by Tiffany Snow
She nodded again.
“Okay then.”
She looked scared, so I leaned forward and gave her a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay,” I said. “I’ll get you back to your mother.”
I stood behind the door and waited. The rod was tight in my grip as I tried to picture how it would happen. I only had one real chance to disable whoever came in. I hoped it was the same guy who’d delivered the food. He’d had a gun in the waistband of his jeans and that would go a long way to getting us out of here.
Each minute that passed felt like an eternity, my ears straining for the slightest sound from the hallway outside. It was full daylight out by the time I finally heard the scuff of a shoe.
I took a deep breath, casting a quick glance to Ezabell. I knew she understood. It was life and death for us. Children who went through things like this, they knew perhaps better than adults the stark reality of do or die.
The knob twisted and the door swung open. I was in luck. It was the same guy and he was looking at Ezabell, who’d begun to cry.
“I feel sick,” she said, and I wanted to high-five her for her quick thinking. She’d immediately distracted him.
He took two steps toward her, by then realizing he didn’t see me. He started to turn, but was too late. I was already swinging with every ounce of strength and desperation in me.
The rod hit him on the side of the head, right at the temple. His head snapped violently to the side. Then to my utter shock and relief, he crumpled to the ground and didn’t move.
Both Ezabell and I stared for a moment, unable to believe our good fortune, then I sprang into action. I tossed the rod aside and grabbed the gun from his waistband. It was a large .38 and my fingers weren’t strong enough to check the cartridge for how many rounds it had, so I just hoped it was loaded.
“Let’s go,” I said, grabbing her hand. We ran from the room, though I was careful to pull the door closed behind us. No sense making it easier for them to see we’d escaped.
I spent a precious few seconds orienting myself. We were in a long but narrow building. A quick glance out the window showed we were a few stories up, maybe three. Too high to jump onto the concrete below. We’d have to find stairs.
The hallway was dim despite the sunshine outside, and full of closed doors. I didn’t want to open doorways if I didn’t have to, so we ran down the hallway and again, were in luck. There were stairs in the very back. Narrow and wooden, they creaked as we walked down them and I cringed.
Ezabell’s hand was small in my sweaty palm, our grip on each other tight to the point of pain. I could hear her breathing, sharp little gasps that spoke of her terror.
But it was too much to ask for our luck to hold. When we reached the bottom floor, the only exit was back into a hallway and not outside, as I’d hoped. And I could hear voices.
“Ezabell,” I said. “Listen carefully. I’m going to try and clear a path, and I want you to head straight for the front door, okay? You run right outside and you find a woman, any woman, and tell her you’re lost and need your mom.” I knew that, statistically, a woman was more likely to help a child than a man. “Understand?”
“What about you?”
“Don’t you worry about me,” I said. “Remember our deal. You do as I say, okay? If I get out of this, I’ll be at my hotel.” Praying that was true, I gave her the address and room number, making her repeat them both until I was sure she had it. “Don’t hesitate when the time comes, okay?”
She nodded, albeit reluctantly.
“Good.” I took another breath and let go of her hand. “On the count of three. Ready? One . . . two . . . three.”
I didn’t throw open the door, but instead opened it normally, hoping to escape notice for as long as possible. We got ten feet before someone spotted us.
A man glanced up, saw us, and his eyes bugged out. He began yelling until I pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. Then he went down into the table behind him, both crashing to the ground.
“Run!” I yelled, and Ezabell took off. The front door was a shining white beacon at the end of the hallway.
Someone flung open a door and I aimed quickly, firing off another round, but it embedded itself in the wood.
I ran, too. Maybe I could make it out. Miracles did happen. Arms reached out and grabbed me. Blindly, I stuck the muzzle of my gun underneath my arm and pulled the trigger. The arms fell away.
