He smiled.
What kind of a maniac smiles with a gun to his head?
He sat back, and she moved with him, as far as her restrained wrist would allow, and kept the muzzle on him. He flashed another smile as he reached for the gun.
The moment had come. Did she have what it took to kill a man?
In a split-second decision, she pulled the trigger. And nothing happened. She squeezed it again.
He was laughing as he snatched the weapon from her. “You didn’t think I’d leave the safety off did you?” He rose from the bed, the gun settling into his grip. “And here I thought I’d give you a little fun before you left this world.” He shrugged. “Your loss.”
This time she did scream, preparing for the bullet to take her life. Instead, the condo’s door was rammed through, and a bunch of men dressed in ETF gear stormed into the bedroom. They had the man secured and disarmed in seconds.
Sophie had seen these kinds of scenes in movies and on TV, but it was nothing like experiencing it in real life. Even though she knew they were the good guys, they scared the shit out of her.
“Are you okay?” a man’s voice asked.
She heard the officer speaking to her, but it was as if he were somewhere distant. He cut the zip tie from her wrist, and she rubbed at her flesh.
“Miss?”
“Yeah, yes, I’m… There’s a woman.”
“A woman?”
“She was here. She just left. Red hair. Beautiful. Her name is Veronica Vincent.”
She listened as the officer communicated they had secured the hostage.
It was over. She was free.
-
Chapter 82
ROBYN’S HEART WAS BEATING FAST as she anticipated entering the belly of the temple.
“Don’t make her do this,” Matthew pleaded. “I’ll go first.”
Ian shifted his gun’s aim to Matthew. “If you want to live, I suggest you start listening to me.” Back to Robyn. “Go.”
She glared at him. She wasn’t afraid of his gun, even though she knew she should be. What she feared more was what might be lying beneath them. She imagined more shooting spears and disappearing floors, poisonous insects and caterpillars.
She pointed her flashlight down the stairs, and with no sign of obvious danger, she gave a quick look back to Matthew and Cal and stepped inside.
She made it to the base of the stairs without trouble. There was a room at the bottom, easily twenty feet by twenty feet. As her light filled the space, it reflected off the gold walls. They had set out looking for an exit, but they had found more treasure. They had found the treasure.
“Get down here,” she yelled.
Her light beam traced over necklaces, coins, chests, rings, gems, jeweled goblets, and statues. All gold. But lying in the corner was the greatest treasure of all. The gold chain. Its links really were the thickness of a man’s thumb.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and she turned to see Matthew. “If this is the treasure, what was at the bottom of the lagoon?” she asked him.
“More of it probably.”
“You didn’t make that part up?”
“You should know me better than that.” His tone confirmed he was offended.
Cal and Ian were moving around the room, picking up trinkets and looking at them.
Ian shoved some coins into his pockets. “It’s the least I’m due.”
“It’s what you’re due?” Robyn felt the heat creep up her neck and settle in her earlobes. She closed the distance between her and Ian. “You are due nothing. Do you hear me, you shit? It’s because of you that we’ve been forced to rush the greatest find of this century. It’s because of you that Sophie is being held hostage and in who knows what state of health at this point. It’s because of you that we are stuck in here without a way out. What is here belongs in a museum for the world to enjoy. Not for you to fill your pockets because you feel you des—”
The bullet kissed her skin so fast it was as if she had imagined it. If not for the shock taking over her body and Matthew’s and Cal’s screams, if not for the blood draining from the wound, she might have been able to dismiss it as fiction. That was before the searing pain burrowed in, worse than she had ever experienced as her legs buckled, and she crumpled to the ground.
-
Chapter 83
THE PEOPLE FROM THE CONFERENCE room were just being released when the news came. The mission was successful. They had Sophie Jones, and she was alive. It was a win from that perspective, but Brody wouldn’t be fully satisfied until those responsible were behind bars.
Amber Watts was coming toward him. They had her information, and with the all clear, she was free to go.
“Good day, Detective.” She smiled at him as she walked past.
Brody wasn’t sure if that was her normal stride, but her hips swayed side to side as if trying to tempt men to chase after her. She most certainly knew how to take care of herself. Brody had to give her that.
The elevator chimed its arrival then, and four ETF officers stepped out with a large man who was cuffed behind his back. The cop-to-criminal ratio may have seemed like overkill to the average observer, but Brody knew that men like this, hopped up on adrenaline, in fear of facing jail time, were capable of anything. It was also at this point that they had no fear and no longer thought about repercussions to their actions. This combined to make them a lethal threat. So four-to-one was a logical decision.
But what had Brody’s attention was the fact that the man wasn’t Ian Bridges.
He watched as this man was carted through the front doors to the street. When he disappeared from sight, the second elevator arrived in the lobby.
Sophie Jones stepped out with two officers. Her eyes were a swirling mess—full of conflict, fear, and confusion, but also determination.
