End Game (The Game Series) (4 page)

Chapter Nine

They’d managed to get another ticket for
Sandy, just about maxing out Kyle’s credit card in the process. The problem had been getting her passport in time. They’d had less than two hours after buying the ticket until the flight was due to leave, nowhere near enough time for Sandy to get back to her apartment, pick up her passport and get back to the airport. Thankful for her badge, she’d approached one of the man uniformed officers at the airport and, with the benefit of a marked squad car and flashing lights, they’d managed to get to her apartment and bring her her passport with minutes to spare.

“So
, what’s the plan?” Sandy asked after they’d unbuckled their belts when the seatbelt sign had gone off and they were airborne.

“Well
, the first thing we have to do is find out where she is.”

“And how do you propose
to do that?”

“I know where Sergei’s flagship casino
is, and that’s where he has his primary office, Tara told me. That’s where we’re headed.”

“And what do we do when we get there?”

Kyle smiled tightly. “Whatever we have to.”

***

Kyle waved away the stewardess as she brought the food tray through the aircraft. He had no appetite, and hadn’t for days. Even if he had wanted to, the knot in his stomach wouldn’t have let him eat anyway. He didn’t think he would be able to even think about food until Tara was with him, safe.

His shoulder was throbbing and he reached into his carry-on for some painkillers,
grabbing a bottle of water to wash them down. Washing them down, he leaned his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes, only to have thoughts of Tara rush in.
At least I’m on my
way, he thought, as the miles passed beneath him.

He felt better now. Calmer. Since discovering Tara’s note
, he’d felt like his nerve ends had been exposed, and he’d been completely unable to shake it off. Now, though, he was on his way. He was doing something, and it felt good. He wouldn’t stop until he found her.

It was because of him, because of his blindness that she had gone to find her daughter alone.
Maybe if he hadn’t been so wrapped up in his own pain she would have been able to tell him about the messages. When he’d read in the note what Sergei had been doing, he’d known that he would end up with blood on his hands.

Sandy was sleeping, her head resting against his uninjured shoulder. He was overwhelmed with gratitude towards this woman who had put so much on the line for him. That she was willing to come with him was above and beyond what he could expect from their friendship and yet she hadn’t hesitated
calling her boss and telling him she needed some personal time and jumping on a plane with him. That she hadn’t found a good man yet never ceased to amaze him but then, any man who deserved to have her would have to be very special indeed. Apart from that one time, right at the beginning of his relationship with Lori, there had never been anything romantic between them. They just didn’t feel that way about each other, but the friendship that had resulted was something that he was very grateful for.

It was comforting to have her beside him now as he looked out of the plane window at the darkness outside. He really should try
to rest. He had no idea how long it would be until he had the chance again but the thoughts were swirling around in his head like a sandstorm. He rested his head against the bulkhead and closed his eyes. This would have to do. There would be time to rest once Tara was home. Safe.

Chapter Ten

The clock in the hallway struck midday. It was time. His guests would be arriving soon and he nee
ded to make sure everything was ready. Going through to his private living room at the back of the house, he checked to make sure that everything was in order. He’d told Joey to make sure everything was set up before he left and he was pleased to see that he had done as instructed. The couches had been removed and in their place sat a large, round poker table. Six leather backed chairs had been placed around it and several packs of unopened playing cards sat in the center.

All that remained was to make sure that Tara would be ready. He was looking forward to telling her what he had planned. Smiling to himself at what lay ahead
, he left the room and headed upstairs.

***

She heard footsteps approach the door and turned from where she was sitting by the dresser to face the door as it opened.

“It’s time
.”

“Are you going to kill me?” Tara asked, resigned now to her fate.

“You know the rules. You betrayed me so now you have to pay the price.”

“Sergei, please. Do what you want to with me, but please, please let me just see her once before I die.”
She tried hard to appeal to him, hoping that he would let her have this one final wish.

