“I know,” I tell him even though I’m still not sure what exactly is happening.
“Don’t believe anyone. Don’t trust anyone,” he whispers.
“Never do.”
“D, Jenson is being set up, they’re trying to take down everyone associated with him. Advice? Go under, like me. Go black, and let things play out. Then come back and deal.”
“Can’t do that Tedric. Jenson wouldn’t do that to me,” I tell him.
“Got it. Thought you’d say that, but I wanted to warn you.”
“Appreciate it,” I say and then he cuts the line.
“Fuck,” I growl low. Knowing the rabbit hole just got deeper.
I’ve been home just over a day and have decided to push past my jetlag, opting instead to go out. I want to see Jenson’s office as well as his apartment. I need to see them for myself. The situation occurred at his house. That’s what they’ve told me. Although their version of events is different to what I believe, they say he had Will, Lok and Dex meet him here, with the intention of taking them down, but I’m not convinced. Whatever happened Lok was killed, and there were three bullets found, one coated in blood. They tell me that they haven’t yet managed to find out whose blood it is. Although the intel I’ve received isn’t necessarily viable. It doesn’t matter, though, I would lay my life on the fact that he’s been taken by one of the agents. It would be the only way they could get the jump on him. Jenson’s forty not ninety. There’s no way someone got the best of him unless he trusted them. He taught me everything. There is no one better. Except me. And I’m only better because he was my trainer. My fists clench as I think about my mentor, teacher and sometimes my family. When I had nobody, he was there. I won’t ever forget that. He’s saved my arse on more than one occasion. I owe him my life at least twice over. If someone has hurt him, I will make them suffer.
Entering his office, the same office in which we discussed the missing disk only weeks ago, I notice nothing strange. Everything is as it should be. Opening his PC, I navigate around his desktop and through his files. Nothing untoward. Next I open the safe. Money, a gun and various passports. Just basic essentials. I know enough about Jenson, including passwords and keycodes to allow me entry into his things. Some have been freely given. Some I’ve learnt for myself. It seems, however, that there are one or two that I’m still missing as I try to unlock files on his private laptop. I decide to take it with me and hack it from home. It shouldn’t be too hard to break, but my time here is limited.
Glancing at my watch I close the door, leaving the office exactly as it was. Slipping into the stairwell I run down the eighteen flights of stairs until I reach the foyer. Placing the laptop on the floor I carefully open the door. The night guard is, as I suspected, asleep in the break room. His head tipped back on a chair and his mouth hanging open saliva slipping down his chin. The other guard is checking the floors. He should be on floor sixteen right now, but I need to take into account that he may be running a little early which means he could reach the eighteenth floor and start his descent back down here in the elevator at any moment.
Carefully I move across the foyer and around behind the security desk. There are at least a dozen monitors showing different places in the building. I can see the second night guard has now hit the top floor. I need to make this quick. Accessing the main server and then the video feed, I carefully rewind all the reels for ten minutes and restart. There will be a blip in footage if anyone checks. The likelihood of anyone watching is minuscule, but now, if they do, I won’t be in their line of sight. I move fast grabbing the laptop and descending the stairwell to the basement, as I do so I hear the tell-tale rumble of the elevator which means I made it in time.
Creeping along the blind spots in the basement. Finally, I reach the hidden exit point. Jogging the twenty yards to the underground is easy as fortunately only drunks and homeless people are out at this time of night, and neither pay attention to me. Having the underground so close to Jenson’s offices was a deliberate action on his part. Knowing if there were a need to escape, then the underground would cut off any GPS signal. This laptop will hold a GPS tracker, they would have installed one and activated it when he went missing. I know they will be aware of movement, but they would have lost the trace as soon as I got down here, and that should give me enough time to get home and pull the laptop apart to remove the tracking device. They will pick the signal back up before I destroy it, of that I have no doubt, but it should buy me enough time to hack into the laptop and get over to Jenson’s place before they descend and rip my home apart. It will also mean they’ll be distracted, tearing through my place, so by the time they realise I’m at his home, I should be out. His place will be monitored, though, they will have surveillance. It’s nearly three am now. I need to wait a few hours until it’s early morning. They will expect me at midnight, they will expect me at three am. They won’t expect me at six am as the day is about to break. So that’s when I’ll go.
