AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After he took a step back, she rubbed the spot where he’d clamped down on her and glared at him. “I was getting up. You didn’t need to do that.”
She could have been talking to a statue for all the good it did.
The other man taped something to the wall behind her.
She started to twist around to get a look, but the first man grabbed the sides of her head.
“No! Eyes toward door.” The kidnapper in front of her turned her so that she faced the exit again and slapped her cheek hard. “Next time I will not be so nice.”
She rubbed her face and scowled at him. “Fine. I get it. I won’t look back. Happy?”
He responded with a grunt, but nothing more.
He and the other kidnapper stepped over to the doorway, without turning their backs to her. The man who’d slapped her raised a phone and aimed its lens at her.
Based on how he was holding it and for how long, Rebecca guessed he was shooting a video. She was tempted to say something but knew that would earn her more than a slap across the face.
When he lowered the phone again, the other guy pulled down whatever it was he’d put on the wall, then they exited the room.
The second man reappeared moments later, carrying a small carton of orange juice and a badly wrapped fast-food breakfast sandwich. He set it on the table and left, the door slamming shut behind him.
Rebecca stared at the sandwich but didn’t pick it up, no longer hungry. It wasn’t the slap that had taken away her appetite. It was the sudden feeling that her captors had no intention of ever letting her out of here.
She closed her eyes and grimaced. “Stop it,” she hissed. “You can’t let that happen. You can’t let this room be the last place you ever see.”
She told herself an opportunity to get away would come. It had to. And when it did, she needed to be ready.
Which meant she needed to stay strong.
She picked up the sandwich.
24
Kordo had originally planned on arriving at the film set first thing in the morning to stake out Billy Barnett. Getting the producer alone, finding out what he was up to, and eliminating him was his priority for the day, after all.
Neno, however, had something else in mind. “I want to shoot today’s video before you leave. I don’t want to be in a rush to get it done later.”
By the time they had finished filming Rebecca and Kordo finally reached the set, production had already been underway for a few hours. At least he wouldn’t be stuck sitting in his car, trying to catch a glimpse of the producer from a distance, like before. Today, hewould be watching the filming from a much closer position.
Before heading back to their hideout last evening, Kordo had paid a visit to the security company that was working on the production. There he’d swiped the uniform he was now wearing. He’d even found the ID of a man who looked vaguely like him. It wouldn’t hold up to close scrutiny, but from a few yards away, no one would ever know the badge wasn’t his.
He bypassed the check-in gate and sneaked onto the set.
One of the things he’d done in preparation was look up the main participants in the film online. This made it easy for him to recognize Tessa Tweed, Adriene Adele, Logan Chase, and the director Peter Barrington.
Barnett didn’t seem to be around, though. If he’d been here and gone already, Kordo would give Neno hell for holding him up this morning. But the day was still young.
For now, he would continue acting like he was simply another guard on duty.
???
Logan Chase leaned back in his chair, smirking. “I played his best friend, see. My death was what motivated him to seek revenge. So, I had to really sell it. Know what I mean?Which, of course, I did. You don’t need to believe me, though. Just check the reviews. You could say, without my performance, the movie wouldn’t have done half as well as it did.”
Matthew faked looking interested. “Huh. I never thought of it that way.”
They were in the cast seating area, a few yards behind the camera setup. Logan had been regaling Matthew with stories from his acting past. Matthew pretended to enjoy the conversation, while he sneaked looks around for Tessa. What he really thought of Logan Chase was that the guy was a complete bore. To keep a smile on his face, Matthew entertained thoughts of how he might make the actor disappear—permanently.
“I’m not saying the movie wouldn’t have been as good without me, but I’m also notnotsaying that.” Logan winked and laughed. “Kidding. I’m sure someone else could have done as good a job. Almost.”
