Nick drew to a halt at once and lifted his gun hand but Korloff was within reach by now and kicked it, the gun flying away and landing somewhere behind him with a clatter. Korloff made a lunging motion towards Nick’s chest and he only just saw the knife in time, falling backwards into strong arms.
There was the whooshing sound of a gun going off and Korloff crumpled to the ground, Poppy becoming visible behind him, lowering her gun. She looked over the top of the unconscious kidnapper to where Nick sat, held in Reese’s arms. “You two made a spectacular mess of that, didn’t you?” she said in a smug tone.
Nick rolled his eyes and clambered to his feet. Now that he could stop and think about it, he could taste the iron from blood running down from his nose, where he had been punched and it hurt like crazy. The calf of his left leg was also sore from where Reese’s shoe landed on it and there was a pain in the opposite elbow that he had no idea how he had injured. He didn’t care about any of that, though, not when Korloff was their prisoner and they could finally find Larsha and get her back to her family.
Chapter Forty-One
“I WON’T tell you where Larsha is unless you free me and give me the ransom money I asked for along with a ship to get me away from here,” Korloff said.
Reese had hauled Korloff’s unconscious form out of the tunnels and back to Uxor’s room while Poppy alerted Larsha’s family that they had the kidnapper. They took the knife off him, then got him tied up and Uxor, Yalfi and Kedos returned just as Korloff was waking up.
Korloff managed to sit up on the floor to speak, a wild look in his eyes as he looked up at them all.
Uxor knelt down and punched Korloff before they all pulled him away. “I will not help squirming word unknown like you. Tell us where daughter is!”
“She doesn’t have any food or water so you’d better agree to my terms while she’s still alive.” Korloff’s voice was shaking with fear and a dark bruise was forming on one cheek but he wasn’t backing down. Perhaps he thought his life would be over anyway if he went to prison for this.
Poppy drew Uxor away to speak without the kidnapper overhearing and Nick and the others followed to hear her say, “Our ship can search for Korloff again once Larsha is safe. Why not give him what he wants to get her back?”
“Yes, for Larsha’s sake,” Kedos urged him, leaning towards them, and Yalfi agreed.
Uxor’s rigid face was as unreadable as ever but Nick had a sinking feeling about what his response would be before Uxor said, “No.”
“But it would be so easy for you and she is return to us,” Kedos said, her voice rising and – anticipating more wailing – Nick winced.
Uxor pointed a clawed limb at each of the detectives. “You are find her now.”
Nick bit back his anger at Uxor’s stubbornness. Nothing was going well on this case, events and people blocking their progress at every turn, and a young woman was still suffering because of it. They should have found Larsha by now – she couldn’t survive indefinitely.
They left the room and Poppy got out her hy-phone. She dialled and said to whoever had answered, “We’ve caught the kidnapper but his victim is still locked up. Can you send security teams out to search the station and we’ll work our way through the tunnels to find her? Thank you.” She ended the call and put away the phone, saying to Nick and Reese, “Paul Ninety’s station personnel will help with the search.”
“Korloff was pretty scared,” Reese said. “He might have been delaying us because Larsha was already dead.”
“I know.” Nick felt sick at the thought. “At least he’s locked up, unable to do anything else to her now, though, so we just have to assume she’s alive until we find out otherwise and find her as quickly as possible.”
“You should go to the station doctor before helping us,” Reese said, fingers touching the unhurt edge of his face in a quick feather-light caress.
“I can wait.”
“But...”
“I’ll be fine.” He was better off than the kidnap victim or Poppy, who was on her third day without sleep. “Let’s look for Larsha.”
The three of them looked at the tunnel plans stored on Poppy’s computer and accessed a main part of the tunnel system through a door at the back of a storage closet. Nick ducked his head to get inside and followed Poppy, stooping over in the low, dimly lit space and hearing Reese’s footsteps echoing on the metal floor behind him.
Poppy called out, “Larsha!”
They all paused and Nick listened for an answering voice but there was nothing. Poppy began walking again and he and Reese continued behind her. The tunnels forked in three different directions and they split up to cover everywhere as quickly as possible.
Nick kept going as the space inside the tunnels gradually grew smaller and smaller. He had been claustrophobic ever since he had been accidentally locked in a shed for hours as a young child and he had to clamp down on the fear to force himself to keep going. It was a thousand times worse for Larsha, he reminded himself, and she wasn’t safe yet.
Unable to walk further, he got down onto all fours and crawled along the metal surface, clambering over a bulky pipe, his own breathing harsh in his ears. When both his arms brushed the sides of the tunnels, he feared that the space would get too small for him and he would somehow have to manoeuvre back the way he had come. He imagined getting stuck here, wedged into a tiny space where no one would find him and he began to sweat, even as he tried to shrug off the unfounded fear. His instincts screamed at him to get out of here but he gritted his teeth and continued to drag himself forward through the semi-darkness.
Finally the tunnel began to widen again. He heard the echoing clank of footsteps somewhere ahead of him and his pulse speeded up – they had never ruled out the idea of a second kidnapper. He staggered to his feet, almost bent in half to do so. “Larsha?”
A voice called back. “No, it’s me.”
