by Rimmy London
My breath gusted against his hand until he finally lowered it, looking at me with a warning on his face. The back of my head throbbed.
“Obviously you know I’m not the person I claimed to be when we met. I’m working for Conner.” My lip twitched. He shifted his weight back and forth, making me feel even more cornered. “He needed me to set you up. Put up a lot of cash for that one job, and I did it.” His breath came harder, and he rubbed his hands together agitatedly. “But that’s not all they wanted from me. I didn’t know entirely who I was working for. Jobs like this it had never really mattered. Get the job done and move on. But now they… I think it’s a pretty…” he glanced at me warily. “organized group.” His expression slowly became more hostile. “But you know that, don’t you?”
A thousand replies crowded my head, and I fought to find one that would give him the least amount of information. He smiled like my face had given away some prized secret. “How long have you known? This Givanni Alarno, he must be pretty high up for them to risk it all—go so public…”
“He’s not one of them.” I cut in, but he only leaned closer. Wishing I could step away I pressed my back against the wall.
“But they want him to be, right?” His breath gusted in my face. “Because once you know that much you either join them, or you disappear…” He brushed the hair out of my face. “And Alarno disappeared.” He straightened and turned away from me for the first time and a surge of fear shook through me. No one knew we were here, and no one was coming. So I needed to find a way out. “Loriel,” I cringed at my name coming from his lips, “I told you before, I am not here to hurt you.” His attempt at looking friendly was wasted. I knew him well enough. “I…” He exhaled in a gust, trying again. “I need your help.”
I couldn’t stop my lip from curling up a little. Was he serious? “Why in the world—”
“Would you help me?” He yelled, spinning around and charging forward. I braced myself, but he stopped short of running into me. “I don’t expect you to care about me Loriel—go ahead and hate me. Just look at it as a business transaction.” Leaning dangerously close he lowered his voice. “I have information you want, and I will give it to you—in exchange for a way out of this trap.”
With a sigh I finally looked into his face, feeling the smallest tinge of understanding. “There is no way out.”
He shook his head wildly. “No! You’re lying, and if you want to know where they have taken Givanni you are going to try just a little bit harder.”
I stepped forward, enjoying the way he stepped back. “Where did they take him?” I snapped. “He’s supposed to be on his way to Sicily, awaiting his trial.” His laughter was offensive, but I waited through it.
“C’mon Loriel, you know a lot more than me about all this and I never believed he would make it to a trial. They took him so he would disappear. Probably paid the judge off. But if you act quickly enough he might still be alive.”
What he said sounded unbelievable—impossible. But it explained a lot. My eyes narrowed. “Cal you have never been honest with me. Why should I believe you now? All I have is your word, and that doesn’t mean much.”
His head nodded through my question. “Yes you just have my word, but maybe if I could prove myself to you—let you in on a little secret of my own?” His eyebrow lifted. “Like maybe the role your father played in all this.”
I flinched, shaking my head a fraction. “What?”
“Your father—let’s put a few pieces together, shall we?” He nodded to the sitting room, and I followed, reasoning that it was where I wanted to be anyway. “This will be brief since I need to keep on the move.” Cal’s eyes darted to the window. “After our date,” My face hardened a little—that wasn’t how I would describe our time together. “I was let in on a little secret. That there would be another person helping to bring Givanni down. Your own father. He was to help the case along in a few simple ways, nothing illegal of course.” I shifted in my seat when his eyes settled on me, the deep brown color darkening with pleasure.
“So what did he do?” I asked, ready to bolt for the door.
“I’m surprised you didn’t notice Loriel. Didn’t even question—the fact that out of so many people there were only a handful that knew when you would be arriving back in California from Italy, one of them being your father.”
I shook my head. “That doesn’t matter…”
“Really? You think if the entire Los Angeles police force hadn’t surprised Givanni like that, they still would have been able to find him? Capture him? You were flying classified. So only you knew that you were on the plane. Unless of course you called someone and told them.” Sitting back I wrestled with the possibility. I hadn’t called my dad—but he had called me. He knew when we were going to be home. Still, it wasn’t possible.
