Page 27 of Captive Hearts
Twelve
After Gina had sent everything she’d shot today over to KTN, her main method of distraction was gone, and she was forced to think about where she was. She couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed. Ashley Quick, doing an interview with a gun pointed at her by the sociopath she happened to be interviewing. If Ashley had been scared, the fear had stayed out of her voice. She sounded as cool as ever, downright breezy. Gina wondered if maybe she was missing that part of the brain that tells you to leg it when danger is coming.
But then she saw Ashley’s hands trembling all over the place as she was trying to get her phone out of her pocket and the ruse was up. Ashley was freaked. Gina should have known. As tough as Ashley could be, there was a person underneath there somewhere. She’d seen it.
‘Right, that was great, now I want you two to get in a cupboard, if you don’t mind,’ Rick said, checking his watch.
‘What? Why?’ Gina asked, swapping a confused look with Ashley.
Rick gave her a hard stare. ‘The man with the gun doesn’t have to explain anything, yeah?’
Gina nodded. ‘Fair enough.’
He gestured at the end of the kitchen, past the hostages -otherhostages, Gina reminded herself. She was an initiate in this dreadful club now - toward a battered door. ‘Go on. In you get,’ he said.
Gina glanced at Ashley to see if she might argue, but she was already walking, headed straight for the cupboard. Gina followed her.
Ashley gripped the door handle to open it, and Rick said, ‘Oh, hang about, I want your phones and the camera.’
Gina put down the camera on a prep station and placed her phone next to it. Ashley’s joined it.
‘Right. Good. Can’t have you two shooting what you like, can we?’ Rick said. ‘I mean, I’ve got to look good. If I’ve got to slap a hostage - I mean if I absolutelyhaveto - I can’t have that on tape.’
Gina didn’t like the sound of that. Especially if she was the one that got the slap.
‘Go on then, get in now,’ Rick said sharply.
Ashley pushed through the door, Gina behind her. The door swung shut behind them, and they were in pitch blackness. ‘Is there a light in here?’ Gina asked.
‘I’m just trying to find the switch,’ Ashley said, rustling about on the wall. ‘You check the other wall.’
Gina didn’t actually know which side was the other wall from Ashley, so she took a punt and put her hands out. But what she found wasn’t a light switch. ‘What’s this?’ she asked as the light came on, courtesy of Ashley. In the harsh light of the bare bulb, Gina realised what she had hold of. Ashley’s breasts. ‘Jesus, sorry!’ she yelled, ripping her hands from Ashley’s body.
Ashley, pink-cheeked and equally shocked, shook her head. ‘It’s… it’s fine.’
Gina wasn’t sure what to say now. She’d just molested her co-worker’s person. ‘I, I… Christ, seriously, I really didn’t mean to do that.’
Ashley shook her head again. ‘It doesn’t matter. We’ve got bigger fish to fry right now.’
‘I know,’ Gina said. But then she added, ‘But seriously, youdoknow it was an accident?’
Ashley rolled her eyes. ‘OfcourseI do. Good god, do you think I’m imagining that you’ve been waiting for a good opportunity to grab my tits throughout a bloody hostage situation?’
Gina pursed her lips, trying not to laugh. But then she caught Ashley’s eye, and Ashley was the one to break, giggling into her hand. Gina let loose and joined her in the laugh. Gina was pretty sure they were hysterical.
When they’d gotten ahold of themselves, they straightened up and looked around at where they were. Up to their eyes in large catering tins of tomatoes, olives, and herbs. ‘Why do you think he stuck us in here?’ Gina asked.
Ashley considered. ‘Same reason he doesn’t want the camera on all the time, I expect. He doesn’t want us to see him negatively. We’re the press. What he said about the cops not doing anything while anyone’s watching, I expect that goes for him too. That’s why he’s not going out live, either. Can’t control what happens.’
‘You’ve got him pegged, I see,’ Gina said.
‘He’s not that complicated,’ Ashley assured her. ‘He’s just a selfish kid that never grew up.’
Gina nodded. ‘He really came here thinking he was owed.’
‘Most likely, he just wanted a good excuse to do something horrible,’ Ashley said with a sigh, putting her hands on her hips, looking around. ‘I’m hungry.’
‘Me too,’ Gina said quickly.