He smiled in relief as he recognised it as Reese. He held onto the walls either side of him and lurched forward until the space gradually increased enough for him to move more normally. He saw his colleague and they drew together, Reese’s solid presence reassuring.
“We must have searched most of this level now.” Reese put a hand on Nick’s shoulder as if sensing that he needed the contact. “Perhaps the security teams have had better luck.” He phoned Poppy but, after checking with the station owner, she said that there was still no sign of Larsha.
“Then we’d better keep going,” Nick said, refusing to voice his growing concerns. Finding the kidnapper was supposed to have led them to Larsha but she was still lost and, with no food or drink, she was in greater danger than ever. This space station was enormous and getting her back alive was beginning to seem impossible.
Chapter Forty-Two
“WHY IS daughter not with you?” Uxor asked.
“We’ve searched all the public areas of the station and the tunnels and she’s not there,” Poppy told him six hours after they went away to look for Larsha. “The only places left are the guest rooms which we’re not legally allowed to enter without permission.”
“Search,” he ordered. “If guests complain, I am sort out.”
“If you’re willing to pay for any legal problems, wouldn’t it be better to just pay Korloff to get her back right now?” Poppy asked, a note of anger in her tone that Nick hoped wouldn’t lead to an argument between them.
“Kedos says to offer half ransom,” Yalfi pleaded with him. “That is good idea?”
“No.”
Nick stifled his frustration at Uxor’s attitude and his eyes fell on Kedos. She was fidgeting in an agitated manner, which was understandable, but her constant comments about paying the ransom suddenly took on a new significance in his mind. “Kedos seems determined to make sure the kidnapper gets some money,” he said and the girl’s gaze shot to his face. More sure than ever of his guess, he went on, “Perhaps she has some secret stake in all this.”
They all turned towards the young woman,
who cowered back.
“Kedos is Larsha’s close friend,” Yalfi insisted. “She worries as we worry to make her safe.”
“Was the whole thing Korloff’s idea or yours?” Nick persisted.
“I care for Larsha,” Kedos said.
“What do you do?” Uxor bellowed and Kedos ran towards the door, only to be stopped by Poppy.
Kedos gave a wail and sank to the floor, her lowered head almost hidden behind her giant claws. “I want easy plan. Larsha gone for a few hours, you pay money which Jean and I split and then Larsha safely back. It is all go wrong!” She began wailing again, the sound so loud that it was uncomfortable to hear.
Yalfi walked over and pulled the woman to her feet with a pincer grip that looked painful. “Where is Larsha?”
“I am not know.” Kedos looked from Yalfi to Uxor, cringing. “I promise, I am not know!”
“If she’s lying, you find out,” Poppy told Uxor. “We’ll speak to Korloff and, if that doesn’t work, we’ll start checking guest rooms.”
“Do that,” Uxor said.
Nick got to the door first and, with this new angle to pursue, they jogged to the command centre. The station owner was holding the prisoner in a locked room that presumably didn’t have any tunnel escape routes. Korloff was still tied up, legs crossed in front of him on the floor, when Reese dragged him to his feet.
“We know you and Kedos are working together.”
“So?” Korloff didn’t even ask if the girl was safe. “Is Uxor ready to pay me yet?”
“Kedos will tell us where Larsha is, one way or the other,” Poppy said grimly.
“She doesn’t know,” Korloff shot back.
His lack of hesitation or fear convinced Nick that he was telling the truth and, after another unsuccessful attempt to get him to say anything more about Larsha, they locked him up again.
“We need to search the guest rooms,” Poppy said to Paul Ninety. “If there are any legal problems, Uxor has promised to pay for them.”
Ninety dragged a hand over his eyes and Nick feared he would refuse, more concerned about the damage it would do to the station’s reputation than the kidnap victim. If that happened Larsha would never be found.
Nick bit his lip and waited.
Paul Ninety gave a grimace but then he nodded. “My people will help you.”
Chapter Forty-Three
NICK LOOKED ready to collapse, his face mottled with bruises, and he was limping slightly which Reese had a horrible feeling was his fault, from when he had collided with Nick when dropping down into the tunnels from Uxor’s bedroom.
“I can start looking on my own,” Reese said to him, Poppy having already left with a security officer. “Just go and see a doctor.”
“It’s not that bad at all,” Nick said with a smile that pulled at the dried blood on his face, twisting it a bit. “I can’t relax until Larsha is safe.”
“It might already be too late,” Reese said although he really hoped it wasn’t.
“I won’t believe that. We’ll find her.”
They took the green corridor of the next intersection, heading to the lift to begin the second round of searching and Reese said, “You’re as stubborn as your sister.”
“I just can’t bear the thought of anyone being in danger.”
Reese smiled. “I know. That’s one of the things I admire about you.”
They got into an elevator and told the computer to stop it at the third floor.
Nick looked round at him, his eyes bright. “Are there any other things you like?”
