Watching Her: A Gripping Thriller Novel With A Twist

by Emmy Ellis

They spoke. I didn’t hear what they’d said, but the air their words had been wrapped around hung before them.

  Hooded Man nodded at the school then pulled a gun from his coat.

  Shit.

  They really were going to do it. In broad daylight. The fucking nerve of them.

  “Hey.” I waved both arms above my head. “Hey, you there.”

  They both faced me, clearly surprised that someone was on the quiet street and calling to them.

  My belly clenched.

  “What are you doing?” I called.

  They glanced at each other, then back at me.

  I was close now. Close enough to see that the man with the hood was the man from the coffee shop. And his accomplice, I couldn’t be sure, but he was possibly the one who’d walked past the hotel window, his presence turning the whole them-and-us situation suffocating for me.

  Neither of them spoke. They stared at me with dark eyes and sombre expressions.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, stopping about six paces before them and ramming my hands on my hips.

  Still nothing.

  “Sprichst du Englisch,” I asked.

  “Yeah. We speak English,” Hooded Man said with an East London accent.

  I tilted my chin. “So answer my question. Why are you here?”

  “You know why,” he said then gave a twisted smile. “Don’t you, Claudine.”

  Hearing my name on his lips was like a slap to my cold cheek. I hated him with a passion.

  And I’d been right on track with what I’d thought they were going to do in that school; in fact, I’d been one step ahead of them.

  Except they had weapons.

  A car.

  There were two of them.

  But I had Sutton.

  Where the hell is he?

  I glanced about.

  The other man chuckled and took a step closer. “What you looking for, sweetheart? A knight in shining armour?”

  I tightened my jaw.

  “Ain’t gonna happen,” he said.

  “Yeah, your knight has been slain by the dragon.” His friend laughed, his wide shoulders bobbing up and down.

  Did that mean they’d taken out Sutton? Or was he referring to Kolya? They must have seen Kolya, lying dead in the snow, when they’d taken the Range Rover.

  I knew what I hoped he meant.

  “So you and the girl have no one to save you,” Hooded Man said, jerking his head towards the school.

  “The girl has nothing to do with this.” I clenched my fists.

  “She has everything to do with it.”

  I shook my head. “No, she doesn’t. She’s not even mine, or my father’s grandchild. She was adopted, years ago. Nothing to do with our family. Don’t involve her in this.”

  “Too late.”

  “No. It’s not.” I stepped closer, my knees weak, my heart thudding. “She’s an innocent.”

  “It’s always the innocent who get hurt.” He glanced at his gun then turned it in his hand as though admiring its shiny barrel.

  “Don’t hurt her. I beg you.” And I would beg. I’d get down on my hands and knees and promise them my soul for all eternity. “Please. Not her.”

  The other man chuckled, a chilling sound that held no humour. “This one’s been giving us the slip for days,” he said. “And now here she is, begging.”

  “Yeah.” Hooded Man huffed. “Like taking sweets from a kid now Ghostman’s gone, eh?”

  “What do you want?” I asked. “Tell me.”

  “It’s not so much what we want, it’s what our boss wants, sweetheart.”

  “Which is?”

  “A bargaining tool. Your father has put him in a sticky situation by not agreeing to meet his needs.”

  “And how the fuck do you…does your boss…come to the conclusion that a little girl should be drawn into this shitstorm?”

  He raised his eyebrows and looked at me as though I was an imbecile. “It’s business, simple as.”

  “Not any bloody business that I’ve ever heard of.” I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk sense to them. Being rational wasn’t a common trait in men like this.

  “Dearest Daddy should have thought of that before he made arms his business.”

  “Arms?”

  “Yeah.” He moved nearer to me.

  I took a step back and eyed his gun, which now pointed my way.

  He stopped and tilted his head. A slow smirk spread on his face.

  “Take me,” I said. “Not her. Take me. I’ll be the bargaining tool.”

  He nodded slowly, as though unsurprised at my sudden declaration.

