by Hannah Ford
He shook his head. “I stayed because I was terrified of leaving. It wasn’t some noble act, Raven.”
The car fell silent.
“Maybe it didn’t start out as a noble act,” she told him. “But I think you have a lot to be proud of. I’m proud to call you my brother.”
“Thanks,” he said, smiling genuinely. “Actually, that means a lot.”
A few minutes later, he pulled up in front of the hospital and brought the car to a halt. “Let me get your bag for you,” Danny said, and hopped out of the car.
Raven got out and he was already wrangling her bag from out of the backseat. “How long are you staying in Boston for?” he asked her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. A few more days, I think.”
“I like that we text a little bit now. Let’s not stop doing that, okay?”
She felt suddenly emotional and didn’t want to burst out crying yet again. “Okay,” she nodded, hugging him quickly. He hugged her back, and then she was bending down, picking up her bag and heading into the hospital.
She didn’t look back.
It was too hard to see that her brother still loved her so much.
Once Raven got inside, she found the directory and saw that the Radiation Oncology Center was downstairs. She took the escalator down a flight and then managed to find the waiting room, which was relatively small and empty, but for Skylar’s mother, who was knitting in the corner, a small and somehow lonely figure.
“Hi,” Raven said.
Skylar’s mother looked up at her. “Oh, Raven! You’re here!”
Raven walked over, set her bag down and gave Skylar’s mom a hug.
“How’s Sky doing?” Raven asked, sitting down.
On the television attached to the wall, The Price is Right was playing, and a woman was jumping up and down and screaming as the announcer said “A new carrrrrr!”
“Skylar was very anxious this morning,” Sky’s mother told her, picking up her knitting needles and starting to twist them expertly. “She’s been scared about this procedure for awhile, because they have to put you under anesthesia and it can be uncomfortable when you wake up.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m hanging in there.” She stopped knitting momentarily and gave Raven a warm smile. “She’s going to flip when she sees you.”
“I hope so,” Raven said. “I can’t wait to see her, too.”
They made some more small talk, but eventually Skylar’s mother was just knitting and Skylar pulled out her phone and started checking email and the web.
Jake had forwarded her a really complimentary article from Spin magazine that mentioned their relationship and how it had led to Jake’s surprising renewal as a creative force in the music industry.
He hadn’t texted her yet that morning, however. The article he’d sent to her late the previous night.
So Raven sent him a good morning wakeup text and then hoped to see a response back sooner rather than later.
But an hour and a half later, she still hadn’t gotten anything back, so she called his phone and it went straight to voicemail.
Perhaps he was already in studio, working away.
It was another hour later that Skylar emerged, walking slowly from the back room, a nurse at her side.
Raven stood up to greet her. She was shocked at how frail her friend looked, and also Skylar hadn’t yet noticed her.
“Baby, look who’s here!” Sky’s mother said.
And that’s when Skylar looked up and saw Raven, and her eyes completely lit up, and she smiled. The nurse cautioned her to move slowly, as she was still recovering from her procedure, but Sky was overjoyed.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” she said. “I can’t believe it!” Sky threw her arms around Raven and gave her a surprisingly firm hug.
“I love you,” Raven whispered in her ear.
“You brought me good luck,” Skylar said, and broke down sobbing. “You really did.”
“Oh, honey,” Raven soothed her.
Raven was concerned that maybe Skylar was still loopy from the anesthesia, but then Sky broke away and looked at both her mother and Raven.
“The doctor says my tumor shrunk dramatically already,” Skylar told them, and then she sank to one of the chairs, put her head in her hands and cried with relief.
Raven and Skylar’s mother sat next to her, whispering encouragement. Raven rubbed her friend’s back. “That’s amazing, Sky!” she told her.
Skylar looked up, gathering herself. “I’m sorry, I must be emotional from all the drugs they put me on.”
“Nonsense,” her mother told her.
“You deserve to be emotional. That’s incredible news. I’m so happy for you.”
At that moment, the door to the room opened and someone else walked in. Raven was still focused on Skylar, but Sky fell silent and so did her mother. They were both staring straight ahead at whoever had entered the waiting room.
Raven turned and saw Jake standing there with two bouquets of flowers. “Ladies,” he said, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Jake,” she cried, standing up. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled. “I couldn’t stay away. I missed everyone too much.” He walked forward and handed Raven a dozen red roses, kissing her on the lips. Then he went to Skylar and gave her another bouquet. “I know you can’t have fresh flowers, so these are all cloth flowers. Hope that’s okay.”
Raven’s flowers weren’t real either—but they still looked gorgeous, and it was the thought that counted. The fact that he’d somehow flown in, and that he’d thought enough to even get the right kind of flowers—floored her.
“They’re beautiful,” Sky said.
“We just got some great news, too,” Raven told Jake, her heart beating fast as she watched him moving gracefully, his entire being radiating love and confidence. It struck her just how much she’d missed him since being away for just a day.