“Did you get her?” she asked the officers as they walked by him.
“We’re working on it,” one officer answered.
Her?
“Stop.”
The three of them followed Brody’s directive.
Brody went around and stood in front of Sophie. “You said her? Her who?”
His directness seemed to scare her. She blinked her wet lashes. “There was a woman who—”
He suddenly felt peaked. “What did she look like?”
“She has red hair, and she—”
“Shit!” Brody turned and ran out to the street. Turning left, then right, there was no sign of her. She had vanished.
-
Chapter 84
“ROBYN!” MATTHEW DROPPED BESIDE HER. Ian’s gun held no power over him now. With Robyn shot, the man might as well fire a bullet at him while he was at it.
Cal crouched down on the other side of Robyn.
“Keep her awake, Cal. Get her to talk.” Matthew’s heart was hammering. He tore off his shirt to stanch the blood flow. The bullet pierced through the meat of her upper chest, off to the left. It was hard to tell with all the blood exactly where it had hit her. A part of him actually feared looking any closer. “What the hell—” He couldn’t speak or even formulate sentences in his mind. She deserved so much better than this. This wasn’t the end for Robyn. This wasn’t how it was going to go down.
“Robyn, talk to us.” Cal touched her face, lightly slapping it to keep her awake.
She moaned and slowly her eyes fluttered open.
“Thank God!” Matthew’s insides liquefied. He refused to lose her—now or ever. Naive maybe, but he couldn’t bear the thought of not having her in his life.
“What…” It was the only word that broke through from her lips.
“You were shot. But you’re going to be okay.” Matthew caught the glance Cal gave him, the one that asked if he should be promising something he might not be able to deliver. It was all about staying positive, righ
t? If one just managed to do that, nothing bad would ever happen. That’s what Robyn always said.
Maybe if he recited that as a mantra…
“Where did he…?” She sounded so weak, so vulnerable.
Matthew’s soul ached, and he looked over at Ian, who had given them space. His face was stoic, and he registered no feelings at all about having shot her. No regret. No empathy. It took all Matthew’s willpower not to face off with the man. But if he did, it wouldn’t get them anywhere. Robyn needed him.
“Bet you’ll find that damn exit now!” Ian moved two feet toward Matthew. “Get us the hell out of here!”
Matthew ignored Ian and reached for Robyn’s hand. She gripped it, and he squeezed hers. “You’re going to make it, baby.” The word came out naturally, without thought to context or meaning. It was a true reflection of how he felt about her. If he lost her, he would be full of regrets for not taking the chance. Life was short. Isn’t that what they said? Faced with tragedy it seemed to hold even more truth.
He couldn’t stand seeing her like this, bleeding and in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, then the palm. He held her hand to his face.
Ian thrust the gun into Cal’s face. “I said get me the hell out of here!”
Cal held up his hands and slowly rose to his feet. “We might have found a way, but we’re not sure.”
They had one hope, and they truly were living on a prayer. What they had tried opened the treasure room. Was it too much to ask that it also opened the door Cal had found and that it was their way out? Robyn needed medical attention immediately.
-
Chapter 85
SOPHIE WAITED OUT IN THE HALLWAY with two police officers while the detective cleared her apartment. She wasn’t sure exactly what he suspected but if they hadn’t found Vincent… The thought of her being free sent chills through Sophie’s core. But she was safe now, wasn’t she?
She found it ironic that all she longed for was solitude even though that was all she had for the last six days. But here she was protected, and more importantly, she was home.
“It’s all clear,” the detective said to the officers. He had a way of talking over and around her. Maybe he was uncomfortable with making eye contact, but Sophie had a feeling there was another reason. To him, she must have been an apparition. He probably hadn’t expected to find her alive, and the fact that he had, made her the equivalent of a ghost. She still sensed that he was relieved by the outcome. Despite any seeming discomfort he had around her, he had a gentle nature.
Maybe he just felt deeply for what she had gone through. Maybe she reminded him of a girlfriend or a sister.
“You can go in, but we’ll need to talk with you, Miss Jones.”
She expected this, but the idea of discussing all she had been through was exhausting. Her mind skipped to Cal, Matthew, and Robyn. “Have you heard from my friends?”
The detective’s eyes met hers now. “Why do you ask? Is there something I should know about them?”
The glint in his eyes was accusatory, questioning. Did he think her abduction was connected with them?
“Please forget I said anything.” She knew it was a desperate wish. She’d watched enough crime shows to know how cops sank their teeth into any morsel they deemed important to their cases.
He didn’t let his eye contact waver, but his features softened. She didn’t take it as a sign that he was letting her off, but she didn’t see condemnation there, either.
“I’ll be back in an hour, and we’ll talk, okay?”
She nodded and bit down on her lip. She had to hold herself together at least until they left, at least until she was alone.
