by Sofia Grey
If he was right, there was a chance one of these units ran a night shift, which meant people. And help.
*
Yanni insisted on showing Maria how to start, drive, and park the boat, while laughing at her use of non-nautical terms. To her relief, she hadn’t been nauseous at all. He docked beside a tranquil bay for the night, and they ran over the plan again, in minute detail.
She had to convince Jack and Tanner that Yanni knew Rico and had worked with him, as opposed to against him. And that meant figuring out specifics that Yanni couldn’t have otherwise known. Stuff Maria didn’t know.
And then it was a question of waiting for sunrise.
*
Juli sat silent when Jack made the phone call at junction 10. The instructions relayed were short. They were to join the M6 heading north, and then take the first exit, which was Junction 20. They’d see the services next to the junction and pull onto a patch of unused ground near the petrol station. Jack told the kidnapper, when asked, the make and registration number of the car he drove.
The kidnappers would be looking out for them.
Holy shit. Juli was going to do this. They were only a few minutes from the junction. She couldn’t back out now.
Her hands were clammy. She wiped them on her jeans and checked her pistol again, before replacing it in the elastic holster attached to her right calf. Her left calf had the concealed spare clip in an elastic bandage. She patted her packet. The burner phone provided by Davey was there. The tracker pin was secure inside her boot. The software was up and running on Aiden’s laptop.
She had everything. She couldn’t be better prepared, but it didn’t matter. She was terrified.
Jack squeezed her fingers. “We’re nearly there.” His voice was low and unhappy.
So many things could go wrong. They were taking an enormous gamble that the kidnappers might not know Irina was Polish. If they tried to talk to Juli in Irina’s native language, she was fucked. There were too many what-ifs.
Aiden’s van had gone ahead on the motorway, so that they could leave first. They pulled onto the petrol station forecourt and took position. More of Aiden’s team members were en route, but they were still ten to fifteen minutes away.
Juli’s heart raced. Christ. She was going to be hyperventilating soon at this rate. Stay cool. She could do this.
The petrol station was a beacon of bright lights in the darkness, and Jack drove past it, searching for the patch of wasteland. It was right where the kidnapper said it was, empty and desolate.
Juli shivered. She felt sick. She really didn’t want to do this.
Where were the kidnappers? They should be here with Daisy and Nathan, ready to make the exchange.
Jack flicked the headlights onto high beam, and then drove slowly in a tight circle. The only vehicles in sight were at the petrol station and a line of trucks parked in the distance at the services.
The headlights picked out three—no, four—tracks that criss-crossed the wasteland. Four different ways to approach them.
The phone rang. She met Jack’s gaze.
He answered. “I’m in place. Where the hell is Daisy?”
The phone was on speaker, every word relayed to Aiden and his team. “I can see you,” said the kidnapper. “If you look right, you’ll see two vehicles by the petrol pumps.”
They both looked. “I see them,” said Jack. He gripped her hand so tight, she wondered if he’d be able to let her go when the time came.
“Good. Now look up to the motorway bridge. You’ll see a car, flashing its headlights.”
A car had stopped on the motorway bridge, pointing away from the services. Its lights flashed once. Twice. Three times.
“I see it.” Jack’s voice was cold.
“You’re going to let Irina out of the car. Then you’re going to drive away. Daisy will wait for you on the bridge. If you try to trick me, I’ll kill Daisy in front of you. Do you understand?”
Fuck. They thought the trade would be face to face—that Aiden’s team would have the chance to ambush the kidnappers when they tried to leave. In reality, Daisy was hundreds of yards away.
Jack swallowed, his gaze fixed on Juli. His voice was unsteady when he spoke. “I understand.”
*
Jack had to leave Juli behind. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do.
Even though he couldn’t see where the kidnappers were, he was almost certainly being watched. He had to make this look real. If he were really taking Irina, instead of Juli, Irina wouldn’t be happy. She’d probably put up a struggle
It hurt physically when Jack reached across and opened the passenger door, and then pretended to shove Juli out of the car. Her hands were loosely bound with kitchen string, to give the illusion she’d been taken against her will.
She scrambled out, and as planned, shouted abuse at him. She cursed in French. He’d no idea what she was saying, but she sounded pissed.
He felt every word as a dagger to his heart.
He booted the gas and took off, watching her in the rear-view mirror. She stood in the centre of the open area, hands apparently tied in front of her.
Aiden spoke into Jack’s earpiece, the radio link clear. “Go get Daisy. We have eyes on Juli. Backup is five minutes away. Davey and Tanner are outside, monitoring the situation.”
“Roger that.” He accelerated through the gearbox and raced up the incline to the bridge over the junction. Where the fuck was Daisy?
A motorbike cruised ahead of him, before taking the slip road to the motorway. An ancient Honda wheezed past, before veering across the lanes and back again.
Jack squinted. Was that a blanket on the ground? Holy shit. It was Daisy, and she’d almost rolled in front of the Honda.
