ll agree to be recorded,” I said thickly. “Now tell us where Elliott is.”
“Good girl,” Dimitri purred, “That’s a start. Now go get what I asked and hurry. Elliott drugged and chained and left without food nor water. He’s probably dead by now.”
His delight at the spectacle and the ways in which he betrayed all the others that trusted him convinced me that he had no intention of hold up his end of his bargain. He wanted us to set the scene so that he could be rewarded with my pain. He had told me he wanted to watch Dane reunite with Angel so he could enjoy seeing him suffer at what he’d done to her. He wasn’t going to share where Elliott was. He would drag it on to get off on my suffering. And although it hurt me so much I could hardly breathe, I turned to Trish and said, “We have to…to find another way.”
She nodded. “We will. Let’s go.”
“Please, help me out of here,” I asked the nurse to help me turn my chair, so I would no longer face Dimitri. There was nothing left to say to him, and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my stricken face and gloating suffering. We moved to the door.
“Hey, wait,” Dimitri called out. “What are you doing? You’ll never find him without me. Get back here and listen to me. Right now, I mean it, Gia. I told Elliott that I took you and if he cooperated, we’d bring you to him. He didn’t even put up a struggle. He didn’t even care if it was a trap. He went there for you. I gave that to you. All your crying for him in your sleep, wondering if he loved you. You don’t love him. You’re letting him die. Come back and beg me, and I’ll tell you where he is.”
I stopped the nurse before we left and called back. “You give nothing but misery, and you’re alone. That’s your legacy. Elliott is stronger than you think. You lose. We win. All your games are over.”
Dauntless (The Agency Dark Affairs Duet Book 2) Page 20