Love Behind Lies (16 page)

Chapter 31

Richard was walking really fast through the underground tunnels. He knew them like the back of his hand. Richard had lived in these tunnels for almost three weeks.
He walked through the hallways until he found the one that he was looking for. Richard remembered where his room was, and Brent had told him that Catherine was only a couple doors down from his old room. He searched the hallway, looking for his room. He found it, and then looked for the number that was on his daughter’s door.
Richard came to Catherine’s door and stopped dead. All of a sudden he was nervous. He couldn’t bring his hand to the door. He was scared of what he might find.
*
Sam and Thomas had just reached the back door. Sam was ready to pounce and try to find Kate, but he knew better. Thomas was trying to keep him calm.
The plan for Sam and Thomas was to listen for any commotion on the inside of the restaurant. When they heard anything they would open the door and attack. So now, all the two boys had to do was wait.
*
Brent was only about six steps away from the front door and he was breathing hard. Not because he had just been running, but because he was so nervous. What if the plan didn’t work? Would the Chinese men really kill Cat?
Brent slowly opened the door and walked inside the building.
*
I was shaking so much. I don’t think that I have ever shook so much in my life. Nick was just staring at me.
“Are you ready to go?” Nick asked, like nothing was going on.
“Why in the world is this happening?” I asked.
“You should have been a better guest.” Nick looked at me and I scowled back at him. Nick just began smiling at me; which made me even more mad.
Nick grabbed my hands and headed to the door; to my death.
*
As Brent walked into the restaurant he was relieved to find no costumers there this early in the afternoon. The restaurant opens at noon, and it was about 12:15pm, now.
Chang was sitting in the back of the restaurant.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Brent asked casually.
“Why?” Chang asked. “I know why you are here. You are here to kidnap Catherine, but you are too late. If Nick was thorough enough, she is already dead.” Chang was totally calm.
Brent snapped. He was so mad, he couldn’t take it anymore. He ran to the back of the room and started pounding Chang. Chang didn’t know is was coming, and was caught by surprise. Chang didn’t expect Brent to beat him up.
Brent made sure that he made enough noise for Sam and Thomas to hear him. But the only thing he was thinking about was Cat. He didn’t know what he would without Cat in his life, especially since it was his fault that she was here.
He forced himself and Catherine to fall in love, but after awhile he actually began to love her. Yes, he felt so bad after he told her what the plan was the whole time, but what hurt the most was when he knocked on her door and Sam was in the room with her. He tried not to show how disappointed he was, but deep down, he was really depressed.
Brent was also mad, because he totally deserved everything that he was getting. He wasn’t good enough for Cat anymore, that was obvious. Sam has been right for her from the beginning. Brent and Sam both knew that. Brent just had to suck it up. He had probably lost Cat forever, but he still wanted to fight for her to be safe. It was his fault from the beginning.
Brent was about to stop fighting. Clearly he was winning. Chang was over in the corner trying to catch his breath when Brent stopped thinking about Cat. It was quiet in the room, but suddenly Kang came running in. Sam and Thomas were right behind him. Brent smiled and ran towards Chang. He was going to finish him off.
*
Richard was about to reach for Catherine’s door when the door opened. Richard jumped back in surprise, but also happy to see his daughter still alive. The bad thing was that her wrists were tied behind her back and she had tape over her mouth. Nick was holding on to her. Catherine’s eyes widened. She must have been as surprised as Richard was.
It took a moment for Richard to realize what was going on, but he soon got a hold of Nick and told Catherine to run. When Catherine was out of sight, Richard began to hit Nick hard. Nick was barely even trying and he didn’t stand a chance against William.
*
Sam was about to hit Kang over the head with a glass bottle when he saw Catherine.
“Kate! You are alive!” Sam screamed.
“Sam focus!” Thomas yelled. Sam hit Kang over the head and then rushed to Catherine. Sam gave her a big hug that lifted her off the ground and then started to inform her about the plan.