He slammed on the brakes and leapt out of the car. The bastards had dumped her on a narrow pavement, inches away from the road. Her head was covered, and she screamed, her voice muffled by the blanket.
“Hey.” He tugged the fabric away from her head. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“No.” She struggled, writhing and twisting like a fish on a line. Did she know who it was?
“Daisy, it’s me. Jack.”
She met his gaze, eyes wide. Her lips wobbled, and she gulped, tears cascading down her face.
“You’re safe. I’ve got you. It’s gonna be okay.” He picked her up, carried her to the car, and placed her in the passenger seat. “Are you hurt, honey? Did they hurt you?”
“My hands,” she stammered.
They were tied behind her back. The assholes would pay for this. Jack’s balisong made light work of the duct tape that bound her. He rubbed her wrists, his fingers gentle.
“It’ll burn for a minute, while the muscles relax. Just wait it out.”
She nodded. “Where’s Nathan? They hurt him, Jack. They knifed his arm. It was horrible.” She sank her face into her hands, her body shaking.
“I’ve got Daisy,” he reported over the radio. “She’s fine. What’s happening down there?”
“Stay where you are.” Aiden snapped the words out. There was a sharp bang, and the connection cut out.
“Stay here,” said Jack to Daisy. “I’ll be right back.”
Another bang sounded, and another.
Christ. That was gunfire.
Jack climbed out of the car and hurried to the edge of the bridge. He could look down onto the services from here. Aiden’s van was still at the gas station, along with another vehicle. Jack shifted his gaze to the wasteland where he left Juli.
There were three cars there. And no sign of Juli.
*
Juli watched Jack driving away. She wanted to scream to him to come back.
He couldn’t. He had to rescue Daisy
Juli knew only too well how it felt to be kidnapped, to have her freedom removed, and to be in fear of her life. She couldn’t go through that again.
The plan would work. It had to.
Seconds after Jack left her, three cars zoomed
up from a side road parallel to the rough ground, and bumped over the grass. They circled around her, corralling her like rodeo horses. Their engines revved and lights flashed. She was trapped.
She breathed in the fumes, her lungs tight with fear. Gunshots sounded in the distance, and she froze. They came from the petrol station. Dear God, please don’t let Aiden and his team be hurt.
A car door opened, and a man leaned out. He grabbed Juli’s arm and dragged her into the back of his car. Her feet scrabbled on the grass, and she landed on her knees in the foot well. The man pushed her down. He spoke over her head in a language she didn’t recognise. The door closed, and the car took off.
Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them back. She was on her own now.
“Get up.” The guy tugged her upright, to sit next to him. There was another man in the back with them, with Juli sandwiched in the middle. One held her hands up, while the other did a cursory search of her. He found the burner and laid it on the seat.
He didn’t check below the knees. That was a mistake, and she gloried in it. Her satisfaction was short lived. The guy clucked over the loose way her hands were bound and pulled tight on the twine. It cut into her wrists, and she whimpered. Fucker.
It hurt, but she could tolerate it. She wasn’t expecting them to throw something over her head. A coat? It was heavy fabric that blocked out the light. Shit.
What possessed her to suggest this as a plan? Why did Jack agree to go along with it? Common sense surfaced amidst her rising panic. It was the best idea, but it didn’t mean she had to like it.
She was armed—would be, when she got her hands free—and she had the tracker pin. Aiden and Jack would be following her movements.
Summoning every ounce of self-control, Juli focused on where they were going.
The car ran smoothly at a constant speed. No turns or stops. They almost certainly joined the motorway, or one of them. This junction was at the intersection of the M56, running from North Wales into Manchester, and the M6 which ran all the way from Carlisle in the far north to beyond Birmingham in the Midlands. They could be heading anywhere, but it didn’t seem like a long journey. The car changed direction, slowed, took a few sweeping turns, and parked with the engine still running.
Juli sat still, listening, and waiting. Car doors opened and closed again, and the cover was pulled from her head. She opened her eyes to see an unsmiling man, staring at her from the front of the car.
“Irina?” It was a question.
Juli nodded. She didn’t have to fake looking scared. She was freaking petrified. Her teeth were chattering like a set of castanets.
“We meet at last,” said the man. “You’ve been a thorn in my side for the past week.” His accent could be East European, but it wasn’t obvious. Yanni said the Albanians and the Russians were the major players. This guy could be representing either side.
“Well, Irina, I’d like you to tell me something.”
She saw a hint of a smile. It sent shivers down her spine. This was the moment of truth. She had to hope they didn’t speak Polish, because if they did, they’d instantly know that she wasn’t Irina.
“I want to know what you told Alain Auberge,” said the man, “and how much he knows about my business.”
She was right. They wanted Yanni, not Irina. “Why do you think I’ve been talking to him?”
He shot out a hand to grab her chin and squeeze the soft tissue until her eyes watered. “The only reason you’re still alive is because of him. How much did you tell him?”
“Who is he?” Her mouth was constricted by his fingers, her voice sounding strange. “I can’t remember what I said.”