“I should be taking your statement now.” He stopped talking. His mouth twitched as if he wanted to say more, but he didn’t need to finish for her to receive the message: he felt bad for her.
To her, she had become the helpless victim in need of rescue. He probably saw her as pitiable and was extending her mercy.
To realize that’s what she had become tore at her insides. Before all this she was hardheaded and even stronger willed. She had no doubt she’d return to her normal self, but it would take time.
“One hour,” the detective repeated before walking off.
She envied his freedom, his ability to move on wherever and whenever he saw fit. Being able to exercise that basic human right had been far too long for her.
“You can go in, Miss Jones.” One of the officers smiled at her, a tender expression that carried the underlying connotation that he felt sorry for her. She wished never to have that directed at her again. She didn’t need their sympathy. She was self-sufficient. She was free.
She entered her apartment and had her hand on the door ready to shut it behind her.
“We’ll be right out here for you, Miss Jones.”
She barely nodded. She was still a prisoner. She had simply exchanged an armed criminal for two armed law enforcement officers. She closed the door, slipping into the sacred cocoon of her private sanctuary. She locked the dead bolt and slipped the chain across.
It was then that her legs became unsteady. She leaned against the door, steadying her weight on one leg, then the next, as she pulled off her heels.
Her hands started to shake, slowly at first and then faster. Her dam of resolve, the one of a fighter, the one she had somehow managed to keep erect, broke apart in a flood of tears. The sobs heaved from her chest and racked her frame. The reality was setting in and not with ease. The emotion crashed into her, stealing her breath, threatening her sanity. She could have died. She was almost raped. And the one person she needed, wanted, was God knows where.
-
Chapter 86
IF VERONICA HAD THE ABILITY to feel regret, she might have experienced it for that detective. His suspicion of her was obvious. It had been written all over his face and clear in the way he talked to her, in the manner his eyes studied her.
She settled into the backseat of the town car as she was driven to a hotel.
She was happy to have made it out of there when she had. If it had taken any longer, she could have been carted off like Don.
It was too bad that she’d lost him, but her people knew the risks of working for her. She defended no one. They were paid as independent contractors, and if they were going down, it was solo. She always ensured that she had no paper trail connecting her to them. Even payment was routed through so many offshore accounts, it would keep a forensic accountant busy for years trying to follow the money.
What infuriated her was the fact that her leverage for the City of Gold was gone. With Sophie alive and under police protection and Don arrested, this entire mess had just gotten a whole lot messier. Sophie knew her name. She reassured herself if any of this tied back to her, she’d find a way to beat the charges. She always did.
Ian Bridges was to blame for all this. She should have just terminated her contract with him when he refused to steal the statue, but no, she had fallen into temptation with the offer of Paititi. She had allowed herself to buy into the legend as fact. She had taken a bite of the juicy, red apple.
Even knowing that they had found the City of Gold did her no good.
People said control of any kind was an illusion, but for her, up until now, she’d held it within her grasp. Whenever it had threatened to fall out of reach, she’d adjusted to ensure she kept it.
In this case, she resigned herself to the fact that Ian Bridges may have been overpowered. With Matthew and his two friends, that was three against one, and what’s to say they didn’t assume that authority?
It would explain the police. Otherwise how did they know where to look? Yes, the blame lay completely with Ian Bridges. He never should have abducted the girl in the first place. She hired him to use his persuasive powers as a killer, not to turn around and make her a babysitter
.
No, Ian Bridges deserved to die for what he had put her through, but she couldn’t risk going after him when he returned. The police were already involved, and with that girl alive—another disappointment by one of her own—she was starting to feel like she could rely on no one but herself.
Somehow she needed to obtain the exact coordinates of the find. Her buyer would soon grow impatient, and letting down others was not what she did. She provided results.
Her cell phone rang, and she answered without acknowledgment. After a second, Ian said, “Vincent?”
“Yes?”
“Arrange the plane for two days from now.”
She hung up without saying a word, a smirk on her lips.
Once in the privacy of her hotel, she popped a couple of ice cubes into a glass and poured herself a double scotch. She then dropped into a chair and dialed a man she could rely on. Ian had missed his chance to give her the coordinates. When he answered, she said, “It’s time.” She then told him where and when.
Lowering the receiver with one hand, she raised her drink with the other. She swirled the amber liquid, the ice clinking against the glass, and took a sip. As it burned its way down her throat, a solution came to mind. What she contemplated was a risk. She’d lie low for a day or two, but since when did she shy away from a challenge?
-
Chapter 87
SOPHIE STAYED UNDER THE HOT water of her shower until it ran cold. Even then, she remained there, leaning against the tiles, tears streaming down her face, down her body, down the drain. If only it were that easy to purge herself of all that she had undergone. But she had to pull herself together. The spark within her, her fighting nature, told her that much.
Yes, she had come close to being killed, to being raped, but neither had happened. She was one of the lucky ones.
City of Gold Page 28