Reese could be non-committal or he could be honest now and, although the first choice was probably the smart one, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He didn’t have any expectation that Nick could possibly care about him but Nick deserved to know how amazing he was. “I love everything about you, from your sharp mind to your endless kindness and compassion. I see all those qualities along with your outward beauty every time I look at you and sometimes it’s difficult to focus on anything else. You’ve made my life better just by being a part of it and, even if you never want more than friendship from me now that you know who I really am, I’ll always be grateful for that much.”
He couldn’t take the words back now and he didn’t want to but his nerves increased with every second that passed as he waited for Nick’s response.
“What if I want more than that?” Nick turned fully towards him and Reese’s heart gave a jump. “I started falling for you on Ocean and I haven’t heard anything about your past that made my feelings lessen. Just the opposite.”
The reaction made no sense to Reese – who couldn’t forgive himself for his past failings – but, suddenly offered everything he wanted, he was too happy to care. He did what he had thought about doing for so long and kissed Nick. Their lips touched and he remembered to be careful not to touch Nick’s sore nose or cheek, trying to keep it light. Nick didn’t seem to have any such worries, though, his arms going round Reese and pulling him even closer. Reese was flooded with sensation as he held Nick and the kiss grew more intense, driving all other thoughts and concerns from his mind.
There was a jolt before the lift door opened and an exclamation from the other side of it made them reluctantly part. Reese blinked and tried to get his brain to work again as they got out. The woman passing them to get inside caught sight of Nick’s bloody face and did a double take, her eyes widening before the lift doors closed and she vanished from sight.
Reese reached out to squeeze Nick’s hand and they exchanged smiles, Nick’s grin as wide as his own, before he forced himself to stop dwelling on their relationship and concentrate on their work. It was almost impossible to do with Nick right there, apparently wanting them to be together just as much as he did, but they’d have all the time in the world to be romantic when Larsha was found. He just had to put his joy on hold and focus for a bit longer.
He looked around. There must be at least five hundred rooms on this floor and it was the size of a small town but they knew Larsha was on the station somewhere. They approached the first door and knocked on it. A brown snake-like alien three times the size of them opened it.
“Er, I’m sorry to trouble you,” Nick said, looking upwards into its multiple eyes. “We need to search your room for the missing girl.”
“Don’t disturb brood,” the alien said, long legs appearing from the sides of its vast tale so it could move back and admit them.
Reese had been wondering if his transmitter had misunderstood her words until he caught sight of a seething mass in the centre of the room. As he got close he could see several dozen tiny aliens amid shells and goo and several un-hatched eggs. He and Nick carefully made their way around it to check the bathroom and wardrobe before heading back to the door.
“Congratulations on your new family,” Nick whispered as they left.
“Thank you,” the alien said before the door closed again.
They kept going, some guests more helpful than others and a few – who may or may not have been up to something illegal while staying here – were positively belligerent until asked if they really wanted to get on the wrong side of the wealthiest man in this sector of the galaxy. A number of rooms were currently empty but they had a master key card to get inside anyway.
When no one answered their knocks at one room they let themselves inside. The room was in darkness but Reese thought he heard a sound and he said, “Lights.”
He looked round and saw a woman tied to a chair and gagged. She had the same claw like legs and arms as Uxor and the greyer stone-like skin of her mother. His fears had been unfounded: she was alive.
In case she was afraid – although she had the same unreadable features as the other Homs so it was impossible to tell – Reese said, “We’re here to save you, Larsha.”
Chapter Forty-Four
“I THINK after survive this long that, sitting here so long alone, I am going to die,” Larsha said as Reese untied her. She wore a dress in the same kind of flowi
ng style as Kedos wore but it was crumpled from being worn for so long. Her wrists didn’t look discoloured from the rope but, once she was free, she rubbed them as if they felt sore.
“We and your family would never let that happen,” Nick reassured her, touching a claw to help her stand.
She looked from him to Reese. “Who exactly is you?”
“We’re detectives your family hired as soon as you were kidnapped.”
“I want to see my parents and Kedos.”
Despite her youthfulness she didn’t show any sign of falling apart in the aftermath of her ordeal but perhaps she was in shock. Nick couldn’t tell but he thought she had to be ready to collapse with exhaustion. “We’ll take you to your family and a doctor will probably want to take a look at you.”
“I am think you need doctor more.”
Nick touched his nose gingerly. “It’s not bad. Korloff is good at fighting. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“My people are strong. He slaps me and thinks he breaks hand. He is not doing it again.”
She made a move towards the door but turned back when Reese spoke. “There’s something you should know before we go back. Korloff had an accomplice and hearing who this person is will be an unpleasant shock to you.”
“I know he go out to talk to someone for unknown word times. Who is it?”
Nick and Reese exchanged glances, reluctant to give her the bad news but it was unfair to leave it to her parents. “It was Kedos,” Reese said.
“No!” Larsha stepped backwards, staring at each of them. “You is wrong.”
“She admitted it, I’m afraid,” Nick said. “I don’t think she ever imagined there would be a real danger to you. Nothing went the way the kidnappers planned. When the ransom...” He broke off, not wanting to upset her further.
“If father pay ransom, I am dead.”
“That was what he thought,” Nick told her. “That was the only reason he refused. He offered a large reward to anyone who helped us find you. He was as desperate to get you back safely as your mother was.”
Ensnared Page 13