“You need to go out the back door.” Sam pointed behind him. “Go around the building and
Brent’s car should be somewhere on that street. Get into the car and stay there. We will meet you there when we are done.”
Sam grabbed her hands and untied her wrists. He took the tape off of her lips too. Sam and Catherine stared at each other and then Catherine leaned forward, putting her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him, but before Sam could say anything Catherine was already headed towards the door.
Sam kept smiling, but then realized that he had a job to finish.
*
Brent and Chang were right next to the front door. Chang kept looking at the entrance to his restaurant and Brent realized that Chang might make a break for the door. Brent protected the only exit for Chang. That was until he saw Catherine run by it. Brent stopped fighting and stared at her. He was surprised to see her, and happy that she was alive. Brent was shocked.
He snapped out of it when he realized that Chang was chasing her down the sidewalk, with a knife.
Brent burst out of the restaurant and ran as fast as he could. He was right behind Chang. Brent jumped aiming for his enemy.
*
I didn’t know what was going on. I knew that someone was chasing me down the sidewalk, but I didn’t care who it was. It was a good thing that Sam had taken the tape off of my mouth and the rope of my wrists. It would have been really hard to run with my hands tied behind my back.
I was almost free and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me, until I heard a loud crash. Then I stopped running. The street was silent. I turned around and found Brent and Chang laying on the concrete; both motionless.
When I took a step closer it looked like they were both dead. I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. I got in a little closer. I wanted to see for sure if they were dead or not.
Suddenly, Brent’s arm began to move. Then his whole body was moving, but Chang still looked like a statue. Brent was standing now. He was standing across from me and we were both looking down at Chang.
Brent slowly bent over and rolled Chang’s body over. When Brent did this I gasped and turned away. The knife that Chang had been running with, was now almost all the way through his chest. Chang’s eyes were open and he was dead. Brent quick checked Chang’s pulse, and declared him dead on his terms.
Brent turned towards me. I was looking right at him. I knew what Brent wanted and it was not what I wanted. When Brent came walking towards me, I felt like dying.
Brent stopped about five inches away from me. I tried to take a step back, but he grabbed both my hands and pulled them up to his neck. I rested my hands there. He placed his hands on my
back and pulled me towards him. I let my hands relax and they slowly slid down to Brent’s chest. My heart was beating and I knew couldn’t let this happen.
“Brent, I can’t do this.” I whispered.
“Cat, I am so sorry. I wish that none of this would have happened. I love you so much.” Brent brought me closer to him for a tight hug. “This wasn’t my plan exactly. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you like this. I just want to have you back again.”
“It’s too late now, Brent. You blew it.” I stepped away from him and began walking towards the Chinese restaurant that I had just escaped from.
The streets were silent for the most part. It seemed as if everyone in Rome, Italy had decided to sleep in. There were a few people that drove down the street, but no one wondered why there was a man on the ground. There was also a couple walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the road. But they were too busy talking. They hadn’t heard a thing.
Brent caught up to me. He put his arm around my waist and escorted me back to the building. When we walked back inside the doors of the Chinese Restaurant, I was scared. I took an instinctive step towards Brent who held me close.
As we neared the back of the restaurant I found Sam and Thomas. They were both hovering over Kang’s body.
“Is he dead?” Brent asked.
“No, unconscious. Sam hit him over the head with a glass. Then he fell over and hit his head on the table.” Thomas replied.
Sam and I said nothing. We just stared at each other. I loved Sam so much, which seemed so weird considering that at the beginning of the week, I hated him.
I walked over to Sam who gave me the biggest hug any man has ever given to me. Sam kissed my head and I could tell that he was truly happy to see me. I squeezed him hard, never wanting to let go. I felt safe in his arms. I felt strong. I felt like I could rule the whole world when I stood next to Sam.
Of course, Brent had to ruin the moment.
“We should go and check on William.” Brent murmured, obviously disappointed to the attention I was giving Sam.
We all walked down the stairs to find another body laying on the floor.
