by S. C. Daiko
Nausea grips my stomach. “I’m going to throw up,” I gasp, running from the room.
He catches up with me in the hallway and attempts to put his arm around me. “Cat, please…”
I push hm away, all I can feel is his deceit, his lies. “Leave me alone, Daniel. Or is it … Alexei?”
I swallow the sour taste of puke.
“I’m still Daniel.” His voice is raw. “I kept all this from you to protect you.”
A scornful laugh bubbles out of my throat. “Well, your protection has backfired. If I’d known who you really were, I’d never have let myself get close to you.”
I’m so angry every bone in my body is shaking.
“It will all be alright.” He gives me the broken look that used to melt my heart… the heart he’s just shattered into a million pieces.
“How can you say that? You have no clue…” My words come out high-pitched.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
Breathe, Catrin. Breathe…
“Eric won’t harm the kids,” Daniel says slowly. “Once he has the money, he’ll let them go.”
I open my eyes and stare at him hard. “How can you be so sure? They must be so fucking scared. I can’t stop thinking about that… how terrified they’ll be.” My lower lip trembles.
“Ben said there’s a ball pit where Eric’s holding them. Maybe he’ll let them play in it?”
“You’re clasping at straws…,” I scoff, tears streaming down my cheeks. “He’ll have them locked in a room, so no one will know they’re there.”
A picture of Becca’s face, almost certainly contorted with terror, comes into my mind, and I start to sob uncontrollably.
Again, Daniel reaches for me.
I jump back, wiping the snot from my nose. “Don’t. You. Dare. Touch. Me.”
“You’re in shock, darling.” He shakes his head. “Remember I love you.”
The door to the hallway swings open, and Eleri appears, saving me from replying.
“Gabe would like a word with you,” she says to Daniel.
He answers with a small nod before turning on his heel and heading towards the living room.
Eleri wraps her arms around me, holding me while I cry. She pats my shoulders and makes soothing sounds.
I cry for my daughter.
I cry for Ben.
I cry for the man who has become a stranger to me.
My chest feels empty.
It hurts so bad.
Eventually, I’ve cried myself out. Eleri hands me the tissue she’s salvaged from her pocket. “Let’s go through to the kitchen and have a cup of tea.” She gives a half-smile as she takes my hand and pulls me along with her. “Nothing beats a nice cuppa when all seems lost.” She stops, catches her lip between her teeth. “Sorry. I didn’t mean the last bit. All is not lost.” She tucks a curl behind her ear. “I just can’t believe Eric would do what he did.”
She plugs in the kettle and puts teabags into two mugs. Then she opens the fridge and retrieves a bottle of milk before fetching the sugar bowl from the counter.
The hot, sweet drink warms my insides, but my heart still feels cold.
Cold as a stone.
I shuffle my feet on the granite tiled floor.
“Kidnapping two innocent children and holding them for ransom goes beyond vile. It’s disgusting.” I shudder.
She nods her agreement. “Gabe took Eric at face value. He deceived us by giving false information about Daniel for the background check. We’re freaking furious that someone with organised crime connections has been living here, putting us and our kids in danger.”
So many secrets.
I was willing to wait to hear those secrets, I remind myself; I was so desperate to play. This is just as much my fault as Daniel’s.
God, if something happens to Becca I’ll never be able to forgive myself.
I scrunch up my forehead. “I remember Daniel’s wife’s murder being reported in the press, now that I think about it. It was headline news for a few weeks then the newspapers dropped the story.”
“Yeah, Gabe told us he recalled the incident. He didn’t recognise Alexei from the photographs, because of his beard.”
Alexei.
A shiver slices through me.
There’s a knock at the door, and Rosie comes in. “Sorry to disturb you, but the kids are worrying about Ben and Becca. I don’t know what to say to them…”
Eleri pushes back her chair. “I’ll go and settle them. Tell them everything’s going to be alright.”
Everything’s going to be alright.
I hold onto those words as I make my way back to the living room.
