“Briefing? What is this? The military?” Thomas asked.
“Like I said, you’ll get at least some of your questions answered tomorrow. We want you to remember that you are not technically prisoners here. You can’t leave of course, but we would like you to think of yourselves as our guests.”
Thomas could have laughed at the absurdity of it all, but his ribs hurt too much. At least no one was shooting at them here. Yet. He figured it might be a good idea to make sure.
“Will we be interrogated or beaten or killed?” he asked with a tired voice.
“No, of course not.”
“And we’ll get food and water and a bed?” Thomas continued. The last twenty four hours had given him a new outlook on life.
“Yes, you will.”
“And tomorrow we get to ask all the questions we want?”
“Yes, although I’m not sure they will be answered to your satisfaction,” Gloria replied.
Thomas sighed and after a bit of a struggle finally managed to get up from the cushion. “I’m sweet with that.”
“What did you mean when you said we can’t leave? What happens if we try?” Sofia asked.
“We shoot you. Again,” a voice said from behind her, making her jump and wince in pain. Thomas looked over her shoulder at Zack who had come back into the hall wearing a white apron over his black slacks. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. I suggest you use that time to freshen up. You stink.”
Thomas glared at him, wishing that he had been there when Sofia sent him to the floor. Zack met his gaze before looking Thomas up and down, taking a threatening step closer.
“Run along, children. And put some clothes on for heaven’s sake.”
Gloria led Thomas out of the room and Sofia limped after them towards what she hoped would be showers and a nice, comfortable bed.
She cursed silently as the cold floor stung the cuts on her feet. She tried not to wince with pain and gave a start when Zack put a hand on her shoulder.
“Hold up. Why aren’t you wearing any shoes?” he asked her, a concerned expression on his face when she turned around to glare at him.
“Because my kidnappers didn’t see it fit to provide me with any,” Sofia retorted stingily.
Zack frowned at her. “Let me see your feet,” he ordered.
“My feet are fine,” Sofia lied and pushed his hand away.
Zack grabbed hold of her arms and with a quick move he’d set her down on the cushion and pulled her feet up into his lap.
“Hey!” Sofia protested and tried to kick him.
“This is not good,” he said, looking her feet over. You’ve got sores here that could easily get infected. I’ll go get some iodine, you sit tight.”
Sofia nodded, but as soon as he sat her feet down and left the room she got up and tried to limp away. He caught up to her before she’d managed to make it out of the foyer.
“I told you to wait,”
“You’re not my boss.”
He shook his head, but didn’t say anything more as he helped her sink to the floor. He’d brought a first-aid kit with him and a bucket of water. He put her feet into the bucket and washed them. Then he dried them carefully before dabbing iodine on her cuts.
She’d been determined to remain silent during the entire thing, but she couldn’t stop a sharp intake of breath. The iodine stung so bad her feet felt like they were on fire. Zack said nothing, but his brows knitted tighter together as she tried to pull her feet away.
She was surprised at how carefully he was treating her wounds. His hands, gentle now, felt completely different from the hands that had pushed and pulled at her minutes before.
“It must have hurt when I made you walk here from the car,” he said slowly.
“Pushed me, you mean? Yeah, it hurt.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, shocked.
He looked up at her with those piercing blue eyes. If she’d believed that he was capable of such an emotion, she’d have believed him to be sincere. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I…I’m not myself right now.”
Sofia didn’t reply, but she wondered at this complete change in attitude. When she didn’t say anything he looked away and got on with the task of bandaging her feet.
“There you go, as good as new,” he said some time later and stood up. He put her arm over his shoulder and helped her stand. “Lean on me so I can help you get to your room. Have you taken a tetanus shot recently?”
Sofia was too stunned to protest as he led her down a hallway. The carefulness with which he manoeuvred her through the corridor caught her off guard.
“Er… yes, two years ago. A hedgehog bit me. My toe.”
“Of course it did,” Zack said with a shake of his head. “Well, in that case you should be all good. Hopefully it won’t get infected, but we’ll keep a close eye on it. You might need antibiotics.”
Sofia couldn’t argue with that. She got back to her feet to walk away, but stumbled before she’d taken more than two steps. He picked her up and carried her the rest of the way into a small bedroom.
She opened her mouth to protest, but it felt too good to be off her feet. When he carefully put her down on top of the bed she was already half asleep.
“There. You should have plenty of time to rest up and be back in the kitchen in time for dinner. Or we can bring you some food later,” Zack said and Sofia nodded, her movements slow. “Alright then. See you there.”
Sofia stared at the door as he left. She wondered idly if the guy was schizophrenic or on drugs. He seemed to have undergone a complete personality transformation over the last half hour. She preferred the guy who cared for her feet over the one who shot at her and wondered how long he’d be around.
She should be too hungry to sleep. Too ill at ease about being in yet another kidnapping situation, but she couldn’t fight her exhaustion.
She decided to rest her eyes for a moment. Make some plans. Figure out a way to get home. She yawned. Seconds later she was fast asleep.