“Fuck!” I shout, throwing the laptop across the room. It smashes against the forty-inch television in the lounge and bounces to the floor. Twenty minutes ago, I pulled the GPS out of the laptop. Fifteen minutes ago, I put it back together and ten minutes ago I managed to download everything onto a memory stick. But five minutes ago, while starting to wipe the hard drive I saw a glimpse of something. It was a photo, I saw it for about three seconds. Those three seconds felt like a lifetime. Three seconds where I saw a younger Nova. A Nova I thought had disappeared on me. A Nova, who had ripped out my heart. A Nova, who was pictured walking along high street hand-in-hand with my foster brother Ryan.
I’m so pumped. I should be nervous. I can feel butterflies in the pits of my stomach, but I keep pushing them down. I know Dane will want to see me. He loves me. Words or not. He does. I need to hold him. I want to feel his arms wrapped around me. Smell his unique mixture of cologne and mint. I miss his laugh, his smile, but I think mostly I miss his eyes. He always bares himself to me, and that’s probably the thing I love the most about him. He doesn’t hide anything from me. I see everything in his eyes and he allows me that gift.
I arrived in the UK last night and went to Pea’s. Thankfully both her and Con welcomed me with open arms. I knew they would, but a small part of me was still edgy about staying in their home. I would have gone to a hotel, but honestly, the last minute plane ticket sucked up the leftover credit card space I was saving for Christmas.
I tried to call Dane, but his phone was still switched off. After lying in bed restless for about an hour, I finally fell asleep and ended up sleeping like a log, only to wake up ridiculously early. But I’m not complaining as it means I can go over to Dane’s now and have more of a chance of catching him. It’s unlikely he’s going to be up and out before seven in the morning. Leaving a note in the kitchen for Pea, I walk to the local high street and manage to take some cash out of an ATM then signal a passing black cab. I love coming to London because I always get at least one ride in a black cab. I adore them. They’re so British and now I think I know what has always drawn me to them. My memories are still fuzzy in some places, but I’m fairly sure my dad drove a black cab. I’m desperate to gather all my history. I know that I’ll finally be safe to collect it, if I can find it. Dane wouldn’t let anyone hurt me anymore. I give the cab driver Dane’s address and sit back closing my eyes and forcing myself to let my body relax.
“Can you stop just a little bit away, on his road but not outside the actual house? I just…I need a minute,” I stumble over my words.
“Course love,” he answers his voice gruff.
It feels like only seconds and the car slows to a stop. Thanking the driver, I get out and pay the fare. Standing still for a moment, I look around me, taking in the houses. They are all different and yet they match somehow. All large, some slightly imposing, some just look like they’re ready for a big family. The tree-lined street is wide and considering it’s London it’s actually quiet and calm. On a day like today, when the su
n is high in the sky and the white clouds few and far between, it almost feels serene. The leaves are starting to fall as it’s coming to the end of October and there’s a chill in the air, but not so much that you would need a coat.
I check the house numbers as I walk down the street. When I arrive at Dane’s home, I take a deep breath and use the one meditation class I took to try and centre myself. Funnily enough, that doesn’t help much. But I smile and take the last few steps up to his large door. Reaching out I grab the heavy knocker and release letting it thump. While waiting for the door to open, I’m sure I hear voices, which makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to have this discussion with other people in attendance. It takes a moment for my brain to catch up and realise that other people in the house at this time in the morning must mean that he’s had company last night. My stomach turns at the thought. Before I realise it, I find myself taking a step back. I’m not sure if I want to be sick or run, but all thoughts flee my mind when the door is swung open. It’s then I realise I should have let my instinct guide me. I should have run. The guy in front of me is definitely not Dane. He’s shorter, stocky, has scruffy blond hair and dark, menacing eyes. None of that makes my heart drop. It’s the gun in his hand that scares me.