“So that’s your big secret?” I scoffed, watching the anger that surfaced so often break through again as his forehead glistened.
“You want to believe me Loriel. You are going to help me get out of this.” He crossed the room and lowered on his heels in front of me.
The closeness had me tensing up again, my calm reasoning suddenly scattered. “How do I know you’re telling the truth about Givanni?” I asked. My voice shook, but at least my hands were steady.
His eyes turned a flat steel grey as he stared back, and I shivered. Leaning forward he rested his arm on my knees, smirking at the way I recoiled. “Why don’t you give your father a call…” He held out his phone. “I’m sure he would spill the whole thing, after all, he did it for your safety.” The severity on his face deepened. “You don’t even know what you’re dealing with Loriel, it’s pathetic. How someone like you is still walking this earth and Givanni is locked away… well, that’s beyond me.”
Ignoring his insults I counted myself lucky that he seemed to think he needed my help. I was sure that was the only reason I was still alive. But if he was telling the truth about my father, then I might actually be able to find Givanni. He dropped the phone in my hand and I waited through the rings trying to be patient. Cal’s eyes trailed from my head to toe while I pretended not to notice.
“Lo?”
“Dad!” I gusted, not realizing how tense I had become.
“Ella, What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”
I hurried to interrupt his panic. “No, dad, I’m fine,” I shot a glance at Cal, cringing at his wide smile. “I just need to ask you something, and I’m sorry about being blunt but… I’m just gonna come out and say it.” The background noise sounded like he had settled down. Good.
“Okay Ella girl, what is it?” He asked.
I swallowed, charging in. “Was it you who alerted the police? Did someone ask you to help capture Givanni?”
The silence on the other end was almost all the confirmation I needed. “Now Ella…”
I nodded—he did it. My head continued to bob as I chided myself, arguing that there had been some horrible mistake. How could my own father be the one to practically sign Givanni’s death sentence? Anger welled up so fast it was hard to concentrate, and I wiped at the tear trailing down my face. His excuses continued, but I didn’t plan on letting him off that easy. “So you’re telling me—”
I gasped as Cal clenched his hand around my hair and twisted so tightly that I was on my feet in the next second—my head pulled back. “Say goodbye,” His breath gusted in my ear and I bit on my lip as he squeezed relentlessly.
“Let’s talk about this later,” I huffed. “Bye.” Cal pulled the phone from my hand and I fell back into the seat, my neck aching.
“You’ve gotten your proof, now tell me what I need to do.”
The tone of his voice meant he was done waiting, and I raced through our options. Why he would ever ask me for this solution was ridiculous. “Senator Boswik,” I breathed. “He helped me out before.”
“The Senator?” His voice was incredulous, but at least he seemed to be considering it. Pulling a chair closer than I would have liked,
he sunk into it. “And just how are you two acquainted?”
“I helped him to recover documents he had… misplaced. In fact, he owes me a favor, if you want me to give him a call maybe—”
“Maybe what? He’ll—do what?” The edge in his voice was dangerous. “Because you just told me there is no way out. But clearly you are not threatened, and you tell me it is because of Senator Boswik? Forgive me if that sounds a bit anticlimactic.” He stood, the chair jerking back.
“I did say that, but all you need to know is how to see things from their perspective. As much as it seems like they will just kill you on a whim, there is a… culture to it. It very much matters if you have a connection they don’t want to mess with.”
Rubbing his chin agitatedly his eyes shot back at me. “So what do you have?”
I shrugged. “Well, originally they just wanted to get me close to… certain people, and then use me to blackmail them. They seemed to forget about me once that closeness appeared diminished.” I sighed. “I guess they just figured I wasn’t a threat.”
Cal’s eyes had taken on an unpleasant shine, like he had too much to drink. Taking his seat again he looked back at me until I dropped my eyes to the floor. He didn’t look rational – I needed to get moving. “You’re telling me…” His voice was hushed and shaking. “That Givanni never cared for you? It was all a setup?”