“Is he dead?” Thomas asked. He was talking about Nick.
“No, just unconscious. I put him in a dead lock until he passed out. He should be fine by tomorrow.” Richard sounded relieved.
Richard looked up and his eyes met mine. I began to cry. I have never been so happy to see my dad. I rushed over to him and gave him a big hug. Everyone joined in; relieved that the hard part was over.
There was so much going on that we all forgot what had just happened. We were all talking about how cool the plan was, and what had happened since we had been separated. Through all the commotion, I remembered that Chang’s body was laying on the sidewalk, and there were two
more unconscious bodies in the building.
“Now what do we do?” I asked the boys. “Shouldn’t we call the police or something?”
“Yeah, we probably should. There are three bodies laying on the floor.” Brent replied to my question.
“Here I got the number.” Richard said.
Brent took out his phone and began dialing the number. The hallway was quiet. It was almost as if nothing had happened.
We all walked upstairs to wait for the police. Will, Brent, and Thomas wanted to talk to the police. I am sure that they want to talk to me and Sam too, but we have to wait until the police get here. Sam and I stayed in the back of the restaurant.
“I am so sorry that this happened to you, Katie.” Sam grabbed my hands and held them. I pulled my hands from him and wrapped my arms around this torso. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my head again. “Catherine?” Sam asked.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“I promise to always keep you safe. If I am with you, you will be safe. Okay?”
“Sam, that was the same thing that Brent said to me.” It wasn’t that I didn’t like Sam, it was just that I was scared of what boys could do to me. There have been too many boys in my life recently and I feel like I am drowning.
“Kate, I am not Brent. What can I do to make you know that I promise to keep you safe?”
“I don’t know Sam.” I got on my tiptoes and kissed him gently. “But, I do love you.”
Sam smiled at me gave me a big hug. “I love you to Catherine.”

Chapter 32

By then the police had shown up. Brent, Thomas, and Richard were talking to them as Sam and I joined in.
“I still don’t understand why Nick should be arrested,” the policeman said.
“The only thing I know was that when I saw my daughter, her arms were tied behind her back and her mouth was taped,” Richard spoke up.
“Well is your daughter here?” The police questioned.
“Yeah, I am his daughter.” I stepped forward, out of Sam’s arms.
“Ah, I see.” The policeman was observing me. “Tell me what happened after you were taken into the room downstairs.”
“I was locked into the room with Nick. He made me sit on the couch with him and he never stopped touching me. He made me kiss him multiple times and when I kicked him he told me he was going to kill me the next morning. So, this morning he tied me up and was on his way upstairs when we crossed paths with my dad.”
“Did he threaten you in any other ways?” The man was serious.
“Yeah, actually. He held a knife to me. That was how he made me kiss him.” I smiled. The boys laughed.
“She’s the stubborn one,” Sam said from behind me. Then he stepped forward and slid his hands undermine and wrapped his arms around my stomach. I leaned back on Sam, trusting him, and relaxed. I was so happy right now. When Sam touches me I feel like I could fly. Brent never made me feel that way.
“Okay, well we have been warned about this happening, we just couldn’t figure out where it was. I think we have enough information. Thank you guys for your help. Stay safe.” The policeman left without saying another word.
The whole group breathed a sigh of relief. We all relaxed, but stayed quiet.
“So what all happened?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Kang was arrested. Nick is going to jail for a couple days, but then being released the same day we are leaving. The police have actually asked me to make sure he makes it home safely. He won’t be in too much trouble. Chang’s body was taken, but I don’t know what the city is going to do with it,” Brent informed everyone.
“What happens if Nick and his family decide to do something like this again?” I asked.
“I have been talking to Evan Coore and he has decided that I switch jobs. Instead of leaving to take missions I am going to stay in the area. He wants me to keep an eye on Nick’s family, and keep you and your family safe, Cat.” Brent was looking down at the floor.
I almost threw up. Sam squeezed me. I’m pretty sure that he could tell how disappointed I was. While I was trying to relax, everyone else was congratulating Brent. I didn’t even make eye contact with him.
