HUGE X2 (19 page)

I’m left in Jackson’s with no option but to wait. I
slip Sammie’s necklace into my pocket and rest my face in my hand.
 
No one bothers me for conversation, probably
because they heard my argument with Adam and can see how anxious I am.
 
The next hour is the longest of my life as I
stare at my phone, willing Jared to call.
 
When he does I almost drop the damn thing with all my fumbling to
answer.
 

“Brandon,” he whispers.

“Yeah, where the fuck are you?
 
What’s going on?”

“I’m gonna message you the address.
 
They’re starting to leave.
 
I’ve been here counting all day.
 
If I’m correct, there’s only two of them left
in the building.

“And you’re sure Sammie’s in there?”

“No,” he says flatly and my heart falls in my
chest.
 
“But they pulled up in a truck
and unloaded something…there’s a pretty good chance.”

“I’m on my way.” I hang up and run out of the bar,
sprinting to my truck.
 
By the time I’m
belted in, the phone vibrates with the address.
 
I know the area…it’s in a pretty shitty neighborhood but I wasn’t expecting
a mansion. I tap it into the Sat Nav to find the exact road and then I’m off.

During the whole journey my leg is jumping and my
hands are sweating.
 
I have to wipe them
on my jeans to keep a good grip on the steering wheel.
 
In the traffic I’m cursing and leaning
forward in my seat, driving too close. I just need to get to her.
 
I need to know she’s safe.

When I get near, all my reflexes seem to slow.
 
I know I have to be careful now. If I put a
foot wrong, then I could put her in even greater danger.
 
I pull over down the road, switch off my
lights and wait in the truck for exactly two minutes.
 
I have a baseball cap in my glove box which I
pull out to wear.
 
I don’t want to be
recognized before I need to be and with the bill pulled down low my entire face
is in shadow.
 
I open the door, palm my
gun and step onto the sidewalk, shutting the truck as quietly as I can.
 
I slip the gun into the back of my jeans and
loosely cover it with my shirt, then I make my way up the road, sticking as
closely to the buildings on my right as possible.
 
I hear the noise of a car pulling up and turn
to see a dark truck at least a hundred feet behind me.
 
I don’t think anything of it because this
area is relatively residential.
 
Probably
just someone coming home for the day.
 
I
go to the place Jared has said he’s waiting and observing, a thin walkway
between two houses on the opposite side of where Sammie might be held.
 
I peer around the corner and find Jared in
the shadows, dressed in a similar way to me.

“You made that fast,” he says, keeping his eyes on the
building.

“Did you see anyone else leave?” I ask, pressing
myself against the brickwork.

“Nah, and no one else has gone in either.”

I exhale though I’m far from feeling relieved.
 
That won’t come until Samantha is in my arms
and I know she’s unharmed.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I expect it to be
Adam with an update but it comes from a discreet number.
 
I read the message, blinking a few times at
the cryptic words.

Brandon Ford.
 
You have a tail.
 
Contract set by
S.C.
 
Can no longer contact as arranged.
Concerned for safety.
 
Indicate from
position if you are seeking S.C.

I shake my head, confused, then realize the message
must have been sent by the man Samantha arranged to watch me, the one that
pointed her towards Jackson’s.
 
I curse,
mad that she didn’t listen to me and cancel the surveillance.
 
I don’t know whether this development is
useful or a burden to our activities but I wave anyway, one hand movement down.
I don’t want whoever is out there to blow our cover when we could be so close
to finding Sammie. After thirty seconds I get another message.
 

My name is Dirk. I’ll be at your position in one
minute.

“We’re getting some company,” I tell Jared and he
frowns.

“That’s not part of the plan,” he says, but after last
night’s betrayal I don’t trust him enough to tell him anymore details.

“He’s my backup.
 
That’s all you need to know.”
  
I
try to mirror my father’s tone and it seems to work as Jared goes back to
watching the house like hawk.

Dirk arrives as promised and I’m surprised when he
turns out to be a guy that looks like he’s just out of Special Forces rather
than the overweight dude I’d expected.
 
With cropped black hair, a military style vest and black combat
trousers, he’s huge and imposing.

“That where you think she is?” he asks, nodding to
where Jared is staring.

“Yeah.
 
The guys
in there are trying to extort from my father using Samantha as leverage,” I
reply.