I shook my head, knowing that my objection looked pathetic. “Of course,” He laughed. “Of course, that makes so much more sense now! What was I thinking, that you could be some valuable clue in all this?” His laughter became louder, and I realized he no longer had any need of me. The thought was like a chain around my neck. “But you knew that right? You knew what they were doing?” My cheeks grew red and Cal burst into laughter, blowing gusts of air in my face. He became suddenly silent and his hand lifted to my face. “What would he see in you? You’re something to look at, I won’t deny that. But where is your stature? He obviously would need someone equal to him.”
“So where is he?” My voice cracked, but I kept my eyes locked on his. “I did my part. You know who to talk to. Where is Givanni?”
Leaning back Cal shook his head. “I don’t see why you would care, but let me clue you in on a little secret…” He leaned forward. “When someone is taken away in an official manner, right from the courthouse, and you can’t reach them on the phone. Or with your lawyer. Or through the judge. Or any other way that you have likely tried, what does that mean? It’s as if he disappeared.” His smile froze. “You can’t find him because he is not here. They dumped him, and more than likely you won’t see him again.”
I shot to my feet. “Where is he?”
Cal walked slowly backward. “There’s a sewer line for the entire city, so massive that if someone was to expand a portion of it for a use other than city sewage it would never be noticed. It would flow to the ocean, far enough from the coastline that if anything… undesirable were to flow with it, the likelihood of it being found would also be slim.” A smile stretched across his face as he pulled a gun from his windbreaker.
There was no time. I threw myself to the floor behind a sitting chair. The gunshot was muted with all the blood flowing through my ears. Puffs of cotton were swirling in the air and a deep gouge of ripped upholstery had opened up next to me. I focused my blurry vision on the brick. The fireplace. Inspecting it wildly I pushed on everything I could reach, finally catching a small triangle on the edge. Pushing it I gasped at the grinding sound. The brick moved aside, revealing the opening Givanni had shown me so long ago.
Cal fired again and I recoiled, a chipped segment of brick hitting me in the face. Lunging forward I clawed at the fireplace grate, forcing myself through as fast as I could. I had no idea how to close it, and only planned to find a way out before Cal knew what was happening. Pulling my feet through I looked behind me as the slab of concrete began to slide closed, catching a glimpse of Cal’s arm before it went dark. My heart was pounding, threatening to choke me as I laid my head on the ground, shaking. I was sure my forehead was bleeding, but it didn’t matter. I was alive. A blue trail of lights flicked on ahead of me like it was just another day. “Please let Cal leave… don’t let him find me…” I whispered. His face had been wild, devoid of any emotion except fear – fear and aggression. A nasty combination.
Carefully, I made my way down the trail. My head spun a little, and blood dripped down my cheek. I pressed the hem of my shirt to the cut when a pop sound had me glancing back down the tunnel. I didn’t know what it meant, but if Cal was trying to shoot his way in I doubted it would work.
The warehouse-style room opened up in front of me. It was as luxurious as ever, with couches and a sprawling widescreen aside Givanni’s lab equipment. I made my way to the closest sofa, planning to only rest for a minute or two. but that was when I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was me—or mostly me. I could hardly tell with the dark bruise along my cheekbone and gash in my forehead that had streaked one side of my face in blood. I had to admit it was pretty hideous. If there was any chance for me to go unnoticed into Shellbrook I would have to at least be cleaned up.
Washing my face was nearly impossible, with the incessant need to glance behind me every few seconds. I settled with soaking a washcloth in warm water and smoothing it over my skin. Finally, I nodded at the mirror. The bruise was still a little shocking, but my forehead wasn’t bad at all, the brick scraping just along the surface and not digging too deep.
I’ll search Marco’s office first. Pressing the washcloth along my neck I hardly noticed my back sliding down the wall, and my legs stretched out on the lush carpet. No, not Marco’s office—I need to find the tunnel—that was the first thing. I had to do it NOW.
My eyes closed, and still gripping the warm washcloth my hand fell to the floor with a thud.
