A car door opened, and then she heard the crunch of gravel close behind her. There was no time for flight, so she turned to face whoever it was, a sinking feeling clutching at her stomach.
“Good afternoon, Talia. You had me confused for a while with the dyed hair and the baseball cap. Luckily we had a good description. Otherwise, I would never have followed you, especially since you’re supposed to be dead. A gentleman friend of yours would like you to visit him if you don’t mind.” Marco reached out to grab her, grinning stupidly at his attempt at a joke.
“Get away from me, you creep.” She swung the bag at Randall’s number one guy, connecting with the side of his face. Having known her when she was pathetic, he didn’t anticipate her attack. It gave her immense satisfaction to catch him off-guard, despite her heart hammering away. Marco was one of her attackers, and he deserved the worst she could manage. “Firstly, Randall is no gentleman, and secondly, he’s no friend of mine.” Again she swung the bag, but this time Marco let a muscular forearm take the brunt, and then he snatched the bag from her.
“Perhaps I’ve led you to believe you have a choice, and I guess you do. There’s the easy way or the hard way, but make no mistake, you are coming with us.” He smirked and flung the bag to the side, closing the gap between them in one step.
Us? So there was more than one of them. She saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye and opened her mouth to scream. Before she could utter a sound, a whack on the back of her head sent her sprawling to the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Hello, my darling wife. It’s been quite a while, and it looks like we have plenty to catch up on.”
Pain, so dense across her neck, clouded her thinking. She knew that voice, but surely it was her imagination playing tricks. Something covered her mouth, and Talia forced her eyelids open, destroying any hope that this was another one of her nightmares. Still fuzzy, the face she never wished to see again in this lifetime hovered over her. The lips moved into that familiar smile that never reached the cold grey eyes. Bile rose in her throat as she understood that she’d gambled and lost. But she wasn’t dead, so giving up wasn’t an option. Struggling to sit up, she realized her hands were tied behind her back.
“I hear you’ve been looking for me. Now, the million-dollar question is why?” He ran a finger down the scar that stretched from her hairline to her eye as if fascinated. “Perhaps it’s that you’ve missed me so much. You always enjoyed the more intimate side of our lives. Our lovemaking was rather special, wasn’t it?” He laughed sadistically at her as he ripped the tape from her mouth.
“Lovemaking. Is that what you call it? We never made love, and you know it.” Her voice was as dry as her lips, and the outrage croaked pathetically.
“Such language. It seems you’ve changed in more ways than just looks. We both know that sex wasn’t always bad between us. I seem to recall that you were so grateful someone wanted you that you would do anything I asked, in and out of the bedroom. Yes, you were quite the pleaser, if you remember. Shall we go somewhere more private and discuss it further?” He walked to a doorway and nodded to a bear of a man standing guard.
Talia recognized him as the same man who’d confronted her on the beach. Is that the reason they’d found her? And if so, did they know where she’d been hiding out? Had she led them to Nick and the others? What had she done? All the planning and she’d messed up everything with her impatience.
The large man came across the room, untied her feet, and hauled her upright. Her head pounded, the room started to swim, and she retched.
“You better not make a mess,” Randall growled in her ear as he dragged her to the doorway.
A set of stairs led down into the basement level, and it was an effort to keep from falling as he propelled her down them. At the bottom, he thrust her through another door. A chair sat in the middle of the room. The goon forced Talia into it, tieing her arms behind her. The door slammed shut, and the room was instantly darker, but she wasn’t alone.
As her eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, she frantically scanned the interior. Just as she suspected, there was a blackened window with thick bars across it. Even if she could untie these ropes, there would be no escape.
“Now let’s discuss what you’ve been up to, shall we?” Randall pulled another chair towards her and sat close enough that his breath fanned her face. “Why are you here on this particular island, at this particular time?”
Her stomach lurched with his nearness, and her wrists burned with the strain of the ropes that tied them. “I can assure you, there’s no hidden agenda. How could I possibly know you’d be here? I decided to get away and found a place on the internet to rent. After what you did to me, I was incapable of working.”
She thought she sounded calm enough when what she really wanted to do was scream at him for taking Chloe. Then beg him to give her back. But Randall’s heart was ice, and she knew that neither would help her case.
“You poor thing. My heart bleeds,” he sneered. “Due to your misguided view of what’s right, and lack of loyalty, I nearly lost everything. Fortunately, I never put all my eggs in one basket, and here I am back in the game. However, that deal, which took months to bring to fruition, turned sour when you were unavailable to sign off on the last shipment. It cost me a pretty penny and caused a lot of ill-feeling, not just with my clients. My boys were especially troubled when they found out you were still alive. They’d like to get their hands on you—to do what I can only guess. You should be very grateful I don’t let them express their anger once more.”
His fingers traced a line down from her neck to her breasts, which he squeezed painfully. She recoiled, but his eyes gleamed with delight. “You may think a scar and hanging out with ex-cons makes you tougher, but I bet underneath this skirt, it’s just the same old you. Tell me, do blondes really have more fun? Perhaps we could find out for old times’ sake?”