“She’s not here, I told you that already.”

“Please, I just want to see her once. That’s all I ask. Can’t you wait to punish me?”

“You’re in no position to ask anyt
hing really, are you?” The satisfied smile on his face betrayed how much enjoyment he was getting out of her pleading. “Anyway, it’s already arranged and our guests will be arriving soon.”

“Guests?”
She was confused now, her stomach fluttering

“Yes. I’ve arranged a special game. You see, when you walked out on me you left behind some very unhappy customers. Now you get to make it up to
them.”

Tara felt sick to her stomach.
She had assumed he was just going to get rid of her. “You can’t make me go off with someone again. I’ll leave at the first chance I get!”

“I know that
, silly. That’s why you’re not going anywhere. You’re staying right here.”

Tara really was confused now.
What did he mean?
“I don’t understand.”

“Well
, I’ve had to change the rules a bit, you know, to accommodate the circumstances.” He looked very pleased with himself. “Tonight you get to entertain each and every one of the players. They are not playing to win you, they are playing to decide who gets to go first.”

Tara actually thought she might throw up now.
All of them?
She could see that her reaction was giving him pleasure so she tried to keep the fear and disgust from showing on her face.

“Yes, each and every player will get an hour with you to do whatever they want. Obviously, they
’ll all want to go first. After all, who knows what state you’ll be in by the time the last player has a go?”

This couldn’t be happening!
Gripping the back of the chair until her knuckles were white, Tara didn’t trust herself to say anything.

“Now
, get ready. They’ll be here soon as we want you looking your best, don’t we? If you’re not ready by the time they get here, I’ll send Joey up to
help
you.” With this last threat, he turned and walked out the door.

***

Alone again, Tara started to shake. Just a shiver at first but growing in intensity until her whole body was wracked with great shudders. This was it. There was no way out. If she could have just seen her daughter, just once, it would have been worth it. To lay her eyes on the face of the child she had borne, to see for herself that she was alive and well, would have been worth the price. But for all this to be for nothing was unbearable.

The walls she had always had were gone now, and the idea of all those men touching her, doing things to her, made her physically sick. Running to the bathroom
, she made it to the toilet just in time. Throwing up until she was empty, she curled up on the bathroom floor and cried. Cried for the child she’d never known and now, would never know. Cried for the life she had glimpsed with Kyle and the happiness she was not destined to have. Gradually her sobs subsided and she became calmer.

Pulling herself up off the floor
, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy and her skin was pale.

Climbing into the shower she let the hot water flow over her body. This was going to be the hardest act of her life but she was not going to let Sergei win. Yes, he could humiliate her, let others abuse her and ultimately, she was sure, kill her but it was up to her whether she gave him the pleasure of seeing her fear.
Glancing in the mirror, she was pleased to see that her eyes were no longer puffy. There was no way she was going to let Sergei see her despair.

Back in
the bedroom, she carefully applied her make-up and did her hair so that it framed her face and fell in waves down her back. Putting on one of the dresses that Joey had packed for her in London, she sat down on the bed, placed her hands in her lap, and waited for her cue.

Chapter Eleven

By the time they’d cleared customs,
rented a car and found their way across London, it was early afternoon.

“So what do you want to do? We can’t just go storming in there
,” Sandy asked.

“No, there
are far too many people around for that,” he said as he watched yet another man walk through the casino doors. As with most casinos, it didn’t seem to matter that it was the middle of the day. They were open and had plenty of customers. Kyle chewed on his bottom lip, trying to remember what Tara had told him about this place.

“I know Sergei’s office is above the casino but I don’t know if you have to go through the main casino to get to it. There might be a back door.”

Sandy nodded. “Yep. That would make sense. They’d need another exit in case of fire.”

“So
, let’s go and find out.” Kyle stepped out of the car, closely followed by Sandy, and they crossed the busy road to the casino. The front of the building faced onto a busy boulevard and it was attached on both sides to other businesses with no sign of a way to get around the back.

