He secured the laptop case across his shoulders and kept a hand near his oversized pocket knife. A raindrop splashed on his cheek. He pulled up his hood and kept his gaze lowered as he walked. Several drug deals went down as he made his way down the road.
After turning down a few more streets, he finally reached the little dive. Bullet holes decorated the glass door between the chipped black bars. Nice. This place made his neighborhood seem like the Street of Dreams.
He reached for the door.
"Hey there," said a sultry feminine voice behind him.
Alex spun around. A woman old enough to be his mom stood there, wearing a torn red mini skirt and a tiny tube top.
"Lookin' for a good time?" She winked, making a large mole wiggle.
"Not really."
"I can make it worth your while. Discount for a super sexy hottie."
He hurried inside, looking for Nick, and found him at a table in the corner, sipping from a coffee cup and staring at his phone. Alex went over and sat, first wiping a pile of crumbs from the seat. Half of them stuck to his palm.
"You found it." Nick never looked up from the screen.
Alex tried wiping the crumbs from his hand. "Next time, I pick where we meet."
"You wanted something private. I doubt anyone we know will look for us here."
"Isn't that the truth? So, what did you find?" Alex scraped his palm along the edge of the table to dislodge the crud stuck to his hand.
"What did you want to tell me?"
Alex took a deep breath and told Nick about all the threats.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I didn't think he was serious."
Nick shook his head. "You need to tell me stuff like this."
"Okay."
"Immediately. Forward me everything you have and I'll look into it."
Alex nodded, feeling stupid.
"In other news, I got an anonymous tip today."
"What did they say?"
Nick held Alex's gaze for a moment. "It would appear these cases have been going on for close to thirty years."
Pins
Ariana woke to the smell of bacon, feeling rested despite the stiff bed. After their movie night—Lloyd had picked out not just one but two scary movies, and he'd brought out bags of candy for the second movie—she'd been so tired, she had fallen right to sleep.
She sat up and stretched, taking in the delicious smell. Her stomach rumbled. She climbed out of bed and put on some clothes as the aroma of bacon grew stronger.
Just after she slid on the stiff green-and-blue striped sweater, her gaze landed on one of the dolls that had a fancy hairstyle.
Bobby pins.
Her heart pounded. That was exactly what she'd been looking for. Maybe the next time Lloyd went out, she'd be able to get through the lock. It would be a lot easier if she had her phone and could find a how-to video, but she'd seen enough TV that she was pretty sure two bobby pins would get it done.
She hoped.
The deadbolt clicked. Ariana reached for the hairbrush and ran it through her tangles.
Lloyd came in, smiling. "I made omelets. I hope you're hungry."
"I am. It smells delicious." She smiled back.
"Let me help you with that." He stepped behind her and took the brush, running it through her hair with care. He removed the knots without yanking. "Let's eat. Everything's ready."
He took her hand and led her to the kitchen, where the plates were already filled. A huge omelet sat at her place, filled with peppers and beef. Three juicy pieces of bacon sat next to it.
Ariana sat, and he poured her some orange juice.
"Dig in."
She did, and he talked about the two movies as they ate. When they were clearing the table, Lloyd turned to her. "Sorry to do this to you, but I have to go into work today. We're not kids anymore—well, I'm not, and bills have to be paid."
"Oh."
"I'll try to be back in time for lunch, but if not, I hope the big breakfast will hold you."
Her pulse drummed in her ears. This would be her chance if he was going to be gone all day.
Lloyd said something else, but she couldn't hear.
Ariana took a couple breaths to calm her nerves. "What?"
"I'll make it up to you if I can't get back for lunch, okay?"
She nodded. "I'm stuffed. It's okay. Last night was really fun, too. Thanks." She tried to give him a convincing smile. Hopefully, if he didn't feel bad about being at work all day, he'd stay there longer.
He patted her shoulder. "You've always been so sweet. Too sweet, actually. That's what got you—never mind. Let's not talk about that. Why don't you go to the bathroom while I get everything cleaned up in here?"
She stared at him. He was going to let her go back there without following her?
Lloyd gestured for her to go and turned to the dishes in the sink.
As tempting as it was to run down the hall and find a way out, she knew better. He was bigger and faster. She needed to wait until he was at work. Then she could get far away before he had any idea she'd even left.
Ariana went into the bathroom and took care of business and then dug around in the drawers, looking for anything else she could use to make her escape.
Knock, knock.
"Time to go to your room, Jan."
Disappointment washed through her. At least she had a chance of getting out this time.
She opened the door. Lloyd stood so that she only had room to walk into the bedroom. She went inside.
"I promise to make it up to you. And I'm going to try my best to work from home tomorrow."
"Okay."
"I'm really sorry. Come here."
Ariana walked over to him. He engulfed her in an embrace and then left without a word, locking the door between them. The woodsy smell of his cologne stuck to her.
She went over to the window to watch him leave. The alarm beeped after about a minute and then Lloyd opened the car door. He paused, looked up toward her, and waved.
