Secrets On the Clock

by Nicole Disney

  She opened a blank message, her mind frantically reaching for language that would explain what was happening that Ladona wouldn’t catch. An email telling Sasha to bring Deon and Raylon to the office to be released to Ladona immediately would in and of itself catch her attention. Sasha knew she would never send that message to anyone, let alone her.

  She put Sasha’s name in the “to” field, her stomach twisting as she did. She couldn’t change it now. Ladona would be too suspicious. She had to find a way to keep Sasha from coming into her office. She typed out instructions to bring the boys in, peppering the document with words to tip her off. She pretended to be outraged at Danielle’s behavior, demanded that Sasha pull the trigger on disciplining her, hoping she’d catch the gun reference. She pressed the importance of Deon and Raylon being taken to office one thirty-two and no other, knowing Ladona had no idea that was the security office.

  She hovered over the send button in dread. She couldn’t stand the idea that Sasha might come check on her, that she could be blowing her cover and putting her best friend in danger all at once, but she believed in Sasha. She had to have faith she would recognize the email as more than a random absurdity, that she would catch the clues.

  “Who is that?” Ladona looked at Sasha’s email address like it was a cobra.

  “The head of endangered child placement.” Jenna made up the title. She could feel that Ladona was suspicious, but what could she do? She clicked send before she could be told otherwise. Her pulse pounded in her ear, and she waited in dread, praying Sasha wouldn’t send some smartass email back to her without thinking it through.

  Jenna thought she heard a shuffle in the next room, but Ladona didn’t flinch. Maybe she imagined it. Her paranoia was raging. She couldn’t take a chance. She couldn’t let Sasha walk into this. She had to make the danger obvious.

  “When this is all over, you better take better care of them.” Jenna spun her chair around to face Ladona.

  “Excuse me? Don’t fucking tell me how to raise my kids.” Ladona raised her voice a little, and Jenna felt a twinge of hope.

  “I’m a good mother,” Ladona said. “They were always safe with me. Fucking baby snatchers. All you care about is your commission, no matter who you have to destroy.”

  “Oh, you’re a good mother?” Jenna smirked. “Please.”

  “You better shut your mouth, little girl.” Ladona shoved the gun in her face, pressing the muzzle into her cheek. Jenna heard something in the hallway, and this time she was sure. They were footsteps, but Ladona obviously didn’t hear them. She thought they were alone. Jenna had to raise Ladona’s voice like a flag for help, and she had to do it now.

  “Good mothers don’t let their fat, ugly, drug dealer boyfriends beat their kids,” Jenna said.

  The slap of the gun came hard and fast and knocked her almost out of the chair. Her vision was watered and blurry. She tried to focus again, almost in a panic, like she was afraid she’d gone blind. She felt warmth on the side of her face where the gun had impacted her, but she refused to give Ladona the satisfaction of seeing her check for blood. She knew it was there.

  “Or was it you that hit them?” Jenna asked. She prepared for another blow.

  “Fuck you!” Ladona yelled. “You sell babies for a living, you fucking demon! Don’t you dare judge me!”

  “I don’t sell babies.” Jenna spoke quietly now, hoping to bring the rage in the room back down. She was sure Sasha must have heard what she needed to, enough to steer her the other direction, but she wasn’t sure she could calm Ladona again now that she’d wound her up.

  “I swear to God, bitch, if anything goes wrong, whether it’s your fault or not, I’ll fucking kill you.”

  Jenna nodded. “You better let me clean myself up then,” she said. “People are going to start showing up for work soon. I probably shouldn’t look like this.”

  “If you think you’re leaving this room you’re stupid.”

  “Fine.”

  “Use your spit.”

  Jenna laughed and licked her fingers, then dragged them down her face. A pain that went to the bone pulsed in her temple and cheek as her fingers touched the edges of the rip in her skin and the thick blood. Jenna glanced up at Ladona and saw her realizing she couldn’t make the cut disappear, piecing together the fact that the people who were supposedly bringing her children back would have more than a few questions about how it happened, that her entire plan was in danger. Jenna saw the muscles in her face twitching as emotions fought for control. A knock sounded at the door, and she whipped around to point the gun at Jenna again.