Chapter 12
In my dream, Givanni’s expression was confusing, the way it kept changing. One second I would want to run into his arms, and the next I would remain frozen only to study his eyes. They looked cruel. But I knew who he was, and cruel had never described him. The quiet pressed on my ears, but we had to say something. Where had they taken him? Had Cal been telling the truth? And if so, how did he escape? “We can’t keep this up you know,” He sneered, running one hand over his unusually smooth hair. His voice was drab, not reacting at all to my presence. “She’s not worth the trouble.” My eyebrows pinched together as I went through the options, trying to find a name that would fit. Zoe maybe? She had gotten involved, but hardly enough to merit a threat.
“Who do you mean?” My voice echoed in strange ways, bouncing off the dark stone walls that surrounded us, but it was if I hadn’t spoken.
“Maybe if she just happened to get in the way of the others. That would solve our problem quick enough. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.”
“What?” My raised voice echoed even more, words ricocheting around the room. “Who Givanni? Who are you talking about?” His eyes moved a fraction, enough for me to realize he hadn’t been looking at me before—not directly. Now his deep green eyes burrowed into mine.
“Loriel,” he answered. With a soft gasp, my heart beat faster, the room circling in its perspective until I could see from his eyes. He looked into a mirror, with only his reflection staring back.
Jerking awake, I brought my hand to my face and the moisture pooling around my eyes. My fingers shook against my skin, and my mind was a blur. With each breath, I pushed the images of my dream away. But the feeling Givanni’s contemptuous stare had given me remained, sinking its claws in deep and staying rooted in my chest. I wondered if he realized I was trying to find him—if somehow he knew I would never give up.
Pushing off the ground I left the blood-stained towel on the floor, sure the entrance to the tunnel was close. If I could get to Shellbrook it seemed the only safe place left. I circled the room quickly, scanning edges and grooves in the wall before coming back to the tidy bathroom and shaking my head. With
a glance above me, I tried to imagine the scene outside and which direction would be the most logical. I stumbled over a long sheepskin rug and came to a corner I had already passed—twice. And though it was clearly empty I stared at it, letting my eyes wander until they fell quite naturally to the floor. I lowered to my heels to see what had caught my attention. It was a tiny symbol—a triangle.
With one push, the wall slid aside. An obedient trail of burning blue lights navigated the way. I raced ahead, recalling the amount of time it had taken me before. After what seemed like a few minutes, warm ocean air brushed at my skin. I stopped with a sense of dread flooding through me at the memory of jumping across a rocky gorge. Cautiously I made my way forward until the cave above me opened up. Black iron rails carried the path nicely over the chasm. And above that was the night sky—something I had not counted on. In my exhaustion, I must have been out for at least a few hours.
I hurried on, and in the middle of the steel connecting bridge, I peered over the side at the ledge below. It looked harmless, and yet it had been my prison before. Almost my grave. I’d hurled myself onto that small lip of rock only to become trapped. If Givanni hadn’t found me… my eyes crowded with tears at the thought. It felt like days since I had really eaten, slept, or appeared human. Sinking to my knees I watched the blurry ledge through my tears, remembering the way it felt when Givanni lifted me from the cold ground, the strength in his arms and assurance in his voice. It couldn’t have been a lie—Cal was wrong. I refused to let my petty insecurities stain those perfect memories. I pushed up from the cold ground, sure it couldn’t be much farther.
And there it was—an ordinary elevator. Not bothering to look for a button I instead scanned the wall for something else, knowing it would be there. My fingers rested on the small green triangle, just above a crack in the wall. I sighed. The security card—I didn’t have one. I didn’t even have a phone, all I had were the clothes I was wearing and a horrible sense of déjà vu at the thought of being trapped underground. Fumbling with the symbol I pushed it, scratched it, pounded on it. Finally, I dropped to my knees, feeling the rock in front of me until I had touched every inch. I moved to the side one foot, my hands covering each bump and crevice. Moving over the last section my hands cooled, and I passed them over the rock again. A breeze. Tracing out the flat portion of rock I felt a slight glimmer of hope in a cold, metal air vent. The screws were newly placed, and not hard to unloose. I crawled through the opening. But what I had thought was an air vent turned out to be a service tunnel. It lead only a short distance before meeting with metal rungs that jutted upward.
