Fifthteen minutes later I’ve filled him in on everything that’s been going on. From the attack in Germany, to the letters Allie received also mentioning the one about his daughter, and everything else that happened in between. Right down to the phone call from Charlie, to me getting steaming drunk.
“This Charlie guy, you say he’s your PI?” The concentration on his face is scary, and doesn’t suit someone his size. It usually means that their coming up with some sort of evil plan.
I just nod my head as an answer to his question.
“Right what I need you to do is call him, tell him that Allie has gone walkies and you need him to find her for you. Sharpish.” I must have the look of a warped goldfish on my face, because I have no idea why calling Charlie has anything to do with this. He did his job. He let me know Rebecca was in the hospital. Then the penny drops.
“Do you think Charlie knows where the girls are?” I ask, my voice rising with anticipation. Looking at the rest of the guys, seeing if they think the same. But they all just have blank looks on their faces. As if they can’t quite believe what they’re hearing.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but did you actually see Rebecca in the hospital? Speak to any of her family to confirm she was there?”
“No I didn’t, I trusted him. He came highly recommended. My assistant found him for me.” I had absolutely no reason to doubt him, everything I asked of him he sorted and did without having any problems.
“Just make the call Connor, and put him on loudspeaker whilst your at it will you. I can tell if someone is lying, even from down a phone. It’s one of my many talents.” With that last statement he throws Johnny a glare. What was that all about?
Not wanting to keep the man waiting, and waste another second just incase Doms right. I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket. Dialing Charlie’s number, I walk over to Dominic’s solid wood desk and place the phone down as the call connects. Four bodies gather around me and my phone, waiting for him to pick up. On the fourth or fifth ring, I couldn’t possible tell you for sure, because right now my nerves are shot to shit and my anxiety levels have cranked up to def con one.
Suddenly the phone makes a crackling noise and then I hear him.
“Hey Con, what can I do for you?” Is it me or does he sound nervous? Dom motions with his hand for me to answer him.
“Oh, hey Charlie. I was just wondering if you could find someone for me? It’s just, Allie seems to have gone missing. And she’s not answering her phone.”
“Erm yeah ok. When did she leave?” He asks. And now I’m more suspicious, because I didn’t say she left. I said she was missing. To me there’s a difference.
“Well she was with me last night, then when I woke up this morning she was gone. I’m back in London now, so I’m hoping she’s here too.”
“Y… You’re back in London? Like right now you’re in London?” He stutters.
“Yeah I’am. The minute I knew she was gone I changed my flight and came home. I need to find her Charlie. That woman is my life, and if something was to happened to her I don’t know what I’d do.” I tell him, desperation clinging to my voice.
“Right ok. I’ll see what I can do and get back to you when I can.” With that he hangs up, which is weird because he always says goodbye to me.
Looking up at Dom, I look at him expectantly, waiting for him to give me some answers to what he’s just heard.
“Well? What do you reckon?” I push.
“I recognise his voice. What did you say his full name was?” He asks me.
“I didn’t. I was never told it. Like I said before my assistant found him, and I trusted her judgement. We had a few meetings discussing what was going on and he did the rest.” I inform him.
“If my suspicions are correct, and I’m not usually wrong. Then that my friend is Charlie Ryan, and he’s one fucked up guy. And I’m warning you now, his sister.. Jodie she ain’t much better. If anything she’s worse.”
Johnny leans his hand on the desk, getting up close to Dom.
“Care to explain what you mean by his sister is worse?” He’s shaking, a bit like me. We’re ready to tear some heads off at this point. I just want my girl back.
“Long story short, their parents were... shall we say evil bastards. Anyway it affected them and ever since they’ve not been right. Jodie has a love for knives, and hurting people mostly for the fun of it, but when someone gets in her way when she wants something… trust me they’ll know about it.. They both seem to the think the world owes them something for their shit upbringing.
I fall to my knees and weep. I can not believe what I’ve just heard. This entire time I thought I was keeping my Angel safe, when in actual fact I led her right to the psycho. All this time the person responsible for this hell we’ve been through was right under my nose the whole fucking time.
She’s never going to forgive me for this, this is all my fault just like I knew it would be. My breaths start coming quick and fast, my vision is blurred and I can’t feel my hands or my legs. I just feel numb. If this is what a panic attack feels like, then I’m having one.
“Breathe Con, breathe mate.” I hear Liam’s voice but it’s muffled, the ringing in my ears making it hard to hear things clearly.
“This is all my fault.” I manage to get out.
Crouching down in front of me, Johnny takes me by the shoulders and shakes me a little, snapping me out of the state I’ve gotten myself into.
“This isn’t your fault Connor, you weren’t to know that he was a total whack job. We’ll get them back, I promise.”
I will give everything I have for him not to break that promise.
Anyone can give up;
It’s the easiest thing in
The world to do. But to
Hold it together when
Everyone would expect
You to fall apart,
That’s true strength.
