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“Your sister’s with me…”
Astrid’s heart lurched with terror. She quickly put the call on speakerphone. “Where is she? Don’t you hurt her!”
The voice remained level and calm. “If you ever want to see your sister again, meet me in the parking lot of The Marquee Club in NYC at nine o’clock tonight. Come alone. No cops, just you. Understand.”
She gazed at Jake, who nodded. “I understand,” she said. “But who are you? What do you want?”
“Come at nine tonight and you’ll find out.”
Astrid opened her mouth to ask for more information, but the line went dead. She stared at the phone, then into the faces of her worried parents.
“Can we trace the call, Jake?” Sally asked.
Jake was as super-cool as ever. “Possibly. I’ve got a few friends in the telecoms industry who might be able to help. But if that guy’s got any sense, he would’ve called from a phone booth – which won’t tell us much other than his general location.”
Astrid gazed at her phone. “I guess I’ll have to go meet him. Give him whatever it is he wants in exchange for my sister.”
“No,” Jake said. “That was a bait call, Astrid. He’s trying to goad you into meeting him – then who knows what he might be planning. I’ll go instead.”
Astrid suddenly felt useless, out of control. “I’m coming with you.”
“No you’re not – there’s no way.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. This is my little sister we’re talking about. I’m coming.”
Martin tried to placate her. “Astrid, I really don’t think –”
“I don’t care what you think. The caller specifically said he wants me to come. If he wants me to be the bait, I will. But if you go there, Jake, guns blazing without me, it might actually put my sister in danger.”
Jake watched her with his big brown eyes. “I’ve dealt with this sort of thing many times before, Astrid. I don’t want you getting hurt. I might not be able to protect you.”
A stab of dread spiraled through her, but a wave of inner-strength crashed through her fear, giving her a renewed confidence, driven by sisterly love. “Well… I’m going to The Marquee Club
this evening whether you like it or not. My mind’s made up. I’ll be there to make contact with the kidnapper as per his instructions, and you can be there for back-up. I’ll do all the initial talking, then you can charge in and save the day.”
Jake gazed at her in silence. Astrid held his eye contact, unable to believe she’d spoken to him like that. So assertively. He’d helped to awaken a new Astrid, and now it was time to find out what she was capable of.
“I’m really not interested in saving the day,” Jake said. “Just in getting your sister back.” He glanced at Sally, then back at Astrid. “Look, sweetheart, it might be dangerous. And it’ll be crowded at the venue. You hate crowds.”
Astrid sat up tall. “Well, then, perhaps it’s time I learned to like them. You tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do it.”
He pushed back his chair and stood up. “All right, you win. Come with me.”
She stood too. “Where are we going?”
“Out back.” He glanced at Sally. “Is it okay if use your backyard, ma’am?”
Sally nodded slowly. “Sure…”
****
Astrid quickly showered and dressed – finding some clothes in her old bedroom – then she joined Jake in the backyard. She’d always loved it out here. The backyard was actually a huge field surrounded by a dilapidated fence, which backed on to a sprawling woodland. Astrid and Emma had grown up running around freely and enjoying the wide open space here. Perhaps that’s why she so hated confined places now…
It was sunny today, and Jake halted in front of her – pulling her close, kissing her gently on the lips. “I’ve got something long and hard for you, which I’m going to put in your hand, all right?”
Lust rushed through her. She knew her parents couldn’t see them from the house, but she was still nervous about doing anything sexual with him out here. She stepped away. “Don’t you think we should focus on getting my sister back?”
“Absolutely,” he said, grinning. “You ever used a gun before?”