  Even though I’d stunned the fuck out of myself with it.

  But it was okay. Sutton would be here any second. He’d come careening around the corner, weapon at the ready, and take out these lowlife scumbags.

  “And what’s to stop us taking you both?” Hooded Man wafted the gun up and down.

  “Yeah, I reckon we’d get a bonus for that.” The other man chuckled again.

  I had a sudden urge to ram my fist into his mouth and shove his tongue down his throat.

  “Take me and not her. You can’t have us both.” I held out my hands. “That’s the deal.”

  “Are you in any position to deal?”

  “Yes, I am.” Jesus, no, I wasn’t. I was on the wrong side of the barrel of a gun. “Because…” I hesitated. “Ghostman wasn’t my only protection, and any minute now you’re going to be surrounded. It’s me and me alone if you want to get the hell out of St Wolfgang before all hell breaks loose.”

  I was sorry to have given up Sutton’s element of surprise, but that was the least he owed me after disappearing like that. Plus, the flash of uncertainty that went through the eyes of the man standing before me made it well worth it.

  His accomplice surveyed the area, checking out the large wheelie bin to the right and the few parked cars.

  “Minutes,” I said, “no, more like seconds. You want something for your boss. You take me now and the girl stays.” I took a retreating step. “Or it’s nothing at all and you’ll have your brains splattered in the snow the same way as your mates have, up there.” I jerked my head backwards. “Or I suspect your boss will take a gun to your head for not delivering, since that seems to be the way he operates.”

  Sutton. I need you.

  “Fuck.” Hooded Man lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. “Get the hell in.”

  I gasped as he tugged me hard. I stumbled, my feet tripping over themselves, but his firm grip kept me upright.

  The other man opened the back door of the Range Rover and climbed in. He then dragged me with him, the slamming door narrowly missing my feet.

  “Hey!”

  “Shut the fuck up,” he said, clamping his arms over my back so I was lying on my stomach, my face in his crotch.

  The engine started.

  I shut my eyes as nausea rolled through me.

  Guilia was safe in school…for now.

  But I was well and truly in for it.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The Range Rover accelerated, pressing me backwards on the seat and grinding my head against the belly of my hostage-taker. He smelt stale, a mixture of cigarette smoke and damp.

  “Keep fucking still,” he muttered, tightening his grip on me and forcing my face into the folds of his jeans.

  I grimaced and clutched at his leg as the car sped around a bend.

  “We being followed, Jan?”

  “No,” the driver in the hood said.

  So Hooded Man’s name is Jan.

  I stored that bit of information away. It might come in useful if I needed to appeal to his softer side to stop him blowing my brains out.

  Softer side. About as soft as an iron bar coated in nails.

  The vehicle sped up. I longed for the sound of bullets hitting the bodywork, the glass on the back window splintering—a sign that Sutton was following.

  I heard nothing.

  When I got hold of him,
I’d kick his arse to kingdom bloody come.

  Bastard.

  The pressure on my back increased. “Fancy sucking me off while you’re down there, sweetheart?”

  I squirmed and tried to push upright. He held me too tight.

  “Hey, you’ll make me think you don’t want some of Rick’s dick.” He chuckled.

  “She’s a posh chick, not like that last whore you had,” Jan said. “Not likely to be into your grimy cock.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. There was a definite bulge beneath my face now, and it was too close for comfort.

  “Shut the fuck up. Lana was no whore—well, not unless I told her to be.” He laughed again and slid his hand up to my head, jamming my face to the thick wedge of flesh beneath the creases of his denims. “Come on, you know you want it. Rick’s dick is the best.”

  “Would you stop talking about your dick?” Jan said, hurtling the car to the left. “I ain’t interested. We gotta get the fuck out of here if what she says is right and there’s more of them.”

  “I dunno, I think she’s full of shit.” Rick rammed my head down even harder.

  I twisted away from his groin. “Get off me.”

  “Ah, you’ll be begging for it later.” Suddenly he shoved me upright. “They all do.”