Allie
We’ve been driving around now for what feels like hours, and I am have lived in London all my life but right now I have no fucking clue where I am. Being blindfolded probably doesn’t help me in my current situation either. I tried my best to gage the turns he made, the sound of things as we drive past them. The church bells, the sound of crossings at the lights, mainly the sound of London’s busy roads. And then there was nothing for a good couple of miles.
I manage to move the blindfold off one of my eyes, only slightly but it’s enough for me to see where I am now. Out the corner of my eye I don’t recognise anything I’m seeing. Where the fuck am I?
The street we’re currently driving down is like something of the Hills have eyes. There’s not a single person in sight, nearly every other house has it’s windows all boarded up and some kind of graffiti written on them. The row of flats in front of us look like the only people who would even consider living in them are either druggies, prostitutes or people who just haven’t got any other choice.
Just when I think it couldn’t get any worse Charlie’s phone starts ringing and he stops the car.
Who the fuck would stop a car in this part of town. No one, unless you’ve got a death sentence. There’s only a couple of cars on the road as is it, which have either been burnt out where they sit or used on a bumper car track. Where the winner is decided by the car that’s still in one piece. Well almost one piece.
I hear him open the car door and before he gets out he speaks to me. Or should I say he gives me a warning.
“I have to take this call, if you scream or make even the slightest noise you’ll never see daylight again. Do you understand me? Nod if you do?” Seeing as Charlie thinks I still can’t see anything, he squeezes my bare thigh in warning. Frozen in terror, I don’t move a muscle I just nod my head quickly letting him know I’ve heard him and that I understand. He moves his hand from my leg letting me know that he trusts me. Then I jump with fright when he slams the car door shut. I swear I’m having heart palpitations. And then I hear him….
&n
bsp; “Hey Con.” Did he just say Con? As in my Connor? I didn’t hear what was said after that. I just make out his name and Charlie say he’d get back to him about something. Climbing back in the car I hear something clatter in front of me, I presume it’s his phone. He re-starts the car and we’re on the move again. Thank fuck for that, I’m surprised no one has tried rob the car off us whilst we were sat there.
Only a few minutes of being back on the road we come to a stop again. What the hell is happening now?
“We’re here. If you want to see Karina then I suggest you behave until we get in the building.”
“And where is here exactly?” I ask hoping he might have slipped up and told me. But he doesn’t.
He lets out an evil laugh, whilst walking to the car door I’m currently leaning up against, opening it up wide he helps me out the car. Or should I say he pulled my out the car so much so that if it wasn’t for him having a hold of me under my armpits, I would have fall flat on my face.
“How fucking stupid do you think I am? I’m not going to tell you that. Now get moving.”
With that he grabs my upper arm with his pudgy fingers and starts dragging me forward and into the unknown. Having something hard digging in my back makes me do as I’m told. I’m almost certain it’s a gun, one I have no intention of making go off, not if I can help it.
We must walk only a few steps when I hear a key jangling before being inserted into a lock.
The minute the door opens the stench hits my nose, making me gag. What the hell is that smell? I think it’s actually burnt the hairs on the inside of my nose the smell is that strong. I still can’t quite see so I have no idea what it is, but it can only be described as musty wet dog. It’s dark so I can’t really see much, I can just about make out the walls in the room we’re standing in.
The stench grows stronger the further we walk in, and that’s when he removes my blindfold.
I physically throw up in my mouth, and if I didn’t stop myself in time it would now be on the carpet, if you can call it that. It’s just as bloody bad as the walls if not worse, it’s got mould on that to and looks like the dust on it has formed a carpet on the carpet itself. I try my best to shield my nose with my hand, but no matter what I do nothing seems to be working. I hope to god wherever Karina is she hasn’t had to deal with this odour the whole time she’s been here on top of everything else. It’s fucking cruel. Evil.
Who the fuck lives here?
There no sign of anyone, there’s no furniture in the room, no pictures on the walls. It looks like an abandoned building, like no one’s been here in years.
“We don’t all have the luxuries of other’s darling, we all have to start somewhere. And this my dear Allie…” He starts spinning around with his arms in the air, signaling to everything surrounding him as he tells me.
“This is where I was born. Me and my sister actually.” Something in him changes, his eyes have turned black. I’ve never known someone who can go from being happy one minute to bait shit crazy the next. But I think I’m going see that first hand now. Saying that I just think he’s plain bonkers anyway. And then I remember he said sister, does that mean she’s here somewhere to? That there might be two of them in on this? I find myself looking around for her before I turn back to him as he carries on.
“That was until they both used and abused us, then one day decided we weren’t good enough anymore and just fucked off and left us here to fend for ourselves.” His eyes finally land on me, and I’m frozen standing there, and my heart stops. I know the man I was with before is now nowhere to be found, he’s disappeared and isn’t coming back any time soon. I thought the Charlie that picked me up from the airport was scary, the Charlie here now is spine-chilling, blood curdling and very unnerving.
I’ve never felt this petrified in all my life. What is he going to do with me? What’s running around in that head of his?
I have a mini brainstorm, maybe if I try to calm him down the old Charlie might come back again and maybe he wouldn’t hurt me. It could work or it could be an epic fail and make him worse.