  “Who the fuck is that,” she whispered.

  Jenna shrugged. “I don’t know. People do work here. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  “Get rid of them.”

  Jenna started for the door, but Ladona pulled her back.

  “Your face.”

  Jenna raised her shoulders again. “What do you want me to do?”

  Ladona’s eyes darted back and forth in a panic.

  “I’ll tell them I was in an accident,” Jenna said.

  “Another accident? Is that the only fuckin’ lie you know how to tell?”

  “Fine, I fell,” Jenna said.

  The knock sounded again more urgently. “Ms. Thompson?”

  Jenna was relieved to hear a male voice. She didn’t recognize it, but at least it wasn’t Sasha.

  Ladona motioned for Jenna to open the door and hid to the left of it. Jenna breathed, and opened the door. Two security guards stood in the entryway. Their expressions went from bored to high alert as they absorbed the wound on her face. Jenna glanced to the left to tip them off, confident as security guards they’d know better than to let on to her cue.

  “Ms. Thompson, we got a carbon monoxide alarm from this floor. I’m afraid we’re going to have to evacuate everyone until the fire department gets here. If you could please come with me.”

  Two gunshots rang out in succession, and the security guards dropped into a crouch, their arms covering their heads as if that could offer any protection. Jenna’s ears rang from the shots, and she evaluated herself for pain, unsure who the intended target was. An arm wrapped around her, circling her neck and pulling her backward. Ladona’s arm crushed her throat and cut off the air. The muzzle of the gun jammed against the cut in her face, sending excruciating lightning bolts through her head.

  “Back the fuck off!” Ladona screamed. The guards scrambled backward, and Jenna was relieved to see they looked uninjured. “Get the fuck away, or I swear I’ll shoot her!”

  The guards scrambled away from the door, and Ladona slammed it shut.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Danielle dug in her pocket for her vibrating cell phone while she pulled into the work lot. When she saw Sasha’s name, the weight of disappointment made her shoulders sag. She’d been hoping to see Jenna’s name, hoping Jenna hadn’t given up on her. She shook away the sadness. She’d see her in five minutes, and she would make it right. Even though Jenna tried to kiss her just days ago, she couldn’t seem to muster any certainty she would still want her. She felt so stupid realizing she’d been the one pulling away even though Jenna was the one with the most to lose. As much as she wanted Jenna, she was the one who had failed to trust.

  She glanced at Sasha’s name again. At first, she planned to ignore the call, but curiosity crept up.

  “Hello?”

  “Danielle, it’s Sasha. Listen, something is happening. Something bad. Don’t come to work.”

  “What?”

  “Ladona Clark is in the building with a gun. She shot at the security guards, and she’s holding Jenna hostage.”

  “What?” Danielle yelled as she pulled into the lot. She felt like all the air was being ripped out of her. She hit the gas and careened around the median, speeding for Sasha’s car. “I’m pulling up right now, where are you?”

  “Shit, no, go away, Danielle! Get away from the building. The cops are on the way.”

 
Danielle spotted Sasha yelling into her phone and pulled up next to her, disconnecting her cell phone.

  Danielle jumped out of her car. “Are you crazy? I’m not leaving if Jenna’s in there.”

  “It’s Ladona Clark,” Sasha said again.

  “Of course, it is,” Danielle said.

  “Didn’t you take her kids away last week?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you are the last person that needs to be here right now,” Sasha said. “I’m sure she’s got it in for you.”

  “Exactly,” Danielle said. “I can’t run away and leave Jenna here to deal with my mess. What if she gets hurt?” Danielle felt panic boiling in her throat. What if Jenna got hurt? What if she got killed? Ladona had nothing to lose now, and she already shot at security. What if this was it? What if she would never get to tell Jenna how much she loved her?