Ezabell was nearly at the door when something hard hit me upside the head, knocking me into the wall. I lost my balance, and my grip on the gun, which went clattering to the floor. I dropped, scrabbling for it. My hand curved around the grip and I sat up, only to see everyone and everything had gone still.
Ezabell flung open the door and I felt a surge of triumph. But just as she stepped through, a man blocked her path. I gasped in dismay.
“Looks like your escape plan has gone awry.”
Jerking around, I saw Levin standing in front of an archway that led to what looked to be the kitchen. He was furious, his eyes narrowed and his cheeks ruddy with rage. Five men stood in various positions in the hall, all of them with weapons pointed at me.
“You’ve killed two of my men,” he said, pointing to the bodies on the floor. “The girl will pay for that.” He snapped his fingers and the man at the door grabbed up Ezabell, who screamed.
I didn’t hesitate, but lifted the gun I still held. The men watched, but I didn’t point it at Levin or any of them.
I held the muzzle to my own temple.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Let the girl go,” I said. “Or I’ll pull the trigger.”
Levin looked at me. “Why do you think I would care if you did that?”
“I’m not dumb,” I said. “I know the real reason you’re keeping me alive. You want me to give you what I gave to Vega. Software that’ll turn all those cell phones into biodata-harvesting devices.” I could tell by the surprised, then blank expression on Levin’s face that I was right. He thought I was some genius hacker. No need to disillusion him just yet. Not if it could save my life.
“What do you want?” Levin asked.
“I want you to let the girl go,” I said. “Or so help me, I’ll blow my head off right now and you’ll be left with nothing.” I wasn’t bluffing. It would be easier than Levin could possibly imagine to pull the trigger and end everything.
“You’ll cooperate if I let her leave?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’ll do whatever you say.” It was a small price to pay. Ezabell was an innocent victim. She deserved her freedom.
A moment passed, tense and pregnant with anticipation as everyone waited to see what Levin would do. I watched him for the slightest sign that he’d try to double-cross me. If he so much as winked at one of the men, I’d pull the trigger. Part of me almost wanted him to.
“Agreed,” he said at last. He looked to the door. “Put the girl down,” he ordered. “Let her go.”
I watched as Ezabell was set on her feet. Uncertain, she looked at me.
“Go,” I said. “Run.” I prayed she’d do as I’d told her, and in the next instant, she did. Springing for the open doorway, she was through it and gone. No one tried to follow her.
I breathed a sigh of relief as two men approached me. I made no move to fight them as they took away my gun and pulled me to my feet.
“I expect your full cooperation for that,” Levin said. He was close enough for me to smell the scent of his cologne, overly sweet and heavy.
“I gave you my word,” I replied. I was glad my hunch had been right, though a part of me longed to have escaped. I didn’t know what Levin had in store for me, but I could well imagine it.
“Get her cleaned up,” Levin said. “Make sure she doesn’t escape again. We have business to attend to.”
The two men shoved me down the hallway into another room that was much better than the first I’d been in. A huge bedroom complete with a bathroom that had every luxury you could imagine.
“C
lothes are in the closet,” one of the men said. The two exchanged glances, then one of them left. I looked at the remaining guard.
“Aren’t you going to leave, too?”
He shook his head. “Eyes on you at all times,” he said.
Nice. I knew what that meant. No privacy, period.
I tried to close the door when I went into the bathroom, but he stopped me. “Door stays open,” he said.
He was a rough-looking guy with dark hair and eyes. Only a few inches taller than me, he still outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds. There would be no getting away from him, especially when his gaze followed my every movement.
I really had to use the bathroom, but didn’t want him watching. I brushed my teeth instead, hoping he’d sit down or glance away or something. He didn’t.
Bodily functions could only be denied for so long before there really wasn’t a choice any more. My cheeks burning with embarrassment, I had to pee with him watching me. It was worse than I thought it’d be, more humiliating than some of what Jace had done to me.
