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“All right. Come on.”
As Jake led her into the darkness, the tension smothered them. There was a dangerous feeling in here, which reminded Jake of the testosterone-fueled frenzies at the crowd-control stakeouts he’d been on as a cop. This place smelled of stale fish, ground-in cigarettes, and burly men. The sleazy atmosphere sizzled off the dirty walls. Something was happening here. The abandoned crates and concrete floor seemed to be taunting him. But failure wasn’t an option.
They strode further inside, losing sight of the entrance. As they halted by a pillar, Jake gripped his gun and glanced back at Astrid. She nodded her assurance. He threw her a thin smile, hoping to let her know how proud he was. But now wasn’t the time for sentimentality. He hardened himself against the world.
Jake stepped forward and his boot crunched on broken glass. Checking Astrid was behind him again, he led her around the corner, holding his gun up and ready to fire.
He wheeled around the pillar, bracing himself to see Graves, but he stopped in shocked confusion. There was no one here – just three ornate full-length mirrors – one ahead and one on each side – showing him his reflection for eternity. Astrid crept around and halted behind him.
They made eye contact in the mirror in front of them. “What’s going on?” she whispered.
He opened his mouth to call out for Graves, but a commotion between the gap of two of the mirrors seized his attention. Emma was suddenly shoved into the center of the space, where she fell to the dirty floor, whimpering. Her wrists were tied with gaffer tape, and her nose was bleeding. She was a shadow of the young woman who Jake had met back in her hometown.
Astrid moved as if to run to her, but he grabbed her arm. “No, Astrid, it’s a trap.”
“I can’t just leave her.” She broke free of Jake’s grip and darted over to hold her sister in her arms. Jake let her go – realizing it shouldn’t do any harm. Emma started crying and telling Astrid how sorry she was, but Jake refused to be distracted by their reunion – he needed to find Graves, and he needed to make sure justice was served. The tense atmosphere sizzled in his bones.
Jake’s attention was caught by a shadowy male figure trying to creep out from behind the opposite mirror – obviously hoping Emma’s dramatic appearance would distract from him. Jake gripped his gun. It was Graves…
His heart pounded, ready for action. “Graves, freeze, it’s over.”
Graves smiled sinisterly. He pointed his gun at Astrid’s head, where she was still on the floor with her sister. “I don’t think so. You got my money?”
“Sure,” Jake lied. “Right here. Drop your gun.”
“Show me,” he said.
Jake opened his mouth to reply, but another man rushed out from behind the mirrors – Simon.
“Astrid, you fucking bitch!” he shouted, running at her.
Astrid glanced up. “No!”
Jake aimed his gun to shoot Simon, but he hesitated. Simon was unarmed – and Graves was pointing his gun right at Astrid’s head. In a split-second he realized he couldn’t risk Astrid’s life.
Simon bent to grab Astrid by the shirt, but she struggled in his arms – shouting at him to leave her alone – so different to the Astrid Simon had previously known, who he could bully and abuse. Jake rushed to help her, as Graves shouted angrily at Simon. “This isn’t part of the plan, Simon, what the hell are you doing?”
“I need her back. I want her back!”
“I won’t let you hurt me anymore!” Astrid shouted. “You’ll never get me back.”
Jake dived into the fracas as Astrid drew back her fist and punched Simon, who stumbled at the impact.
Jake was impressed. “Nice right-hook, sweetheart. But here’s how you can punch him even better.”
Jake slugged Simon hard in the face, causing him to crumple to the ground.
“I prefer this tactic,” Astrid said, pulling back her foot and kicking him in the balls.
Simon whimpered as her foot made contact between his legs.
“That works too,” Jake said.
With his last ounce of determined strength, Simon grabbed her ankle.
“You leave me alone!” she shouted. “I’m not the girl you think I am, and I’m not afraid of you anymore.”
Jake grabbed her before she could kick him again – Simon was definitely incapacitated now, but in the confusion, Graves grabbed Emma and held his gun aggressively against her head. “Stop it or I’ll blow her fucking head off – I mean it!”