I still can’t get that photo out of my head. What the fuck does it mean? Why does it even fucking exist? I need to focus on the task at hand, but it’s hard. This is bigger than just me. I have Pea and Con to think about. They know about Pea and Saul that they’re my siblings, but more than that, they know I’ve become close to them. My sloppiness has brought their safety into question. I should have waited until I was out to try and form a relationship, but I was selfish, and couldn’t wait, now their lives may be in danger. I already called Saul last night and asked him to stay on his honeymoon until I tell him to come back. One thing I’ve learnt about my brother in the last few months, when he trusts you it’s one hundred fucking percent. Which means when I asked him to stay out there without asking questions, he just said “okay.” Like it was that easy. Once again I find myself in awe of my little brother and just a little more proud. Now though, I need to wrap this up and get to Pea’s. I need to find a way of making her safe and I can feel the memory stick burning a hole in my pocket.
I search through Jenson’s home. They met him in his lounge. But he wasn’t alone, I can see the struggle in the bedroom, and this concerns me. He had been dating Hilary on and off over the last ten years. She’s a petite, quiet, understated woman. Mousy brown hair which sits on her shoulders and brown eyes. To me she’s average, but I think that’s what Jenson liked about her. That she was normal. In the world we live in, normal is what we strive for. She was a nice woman. Polite, friendly and always had a smile. I keep using the word was, because if she was with him in the bed then she’s already gone. That’s going to kill him if he’s still alive. Although my interaction with her has been limited, I know that whenever they were apart it was because Jenson didn’t want her tangled in our world, because of exactly this reason. Our worlds can’t mix, and when you let them touch the colours run, they seep into each other. You get beauty for a moment in the dark, but then eventually the dark takes over the light. That’s why we always keep ourselves away from others. While everyone else is making friends, forging relationships, we strive to not make connections.
Finishing my checks and realising that whatever has happened there are no answers here, I leave and make my way to Pea’s house. Checking the time I see it’s only just after seven am, she’ll probably be sleeping, but I have to wake her. It’s not safe to leave her unprotected, she needs to be aware of what’s going on, more importantly Con needs to be aware so he can protect them. When I arrive, I knock as quietly as possible, just enough to wake someone. I need to alert them to my presence, but I don’t need to tip off anyone else. They’re bound to have people sitting out the front of her house, but the back is surrounded by trees so their view will be hindered. Parking in the back street and jumping the fences was the only way. So as I stand at her back door, I’m over the fucking moon to see her face peer through the glass. Quickly she opens the door and ushers me in.
“Dane!” she snaps.
“I’m sorry Pea. It’s just, I needed—”
“She’s not here,” she cuts me off with words that instantly freeze the blood in my veins.
“Who’s not here?” I speak slowly and quietly as Pea’s eyes widen at my sudden anger which I’m trying really fucking hard to control.
“Libby,” she whispers.
“Pea, where’s Con and Eleanor?” I ask, knowing that I might lose my shit at any moment. Pea points upstairs and then her voice quivers.
“W…What’s going on Dane?”
“Sunshine, be very clear. Where is Nova, and when did you last see her?”
She nods and I can see her hand tremble. I know she has no idea why I’m so mad, but I also sense that she’s not trembling because she’s scared of me. It’s more because she can tell there’s something bigger going on and she’s frightened of what it could be.
“She came here last night, she wanted to see you, Dane.” I feel my heart trying to smash through my ribcage, the pure force of how quickly it started to thump. “S..she..she left a note. I mean…I heard the front door close this morning, she was quiet, but I still heard her. I came down ten minutes later, and she’d left this note.”