“What’s the plan then?”

“I think there are two men in there with the girl,”
Jared says behind me. “There are two doors, one at the front that opens into
the ground floor area and one at the side that opens into a utility area.
 
There is also a flat roof that could give
access to one of the upstairs rooms via a window.”
 
Dirk nods and I get the impression he’s done
this kind of thing before.
 
He certainly
looks the part.

“Well, what the fuck are we waiting for?” I say,
getting pissed off with all the talk and total of action.
 
Anything could be happening to Sammie right
now and the longer we stand here talking tactics, the worse it could be.

“We’re good,” Dirk says.
 
“Three points of entry, three of us,” he says
like that’s gonna answer all the questions.

“Are you suggesting one of us knocks at the front
door?” Jared asks.

“Yep,” Dirk nods and I catch Jared rolling his eyes.

“Where the fuck you get this dude from?” he sniggers.

“Two make their way round the side, one to climb and
access upstairs, one to come in the back.
 
On a signal, the one at the front knocks the door as a distraction.
 
If they can, they should work to disarm and
immobilize whoever opens the door.
 
And
we hope that the girl is being held out in the open as opposed to in a basement
that we will struggle to get access into and escape from.

Jared is staring at Dirk open mouthed.
 
“You some sort of police reject?” he asks and
Dirk shakes his head.
 

“Just seen a lot of Hollywood movies.”
 

I think for a fraction of a second that Dirk’s
serious, then I see a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and I know this
strange man is playing with us.

“I’ll take the upstairs,” I say, because that feels
like the most obvious place Sammie will be held and I want to be the first to
get to her.

“I’ll take the side entrance,” Dirk says.
 

“So you want me to do the dick job,” Jared says,
looking putout.

“Every job is equally important.” Dirk grins.
 

“So let’s go,” I say, moving to stand at the edge of
the walkway and scan in both directions.
 
We’re clear and I start walking to the right about forty feet before I
cross over the street and make my way back toward the house.
 
Dirk follows, then Jared goes to the
left.
 
I wait in the shadow cast by a
tree, pressed in close to a brick wall. Jared gestures for us to go down the
side so we do, me with my gun in hand. When I glance behind me I catch a
reflective glint off the side of Dirk’s piece.
 
I’m glad he’s packing because I have no idea what we’re about to face.

Chapter 13

Brandon

The
climb onto the roof is easy because there are garbage bins against the side of
the house that give me enough leverage to make it up onto the flat roof without
making any noise.
 
Dirk is watching from
below, sticking close to the wall and lurking in the shadows.
  
He’s pulled a metal implement from his
pocket, ready to pick the lock of the door into the utility area that looks
like a beer cellar and general dumping ground.

I feel strangely calm as I approach the window from the
side with my back flat against the wall.
 
I’m not accustomed to breaking and entering but I’ve seen enough movies
to know that stealth is the key.
 
I turn
and try to get a look into the room round the corner of the window frame.
 
The curtains are drawn but they are old and
half falling away from whatever is holding them up.
 
There is a gap where the fabric is bunched at
an odd angle and I can see the bed is empty.
 
I can’t be sure that there is no one in the room but I’m pretty sure
there isn’t.
 
It’s a warm night and the
window is slightly agar.
 
I stick my
fingers between the frame and the window and push upwards as carefully as I
can.
 
The movement of wood on wood makes
a squeak and I stop, looking around to check no one has heard me.
 
I try again, feeling sweat trickling down my
temple and my heart beating fiercely in my chest.
 
This situation is so fucked up but I have to
keep focused on getting to Sammie.
 
I
pray again to whoever might be out there that she comes back to me safe and
sound.
 
There is nothing I wouldn’t do to
make sure that happens.
 

The window raises enough that I can slip through it on
my stomach and get one leg across too.
 
The smell in the house is musty and stale, and there is the distant
sound of voices and maybe a TV from downstairs.
 
I pad across the room as softly as my big feet and body will allow,
standing at the edge of the door that’s slightly open into the hallway.
 
I listen for about ten seconds, trying to get
an idea of where the men might be in the house. I can see two other doors from
where I am.
 
One has a tiled floor so
must be a bathroom.
 
The other door is
also ajar, and I can see brown carpet inside.
 