The man’s attention didn’t waver as I washed my hands and face. My shirt had been shredded earlier and I kept it pulled closed, but hurried to rummage through the closet for something else to wear. There were no bandages for the cuts on my stomach, but they’d stopped bleeding. After I’d cleaned them, I found a pair of jeans that fit me, and a long-sleeved shirt. I tried to block out the weight of the guard’s gaze on me, but it was hard.
Finally, I was as cleaned up as I was going to get while having someone watch me.
“What now?” I asked, careful to stay beyond the guard’s reach.
“Now we wait.”
Turning away, I paced the room, keeping the guard in my sight at all times. I didn’t want him sneaking up on me. His khaki cargo pants didn’t hide the erection he’d gotten while watching me dress and I was leery of what he might do. I was hungry, but my stomach was twisted into knots. Had Ezabell escaped all right? Maybe she’d gone for help? But the minutes crawled by with no change.
A knock on the door startled me and I stopped mid-step. The knock was merely perfunctory, it seemed, because the door swung inward to reveal Levin.
“Time to pay the piper, my dear.” He motioned to the guard, who got behind me and gave me a slight shove forward. I followed Levin back down the hallway to another room—a study or den maybe. The room contained a desk that held a computer, and various chairs scattered around; books with titles I couldn’t read lined the walls.
A large television screen attached to the wall was tuned to CNN. A reporter was talking but the sound was muted, not that it mattered because everyone could see the headline blaring out the news:
Millions of Cell Phones Rendered Useless With Latest Software Update
My lips curved in the faintest of smiles. Reggie had done it. All the susceptible cell phones were “bricked,” as he’d called it.
Levin watched the screen for a moment, and I could practically feel the anger radiating from him.
“Impressive work,” he said to me. “It seems my investment has had a significant decrease in value over the past twenty-four hours.”
I didn’t reply.
“But you already knew that,” he said. “Let’s call our mutual friend, shall we?” He hit a button on his phone, the speaker came on, and he dialed.
I held my breath, waiting and praying that Devon would pick up. It rang twice. Then three times. On the fourth ring, someone answered.
“Yes.” It was Vega.
“Vega, I presume,” Levin said.
“I see she gave you my name,” she said, sounding unperturbed. “What a surprise.”
“So lucky for us that you don’t like to get your hands dirty,” Levin said, sinking into a leather chair and crossing his legs. “She was quite easy to break, once we found the right method.”
“Excellent. Then you have a password for me?” Vega’s voice was cold and clear.
“You owe me three hundred million dollars first,” Levin said. “Or should I say, the Shadow does.”
“We already discussed this,” Vega said. “Password first, then you get your money. It’s hardly my fault you didn’t do your research properly on the viability of that software before buying.”
“And the Shadow should learn to mind its own fucking business,” Levin spat. “Now you’re going to transfer that money for me or I don’t give you squat. No password and I keep the girl.”
“You can have her,” Vega said. “I’ll transfer half the money now, half the money after we’ve ensured she’s given you the correct password.”
“If she hasn’t, then pretty little Ivy will pay a dear price.”
“That’s not my concern. Now what’s the password.”
“I’m awaiting confirmation of the transfer first.”
A tense silence followed as Levin watched his computer screen. Finally, Vega said, “You should have it now.”
“Confirmed,” Levin replied. “The password is ‘the edge of hell.’ ” He glanced at me. “No spaces.”
“Excellent. Stand by.”
We waited. I looked around as inconspicuously as I could. The nearest door was several feet away with two men between me and freedom. No way could I make it.
“Well, Levin, it looks like your methods need some improvement.” Vega’s voice was biting.
“What do you mean?” Levin asked.
“She tricked you. That password unlocked the drive, which has now unleashed a virus into our system.”
Levin looked surprised, then recovered. “I think you’re bluffing,” he said. “I think you don’t want to pay me the rest of my money.” He signaled and the guard nearest me grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me over to where Levin stood. “Send me my money or I’ll slit the girl’s throat.”