  “I very much doubt that.” I pushed my hair from my face, scowled at him, then turned to the window.

  We’d left the village already and were on a small uphill road lined with trees heavy with snow. It was dark, the sun barely penetrating the branches, and the road surface glimmered with a warning of ice.

  Glancing downwards, at the steep drop to my right, I hoped the Range Rover had decent tyres. I didn’t fancy the hundred or so foot plummet through the skinny tree trunks to the rocky river in the valley.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Somewhere you won’t be found,” Jan said.

  “Or be heard screaming.” Rick winked at me and cupped his cock over his clothes. “Which you will.”

  I itched to slap his face. Ball my fist and break his nose. Yank his hair, bend him double, and knee him in the groin. I should be terrified. I was terrified. But I was also angry. Angry with everyone.

  I tugged my coat around myself and was reminded of the burner in my pocket. I’d have to keep that hidden. Make a call or send a message to Sutton and let him know where I was. Or the police. Was it time to involve them?

  But where the hell was I? This road could be any one of a million Alpine lanes. I’d seen no signs, no landmarks, and we were still driving steeply upwards, the engine roaring.

  “Good idea to swap the Merc for this,” Jan said, revving harder and taking a sharp bend at speed.

  “Yeah, can’t go wrong with these beasts.” Rick glanced out of the window, eyeing the ground that fell away just a foot from the road’s edge.

  Slipping my hand into my pocket, I ran my fingertip over the keys, which were slightly flush. Could I call now? Without being able to see the numbers I was dialling? Make a guess at it and hope for the best?

  I pressed the bottom right one, praying it wouldn’t make a noise.

  It didn’t.

  Now all I had to do was…

  “What the hell have you got there?” Rick lunged for me, dragging my arm so my hand was hauled from my pocket.

  He delved into it and pulled out the phone. The one thing that Sutton had given me to keep me safe.

  “You bitch.” He slapped me, hard, across my face.

  “Ow!” Heat flared over my cheek, and my neck jarred.

  “What?” Jan said, briefly taking his attention from the road and looking in the rearview mirror.

  “She’s got a fucking phone.”

  “Didn’t you check?”

  “No, we just got the hell out of there.”

  “Sometimes you’re a fucking moron, Rick. You think I can do everything?” Jan tutted.

  “Just bloody drive,” Rick said, opening his window.

  Chilled air raced into the car with a whoosh.

  He hurled the burner out, and it was snatched by the forest as the Range Rover sped onwards.

  “Shit, no.” I grimaced and closed my eyes. Anger was slipping away, and in its place fear—real, absolute, black, gut-clenching fear rising mountainous in its size and intensity.

  “No one is following,” Jan said. “Not a soul, so sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  “Enjoy the ride? What, with bloody Jack the Ripper back here?” I folded my arms and hoped they didn’t sense the fear in my voice. “I could do with some castrating equipment.”

  “What, and spoil your fun?” Rick laughed loudly. A blob of spittle flew from his mouth.

  “Keep a rein on it,” Jan said. “We gotta talk to Boss.” He released the steering wheel with his left hand and shoved at his jacket to expose a garish yellow gold watch. “Time is ticking. He’ll be expecting us.”

  As he’d spoken, he’d pulled onto an even narrower road, more of a track and deeper with snow. He slowed the car and drove around a few hairpin bends. I had a sense of becoming completely lost to the rest of the world. Invisible. Vanishing into the wilderness.

  The trees cleared dramatically. We were on a cliff edge. Set before us was a wooden cabin, the roof weighed down with virginal snow. The windows were in darkness, and a chimney rose dormant into the blue sky. Attached to the chimney’s brickwork was a black satellite dish.

  A glance at the ground told me no one had visited recently. There were no car tracks or footprints leading to the small veranda and front door.

  “Where are we?” I asked, knowing they wouldn’t tell me anything, but it was worth a try.

  “Nirvana, darling,” Rick said with a leer. His teeth were stained yellow with thin vertical brown lines.

