Chapter 30
Allyson sat across the desk from Julian and skimmed through the pamphlets he’d handed her. Leah stood next to her, chatting with Julian about Allyson’s house fire.
“Do they know who the woman was?” Julian asked.
“No, the body was too badly burned. I think they’re trying to match dental records.” Leah sighed.
“Leah, you don’t have to wait around.” Allyson loved the woman, but she didn’t want to talk about the fire.
“No can do. Dr. Ian said to wait for you.” Leah smiled. “But I’ll go do some filing if that’s okay?”
“That’s fine,” Allyson told her.
“Nice to see you again, Julian,” Leah said as she left the office.
Allyson sat back in her chair, and something hit her. Julian asked if they knew who the woman was. The police had not said whether the body was a man or a woman. She glanced at him for a moment and then shook her head. She was paranoid.
“Something wrong, Allyson?” Julian leaned forward.
“No, you asked if we knew who the woman was, but we don’t know…” Allyson stopped when he pulled his hand from behind his back.
“I was hoping you didn’t pick up on that,” Julian said as he pointed a gun at her.
His voice completely changed, and he suddenly had an accent she’d never heard before. She looked at the door behind him, wondering if she should shout out to Leah, but she couldn’t do that. Leah had been through enough in her life.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Julian stood up and locked the door.
“Call your man,” he practically growled the words.
Allyson reached for her phone.
“Put it on the desk so I can see you are calling him,” Julian tapped the desk with the gun.
She pushed the phone in the middle of the desk and unlocked it. She tapped Crash’s number and hit speaker. The phone went right to voicemail. She tried again but got the same result.
“You must have another way to contact him,” Julian snapped.
“It’s his only number. Maybe he’s charging his phone.” Allyson went to stand, and Julian grabbed her arm.
“Well, we will have to call him later, but we won’t be staying here.” Julian unlocked the door. “If you make one sound, I will kill your friend. Do you hear me?”
Allyson nodded and tripped over her sneakers next to her desk. She kicked one under her desk and the other in the middle of the office. Hopefully, someone would see it and know something was wrong, but to be sure, she purposely pushed a pile of papers on the floor when she tripped.
“Quiet,” Julian whispered.
Allyson tried not to stumble again as he dragged her to the back of the clinic where the staff entrance was. She was relieved that they weren’t going to pass the file room because Leah might see them.
Julian very quietly pushed open the door and held her against him as they let it close. Allyson almost fell over the narrow steps as he pushed her ahead of him, knocking her stethoscope off her neck. He looked down at it but didn’t bother to pick it up. She thought he was going to put her in the back of the car, and she ran through ways she could get out, but he popped the trunk and pointed to it.
Allyson wasn’t going to anger this man. He’d already killed several people, and she was sure he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in her if she did anything.
“We’ll call him again when we are in a safe place,” Julian said and then closed the trunk with her inside.
Allyson’s heart pounded, and in the darkness of the trunk, she felt claustrophobic. She needed to keep from panicking and hyperventilating because that wouldn’t help her at all. She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and tried to calm her racing heart.
The car jolted forward, and she shifted in the trunk. She couldn’t hear anything except the engine and the sound of the road as they drove. She wasn’t sure how long or how far they had driven, but the car took a sharp turn, and then she started to bounce as they went over an uneven road. It reminded her of the gravel road that led to the warehouse.
He wouldn’t be stupid enough to go back there. Would he? This man had managed to stay under the radar for years. He fooled a lot of people, including her, because she’d never have guessed he had a Middle Eastern accent in all the times she spoke to him. They’d even had drinks together. Was he watching her all this time because of Crash?
The car slowed, and she opened her eyes. Should she try to escape when he let her out of the trunk or go along with him until someone found her? After all, he had taken her phone, and she knew Sandy could track it. Surely, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could use her phone and not have it traced.
The trunk popped open, and he was there holding the gun. She awkwardly climbed out. It was hard to move with her hands bound, and she stumbled when he pushed her toward a small shack.
“Nobody would ever think of looking for me here. I’ve been under his nose for so long, and he never even noticed.” Julian pushed her toward the door.
She pulled it open and cringed at the musty smell that hit her as soon as she walked into the small place. There was a propane heater and a rollaway bed in the corner. She wasn’t sure of his plan but prayed he wasn’t going to do anything to her.
He pushed her toward a kitchen chair and shoved her down on it. Before she knew what he was doing, he’d zip-tied her hands behind her and her legs to the chair.
“I’m going to call him again.” Julian pulled her phone from his pocket and held it up to her face.
It unlocked, and he brought up Crash’s number. When he tapped it, the call went straight to voicemail again. It wasn’t usual for him to have his phone off, and she was concerned.
“How long does it take to charge a phone?” He shouted.
“I don’t know. His phone is never off.” Allyson wasn’t lying.
Julian began to pace the small shack and mumble to himself. Allyson worried that he was becoming unhinged and wasn’t sure he wouldn’t kill her anyway.
“He will bring me my Aya if he wants you returned safely. If he stalls, you will suffer.” He pressed the gun against her forehead.
Allyson swallowed the bile that came up in her throat and tried to keep the tears from falling, but they ran down her cheeks. It didn’t seem to affect him in the least.
“Stupid women always think tears will bring a man to his knees. Not me. I don’t care. I love to see a woman’s tears.” Julian ran the gun down her cheek.
She pulled away as much as she could, but he grabbed her face with his other hands and pushed the gun between her lips.
“I could pull this trigger now and wouldn’t blink an eye. You are only a woman.” He pulled the gun away and left her in the shack to step outside.
Allyson panted as she tried to compose herself. The man was insane, and there was no other word for it. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to kill her no matter what.
“Brent, please find me,” she whispered to herself.
Her phone began to ring, and the sound caused her to jump. She struggled to get to the phone before he heard it, but it was too late. He rushed in, and when he saw Crash’s name on the screen, he grinned and answered the call.
“B, my man,” Julian said with his accent gone again.
“Where is she, you, son of a bitch?” Crash’s voice came through the speaker.
“Is that the way to talk to an old friend?” Julian smirked.
“You’re no friend of mine. Where is Allyson?” Crash sounded as if he was about to explode.
“She’s right here with me. Tell him, Allyson,” Julian said and held the phone in front of her.
“I’m here, Brent,” Allyson tried to cover her fear.
“Are you okay?” Crash asked.
“She is. For now, but if you want to see her again, you’ll bring me Aya, or you’ll get Allyson back in pieces.” Julian pushed the gun to her temple, and Allyson whimpered.
“If you hurt her, I’ll make you wish you were never born,” Crash yelled.
“Tsk tsk, is that any way to negotiate with someone who can take away the woman you love? You do love her, don’t you, Brent? Or should I start calling you? What was that name your friends called you?” Emir smirked. “Yes, Crash. Kind of ironic considering the way your friend Wyatt and his lovely wife lost their lives.”
“You’re the reason they’re dead.” Crash sounded as if he was going to explode.
“And I’ll be the reason she dies if you don’t bring me what I want. You have two hours, and I’ll call you back with directions. Remember, I’ve got no issues with making this pretty lady suffer.”
Allyson gasped as he dropped her phone on the table and shot a bullet through it. He wasn’t going to call Crash back. He was going to kill her.