27. Nova
CHAPTER 27
NOVA
“C ome on,” I urge as I try to twist and break the zip ties currently binding my wrists to the arms of this chair. If I can just get a wrist free, then I can work to break the others binding my ankles to the legs of the chair. Unfortunately, the arms have no give, and the zip ties are secure. No matter how raw I rub my wrists, there’s no getting them loose.
I shift my gaze around the dank basement, searching for anything I could use to get free. It’s empty, though, except for the chair I’m sitting in. Tall brick walls surround me, and the concrete floor beneath my chair is covered in plastic.
I close my eyes and suck in a breath. I will not go down like this. Did I really escape the first time only to die? My thoughts drift back to Elliot.
His handsome face.
Strong arms holding me as we danced.
Tears blur my vision. I’ll never get the chance to apologize. To tell him that I want more. That leaving him on that ranch was a huge mistake. And not just because the man I trusted turned out to be the same one who put a bullet in me in the first place.
No. I will not die like this. “This is going to hurt.” I take a deep breath then jerk my body to the right. The chair rocks a bit.
I do it again—this time harder. Then again. It falls over, hitting the ground with a heavy thud, right with my head. Pain explodes behind my eye. I try to jerk my arm, hoping that if I can just crack the wooden armrest, I’ll be able to break it free the rest of the way.
A small crack.
Hope.
Then a door opens. “You just can’t leave well enough alone, can you?” Brett asks as he hoists my chair back up.
I glare at him.
“Nothing to say? That’s a first. Normally you’re quite chatty.” Crossing his arms, he leans against the wall across from me. “Fine. You can just listen. I searched your entire apartment, tearing everything apart, and found no sign of the evidence you stole.”
“What evidence?”
“Don’t play cute with me. I know you remember now.”
“Excuse me? What gave you that impression?”
“The folder you found tucked away beneath your nightstand. Great hiding place, by the way. I didn’t even notice it when I’d searched the place.”
“Just because I found one thing doesn’t mean I remember anything.”
“Sure it does.” He crosses over and leans down, placing both hands on my legs to hold himself up. “And you’re going to come clean, Nova, or things are going to get really messy.”
“How about you tell me what it is you think I stole? That way, it might jog my memory.”
He glares at me. “Nah. We’ll get to the bottom of it one way or another.” He pushes up, and the door opens behind me again, scraping against the floor as it does.
“This is such a pleasant, albeit unexpected, surprise.”
Ivan. I recognize his voice, though it’s not until he steps into my line of sight that I realize I’m not imagining it. “You’re dead.”
He smiles, and the sight of it makes my skin crawl. “No, I’m not. But I appreciate the concern. Brett, give us a minute.”
“But, sir?—”
“Give. Us. A. Minute,” he orders, glaring at Brett.
Brett looks from him to me then back to him, and nods before leaving the room. It’s not until the door scrapes and closes that Ivan crosses his arms and studies me.
“I don’t remember anything.”
“Yes, Brett filled me in on your predicament. Here’s the thing though. I’ve learned that even those who can’t seem to remember a thing can be motivated under the right circumstances.”
Fear gnaws at my insides. “So, what, you’re going to torture it out of me?”
“If I have to,” he replies. “I’d really rather not. The idea of hurting you is distasteful.”
“Why is that?”
“You know I always favored you. When I found out that you were protecting Brett, I was absolutely appalled. Heartbroken, even. You were my most trusted ally, someone I’d hoped to eventually build a future with, and you broke my trust.”
I protected him? “What do you mean, I protected him?”
Ivan arches a brow. “You really don’t remember, do you? Shame. Well, since you’re such a captive audience, how about I fill you in? I suspected Brett—rather Patterson, as I knew him—and you buried it. Nearly had me convinced that I was overreacting, and it was a complete coincidence that my rival knew exactly when we were moving product and was able to intercept and steal from me.”
“If he stole from you, then why is he alive?”
“Because he traded me important information in exchange for his life.”
“What information?”
He takes a step closer. “That I had not one, not two, but three other untrustworthy people in my ranks. Including the woman I’d allowed close enough to learn far too much about me.”
“Me?”
He smiles, a carnal grin that chills me. “You were one of them. The other, if you remember, was your old partner. I’m surprised you don’t remember his death. You were present for it, after all.” He laughs, and my stomach twists as a wave of grief washes over me. For once, I’m happy I can’t remember. “The man actually cried when I put a bullet in him. Pleaded for his life.”
Tears sting my eyes even as I can’t remember his face. “You’re a monster.”
He doesn’t even bother responding. “And Chelsea—or rather Rosalie—well, she didn’t say much. Though Brett’s the one who carried out that order. He was supposed to deliver her body to the same rival who stole my product. A gift from me to him since she’d double-crossed me and was also feeding him information in exchange for payment.” He takes a deep breath and studies me. “However, after you were found wearing one of his shirts, he thought it best to use her to throw the cops off the trail by making them think it was a serial killer.” He grins. “It did the trick since he sent photographs instead of a body deliver.”
“You’re sick.”
“No, I’m practical. A businessman,” he replies. “Then there’s you,… According to Brett, you didn’t take payment, and somehow that makes you worse. I hate a moral cop. Believing you’re so high above everyone else.”
“If you needed evidence, why kill me?”
“Brett was sure it was at your apartment. He was certain we didn’t need you. By the time we realized he was wrong, it was too late. But then, wasn’t it handy that your beautiful face graced the screen of my computer after you were found in that creek? How fortuitous.” He smiles, and I can all but picture venom dripping from his teeth.
I glare back at him, trying so hard to keep on a brave face. “I don’t have what you’re looking for. And even if I did, I don’t remember.”
Ivan shrugs. “Whether you remember or not, you’re a loose end, Nova O’Conner. And loose ends have to be clipped.” With no warning, he slams his fist into my jaw.
My head whips back, and pain shoots through the side of my face and down into my neck from the force of the blow.
Ivan grips my legs, squeezing so tightly I have to choke on a cry as pain shoots up through my thighs. “It’s all up to you, Nova. We can do this the easy way, or the painful way.”
I glare up at him, blood trickling from my mouth. “Do your worst,” I growl as rage burns through the fear. If I die here, it won’t be whimpering and pleading for my life. I won’t give him the satisfaction.
Ivan releases me and takes a few steps back. He studies me, likely gauging whether or not he believes I truly don’t remember. What he doesn’t realize, though, is that it really doesn’t matter whether I remember or not. Clearly, past me wanted to make sure that evidence was well hidden. There’s no way I’d tell them where to find it.
Not even to save my own life.
Lord, please. Please help me. Please. I wish I could touch the cross around my neck. Wish I could feel it against my fingers. I lean on Him now though, praying for a rescue I’m not sure is headed my way.
“You’re not leaving this place until I have those files in my hands,” he tells me. “And since we have time, how about we see if we can jog your memory?”