  “Where is she?” Danielle asked.

  Sasha’s eyes went wide, and she shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I’m not helping you make the worst decision ever.”

  “The decision is already made. Just tell me where they are so I don’t bump into her without meaning to.”

  “Let the police do it, Danielle. That’s what they do. They have vests and guns.”

  “Yeah, well, they’re not here yet, and Jenna could be shot any second. That bullet would be meant for me!”

  “You’re not thinking—”

  Danielle turned and stormed for the front door.

  “She wouldn’t want you to do this!” Sasha yelled.

  Danielle ignored her and ran into the building. Sirens were approaching, but it didn’t change her mind. They would take too long. They always sat outside of hostage situations for hours before anyone actually did anything, and she wouldn’t, couldn’t, wait for that.

  She passed through the automatic doors and crouched as she dipped into the hallway to her immediate left. The doors to the various offices were inset from the walls, allowing her the perfect landscape. She could race up the hall, then hide in the small alcoves while she listened for Ladona. She made her way up the hallway in a flash, probably too quickly, but her heart told her Jenna was in her office. It was no accident Ladona took Jenna hostage. She’d gone after her specifically, and where better to look for her than her office?

  Danielle rounded the corner into the stairwell and climbed to the third floor, their floor. Her heart started pounding as she reached the door that would let into the open area of the main office. She’d have plenty of desks to hide behind in there, assuming Ladona wasn’t watching the door. That was a big assumption. It all felt real the moment she put her hand on the doorknob. Ladona Clark had a gun, and she would almost certainly love to shoot Danielle. But the love of her life was behind that door. She couldn’t possibly not open it. She put her ear to the door and listened, but heard nothing.

  She slowly turned the doorknob, then pushed and tried to peek inside. The office was empty. The lights were on. That was the only thing that would indicate anything unusual, but it was enough. She was right. They must be in Jenna’s office. Danielle surveyed the room. She could make her way to the supervisors’ hallway easily enough, but from there she’d be confined to the narrow passage.

  She opened the door just enough that she could fit through and crawled to the closest desk. Her arms were shaking, and she was covered in a cold sweat. She listened, heard nothing, and crept forward to the next desk. She glanced around the room, trying to spot something that could serve as a weapon. She remembered Chuck’s stupid golf clubs and smiled as she crept toward his office.

  A muffled yell made her freeze in her tracks. She couldn’t make out the words, but it wasn’t Jenna’s voice. That meant it had to be Ladona’s. Just as she picked up her hand to crawl forward again, another voice sounded, this one through a megaphone from outside. She slowly stood up against the wall and peeked out the window. On the same side of the building as Jenna’s office, there were five police cars outside now. One officer was speaking into the megaphone.

  “Come out with your hands up!”

  “Bring me my sons!” Ladona screamed. Her voice traveled well through the office, enough to surprise Danielle and make her check over her shoulder to confirm she wasn’t coming down the hall, but she wasn’t. The window Danielle was looking out was opened just a crack, and the sound came through easily. She made sure to stand out of view. The last thing she needed was the police bringing attention to her.

  “Release the hostage, and come out with your hands up!”

  “You can have her when you bring me my kids!”

  Danielle heard a phone ringing down the hall, likely in Jenna’s office. There was a slam and Ladona screamed out the window again.

  “Just bring me my kids!”

  Danielle felt shaken by the volume of Ladona’s voice. She was escalated, enraged.

  “This is your fault!” she screamed. Danielle’s stomach twisted in fear as she pictured Ladona losing control with Jenna at the wrong end of a gun. She ran the rest of the way to Chuck’s office and pulled the driver from his golf bag. She crept down the hall to Jenna’s office. It was only three doors away now.

  “What did you do?” Ladona screamed. Danielle gripped the golf club harder, preparing to attack.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Jenna said.

  “Bullshit. Who did you send that report to? Is there a panic button in here? What the fuck did you do? They didn’t just show up here for no reason!”