“You can slit her from neck to navel for all I care,” Vega sneered. “Did you really think I’d give you something as valuable as the man who hacked your system? You’re an idiot as well as a fool. She’s just a piece of ass that somehow got taken along for the ride.”
Levin’s gaze swiveled to me and it didn’t take a genius to see the fury in his eyes.
“Give her my best, won’t you?” Vega added sweetly, then the line disconnected.
Levin had a knife in his hand and at my throat before I’d taken another breath.
“You lied to me, made a fool of me,” he hissed. “You think you’re smarter than me?”
The knife moved and I couldn’t stop a whimper. I didn’t dare so much as twitch a muscle, for fear the knife would slice me. The cold blade touched underneath my jaw, then brushed the lobe of my ear. Tears wet my lashes, but didn’t fall.
“I’m just trying to survive,” I rasped, doing my best not to move as I spoke. “You’d have done the same.”
He looked at me, his face inches from mine. I held my breath, waiting. The knife was cold and sharp.
Levin stepped back and the tension broke. He handed the knife back to the guard and I finally took a deep breath. My knees were weak and I felt as though I was going to be sick.
“Your luck has held for a bit longer,” he said to me. “Take her away until I decide what to do with her.” He nodded to the guard, who dragged me away before I could say anything.
This time, he didn’t take me to the nice bedroom, but to another cell-like room even more sparse than the one before. It didn’t even have a bed. The guard gave me a hard push just to watch me stumble and fall, then he laughed. The door shut with the hard clang of metal on metal.
I sat on the floor for a long time, thinking. I was really hungry, my stomach cramping in pain, but I tried not to dwell on it. I was thirsty, too, but again was helpless to do anything about it. I’d already escaped once, or had nearly done so, and it seemed they were taking no chances this time. No windows, no cot, nothing I could even begin to think of using as a weapon.
I was glad what Reggie had whispered to me in his final moments had worked. He’d told me two passwords.
One for if the drive fell into the wrong hands, and one if it didn’t. I’d given the former to Levin, who’d in turn given it to Vega.
My stomach burned and my jaw ached. I lifted my shirt to look at the cuts on my skin. Angry red lines marred my abdomen. My face was bruised from where I’d been hit last night, and I was so tired, I felt I could curl up on the concrete floor and sleep. But I was too afraid of what might happen if I didn’t remain on my guard, so I propped myself against the wall and waited.
Time crawled by, but I was grateful for each minute that someone didn’t enter the room. I didn’t want to think of what was going to happen to me now. I’d need to go along with whatever Levin did and hope for an opportunity to escape at some point . . . I just didn’t know how long off that was.
When the door did finally open, it was to have someone toss me clothes.
“Put that on,” the man said, then he set a shoebox on the floor. “These, too. You’ve got ten minutes.”
“Or else what?” I called out as he was leaving.
“Or else you’re no longer useful,” he said. “And useless baggage is left outside with the garbage.” The door clicked shut behind him.
Okay then.
I untangled the clothes, already knowing I wouldn’t like what I was supposed to wear, and I was right. After stripping off my jeans and shirt, I hurried to pull on the skintight dress nearly the same shade as my hair, a light champagne. Straps went over my shoulders but it was sleeveless, the deep V in the front baring me nearly to my navel. It was made for a woman as thin as me, so it fit. The hem brushed mid-thigh, but a slit in the side went almost to my waist. The back was also nearly bare, the fabric dipping below my hips.
It wasn’t Versace, that’s for sure, and the shoes weren’t Jimmy Choo. Strappy sandals with gold and rhinestones, they winked and twinkled merrily when I walked. I was immediately freezing cold, and aware I had no makeup on and my hair wasn’t done up for wherever we were going.
No sooner had I tried a few steps in the heels, getting accustomed to their fit and height, than the door opened and Levin appeared. He smiled when he saw me, his gaze traveling from my face down to my feet and back up.