Talia’s heart was racing now. What did he mean about ex-cons? Did he have Kirk, as well? She had to try to talk Randall out of whatever he had in mind. Not that talking had ever helped in the past.
“Look, Randall, we both know you don’t want me, and this is just a game to you. You thought I was dead, so let’s pretend I am. The day you beat me up, I promised not to go to the police, and even after what happened, I kept my word. Let me go, and I’ll leave the island right now.”
“We both know none of that is true.” Randall’s voice was deceptively soft. “I hear you’ve shared a lot more than information with a certain detective, and I’m afraid leaving isn’t possible. But perhaps if you do a little something for me, we can work something out.”
“I’m not sleeping with you, Randall. I’d rather die.” She held her head high, waiting for some sort of retaliation. Instead, he dropped a folder onto the desk.
“What’s this?’
“This is your ticket out of here.”
“What do you mean?” It couldn’t be that easy, so whatever was in that folder had to be something terrible.
“Sign these papers, and I’ll let you go. You’ll never hear from me again.”
“Famous last words. I believe I’ve heard them before.”
His eyes glinted dangerously. “If you hadn’t snooped into my affairs, there would have been no problems. Now, this is the price for messing with me. Take it or leave it, but make no mistake—if you don’t sign, you’ll wish you’d stayed dead.”
“Let me think about it.”
His face darkened.
“Look, Randall, I haven’t even read the damn thing. How can I sign it when I have no idea what it’s all about? Give me one day—a measly twenty-four hours.”
“You’ve got a couple of hours at the most.” He grabbed her chin. “I’m a busy man, so let me warn you, Talia, don’t push this any further. I can make you very sorry, as you already know.”
Talia gulped, knowing what he was capable of, but there was something in the way he’d hesitated. He needed her, and she could
n’t pass up the chance to get something in return. The whole reason she was here. “Randall . . . is she here?”
“Finally. Did you think I didn’t realize what you were after? My daughter’s safe, and will remain so if her mother does the right thing.”
“I want to take her with me.”
“Let’s see what happens after you sign these papers.”
His chair scraped back, and he opened the door, nodding in her direction. The thug sidled past, and she flinched as he came nearer. That seemed to please him, and he roughly untied her hands.
Then they both left, locking the door behind them. Talia’s hands burned as blood flowed back into them, and they shook when she picked up the sheaf of papers and laid them out to read.
Most of it was to do with a trust that Randall was executor for. Then she saw the names written at the top. They flashed at her as if written in neon: Samuel and Maria McLeod. Her parents’ names. When had that happened, and how? Of course, after their deaths, it was conceivable she may have signed anything since she was heavily sedated for the first couple of weeks. In hindsight, Randall had a hand in that, too, when he played the knight in shining armor.
She flicked through the pages, and her heart began to race again. She’d always known her parents had been quite wealthy, but amounts were never discussed. Although generous, they’d never lived extravagant lives. The document said they had many investments, and upon their deaths, everything would go to her and Ricky but that his share would be locked up in the trust until he turned twenty. However, Ricky could never claim anything since he’d died simultaneously, which means that it was all hers. And that the lawyer must have been in on this with Randall. Otherwise, she would have known.
The next lot of papers were a new will: hers. If she signed it and subsequently died, her husband would be entitled to everything. So that was why she was still alive; for now. He must have found out she’d changed her will and left everything to Chloe. Randall must have been planning for this from the very day he met her. If not before.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nick's mobile phone vibrated in his pocket, and he yanked it free. "Hello?"
"Nick, it's Emma. We just heard the cops had a call from someone in the village claiming to know you. He insists you'd want to talk to him."
Nick was confused. Only his team and the boss knew he was on the island. "Somebody connected to the case?"
" I don't know. It's somebody called Kirk. He gave them a message for you. Get her out now. Does that make any sense?"
His hand clenched around the phone. Kirk being here did not bode well, and if he was in contact with Talia, then he knew as much about what was going down here as Nick did. "Randall's lot must know Talia's here, which could mean they know about us."
"I can't imagine how they'd have figured that out unless someone noticed the two of you strolling around in town the other day," Emma said furiously.
"Okay, I get your point, but getting angry isn't going to help. If those crooks know Talia's here, then we're all seriously in jeopardy. Jack's on his way to you. As soon as he gets there, alert the rest of the team. I don't know how this is going to go now, but you can bet it'll explode in our faces before the end of the day. I'll get Talia out of here and leave word where to find us."
"I don't like to say I told you so."
"Well, resist the urge, for now, okay?'
Nick hung up and raced down the hall. He had a bad feeling and didn't bother knocking. The room was empty, and now he was the furious one. He thought she'd learned her lesson about not going off on her own.
Racing down to the beach, he found it empty. Then he saw her sandals. They lay where she'd left them after her swim. They were about to be ruined by the next big wave, and he shuddered. She wasn't as fragile as when he first met her, but could she survive a second ordeal if she'd been taken?
