by Mia Hoddell
Of course, he was already making large sums of money from his casinos up and down the country, but when the number of punters dwindled to only the seriously addicted, he still had a lot of debts to call in. Rogan had it all planned out. Those who could not afford to pay off their debts worked them off. However, what the people signing on to his workforce didn’t realise was it was a lifetime contract.
They were desperate and desperate people very rarely read the small print, let alone hire a lawyer. Rogan gave them a way out that seemed a better option and his force grew rapidly. They weren’t having to pay anything back, were getting food and some got shelter, so nearly every one of them eagerly took up his offer before the deadline expired.
That was another reason Rogan got his way almost always; he gave short deadlines for a decision to be reached. It caused people to panic and make rash decisions. Rogan didn’t need money really, the one thing he desired most was to build an empire and the desperation people were feeling gave him the perfect opportunity.
The recession and war had enabled him to take control of people’s lives and he hadn’t released his grip. Rogan had grown his cartel and business so he controlled nearly all of London. Everyone knew what he was capable of. No one wanted to be indebted to him. But people couldn’t survive without him. Anyone who tried to usurp his power he quickly moved in on and made the problem disappear. Violence was the hammer he used to forge his new world order.
Cora knew what it meant to be indebted to Rogan and she wanted to buy herself more time because of it.
“I want to see her first,” she demanded as Rogan moved towards the door to await her decision. His hand paused, outstretched and halfway towards the handle.
Turning slowly, his head spun in Cora’s direction, his eyebrows raised in disbelief and question as his body followed behind. “And why would I allow you to do that? It doesn’t help me in any way.” He spoke slowly, a teasing smile creeping on to his face as he saw Cora’s annoyance.
“Don’t play dumb Rogan, you and I both know I don’t make rash decisions and I’m not desperate like all the others you get in here. I want proof and I’m not signing anything until I see and talk to Misty,” Cora said, walking around from behind his desk to face him head on.
Rogan’s eyes lit up at her words. It was the closest he had ever been to recruiting her and he wasn’t going to let it slip through his fingers.
“Well? Are you going to take me to her or not?” Cora asked, getting frustrated as she cocked her hip out in annoyance.
“What’s your plan if I say no?” Rogan looked at his watch casually, which only irritated Cora more.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Rogan shrugged nonchalantly in response, neither denying nor confirming her comment.
“You believe what you choose to believe.”
Before Cora could think it through, she snapped. Her fist went flying towards Rogan’s face quicker than she expected and she could do nothing to retract it.
Rogan lifted his arm to block her a split-second before the punch was about to land. Deflecting her blow, he diverted her fist to the side and using the momentum she had built up he gripped her wrist, spinning her around and pinning it behind her back. Leaning on the space between her shoulder blades, he shoved her body against the door, his six foot three frame towering over her.
“Don’t you ever try something like that again,” he said, his tone lowering to a dangerous level, his head close to hers.
“Why not? What are you going to do? It’s not like you can afford to lose me so I don’t have to worry about being disposed of like normal employees,” Cora shot back, trying to act more confident than she felt which wasn’t easy when she could smell the wood her face was pressed against.
There was a controlled power to the grip he had around her wrist. She could sense that he would only have to make a slight adjustment to his hold to be able to snap it like a twig.
“You may be of more use to me than the others but that doesn’t mean you’re untouchable. I only need you coherent and that leaves a lot of options, regarding pain, open to me. It’s in your best interest not to test me.”
Cora gulped but tried to disguise it as Rogan finally released her. She turned back to face him, quieter than usual.
“No smart retort this time?” Rogan provoked.
“Take me to Misty, Rogan. I swear I will fight my way past every one of those men out there if you don’t. I’m sure they only have orders to restrain and not hurt me, so it shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve done it once before, haven’t I?” Cora smirked at him, regaining her confidence at his challenge.
“True, but you won’t.” There was no question in Rogan’s voice and not even a slight hint of doubt which irritated Cora immensely. However, if he was underestimating her, it would only work to her favour later on when there would be an opportunity.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Rogan. Now, I want to see Misty or I promise I won’t even consider signing that piece of paper.”
“Fine, follow me and don’t try anything along the way. Only you can stop Misty from suffering so I suggest you be on your best behaviour.” He turned his back on her, opening the door and leading the way down the corridor.
“What made you think I wasn’t already giving you my best behaviour? I haven’t beaten anyone up yet, I haven’t tried to escape and I haven’t said that much.” She was taunting him, trying to bait him into retaliating so she could get him off guard but it wasn’t working.
Aware to what she was doing, Rogan remained quiet and kept walking towards a door at the bottom of the hallway that led to the basement. It was obvious Cora knew how to play the game but Rogan knew better.
Pulling out a ring full of keys and cards from his pocket, he flicked through them until he found the right one. Then unlocking the door, he flicked on the light and led Cora down the old, wooden steps.