His head tilted to one side, his gaze penetrating. “He’s been asking about my business. Asking for you. The man seems to be everywhere.”
Juli tried to shrug. “I only saw him the once. I don’t remember what I said.”
He sighed, his fingers still digging into her flesh. “Thing is, if you don’t remember, then I need to ask him.” His leaned closer. “And since you don’t remember, you’re not much use to me.”
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Unless you can tell me where to find Alain Auberge, I don’t need you.” He released her with a shove. “Get rid of her,” he said.
*
The three cars on the wasteland roared off in different directions. Jack was frozen. Which car was Juli in? “Aiden,” he snapped into the radio link. “Report.”
“We’ve been disabled,” said Aiden. “They shot out the tyres. You need to come get us.”
“On my way.”
Jack was right about gunshots, but at least nobody was hurt. He needed to get his ass back to the gas station and pick up Aiden and the others. The tracker software would be following Juli, but he wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
He kept a careful watch for any further hostiles, as he drove back to the services, but it all looked quiet. All apart from the middle-aged man who’d been filling his car at the time and had also had his tyres shot out. The man ranted to the gas station attendant about drive-by shootings, and they were in the middle of calling it in to the police.
Great. So much for keeping this a low-profile operation.
Jack pulled onto the forecourt and looked at Daisy. “Climb into the back, honey. It’s going to get a little cosy in here.”
She was in shock. The last she needed was to race through the night while they searched for Juli. His heart went out to her. “It’s gonna be okay,” he said.
Aiden climbed in the front, laptop and other gadgets on his lap. Tanner and Davey ran up to the car, and Charlie slid onto the back seat. “Daisy,” he whispered, a sea of emotion in the single word.
As Tanner and Davey squeezed around them, Daisy settled on Charlie’s lap, sobbing into his chest, their arms wrapped tight around each other. It was a bittersweet moment in the midst of hell.
“M6, southbound,” said Aiden. “They’re not far ahead of us.”
*
Juli had to stall the kidnappers. Jack was somewhere behind, searching for her. She needed to buy herself time.
Her jaw hurt where the guy squeezed it.
“If I tell you how to find him,” she said, “will you let me go?”
Time seemed to halt. Her ragged breathing was noisy in the confines of the car. He must be able to see how scared she was. She squeezed her hands into fists, and winced when the twine dug into them. She was over this.
Eventually, the guy inclined his head. “If you only saw him once, how would you know that?” He narrowed his gaze. “Unless you’re lying about that as well?”
She had to think quickly. This had to sound plausible. “I only met him once, and he didn’t tell me much. But he arranged to meet me, when I got away.”
“Continue.”
“He gave me that mobile phone and told me he’d call to arrange a meeting. I’m supposed to be seeing him tomorrow morning. He’s going to call beforehand and tell me where.”
The guy appeared to be thinking about it. “Why can’t you call him?”
“He didn’t give me his number. He’s worried about getting caught.”
“And when are you expecting him to call?”
Hope surged. Was he buying this? “We’re supposed to be meeting at ten. I won’t know the details until he calls. Like I said, he’s worried about being set up.”
The guy glanced at an ostentatious wristwatch, and then fixed his gaze on Juli. “It’s a little after three now. I can wait until seven, but no longer. You’d better hope he calls you back soon.”
It was a victory, of a sort. She sat perfectly still and waited to see what happened next.
Come on, Jack. She’d been stationery for a few minutes. He should be right outside. If the tracker worked. If they came off the motorway at the right junction and didn’t go flying past.
“We have a few hours to kill,” said the guy. “Perhaps you could entertain us, Irina? After all, isn’t that what you do b
est?”
The two men flanking Juli stared at her, their faces expectant. Entertain them? He didn’t mean a song-and-dance routine. Holy fuck. What the hell could she do? Stall them some more.
“I need the bathroom,” she said through the rattling of her teeth. Would they take her into the main service building? She might be able to give them the slip.
The boss-guy eyed her a moment longer, then turned his attention to her phone. “Take her outside.” He sounded bored. “Don’t take all night.”
Fuckety fuck. Was she safer inside the car or out? Her knees shook. There was no way she could run from them.
The men opened the back doors and climbed out, then one of them hauled her out by the elbow. She stumbled but stayed upright.
They chatted to each other in a low tone, in that foreign language again. One either side of her, they walked her a few yards to the shrubbery surrounding the car park.
She had one chance at this. She had to get it right.
*
Nathan staggered down the road, leaving the first group of units behind, as he searched desperately for a main road, shops, or houses… For safety. A passing taxi would do. He had to find someone and tell them about Daisy. They had to alert the police.
The estate was deserted.
Panic mingled with fear. What if the kidnappers came back to the van and found him gone? What the fuck would they do to him? He was already bleeding and half-concussed.
His legs were increasingly weak. Walking wasn’t going so well. He should sit for a minute, to get his breath back.
He shivered, the shaking rattling through his body. How much blood did he lose? It wasn’t a cold night, but he was frozen to the bone.
The world swam before his eyes.
Shit. He felt weird.