AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In the garage, I find Declan leaning against a black Range Rover.
“What? No limo?” I ask.
Declan smiles. “Just be grateful the boss isn’t making you useThe Tankas your car.” He gestures over his shoulder at a SUV with bars over the windows, obvious armor plating, and a fucking snorkel coming from the engine.
“Noted.” I hop into the passenger seat. The new car smell hits immediately.
“Is this new?” I eye Declan.
“Aye. Boss wanted you to have a nice car. Still as close to bulletproof as a car can get without becoming The Tank though.”
I must be staring at him, as he continues, “I’ve never seen him like this, by the way.”
I shake my head to clear the cobwebs out. “Like what?”
“Like he is with you. He’s not a bloody eunuch, but I’ve never seen a woman spend the night with him. The ball, and this,” he gestures around the car, “is something I didn’t expect.”
I’m not sure what to say. Declan doesn’t seem offended by my speechlessness.
“Declan?” I say finally. He makes a little mumble noise so I know he heard me. “I’ve never been like this either. This is…” I think about how to express myself clearly without blubbering. “Different. Powerful.”
Declan nods, seemingly satisfied with my confession.
TheHippie Beanis an adorable coffee shop run by actual hippies. They have amazing coffee and great atmosphere. And really good muffins. Probably because the owners are perpetually at least a little stoned.
We take a table in the back, with Declan facing the door. I set up my laptop and connect to the Wi-Fi. A waitress named Star comes to collect our orders. I get a dirty chai and a muffin. Declan declines, so I order him an americano and a muffin, because everyone needs to have their muffins at least once in their lives.
It’s been an hour, and I haven’t heard from Tasha. Odd, but not uncommon for her to get caught up with a client, and today is a work day for her. My phone beeps. It’s from Tasha.
Check your email and don’t say a word to the Irishman.
What the fuck?I pull open my email and find an unread message I don’t recognize. Opening it, I come face to face with Tasha, tape over her mouth, crying, and lying in the trunk of a car. A new email flashes.
If you speak, she dies. If you tell anyone, she dies. Leave your phone on the table, and go to the bathroom. Go out the back into the alley. You have two minutes.
A new photo comes through. Tasha, with a gun pressed to her forehead.Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.I don’t know who took her, but a sneaking suspicion tells me that it’s my fault. Fuck. Tasha.
I close my laptop and stand up.
Declan looks up at me.
“Bathroom.”
He nods.
I set my phone on the closed laptop. I try not to run. My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. I walk past the ladies’ room to the fire exit. I notice that the alarm was disconnected, probably courtesy of the pot-smoking hippies. I take a deep breath, which does nothing to calm my nerves. Pushing through the door into the bright light, I come face to face with Boris and a man that looks suspiciously like a cop, a fact that does nothing to reassure me.
“Hello, Rebecca. Or is it Roxanne? It is difficult to keep up.”
“Where is Tasha?”
“Do not worry, Dimitri is keeping her company until you arrive.” His smile is sinister, his black eyes glittering. Something crashes into the back of my head. I fall to my knees before the world goes black.
CHAPTER39
Iwake up groggy, cold, and with a raging headache. Again.How many hits to the head does it take for brain damage?I should really start wearing a helmet.
I look around. I am in a rather bare-looking room. The tile floor is dingy, the grout discolored. An ominous drain is in the middle of the floor. Racks of cleaning supplies line one side of the room. A metal table and more chairs sit on the other. I realize, rather belatedly, that I am currently tied to this chair. Fantastic. A beat-up metal double door with round windows, like what you’d see coming out of a kitchen, is centered in front of me.