The men are sitting around the coffee table, and the atmosphere is so thick with testosterone you could slice it with a knife.
But they stand politely like well-brought up schoolboys as I enter the room.
I lower myself into an armchair and they all sit.
The lights have been switched on as it’s turning dark outside. There’s a chill in the air as the central heating hasn’t clicked on yet and no one has bothered to light the fire.
I stare at the botanical prints hanging on the walls, then switch my gaze to stare at the men, one after the other.
Gleb stares back at me, while the others look away.
His mesmerising eyes pierce me, and my mouth goes dry.
If I thought Daniel a brute once, this man is a thousand times worse.
I lift my chin and return his stare.
His gaze burns me, but I want to give him the finger.
Fuck you, Gleb Sokolov.
Fuck you for causing Daniel to be lured away from his son.
I sit on my hands to stop myself from flying out of my chair and scratching at his penetrating blue eyes.
Silence hangs like a noose in the air between us. I think about everything I’ve learnt in the last several minutes.
Have Daniel and his brother told me the whole story?
A sudden thought occurs to me, like a light-bulb moment. “Ben said there’s a ball pit where they’re being held,” I blurt out.
“Yes,” Daniel’s face assumes a thoughtful expression. “Eric wouldn’t let them play in it.”
“Remember the ball pit at the King’s Head?” My voice wavers. “It’s within the right distance for Eric to have taken them there before you contacted him.”
“It’s a long shot.” Daniel presses his lips together.
“I think we should call the police,” Luke says, running his fingers through his tousled hair. “They’re professionals. They’ll be able to check it out.”
“We’d have to come clean about the ransom if we called them.” Gleb’s voice is chilling. “Not going to happen.”
His bodyguard stands and, almost casually, lets his jacket fall open.
Christ, there’s a gun holster strapped across his chest!!!
My heart thuds and I feel the blood drain from my face.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daniel
Catrin’s eyes are red-rimmed from crying, but she lifts her chin, insisting on coming with us and that we go pick up that mutt of hers. “He’ll be able to scent the kids if they are there,” she says defiantly.
We don’t linger. After letting Eleri know what’s going on, we pile into Gabe’s Ford Galaxy, Tom riding shot gun, Gleb and I behind with Cat and Luke sharing the backseat.
She doesn’t want to be anywhere near me.
How could I even think she’d still love me after she found out the truth?
I told her I was toxic. Warned her to stay away; she took the risk, I remind myself.
Ah, but I should never have let her play with fire.
She had no clue what she was getting mixed up in.
I rub the centre of my forehead and close my eyes, the pain in my heart so sharp I feel as if it’s being ripped apart.
I sense Gleb staring at me. He gives my shoulder a nudge and whispers stay strong in Russian, ostavaysya sil'nym.
&nb
sp; “Da,” I say. “Yes.”
I keep my eyes closed until we arrive at the cottages. After Tom has checked there’s no one hanging about, setting off frantic barking from within, Catrin jumps out of the car. I attempt to go with her, but she gives me a look that would slay dragons, so I wait, leaning against the doorjamb, my arms slack against my sides.
Tom stands next to me, his fingers never straying from his handgun. UK law prohibits civilians from carrying firearms, and I remember the ruckus after he shot Victoria’s assassin. My chest tightens. It was the bureau that intervened with the authorities then; I doubt they’d do the same if there was a similar incident now.
Cat exits the cottage, Toby straining at his leash. Under the light of a full moon, he cocks his leg against a bush and pisses for an eternity before squatting and taking a massive dump on the grass.
She gets back in the car, the dog perched between her and Luke. We all fall silent as Gabe drives at full speed towards the King’s Head. There’s a sense of urgency now. Are Eric and the kids there? I mean, there must be a plethora of inns in this part of the country with ball pits…
Soon we’ve arrived, and I keep my eyes peeled for Eric’s Audi in the parking lot. My pulse hums in my throat. I swallow hard. No fucking sign of it.
