Unexpected Consequences (19 page)

A strange, masked man is going to escort me to the shower?
“I’m fine. I’ll just stay here.”

“You must need to use the restroom, at least. You’ve been here for hours.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated.

“If it helps you at all, I have clear instructions not to touch you,” he said. “You’ll be in the bathroom, I’ll be outside… With the door closed, of course.”

She looked into his eyes, wanting to believe such was the case. The thought of a shower was tempting. She’d never felt dirtier. “Can I lock it?”

“No, sorry. But, I assure you, I have no intentions of opening that door short of an emergency, or if you were to misbehave.”

“What does that mean?”

“Miss Braden, there are no windows in the bathroom, so no chance of escape. Unless you try something that would cause me to open the door, I will remain outside with my back turned. I can promise you that.”

“I wish I could believe you.”

“Do you have a choice?”

“I don’t?” she asked incredulously.

“If you don’t come with me willingly, I’ve been instructed to call one of our female staff to assist you.”

Kelsey’s nose curled up, not liking the way he’d phrased that. “Fine. I’ll come with you.” She was trying to remain strong, but every moment she’d been there was either spent in agonising fear of what may happen, or dealing with the heartbreaking thoughts of what Nick’s role had been in her situation. None of the thoughts were pleasant, but she couldn’t focus her mind on anything else.

She followed the guard down the hall to a room at the end. He waved her in and closed the door behind her as promised. She looked for a lock, but, of course, there was none.

There was a small comfort when she saw the shower curtain wasn’t translucent, although the thought that the man could walk in at any time was never far from her mind. She hurriedly undressed with the intention of washing as quickly as possible, always keeping one ear open for any noise outside the door.

Her best intentions faded away once she stepped under the warm streams. A shower had never felt so good. She began running the soap across her skin, but as the water continued to cascade over her, she scrubbed harder and harder. Was she washing away the filth of her small cell? Trying to rid herself of the memory of her drugging and abduction? Both were true, but Kelsey soon realised she was also cleansing herself free of a man whom she had discovered was the opposite of everything she’d dreamt him to be.

Nick.
Every time she thought of him, the nausea began again.
How could I have been so gullible? How could I have been so stupid? All my life I’ve tried to follow the right path, no matter how difficult. I just wanted to cut loose for once, and it’s turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. Now I’m stuck here, and Bart… Oh, I can’t even think what they have planned for Bart.

Never again
, she resolved as she finally shut off the water. She’d made a mistake and would never be so trusting again. If—no, when—she resumed her normal life, she would no longer resent the good girl she’d always strived to be. She would start over, erasing the chapter of her life that had involved the man who’d touched her very soul.

As far as she was concerned, Nick Jensen would soon be nothing more than a distant memory.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A hellish three days had passed since Kelsey’s abduction. Three long days filled with searching, dead ends and constant worry. Bart had called every contact he could think of in an effort to find any lead on the whereabouts of his sister, but had come up empty. She seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

The investigators who’d swept the emergency clinic weren’t much help, either. They found a multitude of fingerprints, as would be the norm for a business under construction, but expected little to come from them. Kelsey had been taken by professionals, and they would have certainly worn gloves.

Nick had barely slept a wink. He’d spent much of his weekend trying to flush out information from his contacts in Gianelli’s organisation. Few would even discuss it, much less confide any information. His one and only consolation was that Gianelli would keep her alive as long as she served as leverage against Bart, but thinking of what she could be forced to endure while he was roaming the streets for information was practically killing him.

He pulled out his phone and tried to call the one person he’d been unable to reach since his nightmare had begun. On the first ring, the call went to voicemail, as it had for the past three days. “Damn it, Tim, where the hell are you? I’ve been trying all weekend, dude. You need to call me the second you get this message. It’s an emergency,” he said with a shaky breath before hanging up.

He stared at the lapping lake’s edge while trying to compose himself. He had to keep searching—it was the only thing stopping him from killing Gianelli with his bare hands.

As he started down the pier, he jumped when he heard his phone ring. Praying it was Tim, he quickly held it to his ear. “Talk to me, man!”