23
Wakeup Call
When the alarm sounded the next morning Thomas had, at first, no idea where he was. He pried his eyes open and glared at the digital alarm clock to his right. It looked very high tech. It wasn’t just emitting dreadful noise, it was glowing as well. He tried punching some of the buttons to make it stop, but nothing happened.
With a groan he reached over and pulled the plug from the wall. Blissful silence made him sigh and sink back into the soft mattress. Works every time, he thought and burrowed deeper under the covers.
His body felt heavy and bruised. He wondered lazily what he had been doing yesterday. Memories of a small room with a lightbulb, Sofia brandishing a vase and the barrel of a gun made him tense up.
It must have been a dream. That was the only reasonable explanation. He pulled the cover over his head, determined to go back to sleep, but the movement hurt so much he that he wanted to scream.
He pulled the cover down, slowly this time, turned on the lamp at the bedside table and took a look at his body. His skin was covered by a collage of bruises. No wonder he felt like he’d been hit by a bus.
“Oh, do put some clothes on. We’ve all seen enough of your chest to last us a life time,” an arrogant voice said from the open door.
Thomas pulled the covers closer and looked up at the lean man standing in the doorway. Suddenly the events from the last few days came crashing back and he fell back into his bed.
If that guy wasn’t a figment of his imagination, than the rest of it had to be real as well. That meant he was stuck in a basement with a couple of psychos and Sofia. Perfect.
“What do you want?” Thomas muttered.
“Good morning to you too, sunshine,” he drawled. “What I want is to knock you over the head and dump you’re body in the nearest river, but seeing as I am under orders not to hurt you…”
“Funny. You should know that I don’t do threats before…” Thomas
glanced at the alarm clock next to him. Right. He’d pulled out the plug. Typical. He rubbed at his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Time for you to get your lazy ass out of bed. Do you want to get up by yourself or do you want me to… help you?” Zack asked and took a step into Thomas’ room.
“I can get up by myself,” Thomas said quickly.
Zack crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in challenge.
“Do you mind?” Thomas asked irritably.
Zack shook his head, but turned and stalked out of his room without another word.
Thomas pushed back the covers and carefully put his feet on the floor. To stand up hurt less than he had imagined it would. If he could remain standing in this spot for the next week or so he’d be fine. He shook his head, knowing that if he stalled too long that guy was bound to come back and get him.
He walked, slowly, to the closet to find and pull on a brand new pair of black slacks, the same kind of pants he’d seen Zack wear. They fit surprisingly well.
He put on one of the grey t-shirts in the closet, hoping he would get the chance to shower after breakfast and limped in the same direction Zack had taken.
He wasn’t sure where the kitchen was since he’d fallen asleep the night before without making it to dinner. The smell of bacon gave him a clue, though and he walked through the hallway following that smell.
He perked up as got closer. At least there was bacon and nothing was ever completely hopeless if there was bacon. Hopefully there’d be scrambled eggs. Apple juice. Thomas pushed the door open to the kitchen. He took in the laden tables and grinned to himself. Finally something was going right.
He loaded up a plate, helping himself to a little bit of everything and there was a lot of things to try. He looked around, but the room was empty.
He was glad that neither Zack or Gloria would be joining him, but he found Sofia’s absence suspicious. Surely they hadn’t locked her up or sent her somewhere else? A sudden jolt of fear went through him at the thought of being stuck here alone.
Walking over to a table in the corner with his full plate, he was suddenly not as hungry as he’d been two minutes ago. Sofia might have formerly been one of his least favorite people, but a lot had happened since then. He was loathe to admit it, but she had saved him from the man in that room. It might not be enough to make them friends, but he couldn't keep hating her.
Thomas took a bite of his scrambled eggs. It tasted like cardboard. He drank some juice to wash it down and forced himself to take another bite. He needed to eat. He’d slept through dinner the night before and considering the state he was in, he’d need plenty of food to recover.
He ate quickly, trying to eat as much as possible, while keeping an eye on the door. He didn’t think anyone would attack him here, but he figured it was smart to be ready to run in case someone did.
When the door opened a few minutes later he tensed, clenching the table knife in his hand. Not until a head full of tousled, auburn hair peeked in did he relax and let go of the cutlery.
Sofia took breakfast seriously. If she did not get a proper meal before the day started, her already short fuse became non-existent and she’d be flying off the handle at the slightest provocation. Not a state she wanted to be in while surrounded by armed kidnappers.
She had dressed in the grey t-shirt and black slacks that had been laid out for her as quickly as she could and now she was hurrying in the direction she thought the kitchen would be in. She could smell bacon.
“Ouch,” she muttered as she put her foot down too hard on the tiled floor. Her feet were still wrapped up in bandages so she was dragging her feet across the floor, rather than stomping along like she usually did.
“You’re limping,” someone said from her left, making her jump and hiss when her feet throbbed in protest.
