Page 21 of Capture
“They won’t do anything to you until a deal is made,” he reported. “And they won’t dare touch a hair on Gunner’s head, unless I don’t agree to their demands.”
“And what are they demanding?” I asked him as I opened the glass swing door and stepped outside.
“Don’t know yet,” he mumbled, again unconcerned.
“I’m betting on territory,” I proposed. “Maybe they want the club back.”
He scoffed. “Well, they’re not getting it.”
“Maybe you could trade Betty for Gunner,” I suggested.
“They can have Betty for free, considering that I’m about eighty percent sure she’s working for them,” he stated confidently. “Got Danny to dig up some dirt on her.”
“Only eighty?” I questioned.
“Yeah, I have more questions than answers, and I’m open to Danny proving me right or wrong,” he exhaled as I could see the indicator on his SUV.
“Alright,” I leaned against the wall of a building in good view of the main entrance and the emergency exit, outside the library, waiting to see if they’re coming out,” I informed him.
“What about the little liar? Maybe we should hand her over to the Russians in exchange for Gunner,” he proposed, and a sensation as if an icy cold hand clasped the back of my neck struck me as he spoke.
I hated my selkie being the cause of Mikky’s and Gunner’s grief, yet I couldn’t deny how I felt about her. No matter how much I fought against it, I was in deep over her.
“I’m kidding, Ronan,” Mikky’s voice down the line responded to my silence.
“What would the Russians do with her?” I argued. “She’s no use to them.”
He sighed. “I agree. She’s more use tous.”
My chest tightened at his words. Something had changed, yet I hadn’t put my finger on what exactly. What did he mean that Annika was more used to us? Use her as bait to extract more information from the staff, or utilize her for something else?
“As I said before,” Mikky’s voice was stern. “You and Gunner need to get over her. Move on. Find someone more suitable.”
I exhaled to relax the brick in my chest. “I don’t know if I can do that,” I told him honestly.
I expected him to give me one of his little talks about loyalty or a warning about how important my job was, but instead, he grunted as if resigning to losing the battle of the hearts. Or maybe it wasn’t the time for another lecture, but something had changed in him.
“I’ve spotted them,” I alerted him as men in suits standing out like giraffes in a monkey enclosure around strode out from the emergency exit at the side of the library.
In the middle of them was Gunner, black hood over his head, hands tucked into his black jeans, flanked by four men. There was no chance he could make a run for it.
He glanced up under the hood, and I knew he was searching for me, hoping that I had received his alert text.
“They’ve got our boy for sure,” I told Mikky just as Gunner caught me, then immediately dropped his head so it didn’t seem obvious.
“Alright. Don’t let your eye leave the tracker, so we can see where they take him,” Mikky directed. “Go to class and let the dust settle.”
“What? Are you serious?” I replied, astonished. I thought he’d want me to go back to the club.
“Yeah. If you’re being watched, then make sure you act normal, as you’re not bothered by them having Gunner. Nothing will piss off the Russians more than us being just a little too chilled out about this little dilemma they’ve caused,” I nodded in agreement as he spoke.
The Russian lackey who was leaning over the railing in the library walked past and again shot me a casual salute as if he believed he had us bent over a barrel.
Sure, dude.
I swiped off, slipped my phone into my pocket, and swiftly checked the tracker to see that they’re taking Gunner to the parking lot, unsurprisingly. Then I pulled away from the wall and walked in the opposite direction toward my class, as the lackey glanced back at me in surprise at my inaction.
10