“Nick?”

“Bart?” He was disappointed, but he felt a small glimmer of hope. “You come up with anything?”

Bart sighed. “No. You?”

“Not a damned thing.”

“I do have one piece of good news, if you can call it that.”

“What? Tell me, please.”

“Looks like we should be able to get into the evidence room without much trouble. I’ve been keeping an eye on the schedule and I know the cop on duty tonight.”

Nick felt a bit of relief when he heard his old friend’s words. At least they could do something. “I’m on my way.”

* * * *

Nick kept watch as Bart fumbled through the large mass of boxes. Considering the late hour, and Bart’s buddy being the lone guard on duty, accessing the evidence room had been relatively easy.

As luck would have it, Robert Wilson also happened to know Nick from his days at the academy. After Bart and Nick had spent the entire ride to the station trying to come up with a reason for Nick entering the evidence room, they both sighed in relief when Wilson not only greeted Nick happily, but never seemed to question him accompanying Bart inside a restricted area. Nick had lost touch with many of his acquaintances from long ago, so Wilson wasn’t aware of Nick’s academy-ending injury.

“Would you hurry up, dude? We can’t be in here too long,” Nick said from his standpoint at the door.

“I know,” Bart snapped back quickly. “I got the right area. Now I just need to find the right box.”

“What, don’t they have those things catalogued?”

“Back off, man. I’m doing this from memory. I can hardly log in to my computer and check the reference number right now, can I?”

Nick nodded and looked out of the small slit of the slightly parted door. Bart was right. Looking up any information about the evidence in the Romano case would be an immediate giveaway, and it was vital that Bart keep his new mob boss happy.

“Ah…got it.”

Nick turned to see Bart waving a small manila envelope in his raised hand. “That’s all of it?”

“No, but it’s the most vital piece. Surveillance evidence. There’s a disc in here with audio and video recordings and photos. Without it, the case falls apart.”

“Give it to me,” Nick whispered.

“What? No way.”

“You want to walk out of here with it? Give it to me. Carry your jacket. You can talk to Wilson before we leave and he can verify you had nothing on you.”

“But you’re with me. It won’t take long for him to figure out what happened when they realise the evidence is gone.”

“Well, then they can come after me. You can play dumb.”

“I still brought you in here. That makes me just as guilty.”

“But you can claim you don’t know what happened to the stuff. Just do it and shut up, okay?” Nick said, his irritation growing.

“Fine. But you keep a hold of that. I have no intention of allowing Romano to walk. That evidence is coming back, one way or another.”

They walked slowly down the hall so as not to raise suspicion. “You remember that speeder you pulled over your first night on patrol? You know, the guy who wasn’t wearing any pants?” Nick laughed as they approached Wilson.

“Why do you always bring that guy up?” Bart laughed, playing along with Nick’s little ruse.

“Because he was hitting on you, man! Come on, if the situation was reversed, you would be giving me grief until my dying day. You can’t blame me for razzing you about it.”

Wilson laughed at the two, obviously overhearing the topic of conversation. “You didn’t tell me you had an admirer, Kapman!” He seemed to want to hear the whole story—a perfect distraction.

“Happy now, man? This is gonna be all over the station tomorrow.” Bart shoved Nick playfully on the shoulder, dropping his coat in the process. He bent over, exaggerating his movements for Wilson’s sake, and picked up his jacket. Brushing it off while twirling it, he made sure it was apparent there was nothing inside it as he continued to feign embarrassment.

“So how have you been, Jensen? I haven’t heard anything about you for years.”

“I’m good, man. I’ve actually been living out of town for a while,” Nick said as he tried to act casual.

“Yeah, I’d heard something about you getting hurt. Anything major? You seem to be doing okay.”

“I’m good now, thanks. Look, uh, I gotta run,” he said, very uncomfortable with the situation. “I’ll catch you later, Bartholomew, okay? Wilson, take care.”

Nick knew Bart wanted to stop him, but he couldn’t without raising Wilson’s suspicions. He rushed out of the station and hailed a cab, telling the driver to step on it once he’d climbed in. He just prayed his old friend would forgive him for what he was about to do.