Her heart nearly leaped into her throat. He knew she'd been watching him come and go? She forced herself to wave back. He climbed in the car and drove away.
Ariana leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Maybe she wasn't as sneaky as she thought. If she didn't get out while he was at work, she'd have to be really careful with her escape attempts.
She waited a little while to make sure he didn't come back and then went over to the shelf where the larger dolls were. Ariana picked up a fancy one. Its hair was in a tight up-do. There was no way she could replicate that once she removed the pins. If she was lucky, the hairstyle would just stay in place. If not, then she'd have to think of something clever, like putting it in a hat or hiding the doll altogether—that was if she didn't get away. But she would, so it didn't matter.
Ariana slid the doll off the shelf and studied the hair. The pins looked like they would come out easily enough. They weren't glued in place. She sat on the unmade bed and held the doll at different angles. Her heart felt like it would explode out of her chest.
"Pull yourself together." This was her chance, and she needed to take it. Maybe she could be back home in time for dinner. That was what she had to focus on.
Hands shaking, she reached for the first bobby pin. The doll wobbled in her grasp and she missed the pin by a good two inches. She set it on her lap and held it with her arm instead. That time, she managed to not only touch it, but slide it out.
The pin fell onto the floor.
Well, it wasn't going anywhere. She reached for the second one and slid it out careful not to drop it. Once the end came out, the fancy hairstyle fell apart and covered the doll's face.
She would deal with that later. Ariana put the doll back on the shelf, tucking it behind the others. She had to rearrange them to hide it in the back.
Clinging to the second bobby pin, she got on her hands and knees and looked for the first one. She couldn't see it, but she finally noticed it under
the bed.
Ariana couldn't stop shaking. What if she got caught? What if he had hidden cameras somewhere? But if he did, wouldn't he know she'd tried to escape already? He wouldn't have given her ice cream and popcorn.
No, this was her chance, and it was a good one. She only needed to pull herself together. Also, she had all day. It wasn't like he was coming back in an hour.
Holding one pin in each hand, she stared down the lock. The only thing standing between her and freedom.
She could do this.
Hopefully.
No, she could. She would.
Swallowing, she stepped closer to the door. One step. Another. Another.
She stopped a couple feet away.
Her mouth was dry, and suddenly, she had to go to the bathroom again.
Ariana rushed for the door and stuck both bobby pins in the lock. She wiggled and jiggled, hoping to hear a click or something. Who knew what would happen? Would the deadbolt click over? Was it even possible to unlock this kind of lock like this?
She'd find out soon enough. Gritting her teeth, she tried harder. Different angles, differing amounts of pressure. Nothing was off limits. She just had to get out of there.
Time seemed to slow down. Ariana fought and struggled with the pins and the deadbolt until sweat made the clothes stick to her skin. Her muscles ached and her head hurt even worse. She was out of breath.
Finally, she stopped. If she was going to do this, it would take more than just the pins. She would need the knife, too. But first, she needed to calm down and collect herself.
Ariana set the bobby pins on the desk and threw herself onto the bed. It creaked and groaned under her weight. She closed her eyes. Just a moment to rest.
When she opened her eyes, the sun shone in from a different angle.
She bolted upright. How long had she slept?
Ariana ran to the window. Lloyd's car was still gone.
There was no way to know what time it was without a clock. All she knew was that the sun was pretty high in the sky.
She needed to work on the deadbolt again. This time, though, she would use the knife. She went over to the dollhouse and lifted it, this time careful not to hurt herself.
Balancing the knife and the pins, she tried everything she could think of to get it unlocked. Nothing worked. She even tried sliding the knife between the door and the jam to make the deadbolt loosen from its place.
She held it there with her mouth and used her hands to put the bobby pins in the keyhole. She just had to make it work.
Sweat stuck to her clothes again. Doubt settled in. Maybe she wouldn't be able to get away.
Ariana pulled one of the bobby pins out. It stuck. She jiggled it.
Click.
Out
Ariana stared, jaw dropped, at the open door in front of her.
She'd done it. Gotten through the lock.
Now she could make her escape. But first, she really had to go to the bathroom.
Ariana ran in and went, her mind racing the entire time. Once she was back out into the hall, everything was eerily quiet. She'd never been alone in a house before, and it wasn't nearly as exciting as she'd always thought.
Her heart wouldn't stop thundering. With the house so quiet, that was all she could hear. Well, that and her labored breathing.
She leaned against the wall. It was time to focus.
Where should she go? The stairs leading to the backyard? No, she couldn't get out of there. She'd have to find a different way out of the house.
Then she remembered the keypad. Lloyd had punched in a code to get them out. What if she couldn't get outside without the code? No, that was crazy. She'd be able to open a door without a code. An alarm would probably sound, but she could get out.
Ariana wandered down the hall, passing the rec room. This was the farthest she'd gone before. The only thing she could see were closed doors. She didn't want to know what Lloyd had hidden behind any of them.