They told Jake the positive results that the doctor had given Skylar regarding the shrinking of her tumor. Jake was overjoyed and visibly relieved to hear it.
Sky and her mother thanked Jake for all of his help and financial support, and Jake, as always, was a complete gentleman and said that it wasn’t a problem and he was happy to do it. He made it seem like no big deal, even though everyone knew it was a big deal. A very big deal.
Without his help, who knew what would have happened?
As they left the hospital, it was decided that they would all meet back at Skylar’s apartment for lunch and to celebrate the great news.
Sky was tired and probably wouldn’t eat much, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was she was going to get through this, Raven thought, as she watched Sky and her mother get into the car that the valet attendant brought around.
They waved as they drove off.
“I parked just down the street a little ways,” Jake said, taking Raven’s hand in his.
“How did you do it?” she asked him.
“Do what?”
“You were supposed to be recording today.”
“I called Mack Zee and let him know that my recording session would have to wait. What was he going to do, fire me?”
Raven shook her head, but her eyes were shining with happiness. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
Jake turned to look at her. “Maybe I am crazy,” he said. And then his entire demeanor changed, and he licked his lips, as if about to tell her something hugely important.
His eyes were fixed on hers.
“Jake,” Raven said, breathless, anticipating whatever was coming, even if she wasn’t sure what it was.
But before either of them could say another word, two police cars pulled up to the curb nearby. Both cars sirens were going, lights flashing. One of the cars was unmarked, but the other was a Boston Police car. Out of the marked cruiser, an officer emerged and came toward them, while a plainclothes detective got out of the unmarked car.
�
�Jake Novak?” the detective asked, showing his badge and identification.
“Yeah, that’s me. Is there a problem?”
The detective was fit, lithe and muscular, square jawed, with cool green eyes. “I’m Detective Ridgefield and this is Officer Moskovitz. Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we’ve received a credible report on a threat to you and Miss Hartley’s safety. Would you mind coming down to the station with us?”
Jake gave Raven a glance. “Would you mind telling me what the threat is, and from whom?”
“We’ll provide all of the necessary details at the station. But for now, we want to get you both out of harm’s way.” The detective gestured to the cruiser.
“Better text Skylar and let her know we’ll be running late,” Jake told Raven, as they were escorted to the car and then let in the back seat.
“We’re not going to be handcuffed, are we?” Raven joked, but neither the detective, nor the uniformed cop laughed.
They got into the backseat together and then the detective slid into the passenger seat while the other officer drove. They pulled away from the curb with the other unmarked car following closely behind.
The detective picked the radio handset up and spoke into it for a moment, mumbling some kind of jargon as static burst forth and another voice responded.
Jake grabbed Raven’s hand and looked at her. “You okay?” he said.
She nodded, but the truth was that she was feeling sick to her stomach. Literally. She was truly thinking that she might vomit in the back of the police cruiser.
“I’m all right,” she lied, as her stomach lurched and the car bounced over a pothole in the street.
“Relax, I’ll take care of everything.”
But she noticed that Jake was tense, watchful, and he didn’t seem as though he thought everything was okay either.
She wanted to get out of this car suddenly.
We’re not safe.
We never should have gotten in this thing.
Raven didn’t know why she was so upset, so nervous. After all, the police were escorting them to the station--they’d gotten them in time, before Club Alpha had had a chance to hurt anyone.
That was assuming the threat the police had been alerted about was from Club Alpha in the first place.
Raven took out her cell phone and texted Skylar, letting her know what had happened. She told her that she would call or text her when she had more information.
The drive continued. The cops weren’t speaking much. Just grunting and mumbling to one another.
Raven noticed that the driver kept looking at her in his rearview mirror, as if he was suspicious of her—as if she was the one who’d committed some sort of crime.
“Jake,” she said, “I don’t feel good. Something’s wrong.”
He looked at her. “It’s okay,” he said. “Just try and relax, baby.”
The police car turned off the main road and suddenly they were driving through an area of the city that was comprised of industrial buildings, most of which appeared to be empty. Warehouses with a truck or two parked out front, old brick buildings with broken windows. Empty lots.
“Where are we going?” Raven said to nobody in particular.
“Ma’am, we’re just making sure that there’s no one tailing us,” the driver replied.
Behind them, only the unmarked police car remained.
“Are you going to tell us who informed you that we’re in danger?” Raven said.
There was no answer this time. Raven’s palms were sweaty and her heart beat faster and faster.
“Something’s wrong,” she muttered.
Just then, they came to an abrupt halt in front of an abandoned brick building that looked no different from any of the others. As soon as they stopped, the detective in the passenger seat turned and pointed a gun at Jake. “Don’t move a muscle,” he said coldly.
Raven froze, as Jake smiled back at the man. “You sure you know how to use that thing?”
“I’ll have no problem blowing your head off if you so much as say another word, cowboy.” The man’s eyes didn’t twitch and Raven saw that he meant it.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
These weren’t policemen at all, she realized. They worked for Club Alpha. They were impersonating the police in order to get her and Jake to a remote location where they’d be powerless.
