Page 28 of Capture
I heard voices in the driver’s cab before a sharp clanging sound, like a gate opening, then the van lurched forward. The van kept to a slow speed on the smooth road, again, as imagined images tossed about in my head. Birds were chirping overhead as leaves rustled in the trees, then dogs began barking. I couldn’t hear traffic, so we must be far away from the high-population area.
Nerves coiled throughout my body as my mouth grew desert dry, and I had the urgent need for water. The persistent stress was whether or not the GPS was sending signals to Ronan because it felt as though I was a world away from them.
The van pulled up, the engine cut out, the driver’s doors slammed, and then the back of the van was opened as a gush of wind swept over me carrying the scent of gas and dried grass or hay. Maybe they had taken me to a hideout in the country.
The beast roughly grabbed my arm and pushed me forward as two men waited outside the back doors. My natural reaction was to wrestle against him to make his life harder, but I wanted to avoid injuries, so I remained calm.
I climbed out and sensed a building towering over us, blocking out the sun, with a peaked roof and front porch, which seemed like a typical house. Instead of going into the house, they led me down the side of the building in the shadows, making it difficult for me to see.
The surface beneath my feet changed from cement to soft grass as the scent of hay grew stronger. We stalled as one of the men bent down and pulled up something that creaked loudly, and it wasn’t until I was forced to feel stairs under my feet that I realized they were leading down into an underground tornado shelter.
A dank stench infiltrated the ski mask, then a light was switched on, but it didn’t make much difference. I was forced down onto a hard surface, and then I felt the plastic ties cut. Then, footsteps retreating as I rubbed my wrists and immediately reached to take the ski mask off.
The door slammed, followed by the sounds of bolts sliding into place. As I freed my face from the ski mask, I found myself exactly where I imagined - in a dank tornado shelter with only one way out.
13
The GPS cut out,” I told Mikky on the phone. He must be in the bar because I could hear tinkling glasses and chatter in the background. “But we can check out the location before it dies, hoping he might not be too far away.”
“Yep,” he grunted quietly, keeping his reply short because he didn’t trust who was in his earshot. “We’ll sort something. Where are you now?”
“Just finished class and heading back to the club,” I told him as I walked back to my car.
“Good. Wait,” he asserted as he seemed to be walking somewhere, and I assume he wanted me to wait on the lineuntil he found somewhere private and secure to talk. A door closed, and the background noise vanished. “I was contacted by someone who wants to talk to me, and I think it would be wise if you were in the room.”
“To tell you their demands?” I assumed he was referring to the Ivanovs wanting a deal in exchange for Gunner.
“No. He’s not one of them, although it doesn’t seem that way on the surface,” he explained, still keeping his tone steady. “That’s why I want a second pair of eyes and ears. The Russians haven’t made contact yet. I assume that’s because they’ve been on the move with Gunner.”
“No problem. I’ll be there in an hour,” I glanced behind me and noticed a shady character nearby. “I think I’m being followed.”
“Chill out,” he suggested. “Don’t act as if you’re alarmed by them. We don’t want them to think they’re winning.”
“How’s Annika?” I had to ask, since no one was guarding her room, which allowed her to bang on the door and grab attention.
He hesitated before answering, “She’s fine,” his tone softened, which was surprising, considering that his jaw tensed every time her name was mentioned.
“It’s after four, Mikky, so that the girls will be up in the rooms,” I pointed out, trying not to sound bossy.
“I have both keys for that door, so they couldn’t let her out even if she were dumb enough to make a fuss. Besides, the girls and their clients would be wise to keep their mouths shut if they knew what was good for them,” he explained, and I nodded in agreement.
The girls were good at keeping quiet about the married men, the paid members, who came to see them every week, so they’re more likely to keep their noses out of the business going on in the end room down the hall.
“Alright. I’ll check on her when I get to work,” I offered, mostly because I was looking forward to seeing her. I tried todownplay my feelings for her in front of Mikky, but it was almost impossible to suppress my eagerness to see her again. I was torn about Annika being locked in that room. On one hand, I knew where she was at every moment of the day and night.
However, on the other hand, I caught and trapped my selkie, and no wildling should be caged. Vivacious and beautiful creature swimming in that forest pool that tantalized my curiosity, but now that fight and spirit were dying.
Once behind the wheel of my car, I searched for the guy following me, then spotted a familiar car cruising by slowly. It was the blond cop from Larsson, and the man who followed me was driving. So, we had to deal with the Ivanovs and the police, but these two were outside the jurisdiction so that they couldn’t arrest me without permission from the Gothenburg Police.
I drove at a moderate speed from campus back to the inner city while the cop car followed. What were they expecting? My life consisted of attending classes, working on assignments, working at the club, and sleeping. There was little deviation from that schedule, so were they hoping I would… Then a thought crossed my mind.
I wondered if Mikky was right and the Ivanovs were working with the Larsson police. They were watching me to see if I’d search for Gunner, then what? Should I be arrested for looking for my friend? Nah, something stinks. Gunner’s kidnapping might be a setup, so they pin it on Mikky again. Their number one goal was to get him back in prison.
Crooked cops were the fucking lowest of the low.
I parked in the staff parking lot under the building and took the elevator up to the club. Then, I stopped to peer out the front reception windows, spotting the police parked down the road. I rolled my eyes, then, when I turned around, Betty was standing there wearing a wide scarlet smile.
“Can I help you, Mr. Bryne?” she asked, forcing a cheery tone.