Well….. Here goes….
“I’m so sorry to hear that Charlie, that must have been horrible for you both. I can’t imagine what that was like for the two of you to go through.”
“No you don’t...no one does. Stop pretending you care!” Getting right up in my face he carries on with his rant. “We all weren’t born with a silver spoon in our mouths, unlike some. People like me and my sister had to fight to make it it this far in life.”
“Is that why I’m here? You want to teach me a lesson? You blame me for what happened to you both?” That’s just ridiculous I don’t even know him, never mind that I had no idea of the childhood they had. Come to think of it neither did Karina. At least I hope she didn’t.
“You think this is all to do with you and your rich daddy? Oh princess, you have no clue do you? You’re not even close.”
He grabs my wrist and yanks me forward to the back of the dingy house where the smell is still as bad as before, and then he opens a door.
“Downstairs now.” He orders. All I can see is black, I have no idea what’s down there. I should have known a place like this would have a secret bloody basement.
Following orders, I take the steps and slowly start my descent down, holding on to the filthy banister for support. When out of nowhere I can hear a voice but it sounds muffled. For a split second I thought I might of imagined it, but then I hear it again. Reaching the bottom of the steps, my eye’s try to focus, and I swear i’m seeing things. There’s a shadow in the corner of the room. Oh god please no… please don’t be who I think it is.
All my questions get answered when we’re bathed in light, when my eye’s adjust I find that one of my worst nightmares is finally coming true.
“Oh my God Karina.” My eyes start to water with unshed tears. What have they done to her? All I can see is fear in her eyes, whether that fears for me or her I don’t know and I don’t care. She looks me straight in the eyes now silently telling me she’s lost the fight now. In the low lighting I notice she’s got a massive purple bruise all along her cheekbone and her lip is bleeding. I start to see red, I know I shouldn’t but I can’t help myself. I start to fight back.
Launching myself back, fist high up in the air ready to thump Charlie one. I scream at him.
“You evil bastard! What have you done to her?” I fight my hardest to get a decent punch on him but I never land it. He must have seen me coming from a mile away, because he leans back and as he does he brings his arm up.
All I saw was the base of his gun coming towards me before the dark consumes me and everything goes black…...
When you find someone
Who makes you feel
The same way music does,
That’s when you found
Someone special.
Connor
How could I have been so fucking stupid. I should have known something wasn’t right. I’ve trusted that woman for the better part of eight years. And not once have I ever been to her house. Now I’m curious has to why. What is she hiding? What have I ever done to her to make her do this in the first place? I always thought I was a fair boss, I mean she travelled the world with me and everything. I thought we were friends, shit she may as well have been part of the family.
My heads totally screwed up.
The door to the room I’m currently sat in feeling sorry for myself opens and in walks Johnny.
“She’ll be ok Connor, both of them will. They are both fighters, and we will find them. I made you a promise dude, and it’s one I intend on keeping.” Johnny always knows what to say to me. And I know he’ll do everything he can and more not to break his promise, but right now I can’t see anyway of us finding them. There are no leads, she left me no clue as to where she was going.
“Yeah I know, but right now I can’t see how being sat here at Karina’s mob for a father’s warehouse is going to help us?” I really don’t know
what Dom does for work but surely he’s not able to find people that just don’t want to be found.
“Look, I know I’ve got a lot to explain about why I brought you all here, but just trust me on this. Dom is good at tracking people, shit he’s the best person for tracking people, and if anyone can find them it’s him. And with his daughter now being involved it’s only made him all the more determined to help us. Trust me I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think he could find them.” I’ve never heard him sound this confident before and believe me it’s helping even if only a little bit. And I’m intrigued as to how he knows so much about Dominic. Just as I’m about to ask him Dom walks into the room which I found when I needed some space to think and clear my head. When I found out that Jodie may be the one behind it all. I just ran out of there, Johnny’s soothing words at the time just didn’t help me at all.
“You calmed the fuck down now rockstar?” Dom teases, trying to wind me up. But at this moment in time I’m in no mood to be wound up, not even by someone as dangerous has him. Jumping up from my chair, adrenaline taking over my body. I charge forward, trying my hardest to get a punch on the cocky fucker, but Johnny catches me just in time.
“You don’t want be doing anything fucking stupid now mate, come on sit yourself back down. Just listen to what he has to say. You might not like it but we need him right now.” There’s so much emotion swimming in the depths of his eyes. I’ve never seen him looking so scared. He’s usually the stronger one out of the two of us, but right now I can tell he’s on the verge of losing it altogether. Stepping back out of the hold he’s got on me, I shake myself pulling myself together.
“I’m ready.” I say to both of them, determination running through me.
“Good, because we don’t have time for you to lose your shit right now.” Dom sniggers at me.
Twat.
If Johnny wasn’t so convinced we needed him right now I’d try punching him again.
“Right so what do we do now? You can find them can’t you?” I ask with desperation in my voice.
Syren's Heaven & Hell (The Syren Series Book 2) Page 18