  Danielle kept her back plastered to the wall, trying to figure out how she could look around the corner without getting caught. She needed to know exactly where Ladona was if she was going to hit her faster than Ladona could shoot.

  “You’ve been yelling,” Jenna said. “Other people work here, and it’s getting late. Someone probably came in and heard you. Or maybe security really was here over a carbon monoxide alarm. We can still get through this, though. Just stay calm.”

  Jenna did sound calm. She sounded in control. Danielle couldn’t tell if she was misreading Ladona’s level of escalation or if Jenna was just unshakable.

  “Don’t fucking lie to me,” Ladona said. “Quit treating me like some moron you can manipulate. I’m not a child. I know there’s no getting out of this.”

  The office phone rang, and Danielle felt all three of them go still even though she couldn’t see in the office. It rang again. It sounded so much louder now, piercing the tension, than it ever had before. Danielle heard a muffled voice through the megaphone outside again, but couldn’t make out the words. It sounded like they’d closed the window.

  “It’s probably them,” Jenna said.

  “No shit,” Ladona said. “Lord, what did you do to me? I told you if you didn’t get my boys back to me, if you didn’t fix this, I would kill you, and I meant it. I just wanted my babies back.”

  “That can still happen,” Jenna said.

  Ladona laughed and snatched the phone off the receiver as it started its third ring. “What?”

  Danielle’s heart jolted as she realized Ladona would have to be by Jenna’s desk to answer the phone, which meant she should be able to glance around the corner from the hallway without her seeing. Danielle leaned forward, not daring to breathe. She couldn’t see Ladona at all and could only catch a glimpse of part of Jenna’s back. She didn’t dare lean forward any farther.

  “Bring me my sons,” Ladona said into the phone. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to see this one alive again. You bring them to me now!” She slammed the phone down. When it instantly rang again, she swiped it up. Silence stretched before she spoke.

  “They’re here?”

  Danielle risked a glance into the room again. She still couldn’t see Ladona and could still only make out part of Jenna’s back. She desperately wanted to get her attention, to pull her out of there, but she couldn’t figure out how to alert Jenna without alerting Ladona too.

  “Fine.” She hung up the phone again. “They’re here,” she said to Jenna. “Let
’s go.”

  “Go?”

  Panic seized Danielle, and she scrambled to move out of the hallway without making noise.

  “I’m not looking out this window,” Ladona said. “Dirty fuckers will probably shoot me. Let’s go.”

  Danielle stood and ran down the hall, ducking into the next alcove up. She tried to keep her footsteps silent, but speed was more important, and she couldn’t be sure if she succeeded. All she could hear was her own pulse thundering in her ears.

  “This way,” Ladona said. They were in the hallway now. Danielle gripped the golf club harder, feeling it wanting to slide in her sweaty grasp. She couldn’t predict which way Ladona would go, but if it was toward her, she would have no choice but to attack. She envisioned what she would have to do, the level of aggression she would need, but the footsteps went away.

  “Fuck.” Danielle mouthed to herself. A few seconds later, she couldn’t hear anything. She’d lost track of them. She glanced around the corner and saw the hallway was empty. She crept down the hall, passing Jenna’s office. There was blood on the carpet by her desk. Danielle’s heart sank. She hadn’t had a real look at Jenna, but when she’d seen her standing, she’d ridiculously assumed she wasn’t hurt. She couldn’t let this go on another second. She powered down the hall. Ladona’s voice shattered the silence.

  “Why the fuck are they in bulletproof vests?”

  The volume of her voice alone made Danielle flinch in fear, but she pushed forward. They were in the main office, by the windows on the left.

  “They think I’m going to shoot my own fucking kids?”

  “Ladona, I’m sure it’s just a precaution,” Jenna said.

  “They think I’m a danger to my own babies! You did that! I would never hurt them. I love my children, but you made me look like a monster, and now I’ll never see them again. You fucking bitch!”