“Well, what is next?” Thomas asked.
“We can stay until tomorrow afternoon; that is when our flight leaves. I think the plane takes off
at 10:45 A.M. on Saturday. So, until then, I guess we can do whatever we want.” Brent told us.
We all decided to leave the restaurant. We were walking down the middle of the street towards Brent’s car. Richard was talking to Brent and Thomas so Sam and I were able to talk a little bit.
“I hate Brent.” I told Sam.
“Katie, you don’t hate him.” Sam replied.
“No, I am pretty sure that I hate him. Think of what he did to me!”
“Kate, listen. I understand. I was devastated for you. I loved you Kate. The whole time, I loved you. I have loved you since the day we met. I was obsessed with you before we met. Whenever I saw you at school, my stomach flipped. I just didn’t have the guts to talk to you. When I heard that Loren and Nick, were going to talk to your sister, Nate and I joined, hoping that I could talk to you. I am so glad that I did. Anyways, I am mad at Brent too, but we don’t hate him.” He paused and looked at me. I gave him a questioning look. “Trust me, he stole the girl I love from me, and he almost delivered her to her death. I am really mad at Brent.”
I slid my hand into Sam’s before continuing. “Fine, Sam, I don’t hate Brent, either, but I am really, really, really mad at him. And I never knew about you liking me before. Is that why you stuck up for me that one time, and why you ran into me the other day?”
“Yeah,” Sam laughed. “I must have seemed nice and then I was mean to you later in the week. You must have been really confused.”
“I never stopped thinking about you.” I smiled at him and he smiled back.
By the time we had finished talking, we were at the car. We all squished into it and began our journey back to the hotel. The car ride was silent. There wasn’t really much to talk about.
We arrived in the parking lot of the hotel about ten minutes later.
“Where is my dad going to sleep?” I asked Sam.
“I don’t know. That’s a good question. Don’t you have two beds in your room?” Sam replied.
“Yeah, I do. Why?”
“I could sleep in that bed if you want, and your dad could take the couch.”
I smiled up at Sam and he smiled back. “You might have to talk to Brent about that first.” I told Sam.
Sam shrugged and we walked through the lobby and into the elevator. Brent and Richard were talking about something, but I didn’t know what it was. I was surprised that my dad was even talking to Brent. Did he know the whole story?
As soon as I got into the hotel room I went to my bedroom. I took a quick shower, changed into some comfortable clothes, and laid down on my bed.
Dinner was just around the corner by the time everyone had settled in for the night. We had been at the restaurant for a long time. It was around noon, when I first saw my dad. That was right after the restaurant had opened, since it only serves late lunch and dinner. It was almost 5:30 now. I guess the boys had talked to the police and helped clean the restaurant up for awhile.
There was a knock at my door.
“Come in.” I said.
Sam opened the door a little bit. “Are you going to want something to eat?”
“No, thank you.”
“Okay, if you get hungry you can have some of mine.”
“Okay, did you talk to Brent?” I asked.
“Yeah, he said he didn’t care. Not that he would have been able to stop me, but your dad is going to take Thomas’s room and then Thomas is going to sleep on the couch. Brent seemed pretty depressed when I asked him about the sleeping arrangements though.” Sam told me.
“Did I?” Brent’s voice came from behind Sam.
“Yeah, you did.” Sam said turning around, surprised.
“Oh, I will try to sound happier when a friend asks to sleep with my girlfriend.”
“I didn’t know that she was your girlfriend still. You broke her heart pretty bad.”
“Can I talk to Cat, please.” Brent asked Sam, ignoring Sam’s comment.
“I don’t know. You may have to ask her.” Sam said.
“Cat, can I talk to you for a little bit?” Brent asked me stepping beside Sam in my room.
“No, Brent. I don’t want to talk to you.” I replied without looking at Brent.