There were no marks on the sand to prove she was abducted, so he ran up the driveway and scouted along the road. Something in the layby caught his eye. Talia's bag lay on the curb, and his stomach twisted. As he picked it up, Nick took note of the shoe prints in the gravel. There'd been a struggle, and now there was no doubt what had happened.
Back at the cottage, he rang Kirk on the number he'd memorized. The phone rang and rang, which was not a good sign. The voicemail finally kicked in, but instead of the usual 'Leave a message', it uttered the words Nick hadn't wanted to hear. The two had arranged this emergency code after he'd left Talia at Kirk's home, broken and bloodied.
He rang Emma back. "I have to go in. I'm pretty sure they have Talia."
Emma gasped. "You can't know that for certain."
"Trust me on this. Give me time to find out if she's okay, and in the meantime, prepare the team."
"No, Nick, please wait, at least until I can get you some backup."
He appreciated the concerned tone, they would probably always care about each other, but Nick had no choice.
"There's no time to lose. Be safe." Nick put the phone in his pocket, his decision made. It wasn't going to be easy, but he couldn't leave Talia with that animal. Randall relished torture, and she didn't deserve another bout of it.
His mind reeled with a plan that would be simple and quick to put in place. Step one was to remove anything from the cottage that could tell Randall's animals who they were, and how many were here. If he didn't already know, Randall would have that information soon. Emma and Jack had the cars, so he didn't have to worry about moving them. This did create the problem of how to move everything quickly and efficiently. He'd also have to find a suitable place close by to stash their identification, weapons, and equipment that wouldn't be found too soon.
No sooner had he achieved this when he heard the crack of twigs outside. He put a pair of binoculars around his neck to distract them and as a potential weapon, then waited in the kitchen. Three men barged through the doorway, knocking the door partially off its hinges.
"You'd better not make a move if you don't want a hole in your chest." The man pointed a gun at him and motioned with it to move up against the wall. He spread-eagled Nick, then frisked him for weapons.
"He's clean, Marco." He motioned to the man standing to one side, who was obviously in charge.
"You seem to be expecting us. What's this for?" Marco pointed to the binoculars.
"I'm a bird watcher," Nick told him.
"Is that so?" Marco grinned unpleasantly. "We may have a little birdie next door you should come and see before she becomes extinct."
"You better not have harmed her." Nick took a step forward, but the first man blocked his path.
"Are you going to be a problem?" Marco asked with relish.
"Let's see how things work out between us before I make any promises."
In hindsight, goading the bully was perhaps a little rash as Marco punched Nick in the face causing him to stagger back a few paces. The man was strong.
"Don't be a smart ass." Marco casually wiped his knuckles on his jeans, while the glint in his eyes suggested he'd like to have another chance to repeat this.
The first man pulled a length of rope out of his jeans and, handing his gun to the third man, tied Nick's hands together.
"Now, follow Dave and behave yourself." Marco nodded at the door.
From Nick's lip, a trickle of blood dribbled down his chin, and he wiped it on his shoulder. Choosing not to antagonize them further, now that he had what he wanted, he followed meekly.
The only way he knew to help Talia was to get inside the compound. It was a calculated risk to get captured, but he didn't see any other means of doing it.
They took him down the path that led to the beach and along to the gates. The one called Dave pushed him towards them, while Marco went to a security camera fixed high on the fence. He made a gesture, and within a few seconds, the gates opened.
Using their carelessly carried guns to nudge him along the path, they went through a garden that, in any other setting, would have been breathtaking. Walkin
g through an open doorway, Nick took note of his surroundings in case he needed to come back this way in a hurry.
The whole place, painted white inside and out, felt sterile. Just right for the activities he was expecting to happen here over the next few days. Doors on the left and right were closed, so he had no idea where any of them led. The quiet made their footsteps sound loud. They stopped at a door, and Marco opened it, shoving him inside so hard that he landed face down on the floor.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
At some stage during the late afternoon, Marco entered the room and gave Talia a pathetic looking sandwich, and a bottle of water. A mattress was thrown in the corner for her by the man she’d seen on the beach. There had been no conversation from either of them, only looks full of hatred from Marco while the other guy looked at her as though she was a piece of meat.
She was tired but too scared to lie down. Besides, sleep wasn’t an option, with all the thoughts and unanswered questions rolling around in her brain. Her head pounded, wondering if Chloe was here or not, and her eyes felt gritty from reading all the legal jargon.
She stood and stretched. Her clothes were crumpled. She would have loved to have a shower, but more urgently, she needed the bathroom. Tentatively, she banged on the door. No one came for a very long time, and she was getting desperate when Marco finally unlocked the door.
“I need the bathroom, and I need it now, or I won’t be responsible for the consequences.” Her desperation must have come through, and he ushered her down the hall to a door.
“Try anything funny, and it will be the last thing you do,” he warned.
When We Break Page 11