“Could you stop sneaking up on me?” she hissed when she turned her head and found Zack standing there, glaring at her.
He was back to his old, unfriendly self, she noted and moved forward again. Just as well. She wasn’t feeling very friendly this morning either.
“You shouldn’t be up walking.”
“I need to eat. And you didn’t volunteer to bring me breakfast in bed.”
“I could carry you,” Zack offered, keeping pace with her.
Sofia glanced at him. Had he swapped to being nice? Whatever, she was too tired and hungry to keep up with his shifts in attitude.
“Thank you, but I’m okay.”
He blew out a sigh of impatience. “Fine, but I’m going to check on your feet after you’ve had your breakfast.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You’re not taking this seriously enough,” he said, frowning at her.
Sofia frowned back. “It’s my feet. Of course I’m taking it seriously.”
She expected him to walk off somewhere and leave her alone, but he kept up with her.
“Are you afraid I’m going to run away?” she asked. “Because on these feet I can’t.”
“No, I wanted to make sure you get to breakfast alright.”
“I’ll be fine. The kitchen is right through here, isn’t It? I can smell food.
He grinned. Sofia couldn’t help but notice that he looked even better when he smiled. Tessa would love this guy, she thought. Her friend had a thing for ridiculously good-looking guys and didn’t much care about whether they were sane or not.
“In there,” he said when they came to a stop outside a black door.
“Thanks,” Sofia said and hurried to open the door to get away from him.
The smell of fried eggs, bacon and pancakes washed over her and had her drooling within seconds. She stared at the fresh fruit, eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausages and… ice cream? What a wonderful idea to have ice cream for breakfast. She grinned and made her way towards the large spread of food.
“Hey!” a voice called from the other end of the kitchen table.
Sofia gave a start and temporarily looked away from the glorious feast. Thomas was sitting there, waving at her from behind a small mountain of food. Ah, well. Couldn’t have everything.
She waved back. After all, he was the closest thing to a friend she had here and wasn’t that a depressing thought? She grabbed one of the enormous plates and dug into the buffet before she had time to feel the crushing loneliness that was about to swallow her up.
They would be out of here soon enough, back with Denise and Jock. She’d even get to see Tessa at Christmas and she would never, ever have to think about the past twenty four hours ever again.
As the heap of food grew before her she slowly relaxed and by the time she finally sat down in a chair across from Thomas she was smiling. Thomas didn’t return her smile, his gaze solely focusing on her food.
“You’re going to explode,” he said
“Good morning to you too,” Sofia replied cheerfully.
He ignored her, his eyes still on her food. “It is not possible for you to eat all that,” he repeated looking from the shape of her body to the plate in front of her.
“Would you like to place a bet on that?” Sofia asked, poising her fork.
Thomas eyed her speculatively. “Okay. Five bucks says you can’t finish half.”
“You don’t have five bucks.”
“To be given to you as soon as I get hold of them,” Thomas immediately amended.
Sofia frowned at him. “Yeah right.”
“You don’t want to take the bet?” he smirked and Sofia suddenly understood why he and Jock were such good friends. “Don’t think you can do it?”
“Oh, I’m doing it alright. And you had better get hold of that money.”
She stabbed a piece of bacon and water melon simultaneously and brought them to her mouth. The taste was heavenly and she sighed to herself with delight before continuing with a few pieces of sausage and pancake.
When Gloria found them at the table thirty minutes later Sofia was leaning back in her chair, her eyes half closed and a soft smile playing on
her lips while Thomas was looking at her with awe.
“Ah, good morning Gloria!” Sofia said happily.
“Where does it all go?” Thomas murmured.
“What’s with him?” Gloria asked.
“Oh. He just lost five bucks,” Sofia said dismissively. “Are you going to answer our questions now?”
24
Shackled
Thomas folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall. He didn’t trust these people. They’d kidnapped them and were refusing to let them go. He’d be stupid if he fell for their “see yourselves as our guests”-act only because they hadn’t carted him off to a locked room and beat him up. Yet.
He gazed around the room where Gloria had brought them as soon as Zack had gotten done with rewrapping Sofia’s feet. Thomas was grateful that he’d been able to keep his shoes, if nothing else, the day before. Zack might have said that her feet was healing, but they still looked bad.
He looked over at Sofia, but dropped his gaze when she raised an eyebrow in question. Gloria had warned them that they would be talking to an important and powerful man and that it was in their own best interest not to piss him off.
She’d phrased it differently, but that was the gist of it. Thomas wished that someone would worry about pissing him off. If they thought that he was going to be nice and polite after everything he’d been through they had another thing coming.
Waiting around like this was already grating on his nerves. Gloria had announced them, loudly, to the empty room, before turning around and leaving them there. She’d even locked the door. He knew that because he’d tried it a minute after she’d gone.
The place was fairly large compared to the other rooms he’d seen in the basement. The floor was covered with a thick, green carpet and the walls were a luminescent shade of blue.
Fractured (Unreel series Book 1) Page 21