“For God’s sake! I am going to talk to you right now!” Brent was yelling at me. I jumped back in my bed. Brent had scared the crap out of me.
“Brent! Leave the room right now!” Sam was yelling too. He had stepped in front of Brent and was trying to get him to leave the room.
Brent’s hand came up and punched Sam in the stomach. Sam bent over and fell sideways.
“Sam!!” I yelled. I got out of my bed to see if he was okay, but Brent’s hand came out, motioning for me to stop. I stopped dead in my tracks, scared of what Brent was going to do. Where were Thomas and William?
Brent rolled Sam over, helped him stand up and shoved him out of my hotel room. Sam was almost in tears. Brent closed the door and locked it.
“What are you doing?” I asked Brent. I was so scared.
“I am going to talk to you.” Brent said. His voice was much quieter now. Brent walked over to my bed, I crawled into my bed and Brent sat down next to where I was laying.
“Brent. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t love you anymore and I am definitely not your girl-” Brent’s index finger met my lips. I stopped talking.
“Come here.” Brent was telling, not asking. I hesitated before moving closer to him. We were both leaning up against the back board of the bed now. Brent turned our bodies so that we were facing each other.
Brent’s hand came up to my face. He hesitated and then his hand made contact with my face. I jumped a little bit, surprised by his touch. His hands was holding my check. Brent smiled at me.
“I love you, Cat.” Brent told me. “Come closer to me.”
I didn’t move. I was scared. Brent saw my confusion and pulled me closer towards him. I tried to move away, but Brent was much stronger.
“Please don’t do this to me Cat.” Brent pleaded.
“It’s too late.” I replied.
“No, no it is not.” Then Brent leaned forward and kissed me.
I was furious. This was the last thing that I expected. I tried to pull away but Brent’s arms were wrapped all the way around me. I had no chance. The only thing I could do was kick him. I brought me knee up and kicked him as hard as I could. That seemed to be the only way to make boys stop kissing me.
Brent yelled and then let go of me. I took this chance and ran for the door. I knew it was locked so I was ready to unlock it. I opened the door and ran into the open room. Sam was sitting on the couch. As soon as he saw me he stood up. I ran to him and he wrapped his arms around me. I felt safe now.
There was no one else in the room, and I was happy. I didn’t want to have to explain to my dad.
I hadn’t realized it at first, but I was crying. Sam was trying to calm me, but the only thing I could think of was Nick with his knife. Brent had brought back those memories. Memories that I had intended to store away forever.
“It’s okay Katie. I have you now.” Sam said. He was rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. Sam stood there with me for almost five minutes before Brent came out of my room. Brent didn’t look mad though. It was almost as if he knew that he deserved that.
“I am sorry.” Brent said.
Sam let go of and stood right in front of Brent. “Sorry for what? Bringing back the memories of Nick holding a knife to Kate’s neck? Sorry for tricking her into loving you? Sorry for getting her kidnapped? Brent she loved you! She trusted you! And what did you do? You stepped out from behind her and watched her fall. And the sad thing is, is that you knew this was coming. The whole time! From the very beginning! From the time that you talked to Katie at the corner! I can’t believe that you could have done that to Katie. She doesn’t deserve any of this. And she certainly doesn’t deserve you.” Sam told Brent. Sam was poking Brent’s chest hard, hoping that he was getting his point across.
Brent didn’t say anything else. He just walked past me and Sam and went into his room.
Sam walked back over to me and sat on the couch. I sat on his lap and laid my head on his shoulder and relaxed, relieved to be in his arms. Sam had basically read my mind. He knew that what Brent did had reminded me of Nick. That’s why I like Sam so much. He know what I am thinking without me having to say it.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Sam, I was still crying.
“They went to get dinner, but don’t worry about them. You need to relax.” Sam’s voice was soothing. I relaxed and stopped crying. I just let Sam hold me.
Sam rubbed my back and laid his head on top of mine. I was so happy right now. I was happy to be in the arms of someone who truly loved me with all his heart. With that, I relaxed and fell asleep.