* * * *

“What the hell are you doing here?” Anthony growled when Nick pranced into the room.

“Shut the fuck up and make yourself useful. Be a good boy and fetch the boss for me,” Nick said, dismissing the man with a wave of his hand.

“You son of a bitch. Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Don’t waste my time, asshole. I’m not restrained this time.” Nick was surprisingly calm. The fury inside him was aching to get out, but not here, and not now. Kelsey was his priority. “Just get Gianelli.”

He watched Anthony enter Gianelli’s office and took a deep breath to rid the building rage. One benefit of a traumatic childhood was his ability to bury his anger, but the thought of someone hurting Kelsey was testing his resolve.

“Hey, Jensen! You gonna come in or are you gonna stand in the doorway all night?”

Nick walked through the open door, brushing his shoulder against the henchman on his way. “Thanks, buddy,” he laughed snidely. Anthony took a step behind Nick, obviously ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

“That will be all, Anthony,” Gianelli called to him. He paused as Anthony left the room then turned his attention to Nick. “Well, well, Mr Jensen. I wasn’t expecting to see you this evening. What can I do for you?”

“I have something for you.” He never broke eye contact as he reached around his back and slid his hands under his shirt. He pulled the disc from its hiding place and tossed it tersely onto the desk in front of the intrigued gangster.

Gianelli looked down at the small, shiny disc in front of him and back up to Nick. “Is this…?”

“The cops’ case against Romano. Without it he walks. I want Kelsey home, unharmed, by morning. Got it?” Nick demanded steadfastly before turning and walking towards the door. Just before exiting he turned back to Gianelli. “And I expect you to honour your word.”

After spending a long period of time around these people, Nick was more than familiar with the demented honour code they lived by. Even among thieves, liars were shunned.

“Nicely done, Jensen.” Gianelli nodded with a smile. “I’m impressed. What about Kapman?”

“You just let me take care of him.” He knew how furious his old friend would be when he realised what had happened to the evidence they’d stolen. “He’ll be fine once he sees his sister.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Gianelli sneered, with a raised eyebrow.

Nick gritted his teeth and wanted more than anything to beat the smirk right off the mobster’s face. Instead, he nodded curtly and left the room without another word.

Gianelli smiled as he held the disc in his hands. Not one to trust, he turned to his computer and slipped it into the drive. A menu appeared on his screen with a list of the pictures and recordings it contained. He clicked on the top of the list. Within seconds he could hear the static recording of the infamous drug deal that had resulted in Ernesto Romano’s incarceration. He closed it and repeated his actions with a couple of others before ejecting the disc and cracking it in half. With a haughty laugh, he reached for his phone and pressed the intercom. “I’ve got it. You know what to do.”

* * * *

Bart squealed his tyres to a stop before sprinting to the alley behind Shindigs. He took the steps three at a time before slamming his hand against the old wooden door repeatedly. “Nick! You'd better be in there, man! Jensen! Open the damn door!”

The banging continued for several minutes until Bart realised he had an audience of patrons on the street below. He smiled and nodded as they went on their way.

He knelt down and pulled out his Swiss Army knife. The cheap lock wouldn’t take much to open, but it took longer than it would’ve in the past. It’d been a long time since he’d picked a lock. When he finally heard the click, he opened the door and took one last look behind him to see if anyone was watching.

Satisfied he was alone, he entered and closed the door behind him. As expected, the room was empty and there were no signs of Nick having been there recently. He did a quick once-over, rummaging through the few places the disc could have been hidden. He knew it wasn’t there, but he had to be sure.

“You bastard,” Bart grunted as he shook his head. “I should have known better.”

Angered almost to the point of murder, he slammed the door behind him and stomped down the wooden steps. He wasn’t sure what he would do, but his
friend
was going to pay for his betrayal.

* * * *

Kelsey lay still on the bed, her mind completely blank. She’d no idea how long she was going to be held here, and the boredom combined with the fear of the unknown was driving her crazy. She was thankful they hadn’t hurt her. She didn’t know who these people were, but she was certain they meant business.