I take the note and read the words, each one slicing me deeper.
Pea,
I don’t know how long I’ll be gone today. Hopefully, I won’t be back!
I’m going to get him, Pea. I’m going to get my forever.
Love,
Libby.
“She went to my house,” I whisper and Pea looks up at me her eyes searching for answers that I can’t give her. “Fucking hell!” I shout and punch the cupboard, my fist going straight through and blood instantly seeping to the surface of my torn skin.
“What the fuck, Dane?” Con shouts from halfway down the stairs.
“It’s okay, Con, honest. Just stay with Eleanor, okay? Please?” Pea coaxes and Con nods his head, but his eyes are narrowed. He sighs and makes his way back upstairs.
“They’ll have her,” I tell Pea.
“Who?” she asks.
“Whoever is trying to kill me, whoever is trying to kill Jenson!” I’m talking to no one and everyone at the same time. I just can’t stop the anguish now.
“What? Who is trying to kill you…Dane?” Pea is raising her voice, her hands on her hips.
“They’ll have her,” I say again sinking to my knees.
“Wait…who are you? What are you doing in Dane’s house?” I know I need to keep him talking. I’m outside, and that means I have a chance of escape, there’s no way he’s getting me into that house. It’s daylight now, albeit early morning, if I can just think for a second without the alarm going off in my head, warning me of the imminent danger, then maybe I stand a chance of getting away. It’s a long shot I know, but I’m not going down without a fight.
“Do you know where he is?” His voice is slightly accented and has a deep tone, rumbling rather than talking. I shake my head.
“No, sorry. I’m just going to go, I’ll come back later,” I say edging backward.
“Why would you want to leave the party, pretty lady? I’m sure we can find Dane together.” As he speaks I hear a car pulling up, but I’m too scared to turn around and see if it could be a help.
“No, no, it’s okay. I’m tired and not in the mood to party.” I try to smile at him, doing everything in my power to give myself a few more minutes. All at once he reaches forward to grab me and I dodge his advances. As I turn around ready to run, he grabs my left shoulder and pulls me backward. I spin on my heel, simultaneously pulling my right arm back as I do. Then as I turn I punch him in the face. His hand drops from my shoulder and I bring my left fist up in an uppercut and hit him again. My left hand is sloppy, but it still makes enough impact that his balance falters.
&nb
sp; “You whore, you’re going to pay for that,” he shouts as I pull myself back from his reach. Twisting away, my foot moves forward and then something smashes me on the head. Hard. The force brings me down, but I don’t quite hit the floor before everything goes black.
My eyes flicker open. I must have been asleep as I’m laying down. The first thing I see is a blue cloth. It’s bunched up in front of my face. As I reach up my body to pull it away, I notice the grey walls of the room. It takes a few minutes for my brain to pull all the pieces together.
“Dane,” I cry sitting up and then grab my head from the movement.
“Who are you?” Another voice speaks and I automatically screech with shock. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” The male voice tells me.
I look behind me and see a man sitting in the corner. No that’s not right. He’s tied up in the corner, like a naughty pet. He’s broad and handsome, even with the cuts, bruises and blood that covers a lot of his body and face. He’s mixed race and it looks like his eyes are chocolate brown, but as they’re so bloodshot it’s hard to tell. I can see tattoos up both arms that disappear under the sleeves of his T-shirt and his jeans are torn.
“Shit,” he spits out. “You’re Elizabeth Burchall, aren’t you?”
“How do you know…wait, who are you?” I ask the first two questions in my head amongst the many.
“Fuck. Dane will either rescue you or die trying. They fucked up taking you, that’s for sure.”
I say nothing opting instead just to stare blankly. At this point I’m not sure what I have to say, the whole situation is so fucked up. So far-fetched. It’s like I’m living in an episode of 24.
“Who are you?” I try again.
Love Renewed (Entwined Hearts #3) Page 15