Cora was assuming that there would be a big open space at the bottom of the creaky stairs. She also imagined it to be as modern as the rest of the house—like a military bunker with high-tech lighting and machines. However when she reached the bottom she was both slightly relieved and disappointed to find it was just a small, cell-like room with stone walls.
The bright lights that were designed to play with a prisoner’s sense of night and day illuminated every square foot. The room was empty except for Misty sat on a wooden chair in the middle and four men—one in each corner.
As they descended the last few steps Misty looked up with hopeful eyes and Cora didn’t wait for Rogan to say anything.
Breaking into a run, she wrapped her arms around her friend’s neck as Misty started sobbing. It was clear she had been crying before but that didn’t stop her balling her eyes out on Cora’s shoulders.
“You have ten minutes, Cora,” Rogan stated but Cora ignored him, instead she was rubbing her hand soothingly over Misty’s back. Only when she heard Rogan’s feet on the steps did she look up and acknowledge him.
“I want to be alone, Rogan,” Cora said, her voice taking on a no nonsense tone which caused him to pause.
“Not going to happen; and you’re wasting your own time talking to me.”
Standing up, Cora untangled herself from Misty’s arms and walked towards where he had paused on the stairs.
“Make—them—leave—Rogan,” she demanded. “There’s no way out of here other than the door we came in through so you don’t need them.”
From the corner of her eye she noticed the men turn towards her, their eyes wide with shock. Obviously they weren’t used to people standing up to their boss—especially a five foot five, blonde, nineteen-year-old female.
“No, they stay.”
Turning to leave, he didn’t even bother waiting for a reply. He thought his final statement spoke for itself. However, Cora wasn’t one to give up and he should have been well aware of that.
Reaching out she grabbed his wrist, yanking him backwards with enough force to bring him stumbling ba
ck down a few steps.
There were a few gasps from the men but they were quickly silenced when Rogan turned swiftly, shooting them all a glare before his eyes found Cora’s.
“You’d better remember where you are and who you’re with Cora. This is the last time I will remind you.” His voice was tense but he also lowered his volume so only Cora could hear. He didn’t want the men overhearing the conversation in case he appeared weak.
Cora had other ideas and challenging Rogan in front of his men was only the first step of her plan to escape and bring down his empire.
“Make them leave Rogan or I swear I will raise hell on earth in your home.” Cora matched his tone, stare and posture with confidence. She refused to back down under his gaze and domineering presence, and it was that fact that made Rogan change his mind. He couldn’t help but admire her slightly.
“You have eight minutes. You four follow me.” He gestured to the men, turning on his heels to walk back up the stairs as his angry footfalls got quieter. The men started to follow him but as each one passed Cora they gave her a perplexed stare like they couldn’t believe what she had done.
Cora couldn’t really understand why they were so surprised. Most of Rogan’s staff knew their history and how Cora was not afraid to demand what she wanted so it didn’t make sense for them to appear so confused. Maybe it was the fact he listened with minimal effort and didn’t throw a fit or kill someone like he would usually.
Cora stayed at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for all of the men to disappear and the door to slam shut before she allowed the breath she had been holding subconsciously to release. Aware of the short amount of time she had, and the large amount of information she needed to find out, Cora counted to five before turning to face her best friend. Misty was sitting with her head in her hands as she hunched over on the wooden chair.
Chapter 7
Cora walked over to Misty quickly. Crouching down in front of her, she rested her arms on her legs and her hands encased Misty’s. The gesture encouraged Misty to lift her face and look directly at Cora with sadness.
“Are you hurt at all?” Cora asked, her voice full of concern now that she didn’t have to pretend to be tough.
Misty just shook her head in response, her lip trembling slightly as a single tear made its way down her cheek. Releasing one of her hands, Cora reached up to brush it away with the pad of her thumb.
“Misty, this is important. Have any of his employees done anything to try and hurt you? No matter how small.”
Once again Misty shook her head. “No. Well, I mean besides tying me up and forcing me down here no one has touched me.”
Cora felt the anger inside her building at the way they had treated her. Misty was innocent, and no matter what she had done in the past to Nick, she couldn’t let it happen again. Nick had been different. He had been able to take care of himself, but not Misty. She was fragile, full of life and happiness, even with the way the country had changed. Rogan would break her and Cora knew she would not be able to live with something like that.
“Sarah, why am I here? And why did Rogan call you Cora?” Misty asked in a small voice. She did, however, match Cora’s stare with one as steely of her own.
“Because that’s my real name. We don’t have long enough for that though, Misty, and I need the information you have first. Stupidly, I allowed Rogan’s men to catch me and he’s now blackmailing me with your life. If we have time, I will explain the rest later but, if I have any hope of getting you out of here, I need you to tell me everything. What happened after I left?”
Misty was shaking as Cora spoke, the reality of what her friend was saying scaring her.
“Sar—I mean Cora, don’t let him use me to get you to sign over your life, it’s not right—” she began but Cora cut her off by raising her hand and speaking.