A man emerged from the car behind them, carrying a gun with a silencer on the end of it. He walked to Raven’s side and opened her door.
“Get out and don’t make a sound or any sudden moves,” the man said to her, watching her closely.
“Please don’t hurt us,” she said. “Please.”
“Just get out.”
She did get out, slowly, raising her hands to show she didn’t intend to run or try and fight.
“Walk straight ahead,” the man said, gesturing towards a metal door that was slightly open. Through the door it was dark, and she couldn’t see anything.
“Are you going to kill us?” she asked.
“Just walk.”
Raven walked forward, her legs unsteady, her breathing rapid. She contemplated running, but knew it would be futile. This was a well-planned and executed operation, and they’d thought it through. There would be no way to get free from this.
Once she was inside the building, a light came on overhead, as if it was motion sensitive. She was standing in a warehouse, an empty warehouse to be exact. The only things in the room were two wooden chairs and something that looked like a green toolbox.
The gunman walked Raven to one of the chairs and told her to sit down, which she did. Another man then approached from the side and began using duct tape to bind her to the chair. The men were cold, calm and efficient in their movements and methods.
They were professionals.
When she’d been effectively bound at the ankles, and then across her arms and chest as well as her wrists, they brought Jake in and sat him in the chair across from her. Two men had weapons trained on him, and it was clear they considered him a serious physical threat.
Strangely, though, Jake didn’t seem as concerned as she thought he should.
He was relaxed, and when he looked at her, his eyes communicated a steady confidence that was unreasonable to Raven given the circumstances.
They bound Jake to his chair with much more deliberateness. First he was handcuffed and manacled, and then they used duct tape to finish him off, making him completely immobile.
Once it was done, one of the men spoke into a blue tooth headset. “We’re all clear and subjects are ready for debriefing.”
Not long after that, two men entered the warehouse together. Their shoes clacked on the hard floor as they approached, and then their shadows fell between Jake and Raven, before they finally came into view.
Unsurprisingly, Raven saw that it was Max Mendez and Zeke. Both were wearing outfits that looked like white Hazmat suits. “So good to see the two of you together,” Zeke said, smiling with his wet, blubbery lips.
Jake glanced at the small man. “Are you planning to torture us?”
“You like to get straight to the point, don’t you Mister Novak?” Zeke said, his voice light and seemingly happy to engage.
“You’re not ever going to get the information you want from me,” Jake told him calmly. “I won’t betray my country for any reason or any price.”
Raven swallowed. She didn’t want to be tortured. She was terrified of the pain these men would inflict on her—she didn’t feel strong at all. Even with Jake near, she felt weak and small and scared.
Somehow, these men had outthought and outmaneuvered Jake, and that frightened her worse than anything.
Looking at Max, Raven saw that he was pale, almost physically ill, and couldn’t meet her gaze.
It’s because he knows what Zeke plans to do to me, to us.
Her stomach heaved but she somehow managed not to be sick.
“I know you say you won’t betray your country, which is a
dmirable,” Zeke said, walking over to the large green toolbox. He knelt down and slowly opened the top. “But unfortunately, you’ve left us no choice. We tried every which way to appeal to you—we desperately wanted to avoid this final scenario.”
“I don’t think you want to do this,” Jake said. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“You probably think I’m going to torture both of you,” Zeke said in a strange, lilting voice. “But the truth is that I’m only going to hurt Raven. I’m going to let you watch me hurt her, and you can stop her pain at any time by simply telling us what we want to know.”
Raven felt a scream rising in her throat as Zeke stood up, holding a claw hammer.
“Stop,” Jake told him.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” Zeke said. “Unless you want to tell me about that final mission in Afghanistan.” He waited for Jake to speak, and when Jake didn’t, Zeke started toward Raven with the hammer.
“I have pictures,” Jake said, his voice loud, echoing in the empty warehouse.
“Pictures?” Zeke said, turning towards him.
“You’ll find them very interesting,” Jake said. “I promise you, you won’t want to hurt either of us after you see them. You’ll know everything you need to know.”
“Where are these pictures?” Zeke said, suspicious but sounding hopeful at the same time. Or maybe he just sounded greedy.
“They’re on my cell phone. Someone will need to dig it out of my pocket since I can’t exactly take it out myself.”
Zeke nodded to Max, who quickly went and dug into Jake’s pants pocket, and when he had the cell phone in hand, Zeke walked over and took it away from him.
“Where are the pictures?” Zeke said.
“They’re in the camera roll. You’ll see them,” Jake assured him.
Zeke turned away from everyone and started pacing, as if wanting privacy to see what Jake was offering. Raven looked at Jake, who was studying the small man. She followed Jake’s gaze, and noticed that Zeke had stopped moving—as if he’d been turned to stone.
“Everything okay, boss?” Max asked, sounding nervous.
“These pictures…” Zeke hissed. “How did you get these?” He sounded totally stunned.