  “Jesus, get a grip.” My belly clenched. I didn’t want to imagine what was going through his head. And shit, I was miles from anywhere. Sutton, my father, or the police would never find me.

  It was time to start relying on myself.

  Jan turned off the engine.

  “Get out.” Rick leant over me and shoved at the door, pushing away an image hovering before me—Kolya lying on red snow with the stillness of death over him.

  I did as Rick asked, pleased to be out of the confines of the car and away from his rank smell, but equally I knew what was coming my way.

  And it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  “Hurry.” Jan gripped my arm and tugged me towards the cabin. He glanced about as though checking I didn’t have rescuers lurking in the trees.

  Rick stomped off to the right, to what appeared to be a cliff edge. In the distance, the Alps rose majestically, their windswept peaks holding a trailing a cloud of snow. Once I would have lingered over their beauty, but now they were the bars on my prison cell.

  My breath puffed in front of me as I stomped through the deep snow, towed along by Jan.

  He unlocked the cabin door and shoved me inside.

  I stumbled and gripped the back of a wooden chair.

  “Sit,” he said. “Boss will want to see you.”

  “Is he here?”

  “He will be.” Jan gripped my shoulders and manoeuvred me onto the chair.

  I sat with a hard bump.

  “No point running.” He nodded at the door. “You won’t get very far.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Why would I go anywhere? I came willingly, to protect Guilia.”

  “Oh yeah…” He snorted and walked to the hearth. It was set with logs and kindling. With practiced efficiency, he lit it.

  “What I didn’t agree to”—I glanced at the door; Rick was heading back our way—“Was that creep raping me.”

  “Rick’s got a high sex drive.” Jan stood and shucked off his hooded jacket. He tossed it onto a dusty pine table. “And if he wants some… Well, if there’s me and you here, I’d rather he had you and not me.” He laughed.

  “Have you no morals?” I said.

  “Nah, requirement of the job. Chuck
your fucking morals in the bin when you take it on.”

  “What you chucking in the bin?” Rick stepped into the cabin and shut the door. It had been dim before, but now it was more so.

  “Don’t matter.” Jan jabbed at the fire, and the first flames leapt to life, their orange shadows dancing on the grimy wooden floor.

  “So now what?” I asked, hoping negotiations were next on the agenda.

  “A drink.” Jan set the poker down. “Get me one, Rick.”

  “What did your last fucking slave die of?” Rick dropped his beanie onto a ladder-back chair beside the door.

  “I gotta get the boss online.” Jan shook his head. “Or we’ll both be fucking dead.”

  Rick muttered something and wandered to a cabinet. He sloshed amber liquid into two metal mugs then handed one to Jan.

  Jan fiddled with a tablet, the glare of the screen flooding his face with diamond-white light.

  “Where is your boss?” I asked.

  “Columbia.”

  “Columbia, that’s a long way.” Why the hell is he there? Are arms deals rife in Columbia?

  “Yeah, well, he has a long reach.”

  “And what’s his name?”

  “Pack it in with the questions.” Rick knocked back a mouthful of drink then wiped his hand over his mouth.

  “I’m entitled to know who is holding me hostage.”

  “Just think of me, baby.” Rick removed his jacket and slid his attention down my body. “That’s all you need to know.”

  I shuddered and wondered how far I’d get if I did make a run for it.

  Not far. The snow would slow me down. Soon I’d be cold and lost. Then it would be dark, and hypothermia would set in. It was hard to believe, but staying in this grim cabin with murdering rapists actually seemed like my best option.

  If only I still had that burner.

  If only…

  Damn it. The tracker. It was in my jeans pocket.

  Sutton.

  Would he? Could he?

  A glimmer of hope lit in me, sparking to life the same way the fire in the room had.

  How could I have forgotten about it? It could be my saviour, if only Sutton was okay. If they hadn’t got to him. If Kolya’s fate hadn’t become Sutton’s, too.

  “Hey, Boss, you seeing me okay?”

  My attention was drawn to Jan. He was talking to the screen.