Be optimistic for Catrin’s sake. She’s pinned all her hopes on this. There’s still a chance they could be here.
“Why don’t you, Luke and Tom stay downstairs,” I suggest to Gabe. “Gleb, Catrin and I can sneak up to the bedrooms with Toby. Find out if he can scent the children.”
Except it’s not as easy as that. The inn is crowded with Friday night drinkers, which should make it simple to slip upstairs unnoticed. Problem is, we can’t find the fucking stairs. This old place dates to the Seventeenth Century, and part of its rustic charm is the fact that it’s filled with nooks and crannies.
The stairs must be in one of those nooks.
Or crannies.
Whatever.
I inhale the fuggy air, redolent with the yeasty smell of beer and the aroma of musty upholstery. At the back is the cosy dining area where I took Cat and the kids for lunch only a month ago.
So much has changed since then.
My stomach churns, and a cold sweat breaks out all over my body.
I’ll fucking kill that bastard Eric for putting Catrin, me and our kids through this.
She pulls at my sleeve with trembling hands. “I’ve found the way up. Let’s hurry before someone notices I’ve brought a dog in here.”
We leave Gabe, Luke and Tom to keep watch below. Thankfully, there’s only one entrance to the building. If Eric is here, and he tries to beat a hasty retreat, he doesn’t stand a chance.
My heart is beating so fast my head is spinning.
The stairs are narrow and twisty, the wooden steps creaking under our feet.
As soon as we reach the top, Toby sets up an incessant whine.
“He’s scented them,” Cat whispers in a wavering voice.
I tug at my beard. “Let him off the leash.”
She does as I ask, and he goes straight to a door at the end of the corridor. He barks, twice, then starts scratching at the wood.
It’s only now it occurs to me that Eric could call the Brotherhood the minute he realises we’ve found him.
If we’ve found him.
Fuck!
I grab Toby’s collar, about to drag him away.
Cat spins around and shoots me a distraught look.
Gleb places his hand on my arm. “Luke is here,” he says.
I turn and catch Luke grinning at me. “Eric was at the bar. Gabe and Tom have escorted him out to the car park.”
Jesus, so fucking blatant!
The slimy bastard will have weighed up the risks of coming down for a drink against the almost certainty I wouldn’t have called the cops… and will have decided to indulge his love of a pint of ale.
Luke holds up a room key. “Look what I’ve got.” He smirks. “Tom persuaded Eric to hand it over.”
Within seconds, Luke has opened the door.
Catrin and I run up to the double bed.
Ben and Becca are under the duvet, fast asleep.
A slow smile spreads across my face. The sense of relief is palpable.
Catrin bends and gently shakes her daughter.
“Mum,” Becca’s eyes fly open. “You came.”
Cat gathers Becca into her arms and hugs her. “Didn’t Daniel promise we’d be here as soon as we could?”
Ben stirs and unleashes his toothy grin. “I told Becca you’d come for us. And you did.”
Tears of emotion well up behind my eyelids, but I blink them away.
I catch Gleb gazing at his nephew. He gives a quick shrug, as if he’s shrugging off the years of not knowing him. “Time to get out of here,” he grunts.
“Yep.” Luke adds. “I’ll give you a hand, Catrin.” He lifts Becca, and places her gently on his shoulder. “It will be quicker if we carry the kids.”
With Ben in my arms, I lead the way downstairs. We shove our way through the mosh-pit of drinkers in the bar, out into the cold night air. I wrap my coat around my son, and notice Cat doing the same to her daughter.
In the car park, Tom and Gabe have tied Eric’s hands behind his back and have gagged him. There’s so much I want to say to the wanker but can’t in front of the children. Anger makes my pulse skyrocket. I plant my feet wide apart, and glare at him.
Tom shoves Eric into the Ford, and this time Luke rides shot-gun. Gleb and Tom keep Eric sandwiched between them, leaving Catrin and me to sit holding the kids, with Toby between us on the back seat. He lets off one of his noxious farts, but we don’t even blink an eye. Within minutes Ben and Becca have fallen asleep again, the motion of the car and the purring of the engine soothing them.