“Misty I don’t have the time and you don’t have all the details. You also don’t know what you’re letting yourself into by saying that. I know what Rogan has planned for you if I refuse and I will not let you go through that when I will still have to give Rogan what he wants. I will get out sometime but you won’t, unless you trust me. Now tell me everything and do it quickly.”
At Cora’s words Misty seemed to pick up. Her posture became straighter and she was filled with the confidence that was radiating from Cora.
“Okay, well nothing happened for about two hours after you left, I just continued reading. Then these weird noises started coming from the hall. At first I ignored them, they freaked me out and I didn’t want to look in case it was someone dangerous.”
Cora squeezed her leg encouragingly, silently communicating with her to continue.
“It didn’t stop though, and you know me.” She tried to smile weakly but it didn’t reach her eyes like normal. “I was too curious so I opened the door. I kept the chain on and only peered out but even that was too much. Two men burst into the flat. They literally ripped the chain from the door and sent me flying back with it. I didn’t have time to run before they were on me.”
Misty sighed and rubbed her wrists as if in memory.
“They used those plastic electrical ties on my hands and they forced me out the door. You’ll never guess who was out in the hall.”
Cora had her suspicions and instead of replying she let Misty continue, waiting to see if hunch was right.
“Sam. He led Rogan’s men right to our flat and he didn’t even look remorseful as they led me past him. I don’t even know how he found out where we lived. I promise I didn’t tell anyone.” A bit of the old Misty came back to life as she screwed up her face and her pitch reached one that only dogs could hear.
“I believe you and I swear I will make him pay for this, Misty. Once I’ve got you out of here they will be next. Him and Jaz.” Cora’s words were curt and to the point, her mind already made up about what she was going to do. “What happened then?”
“They bundled me in a car and drove me here. I tried not to think about what was going on but I knew it had something to do with what you told me this morning. Why is Sam doing this?” Misty whined.
“Because Rogan is offering him a lot of money and if he doesn’t it’ll be his life that’s in danger. Sam might as well have signed his life over to Rogan when he agreed to give information for money. If he doesn’t come up with the goods now, Rogan will make him pay. He’ll never be free but I’ll solve that problem for him,” Cora said, her mind already reeling with possibilities.
“Did anyone say anything to you about what’s going on? Anything I should know?”
Misty shook her head. “Hardly anyone has spoken to me. Cora, I don’t want you exchanging yourself for me.” She was shaking her head as if it would magically make everything okay.
“Misty, I’m not going to leave you here. You won’t be able to handle it.”
“But you’ve been running from this your whole life you—”
“Exactly. It is my problem, not yours.”
“But—”
Every time Misty started to speak Cora cut her words off with either a glare or by speaking over her.
“No buts, you have to trust me. Rogan has this whole thing planned out and for once, I can’t win. It’s either I sign willingly and you’re safe, or I’m forced to sign and he orders his men to hurt you.”
Cora chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to reveal the true extent of what Rogan’s men would do to her but neither did she want to make it seem like an idle threat.
“I can’t get out of this Misty, not this time but it doesn’t mean I won’t try. Just because I sign a piece of paper it doesn’t mean anything, okay? Once you are safe, I will get out, trust me, I will.”
Before Misty could reply the sound of the metal door at the top of the stairs being thrown open caused her to jump and retreat back inside her shell.
“Trust me all right? Promise me that Misty, that you will let me handle things and not counter any of my decisions.”
“Time’s up, g
et a move on, Cora. You’re just stalling the inevitable now,” Rogan shouted from the top of the stairs. He wasn’t even bothering to fetch her.
Cora ignored him, staying crouched in front of Misty until she saw her head nod slightly in agreement to her words.
“Thank you. I will get you out of here, I swear and then I’ll get myself out, all right?” Cora leaned over, giving her best friend one last hug before pulling up her icy defences in preparation to battle with Rogan once more.
“CORA! If you want Misty to remain safe, you will move your ass right now and get up these steps.”
Cora was already half way up when his second warning came. Her footsteps were so quiet that he hadn’t heard them and he wasn’t looking in her direction as she approached. Clearing her throat to get his attention, she watched as his head spun towards her—full of anger and annoyance.
Rolling her eyes, she continued on past him and into the corridor. “What are you? My father?” she said sarcastically as she made her way back to his office by herself as he locked up the basement. She saw no point in trying to escape, not while he had Misty.
Collapsing on the sofa, Cora watched as Rogan shut the door behind them and made his way over to the desk. His face transformed into anger as he got the first close-up look of Cora’s art work carved into his expensive desk, but he quickly covered it. Picking up the piece of paper that was her contract, he walked back over to her.
“So what will it be? Are you going to sign it or are my men going to have a lot of fun with your friend?” Rogan held out the paper and pen expectantly.
Cora huffed in annoyance. “I will sign it.”
A smug grin licked his face at her surrender when she took the contract. He had been waiting years for the moment to reveal itself and finally he had another False Finder to help him grow his empire. He had also succeeded in gaining the upper hand and beating her, which was just as thrilling.
“But on a few conditions. If you don’t agree to them then I will never sign this.”