Stepping out of the blackness of that room and into
the hall is fucking terrifying.
 
If I’m
discovered and injured or killed they may hurt Sammie in retaliation, if they
haven’t already. The thought of her being mistreated makes me feel crazy. Every
step feels hazardous.
 

Downstairs, I hear a knock at the door and know that
Jared is trying to draw the remaining gang members to the front of the
house.
 
I hear footsteps and cursing as I
take silent steps down the hall with my back pressed against the wall.
 
The gun in my hand feels slick with sweat but
I don’t have time to adjust my grip.
 
If
I need to, I’ll use it and fuck the consequences.

As I reach the doorway, I nudge the door just slightly
with my hand, figuring that anyone inside will come forward to investigate the
movement.
 
I wait but there is nothing so
I risk pushing it open further.
 

As it swings I see the end of a bed come into view and
a woman’s feet and legs, still in their high-heeled shoes.
 
Sammie.
 
The sight of her in front of me sends me into action.
 
I surge into the room, my arms out in front
of me, pointing my gun into every corner.
 
There is no one there, but Sammie’s eyes are wide, staring at me as I
frantically make sure we’re safe.
 
She
can’t talk because there is a gag around her mouth but she nods at me, her eyes
beginning to blink frantically and her body bucking against her
restraints.
 
I want to fucking kill
someone for doing this to her but I’ve got to hold it together.
 
I have to get us out of here.

Taking a deep breath to steady the effects of the
raging adrenaline in my veins, I push the door back to where it was and make my
way over to Sammie. I put my finger to my lips and then set about removing the
gag from around her mouth.
 
When I get
the knot undone and pull the cloth free she gasps and licks over her lips.
 
“Oh god,” she whispers. “Where am I? What’s
happening?”

“It’s okay.
 
Stay
quiet,” I whisper back, reaching around her body to untie the rope around her
wrists.
 

“I can’t move very much,” she says. “How am I going to
get out of here?”

“I’m gonna get you out. Don’t worry.
 
Just stay calm.”

The rope is tight from where she’s been pulling at it,
trying to get free. It seems to take forever for me to get it loose but I know
that time feels distorted in a situation like this.
 
Then there’s a loud bang and shouting coming
from downstairs and everything speeds up.

I hear cursing and more banging, the sound of fists
hitting flesh. A gunshot rings out, slicing through the last fragment of calm
and restraint I have.
 
The rope comes
loose and I scoop Sammie up from the bed and hoist her over my shoulder.
 
I’ve got my gun pointed in front of us as I
make my way towards the bedroom door.
 
I
cover the ground between Sammie’s room and the room with the open window
quickly.
 
Getting her out through the
window when she’s not got full movement of her limbs is a challenge but I
manage it.
 
When I get onto the flat roof
I see Jared running around the side.
 
“We’ve got them tied up down there,” he shouts up.
 

“Help me get her down,” I call back.
 
I sit down on the edge of the roof with
Sammie on my lap.
 
She’s clinging to me
like she doesn’t want to let me go, and I don’t want to release her from my
care but I can’t get us both down without risking an injury.
 
Then Dirk is behind Jared and he gets up onto
the dumpster to help me.
 

“Samantha,” he says.
 
“I’m Dirk, your P.I.
 
You’ve got
to let go so we can get you down.”

She blinks at me and whimpers but as I loosen the grip
of her hands around my neck she lets me hand her across to Dirk.
 
He passes her down to Jared and both Dirk and
I jump down.
 

“What happened in there?” I ask Dirk and he grins.

“Like taking candy from a baby,” he laughs.

Jared laughs too.
 
“You should see them, Brandon.
 
Trussed up like two Thanksgiving turkeys.”

“Fuck them,” I say, reaching for Sammie and holding
her against me. She’s wobbly on her feet and her eyes are glancing back and
forth, as though she’s still worried she’s unsafe.
 
“Come on…let’s get the fuck out of here,” I
say.

I swing Sammie into my arms and carry her like a
bride, telling her she’s okay now, she’s safe, I’ve got her, over and over
until I get to my truck. There’s no one around on the street.
 
The other gang members must still be meeting
with Adam. I wonder what they’ll think when they get back and find their crew
left so humiliated.
 
Half of me wants to
get back in there and make them regret ever even looking in Sammie’s
direction.
 