She came to a different staircase. This one was wide and shiny, light-colored wood steps. No ugly carpeting.
Ariana took a deep breath and tiptoed onto the first step, half-expecting sirens to wail or for it to open up and send her falling to the ground below.
Nothing happened. She took another step and then another. Soon, she saw a bright and beautiful modern living room down below.
She stared in disbelief. How was it that the upstairs was like stepping into a time warp, but downstairs was so normal? Well, normal aside from how huge it was. It seemed big enough to be a mansion.
As she descended down the stairs, she could see an enormous kitchen off to the side and then a dining room. More rooms came into view as she got closer to the floor. The house seemed to go on forever.
The only thing she didn't see was a way out.
She felt out of place, and also expected someone to walk into the living room at any moment. How could such a place exist just below where she'd been staying?
Her throat went dry and she sat on the step behind her. Did she dare walk around? A place like that would surely have cameras. That explained the alarm going out to the backyard.
What if he already knew she'd gotten out?
That meant she needed to go outside right away.
Ariana jumped up and rushed to the bottom of the stairs. Nothing flashed or sounded. Everything was as quiet down here as it had been up there. She jaunted across the living room to the spacious, bright kitchen. There were no doors leading outside.
She spun around and went to the dining room. No way out. She ran back to the living room and opened a door. A closet full of board games and DVDs. Another door. A darkened office.
There had to be a way out. She followed a hall on the other side of the kitchen and came to an entryway.
Gravel crunched under tires outside.
Ariana's stomach dropped to the ground.
No.
A car door slammed and an alarm beeped.
Her throat closed up. She ran toward the stairs, running up.
A door opened and then slammed shut.
She skipped a step and stumbled.
Lloyd whistled a cheerful tune downstairs.
Ariana ran as fast as she could up the rest of the staircase and down the hall to the bedroom.
The whistling grew louder.
She made it to the room and closed the door as quietly as she could.
It was unlocked. She didn't know how to lock it.
Terror ran through her.
Footsteps sounded in the hall and the whistling continued.
She grabbed the pins and knife, stuffing them under the dollhouse. Her mind raced with excuses. She'd had to go to the bathroom. That's why she unlocked the door. She didn't want to mess up the bedroom that meant so much to him. He could trust her—she was still in there.
The door opened.
Ariana flung herself to the ground and held up a couple dolls. She fought to breathe normally.
Lloyd came in carrying a bunch of colorful balloons. He smiled at her and held out the balloons. "We missed your birthday this year, so it's time to celebrate."
He hadn't even noticed the door was unlocked.
She tried to speak, but nothing came.
"I've left you speechless." His grin widened. "I hope you're ready for birthday cake."
Ariana managed a nod.
"Good. Why don't you put on a dress from the closet while I decorate the rec room?" He let out a giggle as he left, leaving the door unlocked.
She stared at the door, feeling light-headed. What had just happened? Ariana went over to the bed and fell onto it, trying to recover from the shock.
A few minutes later, she heard a commotion out in the kitchen. She jumped up and ran over to the closet. Half a dozen dresses hung in front of her. Did she want polka dots, flowers, or stripes? Like it mattered. She grabbed one. It had multi-colored polka dots. She slid out of what she was wearing and put on the scratchy dress.
Lloyd came in, grinning and
clapping. "You remembered! That's my favorite one on you. Let me help you with your hair."
She followed him to the dresser, where he pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wrapped it in a pink bow.
"Perfect." He beamed.
Ariana forced another smile.
"Wait until you see this."
She nodded and followed him to the rec room. The walls were covered with pink streamers and balloons. A huge 'Happy Birthday' sign hung from the far wall. An enormous cake sat on the coffee table next to a stack of perfectly wrapped presents.
"Happy birthday!" Lloyd cried. He went over to a record player and fumbled with it. A chorus of the happy birthday song blared from the speakers. Lloyd sang along.
Ariana stared at the scene before her, having no idea how to react.
"What are you waiting for?" Lloyd asked. "Let's have some cake."
Realization
Kellen kicked his feet onto his coffee table, opened a pop, and turned on the TV. A news reporter spoke about Ariana's abduction, speaking in circles as they always did. There was nothing new—she was still missing and they had no real suspects. They might if the FBI would quit looking at him.
If he could go back in time, he'd have never left for the stupid trash bags. But how could he have known the events that were about to unfold? He would've never dreamed that a simple act of trying to be helpful would make him look like a criminal.
He finished the soda, crushed the can on the arm of the couch, and tossed it onto the table next to his feet.
His phone rang. Probably Zoey again. Didn't she know what space meant?
Kellen almost didn't check, but did out of habit. It was one of his buddies from college. He accepted the call. "Hey, Trey. Long time."
"Yeah, long time. You're engaged and going to be a stepdad?"
"You saw the news?"
"Of course. Everyone's talking about it. Are you okay?"
"Define okay," Kellen said.
"Is it true they suspect you?" Trey asked.
Girl in Trouble (An Alex Mercer Thriller Book 1) Page 15