I bend and kiss the top of Ben’s head, so thankful to have him back with me that I feel light-headed.
Rosie helps us settle Ben and Becca into bed up in the Aldridge House nursery… a suite of rooms reserved for the kids on the top floor.
I leave Catrin with Eleri and Rosie. They’ll come and get me should Ben need me. I hope he’ll sleep through to the morning, though. When he wakes up, this whole episode might just seem like a bad dream.
I go down to the kitchen where the others are having something to eat. I rub the back of my neck and scan the room for Eric.
“He’s in the larder,” Luke points to a door next to the fridge.
“I want a word with him,” I grit out.
“Go right ahead,” Gabe says. “Then I want a word with you.”
I can guess what’s coming; the writing has been on the wall since they discovered the truth about me. “Alright,” I say, releasing a deep breath.
They’ve tied Eric to a chair in the pantry, a storeroom with shelves on three sides and a large space in the middle. “You bastard,” I sneer. “Have you no moral standards? Taking two innocent children and using them as pawns for monetary gain. Why the fuck did you do that?”
“The minute you asked me to set up a meeting with your brother I knew the game was up.” He stares down at the floor. “I mean, you were about to discover I’ve been lying to you regarding his whereabouts.”
“Why lie about that anyway, you lowlife cunt?” I snap.
“I didn’t want to risk you seeking his protection instead of mine.”
I pace up and down the room. “Gleb doesn’t have that kind of influence, motherfucker.”
“Truth is, I’ve been earning a decent sum of money from selling your paintings. More than I’d led you to believe. Let’s just say I have a gambling habit that needs regular feeding….”
I’m speechless.
I literally have no words.
My stomach churning in revulsion, I spin on my heel and return to the kitchen.
Gabe pulls out a chair. “Take a seat, Daniel. Or should I say, Alexei?”
“Please, call me Daniel. I’ve changed my name officially.”
Yup, it’s just as I’d feared.
This whole fucking clusterfuck is about to get so much worse.
A realisation of the inevitable fills me, and chills me to the bone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Catrin
I wake up with a stiff neck from spending the night in an armchair beside Becca’s bed. I hadn’t wanted to leave her, hadn’t wanted to go downstairs and deal with Daniel; it was all I could do just to breathe through my feelings of relief at finding my daughter mixed with the certain knowledge that everything is about to change.
I stare at Becca. She hasn’t woken up yet, even though morning sunshine is slanting through the windows. Toby thumps his tail on the floor by my feet, and I reach down to rub his floppy ears. “You did good, boy,” I whisper. “I take back every bad thing I ever said about you.”
Toby barks, once, as if in agreement.
“Shush, you’ll wake Becca.”
But it’s already too late. She rolls over in bed and blinks her sleep-crowded blue eyes.
“Why am I here?” she asks in a small voice.
Quietly, I explain that she fell asleep after we’d left the King’s Head and it was easier to put her to bed in Aldridge House than to risk waking her by taking her home. In any case, I didn’t have my car as we’d come with Eric.
Her mouth turns down at the corners. “I didn’t like that horrible man.”
A shiver of disgust runs through me. It had taken every ounce of my self-control not to fly at him last night… not to pound my fists into his vile chest.
The bastard.
Becca climbs out of the bed and into my lap. I hold her close, breathing in her sweet little girl scent. I kiss the top of her head. “I love you, poppet. It’s okay for you to be angry with him.”
I think about Daniel and Ben, wondering how they’re coping, and I release a stuttering sigh.
Becca squirms in my arms, gives me a searching look. “Why are you sad, Mum?”
“It’s nothing, sweetheart.” I stroke her soft cheek. “Nothing for you to worry about.” I try to laugh away my melancholy mood. “Maybe I’m just hungry. I didn’t eat any dinner last night.”