My desperation for revenge is
like a raging fire in my chest. Those assholes nearly killed me, but it’s the
trauma they put Sammie through that’s driving me to go back. But then I look down
at her in my arms, and I see the fear there, and I know she won’t want to hang
around while I deal with those scumbags.
 
She needs to get away as quickly as possible and I know there is a very
real risk that if I go back to that house that I will do something I’ll regret
for a very long time.
 

Dirk helps me open the passenger door and I rest
Sammie gently onto the seat. She clutches at the edge as though she’s feeling
adrift and needs to know she’s anchored to something.
 
I know what that’s like because there hasn’t
been a day gone by since I left my stepsister behind that I haven’t felt that
way.
 

Escape.
 

If I can just hold myself together and do what’s right,
I’m closer than I’ve ever been. We’re getting away together, not just from this
fucking ordeal but out of the life that has kept me down for so long.

I shut the door and turn to Dirk.
 
“Thanks for all your help, man,” I say and he
nods.
 

“Tell Sammie that I’ll be in touch,” he replies and
strides off further down the road. Jared is hanging around the truck, his gun
still clutched in his hand, pointing at the ground but ready just in case. I
can tell he’s worried we’re going to be disturbed and I’m grateful for him
keeping a vigilant watch over everything.
 
He’s acted like a true pro.

“You okay from here?” he asks.
 

“Yeah, man,” I say.
 
“Thanks for your help.”

“I’ll see you back at Jackson’s?” he asks, slapping me
on the shoulder.
 
I shake my head.
 

“I’m done, Jared.
 
I’m done with all this shit.
 
I’ll
take it all to the grave, but I’m out for good.”

He looks surprised.
 
“Adam isn’t gonna take that well,” he warns.

“He knows.
 
I’ve
done a lot for him and this is my time now.”
 
It’s awkward for a moment as Jared takes it in.
 
We’ve known each other for years but we’re
not friends, not really.
 
Just
acquaintances that have been forced together into situations requiring a lot of
trust.
 
He’s a good guy considering the
bad life he leads.
 
I hope he’ll find his
way out sometime soon.

“Okay,” Jared says eventually.
 
“You take care now.
 
Maybe I’ll see you around.”

I pull him into a one armed ‘bro’ hug because it seems
the right thing to do.
 
He’s always had
my back at the end of the day.
 
“You take
care too,” I say.

Dirk’s truck fires up in the distance and I make my
way around to the driver’s door.
 
When I
climb in Sammie reaches out and grabs my hand, holding onto it with a fierce
grip.
 
“Thank you,” she says, “for
finding me and getting me out of there.”

“It’s my damn fault that you were there in the place,”
I say, squeezing her hand back.
 
“Just
rest okay.
 
I’m gonna take you to the
hospital to get checked out.”

I put my foot on the accelerator and tear out of the
road, passing Jared as he gets into his car and making my way towards Sammie’s
neighborhood and the big swanky private hospital they have there.
 

“How did you know where to find me?” she asks.

“The men who took you want to make a deal with my
father.
 
They sent your necklace as proof
that they had you.
 
They’re trying to
muscle in on territory and it’s been getting crazy.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
 
“I should have done what you asked and left
you alone.
 
You had to risk your life to
come and get me out of there.”

“No, Sammie?” I snap angrily.
 
I won’t have her making me out to be a
hero.
 
“It was my fault they took you in
the first place.
 
This has nothing to do
with you and everything to do with the shitty things I’ve done.”
 

Her breath hitches and she starts to cry quietly.
 
“I couldn’t just leave you…once I found you
again,” she whispers, using her free hand to wipe away her tears.

“I know, baby.
 
I was trying to be strong for your sake and I couldn’t see how to get
away.
  
Now I just don’t give a shit. If
Adam wants to come for me, he can come.
 
I’ve told him I’m not going back and I’ll tell him again.
 
This is it.
 
I’m out.”

Sammie squeezes my hand in hers.
 
It’s such a simple gesture designed to
reassure but the feelings rush straight to my heart.
 

She could have died.
 
We both could have died.
 

And I can’t believe I’m really doing this. I’m walking
away from Adam.
 
I’m making my escape and
I’m trying, for both our sakes, to take my future into my own hands.