Kyle took the lead as they circled the block, looking for any way to get behind the casino.
It took them a while, but they finally found the entrance to an alley that ran the length of the street behind the shops a few doors down, almost invisible between a liquor store and a bookie.

Making their way down
the alley, they came to the back of the casino and were pleased to see a set of metal stairs going up to a door on the first floor.

“That’s got to be it
,” Sandy said excitedly. “Now what?”

Kyle’s jaw hardened. “Now we go and introduce ourselves.”

Quietly, so as not to warn him they were coming, they climbed up the stairs. Turning the handle on the door at the top, Kyle was not surprised to find it was locked. Turning to Sandy, he saw her reach in her pocket and pull out what looked like a wallet.

“Lucky for you, I came prepared,” she whispered, slipping one of the small tools into the lock.
It was a simple lock and Sandy made short work of picking it, a trick most officers on the LAPD were able to do.

As the door swung open
, they could hear the noise of the casino filtering up from downstairs, a mixture of laughter and the music of the slot machines. In front of them were four steps leading to a landing a landing which was opulently decorated, a single door at the far end. Looking at each other and nodding, they moved forward. Reaching the door they paused and Kyle put his ear against it.

“I can’t hear a sound
,” he whispered. Taking a deep breath and counting to three, he turned the knob and threw the door open.

There was no doubt that this was Sergei’s office
, Kyle thought to himself as he took in the décor. It was far too plush to belong to an employee, the furnishings expensive. His heart sank as he realized it was empty. Walking over to the couch, he sat down as Sandy closed the door quietly behind her.

“Damn! Now what?” He’d known there was a risk
Sergei wouldn’t be here but he’d hoped that as it was the middle of the working day they would get lucky.

“Wait?” Sandy suggested with a shrug.

“For how long? He could be hours. He could be with Tara right now doing God knows what to her!”

“I know, I know, but what do you suggest? Did she give you anything else to go on?”

“She told me about her London flat but I have no idea where it is.” Kyle dropped his head into his hands.

The ringing of the phone, loud in the empty office, made them both jump. It rang a couple of times before the answering machine picked it up and the sound of Sergei’s voice filled the room.

I’m out of the office for a couple of days. If it’s urgent, call my cell.

The caller hung up. They looked at each other in the silence that followed. “That’s it then. We have no choice now
, Kyle.” Sandy said gently.

“What?”

“We have to go to the local police. They’ll know how to find her.”

With a sinkin
g feeling, Kyle knew that she was right. He’d done all he could on his own and they needed help now.

“Okay. But I just want to have a look around first. You never know
. He may have left something that will tell us where he’s gone.”

He stood up and started rummaging
around on Sergei’s desk. With a sigh, Sandy joined in. They searched in silence for a few minutes, the only noise that of drawers opening and closing and the rustling of papers.

“What’s this?” Sandy held up a letter she had taken from the desk drawer.
“It’s addressed to Sergei but the address isn’t in London.”

Kyle snatched it from her hand. “Let me see!”

He glanced at it, quickly skimming through the writing. “It’s a letter from a school in Dorset about school fees.” He held it up triumphantly. “This
has
to be about Tara’s daughter!”

Sandy looked doubtful. “Agreed. But I don’t see how it helps us.” Kyle was grinning at her now.

“Of course it does! Don’t you see? This is where he will have taken her!”

Sandy shook her head. “No way. You know as well as I do that he won’t let
Tara near her. He’s too cruel.”

“Don’t you see? It’s exactly
because
he is so cruel that that is exactly where he
will
take her!”

Sandy didn’t say anything for a moment. “You’re right. I never thought of it that way. So, what are we waiting for?”

Stuffing the letter in his pocket, they both left the office and ran back to the car. It was late afternoon now and, looking at the satnav, it was going to take them a good two or three hours to get there. There was no time to lose.